Chapter 80: Your Majesty’s Revenge
Zhao Qiuchi was not a man of strong will, and he had a family to think about. Xu Xingchen barely had to apply any pressure before he spilled everything he knew.
Zhao Qiuchi hadn’t come willingly. Lin Yi’s men had found his father and spoken in veiled terms, telling him to enter the palace to perform.
But His Majesty’s preference for men was never a secret.
His father, eager for wealth and status and terrified of offending the Emperor, persuaded him to come.
He was in no position to refuse. For the sake of his family and his opera troupe, he had no choice but to enter the palace.
He had braced himself for humiliation upon entering the palace, but he never imagined that while the Emperor would do nothing to them, the Regent King would come with a sword to take their lives.
They had nearly died that day.
Anxious to leave the palace, he happened to meet someone who told him that if he killed Jiang Shuhuai, they would help him escape. Not only that, but they would also elevate his family’s status to that of free citizens and give him ten thousand taels of gold.
If he refused, he would have been killed on the spot.
He had no choice but to agree.
He deliberately chose a time when everyone was sound asleep to knock on Jiang Shuhuai’s door. The knock was quiet, inaudible to anyone outside, but Jiang Shuhuai, who was too hurt to sleep, heard it.
He went inside, feigned concern for a few moments, and then killed him.
He didn’t want to do it, but he had no choice.
So, that was Zhao Qiuchi’s testimony. Whether you believe it or not is another matter entirely.
Zhao Qiuchi admitted to being ordered to kill Jiang Shuhuai, but as for who gave the order, he could only provide a vague description. He truly didn’t know who the real mastermind was.
He was actually quite clever. The mastermind had practically revealed herself the moment the Empress Dowager appeared; after all, the intent to frame the Regent King was far too obvious.
But since he had never actually seen the person pulling the strings, he didn’t dare make wild accusations. The Empress Dowager was the Emperor’s birth mother. Even if the truth came out, nothing would happen to her, but she would surely never let his family go.
So he kept his mouth shut. But even so, he could not escape death.
A hidden projectile. A single dart to the throat.
He had been silenced.
The murderer was Zhao Qiuchi. To investigate any further would no longer be about solving a crime, but about delving into a power struggle.
The matter should have ended there, smoothed over for the sake of peace.
The Empress Dowager had done evil, but because she was the Emperor’s birth mother, the Emperor could not commit matricide and could only compromise.
’Compromise, my ass!’
Xiao Yang thought for an hour and made a decision.
"Lin Yi."
Lin Yi stepped forward and bowed. "This servant is here."
Xiao Yang said, "Relay my orders. The Empress Dowager is unwell and requires quiet recuperation. Henceforth, she will observe a vegetarian diet and devote herself to Buddhist prayer, concerning herself no longer with worldly affairs. Seal Cian Palace. Without my decree, no one is to enter or leave."
This was, in effect, putting the Empress Dowager under house arrest.
"This servant obeys your command!"
He had found two people for the Emperor, and one had ended up dead while the other became a murderer. Lin Yi had been on edge ever since. Now that the Emperor was giving him another chance, he was determined to perform well.
Inside Cian Palace, the Empress Dowager went on a rampage, but she was now nothing more than a caged animal. Her fury no longer held any power.
When news spread that the Emperor had confined the Empress Dowager, none of the court officials were surprised. They had already suspected her involvement in ordering the murder, but given her status and the lack of evidence, no one had dared to speak out of turn.
The Emperor confining her now was perfectly logical.
Unfortunately, Xiao Yang wanted more than just confinement.
"Warning!"
The System, in its pufferfish form, suddenly flashed red. It zipped in front of Xie Liuzheng. "We have a huge problem! The male lead wants to commit matricide."
Xie Liuzheng was surprised but confused. "What does that have to do with me? My mission is to win over the main villain, right?"
’Besides, if the Emperor wants to kill the Empress Dowager, how am I supposed to stop him?’
