Chapter 276 Retribution
The next day, King Cheng was executed.
"Your Majesty has decreed that Prince Cheng is guilty of treason and shall be beheaded."
King Cheng was a little dazed, beheading...
He originally thought that he would be imprisoned and Emperor An would demote him to a commoner. Even if he really died, it would most likely be poisoned with wine and white silk, and he would die quietly.
But he didn't expect that Emperor An would sentence him to behead.
Even Xie Tianzhao, who was guilty of "treason", died in a fire. How could he end up being executed in public?
When he was dragged from the imperial prison to the door, Prince Cheng subconsciously looked inside the prison. The mass of flesh and blood that had "accompanied" him for countless days and nights had long since dried up and lay wilted in the corner, covered with a layer of clothes, and its original appearance could no longer be seen.
"This official." Prince Cheng did not speak for a long time, his words were like sand and stones, a little harsh: "Can you please be kind and bury him properly..."
"What's the point of burying a little ghost that no one wants? Even if you bury it, the King of Hell won't accept it. It would be better to wait until the King of Hell executes you and then mix your bones with yours and send them to the mass grave. That way, you and your father can both be wandering ghosts and take care of each other."
The sound coming from not far away made King Cheng turn around suddenly.
When he saw the person standing there clearly, King Cheng's pupils shrank: "Xiao Yan!"
Xiao Yan, dressed in a crimson official robe, raised his lips upon hearing this: "This Governor was just saying, given the prince's intelligence, how could he suddenly go crazy?"
Isn't this quite sobering.
King Cheng was confused when he heard this. Even though he knew he was going to die, he was still afraid of the man in front of him. He subconsciously wanted to pretend to be confused as before, but before he could move, he saw someone next to him enter the prison, casually tear off the layer of material covering the corner, and kick the mass of flesh and blood into the dirty grass.
King Cheng's eyes were bloodshot: "Don't touch him!"
The mass of flesh and blood scattered and shattered into pieces before his eyes.
King Cheng felt his vision go dark, and when he turned around and glared at Xiao Yan, his face was full of ferocity: "Xiao Yan, that was just a child. He is already dead. Death is the end of all things. Why are you still refusing to let him go..."
Seeing that he seemed to be about to get up and hurt someone, the jailer rushed forward to suppress him.
Xiao Yan simply waved his hand and asked everyone to retreat. When only he and King Cheng were left around, Xiao Yan looked down at King Cheng, who was lying on the ground like a maggot, struggling desperately but powerlessly.
"Your Highness is right. He is just a child, killed by his own father. He has never even seen the light of day."
King Cheng suddenly froze, his face pale.
"If you want to not let him go, isn't it the prince?"
King Cheng shrank back. Seeing this, Xiao Yan chuckled, stepped into the prison, and squatted in front of King Cheng.
"Your Highness, do you know that because you had an affair with a woman from the Lu family, the Fourth Prince, in order to help his mother escape responsibility, led his men into the Lu family, forcibly searched the residence of the Lu family's women, publicly exposed Madam Lu for having an affair with you, forced her to commit suicide in front of everyone in the Lu family, and then took her body to the capital for an announcement."
"Your Majesty greatly admired his willingness to sacrifice his own family for the greater good and was also interested in appointing him to a higher position. It's a pity that the Fourth Prince suffered from bad luck. Just when he was about to have a bright future, he was suddenly attacked. Not only did he fall from a horse, disfiguring his face, but he also crippled his legs..."
King Cheng suddenly looked up: "What did you say?!"
The Fourth Prince is ruined...
How could he be useless?!
Xiao Yan looked at the sudden ferocity in his eyes, as if it wasn't enough, and continued in a calm voice, "This Governor says that even if the Fourth Prince is crippled and his legs are broken, it doesn't matter. At most, he will become a cripple in the future. Even if he doesn't have the chance to take the throne, he can still be a wealthy and noble prince like the prince."
"What a pity! Who knows who the Fourth Prince must have offended? He was drugged and has been inhumane ever since. Your Highness, how could such a noble man become like this Governor?"
"An ugly, disabled, and childless prince... How pitiful!"
King Cheng's body swayed, and his arms, which were barely supporting his body, went limp, and he fell to the ground with a thud. His face was completely pale, and he was shaking all over, his breathing suddenly becoming rapid.
Xiao Yan leaned close to his ear, his words chillingly cold: "The prince killed your child with his own hands, and now he is going to have no descendants. Do you think this is retribution?"
King Cheng raised his head suddenly: "You..."
How would he know?
How could he possibly know?!
Looking at the half-smiling eyes of the person in front of him, Prince Cheng's mind suddenly emerged with all the things that had happened during this period, from when he was trapped in the mansion because of the Song family, and Rong Yue's sudden return to the mansion that night, the Xiaowei who appeared in the mansion, and Marquis Wenxin and the Second Prince who suddenly led troops into the palace.
He always thought that Xiao Yan didn't know about him and Queen Lu, and always thought that it was his biggest secret. Even if he died, even if he had no future, his bloodline would still be the most noble, and he could still strive for the throne to clear his name in the future. But what if the person in front of him knew everything from beginning to end.
What about the schemes he racked his brains to come up with under torture, and what about the painstaking efforts he made to mislead the Fourth Prince when he came that day?
It was he who personally pushed the Fourth Prince to break with the Lu family, forcing them to become enemies and leading him to where he is today...
"You lied to me, you've been using me all along..." King Cheng raised his head with red eyes, as if he had come to his senses: "You've known about the relationship between her and me for a long time, you've been using me all along..."
"Why!"
King Cheng shouted at the top of his lungs, why did he pretend not to know even though he knew it, why did he still torture him even though he knew it a long time ago.
He widened his eyes and tried to grab Xiao Yan's clothes, but before the tumor-like arm got close, Xiao Yan easily dodged it by stepping back.
Xiao Yan looked at the fallen Prince Cheng. "I'm just curious. What kind of fool could be exploited over and over again without realizing it? For a woman whose only ambition was imperial power, he would kill his own flesh and blood to pave the way for someone else's son."
Seeing that King Cheng was looking at him fiercely, he moved slowly.
"Twenty years ago, the South was devastated by floods. Your Majesty, under imperial order, traveled south with the Crown Prince to provide disaster relief. However, the official ship carrying relief silver and grain sank, and nearly one million in silver was lost. Riots broke out in the South, and the Crown Prince was impeached by the court officials."
"Your Majesty, then the Fifth Prince, rose from obscurity to prominence due to his contributions in disaster relief and quelling rebellion. It was precisely because of this disaster relief effort that the Fifth Prince was able to petition the late Emperor for a marriage, requesting the daughter of the Lu family, and thus gaining the Lu family's support..."
Seeing the stern look on Prince Cheng's face, Xiao Yan said, "Do you feel that it was His Majesty who ruined your marriage, separating you two lovers? Do you feel that if the late emperor hadn't foolishly granted the marriage, you and Empress Lu would have been happily married long ago, and if you had inherited the power of the Lu family, you wouldn't have done what you did later?"
King Cheng gritted his teeth and said nothing, but the look in his eyes clearly showed what he was thinking.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan laughed: "Xie Tianyu, you are really stupid."
"Back when the imperial court was providing disaster relief, even Crown Prince Li was schemed against and driven south. Do you think that without someone secretly helping you, how could your Majesty, who had no power at the time, have quelled the rebellion so quickly and made a name for himself in the disaster relief effort?"
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