Her Majesty Chose Violence, They Chose Her

Rong Yin had thought he’d forgotten his biological father’s face. But the moment Prince Kang appeared, those deeply buried memories surged forth—darkness, ice, revulsion, hatred. The days of humiliation were etched into his bones, carved into his soul. He could never forget.

More than a decade had passed, yet it felt like only yesterday.

The Empress Dowager had truly caught him off guard. He had almost failed to react at the banquet.

Fortunately, His Majesty had locked Prince Kang away in the Heavenly Prison. With so many days having passed, he could now face him with composure.

"You damn bastard, why haven’t you let us out yet?"

Prince Kang, who had just been feeling uneasy, straightened his back the moment he saw Rong Yin.

He would have had to find a way to persuade anyone else who came. But with Rong Yin, it wasn’t necessary.

Even if Rong Yin’s wings had hardened and carried him to the heavens, he was still his father. If he told him to kneel, he had to kneel.

Lu Qian, too, seemed to have rediscovered her dignity as a Princess Consort. She leaned gently against Prince Kang, her face a mask of sorrow and dissatisfaction. "Ah Shang, I know you despise me, your stepmother. You can do whatever you want to me, but the Prince is your biological father. How can you just stand by and watch the Emperor make your father suffer in the Heavenly Prison?"

Her words were like pouring oil on a fire. Prince Kang’s already simmering anger instantly roared to life.

Rong Yin ignored her attempt to stir up trouble. He hadn’t come here to reason with them.

"Rong Rui, Rong Jing. I have already sent people to ’invite’ them."

Lu Qian’s face instantly turned deathly pale. Those were the son and daughter she had given birth to.

Forgetting her snide remarks, she asked frantically, "What are you going to do to them? They are your younger brother and sister! They’re innocent!"

Rong Yin sneered at her words.

’My younger brother and sister are innocent? Was I not innocent when I was born?’

’To pave the way for her own children, Lu Qian didn’t hesitate to falsely accuse me of bringing her misfortune, and she even had me removed from the family registry. How old was I then?’

’But when it happens to her own, suddenly they’re innocent?’

Prince Kang also chimed in with a threat. "If you dare harm them, I swear I’ll make you pay!"

Rong Yin was completely unfazed by his threat. "Give the Empress Dowager what she wants, return to Yan Hill, and never come back to the Capital City for the rest of your lives."

"If you refuse, I will make them experience seven years of living under someone else’s roof, a life worse than an animal’s. As for whether they’ll still be alive at the end of it... well, that’s something I can’t guarantee."

Rong Yin’s words weren’t overtly vicious, but they both understood. He was going to capture those two and torture them, perhaps even to death.

"You dare!"

Prince Kang glared at him. "If you dare harm them, you can forget about ever being reinstated in the Rong Family registry."

Rong Yin was the supposedly inauspicious son of a ghost birth, but he had grown up by the Emperor’s side and was now the Regent King, whose power shook the court. Many in the clan wanted to invite him back.

Prince Kang had run roughshod over Yan Hill, relying on the fact that his mother was a princess. But he alone was noble; the rest of the Rong Family enjoyed few of the benefits.

Moreover, Prince Kang’s status was his only asset; he held no real power.

But the Regent King was different. His was the power to control the government. If he were willing to offer them a hand, the Rong Family could soar to prominence, and their ascension to a top-tier great house would be just around the corner.

Prince Kang believed he had two things he could use to control Rong Yin. The first was his status as biological father; he could use filial piety to crush Rong Yin completely. The second was the universal desire to be acknowledged by one’s ancestors; as long as Rong Yin was disobedient, he would never agree to let him return to the clan.

Little did he know, the very things he thought Rong Yin cared about, Rong Yin held in utter contempt.

’Return to the Rong Family registry?’

’Has he lost his mind?’

’My name was entered into the Royal Family’s registry long ago. It could never go back to the Rong Family’s.’

"I sent my men out long ago. Your shouting is useless. Perhaps if you stay here a few more days, you’ll be able to see them."

Rong Yin didn’t feel much hatred for his so-called younger brother and sister. After all, they weren’t the ones who had hurt him. But he was not above taking out his anger for their parents’ debt on them, even to the point of killing them with his own hands.

With that, his gaze fell upon Lu Qian. "I came today merely to inform you of this, and to settle an old score."

"My mother’s death during childbirth... you were behind it."

It was not a question, but a statement.

Lu Qian shook her head violently. "It wasn’t me..."

But Rong Yin gave her no room to deny or escape. "I sent people back years ago. You covered your tracks well. After all, it happened more than twenty years ago, so it wasn’t easy to investigate. But you weren’t ruthless enough. You didn’t kill everyone involved back then."

A glance at Prince Kang revealed a face full of fury toward Rong Yin, but not much shock. He had clearly known about this all along.

Rong Yin expressionlessly drew the sword from Qing Yu’s side.

"Ah!" Lu Qian clung tightly to Prince Kang. "Husband, save me!"

Prince Kang roared, "What do you think you’re doing?"

Lu Qian trembled uncontrollably. "He’s going to kill me!"

Prince Kang stepped forward to shield her. "You dare!"

There was nothing Rong Yin didn’t dare to do.

The blade flashed with a cold light. Prince Kang squeezed his eyes shut in fear. When he opened them again, he saw Rong Yin’s departing back. Nothing had happened.

He let out a heavy sigh of relief. Just as he was about to curse, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

He looked down. Lu Qian’s arm was wrapped around his waist. He instinctively grabbed it, but the texture felt wrong.

He lifted, and the entire arm came away easily in his hand.

Just the arm!!!

The stump was still gushing blood. He whipped his head around and saw Lu Qian lying on the ground, her state unknown.

"AHHH!!!"

Outside the Heavenly Prison, Rong Yin ran into Prince Jing. The moment they met, he handed him a list.

"This documents all of Prince Kang’s assets. You can make demands based on it. If he doesn’t agree, you can go with Li Wei to see His Majesty."

His Majesty would be more than happy to issue an order to confiscate his assets.

And Li Wei was an expert at that.

Prince Jing: "..."

’What a truly filial son,’ he thought. ’He couldn’t bring himself to take his own father’s life, but he was willing to do something that felt like digging up the Rong Family’s ancestors.’

But Prince Jing knew a little about Rong Yin’s past, so he made no comment. The fact that Rong Yin had spared their lives was proof enough that he still had some humanity left.

After giving his instructions to Prince Jing, Rong Yin boarded his carriage. He was no longer the weak, helpless child of the past. The Rong Family was powerless to make waves against him now.

To avenge his mother’s murder, he hadn’t killed Lu Qian, but had only taken her arm. This was not an act of mercy.

Death would have been too easy for her. She had to live, so that every day from now on would be a living hell.

One moment, Rong Yin was a master strategist, cold, proud, and looking down on the world. The next, Qing Feng arrived. "My lord, His Majesty has taken two male consorts."

The look on Rong Yin’s face instantly shattered. "What did you say?"

Qing Feng was an honest guard, so he dutifully reported the details again. "Eunuch Lin found two male consorts for His Majesty. One is a musician, the other an actor. After they performed, His Majesty took them both into the rear palace."

The more Qing Feng spoke, the darker Rong Yin’s expression became, his eyes turning red with killing intent. "To the palace! Immediately!"