"You deserve this!" the King of Ying shouted, his face contorted in a crazed expression. "This is your comeuppance!"
Empress Xiao Yan felt a wave of resignation. The King of Ying's mother may have been from a prominent family, but she was still a concubine. According to the laws of succession, he was not in line for the throne before the King of Danyang. And his claim of being ten times more capable than his brothers was a delusion—political maneuvering and governance were two very different things.
However, she couldn't deny his claim that he had saved her life. Out of gratitude, she had always treated him well. Even while his second brother was merely the King of Danyang, the third prince had been granted the title of King of Ying, a one-character title of high honor. But it was clear that his mind had been twisted by hatred. He saw her kindness as nothing more than a form of charity and humiliation.
"So... the Emperor's death?" Xiao Yan asked, all traces of guilt toward him gone. "That was your doing as well?"
"Of course!" The King of Ying nodded proudly. He had indeed sent assassins to kill the Wu Emperor in An, though they had never succeeded. When Wei Tingyu's Golden Shadow Guards set the fire, the assassins he had sent took credit for it. The King of Ying believed he was responsible for the Emperor's death, and he was quite pleased with himself.
"You never suspected, did you?" he said triumphantly. "I had this planned long before Yang Ying left! It was difficult to save my worthless brother in Andu, but it was easy to kill him. A single fire was all it took! Hahaha! It was no trouble at all!"
The King of Ying was like a child boasting about a mischievous deed, his face growing more arrogant by the second.
"How can you do this to the ancestors and the people of Wu?" Xiao Yan asked, utterly bewildered by his behavior. She had been so blind, focused on repaying his kindness, that she had completely overlooked his twisted mind. As a member of the royal family, his actions were unforgivable.
"I don't care!" the King of Ying laughed, now completely unhinged. He raised his arms and yelled, "Wu has wronged me! All I want is to be the King of Wu!" His eyes were bloodshot and terrifying. Even through the curtain, Xiao Yan could see the madness in his expression.
"With your child and my brother both dead, the officials will have no choice but to support me!" he boasted. "You saw how grateful they were to me. I've played the part of the 'unambitious' prince for so many years; no one will suspect a thing!"
Just as he finished, a cold male voice cut through the silence. "Is that so?" The King of Ying's crazed smile froze. His eyes widened, and he took a step back, shocked that there was another person in the room. He knew Wei Tingyu, the Marquis of Jining from the Central Plains. When Wei Tingyu walked out from behind the curtain, he was followed by several Wu officials, led by Duke Xiao, Xiao Yan's father.
They were all looking at the King of Ying with icy stares. They had heard his entire confession—not only his schemes but also his admission of killing the Emperor. This revelation infuriated the old ministers.
The King of Ying, a master of conspiracy, immediately realized his plan had failed. He wouldn't get the throne, and his life was certainly forfeit. In a desperate move, he threw his cane aside, pulled a dagger from his sleeve, and lunged at Xiao Yan. The ministers were surprised by his speed, but his plan to take the Empress hostage was quickly foiled.
A woman in purple, Ren Ruyi, emerged from behind the curtain. She was incredibly skilled, disarming him and throwing him across the room with ease. The King of Ying crashed into a screen, dazed. Ren Ruyi had been hiding there, listening, and was eager to put an end to this treacherous prince.
The sounds of the struggle alerted the commander of the Imperial Forest Guard and his men, who were loyal to the King of Ying. They drew their swords and rushed in, but they were no match for the Golden Shadow Guards who emerged from the shadows. The Golden Shadow Guards killed them in a single breath. The King of Ying, just getting to his feet, turned pale as he saw his men dead on the floor. His long-laid plans had been thwarted so effortlessly by Wei Tingyu.
"Did you all hear the King of Ying's confession?" Wei Tingyu said with a smile, stepping forward and placing his foot on the King of Ying's back to keep him from getting up. He addressed the assembled ministers.
"I never imagined such a viper was coiled beneath the throne," said Duke Xiao, Xiao Yan's father. With his daughter's allegiance now firmly with Wei Tingyu, so was his. The Xiao family, like the Western Shazhou in An, was now loyal to Wei Tingyu.
