Chapter 166 The late emperor actually considered deposing him
Hearing her tearful vow, Yuwen Che felt both pain and warmth in his heart. He hugged her tighter and said in a low but firm voice, "Xue'er, don't worry... I won't let anything happen to me. I can't bear to leave you and the children."
But then he changed the subject, his tone carrying a solemnity she had never heard before, almost like a death sentence: "But Xue'er, you must also promise me that no matter what happens in the future, even... even if it really comes to the worst possible day, I will definitely arrange the safest escape route for you and the children, so that you can..."
"No! I don't want to!" Su Luoxue interrupted him abruptly, raising her tear-streaked face and shaking her head vigorously.
She clutched his shirt tightly with both hands, as if grasping at a lifeline, "I don't want any way out! I just want you! Yuwen Che, I just want you to live, to stay by my side!"
She stared at him with near despair, trying to find a clue in his deep eyes: "Ache, tell me, what happened? Why... why did you suddenly say such things?"
"You've never been like this before... Is it... Is it that even you aren't confident about this? Is it... more dangerous than the Gu poison, the Shen family, the Northern Kingdom...? Tell me!"
Her voice trembled on the verge of collapse, gripped tightly by an immense fear of losing him.
Looking at the almost broken light in her eyes, Yuwen Che felt all the words of comfort he had prepared stuck in his throat.
How could he tell her that his younger brother, who should have died in the palace coup nine years ago, might still be alive and, filled with hatred, was colluding with the Nanzhao Kingdom?
Their power might far exceed his expectations? How could he allow her to bear this fear that could upend everything?
In the end, he simply looked at her intently, raised his hand, and gently wiped away her tears with his fingertips. Then he gently pressed her head back against his chest, letting her hear his steady heartbeat.
"Xue'er," his voice carried a heavy and helpless strength, "some things, I don't know if it's best for you. You just need to remember my words and trust me. I promise you, I will do everything in my power to stay by your side and the child's side."
He paused, and with almost all his strength, he uttered the words he was extremely reluctant to say, yet had to arrange in advance: "But if... if there truly is a day when fate is inescapable, my only request is that you live on, and live well with our child. This is my... final order to you, and my only request."
Su Luoxue burst into tears in his arms.
She knew that the most important person in her life was envisioning an incredibly difficult escape route for her, one without him. And she would never accept it.
Su Luoxue grabbed his sleeve, her eyes brimming with tears, and pressed him for an answer: "A-Che, tell me, what exactly..."
Yuwen Che simply raised his hand and gently wiped away the tears on her cheeks with his fingertips. He shook his head, his smile reassuring yet tinged with a barely perceptible heaviness: "Xue'er, don't ask... trust me."
Just then, Li Dehai's voice rang out from outside the hall, tinged with urgency: "Your Majesty, Lord Hanying has urgent business to discuss outside!"
Yuwen Che lowered his head and kissed Su Luoxue's forehead, saying softly, "Be good, wait for me here, I'll be right back."
Having said that, he didn't linger any longer, turned around, and strode out of the bedchamber.
Watching his resolute departing figure, Su Luoxue felt a surge of unease welling up inside her, threatening to overwhelm her. "How could it all suddenly turn out like this..."
Outside the hall, Yuwen Che's expression instantly returned to its cold and stern tone: "What is it?"
Han Ying knelt on one knee, her tone grave: "My lord, Mo Ying has acted as you instructed, but... Yuwen Hong has vanished without a trace, and even when Mo Ying personally went out, she could not find a single clue about him."
Yuwen Che's eyes darkened: "You can't even find Mo Ying?" This is worse than he expected.
Han Ying then added, "There is one more thing, which is even more important."
He presented a bright yellow scroll with slightly worn edges, its material and patterns clearly indicating it was an imperial edict. "Your Majesty," he said, "this was discovered by your subordinate in a very secret compartment while secretly searching for the late Emperor's belongings, based on clues followed by Lord Moying. Please take a look."
Yuwen Che accepted the heavy imperial edict, a sense of foreboding already creeping into his heart. He slowly unfurled it, and as his gaze swept over the clear handwriting and the bright red seal belonging to the late emperor, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his aura instantly turned icy cold!
The imperial edict, written in black and white and stamped with the Imperial Seal, stated that he was to be deposed as the Crown Prince and that the Fourth Prince, Yuwen Hong, should be made the new Emperor!
Han Ying's voice rang out from the side, filled with disbelief and horror: "Your Majesty... this, this is the late Emperor's... will of succession! It states... that the fourth prince, Yuwen Hong... will inherit the throne!"
Yuwen Che stared intently at the edict that could almost overturn everything, his knuckles turning white from the force.
It turns out... the late emperor not only protected Yuwen Hong, but also left behind such a... legitimacy certificate that was enough to condemn him to eternal damnation!
He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze filled with a turbulent black storm, and his voice was terrifyingly low as he spoke, each word distinct and clear:
"What a...what a late emperor...truly...my good father!"
Yuwen Che's chest heaved violently as he stared at the imperial edict that could potentially overturn everything he held dear, his eyes burning with rage and chilling killing intent. Without hesitation, he brought it close to the candlelight beside him!
The bright yellow silk was instantly engulfed by the flames, quickly curling up, charring, and turning to ashes, just like the late emperor's shady plot, which he personally destroyed.
"Han Ying!" Yuwen Che's voice was as cold as ice. "Issue my order: the entire Shadow Pavilion is to be mobilized! And..."
He paused, a resolute glint flashing in his eyes, "Deploy the Dark Guard! Spare no effort to hunt down Yuwen Hong! I will tear him to pieces!"
Han Ying's heart skipped a beat when he heard the words "Dark Pavilion." The Dark Pavilion was the most secretive and deadly force in the master's hands, a force that even Bai Xiao had no right to know about, let alone interfere with.
He never acted lightly unless the country was in peril. But he immediately understood that the existence of the Fourth Prince, Yuwen Hong, coupled with this imperial edict, was enough to unleash a massive wave that would overthrow the court. He solemnly clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes! Your subordinate understands! We will not allow even a single word of this to leak out!"
"Get it done immediately!"
"Yes!" Han Ying accepted the order, and his figure disappeared as quickly as a ghost.
After Han Ying left, Li Dehai and his palace servants waited tremblingly to the side. Yuwen Che's chest blazed with rage, his eyes filled with a terrifying red light. He suddenly kicked over the heavy imperial desk! Memorials, writing materials, and the imperial seal scattered across the floor!
He stared at the mess, as if he could see his father, the emperor who had plotted against him in the afterlife, through it all. He let out a cold, mocking laugh, his voice filled with suppressed hatred and madness.
"Father...you are truly my good father! You made me fight on the battlefield for you at the age of fifteen, risking my life to conquer this vast empire...but behind my back, you were thinking of deposing me and making Yuwen Hong, the son of that lowly woman, the crown prince?!"
He slowly clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking, his eyes like those of a bloodthirsty beast.
"Don't even think about it! Don't you love him the most? Fine... I'll send him down to join you! I want you to see with your own eyes that the son you've schemed so hard to protect will, until death... be nothing more than a defeated foe of mine! Yuwen Hong will never be worthy of being compared to me!"
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