In the great hall, the expressions of the crowd varied. Liang Ye stood firmly on the high platform, and after a long while, he slowly raised his head and walked down the steps one by one.
The rest held their breath, their gazes focused on him.
He stopped a few feet away from Wang Dian. Cui Yuxian’s soldiers surrounded him with swords, but they were intimidated by his aura and were forced to retreat repeatedly.
“Zhen has been on the throne for over ten years, indeed mediocre and incompetent,” Liang Ye raised his head and looked at Cui Yuxian. “But if you force Zhen to abdicate with false charges, agreeing would truly be letting down Great Liang and its people!”
Cui Yuxian’s face changed, “You—”
“Zhen and Wang Dian consider each other kindred spirits, but you twisted it into favoring a male concubine. If Zhen truly had feelings for him, Zhen would certainly take him as empress through proper marriage!” Liang Ye smiled as he looked at Wang Dian.
Wang Dian was stunned for a moment, then glared at him warningly.
Saying such things in public, even as a hypothesis, would give people plenty of material to gossip about in the future, idiot.
Liang Ye suddenly raised his voice. “Imperial Grandmother, Zhen once considered our familial bond and endured your actions repeatedly. But not only did you not repent, you first allowed the Black Armored Guard to attempt assassination, and now you stage a coup to usurp power. Even if Zhen bears the crime of being unfilial, Zhen cannot stand by and watch you confuse the royal bloodline and ruin Great Liang’s century-old foundation!”
Cui Yuxian’s face darkened, “What do you mean?”
“Liang Xuan died of illness at the Cold Mountain Temple five years ago.” A cold voice suddenly came from the entrance of the hall.
Everyone looked towards the source and saw Cui Qi being pushed in on a wheelchair. Perhaps due to the cold, he coughed painfully twice. His pale, weak face was flushed unnaturally. Facing Cui Yuxian’s shocked gaze, he said. “The 16th prince and I were close friends. I witnessed his death from illness. Yet you didn’t spare even his young son, forcing him to drink that sinister White Jade Soup. Now you want me to impersonate the 16th prince…Cui Yuxian, even if you can deceive the world, you can’t deceive yourself!”
“Nonsense! You are clearly Liang Xuan!” A hint of panic finally appeared in Cui Yuxian’s eyes, but she quickly regained composure. “Liang Xuan, how dare you betray Aijia?! You’re the youngest son—”
“There’s no need to keep up this pretense anymore.” Cui Qi said calmly. “You murdered over ten royal heirs of the late emperor, harmed concubines, allowed the Cui brothers to abuse their power, seize good fields and royal estates, sell official positions, establish an inner court that corrupted the government, and recently masterminded the imperial examination fraud case. If not for His Majesty’s protection, how many innocent scholars would have died by your hand? Now you stage a coup. Cui, your evil deeds defy heaven’s law.”
“Nonsense!” Cui Yuxian shouted sharply. “Guards! Take him away for Aijia!”
As soon as she finished speaking, windows on all sides of the hall were broken open. Countless soldiers in heavy armor and armed with crossbows aimed at the Black Armored Guards in the hall.
A young general in red clothes and black armor strode into the hall with a long spear, announcing loudly. “Jiao Yan, son of Jiao Wenbo, leads the Iron Sixth Division of the Southern Army by imperial command to enter the palace and suppress the rebellion! No mercy for the rebels!”
His eyes were bright, but his whole body exuded a bloody and murderous aura. The soldiers surrounding the hall were also covered in blood, clearly having just fought a fierce battle. What was most alarming was that all the people had been killed, yet Cui Yuxian hadn’t received any news.
She looked at Cui Qi in disbelief, “It was you! You dared to intercept the messages!”
Cui Qi’s expression remained calm, “Empress’s skill at framing people is still so exquisite.”
Cui Yuxian glared at him hatefully, then turned to Liang Ye with anger, “Good! You actually conspired together to scheme against Aijia! Liang Ye, you’re quite capable indeed!”
Liang Ye sneered. “Cui, even now you refuse to admit your crimes?”
“Aijia has done no wrong! Aijia is the Grand Empress Dowager of Great Liang, the legitimate mother of the late emperor. Aijia has done so much for Great Liang—” She stumbled back a step, laughing deliriously. “When you ascended the throne, you were but an 8-year-old child. What did you understand? What could you do!? If not for Aijia holding things together, do you think Great Liang would be what it is today!? Liang Ye, you are truly ungrateful!”
