When Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang returned to the city from outside, Yan Shang, due to his severe injuries, had to lean on her shoulder in a daze. Mu Wanyao lifted the carriage curtain and saw the scene outside—

After the rain, muddy water mixed with blood on the ground. Soldiers silently carried away corpses. The bodies of commoners lay untended outside shops, terrifying the shopkeepers who had opened their stores into screaming. Men and women stood like walking corpses in the streets, asking everywhere if their loved ones were still alive…

The Princess’s carriage moved silently through the neighborhoods with soldiers accompanying it. Behind them, a delirious man chased after the carriage, shouting even as people held him back:

“Noble one! Noble one! Did you come from the west of the city? Have you seen my wife? She went out to buy vegetables yesterday morning and hasn’t returned, hasn’t returned yet!

“There were vegetables in the east city, but she insisted on going to the west market, saying it was cheaper there. It’s all my fault for scolding her the day before, saying she ate without working. I didn’t mean it, I was just too tired from work, got scolded by the boss, and then took it out on her…

“We’ve been married for three years with only one daughter. Our daughter is at home crying for milk, but her mother is gone, gone… gone!”

The man was blocked by guards from approaching the carriage. He spoke incoherently, and when he became agitated, he simply sat on the ground wiping tears, breaking into loud sobs.

His cries were desolate, his grief beyond expression.

Before today, who would have imagined such things happening in Chang’an?

Mu Wanyao lifted the curtain, constantly looking back at that man. As she stared blankly, suddenly a pair of hands reached out and covered her ears. Mu Wanyao turned to see Yan Shang had awakened, his face is deathly pale.

He lowered the curtain for her and said softly, “Don’t look, don’t listen anymore. The more you hear, the worse you’ll feel.”

Mu Wanyao stared at him, seeing that although his eyes held sympathy and sorrow, his expression remained calm.

She suddenly asked quietly, “Did you see things like this often when you were young?”

Yan Shang: “Mm. I saw a lot of it.”

Mu Wanyao fell silent, momentarily ashamed of her narrow-mindedness. She had acted magnanimous, saying she wanted to understand the lives of common people. But it wasn’t until today, seeing these scenes in the streets of Chang’an, that she was truly moved.

Only now did she begin to understand what Yan Shang wanted to protect and preserve.

Mu Wanyao mumbled to herself in self-reflection: “Is the mortal world always like this?”

Looking at the moving shadows on the curtain, Yan Shang said softly: “The mortal world is always like this. Those in power use any means necessary, while those who suffer remain in confusion. The nobles fight for advancement, while commoners struggle to survive.

“They have no one to rely on, and our future is uncertain. If possible, we shouldn’t lose our compassion. As officials, as benevolent people, we should help these common folk.”

Mu Wanyao had nothing to say, only gripping Yan Shang’s hand tightly.

The Emperor was the victor in this palace coup, but wasn’t this hellish scene in Chang’an created by Liu Wenqi using the lives of ordinary people? And wasn’t Liu Wenqi working for the Emperor? After succeeding, would the Emperor kill Liu Wenqi for using people’s lives to deal with Yang San?

No, he wouldn’t.

The dead meant nothing to the Emperor, only to their own families.

Mu Wanyao suddenly thought, as a princess and Yan Shang as an official, with their power, perhaps there really was much they could do…

Mu Wanyao asked Yan Shang: “Does your back hurt?”

Yan Shang wanted to say it didn’t hurt, but looking at his wife’s worried eyes, he nodded.

He sighed, frowning: “My entire back feels like it’s on fire, I think I might have a fever… Yaoyao, why do I always end up like this…”

Mu Wanyao’s heart ached for the hardships he endured, ached for how his body was constantly subjected to various torments. Since becoming an official, he had been burned by oil, imprisoned, had problems with his eyes, and now his back…

Mu Wanyao thought that after this time, Yan Shang must take proper rest. He couldn’t keep pushing himself.

Having made up her mind, Mu Wanyao said: “Second Brother Yan, don’t be afraid. We have imperial physicians at our manor, they’ll look at your injuries when we return, and you’ll feel better after a good sleep.”

Yan Shang sighed: “I’m afraid sleep won’t be possible.”

—

Indeed, sleep was impossible.

With such major events just occurring in Chang’an, after returning to the city, Yan Shang had to visit the Department of State Affairs and the Chancellery to explain the situation outside the city to several ministers; he also had to go to the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Court of the Imperial Clan to hand over the Prince of Qin to the latter; he also needed to go to the Ministry of Personnel to stabilize the hearts of those officials who were now anxious and uncertain.

