1 Killing
The lead-gray clouds were very low, like a piece of water-soaked black cloth, covering the sky above the imperial city.
Li Zhaoyi huddled in the crevice of the moss-covered rockery on the west side of the Imperial Garden, her fingertips digging into the damp, cold stone wall, tiny pieces of gravel embedded in the cracks between her nails.
But she couldn't even feel the pain. All she could hear were the crisp sounds of weapons clashing, the screams of eunuchs and palace maids, and... that muffled groan that made her internal organs twist in knots.
“Big Brother!”
The voice of the second brother Li Xuan was like a poisoned ice spike, piercing through the chaotic night and into Li Zhaoyi's ears.
She didn't dare to stick her head out, and could only see through the dim light in the cracks in the stone that not far away on the white marble slab road, the figure of her elder brother Li Jin in casual clothes swaying.
There was a familiar bronze sword stuck in his chest. It was the sword given to his second brother by his father on his fifteenth birthday.
Blood, like melted cinnabar, flowed down the sword blade, spreading into dazzling flowers on the bluestone slabs.
Li Jin opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he only coughed up a mouthful of blood foam and fell heavily to the ground, his eyes still wide open, looking in the direction of the rockery.
Li Zhaoyi's heart seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, tightening suddenly, and even her breathing became sharp.
She bit her lower lip hard to prevent herself from crying out. The smell of blood spread in her mouth, mixing with the increasingly thick blood smell in the air, making her stomach churn.
She still remembered that yesterday afternoon, her elder brother had secretly given her a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus cake and said with a smile, "Little sister, when father is done with state affairs, we will go to the imperial kitchen to steal some snacks."
Her second brother taught her how to hold a sword in the martial arts arena, patiently corrected her posture, and said, "From now on, your second brother will protect you, and no one can bully you."
But now, the second brother who said he would protect her killed the eldest brother who stole snacks for her with his own hands.
"Your Highness the Second Prince, the First Prince has been executed!" A guard knelt on one knee, his voice filled with flattering respect.
Li Xuan drew his sword and wiped the blood off it with the hem of Li Jin's clothes. His eyes were as cold as winter ice. "What about the Third Prince? Find him and leave him alive."
"yes!"
The footsteps gradually faded away, and Li Zhaoyi slumped down on the cold stone ground, her back pressed tightly against the stone wall, her whole body shaking uncontrollably.
She thought of her third brother, Li Chen, the gentle and refined third brother who always loved to hold a book. Could he... have already...
She dared not think about it, nor could she think about it. She could only curl herself up tighter, like a frightened little animal, praying in the darkness that the killing would end quickly.
After an unknown amount of time, a hint of paleness appeared in the sky, and the hustle and bustle of the imperial city gradually subsided, leaving only the pungent smell of blood and the burnt smell of burning things.
Li Zhaoyi's hands and feet were numb from the cold. Just as she was about to move, she heard hurried footsteps outside the rockery and a familiar voice calling her name.
"Your Highness! Where are you, Your Highness?"
It was Eunuch Zhang, the most loyal eunuch around my father.
Li Zhaoyi hesitated for a moment and tentatively poked her head out from the crevice. She saw Eunuch Zhang wearing a blood-stained palace robe, with disheveled hair and tear marks on his face, looking around anxiously.
"Eunuch Zhang..." Her voice was as hoarse as sandpaper. As soon as she opened her mouth, she couldn't help but cry.
When Eunuch Zhang heard the voice, he turned his head sharply, and the moment he saw her, his tears fell even more violently.
He stumbled over and knelt in front of the rockery: "Your Highness, I'm glad you're okay, I'm glad you're okay..."
"Where is father? Where is eldest brother? Where is third brother?" Li Zhaoyi grabbed Eunuch Zhang's sleeve and asked anxiously, her fingertips turning white from the force.
Eunuch Zhang's body stiffened for a moment, and his expression became extremely painful.
He lowered his head, his voice choking with sobs, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty is in the Imperial Study. He has... has passed away. The Third Prince... was also lost in the chaos."
"Gone..." Li Zhaoyi repeated these two words, her mind blank. Father, eldest brother, third brother... Overnight, all her relatives were gone.
She remembered that her father had summoned her to the imperial study last night, touched her head and said, "Zhaoyi, you are my only daughter, you must be well in the future." At that time, she also said coquettishly, "Father, you must always be with me."
But now, the father who would touch her head has left her forever.
"Your Highness," Eunuch Zhang raised his head, his eyes filled with a heaviness that Li Zhaoyi had never seen before.
"The rebellion in the palace has been quelled, and His Highness the Second Prince... was also killed in the chaos. Now, you are the only legitimate descendant of the entire royal family left."
"Second brother... is dead too?" Li Zhaoyi was stunned. She hated her second brother for killing her eldest and third brothers, but upon hearing the news that he was also dead, she felt no joy at all, only endless sadness.
Overnight, brothers and sisters killed each other, and all their loved ones were lost. This magnificent imperial city turned into a cold tomb, burying all her past and warmth.
Eunuch Zhang helped Li Zhaoyi out from behind the rockery. The dim morning light illuminated the mess in the imperial city.
