Lu Mingtang looked straight into his eyes, "Every word I say is sincere. More importantly, I desire power, status, and wealth. These are things Prince Yong cannot give me—only Your Majesty can."
She made no attempt to conceal her longing and ambition for power. Although she now bore the false title of princess, Emperor Chengde had been excessively licentious during his lifetime.
With countless beauties in the harem and a multitude of children born to him, Lu Mingtang, this counterfeit princess, was lost among the crowd of princes and princesses, receiving no attention.
Even the title "Zhaohua" was one she bestowed upon herself later, after she had seized power.
At present, her status as a princess in the palace was even lower than that of a palace maid. Her life and death hung solely on Lu Yan's whims, which was why she urgently sought power to protect herself.
Lu Yan laughed again, abruptly releasing his grip. Lu Mingtang collapsed weakly onto the warm couch, her long black hair cascading down. Her delicate eyebrows peeked faintly through the strands, like fragile porcelain.
But Lu Yan knew that the woman before him was not fragile at all—she was extremely dangerous.
Yet… the more dangerous, the more entertaining, wasn't it?
"Follow me."
Lu Yan showed no trace of pity, as if tired of playing. He casually tossed aside the small knife and turned to walk out.
Lu Mingtang pushed herself up from her sore and weak body, pinching her thigh hard without mercy. The sharp pain instantly cleared her foggy, swollen mind.
She put on her shoes and hurried after Lu Yan, who was already nearing the door.
Eunuch Cao, the chief eunuch, was waiting at the entrance. Seeing Lu Yan emerge barefoot, he quickly knelt and presented a pair of boots. "Your Majesty, the ground is cold in winter. Walking barefoot may lead to illness."
Lu Yan glanced at them, slipped on the boots, and strode outside. Eunuch Cao hurried after him with a fox-fur cloak embroidered all over, draping it over his shoulders.
As soon as Lu Mingtang stepped out of the hall, a howling, biting wind struck her, making her shiver uncontrollably.
She was already thinly dressed, and outside, heavy snowflakes were falling. Her frail body seemed as if it could be blown away by a single gust.
Lu Yan did not wait for her at all. By the time she caught up, he had already walked a considerable distance. Enduring the cold, Lu Mingtang dragged her sickly body and quickened her pace to follow.
The imperial palace housed a vast Menagerie, where many exotic and wild beasts were kept, tended to by specialized animal trainers.
During Emperor Chengde's lifetime, aside from his penchant for forcibly seizing beautiful women, he also enjoyed watching fierce beasts tear into one another. For this purpose, he invested considerable manpower and resources to expand the Menagerie into an even more extravagant spectacle.
Within the Menagerie, rocky hills overlapped, and luxurious cages were crafted from gold thread. Lions, tigers, and leopards could be seen everywhere. The beasts trapped in their cages caught the scent of humans, roaring as they lunged against the bars, extending massive claws in an attempt to tear and bite.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Seeing the imperial arrival, the animal trainers hurriedly knelt and used whips to strike the restless beasts, fearing they might disturb the emperor and bring about their own demise.
Lu Yan walked without pause until he stopped before a pigpen.
The pen housed black-haired pigs with exceptionally long tusks. Although it was cleaned daily, a distinct, foul odor unique to pigs still lingered upon approach.
And among these black-haired pigs, curled up, was Prince Yong, whose size rivaled that of the swine.
"It seems you truly are one of their kind, yet you still live."
Lu Yan's tone carried a hint of regret. Black-haired pigs were a type of wild boar, still retaining their wild nature—ferocious enough to even eat humans when provoked.
Yet, Prince Yong had managed to survive among these wild boars.
"Your subject is ugly and likely does not suit the taste of the wild boars."
The moment Prince Yong saw Lu Yan, he was nearly frightened out of his wits. He hastily rolled his plump body over and knelt on the ground, trembling with fear, not daring to even breathe heavily.
"Is that so? Even pigs won't eat you. Then what use do I have in keeping you alive?"
Prince Yong immediately trembled like a sieve. "Y-Your Majesty, your subject is useful! Your subject is more obedient than these pigs. Whatever Your Majesty commands, your subject will do!"
"More useful than pigs? Can you eat faster than them?"
Prince Yong replied without hesitation, "Your subject will surely eat faster than them!"
"Excellent. Bring it up."