Moreover, for the merit of protecting the Emperor, Yan Shang’s actions this time surely deserved recognition from the central government. Naturally, compared to other matters, such post-event rewards became the least important thing.

The most important matter now was deliberating the crimes of the Crown Prince and Prince of Qin.

The Emperor hadn’t called for officials to deliberate on his two sons’ crimes, but on the second night after Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang returned to Chang’an, they were summoned to the palace.

The Crown Prince and Prince of Qin needed a final verdict.

—

This time Yan Shang entered the palace with Mu Wanyao in his capacity as Prince Consort.

They received the Emperor’s audience in his private palace.

The Emperor looked even older than when Mu Wanyao last saw him, coughing and gasping for breath after speaking just a few sentences. Mu Wanyao had originally wanted to question why the Emperor hadn’t consulted with her beforehand, leaving her alone at the summer resort and forcing Yan Shang to protect him… but seeing the old Emperor now struggling just to breathe, Mu Wanyao sighed, no longer wanting to ask such pointless questions.

Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang, husband and wife, took their seats.

Among these orthodox royal family members, only the Crown Prince hadn’t arrived yet.

Princess Luling sat expressionless, as if in a daze; Princess Yuyang and her consort knelt on the ground, tearfully pleading for their third brother; the Prince of Qin also knelt, his face covered in tears, begging his father for mercy.

The most dramatic was the Prince of Jin.

Having long been overshadowed by his two elder brothers, the Prince of Jin hadn’t particularly gotten along with them, nor had they paid him much attention. But this time, the Prince of Jin suddenly found his value—

Although he hadn’t protected the Emperor like Mu Wanyao had, at least he hadn’t rebelled. With his two elder brothers in trouble, wouldn’t the throne have to consider him now?

The Prince of Jin came to hypocritically plead for his two brothers, kneeling on the ground with seeming sincerity: “Father Emperor, the Crown Prince, and Third Brother must have been deceived, must have been framed. Father Emperor, please forgive them, or let your son take punishment in their stead…”

Mu Wanyao sat to the side, lightly smoothing her skirt, impatiently glancing at Yan Shang and curling her lip at him.

Yan Shang shook his head, indicating that if she didn’t like the Prince of Jin, she could pretend not to see him, no need to mock.

Just as the Prince of Jin’s repeated pleas mixed with Princess Yuyang’s sincere begging and the Prince of Qin’s tearful pleas, there came an announcement from outside—Liu Wenqi was bringing the Crown Prince.

The Emperor’s eyes, which had been closed all this time, finally opened their murky gaze to look at the Crown Prince.

Having been Crown Prince for so many years, when he arrived, everyone fell silent for a moment.

The Crown Prince lowered his eyes to look at the kneeling and crying Prince of Qin and Prince of Jin, seeing one fearfully begging for mercy after failing, and one who hadn’t participated at all yet hypocritically asking the Emperor to spare his two brothers’ lives… How ridiculous.

The Crown Prince couldn’t help but laugh.

The Emperor coldly asked: “What are you laughing at?”

The hall fell completely silent, all eyes on the Crown Prince.

The Emperor gasped for breath, his eyes bulging with rage, shouting: “What are you laughing at?!”

Only then did the Crown Prince slowly lift his robe and kneel before the Emperor.

—

The Emperor glared hatefully at the Crown Prince, his hand trembling with anger as he gripped the armrest.

He could understand the Prince of Qin’s rebellion.

Because the Prince of Qin had been forced to rebel. The Emperor wanted to deal with the Jiang clan of Nanyang, wanted to make them like today’s Li clan of Jinling. The Prince of Qin couldn’t accept this, so naturally he would rebel.

But why did the Crown Prince rebel?

Why did the Crown Prince cooperate with the Prince of Qin?

Had he not treated the Crown Prince well? Hadn’t he been paving the way for the Crown Prince? Hadn’t everything he’d done… been so that when the Crown Prince became Emperor, things would be easier for him?

Why did the Crown Prince rebel?!

The Emperor struggled to breathe: “Speak.”

There was no sound in the hall, all eyes fixed on the young man kneeling ramrod straight.

The Crown Prince slowly raised his eyes to look at his supreme father: “What do you want me to say? It’s simply a matter of victor and vanquished.”

The Emperor raged: “So, you still show no remorse? You disappoint me so much!”

