Chapter 53 concludes. A new dynasty begins.

If Jing Hui hadn't seen Lu Songyuan outside just now, she might have believed Xu Yanchen's words.

The most urgent task is to stabilize Emperor Jingwen's position.

Emperor Jingwen cared so much about the Empress Dowager that she became unrecognizable in his presence. He also loved Jing Hui even more. Jing Hui was already married, so Xu Yanchen's words to her were tantamount to humiliating her.

Not to mention being drugged and imprisoned here.

He was the emperor.

Xu Yanchen looked down at Jing Hui, then reached out and pinched her chin, making her turn her head to look at him.

Jing Hui looked at Xu Yanchen with clear eyes.

He said in an almost obstinate tone, "Let me go to my father's side, Xu Yanchen. According to you, Lu Songyuan is dead. If you force me, I will never back down."

Xu Yanchen looked at Jing Hui for a moment, smiled and said, "No, Ah Zhu, I like you so much, how could I force you?"

Jing Hui looked into Xu Yanchen's eyes and saw that he was indeed not lying. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she felt a heat on her neck. Her neck was being bitten where it connected to her shoulder.

"hiss--"

Jing Hui let out a muffled groan.

"Ah Zhu!"

Emperor Jingwen's eyes reddened as he lay on the bed.

Xu Yanchen used great force in that bite, as if he was determined to leave a mark on Jing Hui. Seeing the flesh slip away from his mouth, he even pressed Jing Hui down and bit her hard again.

Jing Hui frowned and endured the pain for a while until half of her body was in pain. Finally, she could no longer bear it and gritted her teeth, saying, "It hurts."

Xu Yanchen stopped moving and, before leaving Jing Hui's neck, licked the teeth marks he had left on Jing Hui's body.

Red streaks appeared in the teeth marks, as if blood was about to burst out. Xu Yanchen stared at that spot and said, "Beautiful, Azhu, you are truly beautiful."

The infatuation in his eyes sent a chill down Jing Hui's spine. She swallowed hard and said, "I want to go to my father's side."

Xu Yanchen nodded, put his hand on Jing Hui's waist and pushed her towards the dragon bed. He lowered his head and said to Jing Hui in a seductive tone, "Azhu, go ask the emperor where the imperial edict is."

Jing Hui suppressed his nausea and said, "Mm."

Xu Yanchen stopped three feet away from the dragon bed, stood straight with his hands behind his back, and looked at Jing Hui sitting on the edge of the dragon bed.

Jing Hui sat sideways on the bed, took Jing Wen Emperor's hand and patted it. Looking into Jing Wen Emperor's cloudy eyes, she comforted him, "Father, it's alright."

The father and daughter have always been of one mind, and their affection is unmatched by others. Therefore, when Jing Hui said those words, Emperor Jingwen, though unaware of what was happening outside, felt somewhat relieved.

"Ah Zhu, you've suffered so much."

Jing Hui shook his head. Seeing that Emperor Jingwen was looking at the Empress Dowager leaning on Xu Tengyuan's shoulder not far away, Jing Hui frowned. "Father, the Empress Dowager has been bewitched. She didn't mean to treat you like that."

Emperor Jingwen gave a wry smile, "Azhu, what you see before your eyes is not real. Too many things have happened in these three days..."

"Ah Zhu!"

Xu Yanchen took two leisurely steps forward, interrupting the conversation between the father and daughter, and said, "Ask your father where the imperial edict is."

He paused for a moment, then said, "As long as the will is changed, everything will be alright, Ah Zhu."

"Don't come any closer, I'll ask myself."

Jing Hui turned and glared at Xu Yanchen, saying, "I feel uncomfortable when you're too close."

Xu Yanchen was taken aback for a moment, then smiled wryly and said, "Fine, ask him yourself."

"Father, the imperial edict..."

“That’s right. I knew I wouldn’t live much longer, and I did write a will. But I only told the will to Azhu. You, your father, and the Empress Dowager, all of you, get out.”

Emperor Jingwen said to Xu Yanchen.

Xu Yanchen had no trust in Emperor Jingwen, after all, the emperor was now a prisoner. He glanced at Jing Hui and strode towards the two of them.

"Don't come any closer!"

As soon as Jing Hui finished speaking, a series of orderly footsteps came from outside the hall, and the sound of clashing weapons could be faintly heard.

"Yanchen, go take a look!"

Xu Tengyuan released the Empress Dowager and immediately stood up, slamming his hand on the table.

It must be him, it's Lu Songyuan!

