Chapter 251 Disfigurement to Show Resolve
"Royal consort? You really dare to dream!" Li Yuanzhao sneered as if he had heard something utterly absurd.
"What? Are you waiting for you to become the next Li Ye, so you can strike me fatally when I'm not prepared?"
"No! I can't..." Chen Yanqing hurriedly explained.
How could he possibly be like Li Ye, that ungrateful and treacherous person?
He loves her so much that he's willing to give up his status and dignity. How could he possibly bear to hurt her in the slightest?
Seeing Li Yuanzhao's distrustful gaze, Chen Yanqing desperately wanted to prove herself and make her believe that she had never had the slightest thought of competing with her for power and profit.
Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he abruptly pulled a dagger from his sleeve.
It was the dagger with five-colored gemstones that she had previously given him as a reward.
He said firmly, "I will prove it to you!"
Before Li Yuanzhao could even realize what he was about to do, he saw him gripping the dagger and slashing it towards his own cheek without hesitation!
The blade sliced through the flesh, and blood gushed out instantly, sliding down the jawline.
But he didn't pause at all, and with even more force, he stabbed at the face again.
One cut, two cuts, three cuts... He was like a madman, repeatedly slashing his cheeks.
Hot blood flowed down, dripping onto his white clothes, instantly turning them crimson.
In just a short moment, his once handsome face was covered in blood, his flesh was torn and twisted, and he looked terrifying. He was no longer recognizable as he had been before.
Chen Yanqing seemed to feel no pain, and even grinned, looking both miserable and eerie.
On his bloodied and mangled face, not a single piece of skin could be seen.
Only those eyes remained fixed on Li Yuanzhao, filled with desperate pleading.
"So...you should believe me now, right?"
"With my face ruined, no one will be able to recognize me as Empress Shen's biological son by my appearance anymore... From now on, you will have no more worries..."
Li Yuanzhao never expected that her attempts to ruin his face would fail.
But now, it is he himself who has destroyed this face.
For a moment, she felt a tiny bit moved.
This emotion does not stem from pity for him, but from the dramatic and tragic nature of Chen Yanqing's act of "disfiguring himself to show his resolve."
A "chosen one" who should have ruled the world was willing to disfigure himself and abandon his identity in order to stay by his enemy's side.
But this moment of emotion was fleeting, and she immediately regained her senses.
The sworn enemy relationship between her and Chen Yanqing cannot be resolved simply by destroying his face.
The blood of Li Ye flowing in his veins is the "orthodox" bloodline imprinted in his bones.
Those loyal followers of Li Ye and Shen Lang would not have given up supporting him if they knew his true identity.
His immortality was a sword hanging over her throne.
Appearance is merely the most superficial issue; these deeply buried hidden dangers will never disappear simply because his face is ruined.
Although she now holds great power and is no longer afraid of what tricks he might pull.
But who can guarantee what will happen in the future?
Moreover, Chen Yanqing's willingness to give up her status or disfigure herself in order to obtain the position of the emperor's consort is a form of threat to her.
She has never been willing to compromise with any threat.
She looked at Chen Yanqing's bloodied and mangled face, her tone calm and without any fluctuation.
"Chen Yanqing, you are ridiculously stupid and ridiculously self-righteous."
"You think you can make me believe you by ruining your face?"
Li Yuanzhao leaned down slightly, his fingertips tracing directly across the man's bloody, mangled wound.
"You're wrong. Whether your face is ruined or not makes no difference to me."
Chen Yanqing shuddered, the intense pain on his face seemingly instantly replaced by a suffocating feeling in his chest.
"Why...why..." His voice was hoarse and broken, mixed with the stench of blood, "I've already given up my identity, ruined my appearance, I don't want anything anymore, I just want to stay by your side...why do you still refuse to take me?"
Li Yuanzhao said coldly, "Because if I don't want to give something, no matter what method you use, you can't get it from me."
"I'm telling you this clearly today: you can forget about ever becoming the Emperor's consort."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yanqing looked at Li Yuanzhao in disbelief.
On that bloodied and mangled face, the pleading in the eyes shattered little by little, turning into endless despair.
He knew that all his expectations and all his love had been crushed by Li Yuanzhao's own hands at this moment, leaving not even a trace.
Li Yuanzhao didn't look at him again, but coldly gave orders to those outside the hall.
"Guards, drag him away, cripple his hands and feet, and lock him in the dungeon. Chain his collarbones with iron chains. Without my order, no one is allowed to visit him, and he is not to be released!"
The guards outside the hall rushed in at the sound of their voices and expressionlessly helped up the distraught Chen Yanqing.
He did not struggle or resist; his limbs were limp, and he allowed the guards to drag him away.
Li Yuanzhao watched his retreating figure, then expressionlessly picked up his teacup and drank the cold tea in one gulp.
She had originally planned that after the coronation ceremony three days later, she would ascend the throne and become the emperor.
At that time, Chen Yanqing, the so-called "chosen one," naturally no longer had the protection of destiny.
At that time, they might be completely killed.
So after he returned, she remained calm and kept him by her side, intending to personally eliminate this potential threat after the coronation ceremony.
But now that he has taken the initiative to reveal his identity, exposed the truth that she was using him, and even learned the secret that he is unkillable.
Such a hidden danger, who knows all her cards and has an irreconcilable feud with her, is no longer suitable to stay by her side.
Disabling their hands and feet, locking their collarbones, and imprisoning them in a dark dungeon are only temporary measures.
As soon as she ascends the throne and becomes empress in three days, she will immediately order his execution.
Even if he doesn't die, she has new plans.
She suddenly realized it after witnessing his self-destructive act of disfigurement.
Perhaps it's not that he's truly unkillable, but rather that others can't kill him, and he might be able to kill himself.
What she had just done was to subject him to both physical and mental torture in the dark and sunless dungeon, leaving him with only endless pain and despair.
Perhaps in this way, he would choose to end his own life.
At that time, without her having to lift a finger, this biggest hidden danger will disappear on its own.
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