"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"

"I know you don't believe me, but it doesn't matter anymore. I'm waiting for you here just to tell you that I know what you're going to do and what you're about to do. So I've been waiting for you here, waiting for you to come and see me one last time before you rebel."

Yan Shaoheng looked up incredulously and stared directly into his eyes.

Yan Shaoheng still couldn't believe it. "How did you know?"

The Emperor of Yan handed a memorial to Yan Shaoheng. As Yan Shaoheng read the memorial, his blood seemed to freeze instantly.

It turns out that there was a traitor in the army he had built, and it was one of the veterans, one of Cheng Ying's mentors.

He reported everything he knew to the Empress in detail, so she didn't know when his every move began, perhaps when the army was first established, or perhaps when he was just starting to plan...

Yan Shaoheng collapsed to the ground instantly. All his efforts had been in vain.

"How do you want to punish me? Tear me apart with five horses? Or wipe out my entire family? Oh wait, you're part of my entire family too, hahahaha."

"Shut up! You brainless idiot, do you think I always say these things to you for no reason? No! You're just too stupid. You've been schemed against all along without realizing it, and you're even gloating over it."

When these words came from the mouth of the Yan Emperor, Yan Shaoheng's ears rang, his mind went blank, and for a moment it seemed as if he could not hear any sound at all.

"No matter what your mother is like, you are still my child, but this country is no longer the country of the Yan family."

"What do you mean? What do you mean by 'it is no longer the Yan family's empire'? Father, what do you mean by that?"

Yan Shaoheng's breath hitched, he clenched his fists tightly, looked up at the Emperor Yan, and a look of displeasure flashed across his face.

"Actually, you can see it too, not just you, but all the officials in the court can see it, now the Yan Kingdom is half Yan and half Liu."

"Father's health is not as good as before. It was only recently that I discovered that the Empress and Eunuch Chen had drugged me. Normally, nothing would be detected, but my body would become weaker and weaker. Now I fear that my days are numbered."

"No, no, I will go and call the imperial physician for you. He will surely have a way."

At this moment, Yan Shaoheng had already come to believe in his father. Looking back now, even though his father had been incredibly unfair to him, he was still alive and well by the Empress's side.

"No need, it's useless. I can no longer tell which important minister in the court doesn't have the surname Liu."

"Then I will go to the countryside to find a doctor for you. I will go now."

Emperor Yan grabbed Yan Shaoheng and said, “Don’t worry, Heng’er, I’m fine for the time being. It’s just that my health isn’t what it used to be.”

"real?"

The Emperor of Yan nodded. "Really."

"The court is no longer what it used to be. Although you have many talented people under your command, who is truly loyal to you? Even if they are, it would be a drop in the ocean to deal with the Empress."

"Could it be that the Empress truly holds absolute power?"

"You could say that. This memorial was sent to me by her. She gave me two choices: kill you or depose you and declare Yan Chuan City the new emperor."

Besides Yan Chuan City and Yan Shaoheng, the Yan Kingdom also had two princes, but because they were young, the Empress never regarded them as thorns in her side.

But if Yan Shaoheng dies, there are still two other princes. According to past experience, the Empress expects that Emperor Yan will definitely make her son the new emperor in order to save Yan Shaoheng's life.

"So how did Father make the choice?"

"I'm sorry, Heng'er, your father is powerless to help, but I really have no other choice but to save your life."

Hearing that his father had chosen to spare his life, he felt a sense of relief, but he also knew he had to pay a price for it.

"So, how does the Empress intend to depose me?"

“If your leg is broken, no dynasty would choose a paralyzed person as emperor.”

"I would like to ask you one last question: all these years, have you treated me this way simply to save my life?"

Emperor Yan was immediately filled with tears, his eyes filled with helplessness. As a father, he was unable to protect his child, which was more painful than death.

"Your Majesty, I understand. Please proceed."

Yan Shaoheng knew that if the Empress were to take action, the pain would be a hundred times, a thousand times, or even ten thousand times greater. Whether he would survive was another matter entirely, and even if he did survive, he would probably be inhuman.

The Emperor of Yan held a dagger to Yan Shaoheng's leg, saying, "I'm sorry, Heng'er." He then made two sharp cuts.

"ah!"

Yan Shaoheng was in so much pain that his whole body was covered in sweat, and his clothes were soaked. At this moment, all the tendons in his legs had been severed.

"Heng'er, remember, you must protect yourself. When you have enough strength to fight against them one day, you can take back the kingdom of Yan."

Whether Yan Shaoheng heard it or not, he collapsed into a pool of blood in an instant.

"Help! Help!"

Hearing the commotion, the Empress pushed open the door and entered. Seeing Yan Shaoheng lying on the ground, a satisfied smile appeared on her lips.

Are you satisfied?

The Empress gave the imperial physician a wink, and the physician immediately understood. He stepped forward to take Yan Shaoheng's pulse and examined his legs, which had been severed by the tendons.

"Your Majesty, the tendons in both legs have indeed been severed, and he will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I am very satisfied. However, has Your Majesty forgotten that there is one more thing?"

The Emperor threw the imperial edict, which he had already written, to the Empress. It clearly stated that Yan Chuan City was to be recognized as the new Emperor of the Yan Kingdom.

The Empress immediately smiled with satisfaction, "Imperial Physician, take good care of the Second Prince, and don't let him die."

"It is Her Majesty the Empress."

"Now that you have obtained what you wanted, I need to establish Yan Shaoheng as the Prince of Heng, and have him reside in the Prince of Heng's residence. He may not enter the palace without being summoned."

This means that from this day forward, Yan Shaoheng will be a carefree prince.

"He's just a prince. If the emperor wants to issue an edict, let him issue one. Consider it the last imperial edict before he becomes the retired emperor."

Because of the Empress's decree, Yan Shaoheng received excellent care at the Prince Heng's residence, but it took him several months to wake up.

In the past few months, news of Yan Shaoheng's injury, which was caused by his assistance to the new emperor Yan Chuancheng, has spread throughout the four kingdoms.

Unable to contact Yan Shaoheng, Chen Jingshu, far away in Yue Kingdom, felt like an ant on a hot pan, unable to do anything for him, not even be able to glance at him.

When Yan Shaoheng woke up, he looked at his legs and remembered what his father had said to him that day: he would definitely avenge this!