"Don't kill me!" the King of Ying begged, terrified. "I was blinded by a moment of madness! I just wanted to know what power felt like!" The ministers looked at him with contempt. He was a far cry from the arrogant man who had been speaking moments ago.
"Where is the King of Danyang?" Duke Xiao asked. The King of Ying hesitated, confirming everyone's suspicions that he had already been killed.
"I'm only twenty-two!" the King of Ying wailed, a mixture of tears and snot running down his face. "I haven't lived enough!" As he spoke, a dagger, the very one he had tried to use on Xiao Yan, plunged into his chest. He gasped, but no sound came out, and he fell to the ground, his face a mask of indignation and despair.
Ren Ruyi had thrown the dagger. "Sorry, my hand slipped," she said nonchalantly. Then she walked over to the body. "I know you Wu people are long-winded and would have a long trial. I, an outsider, will do the dirty work for you."
The ministers looked at each other. She had a point. Given his crimes, a quick death was a merciful end.
"Record this," Duke Xiao said coldly. "The King of Ying died suddenly of an old illness in the palace."
"No!" Xiao Yan, still behind the curtain, interjected. "The King of Ying rebelled and was executed by my own hand! He killed the late Emperor and my child!" she said, her voice filled with rage. He had admitted his crimes, so why not let him take the blame? Though she hadn't been pregnant, she felt a real fury. If she had been carrying Wei Tingyu's child and he had killed it, she would have wanted to tear him to shreds.
"You want to let him die with some dignity, but I want to shred his body to pieces!" she spat, her teeth gritted. "Only then will my hatred be quenched!"
The chronicler was pleased. His job was to record what happened, and to him, it didn't matter if Ren Ruyi had thrown the dagger. She was the Empress's trusted subordinate, so it was as if the Empress herself had done it.
"But now," one minister said, "who will be the new Emperor? If we don't decide quickly, things could get complicated."
"I suggest we choose a young prince from the collateral line to ascend the throne," another offered.
"That's the only way, but they are all too young to rule."
"It's no problem! The new Emperor can be adopted as the late Emperor's son, and the Empress can be the Regent."
"Yes! And Duke Xiao can be the Prime Minister! This would be the most stable solution!"
The Wu ministers were all seasoned politicians. With the main royal line gone, and the Empress's "child" lost, they knew they had to find a new emperor from the side branches. A young emperor would need a regent, which meant the Empress and her father, Duke Xiao, would rule.
Wei Tingyu and Ren Ruyi exchanged smiles. It was a familiar scene, one they had seen in An. Nothing new under the sun. The power dynamics would shift, and everyone would quickly find their place in the new order. Before coming to the palace, Wei Tingyu's Golden Shadow Guards and one thousand Xuanjia Army soldiers had already taken control of the capital, from the armory to the granaries. Led by the "King of Rites," Princess Yang Ying, they had met no resistance and had once again quietly taken control of the capital.
Duke Xiao was Wei Tingyu's pawn in Wu. After a bit of feigned hesitation, he agreed to become the Prime Minister after receiving a nod from Wei Tingyu.
"My Lord, you can rest assured," Duke Xiao said, kneeling before Wei Tingyu in the middle of the night. "Wu is now yours."
"Please rise, Duke," Wei Tingyu said with a faint smile.
"Father, please get up," Xiao Yan said, helping him. "The world is about to change, and very few know. Once the Marquis and I return to the Central Plains, you must be diligent and loyal."
"Yes," Duke Xiao nodded. "And you must also serve him loyally and not be careless." He was not putting on an act. He was sincerely betting his family's future on Wei Tingyu. Just a few days ago, when Xiao Yan had told him the plan, he had been hesitant. He wasn't sure if Wei Tingyu was trustworthy. But he had finally agreed, trusting his daughter's political acumen.
Today, however, Wei Tingyu's power—from the skilled Golden Shadow Guards to the thousands of formidable Xuanjia Army soldiers—had completely won him over. He had also learned from his daughter that An was now under Wei Tingyu's control. Duke Xiao was now certain his daughter was right: if he didn't join Wei Tingyu now, he would miss his chance. With his political instincts, he went all-in. If Wei Tingyu succeeded, his family would prosper for another hundred years.