After leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Shen Chen eagerly unrolled the imperial edict and read it once more by the palace lanterns beneath the corridor. Only after reading it until the dimples at the corners of his mouth deepened again and again did he carefully roll up the edict, tucking it close against his body inside his sleeve.
Once the euphoria faded, what little reason remained quickly returned.
Shen Chen knew very well that Shen Zheng still held the upper hand. The Liu faction in the south and the Jun faction in the north had long since been brought under his control. Most of the officials in court were his confidants, and he had an even firmer grip on military power.
His position as Crown Prince was nothing more than a stopgap measure adopted by his father in a fit of rage.
If he wanted to crush Shen Zheng in one decisive blow, he would have to rely on the words “rightful and legitimate.”
No matter how impressive Shen Zheng’s achievements were or how obedient the court had become, there would always be a group of veteran officials who had lived off the emperor’s favor and regarded the imperial will as an absolute law, willing to defend it with their lives.
So long as he revealed this imperial edict and publicly exposed Shen Zheng’s crimes of “being beguiled by male beauty, disrupting the proper order of society, and committing treasonous offenses against his superior,” those men would certainly rise up and lead the opposition against Shen Zheng.
By then, Shen Zheng would have lost all legitimacy to inherit the throne, leaving him only two possible paths.
He could either surrender and beg the Emperor’s forgiveness, becoming a prisoner for the rest of his life, or use the military power in his hands to force his way into the palace and seize the throne, earning himself the infamy of being a traitorous rebel.
Shen Chen nearly laughed aloud. He did not even need to guess—Shen Zheng would never willingly admit defeat. Forcing his way into the palace was his only choice.
But what good would that do?
Did the Three Great Garrisons and the Five-City Army Command truly have no loyalty to the Emperor?
Once he made his father’s decree clear, the soldiers would surely hesitate.
Who would risk the extermination of their entire clan to commit treason? Why would they not instead defect to him, the rightful and legitimate Crown Prince?
So long as the army’s morale collapsed, Shen Zheng would become nothing more than an imposing shell with no substance. Shen Chen held five thousand Imperial Guards within the Forbidden City and could keep the four main palace gates under tight guard. If he simply delayed for time, steadily wearing away Shen Zheng’s morale and the people’s support, he might yet have a chance to turn the tables.
At the thought, triumph climbed into Shen Chen’s brows.
He summoned four captains. “By order of His Majesty, I have been invested as Crown Prince. Go at once and assemble every Imperial Guard within the Forbidden City. Guard Meridian Gate, the Gate of Divine Might, East Prosperity Gate, and West Prosperity Gate. If Shen Zheng’s rebels attempt to force their way into the palace, kill them without mercy!”
The four captains immediately accepted the order and departed. Shen Chen personally took command at Meridian Gate. Five thousand Imperial Guards drew their blades and nocked their crossbow bolts, transforming the Forbidden City into an impregnable fortress.
By the time everything was arranged, it was already deep into the night.
The palace lanterns hung beneath the corridors as they always did, their flames flickering fitfully in the wind. Everywhere was filled with a grim, murderous air.
Palace servants and eunuchs hurried back and forth with their heads lowered, not daring even to breathe too loudly.
Though they did not know what had happened, they were acutely sensitive to the ominous signs of a storm about to break.
Shen Chen stood atop the battlements of Meridian Gate, now clad in black armor as well. The autumn wind swept across the walls, yet he felt no chill. His only sensation was the blood boiling through his veins.
Bracing one hand against the battlement, he shouted down at the soldiers sealing off the streets outside the palace. “Call Han Zhengping here to see me! I want to ask him whether he, as Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, still recognizes His Majesty’s imperial edict!”
The soldiers below stood in tight formation, but not one of them answered.
For one thing, their rank was too low to be worthy of speaking with a prince. For another, they had long ago received strict orders: they were to await only the Crown Prince’s commands and disregard all others.
With their superiors bearing responsibility, they had no reason to worry. Shen Chen’s shouts were no more than wind in their ears.
The larger an organization became, the more rigid its actions. These men would not improvise or switch sides. What they wanted were orders passed down through every level and clear instructions from their direct commander.
