He endured this torment until the fourth day. Emperor Cheng'an had finished drinking the foul water in the teapot. His eyes were wide open, and he felt his strength draining away bit by bit, and death drawing ever closer.

He tried his best to open his lips, wanting to call for help, but he was too weak to even make a sound; his lips could only open and close silently.

A deep despair and pain were revealed in those cloudy eyes—he didn't want to die.

He had enjoyed a life of wealth and honor, reaching the highest position in the imperial court, and he did not want to die such a wretched and unknown death in some obscure corner.

But the more he didn't want to die, the closer the shadow of death drew to him. Emperor Cheng'an's parched throat emitted a "hoarse" sound, like a broken bellows.

Just as he was despairing and waiting to die, the tightly closed door was suddenly pushed open, and bright light shone through the open door, falling on Emperor Cheng'an's face, which made him shed tears.

Xue Shen walked to his side, looked down at the weak and disheveled Emperor Cheng'an, picked up a pot of water from the tray in the hands of a palace maid, and slowly poured it on his face.

As the water dripped down, Emperor Cheng'an, who had been thirsty for several days, could no longer care about the humiliation he had suffered. He desperately opened his mouth wide to catch the tea falling from the kettle, his face showing a terrifying expression like an animal fighting for food.

But just then, Xue Shen finished his meal and put the teapot back.

Before Emperor Cheng'an could fully relieve the burning thirst in his throat, the rain that had fallen from the sky stopped. His eyes widened, and he desperately tried to move his body to grab the teapot from the palace maid's hand, his voice hoarse as he said, "Water, give me some, give me water."

The palace maid was terrified and hastily retreated, causing the teapot to fall to the ground and shatter. Emperor Cheng'an, however, went berserk, kneeling on the ground and licking the water droplets with his tongue.

The palace maid was so frightened that her face turned pale. Only when Xue Shen ordered her to leave did she stagger away.

Xue Shen stood to the side, looking down at his former enemy as he licked the ground like a dog. He felt no pleasure, but waited for the right moment to speak: "Prime Minister Xie has investigated everything. The evidence against you for murdering your brother and sister-in-law and plotting to usurp the throne is irrefutable."

Emperor Cheng'an ignored him, focusing solely on kneeling on the ground, carefully licking the remaining water droplets from the broken porcelain shards with his tongue.

"These are the charges against you. Do you plead guilty?"

Xue Shen placed a list of charges before Emperor Cheng'an, who then stopped what he was doing, raised his bloodshot eyes to look at him, and said in a hoarse voice, "I don't admit it. I am the emperor. Who dares to force me to confess?"

Xue Shen pursed his lips, not angry at his stubbornness, and said slowly, "You can refuse to plead guilty, but you'll probably have to live like this for a long time until you're exhausted and die."

Xue Shen casually tossed the charge sheet in front of him, then turned to leave without saying a word.

Emperor Cheng'an stared blankly at the list of crimes that had fallen before him. The list was soaked by water on the ground, and the ink had blurred into a mess, but Emperor Cheng'an could still make out the list of crimes.

He closed his eyes, unable to bear it any longer, and felt a burning thirst in his throat.

The little bit of water that Xue Shen gave him not only failed to relieve his thirst, but instead made the thirst even more unbearable.

Just thinking about the torment and pain he would have to endure in the days to come, he suddenly felt that what Xue Shen asked him to do was nothing. As long as he could get a quick death, he would do anything.

Emperor Cheng'an scrambled after Xue Shen and grabbed his legs, raising his head like a dog and pleading breathlessly, "I confess, I confess, I'll confess to anything you want, just please give me water and food."

His eyes no longer held the shame of being human, but only the most primal desire for survival of an animal.

Xue Shen glanced at him coldly and said to the guard, "Give him water and food."

8

Emperor Cheng'an changed into clean clothes and was led by a young eunuch to the Hall of State Affairs.

These days, Xue Shen has long been in control of the court. Although he has not yet ascended the throne, the attitude of the court officials towards him is no different from that of the emperor.

The sudden appearance of the listless Emperor Cheng'an in the court made everyone feel uneasy.

Especially Emperor Cheng'an's eyes; when he looked at people, they always seemed ghostly, as if he weren't a living person.

“I have murdered the late Emperor and Empress, and I know that my crime is unforgivable and I have no face to face my ancestors. In order to atone for my sins, I will apologize to my elder brother and sister-in-law and my ancestors in front of the Imperial Ancestral Temple tomorrow. All the ministers and common people are welcome to come and witness this.”

These words caused an uproar throughout the court.

The court officials did not believe that Emperor Cheng'an would voluntarily make such a move, and all turned their gazes to Xue Shen standing beside him.

Xue Shen remained calm and ordered his men to take Emperor Cheng'an away: "Xue Jia has committed numerous crimes and deserves to die. However, since he has shown remorse, he should be allowed to apologize before our ancestors."

His tone left no room for argument. These days, the court officials had already witnessed his iron-fisted methods and knew that his mind was not easily swayed. In addition, what Emperor Cheng'an had done was indeed a matter of divine wrath, popular resentment, and universal condemnation. For a time, no one dared to say anything more and they all tacitly remained silent.

They tacitly approved of Xue Shen's actions.

*

The next day, Emperor Cheng'an indeed removed his crown, went barefoot, and walked with disheveled hair from the palace to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Countless ordinary people rushed to watch the event, along with many officials and their families, all witnessing this unprecedented "apology."

Emperor Cheng'an seemed to have lost his soul. Under the "escort" of four imperial guards, he walked step by step with great difficulty to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

His body was already at its limit, and when he finally arrived at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, his legs gave way and he knelt down.

The people behind them, seeing this, began to murmur amongst themselves.

With a numb expression, he read out the words of apology sentence by sentence as Xue Shen asked.

"...I know my crimes are unforgivable, so today I will take my own life before my ancestors. After my death, I will return the throne to the late emperor's son, and my body will not be buried in the imperial mausoleum. I only ask to atone for my sins..."

The crowd erupted in even louder uproar upon hearing this. Xue Shen then stepped onto the platform, threw a long sword in front of him, and said in a deep voice, "This is my father's sword."

Emperor Cheng'an picked up the sword with trembling hands. He recognized the sword; it was the same sword his elder brother had used when he taught him to practice swordsmanship.

Many memories that Emperor Cheng'an thought he had long forgotten resurfaced. His hands trembled as he gripped the sword hilt, tears streaming down his face. In a hoarse voice, he said, "I was wrong, I was wrong!"

After saying this, he turned around and plunged the longsword into his chest, committing suicide.