As the blade fell, what was that person still shouting? What were they shouting?
“You murderer!!!” Feng Yue, who had shaved his beard, seemed to have gone mad, raising his sword and slashing at Shi Hongwei, drawing blood with each strike, screaming hoarsely: “You killed Emperor Wei Wen! You dared to kill Emperor Wei Wen!!!”
Princess Nanping fell to the ground, and just as she recovered from coughing, was stunned again by this bloody scene.
Neither Guanzhi nor Lingshu had expected Feng Yue to suddenly wake up. Moreover, reacting faster than anyone else, upon hearing Shi Hongwei say he was the one who administered the poison, she immediately grabbed a sword from a nearby guard and started slashing at Shi Hongwei!
It must be said that under these circumstances, her action quickly and effectively saved Princess Nanping’s life. Any ordinary soldier might not have had the courage to directly execute the current Prime Minister.
But Feng Yue dared – not only dared to slash but wanted to dismember him on the spot!
Shi Hongwei was stunned, not even feeling the pain as the blade struck his body. Slowly examining this person dressed in guard’s clothing, he suddenly recognized the face.
“Guan… Guan…”
“To hell with your ancestors!” Gripping the sword handle with both hands, Feng Yue’s eyes were blood-red as she stood beside him, fiercely raising the sword, intending to plunge it into his chest cavity!
However, someone leaped from behind, catching her wrist.
“Prime Minister Shi,” Yin Gezhi’s voice rang out beside them, calmly saying: “In battle, the greatest mistake is acting too hastily. Deciding victory too early leads to demoralized troops and self-destruction.”
“Even if the Crown Prince had accused you, This King would not have taken your lives on the spot. We could have conducted another trial after returning to Lidu. The Crown Prince could have claimed he spoke falsely due to being held hostage by This King. Your Shi family’s guilt would still have had room for dispute. But unfortunately, you lost your reason, took the Princess hostage, and confessed to your crimes. With so many royal clan members present as witnesses, not a single member of your Shi family can escape.”
Hearing these words, Shi Hongwei’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he gnashed his teeth while staring at Yin Gezhi, hatred erupting like a mountain flood as if he might jump up and bite him to death at any moment!
However, after saying this, Yin Gezhi withdrew his hand. Feng Yue, who was still exerting force, felt her wrist suddenly lighten, and the sword she gripped plunged deep into Shi Hongwei’s chest! The blade cut through flesh, the sound of skin and meat tearing mixed with the clear sound of ribs breaking and heart rupturing. As the blade was pulled out, blood sprayed, staining half of Feng Yue’s face.
In that instant, Feng Yue felt the flood of bitterness accumulated in her heart and finally found an outlet, releasing just a little bit.
But it was only a little bit!
She turned her head, looking with somewhat terrifying eyes toward Yin Chenyu and the Empress.
“Feng Yue.” Seeing the situation becoming uncontrollable, Yin Gezhi quickly called out to her, grabbing her wrist.
Yin Chenyu was still stunned by Shi Hongwei’s death, but the Empress, having seen much in her life, quickly recovered and said to Feng Yue: “Who are you? How dare you be so bold!”
Catching a glimpse of this person about to curse out loud, Yin Gezhi quickly covered her mouth and calmly said: “This person saved the Princess by executing a traitor, and deserves a reward upon return. It’s just that their loyalty to His Majesty is too strong, and upon hearing the Prime Minister’s confession, they lost some control… General Feng, take this person out first.”
“Yes.” Feng Ming immediately jumped over, slightly shaking his head at Feng Yue. With one hand gripping both her wrists and covering her mouth, he led her outside.
Feng Yue was furious, biting and kicking! Damn, your loyalty to the dog emperor! Your whole family can be loyal to the dog emperor!
Feng Ming frowned, letting her bite and kick while still restraining her, darting out the door to hide under the nearby eaves.
“Stop making trouble.” His throat tight, Feng Ming pressed her against the wall, saying seriously: “Yin Gezhi will make sure they don’t die well, but your impulsiveness will only cost you your life needlessly.”
Shaking her head to throw off his hand, the look in Feng Yue’s eyes was nearly desperate, her voice hoarse beyond recognition: “I never planned to live anyway! So many years, so many years! I’ve been waiting for this day to take the dog emperor’s life, but he died at someone else’s hands?! How do you expect me not to be impulsive? I want to go in there right now and hack all those Yins to pieces, let them taste what it’s like to have their entire family executed!”
As she spoke, she began struggling to break free from his hands.
“Yue’er.” Feng Ming lowered his eyes, not loosening his grip but softening his tone: “I know you hate them, but even if you go in there, you can’t kill that many people. Moreover, the other members of the Yin royal family haven’t committed great crimes. If you do this, how are you any different from Emperor Wei Wen?”
Letting out a cold laugh, Feng Yue looked up at him, gritting her teeth: “So what if I’m no different from him? So what if I’m just as heartless and cruel as him? No one said I have to be a good person! Being good is so miserable – having your whole family killed but still having to consider morality and not being able to kill the enemy’s entire family, why should I? Might as well be evil, evil people live more freely and longer!”
“Qingyue!” Feng Ming grew urgent: “He met such an end precisely because he committed too many evil deeds, do you want to die a bad death like him?!”
