Chapter 65

Chapter 65

The Empress knew exactly what was going on, which was why she had turned a blind eye to her eldest son's fate for so long.

But she had no choice—she was a daughter of the Wang clan, and she had to look out for the Wang clan's interests.

If the one on the throne weren't the Wangs' maternal grandson, the Wang clan was done for!

Look at the powerful consort clans in history—which one didn't crash and burn the moment they lost power? Especially a clan like the Wangs, who had their hands on everything in court. If the Sixth Prince took the throne, the Wangs would be the first to get purged.

Between losing one son and losing the whole clan, Empress Wang knew exactly which loss hurt more.

She set the medicine bowl aside, done playing nursemaid to the emperor. She rose and said, "If Your Majesty won't take his medicine, fine. In any case, you're not walking out of this Hall of Mental Cultivation today."

After the emperor claimed he was sick, he'd been staying in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, with the Empress personally playing nurse.

In reality, Empress Wang was pulling all the strings. She'd bought off the top eunuchs and locked the emperor up in the hall.

Nothing came in, nothing went out. The emperor knew he probably didn't have more than a few days left. Either the Grand Prince pulls off his coup and kills him, or...

The old emperor shook his head. There was no second outcome. Murong Jie, a prince with no backing and no powerful in-laws to prop him up—even with that fancy title of Prince Peer—didn't stand a chance against the Wang clan's muscle.

This time, there was only one possible ending: the Grand Prince takes the throne.

He'd guarded against everything, but he never saw the Grand Prince actually going through with it.

The clash of weapons rang out from beyond the doors. The old emperor sat bolt upright and sneered, "Murong Feng—eager, is he?"

The Empress's face lit up. She commanded, "Someone, open the palace gates!"

The gates of the Hall of Mental Cultivation swung open, and over a hundred armored guards stormed in with spears. Murong Feng led the way, stepping before the old emperor. He gave a polite bow. "Father."

The old emperor let out a cold laugh. "What a fine son I raised!"

Murong Feng smiled as well. "Father, why pretend you don't know? Didn't you steal this throne the same way? In the royal family, there's no father and son, no brothers—just interests!"

The old emperor straightened his robes and asked, "So you've come today to send your old man off?"

Murong Feng replied, "Father, don't make it sound so ugly. You've been gravely ill for days, and the imperial doctors are stumped. I've come to the palace today to mourn you."

The old emperor's chest heaved with fury. "Fine! Very fine!"

Murong Feng continued, "I've already had the abdication decree drawn up. Why not stamp it with the imperial seal yourself? Though, it hardly matters—Mother's already handled everything for me. Whether you stamp it or not is just for show."

At that moment, the Empress held the imperial seal in her hands, ready to slam it onto the decree.

The old emperor pointed at them and roared, "Traitors! Traitors!"

But Murong Feng was unperturbed. "Winner takes all, loser's a traitor. Whether I'm a traitor or not—that's for me to decide!"

With that, he stepped forward, picked up the medicine bowl, and gave a sinister smile. "Father... your son will see you off properly!"

He lunged, pinned the old emperor down, and tried to force the medicine into his mouth.

They struggled, and the medicine bowl shattered with a crack. Murong Feng finally ran out of patience. He raised his sword and thrust it violently toward the old emperor.

But in that split second, with a sharp crack, his sword went flying from a kick.

When he turned around, the Empress had already been subdued, her mouth and nose clamped shut. Murong Jie had somehow materialized behind him.

Murong Feng went pale. "You... how are you here?"

Murong Jie sneered. "To clean house and nab a traitor, of course!"

With that, he kicked Murong Feng to the ground and commanded, "Men, seize the rebel!"

The guards who had been at Murong Feng's side all turned their coats, and the guards outside the gates were caught off guard and slaughtered. Lu An led a contingent of the Lu Family Army charging in, kneeling before the old emperor with full vigor. "Your Majesty, I have arrived too late! All rebel forces outside the hall have been executed, and the traitorous faction led by the Wang clan has been captured by my Lu Family Army. Your Majesty, I hope you were not too alarmed!"

Joy blazed in the old emperor's eyes. Suppressing his coughing fits, he praised, "Excellent, excellent! Truly my fine son! And General Lu—you live up to the training of the late Prince Lu! Both of you have rendered great service in protecting me. I shall reward you handsomely!"

Murong Jie stepped forward. "Father, the Grand Prince has committed treason. How shall he be dealt with?"

The old emperor glared furiously at Murong Feng, pointing at him and cursing, "Wretch! Death alone cannot quell my fury!"

Murong Jie said, "Treason is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations. Merely sentencing him to death may not deter the officials. Perhaps... we should sentence him to death by a thousand cuts?"

The old emperor paused. Lingchi was an extreme punishment, reserved only for the most heinous criminals.

But the old emperor hesitated only briefly before nodding. "Indeed. Murong Feng's treason is unforgivable. Sentence him to death by a thousand cuts in the public square! The entire Wang clan shall be executed!"

At these words, the Empress's eyes nearly split with rage, but with her mouth gagged, she could only emit desperate muffled cries.

The Grand Prince was terrified out of his wits, soiling himself on the spot, unable to believe his ears.

Murong Jie, however, handled all the subsequent arrangements like a wooden puppet.

Over the following half month, the main branch of the Wang clan was all executed. The men of the nine generations were conscripted into the army, and the women were enslaved.

This grand palace coup ultimately ended with Murong Feng's death by a thousand cuts. Unfortunately, the coward frightened himself to death after barely a hundred cuts.

When the news arrived, Murong Jie said only one thing: "He got off easy."

At that moment, Murong Jie was keeping vigil before Lu Yunqi's cold jade coffin, gazing at the figure within that looked so lifelike, as if merely asleep. Only now did he have time to ponder what the Medical Immortal had told him.

"This corpse has no soul. There is no saving it."

Murong Jie murmured, "No soul... Why would there be no soul? Lu Yunqi, you said you were biding your time, putting on an act for the dog emperor. But can a person—even acting—truly project the feeling of being two entirely different people?"

Murong Jie shook his head. "Or were you and he always two different people?"

The Medical Immortal said this corpse has no soul. Could it be that Yunqi was never meant to be here in the first place?

Then whose wandering ghost are you, coming here to stir my heart, only to vanish without a trace?

Murong Jie wept again. He used to think he was incapable of tears, but now he felt his tears were worthless. Since Yunqi had left, he had lost count of how many times he had cried.

Before the cold jade coffin, Murong Jie was like a marionette whose puppeteer had vanished, at a loss for where to go.

Just then, a dark figure appeared behind him. Xiao Hei, though reluctant to disturb him, stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, the imperial decree has arrived."