Yet Han Zhengping remained nowhere to be seen, and Shen Chen’s imperial edict became an arrow without a target.
“Where is Han Zhengping?” Shen Chen ground his teeth, his face twisting into a vicious expression. “He’s nothing more than a lowly Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, yet he dares to place the palace under martial law without authorization and sever the connection between the Imperial City and the outside world. I think he’s tired of living!”
He surmised that such a commotion within the palace could not have gone unnoticed outside. Han Zhengping must be somewhere nearby.
But no matter how much he provoked him, the area below the battlements remained terrifyingly silent.
Shen Chen felt as if he had thrown a punch into cotton. His fury had nowhere to go, and resentment filled his heart. It was all because his father had been too negligent in the past, allowing Shen Zheng to hollow out his authority to such an extent!
With matters having reached this point, he could only seek another way.
Shen Chen suddenly seized a captain beside him and ordered in a cold voice, “Immediately select an elite squad and hurry to the residences of the officials throughout the capital. Inform them of the change in the Crown Prince and deliver my order: summon every court official to Meridian Gate at once to hear the imperial decree!”
“This subordinate obeys!”
The captain accepted the order and quickly selected a hundred elite Imperial Guards. They surged out through the open Meridian Gate and collided with the Five-City Army Command.
Both sides were soldiers of Great Qian. Though they stood on opposing sides, matters had not yet reached the point of life-and-death combat. The Imperial Guards tried to force their way out to deliver the message, while the Five-City soldiers blocked them with their bodies. They shoved and jostled, yet no one drew a blade.
In the end, the Five-City Army could not withstand the other side’s ferocity. Before long, a gap was torn open, and the hundred Imperial Guards scattered through it, rushing into various parts of the capital to summon the officials.
Standing atop the battlements, Shen Chen watched the scene and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
A long-lost sense of destiny rose within him.
He, Shen Chen, was destined to turn the tide at this crucial moment and reclaim the throne that had always rightfully belonged to him!
Reality, however, soon delivered him a crushing blow.
After going through all manner of difficulties, the Imperial Guards finally reached the residences of court officials and knocked upon their gates. The answer they received was invariably the same:
“My lord is not at home.”
One setback followed another. Coupled with the Five-City Army’s obstruction at every turn, the Imperial Guards’ efforts achieved little.
Outside the Forbidden City, the offices of the Six Ministries were bright as day, and most of the capital’s officials had gathered there.
After the capital was placed under martial law, an unknown terror overwhelmed everyone. Just then, several Grand Secretaries had sent people to summon them, so the officials gathered one after another, hoping to find out what was going on.
Yet an hour passed, and no one could provide a definite answer.
“What exactly does the Crown Prince intend? What has happened in the palace that the entire capital must be placed under martial law?” Zhu Xiwen, the Grand Astrologer, was the most forthright by nature. Unable to restrain himself, he rose and demanded an explanation.
With a kindly face, Guo Pingmao slowly stroked his graying beard and said with a leisurely smile, “Grand Astrologer, there’s no need to rush. Am I not here keeping you company?”
“Grand Tutor!” Zhu Xiwen stamped his foot in frustration. “The several of you have been speaking in riddles all afternoon. Can you not say something useful?”
Lan Jianghe rose and clasped his hands behind his back, his emotions impossible to read. “The Crown Prince sensed that someone within the palace intended to take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble, so he turned the scheme against its perpetrator and lured the snake from its hole. Everyone, please remain calm. There will be results soon.”
“This is too much trouble. I’ll go to the palace and request an audience with His Majesty. I want to find out who exactly is causing trouble!” an official said impatiently as he rose and made to leave the government office.
Gu Weizhi held a teacup in one hand, sipping leisurely as he placed a small pastry in his mouth with the other. Without changing his expression, he gave the guards a meaningful glance.
Four men immediately stepped forward and blocked the official’s path.
Huang Ting smiled faintly and lowered his head to straighten his sleeves before reasoning with him. “His Majesty is in poor health and is resting in the palace. State affairs have always been handled by the Crown Prince. Why would you disturb His Majesty’s rest at a time like this, my lord?”