“Yes!” Nodding seriously, Feng Yue said: “I want to die a bad death, so what!”
Their eyes met, one hysterical, one heartbroken.
“I can’t bear it.” Lowering his eyes, Feng Ming gripped her wrists and said hoarsely: “I can’t bear to let you die.”
Feng Yue stiffened, frowning as she looked at him.
Suddenly there was only the sound of rain between them, dripping steadily.
After a while, perhaps remembering his current identity, Feng Ming smiled bitterly, continuing to stare at the ground: “General Yin can’t bear to let you die either, nor can Vice General Luo, and there’s Shi Chong, Madam Qiu, Lingshu… all those people in the courtyard have walked this path with you until now, what will they do if you die? And then there’s Yin Gezhi.”
Looking up through the gaps in the carved window, Feng Ming laughed softly: “Though he always acts so capable, I feel that if you died, he would break down.”
Blankly following his gaze, Feng Yue saw the delicate crane dance carvings on the window. Through the crane’s wings, she could see Yin Gezhi standing among the crowd, composed as ever. His gaze was sharp as he said something to the Crown Prince and Empress. The clan members beside them nodded in agreement, and with a wave of Lian Heng’s hand, the city guard troops outside poured in, detaining the Empress and Crown Prince. At the same time, the ministers imprisoned on the second floor were rescued and came down to see what was happening.
Shi Hongwei was dead. All the royal relatives present could testify that the Crown Prince and the Shi family had plotted to harm Emperor Wei Wen and seize the throne early. The civil and military officials were shocked, and the great hall instantly erupted in a cacophony of voices.
In such a noisy place, Yin Gezhi stood alone in his white robes, as if nothing could disturb him, only moving to protect Guanzhi and Lingshu when the crowd surged.
Indeed, she didn’t need to worry. The Crown Prince and Empress would certainly meet bad ends, but her revenge could never be achieved now.
Her throat constricted, and Feng Yue bent slightly. Finally, she coughed up a mouthful of blood. The bright red color splashed on the ground, staining the hem of Feng Ming’s clothes.
“Yue’er!” His pupils constricted as Feng Ming immediately called toward the inside: “Doctor!”
The people inside continued their heated arguments, and in the chaos, no one heard the voice from outside, but Yin Gezhi, who seemed distracted, tensed up. He immediately led the doctor outside.
Seeing that person striding quickly toward them, Feng Ming froze, looked down at Feng Yue who had already closed her eyes in his arms, and let out a slight sigh.
It was rare for Lord Yin to show such an expression, yet she couldn’t see it – how unfortunate. If she had seen it, perhaps she would have softened a little, spared Yin Chenbi, and also spared herself.
The ministers from the temple exited one by one to board their carriages, escorted back to Lidu by the city guard. Emperor Wei Wen’s remains were placed in the dragon carriage, with Nanping sitting inside to watch over them, her expression complex. As they were about to depart, she looked out at Yin Gezhi.
“Royal Brother,” she pouted and asked, “Aren’t you coming with us?”
“I’ll be there shortly, you go ahead first,” Yin Gezhi said, standing perfectly straight despite carrying someone on his back, calmly shaking his head.
Nanping frowned, looking somewhat puzzled for a moment, but still lowered the carriage curtain. Feng Ming mounted his horse, following beside the carriage, holding the reins without looking back again. With a squeeze of his horse’s flanks, he led the carriage procession slowly on their way.
“Your Highness,” Lingshu lifted her skirts as she approached, looking up at him and saying: “This position isn’t good for the master. You should put her in the carriage – the one we came in is still parked nearby.”
Giving the little girl a deep look, Yin Gezhi frowned slightly, suddenly feeling her appearance somewhat familiar – her straight back, serious expression, and dignified bearing.
Hesitantly nodding, he followed Guanzhi toward the carriage, glancing at Lingshu as he couldn’t help but ask: “Who exactly are you?”
Lingshu paused, turning her head to smile innocently: “Your Highness asks such strange questions. This servant is master’s maid, and has been for four years now.”
“You’re not usually like this,” Yin Gezhi frowned slightly and said: “After pretending for so long, what is your purpose?”
Tilting her head, Lingshu shook it: “Your Highness thinks too much. This servant’s life was saved by the master. This servant has no great ambitions in this life, only wanting to care for the master in her old age, to let her have good days ahead, nothing more.”
The carriage arrived, and Yin Gezhi carefully laid Feng Yue down, carrying her inside, then coldly eyed Lingshu: “There’s no point in being evasive with me. You might as well be clear upfront, save me from having to use methods.”
Having witnessed his methods before, the little girl shrank her shoulders in fear, following into the carriage and pouting: “This servant is still just a child, why is Your Highness so suspicious?”
“Your behavior today was not at all childlike,” Yin Gezhi narrowed his eyes, showing hints of wariness. He even reached out to protect Feng Yue lying on his lap.
Lingshu pressed her lips together, shrugging: “This servant has always known everything the master does, just never took it to heart, only caring about eating, making Your Highness think this servant was slow-witted. Today I suddenly became clever, and you’re not used to it. But this servant won’t do bad things, instead wants to give Your Highness a gift.”