“Back then, the late emperor had over ten heirs, and the Crown Prince was already able to inherit the throne. There were several princes below him. If not for your poisonous hands, how would His Majesty have been forced to ascend the throne at eight years old!” Wen Zong shouted angrily. “Cui, you’ve reached your end. Quickly confess your crimes!”
“Aijia has done no wrong!” Cui Yuxian looked around, suddenly snatching a long sword from a nearby Black Armored Guard and pressing it against Wang Dian’s neck. She sneered. “Good, Liang Ye. If you want Aijia dead, Aijia will take this traitorous official with her! Aijia has raised you for all these years, and it’s the first time seeing you care so much about someone else. You’re just like your father, a foolish romantic. Aijia wants to see how long you can live after Wang Dian dies!”
Wang Dian was already immobilized by shackles, with two swords at his neck. Now with another sharp blade added, he had to breathe carefully. He looked at Cui Yuxian rather absurdly.
Wait, after failing to seize power, wouldn’t it be more graceful and magnanimous to admit defeat at this point? Why take it out on an insignificant pawn like him?
Cui Yuxian wielded the sword carelessly. Wang Dian’s neck instantly felt cold, and blood appeared in an instant. Liang Ye narrowed his eyes and said coldly, “Cui, if you confess your crimes, Zhen can spare your life.”
Cui Yuxian laughed. “Aijia knows you hate her. You think Aijia killed your father and forced Bian Xin to her death. How naive! Ziyu, oh Ziyu, what was wrong with living in confusion all these years? As long as Aijia was here, your throne would be stable for a day. Yet you had to imitate your father and act clever. Just watch—watch how this Liang nation falls apart!”
“How Zhen acts is Zhen’s business.” Liang Ye looked at Wang Dian expressionlessly, the Liu Ye Sword in his sleeve silently falling into his palm.
Wang Dian caught sight of his subtle movement and frowned disapprovingly at him.
Cui Yuxian deserved to die, and could be killed, but it absolutely couldn’t be done by Liang Ye. Despite her heinous crimes, she was still nominally Liang Ye’s grandmother. If Cui Yuxian died by Liang Ye’s hand, the crime of killing a relative would be forever nailed to him, and the world’s condemnation would drown him.
He couldn’t kill her. Killing her would waste all their efforts.
Liang Ye’s jaw tightened as he stared intently at Wang Dian. Suddenly, he smiled and said, “Wang Daren is loyal to the country. If Grandmother kills him, Zhen will certainly give him a grand funeral.”
Even though Wang Dian knew he was speaking sarcastically, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes when he heard the words “grand funeral.”
Well played, Liang Ye, your words are truly honeyed.
Cui Yuxian uncertainly tightened her grip on the sword, belatedly realizing, “So this person is just a pawn you threw out. Aijia thought you two were so deeply bonded. He didn’t utter a word during torture. Had Aijia known, flogging wouldn’t have been used. Such a blindly loyal person should have been given harsher torture to open his eyes! This is the emperor he’s loyal to!”
Liang Ye glanced indifferently at Wang Dian and said impassively, “Take her down.”
Wang Dian’s neck suddenly felt cold, followed by the sound of his neck shackles breaking. The next moment, he was tightly embraced. The wounds on his body hurt from all angles, causing his face to contort in pain.
Cui Yuxian looked down at the long sword piercing her heart. She staggered back two steps, turning her head in disbelief to look at the person holding the sword.
Yang Man let go of the sword with trembling hands. His voice shaking and tears streaming down his face, he said, “Empress…Empress, may you rest in peace.”
Cui Yuxian gasped “huh huh” twice, the blood foam in her mouth making her speech unclear. Finally, she fell heavily to the ground, her eyes wide open in death.
The next moment, blood splattered throughout the great hall.
The morning sun slowly rose on the horizon. The early winter morning carried a cold, murderous chill. The sunlight shone through the dilapidated windows, casting a faint bloody hue on the dragon throne atop the platform.
The brutal killing in the great hall made Wang Dian feel somewhat nauseous. He turned his head and inconspicuously pushed Liang Ye.
Even though the court officials in the hall had just escaped death and were currently in a state of fear, their eyesight was still keen.
However, Liang Ye showed no intention of letting go. With a gloomy expression, he glared at Wang Dian, then lifted the blood-covered man into his arms and strode quickly towards the rear hall.
“Liang Ye!” Wang Dian wished he could just faint at this moment. He turned his head and gritted his teeth in a low voice. “Have you gone mad? Put me down quickly!”
In front of everyone, wasn’t this clearly telling others that they were involved?