The Crown Prince laughed, his tone calm: “What are you disappointed about?”

After a pause, his eyes grew sharp, and his tone heightened and intensified: “What exactly are you disappointed about?! Did you ever love me? Father Emperor, can we stop being so ridiculously hypocritical?”

The Emperor fell back in his seat, and his chief palace servant Cheng An hurriedly came to pat his chest, preventing the Emperor from being angered to death by this unfilial son.

Cheng An was terrified: “Your Highness, please say no more!”

Liu Wenqi stood to the side holding his horsetail whisk, watching this drama with an ambiguous smile.

The Prince of Qin kept his head lowered without speaking, Princess Yuyang turned back to look at the Crown Prince with sobs, and the Prince of Jin also stared at the Crown Prince in shock, not expecting him to be so bold.

Sitting to the side, least connected to this drama, were Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao. When everyone was crying and begging for mercy, the couple had no interest. Only now with the Crown Prince’s behavior did they develop some interest in this drama.

The Crown Prince ignored everyone, his eyes fixed only on the Emperor who was nearly angered to death by him: “Why would I, while peacefully serving as Crown Prince, join Third Brother in rebellion? You must be thinking, once you die, the throne would be mine anyway. Father Emperor, isn’t that what you think?

“Because you give me no way to live! If you want to clip my wings, then let me be that emperor! You don’t believe at all that I can govern the realm well, you believe in the way of balance between ruler and ministers, believe in the path of mutual restraint! You cut off my path, making the Yang family leave the capital step by step, forcing Yang San far from Chang’an… You want to destroy everyone around me before giving me the chance to be a lone ruler.

“That’s the emperor you want to be! Not what I want! An emperor who loses even his most trusted people, his closest ones, is not what I want! I could have endured… but if I kept enduring, I would lose all friends, family, brothers.”

The Crown Prince closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his tone turned cold:

“Have you never had brothers, never had a wife, never had children? Never had any at all? What are we to you after all?

“You want to be alone, you go be alone; I want to be alone, I’ll do it myself. I don’t need your control, your arrangements, you paving the way. You never discussed anything with me! You only ordered me, forced me, made me walk the same path as you against my will. But today I want to tell you, Father Emperor, you cannot decide for me, make me sacrifice my brothers, sacrifice my feelings! I am my person, I don’t need you to do things that tear me apart for my good.”

Everyone stared in astonishment.

Yan Shang’s eyes held a slight gleam as he gazed at the Crown Prince. Perhaps he had never thought much of the Crown Prince, and their ideals had never aligned. But when the Crown Prince rebelled against all this, it still aroused his admiration.

Mu Wanyao felt the same. She realized she had never truly understood the Crown Prince before. She had often wondered why someone as free-spirited as Yang Si had such a close relationship with the Crown Prince.

Why would Yang San devote himself to the Crown Prince?

What made the Crown Prince worthy of such loyalty?

Only now did she understand—

It turned out the Crown Prince could rebel too.

The Crown Prince also had the passionate, fearless spirit of youth.

That fire had been suppressed under ice for many years, and finally one day, the fire leaped out from beneath the ice, no longer able to endure.

—

The Emperor’s chest was tight, his head aching.

He stared blankly at the kneeling Crown Prince, unable to comprehend his ramblings.

He seemed to hear A’Nuan’s past arguments with him. She had also shouted at him like this, hoarsely insisting “You don’t understand anything.”

The Emperor angrily shook his sleeve, his voice bitter: “Nonsense, nonsense! You’re the ones who don’t understand anything! You’ll regret this! I did this for everyone, for the entire realm… the Great Wei’s rivers and mountains must be this way!”

His voice became shrill, almost like crying.

The Crown Prince looked up at the dazed Emperor and slowly said: “As you say, perhaps I will regret this later, but if I didn’t rebel against you, I would regret it now! I am not you after all, I could never become the Crown Prince that would satisfy you!

“I have lost, I am one step behind you, but I will not repent to you! Will not beg you for mercy!”

The Emperor: “You—”

He suddenly stood up, his withered hand trembling as he pointed at the Crown Prince.

Suddenly, the Emperor felt a chill throughout his body as he looked at everyone—

His sister Princess Luling sat bewildered like an outsider, looking left and right, unable to find her stance;

While the Crown Prince, Prince of Qin, Yuyang, Prince of Jin, Danyang, and even his beloved A’Nuan, all looked at him.

They all looked at him, their eyes all saying—

Why aren’t you dead yet?

