On the execution ground, a row of people knelt, with an executioner holding a butcher's knife standing behind each of them.

There are an unusually large number of people to be beheaded today, and a large number of people have come to watch the spectacle.

Ye Jingchen only glanced at the execution platform at first, then entered a state of detachment, remaining silent, deaf, blind, and apathetic...

He didn't speak because he was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would taste the blood in his mouth. If he could, he didn't want to breathe. He didn't want to see people's heads being chopped off, blood splattering everywhere, or the scene of people dying with their eyes wide open. He didn't want to hear people's cries and wails before they died.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he felt Xie Chang'an pat his shoulder, and only then did he realize that the crowd of onlookers was dispersing.

Is this all? Is this all you've done cutting? Have you finished watching?

He quickly followed the flow of people out.

"Is this all you can handle? What will you do when you go to the battlefield?" Xie Chang'an's disdainful voice rang out beside him.

Ye Jingchen ignored him.

The main reason was that he was too close to the execution ground, and he was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would taste the blood in the air.

After walking with the crowd for quite a while, the smell of blood that Ye Jingchen could smell was very faint, and only then did he feel that he had come back to life.

"With your Zhenguo Duke's Mansion here, why would I need to go to the battlefield?" He then answered Xie Chang'an's question in a calm and unhurried manner.

He has no talent to be a good general. If he had any talent at all, he wouldn't have spent so much effort on Xie Chang'an.

The most valuable quality in a person is self-awareness.

He's just a lazy bum, with a little bit of cleverness, but that's about it.

He couldn't do either governing a country or fighting on the battlefield.

All he knows how to do is provoke the kids and get them to do things for him.

"How can a ruler place all his hopes on others?" Xie Chang'an said disapprovingly.

Wouldn't that leave me vulnerable to being hindered by others?

Xie Chang'an thought of this, and then belatedly realized that he was the one on whom hope was placed.

However, Ye Jingchen seems to be mentally unstable and doesn't seem to care at all about being restrained by him.

"Why did you insist on dragging me here to witness the execution? I feel like I smell of blood on me!" Ye Jingchen didn't answer his question, but simply raised his sleeve to sniff it, then disgustedly shook it off.

Although he only spent fifteen minutes at the execution ground, he felt as if he was being marinated in the smell of blood.

"Seeing more scenes like this will help you stay calm when you encounter problems in the future," Xie Chang'an said irritably.

He meant well, but the person didn't appreciate it.

"Look at you, you're not even as good as an ordinary citizen!" he mocked again.

Ordinary people would watch intently as someone was beheaded, and even cheer afterward.

"It seems there have been quite a few beheadings lately!" Ye Jingchen remarked.

You can't remain so calm unless you watch it often.

"The more you kill, the more empty the space becomes, and the more room there is for maneuver," Xie Chang'an said.

Fortunately, he was a reborn person who had been an emperor in his previous life. He knew the abilities and character of his ministers. Otherwise, where would he have found so many virtuous ministers to fill the vacancies in such a short time?

"How did you deal with the powerful families before?" Ye Jingchen asked with some curiosity.

He observed that Xie Chang'an was adept at using people, but seemed less capable when dealing with powerful families.

His conspiracies with Xie Chang'an were mostly aimed at powerful families.

But given Xie Chang'an's personality, if he became emperor, he would certainly not tolerate the powerful families causing trouble for him.

“I didn’t deal with it,” Xie Chang’an said.

"Huh—that can't be right? Would a powerful family be so obedient? Would they not cause trouble?" Ye Jingchen asked suspiciously.

There's a vivid yet disgusting analogy: powerful families are like troublemakers; no matter who controls the world, they'll always stir things up!

Xie Chang'an thought to himself, how could he not cause trouble?

However, despite their arrogance, the aristocratic family was unlucky and encountered a madman!

When the little madman goes crazy, he does whatever he wants, without caring about anything else!

"They didn't even have a chance to cause trouble; they were all wiped out!" Xie Chang'an said with a smile.

"Who is so powerful that they could wipe out all the powerful families? Tell me more!" Ye Jingchen asked excitedly.

"Your little madman. He'll be living in a sweet paradise this life, so he probably won't be as crazy as he was in his last, but who knows—"

At this point, Xie Chang'an suddenly thought of something, "Why don't you kick the little madman out again? Maybe it will be like in the previous life, where the noble families will run into his hands and be wiped out by him when he goes mad. That would be the end of it, and we wouldn't have to be here carefully plotting!"

The more Xie Chang'an thought about it, the more feasible the idea seemed.

Given the little madman's obsession with Ye Jingchen, he would definitely go insane if he were abandoned. At that time, with just a little guidance, he could be made to confront the aristocratic families, and then, just like in his previous life, use the family genealogy to kill them one by one.

"Don't say anything more," Ye Jingchen said softly.

He knew that Ye Jinghe had suffered a lot in the world without him, and he guessed that Ye Jinghe might go mad from the poison of the Enchanting Flower. But his guess was one thing, and it was another thing when Xie Chang'an said it to him.

After so many years of getting along, he truly loved Ye Jinghe like a younger brother. He would feel sorry for him even if he bumped into something, so how could he just stand by and watch him go crazy?

“He’s grown up now. He can’t stay in the East Palace forever. He’ll have to leave the palace eventually. Since he’ll have to leave sooner or later, he’ll go crazy sooner or later. It’s better to let him go crazy in a more worthwhile way.”

"Just send him to the Imperial Guard. There are 200,000 men at his disposal. What kind of powerful families can't be wiped out?" Xie Chang'an whispered in Ye Jingchen's ear.

As Xie Chang'an's words became increasingly outrageous, Ye Jingchen fell behind him and began to play with the white jade lotus pendant at his waist.

"Xie Chang'an," Ye Jingchen called out to him.

Xie Chang'an turned around upon hearing the sound.

With a soft 'click', the lotus flower bloomed.

Xie Chang'an raised his hand and caught a thin needle between his fingertips.

He looked at Ye Jingchen coldly.

Ye Jingchen stepped forward, took the thin needle from his hand, and put it back into the stamen of the white jade lotus.

"Jinghe is my beloved younger brother. Please don't make jokes like that again," Ye Jingchen said, his head bowed, his voice calm.

"I'm not joking, isn't this the quickest way?" Xie Chang'an sneered.

Although he already knew that the white jade lotus hanging on Ye Jingchen's waist was a hidden weapon, and had witnessed the power of such weapons, Ye Jingchen had given him enough time to react from handling the hidden weapon to launching it. He was certain he could catch it! Even if he couldn't catch it, the hidden weapon wasn't aimed at a fatal spot, and the poison on it could be neutralized. Although he knew all this, he was still very angry.

Ye Jinghe is now nothing more than a pitiful little man who has to rely on Ye Jingchen to survive. He is of no help to Ye Jingchen. Ye Jingchen is so good to him, why can't he repay him in some way?

He was merely suggesting a feasible method; why would Ye Jingchen need to point a hidden weapon at him?

What a heartless bastard!