Chapter 244: The King's Demise
He pointed at A Li in Tong Que's arms: "This little bastard is..."
"Your Majesty!" A stern shout from behind interrupted King Chen.
Everyone turned to look outside and saw the Empress Dowager, supported by her elderly maid, swiftly entering Zhaohua Palace. They couldn't help but feel slightly relieved.
Though the Empress Dowager had once presided over court affairs for several years and clearly understood the current situation, her expression remained unchanged as she approached. "Given the urgent state of the war and Your Majesty's poor health," she said, "you should be resting properly in your bedchamber. What brings you to Zhaohua Palace?"
Upon hearing this, King Chen's face twisted with even more sarcasm and resentment. He threw his head back and laughed heartily before demanding, "Does Mother not know the reason behind my poor health?"
He pointed his sword at Tong Que and the others. "That Liang poisoner imprisoned me in Zhanghua Hall, forcing me to consume poisonous pills daily. If Mother hadn't ordered the pills stopped after that woman left the palace, would I even be alive to walk out of Zhanghua Hall?"
Slapping his chest in extreme bitterness, he questioned the Empress Dowager, "I am your own son! Must you still shield that woman just because she gave birth to a Jiang Family bastard?"
His words caused an uproar among the ministers.
Tong Que tightened her hold on A Li and sharply retorted amid the child's frightened cries, "You're spewing lies!"
The Empress Dowager also darkened her expression. "Nonsense! Stop this madness!"
But King Chen continued his frenzied laughter, sneering, "I know—in Mother's eyes, what does it matter if the Chen royal house changes hands? As long as the continuing royal bloodline remains that of the Jiang Family, that's all that counts!"
His bloodshot eyes blazing with malice, he spread his arms wide, still gripping his sword. "I am incompetent. For the years since my accession, I've been nothing but a puppet ruler under Mother's control. When the Jiang faction held sway, I failed to protect Chen's sovereignty. Now some outsider from Liang dares to covet the throne of Chen..."
His venomous gaze shifted to A Li in Tong Que's arms. "Today, even if it costs me my life, I will restore the true dragon lineage of Chen! Only then can I face our ancestors in the afterlife without shame!"
He then pointed his sword directly at the officials led by Qi Simiao. "If any of you still remember the late king's kindness, if you recall where your salaries come from, you should have long since fallen on your swords!"
"That Liang woman first borrowed troops to quell rebellion in her own land, depleting Chen's national strength. Now, to save Liang, she wants all of Chen to serve as cannon fodder! Her intentions are condemnable! And you still pledge loyalty to her? Are you not ashamed to call yourselves ministers of Chen?"
The court officials remained silent. Though they stood with bowed heads, their expressions sorrowful and respectful, this deathly silence was undoubtedly a tacit declaration of allegiance and betrayal.
Tong Que had initially been deeply concerned that King Chen's revelations would undermine Wen Yu's rule in the royal court. But in this silence, she suddenly understood something, and all the arguments she had prepared remained unspoken.
—They were no longer necessary.
Chen's present state was entirely the result of Wen Yu's sweeping reforms and diligent governance.
As for the late king's kindness that King Chen mentioned—if it referred to promotions and appointments, that might be worth discussing. But during the late king's reign, his obsession with selecting concubines had turned the entire rear palace into a complete mess.The imperial consorts all hailed from prominent aristocratic families, thus creating an inextricable link between harem favor and court officials' promotions. The powerful factional networks that plague the court to this day essentially took root during that period, leaving upright officials long suffering in silence.
Every calamity of treacherous ministers corrupting the court that Liang had experienced, Chen had endured in full measure.
Court officials from various factions incessantly impeached one another, engaging in verbal and written attacks solely to eliminate dissent. Those truly working for the state and common people became outliers, repeatedly suppressed.
Truth be told, Chen's national treasury had been depleted back during the previous king's reign.
