She Holds the World After Being Reborn
Chapter 131: As a human, one must accept fate.

Chapter 131: Chapter 131: As a human, one must accept fate.

"The heart of an emperor is unfathomable," Chai You’s voice was like a clap of thunder, exploding by Xiao Hongshen’s ear.

He suddenly slapped the armrest of the chair beneath him, "This hall cannot become someone else’s pawn, this hall no longer wishes to be a pawn!"

Xiao Hongshen’s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Chai You, and he reached forward to grab Chai You’s lapels.

"Since the gentleman has seen through everything, you must have a solution, please save this hall!" Xiao Hongshen said.

Chai You let out a long sigh, gesturing for Xiao Hongshen to loosen his grip, "Your Highness need not panic, now that the lowly one and Your Highness are tied together, it is a must to consider Your Highness’s future. Otherwise, why would I take such a risk today to speak such treasonous words before Your Highness?"

This assurance eased Xiao Hongshen’s mind a bit.

"Please impart your wisdom, Mr. Chai."

Chai You slowly said, "It’s time to discard the pawn, Yan An."

Xiao Hongshen had long regarded the foolhardy Yan An as an expendable piece, and he now agreed with Chai You’s assertion.

Seeing that he had no objection, Chai You continued.

"Right now, the greatest enemy of His Highness is not someone else, but—" Chai You pointed upward with his finger, hinting heavily, which by now was quite obvious.

Having gone through his recent analysis, Xiao Hongshen already had reservations about the Emperor’s recent actions; seeing Chai You point them out directly, he no longer pretended and revealed his ferocious side, "What do you mean, Mr. Chai?" He gestured across his throat.

Chai You nodded.

"The Emperor has sent the Crown Prince to the distant north, and now he has placed Your Highness amidst turmoil. The Emperor’s obsession with the art of immortality isn’t a matter of a day or two. If he truly finds a method, based on his current actions, the first to be dealt with will be—" Chai You stopped there, leaving his sentence unfinished.

"It will be this hall and his offspring," Xiao Hongshen said outright.

Chai You knelt on the ground immediately.

Xiao Hongshen laughed at himself mockingly.

"Immortality, ha ha ha..." He looked up to the sky and laughed, tears in his eyes, and when he lowered his head again, his eyes shone with a chilling light, "It’s simply a fool’s dream, where in the world has anyone ever heard of someone achieving immortality!"

"One must accept fate as a mortal, do what is proper at a certain age. If he hesitates, this hall will make the decision for him," Xiao Hongshen’s eyes were filled with fierce light.

Chai You prostrated with his hands on the ground, bowing respectfully, "I wish Your Highness success in your desires ahead of time."

Xiao Hongshen had made his decision, and with some strategies from Chai You, he was no longer in the panicked and disorderly state he was in before.

After the third summons from the palace, Xiao Hongshen followed the Palace Attendant into the palace.

By this time, Yan Wanqing’s hands and feet were all blistered; she was walking over burning hot coals. The eunuch, sympathizing with her, allowed her to wear shoes, but the coals burned through the soles instantly, scalding all the freshly wounded spots into blisters, a pain even worse than before!

If before it had only forced cold sweat from her, now Yan Wanqing involuntarily shed tears from the excruciating pain.

The pain was all she could think about.

The Palace Attendants couldn’t help but avert their eyes from her figure.

Yan Wanqing was like an army on her own, even if she fell onto the burning coals, she would stubbornly pick herself up and continue walking. By the time she had finished, she was in such pain she was barely human.

The eunuch hurriedly instructed the Palace Maids to extinguish the small flames that had caught on her dress.

At that moment, the weakened Yan Wanqing sat on the stair, looking at the mountain of knives and sea of flames before her, and smiled to herself.

"Commandery Princess, hurry and get treated, the Imperial Physician has been waiting for a long time," the eunuch said.

Yan Wanqing nodded; the Palace Maids helped her onto a soft palanquin and carried her away.

This was a privilege secretly ordered by the Empress. Others simply didn’t have this treatment.

