Chapter 106: A Battleground Between Father, Son, and Brothers

In the western corner of the palace, at Chonghua Palace, flames roared and soared into the sky. Unaware of the danger, the eunuchs and palace maids gazed at the towering flames and murmured, "Did the Third Prince commit suicide?"

Soon, the fire intensified. Looking out from Xuande Gate, the entrance to the city, one could see dark clouds gathering over the palace and red flames soaring into the sky.

As the emperor sat on his horse, the firelight illuminated his eyes, and tears welled up in his eyes: "Liang Shao, my virtuous consort is there! She is there!"

Liang Shao gazed indifferently at the flames: "Your Majesty, rest assured, the fire is affecting Chonghua Palace, not Zhongcui Palace."

He held the reins and escorted the old emperor back to the palace step by step.

"Why can't we return to the palace immediately!"

"His Highness said he has something to discuss with Her Majesty," Liang Shaoping said. "Once they have finished talking, His Majesty will naturally be invited to meet with Her Majesty."

Muddy tears fell drop by drop onto the horse's mane, and the emperor slumped down, head bowed in despair. He looked at his hands, resting on the saddle, the veins on the back of his hands reflecting the firelight, revealing the marks of age. He was old! So old! Had he grown too old to hold onto power?

*

Lee Joon sat on the throne in the inner hall of Zhongcui Palace, cradling the tiny infant in his arms. He gently rocked the baby, and the child gradually closed his eyes and fell peacefully asleep in the soothing yet powerful swaying. He already had two children; he knew perfectly well how to lull a child to sleep and how to keep him still. Looking at his younger brother, the son born to him by the woman he loved, Lee Joon felt a surge of emotions welling up within him.

She didn't love him; she never loved him, not even in death. He had thought that when he stood before her again after successfully seizing the throne, she would at least feel some regret, or perhaps beg him to spare her life. But she didn't. Meng Chiyuan remained the same Meng Chiyuan, wanting neither love nor wealth and status.

He had no intention of using Meng Chiyuan to mask his ambition for the throne, but beneath this immense ambition, from their first meeting to their life-or-death separation, he had indeed reserved a piece of land, intending to support Meng Chiyuan. However, fate is unpredictable. She was pregnant with his father's child, and she joined forces with Liang Ye, their eyes fixed on the throne, waiting for their chance. Once a woman is tainted by power, she is no longer a flower to be kept in a warm chamber. She is a beautiful but venomous snake. Therefore, he had to kill her, had to clear all obstacles from his path to the throne. Before taking action against Meng Chiyuan, Li Zhun had specifically asked the physician, "Is there a way to kill only the infant without harming the mother?" The physician knelt, "Mother and child are of the same blood; if one is harmed, both are harmed." Fine, die together, that's fine too. But Li Zhun hadn't expected that the child would survive, and she would die. It would have been better if they had died together… he thought.

A few tears fell like broken threads onto the little prince's face, slowly flowing into his mouth. The child smacked his lips, his tiny tongue moving back and forth.

How come she's the one who died, but you're the one who survived? Li Zhun hated his younger brother.

In Li Zhun's plan, the worst-case scenario would be the death of both mother and child, and the best-case scenario would be the mother surviving while the child dies. How could this child possibly live?

He raised his eyes, his gaze falling on Shanhe, who stood below him. Shanhe was staring intently at the young prince, fearing what Li Zhun might do. Li Zhun sniffed and smiled, "Don't worry, I promised her. Go ahead, go and keep her company."

Shanhe gazed at him deeply, then whispered, "Please." She lifted her skirt and ran back to the inner room. Meng Chiyuan lay alone under the embroidered quilt, her face ashen. She slowly inhaled, and only when she saw Shanhe appear did she slightly turn her eyes, weakly asking, "Where's the child?"

"In the Third Prince's arms."

"Oh." She closed her eyes briefly. "Okay... let Liang Shao..."

"I know, let Liang Shao take the child away," she cried. But where is Liang Shao? He's in Beichuan! She hasn't heard from him in so long! He won't be back for another year! That bastard Liang Shao!

Meng Chiyuan nodded, feeling as if her body was empty. Yes, the baby was born, the blood had flowed out, so of course her body felt empty.

Outside the window, the imperial physicians were being held captive by soldiers. The palace servants of Zhongcui Palace were also being restrained. Six sharp knives were held to Liang Ye's neck, preventing him from moving an inch.

