65 The Ending (Part 1)
Even looking at you makes me sick.
Late at night, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Outside the palace, flames roared and the sounds of battle were incessant. A bloodied human head flew in from the wide-open palace door, covered in blood and mud, and stopped in front of the boots of the bright yellow robe. Emperor Chongde glanced at it subconsciously and was so shocked that he took a step back.
That was the face of an imperial guard.
"Someone come quick! Someone come!"
Emperor Chongde clutched his chest: "Guo Shouzhen! Summon Guo Shouzhen to protect me!"
The shouts were drowned out by the deafening sounds of battle.
The air was filled with a suffocating smell of rust.
A blood-soaked imperial guard staggered and knelt before Emperor Chongde, his face contorted with extreme terror: "They're here...they're here..."
Before Emperor Chongde could ask any questions, the guard breathed his last.
Outside the door, a dark mass of soldiers could be vaguely seen. The flags fluttering in the wind amidst the firelight made Chongde's face turn ashen, and for the first time, a shattering fear appeared on his usually calm face.
Black background with red patterns, a sword mark imprinted on it.
It is the Divine Wind Riders.
The military flag of Xie Family Army.
Emperor Chongde was suddenly awakened from his bed. The Hall of Mental Cultivation was covered with neat and clean velvet carpets, and the doors were tightly closed. In the quiet night, only a wisp of smoke escaped from the crack of the incense burner lid in the corner of the hall, curling up the bright yellow gauze curtains.
It was just a dream.
He closed his eyes and exhaled.
His clothes were soaked with cold sweat, and his throat burned with pain. Emperor Chongde called out to Weixi in a hoarse voice. His hoarse voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet hall, almost echoing.
Normally, Wei Xi would rest in the side hall, and even if he couldn't come, there would be a young eunuch on duty ready to serve him at any time. Emperor Chongde waited for a while, panting heavily, before he realized something was wrong.
The Hall of Mental Cultivation is so quiet tonight.
It was unusually quiet.
The palace door suddenly creaked open, and he had never heard such a long and piercing sound, like the tattered bowstring of a erhu tearing at his eardrums.
A black boot embroidered with gold cloud patterns stepped through the palace gate. The newcomer wore a robe embroidered with a four-clawed dragon and gold, and wore his usual gentle and benevolent smile.
Emperor Chongde frowned deeply: "What are you doing here?"
Lin Tan seemed completely oblivious to Emperor Chongde's displeasure, and said softly, "Father, your son has come to present you with a treasure."
Perhaps it was because of the nightmare, but Emperor Chongde felt that the smile on Lin Tan's lips was becoming more and more eerie. Suppressing his discomfort, he waved his hand and said, "What are you offering up at this hour? Get out of here."
Seeing Lin Tan standing still, Chongde's ominous premonition grew stronger, and he called out loudly, "Guo Shouzhen!"
The palace gates opened, and Guo Shouzhen, the commander of the Imperial Guards, entered in full black iron armor with a sword at his waist.
Emperor Chongde's brows relaxed slightly: "Take him away."
Guo Shouzhen did not make a move. Emperor Chongde waited for a while, then looked up and saw that two black-armored imperial guards had brought over the wooden box at some point.
The wooden box wasn't particularly big, but it wasn't particularly small either.
A strange, metallic smell filled the air, strikingly similar to that in my dream.
Emperor Chongde then realized that Guo Shouzhen was not dressed in his usual casual clothes, but in a black robe and armor with a sword at his waist. His brow twitched, and Lin Tan clapped his hands, causing the wooden box to open.
Emperor Chongde's heart skipped a beat with that clap, and an ominous premonition gripped him like vines, making it hard for him to breathe.
Lin Tan's gaze was fixed on Emperor Chongde's face for a moment, as if he would remember every expression on his father's face, and then savor it for a long time.
Emperor Chongde could not stop gagging after just one glance.
His bright yellow robe was crumpled into a ball, and the veins on the back of his hand, which was supporting him on the canopy bed, were bulging, as if he wanted to vomit out his heart, liver, lungs, and intestines.
Anger, horror, nausea and other emotions quickly intertwined and spread from his back. Emperor Chongde's body seemed to have been struck hard by some unseen weapon, and like an autumn leaf falling, all his energy and vitality were drained away, leaving him gasping for breath like an abandoned well.
The two wooden boxes contained the heads of Crown Prince Lin Qi and Second Prince Lin Nan.
