Chapter 62

Prince Rui's pupils contracted, and his body stiffened abruptly on the spot.
Xiao Changyuan was actually still alive?
A few days earlier, Prince Rui had suddenly received a secret letter from a spy in Qingcheng County, stating that Xiao Changyuan had appeared at a medical clinic there. However, Prince Rui had not taken the matter seriously at the time, as it had been nearly a year since Xiao Changyuan's disappearance. If he were still alive in this world, he would surely have returned to the palace to reclaim everything that was his. Yet, Xiao Changyuan had shown no signs of activity during this period.
Prince Rui had assumed Xiao Changyuan had died in the river.
Over the years, there had been frequent sightings of people resembling Xiao Changyuan in various provinces.
Each time Prince Rui sent someone to investigate, they would return empty, handed.
Gradually, Prince Rui let his guard down.
With the enthronement ceremony approaching, Prince Rui had many matters to attend to, so he did not dwell on the issue and merely dispatched agents to investigate.
But Prince Rui never expected that Xiao Changyuan was truly alive and had barged into his enthronement ceremony.
Since childhood, Prince Rui had feared this gloomy and aloof elder brother. Now, seeing Xiao Changyuan alive, he was utterly terrified. When he had sent assassins after Xiao Changyuan, he had long anticipated this day, but he never thought it would come so soon.
The gates of hell slowly opened behind him.
Prince Rui felt as if he could already see his own death, he was too frightened to utter a word.
Just then, Prince Rui suddenly heard a furious roar from beneath the altar.
“The late emperor has long passed away! This man is a treacherous usurper impersonating the late emperor!”
Chu Yi knelt on the ground, his face pale and his back drenched in cold sweat. Suppressing the terror in his heart, a twisted, venomous expression flickered across his face. He raised his head and addressed Prince Rui, “Your Majesty, this man has impersonated the emperor, a crime punishable by death! I implore Your Majesty to dispatch the Imperial Guards to execute this vile traitor!”
After Xiao Changyuan appeared, fear surged like a tidal wave, overwhelming all the civil and military officials.
Chu Yi was the first to regain his composure.
He slowly clenched his fists, his heart turned cold as ice.
He could not let his nightmare repeat itself. This time, he must personally kill Xiao Changyuan. He refused to believe that thirty thousand Imperial Guards could not kill Xiao Changyuan alone! He refused to believe that Xiao Changyuan could single, handedly defeat tens of thousands and slaughter everyone present!
Chu Yi's words struck Prince Rui like a bolt from the blue. Twenty days earlier, he had publicly declared Xiao Changyuan dead. Now, all the civil and military officials believed Xiao Changyuan had passed away, no one would recognize his identity. Moreover, he had long replaced the Imperial Guards with his own men. The palace was already under his control; there was no need to fear Xiao Changyuan.
Instead, it was Xiao Changyuan who should fear him.
The panic and terror in Prince Rui's heart gradually gave way to madness. He raised his sinister eyes and glared at Xiao Changyuan standing atop the golden palace tiles.
“Where are the Imperial Guards?! Where are the archers?! Quickly execute this treacherous usurper on the spot!”
As soon as he finished speaking, hundreds of silver, armored Imperial Guards rushed out from both sides of the golden hall.
They held curved bows, lined up in five rows, one behind the other, drawing their bows and aiming their sharp arrows at Xiao Changyuan.
Prince Rui, his expression frenzied, pointed at Xiao Changyuan and shouted, “Shoot this vile traitor impersonating the late emperor with a volley of arrows!”
At his command, hundreds of feathered arrows left their bows, cutting through the air with a whistling sound as they flew toward Xiao Changyuan from a distance.
Seeing the sky filled with a rain of arrows, Chu Yi could not help but slowly curl his lips into a satisfied smile.
Every arrowhead was coated with the deadliest poison. Even if the arrows did not kill Xiao Changyuan, the poison would.
He was about to escape this nightmare named Xiao Changyuan.
