What are we here for? We're here to rescue Li Fangfei's body.
Prince Mu's actions were utterly despicable and deeply hurt Mu Yunhe. Even though she had already planned to sever all ties with Prince Mu, Mu Yunhe, battered and bruised by the cruel reality, could not suppress the surging hatred that was growing within her.
How much hatred must one feel to experience such excruciating pain, as if their internal organs are being burned?
Mother, if you are watching from heaven, can you see this scene? Will you, your sister, and Rui'er be like Yunhe, unable to speak out against your hatred and filled with boundless rage?
"Stop! All of you, stop right now!" Prince Mu roared, and charged into the execution ground on horseback. The soldiers tried to stop him but couldn't.
He dismounted and saw the pile of minced meat, so unrecognizable, that Prince Mu almost gasped, his face turning deathly pale. He stared blankly at the mess, utterly unable to reconcile the beautiful Li Fangfei with this repulsive minced meat.
Prince Mu trembled all over. He saw Mu Yunjin kneeling on the ground, sobbing. He felt his throat tighten and his vision go blank for a moment. He murmured, "Where is your mother?"
Mu Yunjin looked up blankly, his eyes filled with deep grief and despair. He couldn't even feel hatred anymore; the pain was too much for him to bear, which was why he was so powerless to resist.
He couldn't understand how things had turned out this way. How had things spiraled out of control so quickly? His mother, no matter how bad she was, no matter how many mistakes she made, was still an elder. Why couldn't she be left with a complete corpse? Why did they have to kill everyone? Why did they have to use such cruel methods to make people wish they were dead?
Does Mu Yunhe hate so much? He has every right to hate. His mother has caused them, her two children, so much suffering. But he clearly promised to let them go, so why did he go back on his word? Isn't he a gentleman? Isn't he a man of his word? Yes, didn't Mu Yunhe say he was a man of his word?
Suddenly, as if she had found something to hold against Mu Yunhe, Mu Yunjin stood up abruptly and shouted angrily, "Didn't you say you wouldn't touch my mother? You said you would always keep your word. And you, Luo Zhiheng, you both agreed! How could you go back on your word and break your promise!"
He was so angry that he made such a crazy accusation. He even forgot that he had no right to criticize others.
Luo Zhiheng said coldly, "Mu Yunhe never said he would let your mother go. That's true. I also said I would keep my word, but everything has a prerequisite: you mustn't anger us, and you mustn't refuse to admit your mistakes. Mu Yunjin, this matter could have been resolved peacefully, but what did you do? Your selfishness and your father's cold-blooded ruthlessness have closed us all to a dead end."
"While you were reveling in your revenge, you knew the princess was dying, yet you showed not a shred of compassion. We no longer wish to tolerate such heartless people. Our tolerance only brings pain to our loved ones and joy to our enemies. So we refuse this pain; it should be returned to whoever it belongs to. No one should try to impose their pain on us, or make us bear it for them!"
Luo Zhiheng's words struck Mu Yunjin's heart with every syllable. Mu Yunjin stared directly at Luo Zhiheng. No matter when or where, in front of Mu Yunhe, Luo Zhiheng would always wholeheartedly protect and help him. Mu Yunhe was not alone, because Luo Zhiheng was helping him without any reservations.
However, Luo Zhiheng's all-out assistance suddenly aroused a strong sense of resentment and anger in Mu Yunjin.
Both of them lost their mothers, so why is there such a huge difference in their treatment? Mu Yunhe always receives meticulous attention from Luo Zhiheng, while he is someone Luo Zhiheng completely dislikes and rejects.
They didn't spend much time together, but Luo Zhiheng left such a deep and lasting impression on Mu Yunjin that he couldn't forget her. Every accusation Luo Zhiheng made felt like a burning nail driven into Mu Yunjin's ears and heart, causing him excruciating pain that made it hard for him to breathe.
An inexplicable rage churned within him. His mother's tragic end only fueled Mu Yunjin's hatred for the couple! Mu Yunjin even wondered how much better it would have been if he had helped Mu Yunhe marry Luo Zhiheng. He had personally carried this woman into the bridal sedan chair and brought her into his home. On the very first day she saw him, she punched and kicked him and even dared to bite him.
