Quand l'amour approche, c'est comme la neige

Chapitre 104

"Is this why you betrayed me?!" Emperor Yujia roared in fury. His face turned an unusual crimson, and he coughed, spraying blood onto his clothes.

"I am the Empress, yet I watched helplessly as Lady Li became pregnant, causing me to lose all face! Seeing the radiance on Lady Li's face, seeing the way you looked at her, I longed to have a child too! That year, it was autumn, wasn't it, Your Majesty? Do you remember that autumn when we went to admire the chrysanthemums? I saw you from afar, holding Lady Li's hand, picking a yellow chrysanthemum for her, and I had no choice but to leave... You have no idea how far I went, no idea how long I was gone! Hahaha!" The Empress suddenly burst into laughter, "You would never have imagined that during Emperor Anguo's travels, with the imperial guards so numerous, someone would actually appear among the flowers and abduct your Empress!"

The Empress's face showed sorrow, yet her beautiful face shone with another kind of radiance. She murmured to herself, "He appeared among the flowers like this, quietly looking at me, and I quietly looked at him... When he left, he told me that if anything happened, I could go to Youli Valley. I have his son now, and I am a mother. I must help Tianrui ascend to the throne and become the Emperor."

"You're dreaming!" Emperor Yujia roared, his body trembling violently. "You, the mother of a nation, are actually having an affair with a man you don't even know!"

The Empress sat on the ground, gently stroking her long hair, and chuckled, "But Your Majesty, you've allowed your Empress to raise someone else's son for twenty-two years. What makes you so tolerant? Is it the Luo family's troops? Or your ambition to seize the world? Don't you know this man I don't know? Don't you really know him? Isn't he a member of your Li family?! He shares the same blood as you. Are you and Prince Duan the only sons of the Holy Ancestor?"

Emperor Yujia trembled with rage, yet he sneered, "The sins of our Holy Ancestor were meant for us brothers to bear. Forcing me to endure for twenty-two years! Let me tell you the truth, that person is in the Prince Duan's residence, a servant, a slave! The same blood does not necessarily equate to the same nobility!"

His words caused the Queen to scream: "No! How could he... how could he be a servant? You, you've gone too far!"

A sharp sound pierced the sky above Fengyuan Palace like an arrow, instantly breaking through the starry night and turning into a bolt of lightning, followed by thunder and lightning.

The Fengwan Palace was deserted and empty. The golden brocades swayed like the shadows of prehistoric beasts in the fiercely flickering candlelight, pressing towards the Empress and making her gasp for breath, wanting to take another breath of fresh air.

She closed her eyes in fear, and amidst the blooming chrysanthemums, the young man in white stood before her again, his refined air radiating from him, his gaze indifferent. She turned around in surprise, only to find no servants beside her. She then remembered that she had instructed that no one follow or disturb her.

He didn't force her; he gently took her hand. In that instant, she didn't know whether she wanted revenge or was overwhelmed by his handsome and dashing appearance.

Such a noble person, actually became a servant, a slave! "I don't believe it!" The Empress gritted her teeth, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"I didn't touch him. He thought I didn't know, that I didn't know there was such a remnant left over from back then! Ever since he sought refuge in Prince Duan's residence, my second brother felt something was off about him. His appearance—he thought no one knew what his mother looked like. That lowly maid's portrait was placed in Father's coffin by my second brother and myself; even the Empress Dowager didn't know!" Emperor Yujia became agitated, his hand trembling as he pointed at the Empress, feeling a flood of memories rushing to his mind. He had to take a few breaths; the veins on his forehead were throbbing.

"Why? Isn't he your brother? You're just going to let him be a servant in the Prince Duan's mansion like this?"

Didn't you think about it? Emperor Yujia and Prince Duan once thought of giving him an official title and making him rich and noble for life, if it weren't for the discovery that the Empress was pregnant and that he was colluding with Youligu.