Yet, in the next moment, his smile froze on his face.
He watched as Xiao Changyuan gently raised his hand, and a fierce gust of palm wind swept through the air.
The poisoned arrows were all deflected back onto the archers, who fell one after another, bleeding profusely and coughing up blood before dying.
Seeing this, the other imperial guards retreated in fear, their faces pale with terror.
Such terrifying palm force!
This was not a battle on the same level at all!
Prince Rui was also filled with extreme fear.
But with the arrow already nocked, there was no room for even a trace of hesitation. A single step back would mean total defeat, and the loss of his life.
Prince Rui flew into a rage and shouted, “What are you all standing around for? Attack together! Kill this villain who dares impersonate the late emperor! Tear him to pieces! Whoever can subdue him, I will appoint as a great general! Whoever can behead him, I will make the Grand Commander! A first, rank official, a position you could never attain in several lifetimes, I will grant you today, elevating you to the heavens in a single step!”
As the saying goes, where there is great reward, there will be brave men.
Hearing Prince Rui’s words, the imperial guards quickly forgot their fear of Xiao Changyuan.
Their eyes wide with greed and crimson with bloodlust, they raised their cold blades and charged at Xiao Changyuan, but they were no match for him at all.
Before they could even get close, Xiao Changyuan’s palm force sent them flying, crashing heavily to the ground.
“Too weak.”
Xiao Changyuan slowly lifted his icy, cold eyes, looking down with contempt at the ants beneath his feet.
“With such pitiful strength...” His thin lips curled into an arrogant, cold smile. “...what makes you think you can challenge me?”
Corpses lay everywhere, and blood flowed like a river. The imperial guards who lay on the ground, coughing up blood, grew pale and trembled uncontrollably at the sight of Xiao Changyuan’s icy smile. Fear and awe filled their eyes, and none dared move even an inch.
Too terrifying, they were simply no match for him.
Xiao Changyuan leaped down from the glazed tile roof and slowly advanced toward Prince Rui on the altar.
Each step felt as though it were crushing Prince Rui’s heart.
The color drained from Prince Rui’s face.
Prince Rui screamed hysterically, “Kill him! Kill this treacherous rebel! Whoever can kill him, I will appoint as…“
“You are too noisy.”
Xiao Changyuan picked up a cold blade from the ground.
Gripping the hilt with one hand, he swung it from afar toward the altar where Prince Rui stood, his tone was as cold as ice, devoid of any warmth.
“I no longer wish to hear your voice.”
The blade’s energy sliced through the air, and the altar crumbled with a deafening roar, sending thick clouds of dust billowing into the air. As the dust settled, only Prince Rui’s bloody, mangled limbs could be seen lying amidst the ruins. Splatters of blood covered the wreckage, and the air was thick with the mist of blood.
One could only imagine how gruesome his death had been.
The entire world seemed to hold its breath, everyone stared at Xiao Changyuan with terror, filled eyes, as if looking at a monster.
At this moment, no one doubted Xiao Changyuan’s identity, such terrifying, overwhelming combat power could only belong to that bloodthirsty, merciless tyrant.
In fact, the tyrant’s power now far surpassed what it had been before.
Xiao Changyuan leaped up, his figure swift as a shadow, landing atop the ruins of the altar.
His cold gaze fell upon Prince Rui’s mangled limbs.
“You got off far too easily.”
He had kept the Prince of Rui alive all these years simply because they were half-brothers, and he didn’t want to sever the last thread of familial affection. But the Prince of Rui had disappointed him too deeply, daring to send assassins after him, causing him to fall off a cliff, and even harboring the delusion of ascending the throne.
So, the Prince of Rui could just die.
He no longer needed such a ridiculous relative to offer him any final comfort, all he needed was Yun Pianpian.
Xiao Changyuan turned around, his expression cold and detached, his gaze icy as he looked down upon the officials amidst the ruins.
“Your new emperor is dead. What will you do now?”