Had it not been for Wen Yu's father lending troops back then, Western Mausoleum might have directly conquered Chen during the succession struggle.
Although Chen denied the great debt after Liang's collapse, the archived Ministry of Revenue audit records gathering dust in the archives don't lie.
King Chen and his aristocratic allies constantly accuse Wen Yu of coveting Chen's throne, oblivious that present-day Chen exists only because Changlian Wang intervened with military force back then.
Now with disaster looming again, Wen Yu willingly marches to the border to protect both nations' citizens.
How could these politically astute ministers not recognize the perils involved?
Meanwhile, King Chen has achieved nothing since ascending the throne, only accumulating scandals.
When Xiao Li besieged the royal court, he shamelessly surrendered, a disgrace that still makes officials burn with shame.
Now, with the nation's survival uncertain, his slanderous remarks—regardless of their truth—and his attempt to sever A Li, Chen's last connection to Liang, make compliance impossible for the court ministers!
Amid the prolonged silence, King Chen suddenly felt humiliated, then terrified and enraged as some unshakable conviction crumbled within him.
He was Chen's rightful king!
The only legitimate heir of this bloodline!
How dare they!
King Chen scanned the chamber, face twitching, eyes bulging: "Treason! You've all rebelled—"
"Enough!"
The Empress Dowager's stern voice cut through. Having heard the king's numerous treasonous statements, she showed no anger, her resolute expression concealing only weariness and disappointment: "How much longer will Your Majesty persist in this folly?"
Seizing the opportunity, Tong Que knelt holding A Li: "Your Majesty, please defend the princess and young mistress! The princess faces grave dangers at the front, yet the king believes alchemists' claims about using his own flesh and blood's blood as medicinal ingredients for longevity. After Consort Jiang's child died from repeated bloodletting by alchemists, His Majesty now targets the young mistress!"
Tears fell as Tong Que continued: "How can such vile accusations tarnish the princess and young mistress!"
Some ministers showed dawning comprehension, others horror, all turning to the Empress Dowager.
King Chen flew into greater rage, drawing his sword to strike Tong Que: "You lying slave! I'll kill you!"
Azure Guard and Imperial Guards rushed to intervene while ministers grabbed the king's arms and waist, pleading desperately: "Your Majesty! Cease this delusion!"
All seemingly convinced the king's actions stemmed from wanting A Li's blood for elixirs.
Tong Que bowed her head while holding A Li, continuing to wipe tears, understanding only the Empress Dowager's personal confirmation would permanently secure doubts about A Li's origins.The battlefield situation was changing rapidly and extremely perilous. With 120,000 troops from Western Mausoleum besieging Gole City, it remained uncertain whether Wen Yu could return unscathed.
Although court officials hadn't deeply investigated A Li's origins due to the current circumstances, to eliminate potential risks, she still needed to make A Li's background "flawless."
Consort Jiang and her child had secretly left the royal court two days earlier under the Empress Dowager's arrangements. The internal affairs office was told that Consort Jiang's child had suddenly fallen gravely ill and died, and in her grief, Consort Jiang had ended her own life with a white silk cord. Given the turbulent times, the funeral arrangements had been hastily conducted without public announcement.
Now, the "deaths" of Consort Jiang and her child presented the perfect opportunity to legitimize A Li's origins.
After all, King Chen had claimed A Li was of Jiang Family bloodline, which was why the Empress Dowager had protected Wen Yu.
Since Consort Jiang was the Empress Dowager's own niece, and her child had been publicly acknowledged by King Chen before all court officials as the royal heir...
With Wen Yu currently away from the royal court while Consort Jiang and her child were dead, no one could accuse the Empress Dowager of harming her own niece and grandchild.
The Empress Dowager stood silently in place, supported by her elderly maid.
King Chen's ferocious shouts for blood and the ministers' chaotic pleas for mercy seemed to reach her ears through a watery curtain, becoming a dull buzz.