Jing Hui was overjoyed. Just as she was about to comfort Emperor Jingwen, she heard a loud shout from behind and was then pushed aside by a tremendous force.

Jing Hui fell to the ground and turned around to see the most heartbreaking scene of her life.

A pair of swords were always kept under the dragon bed, a fact unknown to anyone except Jing Hui.

These twin swords are forged from black iron, can be disassembled in the middle, and have extremely sharp hilts at both ends.

Emperor Jingwen had somehow drawn two swords, which he then broke in two. He used all his strength to prop himself up and threw one sword at Xu Tengyuan by the window, and the other at Xu Yanchen beside Jing Hui.

The two swords were thrown out at the same time. Xu Tengyuan, who was by the window, noticed the sharp weapons and grabbed the Empress Dowager beside him to shield her. However, the swords were too long and the force of the swing was too great.

The knife pierced straight through the Empress Dowager's body, inserted itself into Xu Tengyuan's body behind her, and then the tip of the knife emerged, splattering blood all over the ground.

"Mother..."

Blood tears streamed down Emperor Jingwen's face. His eyes were bloodshot and almost bulging out. Before he could finish speaking, he felt a chill on his chest.

He looked down and saw the soft sword hidden in Xu Yanchen's sleeve.

Emperor Jingwen raised his head and looked at Xu Yanchen, only to see that Xu Yanchen had another knife stuck in his chest and was spitting out a mouthful of blood.

These things happened almost simultaneously. Jing Hui sat there, stunned, and two lines of tears fell down her cheeks.

"Father!"

When Lu Songyuan entered carrying his sword, he saw Jing Hui with disheveled hair and a sorrowful expression crawling toward the emperor.

"Ah Zhu!"

Lu Songyuan strode in and saw a person standing in the main hall. As he passed by, he stabbed the person without a second thought, then kicked the person away and walked to Jing Hui's side, hugging her waist.

"Are you alright?"

"Father, my father..."

Lu Songyuan then looked up. Even though he had been on the battlefield for many years and had seen all kinds of deaths, he was still shocked by Emperor Jingwen's appearance.

His hair was disheveled, and he was covered in blood, looking like a demon.

"Father!"

Jing Hui climbed onto the dragon bed, grabbed Emperor Jingwen's hand, helped him sit down, and called out, "Father, are you alright? Lu Songyuan, quickly go and summon the imperial physician, hurry!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Songyuan stood up, responded, and then turned to Lu Qingyue, saying, "Go quickly!"

"No need..."

Emperor Jingwen grasped Jing Hui's hand, sat upright beside the dragon bed, and said, "Lifespan is determined by Heaven. Your father's lifespan has come to an end, so there is no need to force it. Azhu, your father has a few things to tell you, so listen carefully."

Jing Hui's face was streaked with tears, and she gripped Emperor Jingwen's hand, her fingers trembling uncontrollably. "Father, please wait until the imperial physician arrives before you speak. I beg you..."

"Xu Tengyuan was torn apart by five horses and his nine clans were exterminated. His family members were barred from serving as officials for five generations. Xu Yanchen was executed by slow slicing, and his head was displayed at the execution ground for three hundred days. Consort Yue was given a white silk ribbon, and the second and third princes were demoted to slaves and exiled to Xiling, never to return to the capital."

Jing Hui nodded, her voice choked with emotion, "Okay! Your daughter will remember."

"Give the Empress Dowager a grand burial..." Emperor Jingwen closed his eyes, "but she cannot be buried with my father, so... she should be buried in the Consort's Mausoleum."

"Alright." Jing Hui wiped the blood from Emperor Jingwen's mouth with a handkerchief. "Father..."

Emperor Jingwen smiled, looked at Jing Hui, and tapped her hand a few times.

"Azhu, your father believes in you. You will do even better than your father on the throne. What the Great Jing needs is a wise and capable ruler, and your father believes you can do it."

"The imperial physician is almost here, Father, please hold on a little longer..."

Emperor Jingwen smiled at Jing Hui, his shoulders gradually slumped, and his eyes looked at Lu Songyuan.

"You have kept many things from me. I can see that you love Azhu and I believe you know what to do. When Azhu ascends the throne, I want you to protect her with your life. If anything happens to her, I and our ancestors will not let you off the hook in the afterlife."

Lu Songyuan glanced at Jing Hui, then bowed to Emperor Jingwen and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I will obey Your Majesty's decree."

“Ah Zhu”.

Emperor Jingwen held Jing Hui's hand, looked up at the beam of light by the window, and said, "I think I see your mother. She is smiling and waving at me."

