Chapter 394: Su Ziyue's Death
With the Emperor's passing, as a woman of the imperial clan, the Princess Consort of the Regent had naturally arrived early.
Kneeling among the crowd, she abruptly looked up upon hearing the false Bo Yuanhou's words.
How could she possibly have instructed Bo Yuanhou to forge an imperial decree...
But when her eyes met Chu Rui's, she knew there was only one path left for her—to take the blame in her husband's stead.
Only by doing so could her husband be exonerated and retain his position as Regent.
Her husband was the Regent. Even if she confessed to the crime and was thrown into the dungeon, surely he would find a way to save her... After all, he had once told her she was like a beam of light, illuminating his dark world...
"What does the Princess Consort have to say?" the Chief of the Court of Judicial Review declared loudly. "A mere woman, daring to interfere in court affairs and even fabricating an imperial decree! Do you know what crime you have committed?"
"It... it was me..." Su Ziyue stepped out from the crowd and knelt at the foot of the steps. "I alone am responsible for this matter. It has nothing to do with anyone else. It was my desire to become Empress, to be the mother of this nation, that led me to commit such a treasonous act behind my husband's back. I, the criminal Su Ziyue, submit myself to the judgment of the Court of Judicial Review!"
The Chief of the Court of Judicial Review couldn't help but glance at Chu Rui.
To be honest, he was bewildered and unsure how to proceed.
Chu Rui descended the steps one by one until he stood beside Su Ziyue.
He looked down at the kneeling civil and military officials and spoke slowly, word by word: "My Princess Consort is immature and has caused this farce. On her behalf, I apologize to everyone here."
The officials below began whispering among themselves.
"A farce?"
"Forging an imperial decree is a farce?"
"She nearly overturned the imperial bloodline, and an apology is all it takes?"
"The Regent truly holds us court officials in contempt..."
Just as the murmurs began and before anyone could step forward to condemn or oppose, Chu Rui continued:
"However, the unforgivable enormity of her crimes cannot be appeased by a mere apology. Thus, I have no choice but to uphold justice at the expense of kinship!"
He bent down and helped Su Ziyue to her feet.
Su Ziyue's mind buzzed with confusion. What did he mean by "uphold justice at the expense of kinship"? Was it what she thought?
But when she saw Chu Rui's gentle smile and his affectionate eyes, she felt she might be overthinking.
Before she could ponder further—
Suddenly!
Chu Rui swiftly drew a sword from the waist of the Commander of the Imperial Guards, Lord Lin, and plunged it fiercely into Su Ziyue's abdomen.
"Thud!"
The blade pierced clean through Su Ziyue's body.
Her internal organs were torn apart, and bright red blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Her face was a mask of disbelief: "Husband..."
Chu Rui leaned close to her ear: "My wife, go in peace. I will erect a longevity tablet in your honor, and you will forever hold a place in my heart."
"Husband..." Su Ziyue trembled all over, blood continuously flowing from her lips. "I... I..."
She vaguely remembered their wedding night—how he had been as gentle as the moonlight, his affectionate eyes filled with her presence. She had given him her heart and soul entirely.
For him, she would do anything.
Even die...
But alas.
With a trembling hand, she reached up and touched her blood-soaked abdomen.
"I... I forgot to tell you, Husband..." Su Ziyue spat blood with every few words. "I... am... am pregnant..."Finally, a genuine expression surfaced on Chu Rui's face: "What did you say..."
"I... ugh..." Su Ziyue vomited blood profusely.
Before she could finish her sentence, she collapsed weakly into Chu Rui's arms.
Chu Rui immediately grasped her wrist to check her pulse.
Having been ill for so long, he had become something of a doctor himself, and taking a pulse was the easiest thing for him.
When he felt the faint pulse, his heart involuntarily tightened.
She really was carrying his child, but...
"Hus...band..."
Su Ziyue struggled to utter these two words before closing her eyes and losing her breath.
"Madam!"
Chu Rui roared in grief and pain.
Why, why didn't you tell me earlier?
Why wait until the knife had pierced your abdomen to tell me something so important?
In his childhood, he had watched his father die before his eyes.
In his youth, he had witnessed his mother's death.
A little older, even his elder sister who had always protected him had died.
And now, his own child had died before his eyes...
He wasn't fated to be a lone star bringing calamity, so why was he always left alone, why!
All the civil and military officials were shocked by this scene.
In their impression, the Regent was a sickly man, usually pale and weak-looking. Who would have thought he would kill someone without hesitation!
And the one he killed was his newly wedded wife!
If this was an act, the grief on his face was utterly unconvincing as fake!
Yun Chu, standing nearby, clearly heard Su Ziyue's broken words - her young body had been carrying a child.
That unborn fetus had been stabbed to death by its own father.
If not for this child, Chu Rui probably couldn't have squeezed out even a single tear, even in pretense.
Poor Su Ziyue, only sixteen years old, who had devoted herself entirely to Chu Rui, only to become his stepping stone.
"I have cleansed my household!" Chu Rui said with tear-streaked face, struggling to address the crowd. "I have no ambition for the throne, my heart is sincere - please remember this!"
"The Regent placing righteousness above family is a model for all court officials!" The Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review quickly flattered. "Guards, take the fake Boyuan Marquis into custody. As for the Princess Consort's body... return it to the Regent's Residence!"
Palace maids and eunuchs came forward, quickly cleaning the stains from the floor.
As if nothing had ever happened.
But the Emperor's body lying on the dragon couch reminded everyone that until the new ruler was determined, this was far from over.
The Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat spoke: "Since His Majesty left no edict, the Grand Secretariat and Hanlin Academy, along with the Three Excellencies, shall jointly decide on the future new ruler of the Great Jin Dynasty..."
"Wait." Grand Tutor Xu, standing among the crowd, stepped forward.
Even before Grand Tutor Xu said anything, Yun Chu realized that he must have been coerced into becoming Chu Rui's man.
Grand Tutor Xu was Chu Rui's contingency plan.
The Grand Secretary spoke: "What counsel does Grand Tutor Xu have?""Last night, His Majesty privately summoned this official for an audience to discuss the matter of the crown prince." Grand Tutor Xu gave a glance to his deputy behind him, who retrieved an imperial edict from his sleeve and respectfully handed it to Grand Tutor Xu. "At that time, His Majesty was concerned about his Dragon Body and had already settled on the crown prince candidate with this official... When Marquis Boyuan was proclaiming the edict earlier, this official thought His Majesty had changed his mind before his passing and thus did not intend to produce the edict drafted last night... But since Marquis Boyuan's edict was forged, then we can only adhere to the edict in this official's hands. What does everyone think?"
Marquis Pingjin, always bold, spoke up: "That depends on whether the edict in Grand Tutor's hands is genuine or not! Enough talk—proclaim the edict first!"
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