Why won’t you die?

Everyone was waiting for his death, everyone hated him. Everyone was questioning him—

The Emperor staggered, a mouthful of hot blood spurting from his throat as he fell backward.

Everyone in the great hall watched as the Emperor coughed blood. Cheng An quickly moved to support him, loudly calling for imperial physicians, while others belatedly began to show concern for the Emperor.

The Emperor trembled, coughing up blood in great mouthfuls. He opened his mouth but no words came out, his eyes full of tears, terrifying those around him who feared he might have had a stroke.

In the chaos, Liu Wenqi’s eyes gleamed strangely as he stared intently at the Crown Prince, his expression slightly moved—

The Crown Prince was his enemy.

All the Crown Prince’s excuses seemed laughable to Liu Wenqi.

Yet one thing the Crown Prince said resonated with Liu Wenqi.

The Crown Prince spoke of rebellion.

Yes.

This unjust fate… should be rebelled against!

—

The Emperor’s collapse from coughing blood threw the imperial palace into chaos.

An hour later, the Crown Prince was confined again in the Eastern Palace, waiting for the Emperor to wake and continue his questioning; Mu Wanyao and her husband left the palace; Liu Wenqi followed the Prince of Jin.

Liu Wenqi spoke softly to the Prince of Jin: “Your Highness, last night His Majesty spoke with several ministers about selecting consorts to enter the palace, or adopting sons from the Mu clan relatives as princes.”

The Prince of Jin was bewildered.

Seeing his expression, Liu Wenqi was momentarily surprised, unsure if this person was truly foolish or had pretended for so long he had become truly foolish. Liu Wenqi hunched his shoulders and said bluntly: “There might be new princes in the palace.”

The Prince of Jin finally understood.

He stood dumbfounded for a long while, unsure how to feel: “Are you saying Father Emperor still looks down on me?”

He was indignant, caught between laughing and crying: “Both my elder brothers are in trouble, yet he would rather have new sons, rather adopt distant Mu clan descendants, than consider me? Does he… look down on me that much?”

Had the throne never had anything to do with him?

Why… based on what…

Liu Wenqi bowed with a smile: “Your Highness need not worry, I support Your Highness. I will help Your Highness, speak well of you to His Majesty.”

The Prince of Jin grabbed his hand, shaking it excitedly: “Thank you, Your Excellency! I won’t forget your kindness!”

As Princess Danyang’s carriage passed on the official road, Liu Wenqi instantly wiped the smile from his face, and the Prince of Jin also withdrew his grateful expression.

—

In the carriage, Mu Wanyao said to Yan Shang: “Liu Wenqi and the Prince of Jin are mixing now. Isn’t this somewhat ridiculous? The Prince of Jin’s ignorance is one thing, but doesn’t Liu Wenqi know what the Prince of Jin did to Chunhua?

“He knows, but he no longer cares.”

Yan Shang remained silent.

Seeing him like this, Mu Wanyao said: “He has changed, he’s not the Liu Wenqi you knew. You must be careful of him in the future, careful that he doesn’t betray you.”

After a long while, Yan Shang finally said: “I still have to try.”

Mu Wanyao sighed, leaning gently against Yan Shang’s shoulder, no longer speaking.

The Crown Prince’s words today had been enlightening, expressing what was in everyone’s hearts. She too was pondering his words.

—

But regardless of what was said in the hall today, the crime of rebellion could not be forgiven.

Three days later, the Crown Prince, under house arrest in the Eastern Palace, learned of the Prince of Qin’s fate of exile to Lingnan. The Prince of Qin’s wife’s entire family was executed, and his sons were also banished. The Jiang clan of Nanyang was executed entirely.

The Prince of Qin was finished.

Next would be the Crown Prince’s turn.

Under the dim candlelight, the shadow of the eunuch sent by Liu Wenqi was cast on the door and windows. The eunuch gloated about the Prince of Qin’s fate, intending to frighten the Crown Prince.

Making the Crown Prince wait, wait for those he cared about to meet the same fate as the Prince of Qin’s side.

—

After the eunuch left, the Crown Prince sat silently at his desk.

A sharp dagger lay on the desktop.

A paperweight held down fluttering pages. The pages were filled with writing, all the Crown Prince’s pleas for mercy for his people.

Pleading for the Yang clan, saying their crimes did not warrant death; begging to spare the Crown Princess and other consorts, to spare his children.

Trading his life for their chance to live.

