More than a decade ago, Xu Zang wanted to curry favor with his brothers, so he willingly went down into the icy well to retrieve a ball.
Today, Xu Lian is a prisoner, and all his chances of turning the tables have been lost.
Xu Zang smiled and asked him, "Would you rather be beheaded and displayed to the public, or jump into this dry well? I'm giving you the choice."
Both are dead ends, and the outcome is the same.
However, the third prince remained calm and composed throughout his life, and had an excellent image in the hearts of the people.
If this strategy of collusion between inside and outside succeeds and he smoothly ascends the throne, he will at most be seen as incompetent.
Years later, when those small border states are wiped out in one fell swoop, the people will forget the humiliation of being invaded and instead sing praises of their wise and mighty emperor.
He is the best successor in his father's heart, and the next benevolent ruler in the hearts of the people, who will lead them to prosperity and wealth.
He is everyone's pride, so don't choose a humiliating way to die.
Xu Lian walked to the well and looked down.
I wonder what Xu Zang was thinking when he looked down into the well many years ago; he was probably terrified.
Xu Zang said, "I will tell the world that the Third Prince felt ashamed and committed suicide in prison. Perhaps then I can get a few sighs of regret."
Xu Lian took a deep breath, made no last words, but was only worried about one person.
“The treason was my own doing, my mother was unaware of it. I only ask one thing of you in this life: treat my mother well.”
Xu Zang's face was half-hidden in the darkness, but upon hearing this, he smiled and said, "Since it is your last wish, I will fulfill it."
Xu Lian took one last look at the dark well opening, gritted his teeth, and leaped into the water.
Two dark figures flashed out from beside Xu Zang and silently lifted the heavy stone beside the well, placing it on top of the well.
The moment the stone covered the cave entrance, a heart-wrenching scream came from below.
Xu Zang sneered. Death is the easiest thing in the world, and being beheaded is a rare relief.
He fell into a well during the coldest days of winter, and was on the verge of death.
His mother was isolated and helpless in the palace, and could only swallow her anger. Only on her deathbed did she take revenge on that vile woman, Li.
Given how favored Li was over the years, it's impossible that she had no offspring.
But for all these years, she remained childless, and until the day she died, she never knew that her favorite incense had been laced with a drug that would prevent her from having children.
Yes, the day Xu Lian left Kyoto with a small group of guards, Xu Zang imprisoned the Empress Dowager.
He subjected that vile woman to every cruel punishment imaginable, and after she repeatedly fainted, he summoned the imperial physician to revive her.
After several days of this repeated, the woman who had once dominated the harem was tortured to death, her body withered and emaciated.
Poisonous snakes and scorpions were placed in the well. For the pampered Third Prince, these filthy things would make him wish he were dead.
The poisons weren't very potent, allowing him to live for a long time. At the bottom of the well, which wasn't too high, he yearned for life while feeling powerless, struggling between hope and despair, until finally becoming a stinking corpse.
Xu Zang felt he had been merciful enough; the mother and son had died in a way that was more liberating than the other.
What he did to this mother and son was far less than what that vicious woman, Li, did to his mother.
Laya bid farewell to Xu Zang, thanking him for not harming her father. She also knew that she had to persuade her father to change his ways when she returned, otherwise Xiliang would not even be able to hold onto its current territory.
Xu Zang ordered a team to escort Laya back, in case any remaining followers were not eliminated.
For several days, he waited in his study for news from various places. Only when everything had settled down did he remember Yi Mu.
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