Chapter 59: Aftermath
AN: Thank you, dears, for the votes and comments. Happy reading!!!
Yu Wen glanced at the man who had been pinned to the ground and arrested, the officials who were running towards the exits, and the Imperial Queen who was being escorted out of the imperial court. He looked at the spot Li Jun had been standing before he was erased into nothingness.
It was as though it never happened. If it weren’t for the scorch marks on the ground and the chaos in the hall, his mind would have deceived him. He would have believed that Li Jun was still alive. That he was still at his club playing cards with Yu Xuan.
But he knew this wasn’t true. Li Jun was gone. He was gone. His chest hurt, each heartbeat heavy and slow, as grief and disbelief pressed down on him until he could barely breathe.
***
The former heir to the throne was murdered, no, executed in front of Aurelia. The live broadcast of the hearing was cut off right after it happened, but most people watching it had already seen it. They clipped the moment he died and spread it all over StarNet.
The imperial council wouldn’t let this footage spread, so they began deleting people’s posts and threatening them with account bans. But despite their attempts to quell the fire, it still spread in smaller circles. Most people were mocking Li Jun’s death, calling it justice, and others felt like being executed live was a bit too much.
A handful of people were grieving the loss of an Imperial prince, but their comments were suppressed. Some were genuinely shaken by his demise, but others were more upset about losing benefits. One such person was Xiu Ying.
As soon as she entered her imperial study, she lost it. Enraged, she threw a fit, tossing and throwing everything. This rampage was way worse than the last time. She was weak, but for some reason, she had the strength to throw furniture and kick large vases. It was as though she had been injected with chicken blood and had gotten enough strength to go on a wild tirade.
Li Yu was both terrified and worried. She had anticipated that her mother would be upset if Li Jun died, but she didn’t think she would be this enraged. Having learnt from the last time she hadn’t entered the study with her mother. Even Marcia didn’t want to be collateral damage. She stayed outside. Each time something was smashed, Li Yu would jolt in fright.
After thirty minutes of this, the room quieted down. Breathing heavily and her nose flared, she slumped to the floor. "System," she called out in her mind, but there was no response. A dark chuckle escaped her lips as she called out repeatedly.
She knew that it was gone. She couldn’t even feel its presence. It was as though it never existed. Her chuckle abruptly died down. Li Jun was dead, the system was gone, and Draco was probably going to come after her.
Not only that, but there was also Li Zimo with a dagger right on her back. It was then she realized that this must have been all of Li Zimo’s doing. Yes, who else would have the motive to take her down like this? When Draco came for vengeance, she needed to have someone to serve on a platter. Thinking this, she got up in a hurry.
The door was swung open, and Xiu Ying grabbed Marcia by the collar. With a maniacal look in her eyes, she said, "I want fucking answers. Beat him, torture him, I don’t care. Do whatever the fuck you can to make him talk, do you understand?!"
Marcia said, "Ye-yes, your Majesty." Xiu Ying flung her to the ground, and Marcia, tremblingly, crawled away, scared half to death. Li Yu’s face turned pale hearing this. She was the one who helped the man smuggle the plasma gun. If her mother found out, she would be in big trouble. She was terrified out of her mind.
Seeing her expression, Xiu Ying thought her daughter was shaken by what had just happened. She placed her blood covered palm on her cheek, and Li Yu trembled like a leaf. Li Yu was scared of her mother, but Xiu Ying thought she was frightened by the chaos. She said, "I am so sorry, honey. I am so sorry you had to see that. Don’t be scared anymore, no one will ever harm you."
Li Yu licked her lips, hesitant to ask. She was afraid to trigger her, but she still wanted to know. She asked, "Mo-mother, I thought you would be happy that he is gone?" She swallowed as she turned her gaze away, afraid to look into those eyes again. "Look at how father used to treat you. All he cared about was that dead woman and her son. Now that both of them are gone, why aren’t you happy?"
Xiu Ying sighed and said, "Yu Yu, there are things behind the scenes that you don’t understand. There are powers and forces in the shadows that affect our livelihood. If I want to hold this position and keep you safe, I need the support of key players, and Li Jun’s grandfather was one of them. I put him in prison as leverage, but now that he is dead, Draco will want revenge. So, you ask me why I am not happy? That’s the reason why."
Li Yu’s entire body grew cold as a wave of dread washed over her. She realized then her impulsiveness might have cost them everything. "You have the support of the people. They love you," she said, trying to reassure herself and minimize the situation.
"That’s true, but public perception can be manipulated and changed. When your father became the Imperial King, they all loved him too," replied Xiu Ying, but Li Yu couldn’t accept it.
She said, "But he was evil. He did a lot of bad things, so of course, they would hate him."
"Yu Yu, you don’t understand. Even if my reputation is good, it’s still not enough. We need power, we need an army. Aurelia’s military isn’t enough to keep the throne stable. This is why I needed Blue Sapphire," she explained.
Li Yu thought for a while before asking, "What about Red Valkyrie?"