The System drew closer. "He can’t kill her. A son killing his mother is an unforgivable sin against nature. If the Emperor kills his own mother, the celestial fortune invested in him will turn on him. The realm will soon fall into chaos and the people will be plunged into misery. Since ancient times, any monarch who commits patricide or matricide has suffered divine retribution."
Xie Liuzheng asked, "Then what do I do?"
The System replied, "Target reassignment. Your new target is Xiao Jin. Your mission is to guide Xiao Jin to become an enlightened monarch and become Xiao Jin’s Empress."
Xie Liuzheng said, "...But ’he’ likes men..."
’This is no less difficult than winning over the Regent King.’
’And yet, I still have to go to the Imperial Palace. To persuade the Emperor not to kill the Empress Dowager?’
’I could only laugh bitterly. Who did I think I was, to do something like that? The System might as well just kill me now.’
’As long as the male ghosts in the Underworld were handsome, I could probably learn to live with it.’
When Xie Liuzheng arrived at the Imperial Palace, she ran right into Xiao Yang, who was about to leave with a pile of things. Without a word, the Emperor pulled her up into the imperial carriage, and they set off together.
Xie Liuzheng asked curiously, "Where are we going, Your Majesty?"
Xiao Yang patted the stack of books beside him, seemingly in a good mood. "The Heavenly Prison. I’m delivering something to the Regent King."
Xie Liuzheng felt helpless. ’System, what am I supposed to say? Do I just come out with it? ’Your Majesty, I know you want to kill your mom, and that’s wrong’?’
Xiao Yang’s eyebrow twitched. ’This System can sense things like that?’
The System’s mechanical voice was cold. ’That is for you to figure out. I will also remind you that you have six months left. Those who die a violent death cannot be reincarnated. If you fail to complete your mission, you will be utterly annihilated.’
Xie Liuzheng was a little disappointed. ’And here I was hoping to go to the Underworld and hit on a couple of handsome ghosts...’
Hearing this, Xiao Yang’s lips curled into a smile. ’This girl is pretty amusing.’
As they spoke, the carriage arrived at the Heavenly Prison. Xiao Lan had already led his men to clear a path, so Xiao Yang’s entry was unimpeded.
The Heavenly Prison was grim and oppressive, filled with the foul stench of blood.
Xiao Yang entered without a change in expression. In the largest cell at the front, she saw Rong Yin, along with the two guards imprisoned with him.
A table, a lamp, a pot of tea.
Rong Yin sat at the table, reading. With his leisurely air, he looked nothing like a prisoner.
Hearing footsteps, Rong Yin looked up. "Your Majesty should not have come here."
’The moment he opens his mouth, it’s something I hate to hear.’
Xiao Yang clasped her hands behind her back, her posture radiating the triumphant arrogance of a petty villain who had gotten their way. "If I didn’t come, how would I get to see the great Regent King as a common prisoner?"
With a wave of her hand, two eunuchs brought forward the trays they were carrying.
Rong Yin said, "Is Your Majesty afraid that I will be bored in here?"
Xiao Yang’s lips curled into a malicious grin. "This is your punishment from me. Copy every one of these books three times. You’re not allowed to leave until you’re finished!"
The two large platters held a full fifty books, each one filled to the brim with Xiao Yang’s malice.
’This is for forcing me to study! For forcing me to copy books!’
’The tables have turned. Now it’s my time to rule, and I’ll make him suffer ten, no, a hundred times more!’
Rong Yin hadn’t expected this sort of "revenge." He had always known the Little Emperor was holding a grudge, and that they would never be able to have a proper conversation until it was vented.
"This is so much... it will be the death of me."
Rong Yin feigned distress, appearing to be in great agony.
Sure enough, the Little Emperor’s expression grew even more smug. He snarled, "This is the retribution you deserve!"
Rong Yin sighed, looking as though he deeply regretted having been so cruel to the Emperor in the past.