The Marquis of Pingyang harbored great ambitions, having endured in silence for over twenty years.

He had originally intended to assist the Third Prince in ascending the throne, making him a puppet emperor, but Na Tuo was singleminded in his pursuit of success—there was no guarantee he wouldn’t turn ruthless after his coronation.

The only path forward was to claim the throne himself!

Li Qiao had never imagined his father’s appetite would be so enormous. For a moment, he couldn’t quite accept it.

But the deed was already done!

Upon hearing those words, the King of Huyi felt as if his chest were burning like fire.

He was nearly at his last breath.

With trembling hands, he raised his arm and pointed at the Marquis of Pingyang. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t utter a single word.

The Marquis of Pingyang said, “However, Your Majesty can rest assured—this subject will not let you depart alone. I will certainly have the Second Prince and Third Prince accompany you. I have already sent people to the Third Prince’s manor to bring the Third Prince’s corpse before you.”

Ugh!

“As for the Second Prince, he has already escaped from the royal palace. I have also sent people to pursue and capture him immediately. I believe very soon, Your Majesty will have a family reunion.”

The King of Huyi spat out another mouthful of blood.

Only half a life remained in him.

The Marquis of Pingyang was triumphant, victory within his grasp.

He instructed Li Qiao, “Many officials in the court have already been arrested. You will handle them. If there are any who resist, kill them without mercy.”

A fierce ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.

Li Qiao had not yet recovered from the shock of the plan changing.

“Why aren’t you going yet?”

“Yes!”

He could only obey the command and left the great hall.

At the same time, at the Third Prince’s manor, it was already the hour of Xu.

Na Tuo had openly and brazenly changed into that dragon robe symbolizing power and status.

Two golden dragons came to life on his chest!

He fantasized about the scene of ten thousand people paying homage—how glorious it would be.

In just one more hour, the kingdom of Huyi would be his for the taking!

But now, his complexion was pale and he coughed incessantly.

His body grew worse with each passing day!

Even walking a few steps would prove extremely difficult.

But he had to hold on!

“Creak.”

The door to the room was pushed open by someone.

“Who is it?”

Na Tuo turned to look.

Jing Xuan?

Jing Xuan wore white mourning garments, with a small white flower adorning her head. In her hands, she held an exquisite incense burner.

Incense burned within the burner, white smoke curling upward, its fragrance assailing the nostrils.

Outside, heavy snow was falling.

She stood in the doorway, the candlelight from the lantern spilling over her body, making her entire figure appear half-real, half-illusory.

Seeing her dressed this way, Na Tuo immediately felt fury surge within him.

Today was the auspicious day when he would ascend to the throne.

Yet this woman had dressed so inauspiciously!

He ground his teeth in anger. “What is the meaning of this?”

Yet Jing Xuan’s expression remained calm. Holding the incense burner, she slowly walked toward him with measured steps.

Facing Na Tuo before her in his dragon robe, she showed no surprise.

She only said, “I’ve come to see the Prince off.”

Her voice was as if it had emerged from a deep abyss, making one feel a chill.

Na Tuo glared at her. “Before this Prince decides to kill you, get out immediately.”

But Jing Xuan suddenly smiled. She boldly met that fierce gaze and said, “These past days, the Prince must have been plagued by nightmares every night, haven’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I imagine in your dreams, the Prince must surely see that Young Lord Gong! He must be standing before you covered in blood.”

“Shut up!” Jing Xuan’s eyes flickered slightly, showing not the slightest trace of fear. She silently placed the incense burner in her hands gently on the table, fanned the curling white smoke with her hand, a sinister smile hanging at the corners of her mouth. With her back to Na Tuo, she said in a flat tone, “A guilty conscience naturally brings nightmares and nightly terrors. The Prince personally requested to oversee Young Lord Gong’s execution, sending him to the execution platform, watching with your own eyes as his head rolled to the ground. What you saw became your dreams. Young Lord Gong had brotherly affection toward the Prince, yet the Prince was singleminded in wishing for his death, so you could extricate yourself and stand alone!