A pale face, eyes wide open, bloodstains seeping from the black cloth, spreading across the dragon-patterned floor tiles.
Emperor Chongde retched for a while, his eyes bloodshot. Suddenly, he grabbed a vase from beside the bed and smashed it hard against Lin Tan, roaring, "Beast! How dare you murder your brother!"
Before the vase could hit Lin Tan, Guo Shouzhen deflected it with his sword, and it shattered on the floor tiles with a loud crack.
"Fine, you two, very well indeed." Emperor Chongde clutched his chest, slumped onto the bed, his gaze shifting between Lin Tan and Guo Shouzhen. He said to Guo Shouzhen with hatred, "I trusted you so much, yet you colluded with this rebellious son and betrayed me!"
Guo Shouzhen sheathed his sword, lowered his eyes, and remained silent.
Lin Tan laughed and said, "Father, Commander Guo has devoted himself to the cause for most of his life, yet you still put that little bastard Su Lu in the Martial Arts Division to divide his power. You would rather give the task of leading the expedition against the Northern Rong to a woman who has never been on the battlefield than to Commander Guo. Isn't that disheartening?"
Emperor Chongde's chest heaved violently, and his finger pointing at Lin Tan trembled uncontrollably: "I should have seen through your wolfish ambitions long ago! You pretended to be respectful and humble, but behind your back you... but..." Before he could finish speaking, Emperor Chongde coughed violently, and blood splattered onto his bright yellow nightgown.
Lin Tan stepped forward to help him up, but Emperor Chongde pushed him away. He didn't mind, a gentle smile on his lips, and said considerately, "If Father Emperor can't do this job well, your son will do it for you. As long as you write the edict of succession, you will be the Emperor Emeritus from now on, and your son will guarantee you wealth, honor, and supreme glory."
Emperor Chongde forced himself to stand upright, his eyes blazing with fury: "You think you can inherit the throne by killing them? Dream on!"
Lin Tan's smile vanished as he approached the dragon bed step by step, his boots making a sticky sound as they stepped into the pool of blood. He leaned down and whispered in the emperor's ear, "Father, if I dared to kill my brother, why wouldn't I dare to kill my father?"
Emperor Chongde's pupils dilated in shock. Lin Tan had straightened up and was looking down at him. "The Imperial Guards are in my hands, and all the court officials have been summoned to the palace by me under the pretext of Your Majesty's serious illness. The palace is now like an iron barrel; you can only enter, not leave. If Your Majesty still harbors the ridiculous idea that someone is coming to 'purge the court of corrupt officials,' I advise you to give it up as soon as possible." He paused, looked at the Imperial Study in the front hall, and gestured for him to enter. "Those who understand the times are wise. Your Majesty, please."
...
Emperor Chongde sat before his desk, his brush dipped in ink, hanging above the bright yellow silk of the imperial edict.
He closed his eyes, his voice filled with exhaustion: "I have treated you well, so why do you do this?"
"You've treated me well?" Lin Tan laughed for a while as if he'd heard a joke before saying bitterly, "Lin Qi is a good-for-nothing, but you made him crown prince just because he's the Empress's legitimate son. Lin Tan is good-for-nothing and spends his days associating with纨绔 (spoiled brats), but you dote on him because he's the son of your favorite concubine—but what about me?! Have you ever even seen me?"
“My mother was just an ordinary palace maid, yet you always looked down on us. Where were you when we were bullied by the palace servants? Did you even glance at my mother when she was critically ill and dying?”
"From a young age, I knew that some people are born with everything, while others are born as lowly as mud. Nothing in this world belongs to me. If I want something, I have to fight for it myself."
Lin Tan leaned over and pressed his hand against the imperial desk. The benevolent smile on his face was twisted by the hatred in his eyes. He tapped his fingers on the desk. "Father, write."
Emperor Chongde stared at Emperor Chongde for a long while without missing a beat, then finally closed his eyes tightly, and the tip of his brush fell, the ink spreading on the bright yellow silk.
A soft laugh suddenly came from the corner.
The people in the hall all froze.
Guo Shouzhen drew his sword: "Who!"
A tall, slender figure appeared behind the sandalwood and jade-inlaid screen, illuminated by candlelight on a plain silk screen.
Lin Tan paused, then raised his hand to signal Guo Shouzhen to sheathe his sword.
