Chapter 450: Regicide

Some words were simply more effective when spoken by someone else.

Like now.

Before countless watching eyes, the Princess first threw herself into Zheng Fan’s arms of her own accord, then personally announced him to everyone in the most high-profile manner possible.

She had not been abducted. She was not being coerced. She had simply decided that Count Pingye was her man.

And she was not ashamed to say it.

Since she had chosen this man, she was willing to raise his name with her own voice.

There were more romantic tales and opera scripts beneath Heaven than anyone could count.

Some told of lovers who yearned for one another but could never be together.

Some told of two people holding hands and growing old side by side.

Some began with years of hardship before finally reaching fulfillment.

Stories rooted in love and affection had always been the sort of thing people could chew over endlessly after meals and tea.

Among them, the most common were tales where some penniless scholar caught the eye of a great household’s young lady.

Stories built on that outline were also usually the most famous. Several of the great classics were practically mandatory pieces on every opera stage.

And the reason stories about a sparrow leaping onto a branch and becoming a phoenix were so beloved among the common people was very simple.

Because the people listening to those stories were mostly sparrows.

And now, Count Zheng had entered Chu alone and, on the very day of a royal wedding, before a crowd of Great Chu nobles, made a Princess of Chu publicly declare that in this life, she recognized only Zheng Fan as her man.

There was no need to adapt it.

No need to embellish it.

There was not even any need to test the singers’ voices or actors’ skill.

No.

You did not even need actors or a stage.

The bare facts alone were enough to make any audience’s blood boil.

Born from the grass roots, ennobled as a Count through military merit.

Still young, yet already carrying dazzling achievements.

Favored by the Emperor, supported by the Marquis of Jingnan.

Entering Chu alone, only for a Princess to cast herself into his arms.

From character setup to life experience, it was nearly perfect.

From this day onward, Count Pingye’s prestige could truly be called the greatest among the younger generation.

Prestige was invisible and intangible, but that absolutely did not mean it was useless.

Its value depended on whose hands it fell into.

Placed upon Zheng Fan, it was the fusion of two already-powerful forces.

Tian Wujing had already made his intention to support Zheng Fan unmistakably clear.

At court, Little Sixth supported him as well.

Count Zheng did not lack water being poured into his barrel from outside.

What he lacked was height in the barrel staves themselves.

Once his prestige rose high enough, all that incoming water could naturally be held.

No one would need to worry about people refusing to submit, or whispering that his virtue was unworthy of his position.

If he took something used something claimed something outsiders would have nothing to say.

They might even feel it was only natural.

Perhaps a few years from now, Great Yan itself would begin circulating a saying:

**If Count Pingye does not emerge, what shall become of the common people?**

So what had he truly stolen today?

A Princess?

No.

He had clearly stolen a staircase of blue clouds leading upward into the heavens.

Qu Peiluo tilted his head.

He still could not understand what he was seeing.

No.

More accurately he did not dare understand.

Mr. Su Mingzhe how had he suddenly become Count Pingye of Yan?

The literary guest who had promised to compose a poem for his wedding how had that man ended up holding his fiancée in his arms?

He had actually lived inside the inner courtyard for so many days!

And Qu Peiluo himself had spent all that time smiling, chatting, flattering, and exchanging pleasantries with him!

Earlier he had even personally handed the man an entire box of gold as a wedding red packet!

And and and and this man was also... the enemy who killed his father!

During the war against Dacheng, the Marquis of Jingnan’s great victory over the main Savage force beside the Wang River had unquestionably been the foremost achievement.

The second greatest achievement had been Count Zheng’s thousand-li surprise raid on Snow Sea Pass.

And beyond that the order to massacre the surrendered prisoners had come from Zheng Fan himself, even though anyone with clear eyes understood whose intention had truly stood behind that order.

But to Qu Peiluo, what difference did that make?

One man had thrown down the command token ordering the executions.

The other had personally wielded the blade that cut off his father’s head.

Both deserved hatred.

And the hatred was perfectly clear.

At that moment, Count Zheng lowered his head and looked at the Princess in his arms.

He was extremely satisfied with Xiong Liqing’s performance today.

For a man like Count Zheng, falling in love at first sight was genuinely difficult now.

Even if lust stirred at the sight of beauty, with his present position and status, no shortage of women were willing to offer themselves to his bed.

But he appreciated the attitude the Princess was showing him now.

Whether man or woman, whether a man stepping across several boats or a woman raising a whole school of eager admirers the one who was favored always had the confidence to act without fear.

And that feeling was deeply satisfying.

