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241

Translator: 549690339

Liaowang looked at his eldest son and asked, “If you ascend to the throne, can you continue to help your Imperial Father find that person?”

The Crown Prince shook his head, “Imperial Father, you should wake up. You’ve been searching for that person for at least a decade, yet you’ve ultimately come up empty-handed. Your son believes that you have been bewitched by her, leading you to neglect the Imperial Court. If such a person truly exists in this world, not only would I not search for her, but I would have someone keep an eye out to kill her!”

“Because she is a Demonic Woman who causes chaos within the Imperial Order!”

Liaowang looked at his son and sighed, sliding off his dragon robe, “The Jade Seal is on the desk. Go take it yourself.”

“Thank you, Imperial Father!”

The Crown Prince breathed a sigh of relief. If possible, he did not want to bear the stigma of patricide and regicide, even if the sovereign was a negligent emperor. He turned and walked to the desk, where indeed a Jade Seal was placed.

He hastily stepped forward and reached out to take the Jade Seal.

But at that moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, his body convulsed involuntarily, and looking down slightly, a dagger had penetrated through his chest, with a small piece of his heart still hanging on the blade’s tip.

“Imperial Father, you…”

Before he could finish, the Crown Prince’s eyes lost their luster, his body went limp, and he crumpled to the ground.

Liaowang let go of the dagger, dropped it, and picked up his son’s corpse, wailing loudly.

“Oh my son, your Imperial Father did not wish to kill you, it was you who forced your Imperial Father’s hand!”

“As long as Mei’er could be found, the throne would have been yours eventually. Why couldn’t you just wait longer? Your Imperial Father truly didn’t want this!”

Having killed his own son, the experience was peculiar. Liaowang felt profound sorrow, yet at the same time, there was a sensation of relief.

Without his eldest son’s covetous gaze, perhaps he could sit on the throne a while longer.

The next morning at the court assembly, Liaowang carried the body of the Crown Prince and entered the hall slowly, dropping the corpse in front of the hall. The civil and military officials were so shocked that their eyeballs nearly popped out.

The entire Imperial City’s soldiers had been replaced by the Crown Prince, the officials and other princes were all under control, but even so, the Crown Prince was still counter-killed.

At this moment, they felt a chill emanate from the depths of their hearts, perhaps the current emperor was not as they had thought, old and useless.

At the very least, he still had the strength to kill and the resolve to slay his own son.

“Continue searching for the whereabouts of Su Mei’er.”

Liaowang stated indifferently, without mentioning anything about the Crown Prince.

“Yes!”

The officials complied, continuing with their previous tasks, frantically searching for the whereabouts of Su Mei’er.

Seeing the tragic death of the Crown Prince, several princes also temporarily dismissed the idea of ascending to power. For the time being, the Capital was in flux, the spies planted by the Imperial Guards were all withdrawn, the original Imperial City guards were all called back, everything was to be reverted back to how it was, and all remained unchanged.

Once again, Liaowang firmly secured his seat of power.

The scene shifted again.

This time, Liaowang, with hair turned grey, over sixty years old, was still dressed in the dragon robe, holding incense candles, paying homage and worshipping within the Imperial Mausoleum.

There were three steles, each inscribed with the names of three princes.

“Eldest, second, and third, you three are all too alike, unable to withstand solitude, with eyes flashing with the glow of longing for power, just like I was when I was young. But why couldn’t you just wait a little longer?”

“This Imperial Father needs the throne, for there are still unfinished affairs of mine. If possible, I truly did not wish to kill you, but some matters cannot be hindered. I have said, alive we must see the person, dead we must see the body—Su Mei’er must be found, whether dead or alive!”

Sitting in front of the tombs, Liaowang chatted disjointedly.

Over these years, I had all my sons killed myself, keeping the throne firmly under my own control.

No one in the world dared to defy me, but what Liaowang never understood was where exactly Su Mei’er had gone. Sent to be a military prostitute as punishment, she should have drifted to a neighboring country by now, but why has there still been no word of her?

Liaowang felt his years were numbered, his body weakening day by day.

While he still had the strength to move, he wanted to visit his hometown once more.

The next day, Liaowang canceled the morning court and without notifying anyone, he went alone to his hometown to pay his respects at the City Lord’s Mansion.

Contrary to his expectations, a figure was already standing on the ruins early on, with several incense candles placed in front of a few steles.

“Who are you?”

Liaowang asked.

“Liaowang, it has been a long time since we last met.”

The person turned around, and Liaowang’s pupils suddenly constricted. The man was also white-haired and close to the end, but between his brows, Liaowang could barely make out a familiar feeling.

“Young Master?”

“Heh, you are now the reigning Emperor, do not call me ‘Young Master’ anymore,”

the elderly man chuckled. He was the young master of the City Lord’s Mansion, the true Yuan Hua.

“I never expected that after we parted that day, the life awaiting me would see such drastic changes; it was merely a transformation of status. I originally thought you would become my sacrifice, but to think you would fight through the brambles to become the reigning Emperor, life is indeed marvelous.”

Liaowang could see that, unlike others, his own Young Master held no awe for his imperial status. Instead, the other interacted with him as an equal.

But Liaowang didn’t mind, he never cared about others’ opinions of him, he only needed to have the means to accomplish what he wished.

“Young Master, we haven’t seen each other for decades, we are both old now. How have you been these years?”

Liaowang’s voice wavered, a lump forming in his throat.

“I am well, and you, have you lived for yourself these years?”

the old man asked.

“Of course, over these years, I have been searching for Su Mei’er. I have acted entirely according to my own will, never following the thoughts of others, even that was the same with the Princes.”

Liaowang said.

“Is that so? If the Emperor had truly acted on his own will, he would have found Su Mei’er already,” the old man shook his head, his voice indifferent.

“The Emperor, in his search for Su Mei’er, has been swayed by hearsay all along the way. When the brothel madam said she was sold to officials and nobles in the Capital City, the Emperor went to the Capital City, and when a minor official claimed Su Mei’er was gifted to the Prime Minister, the Emperor contrived to have him killed, striving to ascend to higher positions.”

“The Prime Minister said she became a military prostitute and was scattered to the four winds, the Emperor then assassinated the monarch to take the throne, calling upon the common people from all over to search for her, a search which continues to this day.”

“Let the Emperor ask himself, along this journey, has he truly followed his heart? The Emperor has been living on the word of others, living under Su Mei’er’s name, this life of his, forcibly changing his course, has never been for himself.”

“The Emperor has been living for Su Mei’er, living for power and authority,”

the elderly man slowly said, his words striking Liaowang like a thunderbolt, leaving him standing there, stunned.

The Young Master was right, his entire life he had lived in the shadow of others, believing he was living for himself when in reality he was the one most constrained.

“Young Master, do you know where Su Mei’er might be?” Liaowang asked.

“That is for the Emperor to find out for himself. The answer lies within the words just spoken. If the Emperor can live for himself, he will immediately find Su Mei’er’s trail.”

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