The Grand Secretaries and the three tutors of the Crown Prince took turns offering words of reassurance and persuasion. The officials were firmly kept inside the government office, unable to move. All they could do was wait anxiously.
Incense sticks burned down one section after another, and time passed second by second. The nine gates of the capital blazed with lights, illuminating half the night sky in a fiery red.
Shen Chen craned his neck from atop the Meridian Gate wall, waiting eagerly for a full hour before some thirty low-ranking minor officials finally came hurrying beneath the city walls.
His heart sank sharply.
But he had no other choice. Raising his voice to address the scant few people below, he declared, "The Emperor has deposed the former Crown Prince Shen Zheng. By imperial edict, I have been named the new Eastern Palace heir, tasked with guarding the palace grounds, arresting treacherous rebels, and setting the court to rights. At this critical, do-or-die moment, you must stand united with me, that we may restore the purity and order of our Great Qian Dynasty!"
Those minor officials, who had never in their lives witnessed such a sudden upheaval, could only drop to their knees in panic and shout "Long live the Crown Prince!"
"Good, all of you are loyal subjects of the Great Qian. Once this matter is settled, I shall surely reward you all according to your merits, and never treat you unfairly!" A bright, fiery redness bleared across Shen Chen's eyes.
The moment his words faded, the synchronized thunder of hooves suddenly erupted from the direction of Zhengyang Gate, crashing like a towering tidal wave through the deep dark of night.
The oppressive weight of thousands upon thousands of troops on the move made the very ground tremble faintly. Before Shen Zheng could even make out a single figure, the dimples on his cheeks began trembling uncontrollably.
He stood on tiptoe, craning to stare fixedly down the distant alley, then grabbed the captain beside him in a tight grip, his voice sharp and urgent. "Is that Shen Zheng? How many men has he brought!"
"This officer... I cannot make them out. There are too many!"
Shen Chen shoved him away violently, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Shut the palace gates! Archers, take your positions! Hold this ground at all costs!"
"Your command is obeyed!"
At the very same time, the Zhengyang Gate boomed open.
Mo Shu had long been waiting atop the city wall. The moment he caught sight of Shen Zheng and Wen Zhuo, he immediately gave the order to fling the gates open to welcome them.
Shen Zheng and Jun Dingyuan, accompanied by the three grand battalion commanders, spurred their horses into the city, joined up with Mo Shu and Han Zhengping, and without pausing for a single moment, galloped straight toward the Forbidden City.
By the time they reached the Tian'an Gate, Jun Mulan, Liu Kangren, Marquis Yongning, and Duke Liu were already waiting there. The two elderly generals had donned their armor once more, holding their reins astride their mounts; though their temples were dusted with snow-white frost, their heroic spirit had not diminished in the slightest.
"Your Highness. Director Wen."
Shen Zheng gave a slight nod, his voice steady and composed. "What is the situation inside the palace?"
Han Zhengping stepped forward, fists clasped in salute. "Your Highness, the Emperor has issued an edict naming the Sixth Prince Shen Chen as the new Crown Prince. He has ordered him to take command of the Imperial Guard, defend the palace grounds, and arrest the so-called 'traitors'. Shen Chen is currently overseeing the defense at the Meridian Gate. He has already summoned more than thirty officials to gather below the city walls to cheer him on. But all the key, high-ranking court officials have been safely detained by our men in the Central Secretariat and the Six Ministries' offices; none of them have been able to move an inch."
Wen Zhuo had long since come to his senses. When they entered the city, he had asked Mo Shu for an extra outer robe to drape over the crimson ceremonial crown prince robes he had been wearing, the ones that belonged to Shen Zheng.
Now, as he listened to the report of their situation, a cold smirk curled at the corner of his lips.
"It seems Shen Chen knows full well that the only thing he has to rely on is that single imperial edict. He intends to use five thousand Imperial Guard troops to hold the palace walls, and use the voices of those minor officials to build a public narrative, framing Your Highness as a rebellious usurper forcing his way into the palace. If he can just drag this out until dawn, when the news spreads across the entire city, Your Highness will lose the support of the people, rouse the anger of the stubborn old court officials, and be left trapped in an impossible dilemma."