Fortunately, Count Zheng had always believed in one principle:

If another person showed him one foot of respect, he would return ten.

He could be ruthless and vicious.

That was true.

But he still possessed a bottom line.

Otherwise, the game stopped being interesting.

It became crude.

Low-level.

Inferior.

That was Count Zheng’s sense of aesthetics.

And it was also the shared aesthetic of the Demon Kings.

That was why, for Sha Tuo Queshi, Count Zheng had been willing to let a Commandery Princess suddenly “die” inside his own Snow Sea Pass.

That was why, on the night the Marquis of Jingnan’s hair turned white, Count Zheng had ridden beside him with his heart already prepared to follow Tian Wujing into a “Jingnan Campaign” of rebellion if that was where the Marquis chose to go.

Inside the traveling pavilion, Siniang—having removed her eunuch disguise—opened a chest that should originally have been used to store fresh bedding.

A’Ming lay inside.

At this moment, A’Ming wore a white brocade robe.

And the face on his head was the Regent’s.

“Stuffy?” Siniang asked.

“I’m used to it,” A’Ming replied.

“True. Whenever you have nothing else to do, you like sleeping in coffins anyway.”

Siniang carefully helped A’Ming out.

She could not afford to disturb the makeup.

Once he stood, she inspected his clothes as well.

Satisfied, she nodded.

“Should be close enough.”

A’Ming looked perfectly calm.

He joked:

“That Princess has really broadened her road.”

“That makes things interesting, doesn’t it?” Siniang said without concern. “A clever Princess is easier to train. Whether speaking or acting, she can keep up with the rhythm. If she were genuinely stupid, that would be boring instead.

“You lot have brought women back to the residence before. Plump, slender, every sort.

“But which of them did Master ever truly take a fancy to?

“A vase with nothing but a pretty face and no distinguishing flavor is like Lizhuang sliced pork.

“The first sight makes you curious.

“You taste one slice and realize that’s all it is.

“Eat several more and you’re already tired of it.”

“As long as you’re happy.”

A’Ming was not worried about Siniang competing for favor.

If Siniang’s methods and ability were such that anyone still needed to worry about her losing a contest for affection, then the title Demon King would have been wasted on her.

“When we go out there, pay attention to your bearing,” Siniang said. “We rehearsed everything last night.”

“I know.”

Siniang nodded.

“True. When it comes to bearing, vampires have always had that part nailed down. You don’t even need to act. Just be yourself.”

Zhao Cheng stood nearby looking at A’Ming.

His eyes were filled with wonder.

The effect of this disguise technique had genuinely astonished him.

That was because Siniang’s disguise art was not limited to changing a face.

She adjusted the entire body from head to toe, pursuing authenticity wherever possible.

A’Ming looked toward Zhao Cheng.

Then said:

“Raise the blade for Us.”

Zhao Cheng shuddered violently.

He knew perfectly well the Regent before him was fake.

Yet when A’Ming spoke, Zhao Cheng still could not stop his calves from trembling.

Siniang shook her head.

“I’ll do it.”

She drew a saber and placed it against A’Ming’s neck.

A’Ming shifted his head slightly.

“Press the spine of the blade a little lower. It’s cold.”

“You’re afraid of cold?”

Ordinarily, when A’Ming was not sleeping in a coffin he slept inside an ice cellar.

“There’s rouge on my neck. If the blade presses into it, the paste feels greasy. Uncomfortable.”

“Oh.”

Siniang adjusted the position.

“How about now?”

“Fine.”

“In that case, Your Majesty the Regent, may we go outside and rescue the situation now?

“If we delay much longer, I’m genuinely afraid Master will get shot to death by a cloud of arrows.”

A’Ming swept one sleeve.

Then declared:

“Set forth.”

...

Outside the traveling pavilion, the black mass of Great Chu nobles finally recovered from their initial shock.

The scene before them was absurd beyond measure.

But it had genuinely happened.

Azure Luan soldiers immediately began converging toward the pavilion.

At the same time, household retainers and servants of the various clans answered their masters’ calls and surged in from every direction.

Today, after all, was the Princess’s wedding day.

Truthfully, security around the outer rings of the imperial villa had been extremely strict.

Beyond that, several military detachments had been stationed along the route from the imperial villa to Ju’an City, ready to support one another.

The problem was the incident had broken out right here.

At this exact moment, the real Azure Luan troops and private military forces stationed farther outside could not possibly be summoned back in an instant.

Most of the Azure Luan soldiers and Imperial Clan Guards positioned here had been serving as ceremonial honor guards.

