Chapter 295 Li Mu's Side Story: The World as a Chess Piece (Part 4)

After Li Jin followed General Xiao to the battlefield, Li Mu personally visited the Cen family.

Grand Secretary Cen has a son and a daughter, but it has never been heard that either of his children is skilled in chess.

Li Mu knew that similar chess moves indicated similar thought patterns.

If he could find a worthy opponent, perhaps the most crucial element of his grand plan, which he had been keeping hidden deep in his heart, would be easily resolved.

However, the eldest daughter of the Cen family was not as he had hoped; her chess style was almost completely different, which surprised Li Mu.

"If Your Highness is looking for the person who played chess with the Third Prince that day..." Seeing that he hadn't come for her, Miss Cen nodded and said, "The person who played chess with him that day was my younger brother."

She rarely leaves her house and lives the life of Cen Zhen, who only exists in rumors. With her messy hair, she played a game of chess with Li Mu in a daze.

Before either side had made fifteen moves, they both looked up in surprise and exchanged a glance.

An infinitely similar chess move, an infinitely similar strategic ability.

In one game of chess, Li Mu's true strength was fully revealed, and in that same game, Cen Zhen's eyes widened in astonishment.

“You’re much better than that guy from a few days ago.” He brushed his messy hair aside, looking at the chessboard in front of him. “You didn’t come to see me just to play chess, did you?”

Looking at the young man in front of him, who was about the same age as Li Jin.

Li Mu smiled faintly and shook his head: "No, it's just playing chess."

He found the person he was looking for.

Since fate cannot be avoided, let's gamble with all our might.

Li Mu, who remained "mediocre" throughout, watched from afar as Li Jing's power grew stronger day by day, and as always, he would come to play chess with Cen Zhen.

He received Li Jin's good news day after day, year after year.

He gradually transformed from a gentle and refined young man into a dashing and elegant gentleman.

He "accidentally" introduced the Song family, who were in charge of the royal family's business operations, to Cen Zhen.

I thought everything was going smoothly, except for one wrong move.

“I know Your Highness has plans in mind…” At the tender age of twenty, Cen Shishi, who had rejected all marriage proposals and was waiting for Li Mu, guessed his thoughts from his repeated avoidance.

“No one is more suitable than me.” She laughed, standing under the moonlight gazing at Li Mu’s pale face.

He knew, of course, that no one was more suitable than her.

“No.” Li Mu shook his head. “Anyone can be the Crown Princess, but you are not.”

He glared at her, using all his strength to speak in a cold, indifferent voice, making himself seem utterly despicable.

But Cen Shishi didn't care. She took two steps forward and still looked at him: "You have to give my brother a reason for leaving that chess house."

Li Mu paused.

"And I, as the older sister, am the best reason."

It was only then that Li Mu understood why he had been so harshly criticized when he told Li Yi about his grand plan ten years ago.

The cost was far beyond his control.

He suddenly became afraid.

He was the only one who went to his death, and he always felt that it was for the greater good, that he died gloriously, proudly, and without fear.

But looking at the woman he cherished most, seeing her now looking exactly like he had back then, Li Mu felt a surge of anger. He gritted his teeth and berated her: "Your body and hair are given to you by your parents! Don't even think about such a thing!"

It's ridiculous that what I said was exactly the same words that Li Yi shouted ten years ago.

He suddenly regretted it.

It turns out that seeing someone important to you and then jumping into a deadly pit is such a heart-wrenching feeling.

The impact was so great that it could shatter a person's will; it was a force capable of utterly destroying them at the level of their soul.

What if Li Jing were ruthless and put him to death, and his death was such a blow that Li Jin couldn't get through it?

But all of this could be accomplished in the time it takes for a heavy snowfall to bring things together.

The desire to stop has already been stirred up by countless years and years, crushing everything in the long river of the past. No one, no one, can stop it all.

Li Jing, who is obsessed with the position of crown prince, can't stop.

Cen Shishi, who loves him so deeply that even if she faces eternal damnation, cannot stop.

The imperial edicts bestowing marriages continued unabated, as did the vast net that slowly gathered over the capital, resembling a chessboard.

Li Mu regretted it, but it was too late.

He dragged all those he loved into a bloody storm that was destined to happen.

