Chapter 198 Only Seven Days to Live
Looking at the dancing flame on the candlestick, Concubine Zhe was distracted for a moment, her thoughts stretched out, and she vaguely recalled the scene of last night.
The Changqing Palace was heavily guarded, but there was not a single palace servant inside. The ground was covered with fallen leaves and no one had swept them, making the scene look bleak and desolate.
With a slight creaking sound, the door of the main hall was slowly opened, and the bright light, as sharp as a sword, pierced through the darkness and fell on the brick floor.
Hearing the noise, the man sitting on the carved mahogany chair raised his eyes slightly and looked towards the door. His gaze fell on the woman, and a wry smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. "You still remember to come and see me. I think you are thoughtful."
A woman's sneering sound was heard in the room. Concubine Zhe raised her hand and pulled off the veil covering her face, looking at the man sitting at the top.
Even though he was in a dire situation and had taken off his dragon robe, he still kept himself clean and tidy, sitting quietly like this. Even though there were no court officials or concubines here, the emperor's majesty was still there.
"Yan Chong, you have come to this day too?"
Nanny Gui held the lantern for her. Concubine Zhe walked forward slowly, her eyes gleaming with malice and a triumphant smile on her lips. "The king of a country is imprisoned here. If I were you, I would have banged my head against a pillar and died!"
Hearing this, the emperor curled his lips and smiled, "You came to see me today, not just to make a few sarcastic remarks, right?"
"Do you think I'm still thinking about our old relationship?" Concubine Zhe asked with a sarcastic smile and a raised eyebrow. "I just wanted to see how depressed the current emperor is after being reduced to a stray dog."
"Yan Chong, it's time to wake up from your dream of becoming an emperor."
A loud thunder exploded in the sky, and rain began to fall unexpectedly.
The emperor gently opened his eyelids and stared at her with great interest, his face not flustered for a moment. "I remember when you first entered the palace, at the age of seventeen, you were so quiet among the other beautiful ladies, as if you didn't exist. I never thought that after so many years, you would grow fangs and claws."
"Lin Yiting, are you so sure that you will succeed?"
The emperor lowered his head and laughed, then said in a deep voice, "I may not be a good husband, but as a father, I am not bad. I know my Mu'er best."
"Mu'er is kind and gentle, with a peaceful and benevolent temperament. He is the one who is most like me. If you expect him to be the ruler of a country, wouldn't that mean he will follow my old path?"
"Maybe one day..." The emperor looked up at her with a faint smile on his face, "Mu'er will be the one imprisoned here."
"You're talking nonsense!" Concubine Zhe was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her face livid with anger. "Mu'er was raised by me and his grandfather, how could he have ended up like this?"
"It's you, Yan Chong, who's been deserted by everyone. It's all your own fault!" Concubine Zhe seemed to have thought of something, her face pale, and she wanted to eat the man in front of her alive. "You also know my personality before, I was inferior and cowardly. It was your calculations that turned a sheep into a wolf."
"My uncle has been loyal to you for decades. The Dongjiang River connects to the sea, and river pirates are rampant. For many years, my uncle fought desperately with those bandits to maintain peace in several coastal cities. And what about you?"
Concubine Zhe stared at him intently, hatred surging in her eyes. "Because of that old fool Zhang Pu's instigation, you are going to punish my uncle and force his family to commit suicide. My mother was so grief-stricken that she died with him!"
"That year, I was pregnant with Mu'er and knelt outside the Qinzheng Palace, begging you again and again, begging you to spare my uncle's family for Mu'er's sake."
"Obviously...Obviously, I also wanted to live a good life with you. I don't ask for much, and I don't like to fight. Even if I am in the deep palace, as long as you care about me, I will feel that I am the happiest woman in the world. But you are so heartless and ungrateful, shutting yourself away from me, and letting me watch my uncle and his family hang in the mansion!"
Concubine Zhe raised her head, tears of resignation streaming down her cheeks. "That's when I finally realized that all the favors and glory were fleeting. Only power is truly beneficial to me!"
The emperor lowered his eyes, feeling a little lost for a moment, "So you've been holding a grudge against me because of Wei Hu."
"That's my uncle!"
"Wei Hu committed a serious crime of corruption. The evidence is irrefutable. Over the years, he has not appeased the two thieves at all. Instead, he colluded with them and profited from it."
The emperor interrupted her, looking at her coldly, "He has taken several innocent lives, and the wealth he has embezzled is enough to implicate his entire clan. Faced with irrefutable evidence, he has no defense. It was because you were pregnant with the prince that I didn't resort to violence. I simply presented the evidence to Wei Hu and let him make his own choice."
"He chose to die with his wife and children in order to protect his family." The emperor looked at her intently, his expression sincere. "If I hadn't taken you into consideration, even the Lin family would have been skinned alive!"
His words were like a bolt from the blue, landing on Concubine Zhe's heart. Her face suddenly turned pale and she murmured, "How is this possible... How is this possible! You are lying to me!"
The emperor turned away and spoke calmly, "I cannot compare with my father. He spent his entire life in the military, and I have only inherited everything from him to reach my current position. With my father's favor, I have easily grasped the kingdom and the beautiful women."
"If I were truly heartless, selfish, and hypocritical, I would not have given you the opportunity to harm me to this extent."
"The victor is king and the loser is a bandit. Whether it's the Lin family or Huo Beiting, I lose, and I admit it."
"But remember this." The emperor sneered and said slowly, "Just because I lose doesn't mean my son will lose. This world will definitely belong to the Yan family."
Concubine Zhe was frightened by his eyes and took two steps back. She was in a panic and held Aunt Gui's hand tightly. The light of the lantern flickered, and the next moment, she turned and left without any reluctance.
The emperor looked at her back, the corners of his mouth slowly rising in a mocking arc.
He didn't trust himself, but he trusted Aci. His son must not be as cowardly as himself, allowing these scum to bully him.
The emperor looked up at the bright moon in the sky. Rain curtains fell from the eaves, and the crescent moon on the roof seemed brighter than usual.
And that girl named Su Cheng...
Soon, a man's suppressed cough was heard in the main hall.
Recollecting her thoughts, Concubine Zhe wiped the sweat from her forehead and whispered, "I went to Changqing Palace last night and placed poisonous incense in the lanterns. If you inhale it, you will cough uncontrollably. If you leave it alone, your lungs will be filled with blood within seven days."
Lin Rusheng frowned and looked at her, "Then you..."
Concubine Zhe forced a smile and gently comforted her, "Father, don't worry. I took the antidote long before I left. That poisonous incense can't hurt me."
"That means..." Lin Rusheng played with the Buddhist beads in his hand, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked solemn, "The emperor only has seven days to live?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