The once blurry images, for some reason, became clear before his eyes at this moment. Yet, his vision gradually blurred. Regret paled in comparison to the grief. The woman he had personally married had transformed into a demon, gradually devouring his soul, inflicting fatal wounds, causing him pain, and leaving him powerless to resist.
Mu Yunjin suddenly lost the courage and desire to argue. Because in front of Mu Yunhe, her words instilled in Mu Yunjin a sense of defeat she could never overcome. 149.
At that moment, Prince Mu roared and turned around abruptly. His eyes were bloodshot. He was filled with rage. He grabbed the sword from the guard beside him and threw it at Mu Yunhe without hesitation.
The sharp tip and blade gleamed coldly, silently proclaiming a ruthless and decisive break. Even before the blade pierced Mu Yunhe's body, it had already slain his heart!
Look! His own father actually turned a knife on his own son because of that woman's death! And he did so without hesitation or mercy!
Good, good, good!! The more ruthless and merciless you are, the more he can let go of this blood tie.
"You beast, I'll kill you!" Prince Mu roared, his cold voice so tense it was almost a thin line. As he charged forward, soldiers tried to stop him in fear, but Prince Mu was like a madman, his strength savage and unstoppable.
The others, constrained by their status, dared not actually harm Prince Mu, which resulted in Prince Mu killing his way through, wielding a large knife he had stolen, and frantically slashing at those who blocked his path.
The knife was about to reach Mu Yunhe, but Mu Yunhe neither dodged nor flinched, instead staring intently at the knife.
With a clang, a sharp, long blade slashed straight down from the side, severing the oncoming dagger. Nude Zhao pulled Mu Yunhe back several steps, yelling, "Are you crazy? Why didn't you dodge?"
"Hide? Hide what? Let him kill! The more he cares about that bastard today, the more he'll regret it in the future! If this knife really pierces my body today, he'll have to pay me back a thousand times the pain I feel!" Mu Yunhe shouted, his words filled with thunderous rage and undisguised provocation.
"You beast! Where is your humanity? Aren't you a priest? Is this how you treat the common people? Is your official power only used on your own family? How can you be so cruel? She's already dead, dead! Why can't you let her go? Why!" Prince Mu slashed down a soldier in front of him, blood splattering all over his face. He roared, his bloodshot eyes filled with hatred.
“You have all killed my family! She is the murderer, the premeditated killer, and you are no better; you are the executioner, the accomplice! My mother, my sister, and my poor Rui’er! You know nothing. Do you think you are so smart? You have been deceived by a slut for so many years, like a fool. You haven’t even realized it. You are still protecting that slut. I have nothing to say to you!” Mu Yunhe retorted angrily. How could he explain his hatred and pain to this cold-blooded man? Since it couldn’t be explained, then there was no need to say anything. He would use his actions to let Prince Mu know that hatred could never be erased. He would not let things rest.
"What are you saying? Your mother is wicked, she killed Rui'er and caused you to suffer from constant illness. You blame everything on others. You have a wicked mother, but you don't say that. Instead, you talk about how wicked everyone else is!" Prince Mu shouted.
He was unaware of Li Fangfei's dying confession. His return, and this coincidental return, wasn't because of Li Fangfei, but because Mu Yunhe had returned. The Emperor was eager for him to return to the capital to discuss Mu Yunhe's future. The Emperor's high regard for Mu Yunhe pleased Prince Mu as his father. However, he feared Mu Yunhe would become arrogant and ultimately fail, so he decided not to utter a single word of praise, but rather to ensure Mu Yunhe behaved well and served the Mu Dynasty wholeheartedly.
Mu Yunhe is his son, a descendant of the Mu Dynasty royal family, so it should be so, it's only natural.
But to his surprise, when he returned, he saw that scene: Li Fangfei had almost died before his eyes. They hadn't even been able to see each other before she died. The resentment and humiliation in Prince Mu's heart were immense.
