Chapter 158 Revealing the Truth (Torture of Chu Huaiyu 2)
Yu Chiyun's 100,000 soldiers quickly surrounded the barbarians. When the other soldiers saw that it was Yu's army coming, they also put down their weapons. The sounds of fighting gradually subsided, leaving only the echoes of clashing weapons and the whimpers of the dying in the wind.
The barbarian soldiers abandoned their armor and knelt on the ground, not daring to raise their heads even slightly.
Ba Feng was tightly bound with ropes, his mouth stuffed with rags, only able to make muffled hoarse sounds. His eyes, like copper bells, were fixed on Chu Siheng, his face full of resentment.
Chu Siheng's gaze was fixed on the carriage that was being protected by his personal guards in the center.
Chu Siheng walked steadily towards the carriage, and none of the soldiers along the way stepped forward to stop him. Instead, they all instinctively stepped back to make way for him.
Chu Huaiyu, inside the carriage, had already noticed the commotion outside, but he neither hid nor panicked.
The arrow wound in my shoulder blade still throbbed with pain. Although the poison had been neutralized, it had damaged my core. Even the slightest movement caused excruciating pain.
Chu Huaiyu slowly raised his hand and personally lifted the curtain of the carriage. The afterglow of the setting sun fell on his pale face, outlining his handsome features.
At this moment, Chu Huaiyu still looked like "Lu Huaimin". He looked at Chu Siheng who was walking towards him step by step, and there was even a faint smile on his lips.
"Royal brother."
Chu Huaiyu's voice was soft, hoarse from illness, yet still calm as she asked, "How have you been?"
Chu Siheng suddenly stopped in front of the carriage, his long sword pointing directly at Chu Huaiyu's neck. Crimson blood was already seeping from the blade. With just one more swing, he could take Chu Huaiyu's life.
"Should I call you Lu Huaimin or Chu Huaiyu?" Chu Siheng's tone was as calm as still water.
Chu Huaiyu looked at the long sword pressed against his neck, without any fear in his eyes. Instead, he chuckled softly, a chuckle that was very soft but carried a hint of mockery.
"Brother, it seems I underestimated you..."
"Zhao Xue told you, didn't she?" Chu Huaiyu slowly raised her eyes, meeting Chu Siheng's gaze. Her eyes were now filled with icy coldness.
Chu Siheng smiled upon hearing this and slowly said, "Our grudges have nothing to do with her."
"You're right, this is a grudge between us. But brother, do you really think you're standing here today because of your superior cunning?"
Chu Siheng narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze dark and unfathomable.
Chu Huaiyu paused for a moment, then continued, "I deliberately took the arrow wound. I also knew about your deployment of the Yu family army. I just wanted to see how far my brother would go to bring me down."
Chu Huaiyu's gaze swept over the Yu family army behind Chu Siheng and the barbarian soldiers kneeling on the ground, then returned to Chu Siheng's face, and the smile on his lips deepened.
"Colluding with foreign enemies and plotting treason, Chu Siheng, what do you think your fate will be?"
Upon hearing Chu Huaiyu's words, Chu Siheng couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Chu Huaiyu, you don't need to use that same rhetoric to deal with me anymore. No matter how cunning you are, you've forgotten that you can't see into someone's heart."
Even the most meticulously planned game of chess has its oversights.
As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Siheng twisted his wrist sharply, and the sharp blade grazed Chu Huaiyu's right arm. Crimson blood instantly seeped out of the flesh, and Chu Huaiyu groaned, his brows furrowing involuntarily.
In the blink of an eye, Chu Siheng pressed the longsword against Chu Huaiyu's neck again.
"No matter what you say today, you will not escape death later!"
Chu Siheng was well aware of Chu Huaiyu's meticulous thinking. Since he ascended the throne, he had thoroughly investigated traitors in the palace and purged the imperial guards several times.
But no matter how much Chu Huaiyu planned, he could never have imagined that one of his most trusted bodyguards was actually Chu Siheng's man!
"Lu Huaimin, is he also one of your men?" Chu Huaiyu looked at Chu Siheng quietly, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes.
Chu Siheng remained silent; he had no obligation to provide any answers for Chu Huaiyu.
"Chu Siheng, kill me now. Kill me, and you can ascend the throne. But I seriously doubt whether you can truly protect this great empire."
Upon hearing this, Chu Siheng closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with only icy coldness.
He abruptly sheathed his sword, then with a backhand strike, slammed it into the back of Chu Huaiyu's neck. Chu Huaiyu's vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.
The guards beside the carriage exchanged glances. They had heard the entire conversation between the two men, but now, looking at the unconscious Chu Huaiyu and the ruthlessness in Chu Siheng's eyes, they ultimately did not resist.
