TVSS Chapter 40

Today’s situation has evolved into a grand scheme.

Yuan Beiyi was well aware of Su Jingxuan’s intentions when he approached him before leaving the palace to reveal Wei Zixuan’s background. However, he found himself falling into an obvious trap set by the other party.

His inability to tolerate the fact that his beloved person loved another man and the unbearable realization that the child in Wei Zixuan’s belly was not his own drove Yuan Beiyi to this desperate situation. Moreover, Crown Prince Gong, Chu Heng, had made his stance clear – he was here to support Nalan Yu.

Even the usually country-focused Crown Prince sided with Su Jingxuan, sealing Yuan Beiyi’s fate. Without Wei Yifeng, Yuan Beiyi might have had a fighting chance, but against two opponents, he was destined to fail.

“He’s just a defenseless kid; can’t you spare him?”

Su Jingxuan had complete control of the grand hall, wielding authority with a whip and threats that instilled fear, preventing any resistance. For the first time, Yuan Beiyi felt truly helpless.

“Spare him? Back then, Your Majesty, why didn’t you spare my Nalan family?”

Step by step, Su Jingxuan approached, standing in front of the emperor. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he grabbed the emperor by the throat, brought him to his knees, and kicked his shins, forcing him to kneel.

With a firm grip on the emperor’s throat, instead of crushing his head, Su Jingxuan pressed it to the ground and delivered a hard knock.

“The first knock is for my father, Prime Minister Nalan. Throughout his life, he dedicated himself to handling state affairs for you. In his old age, you sent him to disaster relief, and when the refugees rioted, everyone survived, but he died. Can you live with that on your conscience?”

Yuan Beiyi couldn’t utter a word; his throat moved, and his head was lifted before being forcefully knocked down again.

“This second knock is for my elder brother, General Nalan, and his soldiers. They faithfully went to the border, fought enemies, defended the country, and protected your kingdom. Yet, you allowed information to leak, resulting in the annihilation of the entire army. When we received the report of Nalan General’s death with a thousand arrows piercing his heart, have you ever feared their return, covered in blood, seeking justice?”

Yuan Beiyi still couldn’t speak; he closed his eyes, unwilling to face the truth. The courtiers in the hall turned their heads away in mourning.

His head was forcefully pressed down for the third resounding knock, and then raised again.

Opening his eyes, Yuan Beiyi’s throat choked, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the Nalan family.”

“You owe more than just these three knocks; this third one is for Nalan Fengchen.”

“Fengchen,” Yuan Beiyi’s throat moved again, uttering this name.

“Yes, do you still remember him, Your Majesty? Do you remember my second brother, whom you loved deeply and passionately until death?”

“Back then, for the throne, you schemed and tried every means to get close to him. You made my second brother fall in love with you, and you used the entire Nalan family for your own purposes.”

Su Jingxuan turned his head and glanced at Wei Zixuan, who showed no concern for the Emperor’s plight. He sneered.

“You love Wei Zixuan, indeed, you love him very much. Second Brother knew about your feelings, and he let you bring your beloved into the palace, appointed Wei Zixuan as the Royal Consort, and allowed you to have three thousand favored consorts in your harem. He endured countless hardships, enduring pain, just hoping that you could show him a little kindness.”

“Yuan Beiyi, even if you don’t love Second Brother in your heart, why be so cruel? He gave you everything. The Nalan family served you faithfully. But you didn’t even give him a false dream. You let him die with regrets in the palace without even seeing you for the last time. He wished so much that his Third Younger Brother would call him ‘Chener’ one more time, how innocent he was.”

Su Jingxuan’s voice was calm, without the desperate accusations, just a factual revelation.

Yuan Beiyi fell into silence, his fingers trembling. The person he felt most guilty towards was Fengchen. In these years, he dared not recall, dared not go to the Forbidden Palace. He feared seeing Fengchen’s soul hovering in front of him, asking him why.

He couldn’t answer; he couldn’t answer.

Watching his distressed expression, Su Jingxuan felt not a trace of sympathy.

So what if Yuan Beiyi loved Wei Zixuan? What if their relationship was twisted and deep?

These matters of the Nalan family, meddling in others’ affairs, causing harm in the name of love, were truly a big joke, a massive irony.

“This last knock is for Nalan Yü.”

“He was originally a noble son of a prestigious family, cared for by his father and elder brother. When he turned fifteen, he entered the palace because of your imperial edict. He put on that cold, emotionless royal consort attire, becoming.”

“Do you know what happened to him during that short year in the palace? It was you who ruined his life. Now, go down and join them. They’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Yuan Beiyi suddenly widened his eyes, and red blood slowly overflowed from his eyes and mouth. It was Su Jingxuan’s dagger that pierced his heart.

“Let him go.”

He grabbed Su Jingxuan’s wrist, still the person he had loved for a lifetime, the one he had wronged in front of the world. Until death, he still cared for him.

Su Jingxuan coldly shook him off.

Yuan Beiyi fell to the ground. Looking at Wei Zixuan with a worried and infatuated gaze, he murmured, “Zixuan.”

But unfortunately, Wei Zixuan still kept his head turned away, indifferent, because he hated him.

Yuan Beiyi laughed bitterly, his last breath stuck in his throat. The once great emperor ended up dying without closing his eyes.

Ignoring the now lifeless emperor, Su Jingxuan walked back to Wei Zixuan.

“A winner takes all. Kill, go ahead and kill.”

Wei Zixuan lifted his head and smiled lightly. His lover was dead, and what meaning was there in living? In two lifetimes, his fate was ultimately a tragedy.

“To kill you is to let you reunite with your lover in the afterlife. That is truly giving you a cheap way out.”

