Chapter 116 I Feel Lonely

Xiao Yan's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Empress Dowager Zhou like a madman, roaring like a wounded beast: "Mother! Tell me! Is this true?! You...you actually—!"

Su Yuan's wife, Madam Li, was now furious. She suddenly broke free from the guards and rushed forward like a mad woman, slapping Empress Dowager Zhou with all her might. Then she turned around and slapped Su Yuan twice more!

"You shameless couple! You two deserve to be hacked into pieces! You should have been damned to the eighteenth level of Hell!" Li's voice was shrill, every word tearful. "Su Yuan! I thought you were so possessed by the devil that you had to commit such a heinous crime! Turns out it was all because of this old bitch! To let her bastard ascend the throne, you're willing to gamble with my children and the lives of my entire family! Is that right?! Would you be satisfied if we were all wiped out?! Would you be worthy of your 'love of your life'?!"

Su Yuan looked at his wife's distorted and painful face, and a trace of deep guilt finally flashed in his eyes. He said in a hoarse voice: "The winner is the king and the loser... Political games are a gamble. Now... whatever I say is wrong. After all... I'm sorry for you..."

Upon hearing this, Li seemed to have lost all her soul. She suddenly burst into a crazy laugh that was even more unpleasant than crying, and her laughter was filled with tears of despair.

The next second, under everyone's horrified gaze, she turned around abruptly, and with her last bit of determination, she slammed herself hard into the cold, hard stone wall beside her!

"Bang--!"

There was a muffled sound and blood splattered!

Li died on the spot, her blood dyed the mottled walls red, and completely froze all sounds in the prison.

Su Mingli let out a shrill scream and rushed forward: "Mother——!"

Su Mingrun, who was standing by, also woke up as if from a dream. She rushed forward, tumbling and crawling, hugging the gradually cooling body, her voice broken: "Mother... Mother! What's wrong with you?! It's the Su family that's wrong! It's those wolfish ambitions! But the one who deserves to die the most... How could it be you... Mother!"

The extreme grief instantly overwhelmed Su Mingli's sanity. She suddenly pulled out the sword from the waist of a guard beside her. With a flash of cold light, she stabbed it into the heart of the Empress Dowager Zhou who was lying limp on the ground at a speed that no one could react to!

The sharp sword pierced through her body and was then pulled out suddenly, bringing out hot blood and splashing all over her body and face.

"You deserve to die! You deserve to die the most!" Su Mingli, like a madman, clutching the blood-drenched sword, his voice trembling with extreme hatred. "Our entire Su family has been loyal to you, working for you, but you shouldn't have! You shouldn't have done such a shameful thing with my father! You are the Queen Mother! The mother of the country who once ruled the country like a mother to the world! How could you be so shameless as to drag our Su family into this abyss of no return!!"

Xiao Jin stood quietly aside, watching this human tragedy coldly, his pupils calm, as if he was watching a play that had nothing to do with him.

Only Xiao Yan let out a heart-wrenching wail, threw himself forward and tried to cover Empress Dowager Zhou's wound that was constantly bleeding. He looked up at Xiao Jin and begged hoarsely, "Mother! No! Your Majesty! Brother! Please! Call the imperial physician! Call the imperial physician!!"

Xiao Jin's gaze shifted slightly, landing on Empress Dowager Zhou's rapidly draining face. He opened his thin lips slightly, and spoke in a chillingly calm voice, "Zhang Fuan, summon the Imperial Physician."

His face was pale, as if he could see through the blood in front of him into the distant past. He murmured, "I seem to... see the scene of my mother falling to the ground and dying... When Zhou ordered my mother to be killed, there was also so much blood... dyeing the entire palace red..."

Queen Mother Zhou's mouth was brimming with blood, her eyes unfocused, yet she still managed to hold onto her last bit of malice. She stared at Xiao Jin intently, cursing intermittently, "Damn you... You all... deserve to die! If it weren't for my son... If it weren't for someone who had a soft heart and saved you... Xiao Jin... you should have... gone down to accompany your lowly mother!"