In the Southern Dynasty, those events were revealed, just as he had known and witnessed back then: it was the Princess Consort who had caused Rui'er's tragic death. The Princess Consort admitted to all the things that had happened back then. When he received the secret document, he stared blankly at it on the table. It was crystal clear, the whole story so perfectly laid out. The pain from so many years ago was reopened once again, and Prince Mu was almost in unbearable agony.
He didn't love that woman, because when his daughter was born, he felt such intense hatred for the princess, which was also the time when he and Li Fangfei were at their most loving. But he wasn't indifferent to her. Especially Rui'er, his blood-related grandson, the first grandchild in his generation—how could he not love her?
But that lovely child was killed by the princess. From that incident onward, he completely abandoned the princess and distanced himself from her. Even the mere sight of her gave Prince Mu an urge to strangle her with his own hands. But each time such a thought arose, he would be terrified and quickly flee, ignoring the princess. Only in this way could he prevent himself from having the irresistible urge to kill her.
But how could a woman be so cruel and vicious? In the beginning, the princess wasn't like this. She... would even lower her head shyly when she smiled.
Prince Mu recalled many things, good and bad, heartbreaking and resentful, which gradually blurred his mind. A sense of desolation and indescribable pain overwhelmed him. He vaguely remembered that the wicked woman had died today, truly gone forever.
Prince Mu frowned, a sudden, inexplicable suffocating pain shooting through his chest—a sensation he had been deliberately ignoring, yet now it was incredibly intense. The pain in his chest was almost suffocating.
Mu Yunhe almost burst out laughing, his hatred intensifying as he watched Prince Mu clutch his chest. His mother was dead, and he was utterly expressionless. Li Fangfei was hanged and chopped into mincemeat, and he suddenly showed signs of distress? Distressed, huh? He'll feel even more pain in the future!
"What is the truth? I will show you clearly, bit by bit. Don't rush. Since you don't want to know the truth and can't find the answer yourself, then I will give you the answer. Everything will come to light. You can't escape it anymore." Mu Yunhe finished speaking fiercely, then suddenly said to the men who had chopped up Li Fangfei, "Put that pile of minced meat in the toilet, find some dogs, and feed it to them! I want you to watch the dogs devour that slut's corpse!"
Prince Mu suddenly awoke, and roared in shock and anger, "Mu Yunhe! How dare you be so rebellious and arrogant! Are you really not afraid of divine retribution? In the name of your father, I order you not to do such inhumane things to her again!"
But Mu Yunhe's mind was made up, and no one could stop her. Moreover, who in the world had the right or status to stop Mu Yunhe's decision?
Soon, six fierce wolfhounds were brought in, along with several puppies, and placed in front of the toilets. Dogs have keen noses and kept sniffing around; they initially refused to eat, but Mu Yunhe had raw pork added, and immediately the dogs began to devour it.
Prince Mu's vision blurred, and he nearly fainted from anger. After finally catching his breath, he saw Mu Yunjin rush forward, frantically trying to snatch the meat back.
Dogs are not to be trifled with, especially when you try to take their food.
This time, no one stopped Mu Yunjin, so Mu Yunjin and those mad dogs were instantly locked in combat. Mu Yunjin was unarmed and injured, but he was still able to take down several dogs. However, even so, it wasn't enough. There were too many dogs. Mu Yunjin was bitten by a dog, and the bite landed right on his inner thigh. Mu Yunjin fell down and was instantly surrounded and beaten by the pack of mad dogs.
The scene was so dramatic that the onlookers were completely stunned. A mixture of horror and shock filled them; unaware of the full story, at that moment, they only felt that Mu Yunhe was utterly inhuman!
Prince Mu also wanted to rush over, but someone stopped him, and at this crucial moment, the imperial edict arrived. Prince Mu almost felt a glimmer of hope; he believed that the edict must have been sent by his elder brother, the Emperor, to stop Mu Yunhe from going mad.
But when the imperial edict was read aloud, those who shared Prince Mu's thoughts were stunned. They stared incredulously at the eunuch who was delivering the edict, their expressions as if to say, "Are you sure you didn't misread it?"
