Shang Rui: "Father and Mother are dead?"
After escaping, Shang Rui asked Yun Luobai this question for who knows how many times.
Yun Luobai's slender figure disappeared into the night, almost blending into the darkness: "Yes."
Shang Rui's eyes were bloodshot, and he was on the verge of collapse: "What do we do now? Are we just supposed to watch Shang Changze gloat and let him pin the charge of usurping power on me?"
Why did God give him a second chance at life? Was it just so he could witness Shang Changze taking away what rightfully belonged to him?!
To avoid pursuers, no fire was lit in the cave. The moonlight in the cold winter was weak, and only blurry faces could be vaguely seen.
The Yun family is a staunch supporter of the Third Prince's faction, and now that the new emperor has ascended the throne...
It's easy to imagine what fate awaits the Yun family, who are detained in the capital and accused of participating in a coup.
Yun Luobai was not in a good mood, but she used her remaining rationality to maintain a calm tone and patiently answer:
"The best course of action for us now is to get as far away from the capital as possible, to avoid the limelight and recuperate."
Wait for the right opportunity, then return with the list of the Crown Prince's crimes and the edict of succession to expose his offenses.
The Emperor has always harbored suspicion towards the Crown Prince and has made thorough preparations to deal with him.
The emperor even prepared two copies of the Crown Prince's criminal record and the edict of succession, one kept in the imperial study and the other in his father's hands.
He had read the list of crimes; it only stated that the Crown Prince's act of forcing the emperor to abdicate and plotting a rebellion was a heinous crime deserving of death, and contained no other charges.
The Emperor probably never imagined that the gentle-natured Crown Prince would actually dare to commit such an unforgivable and treasonous act as patricide.
Or rather...
Yun Luobai's vision blurred, and a flamboyant female figure appeared, only to vanish in a flash.
It seems that everything started to change slowly from the night Princess Anguo spoke up for the general at the pavilion in the middle of the lake.
I thought it was just a minor variable, but I never expected...
The saying "A thousand-mile dike is breached by an ant hole" perfectly encapsulates the defeat orchestrated by the emperor and his father.
"Yun Luobai, are you even listening to me? Do you dare to disrespect me and not take me seriously now?!"
Yun Luobai snapped out of her daze, unable to see Shang Rui's face clearly, but she could hear the anger and embarrassment in Shang Rui's words.
Under the cover of darkness, a faint sneer appeared on his handsome face as he bowed respectfully to Shang Rui.
"Your Highness, please forgive me. I had no intention of disrespecting you. I was just thinking of a solution and that's when I lost focus."
Shang Rui: "You don't need to think about it anymore, I've already made up my mind. After meeting up with Xiangrong tomorrow, we'll head south to Jiangnan."
He is still a prince, and he possesses the imperial edict of succession and the list of the crown prince's crimes, both written by his father.
After arriving in Jiangnan, he will live in anonymity and win back Linglong's heart, thus gaining control of the wealth of Jiangnan.
But if he secretly meets with local officials then and exposes Shang Changze's crime of patricide, he will surely be able to persuade the officials to help him kill his way back to the capital!
Yun Luobai: "I wonder if Your Highness went to Jiangnan..."
Before Yun Luo could finish speaking, two cold, sharp swords were pressed against his neck.
By the faint moonlight, Yun Luobai could make out the patterns on the cuffs of the sleeves of the two people holding swords to their necks.
Gold thread, dragon pattern.
Emperor's Shadow!
Yun Luobai was deeply shaken, only now realizing that Shang Rui's successful escape from the palace wasn't entirely due to her father's arrangements.
Instead, two imperial figures assisted them, suppressing their mocking smiles and regaining the respect due to subjects towards a prince:
"Your humble servant obeys."
Shang Rui sneered, raised his hand to signal the two Emperor Shadows to sheathe their swords, and watched Yun Luobai turn and leave.
Shang Rui was extremely grateful that when his father lost an Imperial Shadow, he didn't take back all the Imperial Shadows around him, but only took back one.
On a cold winter night, Shang Rui took the water pouch handed to him by Di Ying, tilted his head back, and gulped down a mouthful of water. The water was cold, without any warmth.
As Shang Rui's chaotic mind, which had been thrown into turmoil overnight, gradually calmed down, a cold wind blew into the cave entrance.
Shang Rui's mind became clearer. He beckoned the two Imperial Shadows to sit on either side of him and then whispered his instructions:
"Go and retrieve the edict of succession and the list of the Crown Prince's crimes from Yun Luobai's body. You will keep them safe from now on."
If we encounter danger on our journey south, you are only concerned with saving yourselves and my lives; you don't need to worry about the others.
The two imperial figures nodded silently. One stayed by Shang Rui's side, while the other got up and walked towards Yun Luobai and the others, unconditionally obeying Shang Rui's orders.
Emperor Mingde's order to them was to protect the life of the Third Prince. Although Emperor Mingde was dead,
But the Third Prince is still alive, and as long as the Third Prince is alive, they will continue to protect him.
Obey the emperor and carry out his orders.
This is the mission of the Imperial Shadow, and the meaning of its existence in this world.
Each emperor of Qingyan had ten personal imperial shadows, cultivated by the people who had guarded the imperial tombs throughout history.
These people adopted the imperial surname Shang but had no given names, and did not participate in any factional struggles among the princes.
They are loyal only to the founding emperor of Qingyan and abide by the agreement made with him.
They have lived and guarded the imperial mausoleum for generations, and are responsible for training powerful and absolutely loyal imperial shadows for each Qingyan emperor.
Shang Rui understood all this very well, because he too had once possessed ten Emperor Shadows of his own.
He knew Di Ying's loyalty better than anyone else; everyone in the world might betray him, but Di Ying would never.
But now the Imperial Shadow, which should have belonged to him, has become Shang Changze's person. How could he not hate it!
"Chu Yue!"
The word "betrayal" reminded Shang Rui of Chu Yue, who had insisted on going to the palace with him to protect the emperor, but whom he couldn't find before they left.
His fists clenched, he vaguely guessed why Chu Yue had disappeared, but he still couldn't help but feel angry.
Why wasn't she by his side when he needed her most? If she had known this would happen, she shouldn't have let Chu Zhao go for Chu Yue's sake!
That's enough.
He doesn't care about these things now; the most important thing is to safely head south to recuperate.
As for the capital and the court, let his good brothers fight with Shang Changze!
One day he will return here, reap the benefits, and reclaim everything that belongs to him.
He didn't believe that so many cunning old foxes in the court couldn't see through the truth—who was the one who forced the emperor to abdicate, plotted rebellion, and murdered his father.
He wanted to see how long Shang Changze, who had no chance of the throne in his previous life, could sit on the throne in this life!
And then there's Shang Ye, his dear fourth brother.
His father had told him that his fourth brother was a very good sword, and also, the Southern Liang.
In short, Qingyan is a vast region, far from the emperor's reach, with many local officials and soldiers.
He has a real imperial edict in his hand, so he will always have a chance to make a comeback!
Even now, Shang Rui remains very confident in himself, and this blind confidence stems from—
In his previous life, his brothers fought to the death, while he ascended the throne smoothly without doing anything, and was even reborn after death.
What incredible luck! Not everyone has that kind of luck!
Only he, Shang Rui, is destined by Heaven!
He didn't believe that God had given him a second chance at life just so he could see everything that belonged to him being taken away by Shang Changze. There must be another plan!
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