After resting for a while, Meng Chiyuan asked again, "Have Father and Mother arrived?"

Shanhe choked back tears: "Soon, Your Majesty, you'll be able to see them soon!"

A tear fell. Meng Chiyuan asked softly, "Xue... what's your name?"

"Shanhe, my name is Xue Shanhe." Shanhe wiped away her tears.

“Okay, Shanhe…” Meng Chiyuan raised a finger, “Hold me…like a mother holding a child…I haven’t been held by my mother in so long, so long…”

Shanhe responded, her voice choked with emotion, and gently lifted Meng Chiyuan onto her lap with one hand. She was so light, nestled in Shanhe's arms like a snowflake. Meng Chiyuan closed her eyes, tears streaming silently down her face: "Mother, you haven't held me in so long..."

With her last breath, Consort Meng Chiyuan passed away.

"Your Majesty!" Shanhe cried out in a high-pitched voice, "Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing Shanhe's cries in the main hall, Li Zhun bit his lower lip tightly. Years of love and resentment, longing and anger finally vanished like smoke in that instant.

Lee Joon gently stroked the child's cheek with his finger and said softly, "...Would you compete with your elder brother for the throne?" His brows furrowed slightly. "That's what your mother thinks."

He sighed deeply.

“On the road to the underworld, Yuanyuan will be too lonely all by herself…” Li Zhun reached out and covered the child’s mouth and nose. “Go and keep your mother company.”

Four or five maids rushed in from outside, carrying washbasins, auspicious clothes, and other items. The one in the lead said coldly to Shanhe, "Madam, the Virtuous Consort has passed away, and the entire palace is in deep mourning. Please step aside so that we may help the Consort with her grooming."

Shanhe's face was covered in tears. Before she could react, another nanny grabbed her arm and pulled her aside.

The old women roughly pulled back the embroidered quilt, and Meng Chiyuan lay naked on the couch, her two slender legs slightly parted, with blood slowly flowing through them.

Oh my god!

Shanhe's eyes widened in astonishment. She shuddered, then struggled violently, crying out, "Let me do it! Let me wipe Her Majesty's body! Let me do it!"

This is Meng Chiyuan's last vestige of dignity.

The nannies hesitated, and Li Zhun walked in carrying the swaddled baby.

Shanhe cried and begged him, "Your Highness, let me do it! I can help Her Majesty with her hair and makeup! I've seen the dead before, so I can do it... Please... let me do it... Her Majesty doesn't want anyone else to touch her..." Shanhe couldn't stop crying.

Li Zhun lowered his eyes and said coldly, "Let her come."

The maids put down the washbasin and auspicious clothes, nodded, and withdrew. Li Zhun walked to the bedside and placed the swaddled baby in Consort Xian's arms. He reached out and stroked her face. When Meng Chiyuan was alive, the most inappropriate thing he had ever done was hold her wrist; this was the first time he had touched her face. Li Zhun took a deep breath, held back his tears, and wiped away the blood and tears on Meng Chiyuan's face with his fingertips. He then gathered the stray hairs clinging to her cheeks, and then, without a word, walked out with a heavy shoulder.

After he left, Shanhe rushed over. Mother and child lay asleep together with their eyes closed. Shanhe checked the little prince's breath; it was lifeless. Shanhe was crying so hard she couldn't speak. Her voice trembled as she cried, and though she opened her mouth, no sound came out. Tears streamed down her cheeks and into her mouth. Shanhe shakily unwrapped the swaddling clothes and gently lifted Meng Chiyuan's hand so she could hold the child. Then, she wrung out a cloth and carefully wiped Meng Chiyuan and the prince clean, from their eyebrows to their toes.

Shanhe's hands trembled, and the mother and son gradually revealed their porcelain-like purity.

My body is as cold as ice, and I leave no trace of the past in the world.

The heat from their bodies gradually dissipated, and their forms began to stiffen. Shanhe hurriedly helped Meng Chiyuan put on his auspicious robes and tore off the satin fabric of the embroidered quilt to wrap the little prince in.

Consort Xian and her son lay peacefully asleep, surrounded by piles of gold and jade. Wealth, luxury, and exquisite silks enveloped Meng Chiyuan and her child until their deaths.

After finishing everything, Shanhe stared at them blankly for a while before walking out. Li Zhun was still sitting there, gazing into the void, lost in thought. He glanced at Shanhe and said slowly, "Young Master Liang is outside."

