Chapter 129: Expose

Wan Tang stood upright in the hall's center, the bruises on her neck glaring under the candlelight.

She raised her hand and pointed at Xu Chengyuan, her voice cold as frost: "General Xu, this is the imperial palace, not your camp!"

Xu Chengyuan roared angrily, "My conduct as a general is not for a lowly maid like you to meddle!"

Chu Yunzheng stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes deep as ink.

Though he said not a word, the temperature in the hall dropped sharply.

Xu Chengyuan's hand gripping the sword bulged with blue veins, yet he still did not dare to take another step.

Everyone in Jingren Palace knelt on the ground.

At this moment, neither Li Pin nor any palace maid dared to lift their heads.

Above their heads seemed to hang a cleaver.

"Enough." Xu Chengyuan's tone carried a hint of impatience: "For the Emperor's sake, I'll swallow this."

"But Emperor, my son is dead. Now I must take my wife back to send the white‑haired one to the black‑haired one!"

Xu Chengyuan spoke through clenched teeth.

In front of the Emperor, he did not address him as subject‑ruler, but called himself "old man" each time.

"Yanyer being pregnant is indeed important, but Mingde is dead!" his voice suddenly rose.

A resentful roar.

His gaze full of accusation, looking at Chu Yunzheng, he grabbed Wang Jingyi and was about to leave.

Chu Yunzheng's eyes were deep, his face gloomy.

"His son is dead; he's just going back to handle the funeral, how could there still be a reason to stay?"

Wan Tang's gaze wandered between the two sides; Wang Jingyi must not leave.

Wan Tang clenched her teeth hard and stepped forward.

"Stop!" Wan Tang suddenly raised her voice, "The Emperor hasn't spoken yet, and you want to leave?"

Xu Chengyuan spun sharply, murderous intent flaring in his eyes: "Get out!"

"Don't let them go," Wan Tang shouted at the guards.

The guards dared not advance.

Chu Yunzheng's gaze grew even colder.

Seeing this, Wan Tang shouted: "You are the Emperor's men!"

Two guards gritted their teeth and moved forward to block.

"Looking for death!"

A flash of cold steel, blood blossoms sprayed.

Two heads rolled onto the ground, blood spattered on Wan Tang's skirt, staining a glaring red patch.

"Ah!" Wan Tang covered her mouth and stepped back two steps, tears instantly flooding her eyes.

She trembled, pointing at the corpse on the ground, "This… this is the imperial palace…"

"You… you dare kill in front of the Emperor…"

Chu Yunzheng's eyes suddenly chilled, his hand under the dragon‑sleeve clenched into a fist: "Xu Chengyuan!"

Xu Chengyuan's face showed impatience, he let out a light hum and knelt on one knee: "I acted in a moment of fury, Your Majesty, forgive my crime!"

"After all, I, the old man, have just lost my son!"

"Someone still wants to interfere, repeatedly harassing the old man!"

"If this spreads, my blood‑soaked battle ending like this will chill the Hundred Thousand soldiers of Bei Mo!"

Wan Tang, eyes tear‑blurred, looked at Chu Yunzheng, her heart coldly mocking.

This fire finally ignited.

Xu Chengyuan did it well.

Only this way can make the Emperor even more furious, right?

【Xu Chengyuan actually dared to threaten the Emperor? In the original, at the end, Xu Chengyuan didn't rebel!】

【In the end, Xu Luoyan gave birth to a son, Xu Chengyuan only supported this child to ascend the throne.】

【Whether Xu Chengyuan rebelled is irrelevant; the point is that from the moment he drew his sword into the palace, Chu Yunzheng had already deemed him a rebel.】

【Already placed men behind, any move by Xu Chengyuan would be executed outright.】

【Frankly, the Dog Emperor was also waiting for a famous victory.】

Wan Tang felt a weight settle in her heart.

If Xu Chengyuan still commands the Hundred Thousand Army, his death now would leave the command in whose hands?