The Crown Prince’s long robes spread on the ground as he sat quietly. He slowly picked up the dagger, and as he lowered his gaze, his fingertips felt a mark on the handle.

He saw three crooked characters: Gift from Yang Si.

This was from when seven-year-old Yang Si had just learned to make daggers and gave it to him as a gift.

This was the first gift in his life.

Now Yang Si was still in prison, waiting for fate to descend.

The Crown Prince tugged at the corner of his mouth and blew out the candle.

—

In the third watch of the night, the Emperor was awakened from his sleep, with Cheng An anxiously whispering in his ear: “Your Majesty… the Crown Prince is gone, the Crown Prince is gone!”

The Emperor instantly awoke, all sleep gone.

All the palace candles were lit as the Emperor hurriedly left his hall wearing his robes. He didn’t need to take another step to see the great fire rising from the direction of the Eastern Palace.

The Emperor instantly lost his voice, staring at that direction for a long time, his entire body completely rigid.

The hurried footsteps of a eunuch approached, gasping: “A final letter from the Crown Prince has been delivered from the Eastern Palace… Your Majesty!”

The Emperor shouted: “How could he do this?! How could he do this? When did I ever want him to die, when did I…”

He suddenly burst into tears: “They are all my children, all my sons… Even tigers don’t eat their cubs, how could he think I wanted to kill him… Lang’er! Lang’er!”

Holding a thick stack of papers, the Emperor wept bitterly. The fire oil burned, bright as day, and no one spoke.

—

The Emperor read the Crown Prince’s final letter in his private chamber, crying as he read, unable to sleep anymore.

The hall was quiet, originally silent without a sound. As the Emperor dozed half-asleep against the desk with the documents, a white silk cord wrapped around his neck from behind, gradually tightening.

The Emperor’s throat was caught, and he suddenly awoke, unexpectedly seeing the eunuch’s shadow cast on the wall.

He opened his mouth, and when the person behind realized he was awake, the white silk tightened, both hands working together, firmly gripping his throat.

The Emperor’s eyes bulged as he struggled with all his might, but couldn’t utter a word. The eunuch’s shadow was projected grotesquely and arrogantly on the wall as he strangled the Emperor.

The Emperor’s spirit was haggard, his eyes protruding as his vision began to blur. He lost the strength to struggle, and suddenly in an instant, he lowered his head, realizing what was happening.

He stopped struggling and instead gazed in the direction where he imagined A’Nuan to be.

He stared blankly, gazing for a long time. He thought there would be much he couldn’t let go of, but it seemed there wasn’t much.

Only… only… he reached out toward the empty air, but he couldn’t touch A’Nuan—

This life was short, passing like watching flowers from horseback, flowers following light and shadow. At the end of the road, looking back, what he saw was that rainy day, waiting under the temple eaves for that rain-dodging young woman, listening to opera together beneath the stage.

The sound of iron horses was like broken bells, the rain stretched on endlessly, her profile was beautiful, her skin whiter than the brightest pearl he had ever seen. She watched the opera intently while his heart pounded, only able to stare at her.

What had he been thinking then? It seemed he was planning to propose to her. What was that part of the opera they were listening to singing about? It seemed to be singing—

[A poetic verse about life’s sorrows and partings]

Life, ah, a lifetime of anger led to today, no one across the four seas to face the setting sun with. How laughable, laughable, that this is all there is.

—

In the sleeping chambers of Princess Danyang’s manor, Mu Wanyao suddenly awoke from a nightmare, sitting up in a daze.

She sat in the darkness touching her racing heart, then suddenly lowered her head and woke Yan Shang.

Because of his back pain, Yan Shang had been sleeping on his side, and his sleep was not very peaceful. With one gentle push from Mu Wanyao, he woke up and sat up.

The bed curtains hung to the floor, and Yan Shang was still somewhat sleepy: “What’s wrong?”

Mu Wanyao’s hand gripping his was covered in cold sweat, her voice tense: “I had a dream. I dreamed of my second brother—he said he came to get my father. They’re leaving, and in the future, I’ll be the only one left in the mortal world.”

Yan Shang was stunned.

He thought Mu Wanyao had such a dream because of her daily fears, and as he took her into his arms, about to comfort her softly, they heard the bells outside.

In the deep of night, bell tolls came from the direction of the imperial palace, one after another. The husband and wife listened to the bell tolls, which seemed to strike against their hearts, and Yan Shang’s expression changed.

Mu Wanyao said: “My father has passed away.”