"He broke into the garden intending to assassinate me, but because of his ruthlessness, he changed his plans... He hates me and finds humiliating me more satisfying than killing me! I spared him for the sake of the Youli Valley behind him. I just want to see if the Youli Valley he so desperately wants to rely on can overthrow my empire! I turned a blind eye and let him stay comfortably in the Duan Prince's residence; I even made his son the crown prince. Do you think you can so easily seize my throne like this?"

He looked down at the Empress, who seemed to age instantly, her body trembling. He smiled contemptuously: "Tianxiang has been in Qin Chuan for a long time, all to succeed your brother. The Grand Tutor's mansion in the capital and the residences of officials who have submitted to the Crown Prince are heavily besieged. Your father's entire clan will not escape. I originally wanted to wait until the Princess of Chen Kingdom married in August. When Yongye marries the princess, it will be the best time for you to carry out your coup to kill your brother, right? Unfortunately, I won't live to see that day. Yongye has already been captured by Youli Valley. I cannot let my brother be caught in a dilemma. Before I die, I must end this matter."

Emperor Yujia's voice, like thunder outside, devastated all of the Empress's resistance. The five-clawed golden dragon on his yellow robe pounced on her. Twenty-two years of dreams were torn to dust by the dragon's claws.

The last glimmer of hope in the Empress's eyes vanished. Her face turned ashen: "You...you knew everything all along! Everything was part of your scheme! You...you appeared so virtuous and gentle, yet you are so vicious! If you hate me, you could kill me without complaint, but why...why did you elevate Tianrui to such heights only to plunge him into hell?! You kept this a secret for twenty-two years, and this is the day you've been waiting for!"

Amidst her screams, she saw Emperor Yujia's face beaming with pleasure; his thin, sallow cheeks were flushed with excitement and satisfaction. Her heart sank, and she leaped up, wanting to rush out of the palace.

"Slap!" A heavy slap sent her flying to the ground. The Empress's vision blurred, and she coughed as she lay sprawled on the floor.

"Yes, I've been waiting for this day, waiting to see you get closer and closer to the throne, just like he did back then, thinking that he could enter the palace and even sit on the dragon throne by virtue of the Holy Ancestor's favor! So close, within reach, yet he watched helplessly as it slipped away! He did it, and so will his son!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood. After twenty-two years, Emperor Yujia finally let out a long, cathartic outburst, the feeling of relief like taking a refreshing bath after a sweaty night. He wiped the blood from the edges of his mouth and looked at the Empress with malice, saying, "Consort Li is not as beautiful as you, Consort Zhang is not as intelligent as you, and even the newly appointed Consort Lin and Consort Chen are far less noble and dignified than you. They are not even half as good as you, but I like them. I have absolutely no interest in you."

Emperor Yujia's ever-present amiable nature vanished.

The Empress covered her ears. She never imagined that Li Tianrui's background had been an open secret for twenty-two years, nor her affair with that man. In an instant, everything vanished. She thought of Youli Valley and chuckled softly, "If Youli Valley were so easy to deal with, it wouldn't be the world-renowned Youli Valley."

"The combined strength of Anguo, Chenguo, and Qiguo—the three kingdoms combined—can't destroy Youli Valley? Let me tell you the truth, the emperors of the three kingdoms have already signed a treaty and joined forces for the first time, with the aim of destroying Youli Valley. And you are the one who lured them into this trap." Emperor Yujia sighed. A world-renowned assassin organization could openly open a brothel in the capital of three kingdoms to accept missions. No emperor could allow such a situation to exist.

The Empress was taken aback, seemingly not understanding what Emperor Yujia meant.

"Don't you understand? Youli Valley has roamed the world, yet it has never found a breakthrough. You and he, including Li Tianrui, are the perfect bait. Youli Valley covets the power to indirectly control our An Kingdom. How could they not take the bait? We're just waiting for Youli Valley's elites to enter the capital before we storm into the Forbidden City!"

Lightning ripped through the night sky, and the Empress instantly understood. She and he planned to use the power of Youli Valley to seize the throne of An Kingdom. With Emperor Yujia dead, Tianrui would ascend the throne, and then Prince Duan would be killed. Youli Valley would then have a puppet emperor, after which they could turn their attention to Youli Valley. Youli Valley had spent over a decade on this plan, but the emperors of the three kingdoms were more than happy to see Youli Valley invest even more. The more they invested, the greater their losses.