Upon hearing his words, the civil and military officials knelt one after another, their faces pale and sweat streaming down their backs.
Trembling, they lowered their heads to the ground.
“Your servants welcome Your Majesty’s return to the palace!”
“Long live Your Majesty! Long, long live Your Majesty!”
Xiao Changyuan’s expression remained cold as he indifferently observed the kneeling officials.
He knew these ministers did not truly wish for his return. The Prince of Rui had been able to deceive everyone and ascend the throne smoothly only because these officials had secretly aided and abetted him. Though they were aware that something was amiss, they had chosen to turn a blind eye, pretending not to see the Prince of Rui’s ambitions. It wasn’t that they favored the Prince of Rui, they simply feared him more than they did the prince.
The officials knelt on the ground, drenched in cold sweat.
After a long silence, they finally heard the emperor’s icy, detached voice from above.
“Rise.”
The civil and military officials collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
They slowly rose to their feet, not daring to look up at Xiao Changyuan.
Xiao Changyuan recalled Yun Pianpian’s words.
His cold, indifferent gaze fell upon them.
“Where is Chu Yi?”
Chu Yi stiffened, his back drenched in cold sweat.
He didn’t know why Xiao Changyuan had suddenly called his name. Earlier, he had claimed that Xiao Changyuan was an imposter pretending to be the late emperor. Now that the Prince of Rui was dead, he was surely doomed. Yet, a sliver of hope remained in his heart, what if Xiao Changyuan spared him? So, when the officials knelt before Xiao Changyuan, he too had knelt in fear and trepidation, blending into the crowd in hopes of escaping death.
But he never expected, Xiao Changyuan actually knew his name.
Chu Yi began to panic. Had Xiao Changyuan already discovered that he was the mastermind behind the cliff incident?
Trembling, he stepped forward.
“Your servant is Chu Yi.”
Xiao Changyuan’s voice was icy. “My empress mentioned your name to me.”
Chu Yi was stunned, unaware of when Xiao Changyuan had married or taken an empress. As he stood there in confusion, a sharp gust of palm wind suddenly struck him. A sharp pain shot through his chest, and his body was sent flying backward. He coughed up a mouthful of blood from his throat.
Before he could regain his composure, Xiao Changyuan’s storm, like fists rained down on his face, battering him until his head bled and his vision darkened.
By his ear came Xiao Changyuan’s sinister and ruthless voice, as bloodthirsty and terrifying as a demonic asura crawling out of hell.
“I despise hearing another man’s name from her lips.”
“But you, this insignificant ant, have repeatedly appeared in her words!”
Xiao Changyuan grabbed Chu Yi’s official robe, and with fists as heavy as meteors, he pounded Chu Yi’s face relentlessly, leaving it bruised, swollen, and drenched in blood. Each punch grew fiercer, each word more venomous, until Chu Yi’s head was nearly deformed.
“How dare you, this insignificant ant, be remembered by my empress?!
It was to eliminate pests like you that I was forced to part from my empress for a full hour!
I haven’t seen my empress for an entire hour!
How will you repay me for my torment of longing?!
Earlier, you incited Prince Rui to kill me. You are not innocent either, so…”
Xiao Changyuan abruptly raised his fist, his eyes dark and menacing, and struck Chu Yi’s face with brutal force.
His icy, chilling voice echoed through the air.
“Go to hell with Prince Rui!”
A crack of bone sounded, blood splattered, and Chu Yi collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
The civil and military officials turned pale with terror, trembling as they knelt on the ground, their voices filled with dread.
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger…”
A few warm drops of blood remained on Xiao Changyuan’s handsome face.
It was Chu Yi’s blood, splattered onto him.
Xiao Changyuan wiped it with his sleeve but couldn’t remove it completely.
He frowned slightly.
Yun Pianpian was as timid as a rabbit, if she saw blood on his face, she would surely have nightmares.
Xiao Changyuan said coldly, “Liu Shun.”