Marquis Yongning frowned deeply. "The Forbidden City is impenetrably fortified, and the streets leading to it are narrow. A direct assault would be foolhardy. Shen Chen is determined to hold his position and refuse to come out, so we will struggle to breach the city quickly. If we delay until daybreak, there will be countless unforeseen complications, and besides, we cannot keep the high-ranking officials detained forever."
Wen Zhuo lifted his gaze toward the brightly lit palace city, speaking in a calm, unshakable tone. "His Majesty's health has failed to the point that he is on his deathbed. If that were not the case, Shen Chen would not need to waste so much time shouting from the tower. If the Emperor himself could appear in person, we would lose all our advantage. Since the Emperor cannot show himself, does not the Crown Prince also hold an imperial edict in his possession? Two edicts, side by side—who can say for certain which is real and which is forged? Shen Chen is nothing but a traitor who took advantage of Your Highness being away from the palace, placed his own father under house arrest, and attempted to seize the throne. Your Highness, returning at the first sign of trouble, is here to clear the emperor's side of corrupt ministers, execute the treacherous usurper, and act with complete legitimacy!"
Wen Zhuo turned to meet Shen Zheng's gaze behind him. "All the key city gates and thoroughfares are sealed off, so Shen Chen's reinforcements have no way to reach him. The Imperial Guard has no help coming from outside, so their ranks are sure to fall to chaos. As the old military adage says: the highest form of warfare is to defeat the enemy through strategy, the next best is to break their alliances, the next is to engage them in battle, and the worst course is to storm walled cities. When the Imperial Guard sees that the Three Grand Battalions, the Ministry of War, and the Five Wards City Patrols are all standing on the Crown Prince's side, and that all the senior officials of the Six Ministries have appeared in full support, united in purpose, they will surely realize that the tide of fate has turned against them. Stubborn resistance will only lead to their deaths, so laying down their arms and surrendering is only a matter of time. What is more, we already have our own people within the palace walls. I suspect Your Highness made arrangements for this before you left the palace. No matter how grand a show Shen Chen puts on now, he is nothing but a rat at the end of a dead alley."
Shen Zheng looked into Wen Zhuo's sharp, dark eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips, completely unflustered. "Wanshan is right. This Forbidden City is a position he will never be able to hold."
With those words, Shen Zheng rode at the head of the company, leading the generals and commanders straight toward the Meridian Gate. Torches on both sides of the battle lines blazed like boiling fire, their flames surging so high that they dimmed the very stars scattered across the night sky.
Shen Chen had sharp eyes, and he immediately spotted Shen Zheng and Wen Zhuo riding side by side in the approaching party.
Wen Zhuo still bore traces of his earlier hasty flight, his hair dusted with mud and damp with water, yet his bearing remained as noble and poised as ever.
Shen Zheng had shed the cumbersome formal court robes, wearing only a plain sheer inner tunic with a dark black outer robe over it, his leather belt cinching the ceremonial knee-covering sash at his waist. He looked every inch a commanding, heroic figure, radiating an aura of unspoken, thunderous authority.
He snatched a torch from the soldier beside him, pointing it straight down toward the troops below, his cold, sharp eyes blazing. "Shen Zheng! You have defied the laws of the realm and been deposed by the Emperor. Now you lead troops to the very gates of the palace—do you intend to stage a coup and rebel against your own father?"
The thirty-odd minor officials below the city walls pressed their backs against the palace walls, steeling themselves to speak in a trembling, unified chorus. "The Emperor has made his will clear! The Fifth Prince should surrender immediately!"
"The imperial edict cannot be disobeyed! The Sixth Prince is now the rightful Crown Prince!"
"We may be low-ranking officials, but our hearts hold loyalty to our sovereign! If Your Highness truly held the Mandate of Heaven, why would the Emperor ever have changed the heir apparent!"
"Generals and commanders, do you not see the edict in the present Crown Prince's hands? Why do you still side with this rebel?"
"Our upright integrity shall be written into the soil, and our loyal hearts shall remain forever devoted to the Emperor!"