And most of the Chu nobles around them had brought book boys, handsome attendants, and similar servants.

The guards genuinely responsible for their safety were not even allowed this deep inside.

They had all been left in the outer areas.

Then came dozens of voices shouting and issuing different orders at once, while panicked nobles hurried backward around the traveling pavilion.

In an instant the entire area dissolved into chaos.

One Azure Luan formation did charge over first.

But the men in their hands carried ceremonial implements.

The objects looked golden and magnificent.

In reality, they were useless in battle.

More importantly, these soldiers were not a true field formation.

For the sake of visual uniformity today, men of suitable height and build had been deliberately selected and dressed in the finest armor.

More than half were even Qu Clan youths who had pushed themselves into the formation simply to show off and see the grand occasion.

So this force of roughly a hundred men looked bright-armored and imposing.

Their courage was admirable too.

But before they could even climb onto the pavilion platform the Snow Sea Pass armored soldiers loosed one concentrated volley.

The front ranks fell in a heap.

Then the Yan soldiers charged.

The ceremonial formation collapsed almost instantly.

Jin Shuke was personally commanding from within the line.

The moment he saw the enemy break, he raised a hand.

His men immediately halted the pursuit, withdrew, re-formed, and returned to the pavilion to maintain support.

Several more groups advanced.

Among them were the hundred-plus white-horse retainers who had previously served as the groom’s escort.

But fewer than two hundred Snow Sea Pass veterans, commanded by Jin Shuke, launched one disciplined assault after another and shattered them group by group.

This was the difference between trained troops who had genuinely fought wars and a disorganized crowd.

The gap was enormous.

That was also one of the reasons Siniang and Xue San had ultimately chosen to launch the operation here.

The first reason was obvious: with so many Chu nobles watching, the effect would be spectacular.

The second was that this place, while appearing the most dangerous actually possessed the most ornamental defenses.

The Yan people had personally experienced the true battlefield elite of the Azure Luan Army.

On foot, their formation discipline and coordination were formidable.

If they had been facing that kind of unit here, even Jin Shuke would have found it extremely difficult to resist.

One proper push might have driven the Yan soldiers straight back onto the pavilion, reducing everything to a final bloody melee.

But after several rounds of fighting, as the Chu nobles retreated farther and farther and armed guards and soldiers continued moving forward, the surrounding enemy began to develop an overwhelming advantage in sheer numbers.

Several powerful clan retainers and experts also appeared.

By now Jin Shuke no longer dared lead another charge.

He simply held formation in confrontation.

The Chu side did not immediately take advantage of the restored order to surround and annihilate the Yan troops for several reasons.

First the Princess was still on the pavilion.

No matter what the Princess had said or done earlier she remained a Princess.

Second many people desperately wanted to believe the Princess had been coerced.

Otherwise, their understanding of the world would genuinely collapse.

How could a Princess of their own Great Chu do something like this?

And voluntarily?

Third the groom himself, Qu Peiluo, who had originally climbed the pavilion to receive the decree, was still kneeling there.

He had not come down.

Nor did he appear to intend to.

Even though Yan armored soldiers stood only several yards away he did not move.

This was not because the groom had been so thoroughly broken by the shock that he lost his mind.

The problem was the three bowls of wine he had drunk outside the sleeping hall at the beginning of the wedding procession.

Eunuch Zhao had drugged them in advance.

Unfortunately, because it was the first time Eunuch Zhao had ever poisoned anyone, his dosage calculations were somewhat inaccurate.

So the effect on Qu Peiluo had not activated at exactly the intended moment.

Fortunately, rage attacking his heart accelerated the poison.

At last, it fully took hold.

Qu Peiluo was not refusing to move.

His entire body had become limp and weak.

Even if he desperately wanted to move he could not.

At that moment, the curtains opened once more.

The “Regent” walked out with a woman holding a blade against his neck.

At the same time—

Eunuch Zhao ran out behind them.

He too carried a weapon.

Only his was a short dagger.

Curiously enough, Eunuch Zhao had not dared put a blade against the obviously fake Regent.

Yet toward the genuine legitimate eldest son of the Qu Clan, murderous ferocity immediately appeared on his face.

He did possess some strength.

Castrating himself had weakened him for a time, but over these days he had eaten well, drank well, and been nourished by good medicine.

His body had largely recovered.

Zhao Cheng grabbed Qu Peiluo by the collar and hauled the man—now limp as mud—upright.

He pressed the dagger across Qu Peiluo’s neck.

Then shouted with a voice that had not yet fully sharpened into a eunuch’s pitch:

“Who dares come closer?