Yan Wanqing was very clear about this in her mind.

Her wounds were bandaged, and she felt the searing, unbearable pain in both her hands and feet, her complexion even paler now.

The Imperial Physician looked at her face and couldn’t help but speak up, "Commandery Princess, your perseverance is truly divine. Few men in this world possess such endurance as you do, if only it’s a pity you were not born a man..."

"The Imperial Physician errs in his words," Yan Wanqing interrupted him. "Regardless of gender, one with purpose and determination in their heart can forge ahead unyieldingly. What the heart pursues has nothing to do with gender."

The Imperial Physician was stunned by her words, and it took him a while to regain his composure.

By this time, Yan Wanqing had been carried to the front of the hall.

There were just ten more steps to ascend, and Yan Wanqing had the Palace Attendants set her down, insisting on walking the final stretch by herself.

With every step she took, a piercing pain shot through her feet, and blood quickly seeped through the bandages, blooming into flowers of blood on the ground as she bit down on her teeth and stepped up the stairs, one after another.

It was but a trail of ten steps.

Yet, it seemed she had expended all her strength to traverse it.

The doors to the hall were already wide open, and everyone inside could clearly see her every action.

The Emperor watched expressionlessly as Yan Wanqing crossed the threshold and walked into the hall, then stood before him.

Behind him, Zhang Lanyi couldn’t help but feel her eyes grow warm. She had not expected this little wolf cub to go to such lengths.

"Princess Anping pays her respects to Your Majesty. Long live, long live the Emperor!"

Yan Wanqing bowed as a sign of respect.

She did not kneel.

Seeing her bow with hands clasped together and respectfully lowering her head, though her spine was bent, the Emperor could still feel the stubbornness and uprightness deep in her bones. Finally, he addressed her.

"You’ve beaten the Gong of Appeal, crossed the sword mountain and sea of flames, and now stand before Us. Princess Anping, a frail woman, how did you manage this?"

He had never imagined that she would actually endure the pain and make her way here.

"In response to Your Majesty, what Anping seeks is but justice," she replied.

The Emperor sighed softly, "Ah, justice." He gestured with his hand, "Bring the Seventh Prince here."

The Seventh Prince, Xiao Hongshen, entered from a side door. Seeing Yan Wanqing’s bloodied feet, he paused slightly, but quickly regained his composure.

"Now that everyone is present, let us resolve this matter," the Emperor said, looking at Xiao Hongshen. "You were the one who started this, Seventh Prince; you owe an explanation to Princess Anping and the Township Manor."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongshen immediately bowed to Yan Wanqing and said, "Indeed, this fault lies with me for my oversight and for being deceived by evildoers, leading to such a disheartening act against the loyal and righteous Township Manor. The fault is mine. I will accept the forfeiture of one year’s salary and self-impose banishment to Southern Fujian, hopeful for the Commandery Princess’s forgiveness."

The Emperor did not expect such a drastic change in the Seventh Prince’s attitude within just a few hours.

Thinking about the proposed banishment to Southern Fujian, the Emperor frowned.

Empress Zhang Lanyi hurriedly stepped forward to speak, "Oh, banishment to Southern Fujian is unnecessary. The Commandery Princess is a just person; as long as the instigators are dealt with by the law, and the prince learns his lesson from this matter, that would suffice."

Xiao Hongshen did not expect the Empress to speak in his defense.

Banishment to Southern Fujian was just a pretext.

The Emperor certainly would not allow it.

He still relied on him as the sharp blade to purge the court of corruption.

Yet, the fact that the Empress spoke up for him was completely unexpected to Xiao Hongshen.

Could it be that Zhang Lanyi was extending an olive branch to him?

A flicker of thought crossed through Xiao Hongshen’s eyes.

Was it about the future matter of the Empress’s accompaniment in burial after the Emperor’s death?

He concealed his inner emotions and knelt before the Emperor, "Your son acknowledges his grave mistake of a single thought. I beg for my father the Emperor’s and the Commandery Princess’s indulgence!"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.