Chapter 119: Chapter 110: Who is the True Son of Heaven
She had been killed.
Until she arrived at the Princess Mansion, these two words still whirled in Chu Yu’s mind.
She could never forget Liu Ziyue’s gaze at that time, a terrifying calm concocted from a mix of extreme ferocity, cruelty, fear, anxiety, and darkness.
She also could never erase the memory of Zong Yue waving his hand, and the guards beside him pouncing like fierce tigers onto the young children, as the gleaming edge of the blade sliced across the delicate necks and bright red blood sprayed from the wounds.
She couldn’t forget how the tiny bodies fell like feathers, the blood beneath them staining the green grass, the four pairs of clear, innocent eyes hardly having time to experience pain but only a sliver of shock, frozen within their pupils.
It was as if someone had carved it into her brain with a knife, impossible to erase.
...
This wasn’t the first time she had witnessed a killing. Previously, when she had been ambushed on the cliffside, she too had braved life and death, seen dead bodies, but never like this—watching one-sided slaughter of the defenseless, and they were children!
She was horrified by Liu Ziyue’s gaze, unable to stop it, her voice stuck in her throat as the children fell to the ground one by one.
On the way back, Chu Yu remained in a state close to numbness, replaying that scene in her mind over and over, unable to articulate whether she felt sadness, anger, or resentment; she only felt as if she herself had turned to wood.
Those children had merely sung a popular ditty, yet unexpectedly lost their lives for it; perhaps they didn’t even understand the specific meaning of the rhyme, just unlucky enough to sing it in front of Liu Ziyue.
It wasn’t until they were nearing Shan Yin’s Princess Mansion that Chu Yu found the ability to speak again, “Your Majesty, do you know what it means when they say ‘a True Emperor will come forth from Xiang’? Although the rhyme is highly disrespectful, it’s so vague, I truly don’t understand.”
The nursery rhyme was actually quite simple and clear, suggesting there were two Emperors in the Imperial Palace, and a True Emperor would arise from Xiang, but at the moment, Chu Yu’s understanding of the overall situation was insufficient; she didn’t know who the True Emperor and the Fake Emperor referred to, and as for the ‘old Emperor’ and ‘young Emperor,’ she had no idea who they could be.
Liu Ziyue looked at Chu Yu, his venomous gaze softening somewhat, and after a moment of silence, he sighed, “The first part says there are two Emperors in the palace. I am the Fake Emperor, Dai Faxing is the True Emperor.”
Dai Faxing?
Chu Yu tilted her head and after a moment, managed to match the name with the actual person. She had seen this official before during her visits to the Imperial Palace, a loyal minister left from the late Emperor’s time, appearing very honest. Could this man be aspiring to usurp the throne?
Liu Ziyue, holding Chu Yu’s arm, said, “Sister, although I am now the Emperor, every decree that I see has already been viewed by him. I don’t know how much he withholds, and even when I want to bestow gifts on someone, he has his say. The last time I wanted to give you some rewards, Dai Faxing cut them in half. Isn’t he the True Emperor then?”
Besides Dai Faxing, the other old ministers left behind by the late Emperor were also constantly meddling with him, directing and bossing him around. Although he committed murder, he only killed minor officials and couldn’t do much to people of Dai Faxing’s caliber.
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Chu Yu almost blurted out, “I don’t mind,” but seeing Liu Ziyue’s current demeanor, she held back.
How much she received in rewards really didn’t concern her; they were all extra. The Princess Mansion had enough wealth to squander, and any additional rewards were merely icing on the cake. For Chu Yu, having enough money to use and a comfortable life was sufficient; otherwise, what was the point of sitting on mountains of gold and silver?
However, it was clear that Liu Ziyue had other ideas. His complexion suddenly flushed with a vivid blood red, and in an instant, his eerily somber face became even paler, “As for the rest, hehe, a True Emperor emerges from Xiang… Sister, do you still remember our Imperial Uncle, Prince Xiangdong?”
Xiang refers to the region of Hunan, and the Prince Xiangdong of that area, named Liu Yu, was Liu Ziyue’s uncle, older than Liu Ziyue and fitting the term “old Emperor”. Coincidentally, Liu Yu’s name had the same pronunciation as the founding Emperor, Liu Yu, of the current dynasty.
Chu Yu took several deep breaths, then reached back to grasp Liu Ziyue’s hand, “I never knew before how tough it had been for Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will take good care of yourself. By the way, Your Majesty, let’s go back at once. Otherwise, in Your Majesty’s absence from the Palace, those villains might seize the chance to intrude.”
Liu Ziyue smiled faintly and said, “Sister, rest assured, I certainly won’t let these old fools succeed. I will show everyone who the True Emperor is!” At that moment, his expression was neither ferocious nor brutal, his tone even somewhat tender. Yet as Chu Yu gazed into his eyes, a chill spread from her heart to the palm of her hand, and she could hardly contain the trembling.
Those eyes seemed to flicker with a ghostly green glow, the gaze of a wild beast.
When they arrived at the Princess Mansion by evening, although it was still fairly light out, it had taken on a touch of dusk. Moxiang, wearing dark green clothing, stood anxiously at the entrance. Seeing her return, Moxiang hurried to greet her.
After giving due respects to Liu Ziyue, Moxiang turned to Chu Yu and sighed with relief, “Princess, you’ve finally come back. Something has happened!”
Seeing Moxiang’s anxious color, Chu Yu’s heart skipped a beat, and her mind suddenly flashed back to the news she had heard the day before: Rong Zhi was sick. Moxiang was so worried now; could it be that there was news from Jiankang?
Having already been through a shock earlier, Chu Yu was mentally and physically exhausted. At the thought of Rong Zhi being in trouble, it was as if the last bit of her strength was drawn out, her body swayed, and she nearly collapsed to the ground. Moxiang quickly reached out to support her, calling out anxiously twice before Chu Yu slowly regained her senses.
Chu Yu pressed her lips together firmly, bringing a slight flush of blood red to her pale lips. After some time, she turned her hand to grasp Moxiang’s wrist, her demeanor calm, “Tell me, what has happened to Rong Zhi?”
Moxiang was taken aback for a moment, then let out a somewhat exasperated laugh, “Princess, where did your thoughts wander off to? There’s nothing wrong in Jiankang. In fact, I received a message from the young master just today, asking whether you had arrived yet. What I meant was, something happened here in the Princess Mansion.”
Relieved to hear that Rong Zhi was alright, Chu Yu chastised herself for being so impatient, automatically attributing the trouble to Rong Zhi. Her thoughts briefly lingered there before moving on, and she quickly refocused on the present. “What happened here in the mansion?”
Moxiang couldn’t help but smile ruefully, clearly at a loss, “What else but the Kunlun slave you had brought back during the day…” She seemed about to say something else but then closed her mouth and added, “You better see for yourself.”
Following Moxiang, Chu Yu walked into the Princess Mansion and came upon a large area… of ruins.
Chu Yu stared blankly at the ruins, turned her head to Moxiang beside her, and asked, “What is this?” She remembered there used to be a string of houses here—how did it turn into this? Bricks, tiles, and stones were strewn all over the place, and the furniture inside had been reduced to broken boards.
Even if the houses were being renovated, there was no need for such complete demolition, right?
Moxiang sighed heavily, “This is the handiwork of your Kunlun slave!”