Chapter 265: Only this brings fortune to the world

All beautiful dreams, shattered here.

The moment Li Yu's words hit the ground, all surrounding faint sounds vanished abruptly, and the air instantly fell dead silent.

The manic, ecstatic smile faded inch by inch from the man's face, the tender fervor in his eyes completely dissipated, leaving only bone‑chilling cold and a heavy malignance.

Li Yu watched as the man before him remained silent, not even loosening his grip on Li Yu's shoulder, while his other hand slowly rose...

In his peripheral vision, a flash of cold light suddenly appeared.

A sharp blade, without warning, cleanly and swiftly stabbed into Li Yu's abdomen.

Excruciating, piercing pain instantly swept through his body; warm blood gushed wildly from the wound, soaking his tattered clothes.

Li Yu's pupils contracted, his whole body froze solid; the luck, pride, and irritation on his face solidified, leaving only utter shock and disbelief.

After a long moment, he finally lowered his head hesitantly, gazing at the half‑exposed blade embedded in his belly.

Blood.

Blood.

Endless streams of fresh blood.

His strength drained bit by bit, his legs continually went weak, and his body slowly slid down the cold blade...

Li Yu ultimately collapsed heavily onto the muddy road that had been despised a thousand, ten thousand times along the way.

But, unwilling to accept it.

Unwilling, unwilling!

This bears no resemblance whatsoever to the omen the Celestial Master gave him earlier!

His death was neither a glorious, heroic end after losing a city, nor did it possess any semblance of reason.

Indeed, he merely provoked a madman on the road who was delighted by a woman's pregnancy.

How could this be, how could this be...

His vision blurred, consciousness ebbed away; in his final moments, Li Yu clung to the last thread of awareness, trying to crawl toward the open city gate.

Amid the chaos, in his peripheral vision he saw several figures rush forward, flanking the knife‑wielding man, bowing low with utmost reverence.

The leader spoke softly, his tone tinged with hesitation:

"Lord Liu, if you indiscriminately slaughter the innocent like this, should His Highness find out..."

Lord Liu.

Those three words struck like thunder, echoing once more in Li Yu's ears on the brink of oblivion, together with the omen previously bestowed upon him by the gathered masters.

It also utterly shattered all his hopes and schemes.

There was no escaping death.

Never had there been any escape from death.

Only another surnamed Liu, fated to come, would take his life...

The omen was true, the omen was true!

Sun and moon unchanged, fate is sealed.

Everything, it turned out, had long been predetermined.

The man, drenched in blood and holding an iron fan, spoke in a detached, icy tone, shedding all his earlier madness and tenderness, leaving only cold, decisive ruthlessness.

Chinu retracted his iron fan and spat fiercely at the ground:

"Nonsense."

"He speaks so horribly; at a glance he's no good person!"

"Even the Wife Master, knowing this, would only say he killed well!"

Chinu's ardent heart was largely doused by this man; in his vexation, he pondered left and right, ultimately recalling that he must not anger his own Wife Master.

After thinking it over, Chinu still said:

"... Clearly this person colluded with the enemy, harbored rebel remnants, joined the rebel ranks, and should be executed on the spot."

The subordinates dared not speak further, exchanged glances for a few breaths, then all bowed and replied in assent.

Li Yu lay in the pool of blood, eyes wide, watching all this, still unable to grasp what had happened—

A light‑hearted remark, a few replies, and his lifetime crime was sealed, his half‑life as an official erased, and he was forever branded a traitorous minister.

Li Yu stared with clouded eyes, fixed on the Liu‑surnamed man before him, his depths churning with endless regret, unwillingness, and absurdity.

He had spent vast sums of money, withheld taxes, built new temples, sought immortals and probed the Dao—all to wrestle free the two words "fate".

Who could tell him why, the more he struggled to grasp the word "fate", the more it slipped away into nothing...

All his hopes, the more they became a laughingstock?

Why?

Why?

