freenovelworld Chapter 453 The Emperor Has Passed Away
Chapter 453 The Emperor Has Passed Away
Lady Zhaohua paused for a moment, then revealed a frank smile.
There was not a trace of remorse in that smile, only indifference and resoluteness.
"Your Majesty, given the circumstances, I have no choice but to comply."
Her voice remained soft, but to the Emperor it sounded like a death knell.
"Given your current state, how could I not make plans sooner?"
"You have loved my son and me for so many years. Can you really bear to let the Crown Prince take our lives after you pass away?"
Every word struck the emperor's heart like a heavy hammer.
The emperor's fingers suddenly tightened around the brocade quilt beneath him.
He got it.
It was precisely because he understood that he was truly heartbroken.
"You... you..."
His face contorted with extreme anger and disappointment. "Ungrateful wretch... an ungrateful wretch who can't be fed!"
"What a wolf-hearted thing!"
The pent-up anger finally broke through the dam of reason. He suddenly burst out with brute force, grabbed a teacup from the low table beside him, and smashed it hard against that beautiful face with all his might!
"what--!"
Lady Zhaohua instinctively turned her head to dodge, and the teacup flew past her temple with a whoosh, smashing with a "clang" against the carved pillar behind her.
A purplish-blue bump visibly and rapidly swelled up on her forehead, burning with pain.
Some tea and tea leaves fell onto her exquisite hair and her face—it was an absolute humiliation!
The embarrassment and pain instantly ignited her ferocity.
What followed was overwhelming shame, anger, and hatred.
Disregarding all decorum and hierarchy, she pointed at the emperor's nose and cursed, "You old geezer! How dare you hit me?!"
"Do you think I care about serving an old man like you who's half-buried? I've had enough of this all these years!"
"I feel utterly disgusted looking at your old face every day and smelling that medicinal odor on you!"
Her eyes held undisguised madness and ruthlessness: "If you know what's good for you, hurry up and issue the decree. Out of consideration for our past relationship, Jun'er and I will let you live a little longer, otherwise..."
She took a step closer, a cruel smile on her face, "Today, the Crown Prince will assassinate the Emperor."
The Crown Prince, who had been observing coldly, let out a very soft sneer. He looked at Lady Zhaohua with a mocking expression and asked, "Why would I want to kill the emperor?"
His words were clear and indifferent: "I am the legitimate heir of the Empress, the rightful crown prince."
"This vast land, I only need to wait patiently, and it will surely fall into my hands sooner or later."
"Regicide?"
He shook his head slightly, "I'm not crazy."
Murong Jun was startled by the Crown Prince's contemptuous gaze: "Do you think you can still walk out today?"
"No matter what, after you die, we can still make up the charges against you."
The crown prince stared at Murong Jun silently for a long while, until Murong Jun felt a chill run down his spine.
"I see."
He paused, then said, "What you're planning is to force someone to abdicate."
"Then, drag me along and make me a scapegoat."
Murong Jun felt uneasy under the Crown Prince's gaze. He raised his chin high, adopting an air of complete control: "So what if you only find out now?"
"late."
“This palace, inside and out, has long been filled with my people.”
He pointed a finger at the Crown Prince, his eyes fierce, "You can't escape now!"
The Crown Prince seemed not to hear the threat, and didn't even spare Murong Jun another glance.
His gaze fell on the emperor, whose face was ashen.
“Father,” the Crown Prince’s voice was eerily calm, “You insisted on replacing Lu Jiangnian, the Minister of the Imperial Guard, not long ago, and now you have really done them a great favor.”
"Now that you've come to this point, do you regret it?"
The Emperor was furious: "You unfilial son!"
"Rebel!"
"Cough cough... They're all unfilial children!"
His blood boiled, and the shock caused him to vomit several mouthfuls of blood again.
Before he could finish speaking, a metallic taste suddenly rushed to his throat, and with a "whoosh," large mouthfuls of blood splattered onto the bright yellow brocade quilt, a shocking sight.
Lady Zhaohua was standing not far away when she saw the spurting blood. She was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she screamed and took several steps back, afraid of getting her hands on the unclean bloodstains.
The emperor, breathing heavily, used his last bit of strength to stare intently at the panicked Lady Zhaohua.
"Hehe...hehe..."
"……you……"
He moved his lips with difficulty, "Not...the Crown Prince's...opponent, never...not..."
He suddenly looked at the Crown Prince, a final, fierce glint in his eyes: "Crown Prince, I... want you... to make her... be buried with me!"
"I do not want."
Lady Zhaohua screamed, her body trembling slightly. Why should he drag her down with him?
She will be the most honored empress dowager in the Great Jing Dynasty.
The crown prince did not answer the emperor's question. Instead, he knelt down in front of the emperor, looking him in the eye: "Father, do you regret it?"
The emperor slowly focused his unfocused gaze on the face of his son before him.
He grinned, smiled silently, revealing a set of teeth stained a bright red with blood.
That smile held no regret, no tenderness, only a deep-seated imperial majesty and final arrogance.
"I...am...the Emperor..."
With his last breath, he uttered these words, "Whatever...I do...is...right..."
"No...regret..."
The moment the words fell, the hand that had once held the power of life and death finally fell limply to the edge of the cold bed.
Those eyes that once overlooked the vast land of China have closed forever, deeply.
Inside the bedchamber, there was a suffocating silence.
The prince remained kneeling, quietly watching the lifeless body.
In a daze, countless childhood scenes flashed through my mind: my father's hearty laughter as he lifted him high in the air, my mother's gentle hand stroking his head, the warm and cozy atmosphere of the family of three in the Imperial Garden...
Those long-ago, pure, joyful times buried deep in his heart are now so vivid in his mind.
A sharp, indescribable throbbing pain suddenly spread from the depths of my heart.
He spoke softly, his voice so low that only he could hear it, "Father, in the end, you really don't love me anymore."
The Crown Prince slowly stood up and turned his gaze to Murong Jun, whose face was pale and whose eyes were darting around.
"Father is dead," the Crown Prince said in a flat voice, "Are you happy?"
Murong Jun trembled violently.
He seemed to be burned by those words, or perhaps he hadn't recovered from the huge shock at all.
Father Emperor... passed away without any warning?
Murong Jun's hands and feet went numb. He opened his mouth, his throat dry: "I..."
"Jun'er!"
Madam Zhaohua was so anxious she was almost jumping up and down. "This is not the time for such nonsense! Quickly! Get our people in! Get the situation under control!"
She practically yelled those words.