“Master Li, even if you are the county magistrate’s father-in-law, there’s no need to speak so harshly. You call us useless, but aren’t you just as useless? You couldn’t even keep your own storehouse safe, yet you have the nerve to criticize us.”
The constable didn’t give Master Li any face at all. After saying that, he turned and left.
Although they were two ranks below the county magistrate, they were still government officials.
Without a legitimate reason, no one could simply punish them.
Master Li hadn’t expected the two of them to be so bold. They didn’t treat him, the county magistrate’s father-in-law, with the slightest respect.
These two were simply outrageous.
The steward and the servant standing nearby didn’t dare interrupt.
They could only lower their heads, shrink their necks, and stand there like quails.
Master Li trembled with rage. He pointed at the backs of the two constables, but couldn’t get a word out for quite a while.
…
After staying at the inn for two days, Shen Qingyao and Leng Xingchen went downstairs, planning to buy something to eat.
As soon as they came down, they heard the guests in the inn enthusiastically discussing something.
At first, Shen Qingyao didn’t pay any attention. She assumed it was just ordinary gossip and planned to buy some food first before returning to eat.
Or perhaps they would find a small tavern outside and have lunch there instead.
However, when she heard someone mention His Majesty and the Empress, her eyes flickered.
She had been heading toward the inn’s entrance, but immediately changed direction and decided to stay and listen.
Leng Xingchen asked no questions and quietly sat down beside her.
Seeing the two of them take seats, the waiter immediately came over.
“Guests, what would you like to order?”
Knowing his elder sister wasn’t likely to answer, Leng Xingchen smiled and said,
“The same as usual, brother waiter. Three dishes, one soup, two bowls of rice, and a pot of tea.”
That had been their standard meal over the past two days. As for the dishes themselves, they simply ate whatever the waiter brought them.
“Right away. Please wait a moment.”
The waiter turned and left.
At that moment, the conversation from the next table drifted over.
The people there had no intention of lowering their voices.
This matter had already spread throughout the Yunyang Kingdom. It was no longer any secret.
None of them were fools.
They all realized that since news about the previous emperor had spread so widely, the current emperor must have been behind it.
Because of that, they weren’t worried about being arrested or held accountable for talking about it.
“Have you heard? There’s a new emperor again. This time it’s the Late Emperor’s fourth son, Xiao Jingchen.”
A middle-aged man dressed in a blue brocade robe spoke in a booming voice.
“I’ve heard that much, but I don’t know exactly why. Brother Wang, do you know?” asked another middle-aged man wearing an emerald-green brocade robe.
“Heh, of course I know. And I know the whole story.”
The man in blue looked extremely smug.
“Really? Hurry up and tell us what happened.”
The man in green looked at him expectantly.
“I guarantee you won’t believe it. The previous emperor and empress were both disfigured. Tell me, can a disfigured person be emperor?”
The man in blue laughed.
“That’s true.”
A man in a black brocade robe shook his head.
An emperor couldn’t be disabled.
Being disfigured naturally counted as a disability.
“But how did the emperor become disfigured? Was it an accident, or did someone do it deliberately?” the man in green asked.
“It was deliberate, but I don’t know exactly how they were disfigured.”
The man in blue shrugged.
“But didn’t the previous emperor sit on the throne for less than a month?”
“More like half a month.”
“That short?”
“Still, he deserved it.”
“What happened? Do you know the inside story? Hurry and tell us.”
…
The middle-aged man in the blue robe vividly recounted everything Xiao Jingyu and Shen Shuyan had done.
Everyone listening was filled with righteous indignation.
How could such disgusting people have become the Emperor and Empress?
Was the Late Emperor blind?
“Now that I’ve heard what they did, it’s no wonder he was removed from the throne. He actually deceived that poor young woman’s feelings. What a scumbag.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
A man like that had no right to be emperor.
He deserved to be overthrown.
Although it was perfectly normal for men to have multiple wives and concubines, he had deceived a young woman for the sake of obtaining the throne.
At the very least, the position of Empress should have been given to her.
Even if she wasn’t beautiful, he had been the one who pursued her in the first place. As a man, he should have taken responsibility.
Instead, the previous emperor had deceived her, and in the end, he even joined forces with another woman to murder her.
He was truly despicable.
“Don’t just criticize the previous emperor. The previous empress was even worse. No matter what, that woman was her own elder sister. Not only did she steal her man and her position as empress, but she even killed her in the end. No wonder those two became husband and wife—they’re both rotten to the core.”
“Exactly… That husband and wife were both terrible people.”
In an instant, the entire inn was filled with people condemning Xiao Jingyu and Shen Shuyan.
…
Shen Qingyao quietly ate her meal without showing the slightest reaction to their conversation.
The scumbag man and the vicious woman had hurt the original owner of this body.
She herself had only been angry on the original owner’s behalf.
Now that she had already avenged the original owner, she considered it repayment for borrowing her body.
After finishing their meal, the two bought some daily necessities before setting off south once again.
…
“Imperial Brother, look at how miserable you are now. You’re nothing like you used to be. Back when you were emperor, weren’t you incredibly arrogant? You mocked me at every opportunity and even had me imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court. Yet now, not only have I come out, but I’ve become the new emperor. Doesn’t that make your heart ache?”
Xiao Jingchen’s face was full of mockery, and his words were merciless.
How true it was that the wheel of fortune always turned.
Heaven spared no one.
When Xiao Jingyu ascended the throne, he had been so glorious, so lofty and untouchable.
Now, he was just that miserable.