But he was powerless to change the final outcome.

On their wedding day, Cen Shishi gently comforted Li Mu.

Looking at that calm face, he realized that it had taken him more than twenty years to understand a simple truth.

Those who manipulate fate will ultimately be manipulated by fate.

How tragic.

After enduring hardship for ten years, Li Jing also lived a pathetic life under Consort Shu's controlling desires, struggling to become a heartless tool.

Without emotions, one cannot feel sadness, can be ruthless, and will not feel heartache or regret.

He convinced himself that everything he did was to eliminate all darkness and to ensure a better tomorrow for the Great Wei.

Only when he sits on that supreme throne of power can he sweep away all the injustices he has witnessed.

The imperial family's practice of primogeniture, the extravagant lifestyle of officials in the capital, and the unchanging class system of the Great Wei Dynasty...

He wants to overthrow it all by himself and build a world where everyone can obtain everything they deserve through their own true abilities!

To reach this point, he must first merge into the darkness, become the darkness, and master the darkness.

Then, standing at the summit, they swept away the darkness.

Li Jing never understood.

Why is it that the ordinary Li Mu is never scolded by Consort Xiao? Why does he, who has no outstanding qualities, always smile like a gentle spring breeze?

He felt jealousy, envy, and hatred.

After embarking on the path to seize the throne, when he recalled the days he spent with Li Mu, he truly felt, as Consort Shu had said, that Li Mu at that time was showing off his privileges as the crown prince with an ugly face.

It's telling him that even if he does nothing, he can still be superior and always be one step ahead of him.

Li Jing hated that he couldn't choose his birth, hated that he was always being compared to others, hated that he was so outstanding, that he was already enough to threaten the Crown Prince's position, yet Li Mu's eyes were still as gentle as the warm sun, without a trace of frost.

Even though everything he had surpassed Li Mu's, he still smiled and sincerely congratulated him, happy for him and worried for him, just like in the beginning.

In his eyes, all of Li Mu's kindness turned into invisible mockery, ridiculing the penniless Li Jing.

So that year, I watched Li Yi head to the summer palace to escape the heat.

Looking at the black net, which was perfectly prepared and flawless.

Li Jing looked in the direction of the Taiji Hall without the slightest hesitation.

"Those who block my way shall die," he said expressionlessly. "Leave no one alive."

They chose Li Mu's Cen family and wiped them out.

He couldn't understand why, despite the irrefutable evidence presented in the memorial, Li Yi ultimately only deposed Li Mu and exiled him to the frontier.

He didn't understand; he couldn't figure it out.

He wanted him dead, he wanted that man who mocked him, that man who had once flaunted himself in front of him, he wanted him to be reduced to ashes.

Only in this way could Li Jing feel that he, a member of the royal family who was born into misfortune, had finally found solace.

He always considered himself unfortunate, having neither Li Mu's lineage nor the slightest bit of recognition from Consort Shu.

He genuinely mocked Li Mu, believing himself to be truly "mediocre and incompetent," with only his ability to be born into a good family worth boasting about.

It wasn't until many years later, on the guillotine, that he truly understood.

It turns out that the "Li Mu" whom he mocked, ridiculed, and hated was actually his own shadow!

He is the truly mediocre and incompetent wretch whose eyes are only set on power.

Back then, when the sunlight was still warm and the ginkgo leaves were a brilliant yellow, Li Mu was still in Yun Ning Palace.

The handsome young man, the gentle and refined Crown Prince of Wei, held a handful of sweet candy and smiled as he looked at him.

That snowy night, amidst the revelry, I took him to build a snowman and set off firecrackers.

The moment she shielded him from the board that fell on him and personally applied medicine to his wounds...

Li Jing looked up at the sky, tears streaming down his face.

It turns out that he was once the luckiest prince in the royal family.

He has a half-brother who loves him the most and cares for him the most.

She even risked her own life to pave the way for him to rule the world.

Just to fulfill a small wish.

May all your wishes come true.

[Author's Note]

[The main text and background information are now complete. The following epilogues are lighthearted and fun. I noticed some comments about the missing wedding scene; that's because I've planned it as a separate epilogue. How could I miss something as interesting as escaping a wedding by climbing over a wall? It had to be broadcast live!]