Shen Zheng swept his gaze over that ragtag group of posturing officials, then raised the secret edict he had seized from Jiang Ziwei's hands. "I have overseen the affairs of state as regent for nearly a year, enjoying the full trust of my father the Emperor and the genuine respect of all officials. Shen Chen took advantage of my absence from the capital to plot in secret, frame me with false charges, hold the Emperor under house arrest, and attempt to usurp the throne. The Emperor, seeing his treacherous intentions, secretly dispatched a palace guard to deliver this secret edict to me, ordering me to mobilize the Three Grand Battalions and the Ministry of War, capture this traitor alive, and execute him on the spot. You fools, muddle-headed and blind, have believed the words of a rebel and aided his villainy!"
The moment those thirty-odd minor officials saw that Shen Zheng was also holding an imperial edict, their faces drained of all color. Several who had already been wavering immediately threw themselves to the ground, kowtowing over and over as they changed their tune. "Your subjects have been blind and foolish, misled by treacherous villains. Our sins are worthy of death! We beg Your Highness to spare us!"
Shen Chen, watching from the top of the city wall, was so furious that his vision swam. He roared at the top of his voice. "Shen Zheng, what a silver tongue you have! That edict was originally the Emperor's order to execute you and that treacherous villain Wen Zhuo! You stole it by force and twisted its words to suit your own lies!"
Shen Zheng shot back sharply. "Director Wen oversaw the dyke construction to stop the floods, led the disaster relief efforts in Mianzhou, and his reputation for integrity is known across the entire empire. When did he ever become the 'treacherous villain' you claim? This alone proves that you are raving mad, and so frantic you can no longer tell right from wrong!"
The moment those words were spoken, the officials below the wall leaned even more firmly toward Shen Zheng's side.
Wen Zhuo's outstanding political achievements were common knowledge, and he had countless former students across the court. How could he possibly be a villain?
Even the Imperial Guard troops atop the wall began to second-guess themselves. None of them had ever seen the supposed new edict with their own eyes. What if the whole thing was nothing but a scheme between Shen Chen and his captains, a forged edict to stage a rebellion? They would end up being remembered as traitors for all eternity.
Seeing his troops' morale collapsing, Shen Chen's veins bulged on his neck, his face flushed bright red like burning charcoal. He was ready to fight to the bitter end, even if it meant mutual destruction. "As for why Wen Zhuo is a villain, and how you have betrayed the Emperor—do I even need to say it out loud? You and Wen Zhuo—"
Just at that moment, a sharp, shrill woman's voice suddenly cut off his words.
"The imperial edict in Shen Chen's hands is a fake! I have been at His Majesty's side day and night, and I have never once seen him draft such a decree. Shen Chen is staging a rebellion!"
Consort Zhen was still clad in the same lavish ceremonial robes she had worn during the day, her jeweled hairpin trembling violently in the glow of the flames. No one had noticed when she had stepped onto the city wall.
Her slender fingers jabbed sharply in Shen Chen's direction, the corners of her eyes sharp with icy disdain. "You Imperial Guard soldiers, why have you not seized this traitor? Do you mean to conspire with him to commit treason as well?"
The city-guarding Imperial Guard had long been simmering with suspicion, and now that the imperial consort herself had publicly denounced Shen Chen, they were thrown into utter bewilderment. One by one, they lowered their crossbows.
Shen Chen was seized by a surge of shock and fury. He whipped his head around to glare at Consort Zhen, his mind ringing with thunderous disbelief.
When had she struck an alliance with Shen Zheng? And why? How could she abandon her own biological son Shen He to side with Shen Zheng?
Before Shen Chen could sort through his racing thoughts, he fished the imperial edict out from his sleeve and let out a sharp, deranged laugh. "The consort has lost her mind! This edict was written in my father's own hand, and you yourself ground the ink for it! Dare you come with me to the Emperor's chambers and face him to prove your words?"
Consort Zhen instantly shifted into a look of heart-wrenching grief. Tears welled up in her eyes, her voice ringing out with tragic, raw pain. "His Majesty is gravely ill, too far gone to hold a brush. You have taken the Emperor hostage, and are using a blank sheet of paper to deceive the Imperial Guard, seal off the palace city, and plot to overthrow the throne!"
