The wailing gradually subsided.
Regent Xiao Yuan, who was pinned to the ground, seemed to have exhausted his last bit of strength, or perhaps he had been completely swallowed up by the endless despair. He stopped struggling and lay limp on the ground like a lump of mud.
The suffocating tension inside the Golden Palace finally dissipated slowly.
Instead, there was a complex tranquility, a sense of having survived a catastrophe.
"His Majesty……"
Shen Ce stepped forward, bowed to Xiao Che, and his voice still carried a trace of lingering fear, "The traitor Xiao Yuan has been captured, and all his followers have surrendered. Please give your instructions, Your Majesty, on how to deal with him?"
The Empress Dowager finally recovered from her shock. Supported by Lin Wanwan, she managed to stand, and looking at the man trampled underfoot by the soldiers, a complex emotion flashed in her eyes—a mixture of hatred and a barely perceptible sorrow. But she said nothing, only turning her gaze to her son, who had just escaped death.
At this moment, all the surviving civil and military officials and imperial guards in the entire Golden Palace, and even in the square outside the palace, focused their attention on the young emperor holding the empress's hand.
They are waiting.
They awaited the king's command, awaiting his final judgment on this earth-shattering rebellion.
Everyone thought that what followed would be a devastating reckoning.
This emperor, who has just demonstrated his iron-fisted rule, will issue a series of harsh decrees to purge the court, appease the people, and rebuild order in this empire that has just survived a catastrophe as quickly as possible.
However, Xiao Che's reaction once again surprised everyone.
He didn't say anything.
He didn't even glance at the royal uncle who was now under his feet and who had once made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.
He also did not go to see his mother, who was still in shock after he had just saved her from the brink of death.
He simply held Lin Wanwan's hand quietly.
Those eyes, which had just been filled with icy killing intent, now transformed into a tenderness capable of melting everything in the world when they looked at the woman beside him.
He slowly turned around.
It wasn't addressed to the kneeling subjects, nor to the army awaiting his commands.
Instead, he took her hand and led her towards the dilapidated palace gate, which was bathed in the light of dawn...
"His Majesty?"
Shen Ce was taken aback, looking at the emperor's back with a puzzled expression.
The civil and military officials looked at each other, completely bewildered as to what this young monarch was trying to do.
However, no one dared to voice their doubts.
Because at this moment, Xiao Che's aura of iron will and majesty, which had just been forged in a bloody battle, was so heavy that it made everyone present feel suffocated.
They could only watch silently.
They watched as their king, hand in hand with their queen, walked step by step out of the Golden Palace, a symbol of the pinnacle of imperial power.
The moment Xiao Che's figure reappeared in the plaza outside the palace.
The light of dawn has completely dispelled the darkness of the long night.
The golden sunlight gently bathed this ravaged land, casting a tragic and solemn glow on the corpses and dried blood scattered everywhere.
The square outside the hall was already filled with kneeling people.
The surviving civil and military officials, the Imperial Guards who survived the ordeal, and the Imperial Guard cavalry who had just arrived and taken control of the situation...
It was a dark, dense mass, stretching as far as the eye could see.
When they saw the figure leading the Empress out of the Golden Palace.
After a brief silence.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
I don't know who it was, but the first person to let out a heartfelt, hoarse cry!
The next moment, a sound like a mountain roaring and a tsunami surged into the sky!
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
"Long live the Empress! Long live the Empress! Long live the Empress!"
The voice was so loud and so sincere!
It dispelled the fear of the long night, washed away the bloodshed of war, and was filled with relief for the king's survival and heartfelt reverence!
This is a declaration of victory!
It is the highest form of respect that subjects can give to their monarch!
However, faced with the thunderous shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" that could shake the heavens and earth, Xiao Che remained completely unmoved.
He seemed not to have heard at all.
He simply held Lin Wanwan's hand and, step by step, treading through the bloodstains, bypassed the ruins and slowly descended the high steps of the Golden Palace.
He walked slowly, but steadily.
Every step felt like stepping onto a pivotal moment in an era.
The civil and military officials kneeling at the front all lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at the emperor and empress bathed in the morning light and the cheers of the people.
Xiao Che ignored them.
He led her through the dark mass of people kneeling on the ground.
He then led her through the square, a scene of utter carnage and devastation.
He ignored the corpses at his feet, the ruins beside him, and the officials, both civil and military, kneeling behind him.
His eyes seemed to no longer be able to contain anything in this world.
Only the woman he was holding hands with.
Lin Wanwan let him lead her.
She could clearly feel how much force he was using with his large, calloused hands, which were covered from years of martial arts training, as if he wanted to crush her hand bones.
But instead of struggling, she gripped him even tighter.
She didn't know what he wanted to do.
But she knew that no matter what he wanted to do, no matter where he wanted to take her, she would be with him.
that's all.
Under the gaze of tens of thousands of soldiers and officials, filled with awe, worship, and a hint of incomprehension.
Xiao Che, holding Lin Wanwan's hand, walked step by step to the very center of the entire palace square.
This is the center of the entire palace.
That was also the most brutal part of that bloody battle.
He stopped in his tracks.
Lin Wanwan also stopped.
He slowly turned around to face her.
At that moment, the shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" gradually subsided.
Everyone unconsciously slowed their breathing.
Everyone assumed that His Majesty was about to stand at the center of the entire palace and deliver a... declaration of victory to all his subjects.
He will settle scores with the traitors, appease the people, reward those who have rendered meritorious service, and announce the end of an old era and the beginning of a new one.
Lin Wanwan thought so too.
She looked at him quietly, a hint of expectant smile in her eyes.
She awaited the moment when he, as a true emperor, would announce his return to the world.
However……
The next second, Xiao Che's actions completely petrified everyone present, including Lin Wanwan.
Xiao Che slowly released the hand that had been tightly holding Lin Wanwan's.
His face showed neither the pride of a victor nor the majesty of a ruler.
Yes, but it was a kind of almost devout, tenderness and affection that Lin Wanwan had never seen before.
Then, under the first rays of dawn.
Under the incredulous and horrified gazes of tens of thousands of soldiers and officials!
This is the iron-blooded emperor who has just quelled the rebellion and returned from a bloody battle.
Facing his queen.
Slowly, solemnly...
Kneel on one knee!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com