Chapter 108: The Marquis of Le'an is torn apart by five horses!

The general hurried over, saw that Xiao Qidi was fine, and quietly let out a breath of relief.

At this moment, Jiang Peihuan, who had collapsed on the ground like a living corpse, suddenly had a glint appear in her eyes.

She struggled to her feet, staggered over, and hoarsely said, "General…… that's not an assassin…… it's…… it's your Majesty…… he is my son…… Xiao Qidi……"

She didn't need to ask the Marquis of Le'an to know; it must be that the Marquis of Le'an's strategist used a forged edict.

Back then, for the Marquis of Le'an, she spared no effort to help him steal a bolt of silk reserved for imperial edicts from the palace, and by trickery obtained the Xuan King Jade Seal kept by the Prime Minister to stamp it, and she also added her own Empress Dowager Jade Seal imprint.

Since the Shuncheng Army was originally the local garrison, not transferred elsewhere, no tiger tally was needed; a forged edict made from a blank edict sufficed to trick the Shuncheng Army into coming under the pretense of protecting the Empress Dowager and the marquis.

But the Shuncheng Army certainly did not know the edict was fake.

Therefore, the only way to save Xiao Qidi now is for her to step forward and tell the Shuncheng Army the truth.

"Empress Dowager!" the Marquis of Le'an hurried over, deliberately shouting loudly to drown out Jiang Peihuan's already hoarse weak voice, "The Empress Dowager was frightened; I will first take you to rest, and I will handle everything here!"

Jiang Peihuan wanted to struggle, but she was already exhausted.

The Marquis of Le'an lowered his voice, "Don't ruin my plans again! Otherwise don't blame me for forgetting our past affection!"

After saying that, he quietly struck her on the back of the neck with a palm, then summoned his subordinates to take her to the main hall.

After dealing with this sudden minor incident, the Marquis of Le'an glanced at Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi stood among the Marquis of Le'an's retainers who surrounded him, appearing unusually calm, his eyes fixed on the commander who had led the troops here.

He had already recognized from the voice that the commander was none other than Li Yao.

But the Marquis of Le'an had no idea.

He merely thought Xiao Qidi had been frightened into stupidity and had already given up resistance.

The Marquis of Le'an did not want to waste time, lest further complications arise, so he quickly returned to the Shuncheng Army commander and said, "General, the assassin seems to have given up resistance; I will order his execution, but if the assassin should still struggle in his dying moments, I hope you will send troops to assist me."

"Marquis, don't rush; why not first listen to the edict?" Li Yao, wearing the armor of a Shuncheng Army commander, immediately took out the edict from his waist.

The Marquis of Le'an was puzzled, "What edict is this now?"

Li Yao laughed and said, "It is precisely the edict bearing the Xuan King Jade Seal and the Empress Dowager Jade Seal."

"Oh……" the Marquis of Le'an also smiled, "Could there be something wrong with the edict?"

Li Yao unfolded the edict and loudly proclaimed, "In Shun Palace, the Marquis of Le'an intends to assassinate the sovereign and rebel; the Shuncheng Army shall immediately obey General Li Yao's orders and enter the palace to guard the emperor!"

The Marquis of Le'an exclaimed in shock, "How could this be?!"

Li Yao said, "It bears the Xuan King seal and the Empress Dowager seal; how could it be impossible? Otherwise, what did you think I brought troops here for?"

The Marquis of Le'an's mind went blank.

"No……"

"It should have been an edict ordering the Shuncheng Army to protect him and the Empress Dowager and to execute the assassin."

"How did it become like this?!"

"Wait……" the Marquis of Le'an clutched his head, gnashing his teeth, "Among the Shuncheng Army, where is there any general named Li Yao? I've never heard of him!"

"Marquis," Li Yao put down the edict, gave a grin, "I am Li Yao, an obscure minor general from the frontier; you naturally haven't heard of me, but the edict orders me to lead the Shuncheng Army to guard the emperor, so I can only obey."

The Marquis of Le'an stood there stunned.

Li Yao shook the reins, spurred his horse, and rapidly charged toward the encirclement.

Behind him, several hundred Shuncheng Army soldiers followed closely.

The group of the Marquis of Le'an's retainers surrounding Xiao Qidi, not yet reacting, were knocked open a gap.

Li Yao leapt off his horse, dropped to one knee, clasped his fists, and said, "Your Majesty! This subordinate arrived late; please forgive me!"

Xiao Qidi slowly exhaled a turbid breath, his voice finally showing fatigue, "These people…… just leave them to you to deal with."

"Yes!" Li Yao rose, gave a cold glance around, and loudly ordered, "Kill them all!"

"Clatter——"

Instantly, half of the retainers dropped their weapons in fright, knelt on the ground, and begged for mercy.

The other half turned and fled, hoping to escape.

However, besides these several hundred Shuncheng Army soldiers who had just arrived, outside the main hall there were nearly ten thousand troops, already surrounding the hall in three layers inside and three outside, filling the entire Shun Palace.

These retainers originally numbered over three thousand, and Xiao Qidi had killed or wounded nearly three hundred of them.