“Who dares come closer, I’ll kill him!

“I’ll kill him!”

Eunuch Zhao was still nervous.

Less than a month earlier, he had only been the head of a gang of beggar children in Xiayong City.

Now he was holding one of Great Chu’s most exalted young nobles hostage.

His entire person had entered an abnormal state of excitement.

And so he stole the line.

Any idiot could understand that once the “Regent” appeared as a hostage—

Qu Peiluo was no longer that important.

Fortunately, Eunuch Zhao’s excitement was his own problem.

Below, once the great Chu nobles had weathered their initial panic and escaped the innermost ring behind the protection of their guards, they rapidly regained calm.

Many of them had seen the Regent before.

Several cried out instantly:

“Fourth Highness?”

“Your Highness?”

Qu Yinglun’s hands and feet went cold.

Damn it.

How was this possible?

How could the Regent have fallen into their hands?

Many of the nobles present already knew that the Regent had visited the imperial villa to see his younger sister off before her marriage.

So when they saw the Regent standing on the pavilion their first instinct was to believe it.

That was perfectly normal.

They knew he was here.

He had not appeared today.

Now he was being held hostage on the pavilion.

Then surely it had to be him.

The nobles immediately began shouting for their household guards to pull back.

The powerful experts and retainers were ordered backward as well.

Nobody could shoulder the responsibility for harming the Regent.

More accurately nobody dared openly do such a thing.

Even Qu Yinglun immediately roared at the surrounding Azure Luan soldiers not to move.

The result was that the Chu soldiers, guards, and clan experts who had only just recovered from the earlier chaos were thrown into disorder all over again.

At that moment, the “Regent” shouted:

“What are you waiting for?

“Do not concern yourselves with Us!

“Charge!

“Kill every last one of these Yan dogs!”

Even with a blade pressed to his neck the Regent remained standing perfectly straight.

His voice carried the authority and majesty of a man accustomed to absolute power.

“What are you still waiting for?

“Do you intend to defy an imperial command?!”

Two furious roars.

Combined with the Regent’s words.

And instantly, the surrounding Chu nobles became even more convinced this was the Regent!

Exactly.

Only the Regent could dare speak like this in such a situation.

Only the Fourth Prince who had emerged victorious from the struggle among the imperial sons could display this kind of bearing.

But at this moment nobody dared obey.

Beyond the crowd, dust was already rising.

The true Azure Luan troops and other military detachments from the outer defenses had probably heard the disturbance and were racing inward.

But here nobody dared order their household guards to attack.

Not even Qu Yinglun.

For the Qu Clan if Qu Peiluo died, then he died.

If he died openly today, perhaps those two uncles from collateral branches might even gain a chance to inherit the main household.

But if the Regent died because Qu Yinglun ordered Azure Luan troops to attack then the Qu Clan’s guilt would become monstrous.

Even if the Regent’s death threw the central government into chaos the Qu Clan would inevitably become the target upon which the Imperial Clan Guards and every other Chu great noble house vented their fury.

“What are you waiting for?

“We order you!

“Charge up here!

“Kill every one of these Yan dogs for Us!”

The Princess in Count Zheng’s arms looked toward the “imperial brother.”

Then whispered:

“He really does look like him.”

If even the Princess said the resemblance was convincing then naturally it was convincing.

Count Zheng released the Princess.

Then slowly walked toward the “Regent.”

“Yan dog!

“You think taking Us hostage means you can escape Great Chu?

“Dream on!

“Dream on!”

A’Ming’s acting was genuinely impeccable.

Especially the pride expression and posture belonging to a true man at the top.

He displayed all of it perfectly.

Count Zheng continued walking.

When he passed Eunuch Zhao holding Qu Peiluo hostage he reached out.

Very easily took the dagger from Zhao Cheng’s faintly trembling hand.

And without the slightest hesitation stabbed it directly into the Regent’s chest.

**Pfft!**

The blade pierced flesh.

It entered the Regent’s chest.

The Regent’s body jolted.

He stared down at his own chest in disbelief.

His entire body swayed.

But he did not fall.

He forced himself to remain standing.

That decisiveness.

That clean brutality.

That complete lack of speech before directly driving a blade into an “Emperor” was simply too horrifying.

For a moment the black mass of Chu guards and nobles surrounding the pavilion fell completely silent.

Count Zheng stood in full armor.

His gaze swept across everyone around the platform.

Then he roared:

“Anyone who dares take one more step—

**this Count will commit regicide on the spot!**”

————

[End of Chapter 450]