Chapter 465 – The secret finally comes out (2)
Zhuer was sitting by his bed. Hearing the raspy sounds from his throat, she chuckled and said, “Who could have expected that my master would have a bad ending even after swearing allegiance to three masters? If she had known this from the beginning, then she would have been better off by giving her wholeheartedly loyalty to the marquis.”
Hearing her words, Zhao Zhe furrowed his brow. Although he could no longer speak or move, he could still clearly understand the words he heard.
Everyone had withdrawn from the hall. It was only Zhuer that remained behind to keep him company.
“I’ve been wearing this mask for too long. Your Majesty probably won’t recognize my original face.” Zhuer laughed and slowly took off the fake skin face mask.
Zhao Zhe’s eyes widened in horror. It was if he had seen a ghost.
The face underneath the mask was very ordinary, and he seen it before.
It felt as if his throat was tearing apart when he tried to talk, and he was only able to mumble out, “It’s… you…”
“En, it’s this servant.” Danzhu looked at Zhao Zhe. Her smile was gentle as she continued to say, “Your Majesty, you must be really surprised, right? Back then, this servant had helped my master, Qian Lianxue, by delivering countless letters. There’s probably nothing left of my master’s body except a full set of white bones. And here this servant is, sitting here and watching you die.”
Danzhu was Qian Lianxue’s personal servant girl. She knew all of her secrets. She was rumored to have gone missing, but in actuality, Ning Yuxuan had secretly captured her. This was how Ning Yuxuan had found out about all of the third prince’s schemes after Qian Lianxue’s death. And, this is why he had chosen the second prince over him.
Zhao Zhe silently laughed. He shook his head and opened his mouth, but couldn’t say a word.
In this game of chess, they had all though they were playing against Marquis Moyu. But, in actuality, Ning Yuxuan had been using them as chess pieces all along.
At varying points, each of them had wrongfully assumed he had control of the world. But, the truth was that they had always been in the grasp of that person’s palm and had never struggled free of that person’s control.
What a sorrowful ending.
Danzhu remained sitting by his bedside as she nattered on, “Mistress Xue was a pitiful person. She only wanted to improve her life a bit. There was no need to use her any further once she had lost her usefulness. Your Majesty, why were you so ruthless back then? You killed my master, then pushed that crime onto the second prince.”
Everyone else had thought the second prince had killed Mistress Xue because he had sent Fan Tianxing to clearly investigate everything. However, that was the wrong assumption to make. She was the only one that knew the truth. It was Zhao Zhe that struck first. Zhao Li merely wanted a way to promote Fan Tianxing, so he had borrowed the cases involving Qian Lianxue.
Although Danzhu was saying that she had remained behind to get revenge for Mistress Xue’s death, it wasn’t true either. She had originally wanted to flee. She would conceal her identity for the rest of her life. However, Ning Yuxuan had captured her, and there was no way to escape from him.
The marquis didn’t investigate the crimes that she had committed. He just wanted her to clearly explain everything that had happened in the estate. He wanted to know what was done by Mistress Xue and what wasn’t done by her. After that, he asked her if she was willing to swear her loyalty to him.
She wasn’t willing, but she had no other choice.
It was only after she became the marquis’s servant that she realized her master had ruined herself by thinking she was so clever. Instead of staying loyal to the marquis, she gave up on him and chased after futile hopes.
Danzhu sighed and returned to her senses. She used the reflection from the water in a nearby gold bowl to put her mask back on, then she glanced at the person on the bed. His breathing was like gossamer. He was hanging onto his last breath.
—
It was reported that the war hadn’t ended in the borderlands. However, since the emperor was terminally ill, Ning Mingjie returned to the capital and brought along 50,000 soldiers. Well, the message said he was returning with 50,000 soldiers.
If the emperor died, who would become the next emperor? There were many titled princes, but they wouldn’t be a legitimate direct descendent. There was also a fourth prince that was six or seven years old. Would he able to take on this heavy responsibility?
One after another, the titled princes and other imperial relatives came to the capital, and they brought along their private armies with them. Of course, they would come in hopes of getting a slice of the pie.
The old court officials panicked. One after another, they turned to Marquis Moyu for help. The country couldn’t withstand another upheaval. Who should sit on the throne next?
Ning Yuxuan waved his hand and picked up the fourth prince, who blankly stared at everyone.
Everyone understood. There wasn’t any other choice.
—
The emperor was about to die, and there was nothing that could stop his deteriorating health. Before Zhao Zhe died, Ning Yuxuan paid him a visit.
Zhao Zhe’s eyes were full of unwillingness and resentment.
Ning Yuxuan looked at him and softly said, “Actually, very early on, I had originally planned to assist you in becoming emperor. That’s why, even though I knew Wan-er was loyal to you, I still dearly loved her.”
Zhao Zhe slightly froze in shock for a moment.
“But, the thing that you should have never done, was have Qian Lianxue kidnap my son.” Marquis Moyu softly smiled. He sat down by the dragon bed and continued, “Since that first time I rescued Haohao, you and me, we were no longer walking on the same road.”
Zhao Zhe’s eyes were full of incredulity. It was just because of that matter? He had thought there would be a more important reason… At that time, hadn’t Ning Yuxuan said he didn’t like Nie Sangyu?!
You liar!
Zhao Zhe felt as if he couldn’t breath. His attempts at breathing sounded very painful. Ning Yuxuan seemingly remembered something else and reminded him, “Right now, with your body’s current condition, if you get too excited, you’ll die sooner.”
“You -” Zhao Zhe wasn’t able to catch his last breath.
Ning Yuxuan went forward and closed his eyes, then he took two steps back and kowtowed.
“May our emperor live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand of ten thousand years -“
The death knell was rung out, and the palace was filled with anguished wailing.
Ning Yuxuan quietly passed through the palace’s numerous winding corridors and picked up the fourth prince, Zhao Yu, who was still playing with his slingshot in the garden.
“Your Highness, it’s time for you to change your clothes and go kneel and cry for a bit.”
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