She watched the absurd farce unfolding before her as if viewing a shadow puppet show.
She understood her son's motives.
This son of hers resented having been a puppet emperor under her control since his accession, and loathed the prospect of continuing as a puppet under the Liang woman after marriage.
He was staking everything to restore order and legitimize the Chen royal bloodline.
She also understood the Liang maid's purpose.
That woman was the confidante left by the Liang woman to protect her daughter, and would never allow any harm to come to her young mistress.
How should she choose?
The answer was already quite clear, wasn't it?
Ever since her son was injured during the succession struggle and rendered useless, she had consistently made this choice for many years.
When King Chen wounded an Imperial Guard, kicked over an elderly minister, and prepared to swing his sword again, the Empress Dowager closed her eyes and declared: "His Majesty's madness has returned."
"Imperial Guards, bind the King and return him to Zhanghua Hall under strict surveillance!"
Having spoken these words, the Empress Dowager seemed to have no energy left to deal with this mess. Leaning on her elderly maid's arm, she prepared to leave the scene.
King Chen's expression grew even more mocking and resentful. He wildly swung his sword at the Imperial Guards approaching to capture him, roaring: "Get back! All of you! Don't touch your king!"
His demeanor had become nearly hysterical.
Though the Empress Dowager had given the order, the Imperial Guards hesitated to injure the King. Under his frenzied attacks, they temporarily couldn't approach him, only managing to drag away the several ministers he had kicked or wounded.
King Chen, thin as a bamboo pole, soon exhausted himself from such violent sword swinging. Leaning on his sword while panting awkwardly, he watched the Empress Dowager's retreating back. His face, twisted with rage, suddenly contorted into an extremely bizarre smile as he shouted after her:
"Mother is abandoning your child again, isn't that right?"
The Empress Dowager's steps faltered slightly.
King Chen's smile was filled with malice as he continued shouting: "Then Mother had better be certain that Liang woman will pass both thrones to that little bastard!"When the royal court was breached, that Xiao from Liang territory entered her Zhaohua Palace as if walking through a land without people!" If those two secretly conceive another child, Mother's hope of seeing Jiang bloodline rule both nations will surely come to nothing!"While everyone was still stunned by those words, King Chen abruptly slashed his own neck with the sword. In that moment, his gaunt face, aside from despair and sorrow, seemed to twist with a distorted satisfaction of revenge: "The unfilial son Chen Yin has shamed the ancestors of Chen Kingdom!"
The bloodstained long sword clattered to the ground, and as blood splattered across the blue stone tiles outside Zhaohua Palace, everyone stood frozen in shock.
The Empress Dowager only turned to look when she heard the heavy thud behind her and the court officials wailing "Your Majesty" in grief, as if unable to believe what had happened.
With just one glance, the Empress Dowager's legs gave way, nearly collapsing to the ground, the elderly maid beside her barely able to support her.
"Yin'er..." The Empress Dowager whispered this almost inaudibly as tears fell from eyes that had only recently reddened upon hearing of Jiang Yu's death.
Tong Que was also startled by King Chen's sudden action. The frightened A Li in her arms cried incessantly.
Pressing A Li against her chest to shield her from the bloody scene, Tong Que gazed at King Chen's fallen body not far away, pursed her lips tightly, and gradually suppressed the shock in her pupils until her gaze regained its firmness.
King Chen had chosen to take his own life after realizing there was no hope of restoring the legitimate Chen royal bloodline.
But had the Empress Dowager not been compelled to speak those words today, had Wen Yu and Xiao Li not returned, the Chen faction could have used A Li as pretext to return to Liang territory. In the future, should they develop rebellious intentions, they could have cited King Chen's final words as justification.
Wen Yu had already charted the path for King Chen and the Empress Dowager. It was King Chen's own unwillingness to accept this that drove him to make this final, desperate gamble even in death.
Author's Note: Sending red packets to all dear readers in this chapter too~
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