Chapter 376: Chapter 374: Abdication to Lu Ying
Fresh blood splattered across Noble Consort Zhang’s face, still warm.
In this moment, under the shroud of death’s shadow, her years of cultivated elegance and composure were utterly shattered. She screamed and threw herself into Lu Yu’s arms: "Your Majesty!"
Lu Yu stood up, one arm wrapped around Noble Consort Zhang’s slender waist, the other trembling as he pointed at Lu Ying: "You wretch! She is your mother consort! Have you gone mad?! Take your men and leave the Capital at once! I am the Emperor! If you dare disobey me, I will have your head cut off!"
The middle-aged emperor, now over forty, had long since been hollowed out by indulgence in wine and women. Even in anger, he seemed more bark than bite, his fury utterly devoid of any real authority.
Lu Ying replied calmly, "Father, you’ve recently been preoccupied with Noble Consort Zhang and her son. You must be exhausted. Men, take him away to rest."
Lu Yu was stunned, his lips trembling as if to speak, but the guards already strode forward and rudely dragged Noble Consort Zhang away.
Noble Consort Zhang cried out in terror, tears streaming down her face as she clung desperately to Lu Yu’s hand: "Your Majesty, save me! Your Majesty!!"
"My love!"
Lu Yu was heartbroken, clutching her hand with equal desperation, the pair like star-crossed lovers in their final moments of separation.
Seeing the two of them holding onto each other and unwilling to part, the guards didn’t dare act too roughly and looked toward Lu Ying for direction.
Lu Ying gave them a cold, indifferent glance.
The guards hesitated no longer. The blade was raised and fell swiftly. Right before Lu Yu’s eyes, Noble Consort Zhang’s head was severed cleanly from her body!
Her head tumbled down the steps, her expression forever frozen in that moment of horror and disbelief.
Lu Yu stared blankly at the headless corpse now lying limp in his embrace, as if time itself had been stretched infinitely thin.
It wasn’t until blood began gushing from the neck that Lu Yu screamed, releasing his grip as he scrambled backward in a panic. For a man who once held absolute power, he now cowered in terror, his face pale and his body trembling uncontrollably, unable to even look again at the headless corpse.
Lu Ying watched coldly.
He could not understand why his mother, a woman raised on the rugged borderlands, skilled in both riding and archery, would fall for a man so mediocre, so cowardly. She had even willingly confined herself within the tiny, suffocating walls of the palace for him.
In the end, her love for him led only to melancholy and death.
As for this man, who outwardly appeared to adore Noble Consort Zhang and despised Lu Ying’s mother for "interfering" in their love, today he demonstrated no anger or despair when witnessing his lover’s death. Instead, he simply cowered, terrified even to touch her body.
What kind of love was that?
He loved only himself.
Lu Ying’s gaze carried neither respect nor affection as he spoke, his tone steady and unyielding: "Lu Zhengliu coerced the Emperor, attempting to stage a coup and seize the throne. His Majesty, severely shaken, is no longer able to govern. The Fourth Prince, Lu Ying, has demonstrated both loyalty and filial piety by quelling the rebellion. His virtuous conduct and benevolent character are evident for all to see. Therefore, His Majesty will now abdicate the throne to Lu Ying and retire to Qixiang Palace, no longer engaging in state affairs."
As Lu Ying spoke, Gui Quan carefully inscribed each word onto the pre-prepared imperial edict.
Once the abdication decree was completed, Gui Quan lowered his head as he presented it to Lu Yu: "Please review it, Your Majesty."
De Sun, standing nearby, respectfully held the National Seal: "Your Majesty, please affix your seal."
Behind the two eunuchs stood guards clad in armor, armed and ready, making it clear that if Lu Yu dared resist, they would not hesitate to use force.
The dangling tassels of Lu Yu’s Emperor’s Crown had already slipped askew, resting crookedly against his neck. His graying hair was in complete disarray.
He trembled as he shifted his gaze from the edict to Lu Ying’s face, unable to utter a word for what felt like an eternity.
Lu Ying, oblivious to the accusatory mix of anger and despair in his father’s eyes, simply cast a cold glance toward Gui Quan, as if his patience had worn thin.
