"Ah—"
A piercing scream tore through the sky. Song Yanzheng's eyes instantly flooded with bloodshot veins, the pain radiating from his calf nearly suffocating him.
"Song Yu, how dare you treat me like this!"
The agony stripped Song Yanzheng of his rationality, his gaze toward Song Yu brimming with hatred.
Song Yu slowly crouched down, gripping Song Yanzheng's chin with his fingers. "You poisoned your own father, attempted to kill your birth mother, and carried on an illicit affair with your stepmother. Each of these crimes is enough to condemn you to hell."
"You have no proof! This is slander!"
Song Yanzheng glared at Song Yu with unyielding defiance. Without evidence... how could Song Yu dare to do this?
"Do you really think the lack of evidence means no one can touch you?"
Song Yu's eyes darkened with ruthlessness. "Even if I were to slit your throat today, I could walk away unscathed. But I’ll spare your life—for now."
With that, Song Yu stood up again.
The wooden club was raised high once more.
Another agonized scream erupted from Song Yanzheng.
Raindrops splattered onto his mangled leg, the metallic tang of blood gradually permeating the air.
Under the eaves, Wu Qi and Shen Xiao watched the brutal scene with cold indifference, neither making a move to report back to the emperor inside the hall.
Inside the palace, the laughter of Emperor Yuanyou and Song Shihuan echoed. The last flicker of light in Song Yanzheng’s eyes extinguished completely.
"From this day forward, your legs are useless."
Song Yu tossed the club aside. "Remember—it was I who shattered them."
By now, Song Yanzheng was barely conscious, writhing in pain, utterly defenseless.
Song Yu’s gaze swept over Song Yanchao and the others. Wherever his eyes landed, none dared meet his stare.
"Yanchao, has the lingering illness from the last epidemic not fully healed yet?"
Though Song Yu wore a smile, Song Yanchao felt an inexplicable terror and shook his head frantically.
"You’ve grown thinner."
Song Yu’s hand clamped down on Song Yanchao’s shoulder. Within moments, Song Yanchao’s face twisted in agony—his bones felt on the verge of shattering.
As for Song Yanming and Song Xiyan, Song Yu narrowed his eyes.
"Wu Qi."
"At your service." Wu Qi scurried forward in quick, small steps.
"I find the Ping Prince's Mansion to be ill-fated. Seal it off."
"Seal... seal it off?"
Wu Qi’s tongue stumbled over the words. If the mansion were sealed, where would the imperial grandsons live?
Song Yu’s lips curled into a slow, chilling smile. "Once they return, lock the gates. That should suffice."
It was an open declaration of house arrest.
"This servant will see it done immediately."
Wu Qi hurried away. Without Emperor Yuanyou’s mercy, Song Yanzheng and the others remained drenched in the rain, with no physician daring to tend to Song Yanzheng’s wounds.
Song Yu cast one last deep glance behind him, wiped his hands with a handkerchief, and strode into the Purple Dawn Hall.
......
"All settled?"
Emperor Yuanyou set down his memorial upon Song Yu’s entrance.
"I broke Song Yanzheng’s legs."
Song Yu took a sip of tea as he spoke. "That wretch was undoubtedly involved. Breaking just one leg was mercy."
"I also ordered Wu Qi to seal the Ping Prince's Mansion once they return." A mocking smirk played on Song Yu’s lips. "Besides Song Yanzheng, the other ungrateful whelps might have had a hand in this too. Locking them up is the safest course."
"Do as you see fit."
Emperor Yuanyou pinched the bridge of his nose. "Raised for years as heirs of the Eastern Palace, spoiled rotten by the deposed empress and Song Ling, they’ve grown twisted beyond repair."
To harbor patricidal and matricidal intentions...
"Grandfather, please don’t grieve. Shihuan will always stay by your side."
Song Shihuan clung to Emperor Yuanyou’s sleeve, her eyes brimming with concern.
"Worry not. For your sake, I’ll keep this old body of mine intact."
Emperor Yuanyou’s gaze drifted toward the courtyard. "Let them kneel for three more hours before sending them back."
Once they returned, the mansion would be sealed. Without imperial summons, they would never step out again.
......
News of Shen Hua'er’s plot to murder Prince Ping spread like wildfire, igniting public outrage.
The already crumbling Shen family was pelted with rotten eggs and spoiled vegetables, the masses cursing Shen Hua'er’s name without end.
Prince Qi's Mansion.
"What? Song Ling was poisoned?"
Prince Qi staggered back as if struck, his face ashen. How could Shen Hua'er—such a gentle, obedient woman—resort to poison?
"What was Grandfather’s judgment?"
Regaining his composure, Prince Qi demanded an answer.
But the servant who had been answering smoothly suddenly hesitated.
"Out with it!"
Seeing Prince Qi’s impatience, the servant trembled. "Shen Hua'er was dragged before Prince Ping’s tomb at the imperial mausoleum and beaten to death. The entire Shen clan was exterminated—nine generations."
Nine generations!
Prince Qi’s heart lurched. "And my mother?"
"Her Majesty was ordered to take her own life."
Crash—
Prince Qi swept everything off his desk, then bolted toward the door. "Mother is innocent! I must beg Father to spare her!"
"Your Highness... by now, the sentence has likely already been carried out."
The servant’s face twisted in discomfort. The news had been tightly suppressed—by the time it leaked, Shen Hua'er was already dead.
"Mother was deposed and confined to the cold palace! How could she have been involved in poisoning Song Ling?" Prince Qi gasped for breath. "If I can’t even protect my own mother, what hope do I have for greater ambitions?"
"Your Highness."
Gou Wu’s voice cut through Prince Qi’s fury, tempering his rage.
"Your Highness has spent half a year in careful restraint, only now seeing progress. If you storm into the palace over the Shen family’s fate, not only will your plans collapse, but you may also incur His Majesty’s wrath."
Gou Wu sighed. "If you doubt me, ask how the others of the Ping Prince's Mansion were punished."
An incense stick’s time later, Prince Qi slumped into his chair, drained.
Broken legs.
A sealed mansion.
Father and Song Yu showed no mercy.
"Master Gou, what should I do now?" Prince Qi’s voice was hollow.
"Your Highness must feign illness and remain confined to your mansion. Let the emperor and the people believe you’re too grief-stricken to act. Only then can you distance yourself entirely from the Shen family’s crimes." Gou Wu’s eyes gleamed. "Remember—the Shens are your maternal kin."
"Furthermore, the punishment dealt to the Ping Prince's Mansion... it may not have been the emperor’s doing. We must investigate."
Gou Wu’s fingers twitched. If this was Song Yu’s scheme, then his standing in Emperor Yuanyou’s heart...
Should Song Yu express a desire for the throne tomorrow, the emperor might well abdicate the very next day.
And that would spell disaster for them all.