“You…” Xiao Jingyu’s face was wrapped in white bandages, and the only thing visible through the gauze was a pair of eyes filled with hatred.
He had never imagined that after calculating everything so carefully, he would end up like this.
How had things turned out this way?
Exactly when had his bad luck begun?
He thought back carefully and realized it seemed to have started after he ascended the throne and stripped Shen Qingyao of her position.
From then on, he had never had another good day.
On the night Shen Shuyan became Empress, the National Treasury was robbed. Not only that—even his Private Treasury had been emptied.
Even his mother, the Empress Dowager, and Shen Shuyan had been knocked unconscious and hung from the City Gate all night.
At first, Li Deli had tried every possible way to keep it from Xiao Jingyu.
But in the end, Xiao Jingyu overheard two young eunuchs discussing it and finally learned the truth.
He had thought it was already humiliating enough for the Emperor, the Empress, and the Empress Dowager to be hung from the City Gate.
Surely nothing worse could happen.
Who would have thought that afterward he would be disfigured and forced off the throne?
Everything seemed to have started the moment he deposed Shen Qingyao.
But she was only a woman.
He had merely stripped her of the title.
He simply hadn’t allowed her to become Empress.
How could that possibly have such enormous consequences?
Born with the Fate of the Phoenix.
Suddenly, those four words flashed through Xiao Jingyu’s mind.
Could it really be because he had deposed Shen Qingyao…
…and prevented her from becoming Empress…
…that his fate had changed so drastically?
But how could that be?
She was only a woman.
Even if the Abbot of Protectorate Temple had said Shen Qingyao was born with the Fate of the Phoenix, it couldn’t possibly be enough to ruin his life like this.
Xiao Jingyu refused to believe it.
He simply couldn’t accept it.
But if that wasn’t the reason…
Then how could everything be explained?
Seeing Xiao Jingyu fall silent, Xiao Jingchen twisted the knife with another mocking remark.
“Imperial Brother, don’t tell me you still haven’t figured out why you ended up like this?”
“What do you mean?” Xiao Jingyu suddenly raised his head, glaring at Xiao Jingchen with bloodshot eyes.
Seeing his reaction, Xiao Jingchen threw back his head and laughed.
“Hahaha…”
He laughed for quite a while before finally stopping.
Then he looked at Xiao Jingyu with exaggerated sympathy.
“My dear Imperial Brother, if you hadn’t deposed Shen Qingyao back then and had allowed her to become Empress, you would still be the lofty Emperor today. The National Treasury wouldn’t have been robbed, your face wouldn’t have been ruined, and no one would have been able to drag you off the throne.”
“What do you mean?” Xiao Jingyu glared at Xiao Jingchen, his fists clenched so tightly that his fingernails dug deep into his palms.
He couldn’t even feel the pain.
“My dear Imperial Brother, do you still not understand? Shen Qingyao was born with the Fate of the Phoenix. If you had crowned her Empress, you would still be the ruler of the Yunyang Kingdom today.”
“What a pity.”
“You failed to cherish her.”
“For the sake of one woman, you destroyed your own life.”
Xiao Jingchen turned to look at Shen Shuyan, who had been shrinking into the corner the entire time, and said mockingly,
“Oh, right… Your Majesty the Empress… no, that’s wrong. Third Sister-in-law, I’m sure you understand exactly what I mean.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What does it have to do with me?”
Shen Shuyan shrank back even farther, her eyes darting around in panic, looking extremely guilty.
“What do you mean?” Xiao Jingyu frowned, unable to understand Xiao Jingchen’s meaning.
Could Shen Shuyan have done something?
Impossible.
The woman he loved was generous, kind, and loved him deeply.
She could never betray him.
But seeing the guilty expression on Shen Shuyan’s face, he immediately realized she really might have hidden something from him.
He just didn’t know what it was.
He desperately tried to grasp the truth, but it always slipped away.
He fixed Shen Shuyan with a fierce glare, his voice as cold as ice.
“Shen Shuyan, what does he mean? What have you been hiding from me?”
Shen Shuyan was frightened by his expression.
She instinctively shrank farther into the corner, shaking her head over and over.
“No… I haven’t hidden anything from you.”
No!
No matter what, she couldn’t let Xiao Jingyu learn the truth.
If he found out…
She would die.
Seeing her panicked reaction, Xiao Jingyu knew for certain that she was hiding something.
“Speak!” he snarled through gritted teeth, glaring at her with venomous hatred. “If you don’t, I’ll strangle you.”
Shen Shuyan continued shaking her head, refusing to say another word no matter what.
Watching the two of them tear into each other like dogs fighting over a bone, Xiao Jingchen let out a chuckle.
His expression was almost charitable.
“Imperial Brother, since you want to know so badly, I’ll tell you.”
“But you’d better be prepared.”
“Don’t faint after you hear it.”
Xiao Jingyu turned toward him, fire burning in his eyes.
“Speak.”
“I suppose neither the Prime Minister nor the woman you love ever told you this.”
“The Abbot of Protectorate Temple once said that after you ascended the throne, if Shen Qingyao were ever deposed…”
“…you would meet a miserable end.”
“You would not only lose the throne…”
“…but spend the rest of your life in utter misery.”
After saying those words, Xiao Jingchen fixed his eyes on Xiao Jingyu.
He watched as disbelief first appeared in Xiao Jingyu’s eyes…
…only to be swallowed moments later by overwhelming rage.
Then Xiao Jingchen glanced at Shen Shuyan, who kept shrinking farther into the corner, staring over with terror in her eyes.
A cruel smile slowly spread across his lips.
He stood there quietly, waiting for the show to begin.