What Bad Intentions can the Yandere Crown Prince have?-Chapter 420 - 416: Empress Tang

As the Eastern Palace Lady left Liluo Palace, the Crown Prince Guards who were temporarily assigned to guard the palace gates last night received orders to withdraw.

Subsequently, a team of light cavalry burst into the city, knocking on the palace gate.

The Emperor hadn’t ridden a horse so vigorously in a long time.

In his youth, he was among the best at riding and archery among the Princes.

It was precisely because of this that he felt both proud and resentful when facing the sickly Crown Prince.

But once he became Emperor, he no longer needed to exert himself to prove anything to anyone.

This time, he could have sent a young and strong Military General or guard with his handwritten decree.

But he was afraid, afraid that the person entrusted was unreliable, afraid that his decree was already meaningless in the Capital City.

So he came himself.

The Taiji Palace was empty and deserted.

Although the abdication decree had been issued, he had not yet officially abdicated, so this palace city was still his to come and go.

Seeing that the men standing guard outside Liluo Palace with swords were no longer his own, the Emperor’s eyes suddenly reddened, and he drew his sword and gestured fiercely, "Get out of the way!"

After all, he was still the Emperor, and the guards outside the palace scattered in avoidance.

He dismounted and hurried inside.

Through the withered grass and decaying vines, he saw inside the forehall, a figure dressed in pure white like snow. A flash of cold light rose, making his eyes almost pop out of their sockets —

"Stop!"

The cold light suddenly halted, and the Beauty inside the hall lifted her eyes, her gaze crystalline and either joyful or sorrowful, like a fairy who, after years, had finally fallen into the mortal world.

The Emperor’s heart was filled with a mix of sorrow and happiness too.

He had lost the throne, but gained the true heart of a Beauty, making the rest of his life not entirely hopeless.

He entered the hall.

Beauty Shu slowly lowered her hand holding the dagger, looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with tears.

After months of separation, her already gaunt face appeared even more emaciated.

The Emperor regretted the spat that led him to leave her alone in the Capital City.

He once thought her heart was untouchable, yet in such a critical moment, she disregarded her own life to warn him.

And now, besides the dagger in her hand, there were also white silk and another dagger placed in the hall.

If he had come a step later —

The Emperor took a deep breath, embraced Beauty Shu, and sighed, "Ah Shu, I will never leave again —"

Before he could say "you," his eyes suddenly went wide, his eyeballs nearly popping out of his sockets.

The person in his arms lightly struggled twice, slipping away from his embrace.

As their eyes met, Beauty Shu’s eyes still glistened with tears, filled with the same complex mix of joy and sorrow.

"Why?" The Emperor was in disbelief.

She did not answer, stepping back two paces and bending to lift a cup from the table.

Holding the cup with both hands, her voice wavered like a drifting cloud, "Ah Shu thanks Your Majesty for the wine."

The Emperor looked at the cup getting closer to him, wanting to evade, but he collapsed because of a precise strike to his back.

The cup was brought to his lips without any delay.

"No..."

That wasn’t the wine he bestowed; did Ah Shu misunderstand him?

But he had no opportunity to explain. As soon as he opened his mouth, the wine was poured in.

A fierce flame began burning from his throat, and sharp blades seemed to cut from top to bottom.

All questions and resentments were burned and cut through, leaving no words behind.

Zhen Su stood upright, looking down at this once most honored man in the world, watching him die in anguish and unwillingness.

When she was bestowed poison back then, it was the Zheng Family’s doing;

Later, when Master Xue was assassinated, it was the Wang Family’s doing;

But she knew that behind the Zheng and Wang families, there was an invisible supporter.

She always clearly knew who her enemy was.

And finally, she had avenged her great grudge.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

Suddenly, applause rang out.

Zhen Su quickly looked up and saw a beautiful young man in green standing in the courtyard, like the first sign of spring budding through the withered grass, so stunning it was almost unreal.

Not long ago, after the Eastern Palace Lady bestowed her with the white silk, poison wine, and dagger, she took all the Palace Attendants in Liluo Palace away.

The Emperor had entered alone.

It was unclear whether he originally came alone or if his entourage was intercepted.

In any case, there should have been no one else in Liluo Palace, possibly an opportunity the Crown Princess Consort had created for her after negating her original plan.

This young man in green appeared exceptionally eerie.

"Congratulations, Miss Zhen, on avenging your great grudge," the young man in green said with a smile, his eyes innocent and obedient, "If the lady has no other unfulfilled wishes, to save others from being dragged down, why not reunite with Xue Seventh Son early?"

...

"Dead?" Tang Xiaobai was about to leave the palace to greet the already-appointed Crown Prince, when he spun around at these words.

"When Ah Wu arrived with his people, the Supreme Emperor and Beauty Shu were already gone. The Supreme Empress Dowager had a heart wound and drank poison wine. Beauty Shu had a dagger to the heart, seemingly a suicide." Yu Jun’s voice carried traces of fear, pitifully tremulous, like he was truly frightened.

Tang Xiaobai was so shocked that she didn’t notice his performance.

But the shock quickly dissipated.

Suicide was not unexpected.

Zhen Su’s determination for revenge was like a moth to a flame, relentless and unyielding.

