He felt that all of this had been taken away from him by Zhu Yunwen.

Thinking this, he pulled out a dagger from his person, then rushed out of the crowd and pounced directly on Zhu Yunwen in the carriage.

The sharp dagger, reflecting the sunlight, startled some of the people, who cried out in alarm.

At the same time, many ordinary people spontaneously, reflexively, and without hesitation, rushed towards this place.

They seemed to want to shield Zhu Yunwen from this attack because, in their eyes, Zhu Yunwen was a god—a god who changed their lives and sacrificed so much for the people.

They could not allow such a future heir to the empire, a person who truly brought benefits to the people, to die like this.

Zhu Yunwen, dressed very plainly and even somewhat disheveled, rushed towards him from the crowd.

Zhu Yunwen remained calm and showed no fear whatsoever despite the gleaming dagger.

Just as the dagger approached Zhu Yunwen's feet, Zhao Qingzhu lightly flicked the longsword at her waist. A flash of cold light, and with a clang, the dagger in Zhu Yunwen's hand was sent flying by a tremendous force, embedding itself heavily in the ground.

At the same time, Zhu Yunwen felt a sharp pain in his arm as a long sword slashed across his wrist, severing his tendons.

The intense pain caused Zhu Yunwen to scream wildly.

Zhu Yunwen, however, stepped forward calmly, looked at Zhu Yunwen, and slowly began to speak:

"Those who do many unrighteous deeds will surely perish. Your actions are truly unbecoming of someone of imperial lineage."

Zhu Yunwen clutched his wrist in pain; his tendons had snapped, rendering his hand useless.

He looked up, his face contorted with pain, despair, and regret, staring at Zhu Yunwen with a ferocious expression. Then, through gritted teeth, he spoke:

"I've already been demoted to a commoner, what right do I have to care about my status?"

Zhu Yunwen looked at Zhu Yunwen and said:

"You've already been demoted to a commoner, yet you still insist on making one mistake after another?"

Zhu Yunwen was stunned. After a moment, he murmured:

"Where exactly... did I go wrong...?"

Zhu Yunwen took a deep breath and looked at Zhu Yunwen as if he were a pitiful wretch, saying:

"You're not wrong in any way, you're just... incompetent and always causing trouble. That's how you are in history books, and that's how you are now."