Chapter 76
"Your Majesty, I do not know what mistake I have made?"
Prince Li gritted his teeth, unwilling to accept defeat, and questioned the emperor.
Emperor Chengyuan slowly rose, his golden dragon boots stepping down the steps and landing on Prince Li's face.
"Third brother, do you still remember when I was eight years old, you led a group of people to beat me up? I asked you, what did I do to offend you? What did you say back then?"
Prince Li was in so much pain that he couldn't speak, and his memory was hazy.
Back then, Prince Li was a little tyrant in the palace because of the late emperor's unprincipled favoritism. He looked down on everyone and bullied the princes and princesses whenever he wanted.
The person Prince Li disliked and couldn't stand the most was Emperor Chengyuan, who held the status of the eldest son.
Because of his birth, his elder brother, the Crown Prince, was always criticized, and many ministers believed that Yuwen Yu was the rightful heir.
No matter how favored the Crown Prince and Prince Li were, their birth mothers were always Yangzhou courtesans, and their lineage was simply too lowly.
She remained Consort Shu her entire life. After her death, the late emperor wanted to posthumously grant her the title of Empress, but all the officials and courtiers vehemently opposed it.
Even if the crown prince ascends the throne, it is absolutely impossible for him to bestow the title of Empress Dowager upon a Yangzhou courtesan.
In contrast, Emperor Chengyuan was the eldest son, with such noble blood!
How could Prince Li not hate this?
Heh, so what if he's the legitimate prince? He can still humiliate him however he wants.
For nearly twenty years, Prince Li had been able to do as he pleased, but he never imagined that one day he would be trampled underfoot by the person he despised the most!
Emperor Chengyuan smiled gently and said, "Third brother, you said that I can hit you whenever I want. What right do you, a lowly creature, have to question me?"
"Ha, then today I also want to say, I can kill you if I want to. What right do you, a useless piece of trash, have to question me?"
"Back then, my third brother relied on the late emperor; today, I rely on my own position as the supreme ruler. Do you accept that?"
"Mmm..."
Prince Li writhed and struggled on the ground like a worm, his mind screaming: He refuses! He refuses!
The throne clearly belonged to his own brother!
Emperor Chengyuan seemed to know what he was thinking. His thin lips curled up, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Unfortunately, your good Crown Prince brother's head has already been chopped off by me, and his corpse has been fed to those vicious dogs you raised specifically to tear me apart. Are you happy now?"
Prince Li struggled frantically, tears and snot streaming down his face.
Ahhhhhh...
Yuwen Yu, you madman! You evil spirit! You'll get your comeuppance sooner or later!
"Karma?"
Emperor Chengyuan smiled and said, "It's a pity that my third brother probably won't be able to see this!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Chengyuan raised his foot and kicked Prince Li away.
Bang!
Prince Li smashed a Royal Yellow Peony, his favorite variety. He had once robbed the Ministry of Revenue of military funds allocated to the border in order to buy it, which nearly caused Emperor Chengyuan to die in battle against the northern barbarians due to food shortages.
Prince Li lay on the mud, peonies, and shards of a vase, his internal organs almost displaced, his face contorted in pain as he groaned incessantly.
Emperor Chengyuan raised his hand, and a eunuch respectfully handed him a wooden stick.
Emperor Chengyuan strode forward and struck Prince Li with a stick, just as Prince Li had beaten him years before.
"My third brother said I shouldn't have been born, that I'm a bastard!"
"Do you remember how my third brother repeatedly tried to kill me back then?"
"Do you remember how my third brother trampled on my dignity?"
"It's alright, I'll help you remember little by little!"
"I am truly grateful for my third brother's 'care' over the years. I originally intended to repay him gradually, but why does my third brother always insist on taking it from me?"
"Tsk, I really can't bear to refuse my third brother."
"Hasn't my third brother always wanted to kill me to avenge the deposed crown prince? Why don't you get up and fight me?"
"All you do is encourage others to rush to the front, while you cower in the back like a turtle. You're so useless that I can't help but feel helpless."
"Didn't you want to know who I'm hiding in Peach Blossom Manor?"
"Telling you won't hurt, my future little empress, my darling, third brother, aren't you congratulating me on finally finding a woman I can cherish?"
"Hahaha, I am truly happy today. I am no longer living alone in this filthy world."
"That's why I've come to share this good news with my third brother."
Prince Li screamed repeatedly, his body covered in blood, crawling on the ground, trying to avoid the sticks falling on him.
Unfortunately, he couldn't avoid it no matter what he did.
"Spare me, spare me, Your Majesty, I was wrong, I was wrong, please stop hitting me, ahhhhh..."
At this moment, Prince Li had lost all dignity and resentment. He kept spitting blood and begging Emperor Chengyuan to spare his life.
Only those who have truly experienced the excruciating pain of being beaten know how terrifying the fear of being on the verge of death every moment can understand.
However, as the perpetrator, he only experienced twisted pleasure until the stick fell on his own body, and then he knew pain and fear!
But just as he never stopped beating Emperor Chengyuan back then, he shouldn't expect Emperor Chengyuan to spare him now either.
An eye for an eye!
Emperor Chengyuan's gaze was cold and merciless, as if he were beating a pile of rotten flesh. He struck him again and again, and blood splattered on his cold, handsome face, making him look like a demon god who had fallen into the abyss, full of ferocity, cruel and terrifying.
Bang!
Emperor Chengyuan struck Prince Li hard on the head with a club, like smashing a watermelon, and his brains splattered onto his children's faces, killing him completely!
The wives, concubines, and daughters of Prince Li lay prostrate on the ground, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, incontinent, overwhelmed by despair and fear, unable even to cry!
Emperor Chengyuan didn't even glance at the smashed Prince Li, threw away the wooden stick in his hand, and Sun Zhong presented him with a handkerchief.
Emperor Chengyuan slowly wiped the blood from his face and hands, coldly looking down at Prince Li's wives, concubines, and children.
"Do you want revenge?"
The king's wives, concubines, and children trembled even more violently; none of them dared to look up at the cruel emperor who had killed their husband (father).
Terrified, they will live their entire lives in fear and nightmares. Where would they find the courage and ability to take revenge?
Emperor Chengyuan sneered, "Yuwen Hua is a good-for-nothing; not one of his children is even presentable."
"Your Majesty, the Lady has entered the palace."
Sun Zhong stepped forward and whispered to the emperor.
Emperor Chengyuan paused, the cold ferocity in his eyes dissipating.
He casually tossed the handkerchief onto the Prince Li's tattered corpse, turned and strode away from the Prince Li's residence, saying, "Back to the palace."
After the emperor left, the Prince Li's residence was immediately taken over by the Eastern Depot.
Prince Li's wives, concubines, and children were banished to the backyard and imprisoned, while his servants and retainers were all eliminated, leaving none alive.
Prince Li's body lay on the ground, unattended.
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