Chapter 708: The End (2)
Sixth Prince and Xiao Bojian stared fiercely at the emperor.
The emperor’s inner struggle seemed clear to the onlookers. He finally sighed and shut his eyes. With some difficulty, he opened his eyes yet again and gestured at Eunuch Wei, who had been standing by the side. His voice was hoarse as he ordered, “Take it out…”
Eunuch Wei was astonished. He opened his mouth, thinking of persuading the emperor otherwise, but under the steady and resolute gaze of his master, he backed down and sighed helplessly. The eunuch turned to a hidden area within the hall and activated a mechanism, before retrieving an exquisite golden box from within.
Sixth Prince instantly flushed from excitement. He completely forgot about Chu Lian and let go of her. The prince made it in front of Eunuch Wei in just a few steps. He snatched the box from the eunuch and opened it up impatiently. When he finally saw what was inside, his entire body trembled from excitement.
It was the jade seal, the real imperial seal!
As part of the imperial bloodline, every prince had learned how to discern the authenticity of the jade seal.
Sixth Prince was no exception.
Just as Sixth Prince was overjoyed at the turn of events and was dreaming about how he was going to ascend the throne that had been fought over by millions of men, the box was suddenly lifted right up from his hands and he was bound by ropes.
He was in utter disbelief at everything that had happened in an instant.
His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
When he found out that the one who had given the order to tie him down was the person he had trusted the most, extreme fury flooded his heart and he reacted like a mad dog.
“Xiao Bojian, what are you doing! Have you forgotten your place?!”
Sixth Prince had bellowed his little heart out. He shouted for his guards to save him, but no one moved.
He lost his senses and started screaming wildly like a lunatic.
The sudden turn of events had also managed to stun Chu Lian.
However, she didn’t stand there in a daze for long. She looked around her and quickly found a corner where she could hide in and shifted that way.
Although the hall had been surrounded by Xiao Bojian’s men and she knew she couldn’t possibly escape at this moment, she could still lower the amount of danger she was in and keep herself safe for now.
One presented the golden box that he had stolen to his master. Xiao Bojian let out a sneer and dug at his ear, as if hating the clamour that Sixth Prince was making. He shot an eye at the black-clad man holding Sixth Prince.
With a single chop of his hand, Sixth Prince fainted right over and collapsed to the floor.
When the emperor discovered that Chu Lian wasn’t in any immediate danger, his heart relaxed a little. However, he didn’t show it in his expression and continued acting like he was on his deathbed.
He glared at Xiao Bojian as if he couldn’t believe everything that had happened thus far.
Xiao Bojian seemed to be pleased by the fearful and dismayed look the emperor had sent him. He smirked and walked towards the emperor.
“Your Majesty, was all of this beyond your wildest thoughts?”
The emperor coughed as he questioned indignantly, “Who are you! What are you aiming for!”
Xiao Bojian let out a burst of laughter, “Who am I? Of course Your Majesty wouldn’t know me. But I’m sure Your Majesty hasn’t forgotten about Xiao Rong!”
The emperor’s expression shifted instantly. This time, he wasn’t acting. He was genuinely shocked.
Xiao Rong!
What a familiar name from his memories!
Xiao Rong had been his sworn brother. During the fight for the throne, he had also been his greatest ally. By the time he had ascended the throne, Xiao Rong had become his most trusted leader of the imperial guards. Unfortunately, later on… That all-powerful man had committed a major crime and his entire clan had been sentenced to death. The Xiao clan then vanished into the annals of history.
“You… You’re Xiao Rong’s son!”
Now that the truth had been revealed, the emperor realised that the beautiful man before him did have some resemblance to Xiao Rong.
“What a discerning eye you have, Your Majesty! You’re truly worthy of all the effort I’ve put in to avenge my father’s murder!”
The emperor abruptly burst into an intense fit of coughing.
Chu Lian was simply acting as an observer to all this. She frowned slightly as she thought. She didn’t know what had happened in the later half of the novel, so she had still been in the dark about Xiao Bojian’s other identity. The great enmity between him and the emperor was completely out of her expectations.
“Have you ever thought that there would come such a day? Hahaha! Today, not only will you give up your life to be buried with my father and clan… but your dearly beloved daughter will go down with you! Aren’t you glad?! Don’t worry, you won’t suffer for long. You’ll meet my father soon.”
Xiao Bojian was clearly overjoyed.
He took a sword from One’s hands and charged towards the emperor, blade pointed straight at his heart.
Chu Lian was startled by the sudden movement. However, from where she was standing, she couldn’t possibly reach Xiao Bojian. Even if she had been a little closer, she wouldn’t have been able to save the emperor
Just as Xiao Bojian was about to execute his revenge, One seemed to have heard something and immediately reached out to stop Xiao Bojian with a grave expression, “Master, there are some unwelcome intruders outside.”
Just as One finished speaking, black-clad guards poured in from all directions into the hall. In the blink of an eye, Xiao Bojian, One and the renegades were all surrounded with no way to escape!
Chu Lian had just taken a step backwards when she was immediately wrapped into a warm, solid and safe embrace.
It wasn’t until He Changdi had Chu Lian back in his arms that his heart finally settled down. Only the heavens knew how hard his heart had been thumping on his mad rush here.
He grasped Chu Lian’s cold hand with his own and took off his black cloak to wrap it around Chu Lian’s chilled body.
“Lian’er,” He Changdi called out to her softly.
Chu Lian returned the grip on his warm hand and whispered her reply, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
Now that He Changdi was by her side, Chu Lian wasn’t scared any longer.
After ascertaining Chu Lian’s safety, He Changdi handed his wife over to Laiyue’s care. He walked up to the emperor’s bedside with Prince Jin and they knelt down in unison to ask for forgiveness.
“This humble official (Your humble son) has arrived late, and seeks Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”
