Chapter 709: The End (3)
Xiao Bojian took in the sight of the hall surrounded by Prince Jin and He Changdi’s men. His mind couldn’t wrap around the reversal of the situation.
His hand trembled as he pointed at He Changdi and Prince Jin, “You… you!”
Before Xiao Bojian could process the shock in his mind, the ‘sick and dying’ emperor suddenly stood up from the bed.
His eyes were bright and clear and he spoke with grave authority. He no longer looked like an ailing and powerless old man.
Xiao Bojian’s eyes went comically wide, “Lu Luan! You’re not… sick! You were acting!”
Lu Luan was the emperor’s real name. Ever since he had taken the throne, it had been many years since anyone had dared to call him by his name.
Xiao Bojian really had some guts!
One stood in front of Xiao Bojian with his blade drawn, trying his best to protect him.
The emperor pulled Prince Jin and He Changdi up, then sneered coldly. He roared out his order, “Take down these traitorous rebels!”
Immediately, the guards swarmed over One and Xiao Bojian.
One’s martial arts skill was superb. Even while protecting Xiao Bojian, the guards couldn’t get close to him at all.
He Changdi drew his sword and jumped into the fray. After fifteen minutes, One collapsed to the floor, dead, while He Changdi had captured Xiao Bojian.
Xiao Bojian no longer had any of the distinguished bearing of a top scholar. His appearance was wretched and his hair was in complete disarray. He glared furiously at the emperor and shouted, “Lu Luan! You traitor! My father was wholeheartedly loyal to you, yet you destroyed my entire clan just because you feared his power! You tyrant!”
He Changdi had already returned to Chu Lian’s side, and was now hugging her gently as they watched this drama unfold.
The emperor walked over to Xiao Bojian, who was being pressed down to the ground by some guards. He looked down upon him contemptuously and let out a cold snort.
“Your father never told you the truth?”
Xiao Rong had brought his own death upon himself.
He had been sworn brothers with the emperor, but that didn’t extend to sharing their wives. He had taken a liking to Ye Xun back then and had tried to pursue her. Later on, he had also tried to drive a wedge between the emperor and his father. If the emperor had not taken precautions in advance, he might have come to a gruesome end courtesy of Xiao Rong.
After finding out the truth from the emperor, Xiao Bojian didn’t look like he believed it, but it wasn’t important now.
The emperor first shot a look in Chu Lian’s direction.
When he met with Chu Lian’s indifferent gaze, his heart fell in disappointment. Finally, he turned to Imperial Concubine Wei, who had hunkered down into a corner and was trying her best to turn invisible.
Imperial Concubine Wei shuddered when the emperor’s gaze fell upon her.
She prostrated herself on the ground and knelt in front of the emperor, crying and pleading, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please spare this concubine’s life! This concubine was forced to do so by Sir Xiao and Sixth Prince!”
The emperor sneered.
Imperial Concubine Wei’s trembled even more, “Your Majesty, even if you hate this concubine, please spare this concubine’s life on behalf of Imperial Princess Leyao!”
“Take her away!”
The emperor no longer had eyes for the woman grovelling pathetically before him. Some men stuffed Imperial Concubine Wei’s mouth and took her away as ordered.
The men who had surrounded the Imperial City and kept it under guard slowly disappeared after an hour.
The grand rebellion had turned out to be a joke.
As much as the emperor wanted to keep her, Chu Lian still left the palace and returned to the Anyuan EState.
She had given birth not too long ago. After all this uproar, her body was beyond exhausted.
Little Stone was also sent back to the Anyuan Estate.
Count and Countess Jing’an, Matriarch He, Prince and Princess Wei, as well as Royal Princess Duanjia, all came as soon as possible to visit Chu Lian and meet the newborn Little Stone.
As the first great-grandson of the He Family, the senior family members all treated Little Stone like a precious treasure.
In the end, it was the emperor who gave Little Stone his official name: He Yan, blessing him with longevity as long as the cranes and the pines.
Since Sixth Prince had tried to force the emperor to abdicate, he was gifted with his last drink of a poisonous wine, while Imperial Concubine Wei was given a white sash to hang herself with.
As a fellow conspirator, Xiao Bojian was given the crime of trying to overthrow the emperor, as well as collaborating with outsiders to bring down their country. He was immediately executed at the meridian gate.
House Ying and Imperial Concubine Wei’s sister, Wei Fengzhi, suffered similar consequences. House Ying was stripped of their noble title and reduced to commoners, then exiled to the borders.
Two days later, in a rural village, one of He Changdi’s subordinates found the corpses of both Chu Yuan and her maidservant Xiaoqin. After some investigation, they found that it was Xiao Bojian’s men who had done so.
Little Stone had just turned one month old when he was immediately given the title of Heir Anyuan. Once he had passed a hundred days in age, Matriarch He’s health started declining.
Near the end of spring in the next year, the matriarch passed away.
He Ying and her daughter were finally able to return to the capital. After the funeral proceedings were done, He Ying and her daughter were then sent back to Siyang by Countess Jing’an.
In May of this year, Prince Jin was given the title of crown prince. His wedding date was also set for August, and the soon-to-be crown princess was Sima Hui of Shandong.
In June, the emperor bestowed an engagement between Royal Princess Duanjia and He Erlang.
Three months after the crown prince’s grand wedding, the emperor abdicated from the throne. Right before he abdicated, he wanted to give Chu Lian the title of Royal Princess, but his gesture was rejected by Chu Lian. In Chu Lian’s heart, she was simply the object of the emperor’s lingering affections for Ye Xun, and she wasn’t actually the emperor’s real daughter within. She would feel guilty if she received too much glory and honour from that relationship.
In the two years after Prince Jin took the throne, He Changdi entered the cabinet at twenty five years of age and earned the achievement of being the youngest ever minister in the cabinet.
That very same year, Chu Lian got pregnant again.
Living her life within the capital, with the accompaniment of her lover, good food and good friends, time passed peacefully and beautifully for Chu Lian…
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THE END
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