The remainder, though still over two thousand, had no ability to resist before the nearly ten thousand Shuncheng Army soldiers.

For a time, shrieks echoed throughout Shun Palace and blood flowed like rivers.

Xiao Qidi sat quietly on the steps before the main hall, expressionless, watching the hellish scene before him.

Gradually, the cries grew fewer, and the smell of blood grew stronger……

In the end, all those brought by the Marquis of Le'an were killed.

Li Yao grabbed the Marquis of Le'an, whose spirit had already scattered, threw him down the steps, and reported, "Your Majesty, only he remains; how shall we dispose of him?"

Xiao Qidi came to his senses, pressed his thin lips together, and stared at the Marquis of Le'an kneeling on the ground.

"Your Majesty…… your Majesty, spare my life…… spare my life!" the Marquis of Le'an, terrified to the extreme, trembled all over.

"Spare your life?" Xiao Qidi's gaze was terrifyingly cold, "Do you still have the gall to say those two words?"

The Marquis of Le'an kowtowed desperately, his whole face bloody from the impacts, "I was wrong, I truly was wrong! I will never dare again! I am still useful…… from now on I…… I, I will lay my liver and brains at your feet for Your Majesty! I only beg Your Majesty to give me one chance!"

At that moment, Xiao Qidi heard a rustling sound behind him.

He turned his head to look.

The Empress Dowager struggled to crawl to the threshold of the main hall.

Xiao Qidi quickly withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at her.

"Your Majesty……" Jiang Peihuan said weakly, "I…… I want…… to see him one last time."

Xiao Qidi did not respond.

Li Yao hesitated for a moment, intending to go over to support the Empress Dowager, but Xiao Qidi stopped him with a glance.

Jiang Peihuan struggled to crawl over the threshold; the once dignified and glorious Empress Dowager of Xuan Guo was now in a miserable, wretched state, and Li Yao silently turned away.

"Empress Dowager... Empress Dowager!" Lao An discovered Jiang Peihuan approaching, and a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.

Jiang Peihuan half-crawled, half-rolled down the steps, reached Lao An's front, and with great effort managed to prop herself up.

"Save me... save me..." Lao An pleaded in a low voice.

Jiang Peihuan's mouth twisted into a bitter smile: "Save you? I can barely protect myself... how could I save you..."

Lao An grabbed her hand, "Peihuan, you are His Majesty's birth mother; no matter what, he would never strike you with a fatal blow— the name of matricide is too heavy for anyone to bear, especially for a ruler of a state; he would not kill you... Moreover, moreover, many high officials in court look to you for guidance; if you intercede for me, he will surely give face..."

Jiang Peihuan's eyes were empty, gazing at Lao An's hopeful look, her lips slightly parted: "Lao An, forget it... we both deserve our sins; don't struggle anymore."

Her attitude of having given up everything made Lao An anxious as if on fire.

"Peihuan... I beg you... please help me again," Lao An said hurriedly, "I don't want to die; I haven't had enough life— just for the sake of our past affection, could you save me once?"

"Don't you forget how happy you were during all those years we were together?"

"You once said, whether it was Si Tu Wei or the former king, nobody ever truly treated you with sincerity; you only found love with me—I... I am the only one in this world who gave you happiness, the only one who truly loves you."

These words stirred Jiang Peihuan's memories.

Those days, in her bitter life, were indeed the sweetest.

Perhaps because she had suffered too much before, once she tasted a bit of sweetness, she could not extricate herself and sank deeper.

Even though she gradually realized it was merely a poison that induced sweet dreams, she drank it as if it were sweet nectar.

By now... the poison has taken effect, and the dream ought to wake.

She raised her hand and lightly touched Lao An's cheek: "Enough, you need not deceive me further. Perhaps at first you truly had sincerity toward me, but in the end... you only love yourself. For your own sake, you could sacrifice our children, and also sacrifice me, right?"

"Peihuan, I'm sorry, I... I..." Lao An wept bitterly, "I only killed our children and pressed on to eliminate Xiao Qidi despite your life-or-death ultimatum because Xiao Qidi duped me, but I truly love you!"

Jiang Peihuan originally thought that even if her past happiness was a false dream woven by Lao An, it was still the happiest time of her life; considering this affection, she intended to advise Lao An not to keep trying to beg for mercy from Xiao Qidi.

If he could frankly admit his guilt and atone with death, he might still keep a whole corpse; but the more he begged for mercy, the more miserable his death would be.

But seeing him now, with all his excuses and shifting blame, a pitiful and base demeanor, her heart turned completely to ashes.

Such a man...

He doesn't even deserve to leave an intact corpse.

"Lao An..." Jiang Peihuan forced a smile, "Since you want me to intercede for you, I will do as you wish."

Lao An thought he had seized a lifeline, and exclaimed excitedly, "Good... go speak quickly; as long as I can stay alive, I'll agree to any condition!"

Jiang Peihuan slowly rose, walked to the foot of the steps, and kowtowed to Xiao Qidi: "Your Majesty, please consider Lao An's years of care and consideration for me, and our long-standing affection, and spare his life."

