A hint of reluctance flashed across Yuan Chengyu's face, but Xie Qi stepped on Yuan Chengyu's foot, and Yuan Chengyu shut his mouth.
Emperor Pei circled around Qin Xiangyang, saying, "Chang Le died too easily. Why don't you take her place to appease my anger?"
Emperor Pei called out, "Yuan Chengyu."
"Your subject is present."
Emperor Pei pointed at Qin Xiangyang and said, "Go find a sharp knife and cut off his flesh piece by piece right in front of me."
"Chang Le is dead. You, the prince consort, will have to pay for the sins she committed."
Yuan Chengyu's hands began to tremble uncontrollably. "Your Majesty, I...I really..."
Emperor Pei snorted coldly, "Don't tell me that someone who kills without blinking an eye on the battlefield doesn't dare to do it?"
Emperor Pei pressed further, "Or is it that you dare not, or that you cannot bring yourself to do it?"
Ultimately, Emperor Pei did not truly trust Xie Qi and Yuan Chengyu.
Chang Le died too easily; Emperor Pei always felt there was something fishy going on.
Emperor Pei had Chang Le's son-in-law die at the hands of Yuan Chengyu, and in such a cruel way.
After that, Yuan Chengyu had no choice but to be loyal to him.
Yuan Chengyu knelt on the ground, "Your subject... Your subject."
Yuan Chengyu hesitated for a long time, but couldn't come up with a coherent answer.
If Yuan Chengyu were to kill his enemies by hand, he would naturally be able to do so.
Yuan Chengyu couldn't bring himself to kill Qin Xiangyang.
Qin Xiangyang is not Yuan Chengyu's enemy; Qin Xiangyang is the princess's consort.
Yuan Chengyu knew that the princess was not dead at all.
If Qin Xiangyang dies at his hands, how will he face the princess in the future?
Xie Qi took two steps forward and knelt before Emperor Pei. "Your Majesty, let me do it."
Emperor Pei looked at Xie Qi with an ambiguous expression, "You? You're a scholar, yet you're more capable of violence than Yuan Chengyu, a mere warrior?"
"Qin Xiangyang has made things difficult for me before. If I can retaliate, I will naturally not hold back."
Whether Xie Qi or Yuan Chengyu makes a move, it doesn't matter to Emperor Pei.
Emperor Pei said as if bestowing a reward, "Alright, then you can do it."
The second prince had a sharp knife brought to Xie Qi, who accepted it.
Yuan Chengyu stood up, wanting to stop him, but was scared off by a look from Xie Qi.
Xie Qi walked up to Qin Xiangyang with a dagger in his hand and gave Qin Xiangyang a meaningful look.
He gestured for Qin Xiangyang to run into his knife, saying that only in this way could Qin Xiangyang avoid some pain.
Emperor Pei suddenly spoke up: "Wait a moment."
Xie Qi's hand, gripping the knife, trembled involuntarily. "Your Majesty, what's wrong?"
"If a scholar like you were to act rashly, you might kill him in one go, and then I wouldn't get to see the real show."
Emperor Pei said, "Yuan Chengyu, you should do it."
Seeing that Yuan Chengyu did not respond, Emperor Pei snorted coldly, "What, you dare to disobey my decree? Or do you not regard me as an emperor at all?"
That statement is far too ambiguous.
Yuan Chengyu chose to be loyal to Emperor Pei, yet he disobeyed Emperor Pei's orders.
The atmosphere suddenly froze, and even the Second Prince looked at Yuan Chengyu with suspicion.
Just as Yuan Chengyu was in a dilemma, Qin Xiangyang suddenly spoke up: "Pah!"
"Want to see me suffer? You're dreaming."
Qin Xiangyang suddenly shouted, "Princess, I'm here to keep you company."
After shouting, Qin Xiangyang suddenly stood up and rammed into a pillar to the side.
Yuan Chengyu stared in disbelief at the scene, then immediately looked at Xie Qi.
Xie Qi's expression remained calm, revealing nothing.
Yuan Chengyu's expression of astonishment was too obvious, so Emperor Pei merely snorted but did not punish him.
Allen stepped forward and checked Qin Xiangyang's breath. "Your Majesty, he's already dead."
Emperor Pei gestured for the Second Prince to investigate. The Second Prince squatted down, stretched out his hand, and then shook his head.
Emperor Pei glanced at the blood on the ground and shook his head. "Forget it, just throw it into a mass grave."
Since the person was dead, Emperor Pei had no pleasure in torturing the corpse.
After a whole night of commotion, Emperor Pei was exhausted. He asked the Second Prince to accompany him to his bedchamber, as he had some things to tell the Second Prince.
As soon as the person left, Yuan Chengyu immediately grabbed Xie Qi's arm.
"What do we do? What do we do now?"
Surrounded by their men, Xie Qi wasn't worried about being noticed by Emperor Pei.
What can we do?
Yuan Chengyu's face turned pale. "Qin Xiangyang is dead just like that. How are we going to explain this to the princess when she returns?"
"I promised the princess that I would send Qin Xiangyang out through the secret passage as soon as possible."
"Now that Qin Xiangyang is dead and the princess has returned, she will definitely blame me."
Yuan Chengyu stamped his foot in frustration, "I told you before, Qin Xiangyang's method won't work."
"He's not dead."
Yuan Chengyu asked in disbelief, "Really?"
"But I clearly saw him just now, he wasn't..."
Qin Xiangyang just crashed into the pillar, and a lot of blood splattered out.
"The Second Prince has already visited them."
Although Allen is one of their people, the Second Prince is not.
"Before Qin Xiangyang entered the palace, he took a pill to suppress his breathing, just like the princess."
"He's badly injured, but he shouldn't die easily."
"I've already arranged for the imperial physician to be on guard, so don't worry."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Chengyu finally felt relieved.
"Why didn't you tell me beforehand? You made me..."
Xie Qi replied, "If you knew the plan, you would act very relaxed, and His Majesty would probably become even more suspicious."
"But I was so indecisive just now, will His Majesty...?"
"It doesn't matter, His Majesty won't trust the two of us wholeheartedly anyway."
Even if Qin Xiangyang really did die at the hands of Xie Qi and Yuan Chengyu.
Emperor Pei wouldn't completely trust them either.
"His Majesty's health is failing; we just need to wait for him to produce the Imperial Seal."
Yuan Chengyu nodded hurriedly, "I hope everything goes smoothly."
Yuan Chengyu genuinely hoped that there would be no more trouble ahead.
"The incense burning in His Majesty's bedchamber and the dosage of medicine he takes are both quite high. Let's see how many days he can last."
Inside the bedchamber, the second prince was pouring water for Emperor Pei.
Emperor Pei took the pill and swallowed it with water.
The second prince hesitated and said, "Father, Chang Le found this pill for you. Why don't you take it?"
"I don't want to eat it either, but if I don't take this pill, my whole body feels like it's being bitten by insects, and I really can't stand it."
Emperor Pei was well aware that this elixir was of no benefit to his health.
But Emperor Pei can't quit now; he has no choice but to keep taking it.
"I estimate that my body won't last much longer."
The second prince was secretly delighted, but on the surface he put on a sorrowful expression.
"Father, no, you are the Son of Heaven, you will surely live to be a hundred years old."
Emperor Pei merely shook his head with a mocking laugh. Having once been a prince himself, Emperor Pei naturally understood how much insincerity was in the second prince's words.
"You cannot completely trust Xie Qi and Yuan Chengyu; you must remain wary of them."
The second prince nodded, but in his heart he disagreed, thinking that his father had been imprisoned for too long and was seeing threats everywhere.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