A young eunuch stumbled out from the crowd, his face pale. “Your servant is here.”
Xiao Changyuan commanded, “Prepare water. I wish to bathe and change. Send someone to dispose of the corpses in the mass graves and clean the bloodstains from the ground. Make sure no trace of death remains. Prepare the imperial carriage, I am going to bring my empress back to the palace.”
He paused, then cast an impatient glance at the kneeling officials.
“Get out. Starting tomorrow, court is suspended for three days. Do not disturb me.”
With that, Xiao Changyuan strode toward the inner court without looking back, his pace quickening until he was practically flying, clearly in a hurry.
Liu Shun hurried after him, immediately instructing the junior eunuchs nearby, “Hurry and prepare the imperial carriage. Have this place cleaned up at once.”
Only when Xiao Changyuan’s figure vanished from sight did the officials dare to rise. They exited the palace gates in small groups, recalling the bloody scene with lingering fear. As they whispered among themselves, the conversation turned to the empress.
“When did His Majesty marry an empress?”
“He must have met his beloved outside the palace.”
“She must hold immense importance in His Majesty’s heart.”
Remembering Chu Yi’s tragic death, they shuddered.
How could she not hold such weight?
A life had been lost over her.
Thus, the entire court learned that their emperor was bringing an empress from outside the palace.
She was his forbidden scale, a single touch would provoke his fury.
Xiao Changyuan washed off the bloodstains from his body at the fastest speed, changed into a clean black imperial robe embroidered with dark golden dragon patterns, and, still damp, hurriedly left the palace to welcome Yun Pianpian. As he passed by the Jin'an Hall, he saw palace servants carrying buckets of water, scrubbing and wiping the blood off the floor with brushes and cloths. The ruins of the sacrificial altar and the corpses of the imperial guards had already been cleared away.
Xiao Changyuan frowned and said, “Tell them to hurry up. Don’t leave any traces of blood behind.”
Liu Shun bowed his head nervously and replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
The imperial carriage had long been waiting outside the Jin'an Gate.
But Xiao Changyuan did not board it, as the carriage was too slow, he wanted to see Yun Pianpian as quickly as possible.
Xiao Changyuan said, “I will go ahead. You come to the Fulai Inn to pick me up.”
With that, he leaped into the air using his inner strength and left, unable to wait even half a moment longer to find Yun Pianpian.
When he arrived at the inn, Xiao Changyuan’s coldly handsome face showed a slight narrowing of his phoenix eyes, and his expression seemed somewhat pleased.
He couldn’t wait to tell Yun Pianpian she could now become the empress she had always wanted to be.
He wanted to ask her if she was happy, but when Xiao Changyuan pushed the door open, he found that Yun Pianpian was not in the room.
The pleased expression on his handsome face froze.
He frowned slightly, his thin lips pressed together, his expression stern.
Yun Pianpian was gone, even Buling Buling had disappeared.
Xiao Changyuan opened the wardrobe and found that one bundle was missing, and all the silver notes had been taken. If someone had kidnapped Yun Pianpian, Buling Buling would have protected her, leaving traces of a struggle in the room. However, there was not the slightest sign of a fight.
So there was only one possibility, Yun Pianpian had run away.
At this thought, Xiao Changyuan’s handsome face turned cold, and his entire body seemed covered in a layer of ice.
He went downstairs to question the innkeeper, his face as dark as water, his voice low and chilling.
“Where did the woman from the Tianzi room go?”
The innkeeper, seeing the black dragon robe on Xiao Changyuan, trembled in fear.
“This humble commoner did not see her come downstairs.”
Xiao Changyuan paused. “Did you see anyone carrying a small white dog?”
“This morning, there was indeed a young gentleman who left here carrying a small white dog.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Changyuan’s face instantly turned ashen, in his icy, dark eyes, a storm of fury raged.
And so, the entire capital came to know: Their empress had run away and their emperor failed to bring back his empress.