"Even if Prince Duan dies, Li Tianyou still has outside help, right?" The Empress stared blankly at Emperor Yujia and asked.

"You're only just realizing this now? My brother was merely a target to draw their attention. Do you think I, who have endured this for so many years, would be completely unprepared?"

Emperor Yujia's words were like a thunderclap outside the palace, shattering all of the Empress's hopes.

The man in bright yellow knelt down before her again, a purse embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water hanging from his waist. The Empress suddenly remembered that he had said that Prince Duan had gone to the Eastern Palace by imperial decree. She clung to Emperor Yujia's robes as if grasping at a lifeline: "Your Majesty... I beg you, spare his life for the sake of Tianrui's ignorance! You have the purse... the purse I embroidered for you back then! You hate me, but don't hate Tianrui... I beg you, Your Majesty!" Past affections flooded her mind. He was still wearing the purse she had given him. The Empress's eyes welled up with tears.

Gently wiping away her tears, Emperor Yujia opened his palm, a vermilion pill spinning in his hand: "Feeling terrible? Take this and you won't feel terrible anymore."

The Empress picked up the pill with trembling hands, but looked at Emperor Yujia and pleaded, "Spare Tianrui's life! My father is old, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Yujia regained his amiable expression, sighed softly, and nodded.

The queen closed her eyes and swallowed the pill.

Thunder and rain continued incessantly, and the Fengwan Palace was gloomy and oppressive.

Emperor Yujia watched as the Empress breathed her last without pain, then carefully lifted her and sat her on the couch. A sudden pang of sorrow gripped his heart, and he gently stroked her face, saying, "I only hate that you gave your heart to him. If you had me in your heart, what would it matter if Tianrui became the Crown Prince?" Tears welled up in his eyes.

The Empress seemed to be asleep. Emperor Yujia held her in his arms, and he could almost see her beautiful smile on his face as a child. She lay obediently in his arms, and Emperor Yujia felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. He had become emperor at a young age because of his insatiable greed, captivated by Consort Li's gentleness and Consort Zhang's straightforwardness, but he had never stopped loving her. It wasn't until she became pregnant with that man's child that he felt pain, the pain of abandonment.

Emperor Yujia thought of Prince Duan and his consort, and for a moment, he felt lost. For the past twenty-two years, he could have easily killed Tianrui. Was he truly seeking revenge, or was he afraid of hurting her? Looking down at the Empress in his arms, he felt utterly exhausted. All of this could not be undone, nor could it be undone. Only now, holding her, did he feel that she truly belonged to him.

The candlelight flickered in the wind, and Emperor Yujia, lost in thought, realized that his life had passed just like that. After a long while, he sighed, deciding that whether he had made merits or demerits was up to others to judge, and was no longer his concern.

He summoned Eunuch Wang and whispered, "I am gravely ill and unable to recover. The Empress, overwhelmed with grief, has died suddenly. Bury her with me! Crown Prince..." Did his own feud with the Empress mean for Tianrui and Tianyou to suffer the same tragedy again? He didn't finish his sentence. Recalling the Empress's dying pleas, he could only sigh again. It was all fate, beyond his control.

Eunuch Wang knelt down and kowtowed, tears streaming down his face. After a long while, he raised his head and saw Emperor Yujia smiling as he embraced the Empress and left.

---------------- ...

The Eastern Palace was besieged for a full five hours.

Li Tianrui was restless and uneasy.

"Your Highness, let's take advantage of the darkness and scale the wall to break out!" a strategist from the Eastern Palace advised anxiously.

Li Tianrui shook his head, utterly bewildered. What good would it do to fight his way out? Where should he go? Should he simply hand over the throne to Li Tianyou for nothing? His father had never liked him, but his mother was still in the palace; how could he leave?

"Receive the imperial decree at the Crown Prince's palace gate!" The long, drawn-out voice echoed through the rainy night and the palace gates.