The imperial edict forbade Prince Mu from continuing his antics and from interfering with Mu Yunhe's execution of the villains. Even more ruthless, the edict explicitly stated that if Prince Mu continued to obstruct the execution, the Imperial Guards would use force to arrest him for disrupting the execution.
With such open and aboveboard protection and support for Mu Yunhe, even his own brother pales in comparison to the power and the state.
Prince Mu was stunned into silence, but after figuring things out, he suddenly fell silent. He hadn't acted normally for the past few days, like a madman. What was wrong with him? Why had he become so unfamiliar? This wasn't him. Could it really be because Mu Yunhe's identity was different, and his psychology had also changed?
His elder brother's blatant protection of Mu Yunhe, even going so far as to issue him a severe warning in public, was tantamount to a slap in the face. The old Emperor would never have done such a thing. But the current Emperor did, which proved that Mu Yunhe was more important than him, a mere prince! At least in his elder brother's heart, Mu Yunhe was more important than him!
This realization sent chills down Prince Mu's spine! He couldn't accept it. His own son, always sickly, could one day be more important than his father?
Soon, the dogs had eaten half the corpse, but there was still half left. Someone brought in many more dogs; the saying "too many wolves, too little meat" was so obvious at that moment. Before long, the corpses in several toilets were completely digested by the pack of dogs.
A person dies, is gone, in the blink of an eye.
Mu Yunjin completely broke down; he lay there, seemingly oblivious to whether he was alive or dead.
Prince Mu didn't utter another word, just watching helplessly as Li Fangfei, whom he had always protected, was devoured clean by that pack of dogs. His heart was numb.
In Mu Yunhe's view, today's drama had come to a perfect end. He led Luo Zhiheng away from the execution ground as if no one else was there. As he left, he glanced, intentionally or unintentionally, at Li Xian'er standing in the crowd.
Although Li Xian'er was still in shock, her eyes, which Mu Yunhe loathed, remained fixed on him.
Mu Yunhe's seemingly casual glance was interpreted by Li Xian'er as a blatant hint that he was looking at her and that he had feelings for her. A blush immediately spread across Li Xian'er's pale face. Although she wanted to feign shyness and lower her head, she didn't want to miss a single glance from Mu Yunhe.
Suddenly, she saw Mu Yunhe smile at her!
Li Xian'er was so excited she almost shouted out loud. But Mu Yunhe had already ridden away, leaving only his back view for the heartbroken Li Xian'er.
Holding Luo Zhiheng tightly around the waist, Mu Yunhe's smile widened, revealing a cold and cruel expression.
The Li family will be the next to pay the price...
Li Xian'er!
First update! I'm so sorry it's so late today, but I haven't been feeling well these past couple of days. I always feel congested. That damn sweet potato really ruined my life, boohoo. I'm feeling much better now, so I hope I can update more. I'll try my best. Here's another update. As for how many words I can write, my dears, I can only do my best today. Love you all, please vote, leave comments, and give me monthly tickets.
Chapter 385: Stealing the Corpse! (Bonus chapter for 28,000 comments)
Updated: 2013-10-12 22:13:02 Word Count: 3388
The princess's body will be kept at home for three days, after which her spirit will be taken out. Many people will come to pay their respects during these three days. All the court officials who do not want to offend Mu Yunhe will come.
Murong Qianxue's sister-in-law was incredibly helpful, managing everything inside and out. It was thanks to her that everything was so well-organized. Luo Zhiheng was deeply moved and grateful, but couldn't express it. She suddenly realized how burdensome favors could be, yet also heartwarming.
Luo Zhiheng and Mu Yunhe didn't have to do anything now; they could simply keep vigil for their deceased mother like any other children. They were exhausted, but kneeling beside the coffin, their backs remained straight. They didn't burn paper money or any other funeral offerings; Mu Yunhe was a diviner, and diviners weren't allowed to burn paper money.
Priests are pure and should not touch those things. But because of this, they give people an exceptionally solemn and sacred feeling.