"That's utter nonsense!" Shen Chen shook so violently with rage his whole body trembled. "All the guards outside the palace heard the edict being delivered this afternoon. You cannot twist the facts! Seize this madwoman at once, and do not let her spread her poisonous lies to mislead everyone!"
The four captains who had seen the imperial edict and heard the Emperor's verbal decree firsthand trusted Shen Chen completely. They immediately stepped forward to apprehend Consort Zhen.
But the consort suddenly lunged toward the crenellations of the wall, and cried out mournfully to the troops below. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, save me! Save His Majesty! The edict Shen Chen holds is nothing more than a blank piece of paper! He is using a fake to fool the entire realm!"
"Consort Zhen, you—" One of the captains was so furious he reached out to grab her, but he dared not treat an imperial consort with excessive roughness.
"Let go of me!" Consort Zhen struggled wildly, her jewels scattering across the stone, her hair falling in disheveled strands. She looked utterly distraught and pitiable.
Shen Zheng raised his whip and pointed directly at the city wall. "Shen Chen, the Consort has spoken the truth against you. What else can you say in your own defense?"
Jun Dingyuan's handsome face darkened, his silver armor glinting brightly in the firelight. "Shen Chen, lay down your arms and surrender at once!"
Duke Liu stroked his flowing white beard, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "This old man assisted His Majesty in securing the empire in days past. Today, I shall slay another traitor for the dynasty!"
Mo Shu reached for his quiver of arrows. "All officials stand against you, the will of the people is turned against you. Why do you still cling to this futile resistance?"
To Shen Chen, the entire scene unfolding before his eyes felt absurd beyond belief.
He held the Emperor's personal edict, he was blessed with the fortune of a true dragon, he had ascended the throne in his past life. How had he ended up cornered like this by this ragtag group of people today?
He threw his head back and laughed, the creaks of his clenched knuckles audible as his face twisted into a ferocious snarl. "I thought Wen Wanshan was a master of strategy, and Shen Zheng a genius of unparalleled talent. It turns out you are nothing but a pack of cowards using cheap, despicable tricks! You have already run out of every last scheme!"
He held the edict high, and shook it open with a sharp snap. The bright yellow scroll unfurled in the wind. "The imperial edict is here! You foolish generals, kneel before it at once!"
He puffed out his chest, lifting his chin high toward the sky, waiting for the officials and generals to fall to their knees, for the soldiers to drop their armor, for Shen Zheng and Wen Zhuo to look on in stunned dismay.
But the only response from the troops below was dead silence.
The Imperial Guard standing on the city wall, however, could see everything perfectly clearly. The scroll in Shen Chen's hands was completely blank, not a single character written on it.
The brief moment of stillness exploded like a spark to dry kindling.
"This—this is a blank piece of paper!"
"It really is blank! The Consort was telling the truth!"
"The Sixth Prince is the real traitor!"
The Imperial Guard scattered in an uproar, stepping back in waves, their weapons turning in their hands to point straight at Shen Chen.
The four captains were left gaping in shock, frozen to the spot, completely at a loss for what to do.
A flock of crows swept across the sky, their mournful cries echoing all around. They seemed to lose control, diving toward the red palace walls and glazed roof tiles, casting a dark shadow over everything.
Shen Chen had not gotten the reaction he had expected. A cold jolt of dread shot through him. He turned his neck stiffly to stare at the scroll in his hands, and his pupils constricted to pinpricks.
It really was completely empty, no words at all.
The edict he had seen with his own eyes, the appointment as heir written in his father's own hand, had vanished into thin air. It was as if everything that had happened in the Hall of Mental Cultivation had been nothing but a fleeting, empty dream.
"Impossible... this cannot be happening!"
A flash of realization struck him, and he instantly remembered the strange, unhurried calm on Consort Zhen's face when she had ground the ink. A scream of despair tore out of his throat. "It was you! You poisonous witch, you tampered with the ink!"