Xie Yutang emerged from behind the screen with her hands behind her back. She wore a bright red dress embroidered with gold phoenixes, with a cloud brocade base and gold thread twisted into peony and branch patterns cascading down from the neckline, as lush and beautiful as a begonia under the moon. Yet, her brows exuded the aura of a superior, and although she smiled, she was intimidating.
"Lin Chongjin, do you have even the slightest regret now, regret for killing my father too soon?"
Emperor Chongde trembled violently, his wrist holding the pen jerked, and he drew a line across the spread-out bright yellow edict, the cold ink running horizontally from left to right across the dragon pattern.
Back when he was still a prince, he also encountered a palace coup on the eve of his ascension to the throne. It was Xie Qinghe who led two thousand Divine Wind Cavalry to protect him amidst the bloodshed. That man used his sword to tear a bloody path and escorted him to the throne.
But now the bloodshed and violence still linger, and those who protected him have been plotted against by him, their bodies left to rot in the wilderness, humiliated by the enemy, dying with their eyes wide open in disgrace.
Emperor Chongde looked at Xie Yutang and said, word by word, "So it was you."
He asked, "When did you find out?"
Xie Yutang took out a letter from his bosom. Emperor Chongde's pupils shrank after just one glance. Xie Yutang admired his expression: "You killed Wen Zhong. You had people watching him in prison long ago. When he wrote the blood letter, your people saw it. You quickly realized that Chiwen Cheng was Cao Yong, who died mysteriously back then. You killed him before I could find him, thinking that this would completely erase what happened back then. But what you don't know is that Cao Yong also has a secret room. How you instructed him to steal military rations, collude with foreign tribes, and leak military secrets—every secret letter has been clearly preserved."
Emperor Chongde's face finally cracked, and a feeling called fear spread visibly. He grabbed the letter, crumpled it into a ball, and swallowed it.
Xie Yutang did not stop him, but just watched him swallow his pain quietly: "I had someone make a forgery of this letter. I have carefully preserved every original one."
Then, she gently leaned down, looked into Emperor Chongde's old, cloudy, bloodshot eyes, and uttered the sentence he feared most in his life: "I will make them public and let the whole world see them clearly."
"In public affairs, you disregarded the interests of the nation and its people for your own selfish desires; in private affairs, you were ungrateful and betrayed your brothers—disloyal and unjust, unworthy of being a ruler."
"You're talking nonsense!"
Emperor Chongde roared, veins bulging on his forehead. He recklessly pushed everything off his desk, porcelain, pen holders, and memorials crashing to the ground and shattering into pieces. The shards cut his hands, but Emperor Chongde seemed oblivious, repeating only, "It's all nonsense, utter rubbish...utter rubbish!"
Lin Tan caught the imperial edict with quick reflexes, pressed Emperor Chongde back to his seat, and half-forcefully shoved the brush into his hand, coaxing, "Father, please calm down and finish writing the edict first."
Emperor Chongde threw down his brush and grabbed Lin Tan as if she were a lifeline: "It's all nonsense! Nonsense! I didn't write those letters at all, I didn't write them! She forged them to slander me..."
"Alright, alright, you didn't write it, so no one will see those letters." A cold glint flashed in Lin Tan's eyes, but he comforted him gently, stuffing the brush back into his hand. "As long as you obediently write the edict of succession, once I ascend the throne, I guarantee that all those forged letters will be destroyed. Don't worry, Xie Yutang is my empress, and she will listen to me."
The word "destroy" finally calmed Emperor Chongde down a little. Lin Tan made a series of solemn vows, even a poisonous oath, before Emperor Chongde reluctantly picked up his pen again.
Lin Tan finally breathed a sigh of relief as the imperial edict continued to be written. Xie Yutang read it with a cold smile from beginning to end: "Is the Third Prince still dreaming? I'll say it again, believe me, I will definitely make it public, and don't drag me and the Empress into this anymore, it's disgusting."
Upon hearing the word "public," Emperor Chongde frowned and stopped writing. Lin Tan looked at Xie Yutang, his anger rising: "Xie Yutang, why can't you consider the bigger picture?!"
"Considering the bigger picture?" Xie Yutang sneered. "When you complained to Lin Chongjin about your grievances and the grievances you and your son suffered, why didn't you mention the bigger picture? My father was framed and died unjustly on the battlefield, all 107 members of the Xie family perished, and the souls of the 30,000 soldiers who died at Daomaguan are still alive. And now you're talking to me about considering the bigger picture?"