Wei Zixuan remained silent, appearing indifferent to whatever fate awaited him. After all, with his lover and enemy both gone, he didn’t care about his own fate.

Su Jingxuan stared at his indifferent demeanor and chuckled, gesturing for someone to bring something over.

It was a painting, a painting that revealed the owner’s meticulous care from the decorated box.

He placed it in Wei Zixuan’s hands. “This is a special gift I prepared for you, consider it a repayment for your favor in poisoning my Second Brother.”

Wei Zixuan’s expression changed slightly

, and his heartbeat slowed down.

Holding the painting without moving, Wei Zixuan’s face showed signs of change. Su Jingxuan coldly laughed and opened it for him.

The scroll unfolded before everyone, revealing a painting of a young man in red equestrian attire crouching by a mountain stream, tilting his head with a gentle smile. He was as beautiful as jade, captivating and charming.

“This painting, this painting…”

“It belongs to Yuan Beiyi. He painted it himself. I believe that, aside from him, only you know the person and the place depicted in this painting.”

The cruelest thing in the world is thinking you know all the truths, only to discover in the end that those truths were lies.

“The person you met initially was Yuan Beiyi, not Wei Yifeng. Wei’s family took you in only because of your identity as a descendant of the Jiang Liao royal family. If Wei Yifeng truly loved you, would he endure having his beloved by his side night and day, sharing moments with another man, being held beneath someone else in intimacy?”

“No, it’s not like that, it’s not,” Wei Zixuan refused to believe, throwing the painting away and shaking his head wildly in denial.

“Wei Zixuan, you loved the wrong person. Your tragedy is your own doing, not someone else’s fault, not the fault of the Nalan family. It’s your own foolishness. You mistook your beloved for someone else, thinking the entire world had wronged you. Truly, it’s the biggest joke in the world.”

“No, it’s not like that.”

Wei Zixuan vehemently denied. It couldn’t be true.

The person he met that year was his brother, not Yuan Beiyi, not him.

His tragedy was caused by the Nalan family, by the old and conservative minister Nalan Feng, who repeatedly advised the emperor.

In his past life, he was harmed in the harem by Nalan Feng. It was Nalan Feng, pretending to be a good person, who envied him and harmed him.

The one leading the troops to besiege and kill his brother was General Nalan. It was them, they were the ones responsible.

It wasn’t him, it wasn’t him. He didn’t love the wrong person, he didn’t.

But why would the emperor know about the places depicted in that painting? Why?

Wei Zixuan couldn’t hold back his tears.

He didn’t want to believe in such facts, refused to admit that he had loved the wrong person, and couldn’t accept that the person he hated was the one he truly loved.

Su Jingxuan no longer looked at him, turning around and surveying the courtiers in the hall, speaking loudly.

“The rebels are causing chaos, the emperor has passed away, leaving a posthumous edict to appoint Prince Cong Yuan as the successor. As the new emperor is young, Prince Cong Yuan will temporarily stay in the capital as the regent. The Wei Noble Consort colluded with the rebels, and in the emperor’s benevolence, her life is spared, but she will be confined to the cold palace.”

The icy and sharp voice resonated in the ears of the courtiers, and they shuddered, bowing and kneeling.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Haodi of Great Yong, the Wei family rebels rose in rebellion, infiltrating the imperial palace. Fortunately, Prince Cong Yuan arrived with troops in time, quelling the rebellion.

However, Emperor Haodi died amid the chaos caused by the rebellion, leaving a secret decree and a posthumous edict, passing the throne to the third prince, Prince Cong Yuan. Prince Gong, assisted by the regency, would stabilize the situation.

After the emperor’s death, Wei Zixuan went mad. With the third prince ascending to the throne, the Nalan family became the new imperial relatives, enjoying the protection of the new emperor. With this, the Nalan family would likely enjoy a worry-free existence for the next century. Su Jingxuan breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t mind facing manipulations and conflicts, but engaging in constant struggles was too tiring. He preferred a more relaxed life.

He felt no sympathy for the emperor and the protagonist, considering their fate was a result of their own actions. The tragedy that befell the protagonist due to mistakenly loving the wrong person was pitiful, and the emperor’s deep affection was moving, but Su Jingxuan had no interest in other people’s affairs.

The truly innocent and pitiable ones were the Nalan family and the soldiers who died unjustly.

Despite the child having matured mentally, Su Jingxuan, due to the intricate political landscape, decided not to leave the imperial palace for the time being. The Nalan family had sacrificed their all for Great Yong, and they wouldn’t want to see it divided.

Su Jingxuan efficiently handled political matters, but most of the time, he just reviewed suggestions. The real work was still managed by the child. With Crown Prince Yuan and Crown Prince Consort Chu Heng suppressing the courtiers, the situation became more stable.

After five years, the child was already capable of handling things on his own, whether it was political affairs or handling military situations on the borders. However, the child had one flaw—he was stubborn. The brainwashing by the old eunuch was too successful, and there was a knot in the child’s heart.

No matter how Su Jingxuan explained, the child still believed he had sacrificed too much. After gaining power, he repeatedly expressed that Su Jingxuan didn’t need to endure humiliation anymore, and he shouldn’t sacrifice himself further. This troubled the child.

Helpless, Su Jingxuan consoled him and left a letter that night. He quietly left the palace and, together with Chu Heng, headed to the northwest. From then on, he sent letters to the child on festive occasions.

Since the child was now capable of handling everything, there was no need for Su Jingxuan to stay in the palace. It was better to avoid the child overthinking things.

The old eunuch also stayed in the palace. Carrying two people skilled in imagination was just too terrifying.