Chapter 265 The Two Saints
At this moment, with her arms firmly twisted behind her back and pressed down on the couch, Chen Yanqing could not struggle and could only turn his head to the side, saying with slight embarrassment, "Let me go..."
Li Yuanzhao's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Let you go?"
Chen Yanqing took a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm. "The Dragon Martial Army is outside. As long as I give the call, they will rush in immediately."
"You certainly know how to use someone else's power to intimidate others." Li Yuanzhao glanced at him with amusement, then released his grip.
Chen Yanqing immediately took two steps back and awkwardly smoothed his arm, which had been gripped so tightly.
He then pulled up a chair and sat down, deliberately straightening his back to meet Li Yuanzhao's gaze, trying to regain some initiative.
Looking at his affected manner, Li Yuanzhao glanced at his tightly bandaged wrists and ankles and sneered, "Your hands and feet were reattached so quickly?"
Chen Yanqing thought she was unaware of the earth-shaking changes in the outside world, and an impulse to declare victory surged into his heart.
"Li Yuanzhao, do you know that I have regained my status as a prince and will ascend the throne in the Taiji Hall in just three days? And you, you are nothing but a patricide and treasoner, about to be deposed!"
His tone was filled with undisguised pride and smugness.
This scene is all too familiar.
It was just like Li Yuanzhao and his first meeting.
At that time, he was taken back to Xihe Palace by her. Because he refused to become her male concubine, his life was hanging by a thread. In the end, he could only kneel on the ground in humiliation and beg her to spare his life.
Now that their roles are reversed, he can't wait to see if she, like he used to be, will have to beg him to let her go.
But to everyone's surprise, Li Yuanzhao merely glanced contemptuously at his crippled legs and said lazily, "The dragon throne in the Taiji Hall isn't so easy to sit on. With those two lame legs, do you think you can climb up there?"
Chen Yanqing couldn't understand why, even after things had come to this point, Li Yuanzhao still wouldn't beg for mercy, admit his mistakes, or even say a single kind word to him.
"Do you still think you're that high and mighty princess?" His pent-up emotions suddenly burst forth, his voice trembling with rage. "You're the one imprisoned here now! Your life and death are in my hands! Do you understand?"
Li Yuanzhao's eyes instantly turned cold. "It seems you've forgotten the pain once the wound has healed? Do you really think that I can't do anything to you now?"
In that instant, Chen Yanqing felt fear almost instinctively.
It was a habit ingrained in one's bones, an instinctive fear of her majesty from countless days of serving by her side.
He clenched his fists and shouted to himself: Don't be afraid! You are the prince now, and she is just a commoner awaiting dethronement.
This self-admonition temporarily suppressed the fear, but it also gave rise to a deeper sense of powerlessness and anger.
He suddenly felt like a clown, hating her coldness and ruthlessness while being unable to stop himself from being captivated by her every move and word. Even now, he couldn't let go of the heart that beat for her.
In the stalemate, the complex emotions of love and hate surging within him ultimately overwhelmed his momentary bravado.
Chen Yanqing knew that Li Yuanzhao was someone who responded better to gentle persuasion than force.
He took a deep breath, softened his tone, and the name that had lingered in his heart countless times slipped out: "Ah Zhao..."
"Ah Zhao?" Li Yuanzhao's voice was not loud, but it carried a chilling pressure. "Who gave you the audacity to call me that?"
Chen Yanqing met her cold gaze with earnest eyes and a tone that was almost a humble plea.
"Ah Zhao, must you be so cold to me? You know perfectly well... I've never wanted the throne or the status of a prince. All I want is to stay by your side."
"You pushed me away with your own hands, you pushed things to this point! You could have ascended the throne smoothly, and things wouldn't have turned out this way between us..."
Looking at the person in front of him, Li Yuanzhao couldn't help but wonder what exactly was in his head.
Did he really think that without him, Chen Yanqing, those powerful men like Zheng Wenkai would willingly submit and allow a woman like her to smoothly succeed to the throne?
Whether he is there or not, they will always find a way to launch an attack, install a puppet, and overthrow her regime.
He, Chen Yanqing, was merely a pawn who happened to appear on the power chessboard, the most legitimate and easiest to manipulate.
Chen Yanqing remained immersed in her tragic narrative, continuing her confession: "You were the one who used me, deceived me, and trampled my sincere heart on the ground. Now I've come to this, it's all your fault! But..."
He paused, then offered his last bargaining chip, "Ah Zhao, as long as you're willing, I'm still willing to marry you and become my empress, okay?"
His voice carried a desperate hope, even tinged with a morbid obsession.
"Empress?" Li Yuanzhao felt as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world, and a surge of anger mixed with murderous intent and absurdity rushed to his head.
She laughed in anger and asked, "The last person who wanted me to be empress, I've already scattered his ashes. Where do you want your ashes scattered?"
Chen Yanqing was startled by the murderous intent in her words.
He knew full well that for her, the position of Empress would be a humiliation, so he hastily changed his tune, his tone becoming even more humble: "If you don't want to be Empress, then let's ascend the throne together, becoming two emperors, sharing this empire, okay? Then, this empire will still be yours..."
After he finished speaking, he held his breath, eagerly awaiting her response.
But he found that even though he had pleaded so humbly, Li Yuanzhao's eyes remained completely unmoved.
Instead, he remained expressionless, as if in the calm before the storm.
Li Yuanzhao's patience had run out.
She would never allow anyone to humiliate her again and again in a way that seemed like charity.
She stood up abruptly and kicked him to the ground.
Before Chen Yanqing could react, he was slammed to the ground by a tremendous force!
Almost instantly, a heart-wrenching pain shot through my lower body!
"Ah—!" A shrill scream instantly echoed throughout the entire Xihe Palace.
Upon hearing the screams, the Longwu Army soldiers outside the hall immediately broke down the door and entered.
The newly crowned prince was curled up on the ground, his lower body already soaked in blood, his white brocade robe stained dark red.
He was trembling all over, in so much pain that he almost fainted.
Li Yuanzhao sat quietly to the side, holding a bloody object in his hand.
Upon seeing the object clearly, all the soldiers instinctively clenched their legs, imagining a piercing pain.
They had clearly taken away all the weapons in the hall, so how did she manage to do that?
It wasn't until someone caught a glimpse of the half-broken porcelain shard that Li Yuanzhao was holding in his left hand that this happened.
It looked like shards of a broken white porcelain bowl used for serving food, with rough, not sharp edges, and still stained with blood.
Imagine how much strength it would take to cut off a piece of flesh using this thing.
Then, Li Yuanzhao, expressionless, slammed the lump in his hand hard into Chen Yanqing's face.
She looked down at him, a hint of sarcasm in her voice: "Chen Yanqing, tell me, in this world, are there any emperors who have been pickled?"
Chen Yanqing was already in so much pain that he was barely conscious, and all that remained was his instinctive screams.
The Longwu Army soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment. Prime Minister Zheng had only instructed them to "keep an eye on" Li Yuanzhao, but had not said how to deal with her when she made a move. No one dared to step forward rashly.
"Quickly! Carry His Highness away for treatment!" The leading general, Wang, reacted and hurriedly gave the order.
The soldiers didn't dare to delay and hurriedly stepped forward to help Chen Yanqing up, carefully carrying him out.
They also picked up the clump on the ground and took it with them.
For a moment, only Li Yuanzhao remained in the hall.
She looked down at the bloodstains on her palm, slowly picked up a handkerchief, and began to wipe them away with great care.
He then casually tossed the handkerchief on the ground, turned around, went back to his bed, and continued sleeping.
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