When she provided Zhen Su with this opportunity to assassinate the Emperor, she knew it was a difficult situation to resolve.

If Zhen Su still harbored any will to live...

Now, she had only herself to blame.

"Keep an eye on Liluo Palace, I will personally report this to the Crown Prince!"

...

Li Mu, upon hearing the news, was even more composed than Tang Xiaobai, only responding with an "嗯," without a moment of shock.

Tang Xiaobai couldn’t help but quietly ask, "Did you say something that made the Emperor so eager to rush back?"

"I told him that Zhen Su offended my Crown Princess Consort and was bound to die."

Tang Xiaobai let out an "ah," and said, "I really did give Zhen Su the choice of the white silk, poison wine, and dagger!"

After the situation settled, she understood Zhen Su’s intentions.

Indeed, she wanted to deceive her again.

If she had truly taken Zhen Su as a hostage, she would have had to witness a theatrical performance of a beauty facing death fearlessly, with the Emperor weeping before the army.

Zhen Su was actually the same as her, not interested in seeing the choice between the country and beauty, but rather placing herself and the country on the same scale.

What she intended to show the Emperor, just like that letter, lacked tender feelings but was filled with daring protection.

In this way, she would earn trust, and then deliver a fatal blow.

As long as it didn’t hinder the interests of the Eastern Palace, Tang Xiaobai was willing to fulfill her plan, hence the delivery of the three choices of death.

Originally expecting to wait for a while, she didn’t anticipate that Li Mu’s side would cooperate seamlessly.

Just as Tao Zi left, the Emperor arrived, returning faster than Li Mu.

Speaking of which, in that summer, when the Emperor gave the poison wine to Zhen Su, whom he had never met, it destined today’s betrayal of true feelings.

That’s why it’s said, one should be a little kinder...

"What are you thinking?" Li Mu asked, seeing her looking nostalgic.

Tang Xiaobai glanced at him and said, "I’m thinking, luckily, I never bullied you in the past."

Li Mu pondered, "You used to always ask me to help with your homework."

Tang Xiaobai: ???

"Someone who’s about to become Emperor, why so grudging?"

The soon-to-be His Majesty the Emperor said solemnly, "Every single thing Ah Jiao did to me, I must remember."

Tang Xiaobai blinked, a little embarrassed.

What had she done to Li Mu? Why did it sound so strange? Or was she the only one feeling off?

"Why is Ah Jiao blushing?"

"You’re the one blushing!" Tang Xiaobai rebutted immediately.

Originally thinking it was an ineffective rebuttal, she glanced sideways and indeed saw a hint of red on Li Mu’s face.

"What’s this?" Tang Xiaobai raised her finger to touch the faint red at the corner of his eye, like a touch of rouge beautifully vibrant, "Are you hurt?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"No, it’s Zhu Mo," Li Mu caught her hand to explain, saying indifferently, "He was a mean and cowardly person, unable to bear seeing others fearless."

When Emperor Taixing was a Prince, he was envious of the then Crown Prince, yet dared not show it before the Last Emperor and fight for it;

Emperor Hui Zhao’s death was orchestrated by the Yan Family, and Emperor Taixing knew but pretended not to, not daring to take responsibility;

After becoming Emperor, he feared being criticized, and didn’t dare to silence the Yan Family, nor dare to root out Li Mu;

This indecisive character made him particularly value those who bet everything, like Liu Tai, like Zhao Jing, like the initial "Qin Xiao."

He enjoyed watching people rise from obscurity and climb up at all costs.

The premise was, they couldn’t climb out of his grasp.

So, when he saw that Li Mu was fearless from start to end, he felt a tremendous sense of irony and thus erupted in fury, furious for his own incompetence and cowardice.

Tang Xiaobai, looking at that red mark, could almost imagine Emperor Taixing’s breakdown at that time.

A daring and courageous youth, like a mirror reflecting his own hesitant half-life.

Even after becoming Emperor, he was repressed, never able to be at ease.

Tang Xiaobai couldn’t help but laugh with a "pfft," and whispered brightly as he gazed down, "Crown Prince’s talents are exceptional, envied by humans and gods alike!"

The exceptionally talented Crown Prince blushed slightly, pinched her hand, and said, "I’m going to handle the matters concerning the Supreme Emperor’s passing, you should rest for a bit, once the people from the Palace return to the Capital, I’ll trouble Ah Jiao to oversee the mourning rituals of the inner palace."

Tang Xiaobai was surprised, "Isn’t the inner palace presided over by the Empress?"

He kissed her fingertip, "Yes, Empress Tang."

...

"Empress Tang" was just what Li Mu called her in private.

The formal enthronement as Empress would have to wait until the new year and the change of era.

When Empress Dowager Wang and Empress Yuan returned to the palace, Tang Xiaobai still went outside the city as the Crown Princess Consort to welcome them.

Now, whose domain the front court and back palace were, was obvious.

Empress Yuan, upon seeing Tang Xiaobai, stared at her in silence for a long time, and only when leaving did she say mildly, "Crown Princess Consort has worked hard."

The three words "Crown Princess Consort" seemed to be pronounced with deliberate clarity.