The white marble slabs were stained with blood, and fallen corpses and broken weapons could be seen everywhere. Under the eaves of the palace, there were still unburned flames, emitting wisps of black smoke.
Li Zhaoyi walked forward step by step, and every step felt like walking on the edge of a knife. The blood under her feet soaked her embroidered shoes, and the cold touch spread from the soles of her feet to her whole body.
She walked to the imperial study and saw the guards standing at the door with solemn expressions.
"Your Highness, His Majesty's body is still inside." Eunuch Zhang said softly.
Li Zhaoyi pushed open the heavy door, and a strong smell of blood hit her face.
My father was lying on the dragon throne, his eyes closed, his face pale, a dagger stuck in his chest, and his dragon robe was stained with blood.
She walked over and gently held her father's cold hands. Those hands used to be so warm and could give her endless sense of security, but now, there was only a biting coldness.
"Father," her voice trembled, tears falling like beads from a broken string, "My daughter is here, please wake up...I still want to act coquettishly with you and want you to play with me..."
No one responded to her. There was only the sound of the wind blowing outside the palace, sobbing, as if mourning the tragedy of this imperial city.
Li Zhaoyi knelt before the throne, looking at her father's icy face. She recalled her eldest brother lying in a pool of blood, her third brother's gentle smile, and her second brother's icy eyes...
Her world completely collapsed overnight.
She didn't know how long she knelt until her legs became numb and she lost consciousness, and then she was helped up by Eunuch Zhang.
The sun outside the window had risen very high, and the golden sunlight shone into the imperial study, but it could not illuminate the darkness in her heart.
"Your Highness," Eunuch Zhang's voice trembled, "all the officials are already waiting outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony. They say... the country cannot be without a ruler for a single day. We implore you to ascend the throne."
Ascend the throne as emperor? Li Zhaoyi was stunned.
She was just a fifteen-year-old girl. She just wanted to be accompanied by her family and live a stable life. She never thought about becoming an emperor.
But when she looked at her father's cold body and the bloody imperial city, she suddenly realized that from the moment she lost all her loved ones overnight, she had no choice.
She must stand up and sit on the supreme position, because she is the only bloodline of the Li family and the only support of this imperial city.
However, the road leading to the throne is paved with the blood of loved ones, and every step is destined to be filled with excruciating pain.
Li Zhaoyi took a deep breath, wiped the tears from her face, and her eyes gradually showed a firmness that she had never had before.
"Let's go," she said calmly, yet with an undeniable power, "to the Hall of Supreme Harmony."
Eunuch Zhang looked at her back, with a hint of relief and a hint of heartache in his eyes.
He knew that from today on, there would no longer be the lovely and adorable Princess Li Zhaoyi in the world, only the empress who was about to ascend the throne.
Walking out of the imperial study, the sunlight was dazzling. Li Zhaoyi raised her head and looked towards the direction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
There, hundreds of officials gathered.
At the foot of the white jade steps in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, all the civil and military officials knelt on the ground, their black official robes forming a dark sea.
Li Zhaoyi walked out of the imperial study step by step in her blood-stained embroidered shoes. Each step seemed to be embedded with fine ice chips, which hurt her feet, but it was far less painful than the dense pain in her heart.
She stopped at the temple door and looked up.
There were still spots of blood on the dragon-shaped pillars in the hall that had not been wiped clean. The sunlight shone in through the carved window lattices, turning those blood spots into dark red spots, which looked very much like the blood that flowed from the eldest brother's chest last night.
When all the officials heard the footsteps, they all kowtowed and said, "Your Highness, we respectfully invite you to ascend the throne to bring peace to the country and comfort the people!"
The uniform shouts echoed in the empty hall, making Li Zhaoyi's eardrums hurt.
She clenched her hands at her sides, digging her nails into her palms. They called her "Princess," but what they prayed for was "the stability of the country."
No one asked her if she was willing, no one cared that she had just lost all her relatives, and no one remembered that she was just a fifteen-year-old girl.
"Your Highness," the old minister in the lead, Xu Taifu, raised his head tremblingly, his gray beard still stained with tears.
"Now that the royal family has withered, you are the only legitimate descendant. The country cannot be without a ruler for a day, so please agree!"
Li Zhaoyi's eyes swept over the heads of the officials and saw that some of them were anxious, some were worried, and some had hidden calculations in their eyes.
She suddenly realized that what they wanted was not her, Li Zhaoyi, but a "symbol of the Li family" who could stabilize the situation.
As long as this body bears the title of "Emperor", those forces that are ready to make trouble will have no reason to rebel, and those frightened people will have a place to put their hopes.
She recalled that last night when she was hiding behind the rockery, she heard her second brother say to the guards, "When I kill my eldest brother and father, the throne will be mine." At that time, she just thought her second brother was crazy.
But now, looking at the group of ministers kneeling before her begging her to ascend the throne, she realized that imperial power has always been a poison wrapped in honey. It can turn the closest people against each other, but it can also attract everyone to flock to it.
"Your Majesty has passed away, and my brothers have also..." Li Zhaoyi's voice paused, as if broken glass was stuck in her throat, and every word was painful.
"The country's destiny is precarious. If I decline, I will be disregarding the lives of the people of the world."
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