Recalling how he had just earnestly claimed that he and Liang Ye were purely innocent, wouldn’t this be a slap in the face?
Liang Ye strode forward, “Li Bu!”
Li Bu picked up his medicine box and hurriedly followed.
It wasn’t until they turned into the rear hall that Wang Dian finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then he felt dizzy, belatedly remembering Liang Ye’s wounds. “Are you trying to kill yourself? Put me down!”
Liang Ye ignored him, walking to the bedside and placing him on the dragon bed. “Li Bu!”
“This old servant is here.” Li Bu ran up, saying nervously. “Your Majesty, your wounds shouldn’t be strained.”
“Look at him,” Liang Ye said with a dark face. “Zhen is fine.”
Most of Wang Dian’s body was covered in whip wounds, with large bruises on his stomach and chest, as if he had been kicked. The wound on his neck was still bleeding. He looked battered and barely alive.
Yet he seemed unaware of his condition, frowning as he said. “I won’t die. Saved you some funeral expenses.”
Liang Ye narrowed his eyes, about to speak when Yun Fu suddenly entered to report. “Your Majesty, Commander Jiao Yan is outside requesting an audience. Imperial Perceptor Wen and others also wish to see Your Majesty…”
“Go quickly, don’t delay important matters.” Wang Dian patted his arm and said to Li Bu. “Help him treat the hole in his chest first.”
Although Liang Ye was extremely reluctant, he had no choice but to hurriedly leave the rear hall.
Only then did Wang Dian truly breathe a sigh of relief, closing his eyes in a daze.
Li Bu carefully treated his wounds, comforting him, “Daren, although these whip wounds look frightening, they haven’t affected the bones. There won’t be any major issues.”
Wang Dian twitched his lips but didn’t speak.
The person whipping him had held back their strength. He almost instantly judged that the person was likely someone Liang Ye had planted – given Liang Ye’s meticulous nature, if he truly didn’t want him to die, he would have made thorough preparations even for a show.
It was just very irritating.
In his hazy state, he suddenly realized that Liang Ye was indeed a ruthless and calculating emperor. He could roughly guess most other things, but Cui Qi’s situation was something he never expected.
Cui Qi was Liang Xuan. Cui Yuxian had been raising him in the Cui family, deliberately releasing Liang Xuan to divert attention. The one she truly wanted to put on the throne was Cui Qi. But he had naively treated Cui Qi as a frustrated noble young master, even trying to win him over…Liang Ye was indeed patient, pretending to persuade Cui Qi with him, when in fact he had already secretly turned Cui Qi to his side, catching Cui Yuxian completely off guard–
This also perfectly explained why he let Quan Ning take away that child. Liang Ye wasn’t anxious at all, even deliberately not intervening to reassure him.
Liang Ye, hidden behind a veil of madness and eccentricity, skillfully manipulated everyone. He made moves that were half-true and half-false, real and unreal, swiftly and bloodily achieving a transfer of power at a speed Cui Yuxian couldn’t react to.
Putting himself in Liang Ye’s position, he realized he couldn’t have done it so quickly.
In places he didn’t know about, Liang Ye had likely set up even more traps.
With his body aching and his head throbbing, Wang Dian refused to think about these things anymore. From the moment Liang Ye first appeared before him, seemingly mad, he had subconsciously treated him as an unloved puppet emperor driven insane. Even after all the subsequent schemes and calculations, he couldn’t shake off this stereotypical impression.
Truly f*cking impressive.
Wang Dian didn’t know when he fell asleep. In his dreams, he was hazily analyzing when exactly Liang Ye had begun his intricate planning, and how he had manipulated him so skillfully. But with limited dream intelligence and an inexplicable irritation, he could only end up catching Liang Ye and beating him up to vent his frustrations.
He was awakened by someone kissing him.
Opening his eyes, the person he had just beaten up in his dream was smiling innocently at him. “Awake? Why not sleep a bit longer?”
“…” Wang Dian’s lips stung from the kiss. He numbly wiped his face.
Liang Ye gazed at him with deep eyes, “Cui Yuxian is dead.”
Wang Dian blinked slowly.
Liang Ye leaned down to kiss him, nuzzling against him intimately, “What Zhen said earlier in the great hall wasn’t false. You’ve achieved such great merit, Zhen should share this world with you.”
“Wang Dian, be Zhen’s empress.”
Wang Dian remained silent for a long time. Under Liang Ye’s increasingly probing gaze, he paled and coughed several times before slowly speaking,
“You’re f*cking sitting on my hand.”