Understanding the unspoken command, Gui Quan gestured to the guards, who immediately restrained Lu Yu.
Lu Yu’s hand was forced to affix the seal, leaving a bright red mark, as well as his bloody handprint, on the decree.
He stared blankly as Lu Ying picked up the scroll of imperial edict, his delayed realization giving way to anguished shrieks of fury: "Wretch! Wretch! You are neither loyal nor filial! Where is this fabled virtue and benevolence?! Where is this so-called loyalty and righteousness?! The ancestors of the Great Zhou lie in their tombs watching you—you will face divine retribution!"
Lu Ying tucked the scroll away and raised his eyes, casting Lu Yu a fleeting glance.
This was his birth father.
They say even a tiger will not eat its cubs, yet this father had long wished for his death, even plotting to poison him as a child through his meals.
This man had shown him neither warmth nor affection, yet demanded loyalty and obedience from him.
Lu Ying was no saint. He could not repay hatred with kindness.
Without saying another word, he turned and strode out of Qixiang Palace.
Behind him, Lu Yu’s curses continued to echo until the sound was entirely sealed off by the imposing crimson palace doors that shut close in Lu Ying’s wake.
Lu Ying entered the adjacent hall.
Lu Zhengliu sat alone inside, completely unaware of what had transpired in Qixiang Palace.
Seeing Lu Ying enter, his eyes reddened: "Elder Brother was right after all. You are shrewd and calculating, the most scheming among us brothers."
"Scheming?" Lu Ying’s face was impassive. "The Great Zhou Dynasty’s law states that the Crown Prince must be chosen by birthright, not by age. The throne was mine by right. I merely claimed what was mine. How does that make me scheming? Or has Noble Consort Zhang’s long-standing favoritism blinded you all to the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate sons within the Imperial Family?"
He stood against the light, the golden feather patterns on his black robe shimmering like ripples, his regal bearing a flawless embodiment of imperial majesty.
For a moment, Lu Zhengliu was struck silent, his mind drawn to the long-forgotten concept of "legitimacy over illegitimacy."
Lu Ying continued, "Your mother first encroached upon the Empress’s rightful status as a mere concubine, then incited her children to compete for the Crown Prince’s position, violating every taboo of the palace. She has already been executed."
Lu Zhengliu’s pupils contracted sharply.
Clenching his fists, his voice hoarse and trembling, he demanded, "What did you say?!"
"Your mother has been executed."
"Was it you... who did this?"
"Yes."
"I’ll kill you!"
A torrent of tears, laden with searing hatred, flooded from his eyes as Lu Zhengliu roared and charged at Lu Ying—
But within ten moves, Lu Zhengliu was on the ground, defeated.
Towering above his fallen rival, Lu Ying remarked coldly, "Even your elder brother could not best me. What made you think you could?"
Curled on the ground, Lu Zhengliu clutched his chest, the ache in his lungs mixing with the sharp pain in his soul. He couldn’t tell which hurt more, and finally, he broke down into gut-wrenching sobs.
The once arrogant and flamboyant prince now cried like a child, pounding his fists against the floor tiles in anguish.
Lu Ying looked down at him and asked, "One thing has always puzzled me. The other day, you and Shen Yinning conspired together. You knew I had killed Yan Zheming, yet you didn’t inform Father. That crime—killing a minister of another nation—far surpasses stealing someone else’s wife in severity. For you, wouldn’t it have been a far more suitable means to remove me?"
Lu Zhengliu offered no response, remaining prone on the ground as his tears continued to fall.
Lu Ying had a vague inkling of the truth.
Though Noble Consort Zhang had been despicable, her two children didn’t share her viciousness. In some ways, Lu Zhengliu had his pride—he likely felt contempt for bowing to Yan Country’s demands. Perhaps that was why he hadn’t exposed the truth about Yan Zheming’s death.
Softly, Lu Ying decreed, "Lu Zhengliu shall be demoted to a commoner. Without imperial summons, he is forbidden from entering the Capital."
Once matters were settled, Gui Quan approached Lu Ying quietly. "Your Highness, General Huo requests an audience."