Chapter 324

"Cough… cough…"

Wei Wubing coughed twice, and the howling wind ceased instantly.

Cheng Lingzi's eyebrows flickered, and she sneered, "You've improved quite a bit over the years."

"Thanks to Your Majesty's supervision back then, this eunuch has never dared to slack off. You rarely come to the capital—why not meet an old friend? Everyone misses you dearly."

"You're all wishing I'd die, aren't you?"

"Your Majesty jests! Those are all past matters."

Cheng Lingzi snorted coldly, "Wei Wubing, if you want to stop me, let's fight. If you don't, get out of my way!"

"Your Majesty misunderstands—someone wishes to see you, and I'm merely acting as their forerunner. I beg Your Majesty's pardon." Wei Wubing remained consistently polite, neither warm nor cold, nor did he bow submissively.

He seemed more like a bureaucrat carrying out a duty.

Cheng Lingzi immediately frowned. "How could he know I've come to the capital?"

"He has his own ways of learning your movements," Wei Wubing said softly.

Cheng Lingzi scoffed, her tone dripping with scorn. "Wei Wubing, have you forgotten your promise to the late Emperor? You swore never to let him meet me again. Are you breaking your vow?"

"He's completely mad now. I can't control him—I can only obey his orders. He's even deposed the Crown Prince. No one in this world can stop him anymore… unless Your Majesty is willing to…"

"Get out!" Cheng Lingzi spat back without mercy. "You're all useless. He wanted to depose the Crown Prince, and you just let him run wild."

"You've been away too long—you don't understand what's happened in the palace. I won't argue with you."

The ground trembled, as if an earthquake were coming.

Chen Guanlou strained his ears, listening closely—it wasn't an earthquake, but the thunder of hooves shaking the earth.

Such a commotion.

They're getting closer!

The trembling ground suddenly stopped.

Soon, the courtyard gate opened, and two rows of black-clad guards filed in, taking control of every corner.

Chen Guanlou: …

His home had been seized!

And he couldn't refuse!

He decisively climbed onto the roof and hid behind Zhong Susu.

"Susu, protect me!"

He clung to Zhong Susu's thigh as if it were the most natural thing in the world. At this moment, pride was garbage—his life mattered most.

Zhong Susu whispered reassuringly, "Big Brother Chen, don't panic. With my master here, nothing bad will happen."

He knew!

That's why he'd scrambled onto the roof and grabbed her leg.

Given his relationship with Zhong Susu and her favored status, Cheng Lingzi would surely protect him—just as an afterthought.

There were many people inside and outside the courtyard, densely packed, yet not a single voice was heard.

Soon, a soft sedan chair arrived outside the gate.

Qiu Defu personally lifted the curtain. "Your Majesty, we've arrived!"

Emperor Taixing stepped out of the sedan chair, his expression dark, his eyes flickering with complex emotion. He walked slowly into the courtyard, looked up—and saw Cheng Lingzi on the roof. Fifty years had passed, yet she remained unchanged, not a single hair aged.

"I've grown old, but you're still the same! How have you been these past years, Your Majesty?"

Chen Guanlou cautiously peeked out—he realized the old man in the courtyard was Emperor Taixing. He looked seventy or eighty, yet appeared only fifty or sixty—remarkably well-preserved. But his eyelids were swollen, his gaze unnervingly sinister, as if he might kill at any moment.

He radiated an overall sense of dread, profound darkness, utterly lacking the radiant majesty befitting an emperor of a great nation.

He'd corrupted his Dao.

In that instant, Chen Guanlou's image of the old emperor shattered completely.

"Twelve, you're not in the palace playing emperor—what are you doing here?" Cheng Lingzi demanded.

Hearing her familiar rebuke, Emperor Taixing grew intensely agitated, his lips trembling, tears welling in his eyes.

Qiu Defu and all the black-clad guards lowered their heads, staring straight ahead, wishing they could vanish into thin air.

"Your Majesty, you still remember Twelve! I thought you'd forgotten me entirely." Emperor Taixing spoke incoherently with excitement.

Cheng Lingzi looked disgusted, yet slightly pitying. "Twelve, go back. Be a proper emperor."

"Being emperor is meaningless!"

Listen—those words came from Emperor Taixing's mouth. During his power struggle, he'd been more ruthless and cruel than anyone else—and now he claimed being emperor was meaningless.

Unsurprisingly, Cheng Lingzi flew into a rage. "If being emperor is meaningless, then abdicate! Why depose the Crown Prince? You've always been hypocritical since childhood—never said a single true word. I'm sick of you."

At her words, Emperor Taixing's face turned instantly ashen.

"Why do you scold me? On what grounds? Do you know what kind of life I've lived these past years? I once had the chance to pursue martial cultivation—but…"

"You abandoned the chance to pursue martial cultivation yourself. You chose power. Now you complain? Do you think everyone has lost their memory? Twelve, don't force me to deal with you. Tonight, if the emperor dies, it's perfect—the deposed Crown Prince can inherit the throne!"

Cheng Lingzi's words were a death blow.

Qiu Defu and the others could no longer pretend to be invisible—they drew their blades, each on edge, ready for battle.

Wei Wubing coughed softly and waved his hand, signaling the black-clad guards to stand down. Don't act rashly. Cheng Lingzi was a woman even the late Emperor couldn't control—these guards were merely coming to die.

The black-clad guards hesitated not a moment—they sheathed their blades.

Emperor Taixing was utterly humiliated; long-buried memories now attacked him anew.

His face flushed crimson as he roared, "Just like before! You once claimed I wasn't fit to be emperor—but look! I've done better than anyone else. I am wise and mighty; the people live in peace, the nation grows stronger. Why should the deposed Crown Prince replace me? I deposed him—so what?"

Cheng Lingzi looked at Emperor Taixing as if he were a fool. "How long has it been since you've seen the real world? The people are starving, rebellion flares everywhere—where is this 'peace and prosperity' you claim? Even more absurd—you led a military coup to depose your own heir. Just wait—soon, fire and smoke will engulf the entire realm."

The late Emperor spent his entire life stabilizing the realm, laying a solid foundation for you, giving you the resources to play with. And now? How many years have passed? You've squandered every last bit of his legacy. Song Shiyi, you're still the same arrogant fool—devoid of self-awareness, a waste!"

"I am not arrogant! I am not a waste!" Emperor Taixing roared in fury.

Chen Guanlou, hiding behind Zhong Susu, frantically thought—will they kill me?

He'd seen the old emperor at his most humiliated—would they really silence him?

He had to live in the capital. He didn't want to retreat to the mountains for a life of seclusion. He was a worldly man—he loved the dust and noise of the mortal realm. He couldn't live without the company of courtesans.

Master Cheng Lingzi, have mercy on this lowly jailer! Either finish off the old emperor outright—or soothe him gently. Don't just stab him and walk away—this is 'kill but don't bury'!