Chapter 5 — My Mother, the Crowned Queen

Now, she had proactively offered up the fatal blade of plotting against the imperial lineage; no one could save her anymore. At that very moment, Eunuch Hai hurried inside, bearing a tray. Upon the tray rested the male infant, his complexion still deeply blue and purple just as it had been in the delivery chamber.

"Your Majesty, the imperial physicians have thoroughly inspected him."

Eunuch Hai's voice trembled visibly.

"This child indeed suffered from a lethal poison within his body. Because the maternal source ingested dangerously potent labor-inducing drugs over an extended period, the fetal toxin attacked his heart, and he has already... ceased to breathe."

Xue Jingrong gazed in a daze at the tiny remains upon the tray. That was her own flesh and blood, carried for ten full months—a child she had driven herself to force out with frantic medication simply to give birth ahead of Yun Xi Zhu! She had assumed this infant would eventually be swapped away anyway, that whether it lived or died was of little consequence. Yet she never could have imagined that this very child would ultimately become the irrefutable, fatal evidence condemning her to death.

"My child..."

Xue Jingrong suddenly let out a wretched, piercing laugh. With disheveled hair, she scrambled up from the floor, pointing directly at Yan Xunhe as she began to rain curses upon him.

"Yan Xunhe! What right do you have to act so aloof and supreme? There is nothing inside your mind except for daughters!"

"If only you had deigned to look at these imperial princes even once, I would never have been driven to such a pass today!"

"Since you only care for daughters, then none of you shall live either!"

Xue Jingrong had completely lost her mind. Abruptly, she drew a poisoned dagger from her sleeve and lunged savagely toward Yan Xunhe's chest.

"Protect the Emperor!"

Eunuch Hai shrieked, his voice cracking in terror. Yan Xunhe’s gaze turned glacial; not retreating so much as a single step, he raised his blade and struck down in one fluid motion. The long saber pierced straight through Xue Jingrong’s chest, pinning her mercilessly to the massive pillar behind her. Xue Jingrong’s eyes widened in shock as fresh blood gushed from her mouth in torrents. The poisoned dagger slipped from her grasp, clattering sharply against the stone floor.

"You... you shall die a horrific death..."

Staring fixedly at Yan Xunhe, she drew her final, rattling breath. Even in death, she refused to accept her own fault, forever blaming others. Yan Xunhe casually withdrew his long blade, flicking away the residual blood with an expression of utter disdain.

"Hear my imperial decree!"

He turned around, his voice chillingly devoid of warmth.

"The consort of the Xue clan plotted against the imperial lineage and threw the inner court into chaos. Strip her of all titles, reduce her to a commoner, and hang her corpse publicly at the city gates!"

"Grand General Suppressing the Nation, Xue Mang, has proven utterly incompetent in instructing his daughter and harbors treasonous ambitions. Strip him of his post immediately and subject him to thorough investigation."

"As for the entire Xue clan, execute every last member and purge all nine familial relations!"

The Imperial Guards stationed outside the hall shouted their compliance in unison, their voices shaking the heavens. The barrage of phantom commentary reappeared before my eyes. This is so satisfying, I thought the imperial consort would put up at least a little more resistance, but she was executed right on the spot. She never could have anticipated an ending like this. Of course she never expected it, considering she was still dreaming of becoming the empress just a second ago. Watching the scrolling commentary, I felt a wave of exhilarating satisfaction. A father this decisive, uncompromising, and ruthlessly efficient was simply breathtakingly cool! News traveled with astonishing speed. Before the day had fully faded into dusk, just as Yan Xunhe finished issuing the decree to annihilate the nine relations of the Xue family, the sounds of battle suddenly erupted beyond the palace walls. Flames surged into the heavens, dyeing half the night sky in a brilliant crimson. Cuddled securely in the crook of Yan Xunhe's arm, I clearly heard the heavy thuds of battering rams in the distance. The Xuanwu Gate had been breached. At that exact moment, the phantom barrage practically obscured my entire field of vision. Damn it! Xue Mang has actually rebelled! Those fifty thousand Xue family soldiers under his command are a force of ferocious tigers and wolves! That old scoundrel has long stationed his troops in the outskirts of the capital; I bet he intended to force the emperor's hand all along, and Xue Jingrong's death was merely the spark! Yan Xunhe has lost his mind! For the sake of a newborn daughter, is he willing to abandon the entire empire? The Imperial Guards only number three thousand in total, how are they supposed to fight this? It is a dead end! I grew so anxious that I thrashed about inside my swaddling clothes, desperately tugging at the lapel of Yan Xunhe's robe. Father! Stop putting on a calm facade! Hurry up and run! Little Leizi came rolling into the main hall, his body drenched in blood, before collapsing flat onto the steps of the imperial dais.

"Your Majesty! Xue Mang has led the rebel army right in! The front hall can no longer hold them off!"

Eunuch Hai was so terrified that his legs gave out completely, collapsing onto the ground with a soft thud. The remaining palace maids and eunuchs cowered in the corners, trembling uncontrollably and weeping in stifled sobs. I took a deep breath, preparing to use my infant cries to signal Little Leizi and have him spirit Yan Xunhe away through the secret tunnels. Yet Yan Xunhe did not even bother to lift his eyelids. He sat steadily upon the dragon throne, one arm cradling me while the other casually lifted his teacup.

"What is there to panic about?"

He blew gently across the surface of the tea, his voice serene and unhurried, treating the thunderous battle cries outside as if they were mere background noise.

"My tea hasn't even grown cold yet."

I was so astonished that I completely forgot how to cry. Has this old father of mine lost his mind from fright, or does he genuinely possess some hidden trump card? Those are fifty thousand enemy soldiers out there! If each of them spat a single mouthful of water, they could drown this entire grand hall. With a deafening crash, the massive doors of the Hall of Supreme Harmony were violently kicked open from the outside. A thick, cloying stench of blood swept inward against the night wind. Xue Mang strode across the threshold clad in heavy black armor, a long saber still dripping with blood gripped firmly in his hand. Behind him surged a dense mass of rebel generals, their blazing torches illuminating the entire hall in a harsh, glaring light.

"Yan Xunhe! You have truly grown too audacious!"