Shanhe was flanked by two eunuchs and pushed out of the hall, towards Liang Ye.

Upon seeing Shanhe, Liang Ye asked urgently, "Are you alright? Is the baby alright?" He looked Shanhe up and down, especially noticing her protruding belly.

Shanhe shook her head blankly, tears welling in her eyes.

"Good, good!" he asked again, "Where is the Empress? Where is the Prince?"

Shanhe continued to shake his head, his face pale, as if his soul had left his body.

Liang Ye was stunned, then slowly deflated. The sharp knife at his neck was slowly withdrawn. He stared blankly at the sky for a while before lowering his head, concealing the tears welling up in his eyes. He clenched his sleeve and gently wiped away Shanhe's tears, trying to sound as gentle as possible, "It's alright, it's alright. He was your father's former master. His becoming emperor is only a good thing for you."

Shanhe felt as if a part of her spirit had died along with Meng Chiyuan. She wept silently and whispered, "I'm just... just grieving for Her Majesty..."

She and Meng Chiying had only met a few times. No one could have imagined that she would be the one to collect Meng Chiyuan's body in the end. Meng Chiyuan was like a phoenix soaring through the heavens, bathed in golden light, when one day he suddenly crashed to the ground, his body shattered. People were caught completely off guard.

“This is her fate, there’s nothing we can do about it.” Liang Ye’s voice choked with emotion. “Once she entered the palace, this day was inevitable. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

The Virtuous Consort is dead. Will he be next? Or perhaps the Crown Prince? The Emperor?

"Shan Shan!"

Familiar, joyful sounds came from the palace entrance, followed by the clanging of armor. Liang Shao, holding a red-tasseled spear, initially gleamed, but after seeing the intimacy between Shan He and Liang Ye, his brows furrowed, and his hurried steps halted. Realizing something was amiss, Liang Shao asked suspiciously, "Shan Shan? What are you... doing here with my brother?"

Shanhe turned around blankly, and when she saw Liang Shao standing not far away, she felt her blood rush to her head, and she froze on the spot, unable to move.

Liang Shao is back... How could he be back? Wasn't he in Beichuan? Wasn't he supposed to be back in another year? Shanhe's heart pounded wildly.

Liang Ye was also surprised to see Liang Shao here. He was only stunned for a moment, and then calmly touched Shan He's hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.

Liang Shao opened his eyes wide.

The emperor had already entered the inner palace, and by rights he should have followed, to protect the Third Prince's safety. But at this moment, his legs could no longer move. He stared at the clasped fingers, frowned, and asked incredulously, "...Brother...you?" He then noticed Shanhe's bulging belly. Liang Shao's breath caught in his throat.

Liang Ye straightened up. His face was expressionless; he simply raised his clasped hands, displaying them openly in front of Liang Shao. He had already planned to marry Shan He; there was no point in hiding it. Letting Liang Shao know sooner wasn't entirely a bad thing. Liang Ye turned his head slightly, lowering his gaze, and saw that Shan He beside him was already speechless with shock. He secretly tightened his grip on her fingers. The pain in his fingertips brought Shan He back to her senses. A smile tugged at the corner of Liang Ye's lips, and he said softly, "Shan Shan, your brother is back."

Shanhe's lips moved slightly, her mind buzzing.

Brother... Brother... Brother...

Yes, she is now Liang Ye's woman, Liang Shaoqing's wife. Liang Shao is her younger brother, her brother-in-law.

Who was the man she married on the second day of the Lunar New Year?

The son coveted his stepmother, the elder brother forcibly took his brother's wife, and the elder brother killed his brother.

The fundamental principles of husband and wife, and the human relationships between father and son and brothers, crumbled in Shanhe's heart at this moment.

It further shattered in Liang Shao's heart.

How can my sister-in-law be with my brother-in-law? How can she lean on him? How can they hold hands? How can they embrace? They are family!

Then what is he?

Liang Shao looked at Liang Ye in surprise. The latter's lips curled up slightly, his smile seemingly provocative: "Shao, I forgot to tell you, Shan Shan and I..."

Before he could finish speaking, the red-tasseled spear clattered to the ground. Liang Shao strode forward, his fist whistling through the air as he aimed straight for his brother's face.

Inside the inner palace, the emperor, tears streaming down his face, roared in anger. He snatched the whisk from the eunuch's hand and lashed it at Li Zhun's cheek.