"Father."

Jing Hui burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably, "I haven't been able to fulfill my filial duties yet, please, please stay!"

Emperor Jingwen seemed not to hear Jing Hui's words, and murmured, "I miss your mother."

"Father, no! Father... I beg you, Father, please hold on!"

The monarch's mountain-like body gradually softened, his proud head lowered, and he never raised it again.

In the winter of the twenty-eighth year of Jinghua, a wise and benevolent emperor passed away.

When Jing Hui walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, she was unusually calm. Following Emperor Jingwen's instructions, she systematically dealt with the rebels, appeased the court officials, and arranged Emperor Jingwen's funeral. By the time everything was settled, five days had passed.

Following Emperor Jingwen's instructions, she retrieved the emperor's edict from behind the Bagua diagram in the center of the Taiji Hall.

The imperial edict passed the throne to Jing Hui. The edict was written in winter, exactly five years ago.

It turns out that Emperor Jingwen had been doing this since so early on...

A single tear fell to the ground. Jing Hui stood in the Taiji Hall, holding the imperial edict. Light shone in through the window, illuminating her solitary and frail body and casting a long shadow.

Lu Songyuan looked at Jing Hui, blinked his dry eyes, walked up to Jing Hui, knelt down and called out, "Your Majesty."

Everyone inside and outside the Taiji Hall knelt down in unison, shouting, "Your Majesty, we pay our respects! Long live the Emperor!"

Jing Hui held the imperial edict, her eyes lowered, looking at the tall figure kneeling quietly beside her.

“Lu Songyuan…”

Since their parting at the hot spring resort, so much has happened in the meantime, and so many days have passed, yet Jing Hui hasn't had a proper look at Lu Songyuan or said a single word to him.

"His Majesty."

Lu Songyuan looked up at Jing Hui, took out the red jade pendant that Jing Hui had once held from his bosom, and presented it with both hands, saying, "This is the military power of hundreds of thousands of troops in the Northern Border."

After saying this, he pulled out the black hairpin he always wore and said, "This is the Takan of the Camel Wind, which can command 30,000 foreign soldiers. Today, I present it all to Your Majesty."

So that's how important it is.

Jing Hui reached out, but instead of taking it, she grabbed Lu Songyuan's wrist and tugged at it.

Lu Songyuan seemed to be genuinely moved by her, obediently standing up, looking down at Jing Hui's red eyes, sighing, and pulling her into his arms, holding her tightly.

Surrounded by the familiar scent, Jing Hui could no longer resist. She grabbed Lu Songyuan's collar and buried her face in his neck.

Upon seeing this, Lu Qingyue and Lu Zhouxue stood up and closed the door of the Taiji Hall for the two of them.

As soon as the door closed, Jing Hui grabbed Lu Songyuan's collar and burst into tears.

"ah--"

Like the mournful cry of a phoenix, each sound a lament of blood.

Lu Songyuan's eyes welled up with tears, and he hugged Jing Hui tightly, giving her his strongest support.

After Jing Hui finished crying, Lu Songyuan patted her back, put his lips to her ear, and whispered something.

“In the future, my Ah Zhu will be the emperor of the world, the ruler of the world, and I will be the mistress of your harem. I will serve you day and night, grow old with you, and accompany you for a lifetime. Wherever you go, I will go. Whenever you need me, I will be there. I will never let you stand alone on that high place.”

Lu Songyuan asked softly, in a tone used to coax a child, "Is that alright?"

Jing Hui was already sobbing uncontrollably; the emotions that had been building up for days completely collapsed at this moment.

"Okay, let's stay together for life and never be apart."

-

The fall of the old dynasty is the beginning of the new one.

Having been tempered by life and death, one's emotions will be like a sword that has been tempered a thousand times for success, forever strong and forever moving forward.

Overcoming all obstacles, we are invincible.

-

over.

-----------------------

Author's Note: This book has come to an end. Thank you all for following along, and I apologize to everyone.

This book deviates significantly from the original outline. I apologize that I lacked a sense of flow while writing it, and despite numerous revisions in the early stages, it didn't provide a good reading experience for everyone. I am truly sorry.

Perhaps because I don't have any drafts saved up, I'm reluctant to write the ending, but it seems there's no good way to leave it unfinished. I really don't have the energy to revise it anymore.

I will definitely start writing my next book once I have a stockpile of chapters. Thank you all for following along!

Please add my pre-order novel "Eldest Sister-in-Law as Wife" to your favorites. It will most likely be released after the New Year!

(I've already prepared a draft!)