Lao An secretly breathed a sigh of relief; at least the Empress Dowager had stepped forward to intercede— no matter how severe the eventual punishment, as long as his life remained, and as long as the Empress Dowager still held affection in her heart, he always had a chance to make a comeback.

Xiao Qidi watched the kneeling Empress Dowager at his feet, heard her plea, and felt as if his heart had been stabbed again.

After all this, she actually still wants to spare Lao An's dog's life?!

If it were about Lao An's achievements as Marquis Le An over these years in governance, that would be tolerable.

But instead, he brought up their shameless private affair!

This stab not only pierced Xiao Qidi's heart, but also ruthlessly struck his reverse scale.

Anger seemed to erupt like a volcano, surging straight to his forehead.

The mighty killing intent surged and spread, as if the surrounding air had solidified.

Without raising her head, Jiang Peihuan sensed this terrifying aura; her whole body shuddered uncontrollably, yet the corner of her mouth twitched into a smile of utmost bitterness and chill, and she silently thought, "Lao An, you have schemed against me countless times, and I pretended not to know; this time, it's my turn to scheme against you— this is the first, and also... the last time."

"Seize him!" Xiao Qidi roared in violent fury, "Have Lao An torn apart by five horses! After death, crush his bones and scatter his ashes!"

Lao An felt as if struck by lightning; his entire body went limp instantly, and he lost control of his bowels and bladder.

Li Yao immediately summoned troops and swiftly made preparations for the execution.

Five horses and a few thick ropes— that's easy to arrange.

Lao An was terrified to the extreme, his body soft as mud; a few soldiers dragged him to the center of the open ground and firmly bound his head and limbs with ropes.

And the other ends of the five ropes were tightly tied to the five horses.

"Up!" Li Yao shouted.

Five soldiers simultaneously drove the horses forward.

A whoosh.

The ropes tightened, and Lao An in the middle was suspended in midair.

"Your Majesty! I was wrong... I really was wrong! Please, Your Majesty, spare my life... spare my life!" At that moment Lao An burst forth with an intense will to survive, screaming hoarsely like a ghost wailing and a wolf howling, while the five ropes trembled violently.

The shrill sound made Jiang Peihuan unable to help but close her eyes and cover her ears.

Although she knew full well this was the fate Lao An brought upon himself.

Yet she could not bear to watch, could not bear to listen.

Xiao Qidi took a swift step down the stairs, violently hauled Jiang Peihuan up, pried open her hands, turned her head toward the direction where Lao An was being punished, and said, "Empress Dowager, I have avenged your two flesh and blood for you— won't you take a good look?"

"No... Your Majesty, I beg you... please don't!" Jiang Peihuan pleaded with closed eyes.

"Open your eyes wide and see clearly!" Xiao Qidi's eyes blood-red, one hand clamped Jiang Peihuan's hands, the other pried open her eyelids, and at the same time ordered the surroundings to be fully illuminated.

Soon, countless torches were erected on the open ground.

Illuminating everything as if it were daytime.

Even every strand of Marquis Le An's hair could be seen clearly.

Especially his gaze, torn between extreme terror and an intense will to live, was branded into Jiang Peihuan's pupils like a hot iron.

"Execute!" Li Yao shouted, "Pull!"

Five soldiers simultaneously whipped the horses' hind legs.

The war horses, feeling pain, kicked their legs and surged forward.

Crack— crack...

Lao An's body made the sound of bones and joints being torn apart.

Immediately after, with a crack, it split apart!

His head, body, and limbs were all torn apart, broken bones, fresh blood, and entrails spilling all over the ground!

Jiang Peihuan was greatly startled, let out a scream, and fainted.

The soldiers calmed the few war horses, the sound of hooves ceased, everything fell silent, leaving only a ring of torches crackling as they burned.

Li Yao stood quietly beside the steps, not daring to speak, only able to wait for His Majesty's orders.

Xiao Qidi looked at the mess all over the ground and said calmly: 'Everyone… withdraw, come back tomorrow to clean up. I'm tired, I want to rest awhile.'

Li Yao clasped his fists and gave a gesture to the soldiers.

At that moment, Xiao Qidi seemed to lose all strength, gritting his teeth and exerting himself to lift the fainted Jiang Peihuan.

Then, swaying as he held her, he walked into the hall and gently placed her on the long bench.

No one knew how long had passed.

Jiang Peihuan woke up once again from her coma.

Xiao Qidi sat beside her, dazed, his eyes devoid of any light or emotion, only a near-numb fatigue and emptiness.

"Qidi..." Jiang Peihuan reached out her hand to his shoulder and softly called out in a hoarse voice.

Xiao Qidi somewhat regained his senses, quickly rose to avoid Jiang Peihuan's hand, his blood‑stained cheeks returning to an icy expression: 'Has the Empress Dowager awakened?'

Jiang Peihuan's hand hovered in midair, then slowly withdrew; she strained to lift her body into a sitting position, lowered her gaze, and said: 'Your Majesty… how do you intend to deal with me?'