Chapter 1 The First Matter
“The first matter is about Kong, who is Su Zhan, your former lover. He is already dead. The second matter is that your precious son, the Prince of Beijin, attempted to rebel and assassinate the emperor. He has been imprisoned.”
After Murong Liu Zun finished speaking, the bedroom fell into a deathly silence. The old woman, seated on the chaise lounge, seemed frozen, unable to move. Only tears flowed silently down her face, her lips trembling slightly, her entire body shaking like a withered leaf in the wind.
Finally, she reacted, her sharp voice piercing the quiet of the imperial bedchamber.
“It was you, you killed him, you arrested Mo’er. You are a demon, you are a demon.”
Following the scream, the body on the chaise lounge scrambled down, lunging towards the Emperor, attempting to grab him.
Unfortunately, the Emperor shifted his position, evading her. The woman then fell heavily to the ground with a pained cry, finally begging repeatedly.
“Your Majesty, please spare Mo’er, spare her. It is all my fault. When he was young, he liked you so much. It was I who prevented him from approaching you. It was I who repeatedly whispered in his ear that he was the one who should possess the throne. Mo’er was not a wicked child by nature. Your Majesty, please spare him.”
Murong Liu Zun stood by the grand bed, his face grim, looking at the woman prostrate on the floor, weeping and begging him.
At this moment, she no longer possessed any of her former majestic demeanor. She looked worse than any beggar. However, since the Prince of Beijin harbored ambitions, he could not let him off. His dark eyes were fierce and unpleasant, his voice even colder.
“You killed the Empress, my mother, and constantly plotted against my life. Today is your retribution. I will leave you with nothing. Those you love, and those who love you, will all be gone,” the Emperor said, then laughed, his voice extremely sharp.
The Empress Dowager kowtowed forcefully. Thinking of Mo’er imprisoned, she was willing to break her head if it meant the Emperor would spare Mo’er’s life.
“Your Majesty, I beg you, please spare Mo’er. It is all my fault. I am willing to die.”
After saying this, the Empress Dowager turned and flung herself towards a pillar in the bedchamber. She was intimately familiar with everything in the chamber, thus she struck the pillar with perfect accuracy.
However, Murong Liu Zun did not allow her to die so easily. With a wave of his large palm, a surge of powerful wind repelled her body, throwing her to the side. His icy and emotionless voice rang out again.
“I want you to witness all of this, to watch your son be executed with your own eyes.”
After speaking, he flung his hand away and left the bedchamber. A’jiu quickly followed. As they reached the door of the bedchamber, Murong Liu Zun cast a cold glance at Eunuch Li, the Empress Dowager’s personal eunuch, and uttered words of cruel indifference: “If the Empress Dowager dies, you will accompany her.”
Eunuch Li trembled and quickly knelt down. After the Emperor left, he rushed into the bedchamber and kept a close eye on the Empress Dowager. If the Empress Dowager met with any misfortune, his own life would be forfeit.
“Your Highness, please do not be sad,” Eunuch Li said, his heart aching as he looked at the Empress Dowager’s desolate and pained state, trying to comfort her slowly.
The Empress Dowager, like a madwoman, grabbed Eunuch Li’s hand and shrieked, “He wants to kill Mo’er, he wants to kill Mo’er! Heavens, please spare Mo’er! He has done nothing wrong, it is all my fault!”
After speaking, the Empress Dowager attempted to run into a pillar. How could Eunuch Li let her have her way? If the Empress Dowager died, he would also lose his life. He quickly blocked her path, and a commotion began to erupt within the vast bedchamber.
Inside the Glazed Palace.
The Emperor lounged on the imperial couch at the head of the hall, his eyes casually closed, a faint smile on his lips. Everything that had transpired today had gone smoothly enough; all matters were within his control.
A’jiu entered with two young eunuchs, his expression somewhat uneasy. He spoke quickly, “Your Majesty, the Minister of Justice is here. He says he has something to report.”
Murong Liu Zun’s eyes snapped open. His deep, pool-like eyes reflected a chilling, inscrutable light, and his voice, dark and low, commanded, “Announce him.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” A’jiu respectfully turned and went out, soon leading in the Minister of Justice. The man’s face was pale, and he could barely walk steadily. He staggered in, fell to his knees with a thud, and after much trembling, finally managed to speak, “Reporting… reporting to Your Majesty, Chu Qianyi has escaped!”
The Emperor, seated high above, had eyes as dark as the moonless night sky, mysteriously strange, making it impossible to discern the depths within.
“A’jiu, immediately inform the Left Prime Minister. Together with the Minister of Justice, proceed to the Chu family and confiscate all of the Chu family’s possessions. All members of the Chu family are to be thrown into prison.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” A’jiu accepted the command and quickly went to deliver the decree. The Minister of Justice, seeing that the Emperor had spared him, trembled uncontrollably, and repeatedly kowtowed to express his gratitude, “Thank Your Majesty, thank Your Majesty.”
“I will spare you for today’s matter. The Prince of Beijin is imprisoned. You may assign more guards to watch him closely. If he manages to slip away again, you will answer for it with your head,” the Emperor said, his voice tinged with bloodlust.
The Minister of Justice’s face turned deathly pale, large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. Good heavens, he prayed, let nothing else go wrong this time. As soon as he returned, he would immediately dispatch more guards from the Ministry of War to firmly secure the Ministry of Justice’s prison, ensuring not even a fly could escape.
“Yes, your subject obeys.”
“You may go,” the Emperor waved his hand.
The Minister of Justice quickly obeyed and withdrew. No matter what, he was determined to guard the Ministry of Justice’s prison strictly. For the remaining days until the Prince of Beijin was executed, he would not eat, and would personally lead men to guard the prison gates. He refused to believe that anyone could still rescue him this way.
Behind him, Murong Liu Zun appeared leisurely, a smile playing on his lips. Everything had indeed proceeded quite smoothly; the Chu family’s military power had finally fallen into his hands.
Chu Qianyi, you escaped at quite the opportune moment. However, I calculated that you would escape. The Chu family no longer has military power. I shall see what other tricks you can possibly conjure.
The Left Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice arrived at the Chu family residence and had all the members of the Chu family, from the highest to the lowest, thrown into the Ministry of Justice’s prison to await the Emperor’s judgment.
This news soon reached the palace. Chu Yuyan’s once radiant face instantly turned ashen. She could not believe that the once glorious Chu family had collapsed so quickly. Her father and her brother had been imprisoned.
“Your Highness, what should we do?”
Qiuyue looked at the pale Consort, her heart filled with anxiety. This news had been delivered to the palace by a fleeing Chu family servant. She hadn’t expected such successive blows to be delivered, how could her mistress bear it?
“Qiuyue, why? Why has it come to this? Didn’t Father promise to hand over the military power? If he had handed over the military power, the Chu family could have at least been spared death. Why has it ended up like this?”
Chu Yuyan wept in sorrow. Qiuyue reached out and tightly embraced her mistress, secretly shedding tears with her.
“Mistress, please do not be sad.”
“No, I want to see the Emperor,” Chu Yuyan suddenly stood up. Qiuyue was startled and quickly stopped her, “Your Highness, please don’t. If you go to see the Emperor, you will only bring trouble upon yourself.”