He glared, wanting to roar, to question the heavens...

Then he again locked eyes with the casually observing Chinu.

Chinu kicked him hard, completely cutting off the last breath of the man beneath him, then tilted his head, puzzled:

"Strange..."

"This person wears old clothes, yet his fingers and neck are white and plump, without calluses... Ah, I see—his identity must be mistaken."

Chinu gave a few instructions, ordered his subordinates to investigate, and then, shuffling along, prepared to wander off and share the good news.

Behind him, a towering Dun Cheng soldier could bear it no longer, and began to speak, then hesitated:

"Sir, why not tend to your wound first, then come out to share the good news?"

Chinu didn't turn his head, still drifting about as if in a dream:

"What wound to treat? I'm not hurt, it's fine..."

I need to hurry and notify everyone here, then rush back to tell the people of Dun Cheng—but the full-month celebration is a big deal; the sooner we let people know, the better they can set aside time.....

Chinu muttered under his breath as he took a few more steps, completely unaware of the strange looks from the people behind him—he was already extremely peculiar.

The Dun Cheng man wanted to speak but stopped, then stopped again and wanted to speak; facing that figure walking unsteadily, his voice was strong and full of vigor, yet he reached out his hand, unsure whether to offer support.

Chinu was happy; Chinu was very happy.

This intense joy was hard to dispel, and only after a good while did he realize something was wrong.

...... Huh, strange.

I, I can still speak...... I'm fine......

But why... I can't walk, I can't move......

And my eyes...... why can't I open them............ Bang!

The final loud bang was none other than the sound of Chinu collapsing to the ground.

The Dun Cheng troops that had followed him all along had expected this, yet they still couldn't help being startled, all rushing forward—

Lord Liu? Lord Liu? Are you alright?

Where is the city's physician? Find someone, quickly go find someone!

No, no! First send the message! First send the message back to Dun Cheng!

Zhoufu was in an uproar, chaos unceasing.

Dun Cheng, though a hundred li away, was peaceful and tranquil.

Du Shanü returned to the city, washed up thoroughly, took some medicine, and then slept soundly......

Perhaps because her constitution was sound, when she woke again the abdominal cramping had completely vanished, leaving no trace of the earlier turmoil that had made her faint.

Du Shanü was quite surprised, patting her still-unrounded belly left and right as she praised:

Awesome o(￣▽￣)d! Truly worthy of being my good child!

Chen Weifang, who had been sitting opposite Du Shanü reviewing papers, had already been watching her actions for a while; now she too wanted to speak but hesitated, saying:

...... The months are still few, Wise Lord—don't bully the child.

Ha!

The child is still in the womb!

Afang is already showing favoritism!

Du Shanü pursed her lips, didn't respond, and simply drank the warm medicine in the bowl in one gulp.

An ordinary afternoon in the study, everything was just right.

Chen Weifang saw her Wise Lord finish the medicine, finally relaxed, and spoke:

...... The Deposed Crown Prince Huan is under treatment, and his condition is indeed not very clear.

However, the sealed edict scroll on his person is truly important; Wise Lord, how do you intend to use it?

Du Shanü, her mind clouded by bitterness, upon hearing this suddenly, didn't react right away:

What edict scroll?

Chen Weifang, hearing this, was also bewildered:

...... The Deposed Crown Prince Huan still carries on him an unsealed edict, Wise Lord—you didn't know?!

That edict's format, seal, and signature are all correct.

The only difference from the norm is a single point——

That is, the edict lacks the name of the person to be conferred the title!

The Deposed Crown Prince Huan has come all this way; though we don't know whom he intends to give the edict to, it truly solves their urgent need!

With the Deposed Crown Prince Huan present, and the edict in hand......

From now on, they are destined to be the legitimate line!

?? coming coming||ヽ(*￣▽￣*)ノミ|ЮAfang and Little Brother's data cards are already up, darlings, but Afang is currently only in cat form, oh!