He lunged forward and grabbed Consort Zhen by the lapels of her robes. Seeing the vicious glint in her eyes, he was overcome with rage, and slapped her hard across the face.
"Do you think this trick will work? It won't! I will bring His Majesty up to the city wall right now, and all of you will be finished, every last one of you!"
Consort Zhen's face twisted to the side, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. But she turned her head back, and gave him a smug, serpentine smile, like a viper flicking out its tongue. "My actions have already served their purpose."
Shen Zheng's angry command boomed out from below the wall. "Shen Chen has committed treason with a fake blank edict. He is to be executed immediately. Attack!"
Jun Dingyuan nocked an arrow to his bowstring, and released it. A sharp, cold whistle cut through the waves of fire, speeding straight for Shen Chen's face.
Shen Chen was still grappling with Consort Zhen, half his body leaning over the crenellations. He twisted himself around in a panic before he could even catch his breath. The arrow grazed past the crown of his head, tearing off a strip of his scalp before burying itself deep in the brick wall behind him.
Before he could even cry out in pain, two more arrows from Mo Shu were already flying toward him.
Thud! Thud!
The two sharp arrows pierced his chest precisely. Hot blood instantly soaked through his armor and robes.
Shen Chen stared down in disbelief. He had been wearing heavy protective armor, he had taken every precaution to guard his body, but Mo Shu's arrows had cut straight through the metal and sunk deep into his lungs.
What kind of supernatural weapon was this? What unimaginable strength did it carry?
His body swayed violently. Blood poured down from the wound on his head, sticking to his eyelashes, blurring his vision into a wash of crimson.
He tried to stagger back, but more arrows pierced his shoulders and abdomen. He could feel the warm blood seeping through his armor, his strength draining away fast.
He could not understand why the Imperial Guard looked on coldly, why the captains who had seen the edict with their own eyes refused to fight for him to the death.
He tried to fix them with a venomous glare, tried to curse them, but an arrow struck him straight in the left eye, cutting off every thought in his head. His body slowly slid down the wall.
At the very edge of death, through the throngs of armored soldiers, his eyes landed on Wen Zhuo, sitting quietly on horseback.
Wen Zhuo looked back at him, his face showing neither joy nor anger. A few strands of damp hair stuck to his cheek, fluttering gently in the wind.
This moment was just like that day long ago, only the roles were reversed. Now it was Shen Chen who was pierced by a thousand arrows.
In his fading consciousness, he heard the curse Wen Zhuo had spoken with his last breath before he died, ringing in his ears.
"If I could go back to the 23rd year of Shunyuan, the one standing in this position today would never be you."
It was unfair. So unbearably unfair.
He was Emperor Shengde. He was the true Dragon Emperor, the one chosen by heaven.
Shen Chen reached up to try and stop the bleeding from his wounds, but the blood gushed out faster, staining the blue bricks beneath his feet bright red.
A gurgling sound rattled in his throat, endless, all-consuming hatred swallowing him whole. He summoned the very last of his remaining strength, and rasped out through blood-frothed lips. "Wen Zhuo... Wen Zhuo! If only I—"
Whoosh.
One final arrow pierced through his throat, leaving a ragged, bloody hole that severed every last trace of his unspoken rage and regret.
Shen Chen's eyes flew wide open. He fell backward onto the ground, kicking up clouds of dust, and never moved again.
Mo Shu stowed his bow back in its case, and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, the traitor has been put to death. Please enter the imperial city!"
"Please enter the imperial city, Your Highness!"
"Please enter the imperial city, Your Highness!"
The generals and soldiers all took up the cry, their voices shaking the very heavens, startling the crows off the city wall.
The remaining captains knew the tide had turned completely. They immediately dropped their weapons and armor, opened the city gates, and knelt down to surrender.
Just at that moment, the sun broke over the eastern horizon.
The pale dawn light split the dark clouds, a streak of golden sunlight spilling over the vast land, washing away every last trace of the long night's haze.
Shen Zheng's face was set in a solemn, resolute line. He held Wen Zhuo safely tucked against his chest, and urged his white-hoofed steed onward, riding proudly through the gates of the Forbidden City.