The couple knelt side by side, their hands still tightly clasped. People had been arriving in an endless stream since the afternoon. Officials and their families all came, and they dared not allow Mu Yunhe to kowtow in return. After paying their respects to the Princess, everyone quickly stepped aside and hurriedly paid their respects to Mu Yunhe and Luo Zhiheng. Mu Yunhe and Luo Zhiheng simply knelt there like dutiful sons and grandsons.
The two knelt until nightfall, when it was already dark, before finally sitting down. Luo Zhiheng practically collapsed into Mu Yunhe's arms, her legs completely numb.
Mu Yunhe was also numb, not only physically but also mentally. He remained silent, yet he knew exactly how to control the pressure when massaging Luo Zhiheng's stiff calves. However, his gaze was fixed, fixed on the princess's coffin.
Luo Zhiheng felt a pang of heartache. She hugged him, burying her face in his chest, gently stroking his back as if comforting a child. This was the day they spoke the least; both of them were extremely silent. Sadness doesn't disappear just because it's not spoken; it lingered between them, an insurmountable chasm, oppressive and suffocating.
But they loved each other, so even in such difficult circumstances, they had each other and the confidence that they wouldn't give up.
I thought no one would come, but unexpectedly, an uninvited guest arrived in the middle of the night!
Are they destined to clash with Prince Mu? Otherwise, how could they always be at odds with Prince Mu, and then the two sides would be at each other's throats and unable to control the situation?
"I have come to take your mother away." Prince Mu's first words were assertive and unyielding, not in a tone of negotiation, but as an irresistible command.
Mu Yunhe stood up almost instantly, and Luo Zhiheng jumped up after him. They wouldn't be foolish enough to hand over the Princess's body to Prince Mu! They had just dismembered Prince Mu's beloved woman, leaving no trace of Li Fangfei's remains. Instead of grieving at home, Prince Mu had come here demanding the Princess's body—clearly, he wanted revenge!
"You're dreaming!" Mu Yunhe said coldly, stiffly but quickly standing in front of the princess's coffin, blocking the prying gaze of Prince Mu.
Prince Mu's brows were furrowed with malice, his fierceness and coldness making him appear like a demon. His haggardness was evident, as was his anger. He didn't want to see Mu Yunhe and Luo Zhiheng, but he had no choice but to confront them. For some reason, he felt an overwhelming urge to carry the Princess's coffin back, to take it to where it belonged.
Even if this woman dies, she will die in his tomb!
"I don't want to argue with you anymore. I won't let you off the hook over Li Fangfei's matter. But let's put that aside for now. Your mother's situation is more pressing. Her funeral can't be held at the General's Mansion. It's against the rules. She was Prince Mu's consort, so she should return to Prince Mu's Mansion. Now that Prince Mu's Mansion has been burned down by you, she can only go to her former small mansion. If you have any conscience at all, you should know that this is all for your mother's good. Your obstruction will only make your mother die even more resentful, and even after death, she may be ridiculed as a wandering ghost." Prince Mu said coldly, barely suppressing his impatience and rage.
His personality wasn't one to be so patient; he was clearly extremely impatient, yet he continued to persuade her. He didn't understand why, but his goal was clear: he had to bring the princess back. 17652218
"You don't need to say so much. As long as I live, no one will dare to mock my mother! She won't be buried in the same place as you. Don't think you can fool me with sweet words and flowery rhetoric, or soften my heart. Since you've made my mother's life unbearable before she dies, then please have some mercy and leave her some peace after she's gone." Mu Yunhe said just as bluntly, "Please leave!"
"This is not the time for your childish behavior! Haven't you always been standing up for her? Now that she can enter the imperial mausoleum, you're blocking her like this. Mu Yunhe, what exactly do you want?" Prince Mu finally lost his patience, his face filled with violent emotions. He had stumbled too many times in front of this son, to the point that Prince Mu now wished he could kill Mu Yunhe.
"My mother is none of anyone else's business. Please leave." Mu Yunhe stated bluntly, his attitude firm.