"Lin Tan, you are just like your father, equally despicable and disgusting."
She remained calm, but Lin Tan had a gut feeling that she had already been hysterical countless times, burning away all her complex and unspeakable emotions, leaving only ashes, which was the state she was in now.
Lin Tan felt a sudden tightness in her chest for no apparent reason.
"Tangtang, this is all for us." He tried to persuade her, "So what if the world finds out about those letters? The dead are gone, and the past cannot be retrieved. What could be more important than living our lives well?"
"Shut up, I'm afraid I'll throw up if I hear another word." Xie Yutang snatched the edict from Emperor Chongde's hand, placed it neatly on the candlestick, and lit it. The flame instantly rose and engulfed the bright yellow silk. Her tone was indifferent. "I will not be your empress, and you will no longer be the emperor."
The word "no longer" was used strangely, but no one cared, because the edict of succession was about to be completely burned to ashes in her hands.
Guo Shouzhen reacted the most strongly.
His assistance to Lin Tan was partly due to his daughter Guo Yan'er, but more importantly, it was for the benefit of Lin Tan's support of the emperor. Lin Tan promised him the position of Grand Secretary, which would allow the Guo family to rise to prominence overnight.
But if Lin Tan doesn't become emperor, all of this will be lost.
He was about to pounce on the imperial edict to snatch it away when Lin Tan raised his hand to stop him and glanced at Emperor Chongde.
Guo Shouzhen instantly understood, calmed down, and moved a few steps without making a sound, keeping an eye on Emperor Chongde. As long as the old man was still alive, the edict could be rewritten no matter how many times it was burned.
What truly chilled Lin Tan's heart was Xie Yutang's act of burning the imperial edict.
This is the second time.
Last time at Guyue Tower, if she rejected him, it was because she looked down on him for being powerless and an unfavored illegitimate prince. But now that he has risen to a high position, why, why does she still look at him with the same eyes?
Why!
Lin Tan closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again with a gentle smile. He reached out to touch her cheek and asked, "Is it because of Su Lu?"
He had also heard about what happened at the border. It was said that Xie Yutang and that little bastard were inseparable, very intimate, and even kissed each other in public in the Northern Rong royal palace.
What an outrageous and shameless act!
He suppressed his jealousy and said softly, "It's alright. If you like him to serve you, I will allow you to keep such a male concubine. As long as you become my empress, I will grant you anything."
He looked at her solemnly and said earnestly, "Xie Yutang, as long as you agree, I will forgive and forget everything that happened before. I will ask you one last time—are you willing to be my empress?"
"I don't want to." Xie Yutang said without even thinking. "My only regret is that I was blind to have fallen for someone like you."
She looked at him very seriously and said solemnly, "Every moment, every memory of being with you is a deep-seated shame for me. Even looking at you makes me feel disgusted."
"Someone come here!"
Lin Tan's eyes were bloodshot, and the last trace of tenderness in them vanished. "Take Princess Ning'an away and keep a close watch on her."
Two imperial guards rushed forward, but before they could even touch Xie Yutang, they were struck in the throat by two hidden weapons and died on the spot.
In the pitch-black night, a silhouette was framed within the palace gate, the moonlight shining on him, coating his entire body with a frosty, shimmering glow.
The person walked with ease, yet arrived at the palace in an instant. As he stepped through the palace gate, the jade pendant at his waist struck lightly, its clear sound like the touch of shattered ice.
Those inside the hall felt the turbid air dissipate instantly, and the cool, snowy scent lingered around their noses. The cold fragrance reminded them of snow-covered pine branches on mountain peaks, diluting the rusty smell in the hall.
Upon seeing Su Lu, Lin Tan's eyes blazed with hatred, and he shouted, "Kill him for me! Whoever takes his head will be richly rewarded!"
The Imperial Guards all knew that today's battle was a fight to the death, and with the new emperor's promise of a "generous reward," they all charged at the young man with bloodshot eyes, seemingly without regard for their own lives.
Su Lu lowered his eyes, and when he raised them again, Xuanjian was already unsheathed. Wherever it went, the dark mass of imperial guards fell like a tide. If this continued, it would only take a few breaths to break through the heavy guards.
The Imperial Guards are responsible for protecting the emperor, and those who can be enlisted are all experts drawn from various military regions. However, these experts are like muggle in front of Su Lu, and can only be cut down like vegetables.
