Xiao Yan's voice was particularly cold.
"The official ship that was checked several times before leaving the capital suddenly sank, and nearly a million in disaster relief funds disappeared without a trace. Not a single soldier escorting the disaster silver survived, yet His Majesty was able to establish himself in the court in just a few short years. Do you really think that simply marrying a daughter of the Lu family could make that happen?"
"If the daughter of the Lu family were really so good to marry, given your position among the princes at the time, and Lu Qingfeng was just a minor branch of the family, how come you couldn't marry her as you wished?"
The King of Cheng was stunned by Xiao Yan's words.
Xiao Yan sneered, "The Lu family chose His Majesty from the beginning. The person you claim was forced to separate from you due to the late emperor's marriage decree had already chosen another long ago."
"You’re lying!!" The King of Cheng hissed sharply, "You’re talking nonsense!!"
Lu Qingfeng had been forced to separate from him, and she had always loved him.
When the late emperor’s marriage decree came, she had wanted to throw herself into a lake to preserve her purity, but the Lu family had pressured her with her own parents to marry him, forcing her to marry Xie Tianyong to help him ascend to the throne.
She had given her pure body to him, and even the child was only given his bloodline. After marrying Xie Tianyong, she had secretly helped him, gathered information for him, and even assisted him behind the Lu family’s back. It was only because of his misfortune that he lost to Xie Tianyong...
The King of Cheng glared at Xiao Yan with bloodshot eyes. "I don’t know what you want, but you will never break the bond between me and her. We are loyal to each other until death, and you, eunuch, will never understand!"
" loyal until death?"
Xiao Yan seemed to find it amusing, suddenly laughing. He pulled out two items from his sleeve and spread them out in front of the King of Cheng.
"What are you doing..."
The King of Cheng instinctively tried to step back in shock, but Xiao Yan grabbed his hair and forced his head toward the blood-stained scroll.
"What you call loyal is that she, knowing the truth about the disaster relief back then, knowing that the Lu family helped His Majesty embezzle the disaster funds, still used your trust in her to intercept the evidence gathered by your men, keeping you in the dark for years?"
"Your steadfastness is that she, knowing the Lu family had intentions to marry off their daughter to His Majesty, secretly met with His Majesty several times, causing him to develop feelings for her, and later begged for adoption into the main branch, kneeling in front of Lu Chongyuan to obtain this marriage contract?"
"What are you saying..."
"What I’m saying, you know in your heart. Open your eyes and look at this!"
The King of Cheng was forced to raise his head, widening his eyes in an effort to see the items right in front of him. He was initially suspicious, but when he saw the words written on the silk cloth soaked in dried blood, his eyes grew wider in disbelief.
"Minister Tao Zian of Rongjiang County reports to His Majesty: Inspector Lu Chongyuan, who was ordered by the Emperor to distribute disaster relief, disobeyed the Crown Prince’s wishes and arbitrarily blocked the military forces in Rongjiang, intending to massacre the city and forcefully suppress the plague..."
"Those infected in the city were only a few dozen, while nearly ten thousand others were healthy. The Crown Prince had already ordered doctors to find a cure and set up a separate quarantine area, but Lu the bandit wanted to destroy the Crown Prince’s reputation, using the excuse to massacre the common people. I pleaded with the Fifth Prince, but my legs were broken, and I was imprisoned in the government office."
"That night, the city was engulfed by a great fire. I was trapped in the office, hearing the cries of over ten thousand people. The fire turned the entire city into ashes. I risked my life to write this blood letter, hoping that the heavens would punish the evil bandit, otherwise, I would die with regrets!"
The bloodstained words were deeply etched in the silk, and the phrase "die with regrets" was especially chaotic.
Xiao Yan looked at the pale King of Cheng, then leaned down and whispered in his ear: "Do you know how His Majesty quelled the disaster and suppressed the rebellion back then? He ordered the burning of Rongjiang, slaughtering all who might be infected. He obtained support from the Lu family's private army, colluding with local officials and bandits, and massacring the disaster victims, passing them off as rebels."
"He took the disaster relief funds and rice gathered by the Crown Prince and the He family after they returned to the capital, deceiving the ignorant victims into worshiping him as a god. When he returned to the capital, the people of the southern region lined the streets to welcome him. Nine out of ten were officials and bandits who had profited greatly. The Ten Thousand People Umbrella placed in the Imperial Ancestral Hall was stained with the blood of those who died unjustly."
Xiao Yan released the King of Cheng’s hair, and as he collapsed to the ground, he put away the blood letter, speaking each word slowly.
"This blood letter was given to me personally by the Lu Empress after the Fourth Prince was crippled. She resented the Lu family and handed it to me herself."
"The events of those years were unknown to others, but the Lu Empress knew everything. After the rebellious Crown Prince, you and His Majesty fought for the throne. Had she revealed this blood letter, or even just told you part of the truth, you could have forced His Majesty to retreat. How could you have handed the throne to him so easily and ended up in such a situation?"
The King of Cheng, lying on the ground, turned even paler: "Impossible... that can’t be..."
He mumbled softly, wanting to say that Xiao Yan was lying, that the blood letter was not given to him by the Empress. But many years ago, those almost forgotten scenes slowly surfaced in his mind.
When Xie Tianyong returned to the capital after distributing disaster relief, he had been busy allying with the court officials to deal with Xie Tianzhao, who had returned in disgrace after failing the relief efforts. His men had intercepted some news from the south, and when the goods arrived, Lu Qingfeng was there.
He had been in deep love with her and never suspected anything. She said that the news was unimportant, and he casually set it aside without asking further. Afterward, he never saw that item again...
Some things simply couldn’t withstand scrutiny.
After he fell for Lu Qingfeng, he had repeatedly asked the late emperor for a marriage, but she said her lowly status might harm his career, making the emperor disappointed in him.
After the late emperor gave the decree, she suddenly became the adopted daughter of the Lu family and was adopted by Lu Chongyuan. She cried and begged not to marry anyone else, saying she only wanted to be his wife.
But the Lu family pressured her, and the royal family pressured her.
After he saved Lu Qingfeng from the lake, where she had tried to end her life to preserve her purity, and after she gave him her body with tears in her eyes, he fell deeply in love with her and believed in her completely.
But why hadn’t he thought carefully back then?
The late emperor didn’t know the Lu family’s daughter, but his marriage decree was for Lu Qingfeng, the Lu family’s legitimate daughter. If Lu Qingfeng had already known Xie Tianyong, and if the Lu family had already planned for a marriage alliance, how could they have so conveniently adopted her into the main branch just before the imperial decree?
And then there was the battle for the throne.
Clearly, he was always stronger than Xie Tianyong, clearly, he was one step away from the throne, but Xie Tianyong always seemed to predict his every move.
He had held a promising situation, and after much effort, he had taken down the Crown Prince. But in the end, he fell into Xie Tianyong’s hands...
"Lu Qingfeng..."
Lu Qingfeng!!!
The King of Cheng trembled all over, his mind racing. The more he thought about the past, the more he realized how many flaws there had been.
Xiao Yan folded up the blood letter and put it away: "Actually, I’ve always been curious. A woman like the Empress, who single-handedly played His Majesty and you in circles, do you really think she would raise your bloodline under her knee? Leaving such a huge handle that could overturn everything for her and her son at any time?"
He glanced at the King of Cheng: "The Fourth Prince and you are nothing alike."
Killing people and destroying their hearts, that’s the way it goes.
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T/N: XY: Let me absolutely destroy him mentally before he dies
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You can read ahead to chapterr 400 (100+ extra chapters) here
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