Abandoning that relationship—this is unrighteous. Being unrighteous, how can you have peace?”

She spoke as if telling a story!

After hearing this, the fire surging in Na Tuo’s heart grew stronger and stronger.

He finally understood why this woman had dressed this way to bring him such ill fortune.

So it was…

“It seems in your heart, Gong Shilin has always been your heart’s affliction.”

“He is not my heart’s affliction, but yours.” Jing Xuan smiled faintly, turned to look at him, her gaze slowly falling upon the two lifelike golden dragons on his chest.

She stared at them fixedly.

Na Tuo followed her gaze and looked down.

The two golden dragons that had been on his dragon robe had actually turned into two moths.

He panicked for a moment.

He quickly slapped at them forcefully with his hand.

The moths seemed to drill out from the fabric, circling around him.

“Go away.”

He waved his arms, trying to swat the moths away.

But the moths grew more and more numerous.

They nearly wrapped him into a ball!

“Go away! All of you, go away!” Na Tuo shouted loudly with his eyes closed.

His hands flailed about.

Suddenly—

A force seized his arm.

It pulled him out from among the moths.

And those moths that had been wrapped around his body instantly vanished without a trace.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the person who had grabbed his arm.

It was… Gong Shilin, covered in blood!

Ugh!

His eyes were filled with shock, completely losing his composure. Gong Shilin’s face was covered in blood, his white eyes rolled back as he looked at him eerily, asking, “A Tuo, didn’t you say I was your blood brother? Yet for the throne, you were willing to sacrifice me. You’re the one who killed me, you’re the one who severed my head, making me end up so miserably.”

Na Tuo completely broke down, shaking his head desperately. “No, no… it wasn’t me!”

“Why did you do this to me? Why?”

“It’s not like that, I didn’t want to either. Shilin, I didn’t want to either!” Na Tuo said as if he’d gone mad.

He wanted to try to break free, but his entire body was weak and powerless.

Until Gong Shilin released him.

He staggered backward repeatedly, his foot striking the table corner, causing the tea set placed on it to clatter with a “clang.”

This sound pulled him back to reality.

He was drenched in cold sweat, as if he had been pressed underwater and had finally been released.

There were no moths at all.

Nor was there any Gong Shilin.

All of this was just his hallucination.

He gradually regained his senses, looking at Jing Xuan standing before him with a radiant smile, acting as if nothing had happened. At this moment, he finally understood.

Fury immediately consumed him as he reached out and grabbed her throat.

He pressed her slender frame heavily against the door frame.

“What exactly did you do to me? Speak!”

With her throat seized by a powerful force, Jing Xuan felt pain and discomfort. She didn’t struggle, only tilted up her chin, still smiling with that eerie, sinister look in her eyes as she said, “What could I possibly do to you? All of this is your own inner demons at work. I told you, Young Lord Gong is your heart’s affliction. With guilt in your heart, nightmares naturally plague you.”

“You…” The force at his wrist increased.

He wanted to strangle this woman to death.

But…

His body was too weak.

He simply couldn’t muster much strength.

Instead, after being repeatedly provoked, his already weakened body became even more exhausted.

“Cough, cough…” He coughed incessantly.

His hands also gradually released from Jing Xuan’s throat. He clutched his chest, his body slowly sliding down.

He knelt on one knee on the ground.

Kneeling before Jing Xuan.

“What… what exactly did you do to this Prince?” Na Tuo asked her persistently.

Jing Xuan leaned against the door, her eyes containing nothing but coldness and hatred.

She smoothed out the mourning garments that Na Tuo had crumpled, looking down condescendingly at the man on the ground in his dragon robe.

She said, “Doesn’t the Prince think… the incense I prepared smells wonderful?”

Ugh!

Na Tuo’s pupils suddenly dilated, his face full of shock. He turned to look at the incense burner Jing Xuan had placed on the table.

White smoke still rose from the incense burner. The entire room was suffused with that refreshingly sweet fragrance.