Chu Siheng leaned down and whispered in Chu Huaiyu's ear: "Chu Huaiyu, don't you like scheming?"
"From this day forward, I will make you watch with your own eyes how all your schemes will come to naught."
Then, Chu Siheng raised his hand and slammed Chu Huaiyu to the ground. He said in a deep voice to his confidant, "Tie him up, lock him in the tent, acupuncture his pressure points, and have him guarded closely!"
The sun sank completely below the horizon, night slowly descended, and the evening breeze fluttered Chu Siheng's clothes, as if playing a mournful elegy for this farcical scene of brothers killing each other.
...
The wind, carrying yellow sand, howled as it followed the heavy prison cart toward the capital.
The prison cart was pulled by four fine horses, and its walls were made of dark iron with thick iron bars welded between the gaps, firmly imprisoning the people inside.
At this moment, Chu Huaiyu, wearing a human skin mask, still looked like Lu Huaimin. The arrow wound on his shoulder blade had not yet healed, and every step the carriage took caused him to break out in a cold sweat.
But Chu Huaiyu remained silent and clenched his teeth the entire way.
On either side of the prison cart were the elite cavalry of the Yu family army, personally led by Chu Siheng, their hooves thundering across the ground.
The people along the way, seeing this spectacle from afar, were all filled with fear and avoided it, their whispers filled with astonishment and doubt.
The deposed crown prince… no! How could the Prince of Mo Nan have captured General Lu Huaimin alive?! Isn't this utterly rebellious?!
The news spread like wildfire, reaching the capital even faster than the prison cart.
"General Lu Huaimin has been captured alive!"
"It was the deposed Crown Prince Chu Siheng who did it! Isn't this treason?!"
Rumors swept through the entire capital like a tidal wave; in the streets and alleys, in teahouses and taverns, everyone was talking about this earth-shattering event.
In the imperial court, ministers offered their advice to "Chu Huaiyu," but His Majesty remained silent. The civil and military officials were filled with unease, secretly speculating about His Majesty's true intentions.
Some court officials were secretly pleased, some were terrified, and others secretly speculated that the situation in the capital was about to change.
Three days later, the prison cart arrived in the capital.
Zhengyang Gate was wide open, and Chu Siheng, dressed in military uniform with a sword at his waist, rode a tall horse at the very front.
His face was stern, his eyes piercing, and he walked straight toward the palace, passing through the crowd of onlookers.
The iron cavalry stood in two rows on either side, their chilling aura instantly silencing the noisy crowd, leaving only the heavy breathing and the sound of hooves.
The civil and military officials had already lined up according to their ranks to wait. As they watched the prison cart slowly approaching, their faces were solemn, and they dared not breathe.
Chu Siheng dismounted and strode into the hall, his gaze sweeping over Lu Huaimin without saying a word.
All the civil and military officials looked completely bewildered. What... what kind of show is this?
The air in the hall suddenly froze. Chu Siheng walked slowly to the dragon throne and patted "Your Majesty" on the shoulder lightly.
"Take them off." Chu Siheng's voice was not loud, but every word was clear, breaking the silence in the hall.
Your Majesty nodded, slowly raising your hand to touch your cheek. The thin, cicada-wing-like human skin mask was gently lifted, the edge peeling away from the skin with a faint sound that was particularly jarring in the silent hall.
As the mask fell away, a face with the vague outline of an emperor was revealed—it looked exactly like Lu Huaimin in the prison cart!
All the officials in the court gasped, and the whispers that were about to rise were suppressed by Chu Siheng's cold gaze.
Chu Siheng glanced sideways and gave a signal to the guard beside him. The guard understood immediately, turned around and strode towards the outside of the hall. Soon after, he brought in the person in the prison cart.
The man named "Lu Huaimin" in the prison van was dressed in rags, his hair was disheveled, and his face was covered in dust and blood, making him look extremely wretched.
The guards stepped forward and ruthlessly removed the human skin mask from his face, revealing Chu Huaiyu beneath it!
Only then did the entire court awaken as if from a dream, erupting in a deafening uproar.
Some people staggered back half a step, some were so shocked that they fell down on their court tablets, and others pointed at the dragon throne and the prison cart, their lips trembling as they couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.
It turns out that the "Your Majesty" who has been sitting on the dragon throne and issuing orders these days is a fake, and the Lu Huaimin who is fighting on the battlefield is the real Chu Huaiyu!
Chu Huaiyu narrowed his eyes slightly and looked straight at Chu Siheng. Blood beads slid down his fingers and dripped onto the hall, spreading a small patch of dark red.
He tugged at the corners of his lips, revealing a faint, blood-tinged smile, but the smile didn't reach his eyes at all.
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