Guo Shouzhen cursed the incompetent soldiers under his breath, then commanded the remaining troops to surround Lin Tan, shouting loudly, "Protect the Emperor!"
Seeing that Lin Tan was about to retreat under cover, Xie Yutang sneered and chased after him with his sword.
"Everyone, cover His Majesty's retreat!"
Emperor Chongde sat behind his desk, watching his imperial guards commander cover his son's retreat, calling him "Your Majesty, Your Majesty" affectionately.
Emperor Chongde's gaze was complicated, but he wouldn't be so foolish as to fight at such a time. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he tried to minimize his presence and thought about finding an opportunity to slip away.
Before Guo Shouzhen could finish speaking, Lin Tan felt a heat on his neck. He instinctively touched it and found his hand covered in shocking red. He looked up and saw Guo Shouzhen lying stiffly on the ground.
Lin Tan stared in horror at Su Lu, who stood before him with a sword in hand. Su Lu was only inches away, slicing through the throats of several people with a single stroke. Lin Tan lifted his long eyelashes and met Su Lu's gaze.
Lin Tan seemed frozen in place, his entire body, from the top of his head to his heels, felt numb. This was definitely not the look of a young man who had just reached the age of twenty.
He felt like a rabbit being targeted by a ferocious beast, with no chance of resistance other than trembling.
Su Lu met his gaze, raised his hand to wipe away a drop of hot blood that had splattered on his chin, and a red jade bracelet on his wrist was particularly eye-catching, like a shackle proclaiming his ownership of this person.
With such a flamboyant and passionate style, Lin Tan immediately guessed who the bracelet belonged to.
Jealousy burned like wildfire, making him want to pounce on the jade bracelet and tear the person to pieces.
Lin Tan used the last shred of reason to control herself, forcibly turned around, and continued running wildly out of the hall.
Now is not the time for a head-on confrontation; he must survive first before he can hold her in his grasp.
Lin Tan recklessly pushed the imperial guards on his left and right to block him as he ran quickly towards the outside of the hall. To his surprise, Su Lu did not chase after him, but instead blocked all the imperial guards who were protecting him.
With no one blocking his way, Xie Yutang easily caught up with Lin Tan and cornered him just a step away from the palace gate.
Lin Tan looked at the gate, her eyes pleading, "Tangtang, are you really going to kill me—"
The words stopped abruptly. Lin Tan blinked, and after a few breaths, she looked down.
He had a dagger stuck in his chest.
He had never seen the pattern on the dagger before, yet it felt strangely familiar.
Memories flooded my mind like a tidal wave.
He saw himself, dressed in imperial robes, smashing a pair of delicate porcelain vases with auspicious patterns in front of Xie Yutang. The patterns on the vases were painted by him personally for her at the ceremony of her coronation as empress.
He saw his favored concubine Guo Yan'er grow powerful, and memorials to depose the empress were being sent to him like snowflakes. Meanwhile, Xie Yutang was all alone, holding the title of empress but facing a difficult situation in the harem where people fawned on the powerful and opportunistic.
He saw that he and Xie Yutang had once again had a fierce argument about politics in the imperial study, and in a fit of anger, he stabbed her in the chest with the dagger she had given him.
That dagger was exactly the same as the one now stuck in his chest.
Lin Tan opened his eyes slightly, and his gaze toward Xie Yutang was extremely complex for a moment, filled with annoyance, regret, understanding, and resentment... He had a thousand words to say, but his lips opened and closed in vain, and he could only utter a few meaningless monosyllabic sounds no matter how hard he tried.
Xie Yutang expressionlessly pulled out the dagger, and blood gushed out instantly. Lin Tan's body fell straight backward, hitting the blue bricks of the Imperial Study with a dull thud.
Blood kept gushing from his mouth, but a sense of relief appeared in Lin Tan's eyes. His blood-stained fingers reached out into the air, as if trying to grasp something, but could only fall in vain.
"……I see."
It turns out that she once believed in herself, loved herself, and relied on herself.
It turns out, he was the one who wronged her.
Emperor Chongde finally reached the palace gate, only to be sprayed in the face with Lin Tan's blood. He wiped it away with trembling hands, opened his eyes and saw Xie Yutang holding a blood-stained dagger, twirling it between his fingers, and smiling at him, "Lin Chongjin, where are you going?"
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