Elsewhere, Su Yuan knelt in despair, watching the two most important women in his life perish one after another. He felt as if his soul had been drained away, reduced to a hollow puppet. He stared blankly at the gradually stiffening corpse of Empress Dowager Zhou, then at his maddened daughter. Suddenly, with a grim laugh, he snatched up the blood-stained sword from the ground and, without hesitation, brought it across his own neck!

"Father! Don't--!" Su Mingrun's exclamation stopped abruptly.

Warm blood gushed out again. Su Yuan's body collapsed heavily, right next to the woman he had admired and used his entire life, ending this absurd and tragic life.

Empress Dowager Zhou's dazed eyes caught sight of Su Yuan's suicide, and the last shred of hope seemed to fade with it. She struggled to raise a trembling hand and stroked her son's tear-stained face. Her breath was shaky, filled with endless regret and resentment: "Ayan... Mother... I'm sorry... I couldn't... I couldn't let you take that position... You haven't... haven't gotten married yet... You don't even have a legitimate son... It's all Mother's fault... If... If Mother had only wanted you to be a safe and happy prince... perhaps... perhaps you and I... wouldn't have ended up like this..."

Xiao Yan burst into tears, tightly grasping his mother's cold hand. "Mother! Please stop talking... I know everything... What's wrong with you loving someone?! Father... Has he ever truly loved you?! You've been a widow your entire life, and have suffered grievances for half your life... Seeking a little comfort... What's wrong with that?!"

This twisted and tragic scene finally filled Xiao Jin with a suffocating feeling of disgust. He turned abruptly, not even glancing at the bloody and messy cage behind him, and strode out.

Even if Zhou deserved to die, at least when she died, her own son was by her side, grieving and bidding her farewell.

But when his mother died tragically, he was still a helpless child! Today, it's time for these people to have a taste of that unforgettable despair and pain!

Before he even left the gloomy corridor of the Dali Temple, he heard a desperate roar from the cell behind him: "The Queen Mother... The Queen Mother has passed away——!"

Xiao Jin paused, then began coughing violently, as if he was about to cough out his heart and lungs. Wang Gui hurriedly handed him a clean handkerchief, and Xiao Jin took it and covered his lips. It took a while for him to recover, and the snow-white handkerchief was suddenly stained with a glaring red.

He quietly clenched the handkerchief in his palm, his throat hoarse, his voice low but unmistakable: "Decree... Zhou... a state funeral according to the standards of the Empress Dowager. All matters shall be handled by the Ministry of Rites. Festivals shall continue as usual. There is no need to abandon the rites due to the funeral."

"Yes." Wang Gui bowed in response.

"As for the dead inside," Xiao Jin's voice suddenly turned icy cold, "drag them out and throw them into a mass grave. King Qin, Xiao Yan, will be beheaded as scheduled! The rest of the Su clan's accomplices who participated in the rebellion will all be executed, leaving no one behind! Anyone who dares to plead for mercy will be punished with the same crime!"

The order was given to Senhan in a decisive manner, leaving no room for maneuver.

At this moment, the emperor's heart was as hard as stone, and no one dared to raise any doubts.

Xiao Jin returned to the empty, cold Yanying Hall. The image of Yun Zhao handling official business here, arguing with him, or silently accompanying him seemed still vivid in his mind. His eyes fell on the chair she often sat in, with the cushion she often used to kneel next to it.

He walked over slowly, leaned over and hugged the cushion tightly in his arms, as if the faint fragrance and warmth of her body still lingered on it.

The emperor buried his face deeply in the soft fabric, his shoulders trembling slightly, and the corners of his eyes finally became moist uncontrollably.

In the empty hall, his low, lonely murmur echoed, filled with endless fatigue and longing: "A Zhao... without you by my side... I feel... so lonely..."