Several eunuchs carried wooden buckets forward, filled with slop meant for the pigs.
As the eunuchs poured the slop into the trough, Lu Yan's amused voice rang out again: "Then show me. There are four pigs here. If even one finishes before you, I'll chop off one of your hands. With two hands and two feet, you have just enough to spare."
Prince Yong broke into a cold sweat, wanting to beg for mercy. "Your Majesty, this… this…"
"Don't want to eat? Then there's no point in keeping you. Drag him away and dispose of him."
Prince Yong hurriedly changed his tune. "I'll eat, I'll eat! Your subject will eat!"
The stench of pigs, their feces, and the slop mixed together in a soul-shaking foulness. And in this soul-shaking stench, Prince Yong competed with the wild boars to see who could finish the slop first.
Suppressing his nausea, Prince Yong frantically stuffed the slop into his mouth. Thanks to his massive size, he actually managed to eat faster than the wild boars.
At the last moment, he swallowed the final mouthful, while the fastest wild boar beside him finished just a split second later.
Barely holding back the urge to vomit, he forced a flattering smile onto his fleshy face. "Your Majesty, your subject… your subject finished before all of them."
Lu Yan hummed in acknowledgment, casually drawing the sword from the waist of Ling Xiao, the commander of the Palace Guard. Suddenly, the blade pointed directly at Prince Yong's face, frightening him so much that he collapsed to the ground, not even daring to let out a fart.
"Someone told me that today's assassins were arranged by you. Is this true?"
Prince Yong's face changed drastically. Seeing Lu Mingtang standing behind Lu Yan, he realized she must have been the one who informed on him.
That wretched woman! If she hadn't betrayed him earlier, Lu Yan would have long been struck by the poisoned arrow and died, and the throne of Da Wei would have been his!
Prince Yong kowtowed frantically, his head thumping loudly against the ground. "Absolutely not, Your Majesty! Even if you gave your subject a hundred times the courage, he would never dare to assassinate Your Majesty! This is slander! Your subject's loyalty to Your Majesty is as true as the heavens and earth!"
"Why don't I carve out his heart for Your Majesty and see if his words match his actions? Let's test his so-called loyalty, shall we?"
Prince Yong stared in disbelief at Lu Mingtang, who stood just a step behind Lu Yan.
Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, her brows and eyes as cold as autumn frost and winter moonlight, with only a vivid red on her lips—stunningly beautiful. Her words vividly illustrated the saying that beauty could be as venomous as a snake or scorpion.
Lu Yan turned his head to look at her. This enchanting woman possessed a cruel and bloodthirsty heart—perfectly suited to his tastes. How interesting.
With a flick of his wrist, Lu Yan casually tossed the sword to her. "I look forward to it. Don't disappoint me."
"Lu Mingtang, you… you lunatic, you can't kill me… ah!"
Prince Yong crawled on the ground, trying to flee, but Lu Mingtang stepped on him, grinding his plump face into the snow.
"Do you know how many steps there are to butchering a pig?
First, you drain the blood, letting the pig feel its life force ebbing away, powerless to struggle."
A flash of sword light, and in an instant, Lu Mingtang severed the arteries in Prince Yong's limbs. Blood sprayed, staining the white snow crimson as Prince Yong writhed and screamed in agony.
"Next comes shaving the hair, dividing the meat, gutting the belly, and extracting the heart, liver, intestines, and other organs. Then you separate the ribs, trotters, and hocks—all prime cuts for cooking."
Lu Mingtang thrust her sword into Prince Yong's chest. Blood splattered, a few drops landing just below her eyelids, striking yet eerie and perilous.
Can't handle this already?
In her past life, she had been subjected to dismemberment by five horses under Prince Yong's imperial decree. The agony of having her limbs torn apart—compared to that, this was nothing.
As the blade plunged deeper toward the heart, a sudden gust of wind struck from afar, slicing the longsword clean in two!
The residual force numbed Lu Mingtang's hand, sending her stumbling back two steps. She turned to see who had arrived.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. There is no need for you to dirty your hands with such trash."
The newcomer wore a faint, cunning smile, as slippery as an old fox—none other than Chancellor Wei, the powerful minister who held sway over the court.
The one who had severed the sword was Xu Hu, a top-tier expert at his side.
And trailing half a step behind Chancellor Wei on his left, clad in a blue robe, poised like the wind, handsome and dignified—was Jiang Chaosheng!