Xu Yenchuan is now a traitor, has no men, let alone any desire for military power.

Wan Tang glanced at Chu Yunzheng from the corner of her eye.

Heart pounding, cold sweat covering her back, Chu Yunzheng's scheming was deeper than she imagined; he was clearly deliberate.

Deliberately placed him in the palace, deliberately let a spy in.

Even… Wan Tang wondered, was the never‑meeting promise also intentional?

He had long guessed that Wan Tang would come to Jingren Palace, that an accident would occur?

Using Wan Tang as bait, to hook the big fish Xu Chengyuan, finally a perfect kill, raging for a beauty, for the Imperial Heir, Xu Chengyuan's death was justified?

Just thinking of it made Wan Tang dizzy.

She bit her tongue hard, forcing herself to stay calm.

The play must go on.

Xu Chengyuan must get angry.

Chu Yunzheng wants to use Wan Tang, then Wan Tang must pull out her heart and hand it to Chu Yunzheng.

In the world, there is no stone that cannot be heated, but there are hearts that cannot be warmed.

If that is so, Wan Tang only needs to prove that she is not a useless person!

Wan Tang suddenly fell to her knees, both hands protecting her abdomen.

Her voice choked but each word pierced the heart: "I truly cannot bear to see you trample the imperial authority!"

"Xu Chengyuan, do you still know that the person before you is your sovereign?"

Xu Chengyuan's pupils contracted sharply: "What nonsense are you spouting?!"

Chu Yunzheng's eyes suddenly turned cold.

"I, the concubine, will expose!" Wan Tang trembled, pointing at Xu Luoyan, "For ten years she has been burning a seductive fragrance in the Imperial Palace, using Forbidden Medicine on the Emperor!"

Her fingertip brushed Wang Jingyi, "And she is the one who delivered the medicine!"

"These years they have been operating in secret, plotting to harm the Emperor."

"Resulting in the Dragon Body being damaged."

The hall erupted in uproar.

Xu Luoyan's face turned deathly pale: "Scoundrel! You spew blood at people!"

Wang Jingyi screamed and lunged, "Framing! This is framing!"

Chu Yunzheng's eyes were deep, his thin lips barely moving: "Consort Wan, this matter is of great significance and must not be spoken of frivolously."

Wan Tang bowed heavily: "I, the concubine, am willing to stake my life! At this moment, within the Imperial Palace, they must still be hiding this fragrance!"

Chu Yunzheng gave a single glance, and Li Defu immediately led men to rush into the inner hall.

A moment later, returning with a case of dark‑red incense: "Your Majesty, we discovered this item under Xu Answering's pillow."

Chu Yunzheng crushed the incense between his fingertips and lightly sniffed it at the tip of his nose.

His expression instantly darkened like ink: "Xu Chengyuan, you truly are my good Subject."

"I entrusted you with a great responsibility, and this is how you repay me?" Chu Yunzheng's voice was full of lethal sternness.

Xu Chengyuan knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty, see clearly! It's merely a petty game of women vying for favor."

"Petty game?" Chu Yunzheng sneered, "Mutilating the Dragon Body is also a petty game?"

Xu Chengyuan arrogantly said: "Emperor, why must you look for excuses?"

"Yan Er is already a member of the royal family." Xu Chengyuan glanced at the Emperor: "One can only say the Emperor cannot even manage his own women."

The atmosphere suddenly dropped to the freezing point.

Wan Tang smiled inwardly; the one sent to die had arrived.

How could she not add another strike.

Wan Tang suddenly lifted her gaze: "What if this matter was ordered by Lord Xu?"

"And damaging the Dragon Body is merely a minor matter among them?"

Xu Chengyuan's eyes already burst with murderous intent.

Wan Tang, disregarding everything, turned her head and called lightly: "Sister Li Pin, don't you have something to say to the Emperor?"

Li Pin trembled all over, nearly fainting from fright.

But since Wan Tang had called her, Li Pin could only raise her head tremblingly.