Chapter 210: I Have No Desire to Contend for the Throne—Blood Must Be Repaid with Blood

The Grand Empress Dowager witnessed this scene, her gaze gradually dimming.

Her strength seemed drained by an invisible hand, leaving her slumped helplessly upon the dragon throne, her eyes filled with exhaustion.

The phoenix palanquin swayed gently, its pearl curtains brushing softly; jewels inlaid upon it glimmered gold and emerald, yet could not conceal the old woman's unyielding sorrow.

The old woman let out a bitter laugh, her gaze fixed on the lifeless body of Zhou Zhen lying at the steps, grief and helplessness intertwined.

The Emperor's corpse is still warm!

All those around her bowed to traitors and rebels—this scene only deepened the sorrow.

She lost. Daqing lost too.

A tide of resentment quietly rose within the Grand Empress Dowager's heart.

Her cold eyes, like frost, swept over Lu Lu and Zhou Jinyu; her voice, icy and sharp, struck like daggers:

"Do you truly believe escaping today means you are safe? You are deluding yourselves!"

"What good fate awaits you? Will Lu Chen spare you? Don't harbor foolish hopes!"

"Lu Lu, you betrayed your former lord to seek favor from the enemy. Throughout history, how many such men have met a good end? Your name in history will forever be a stain."

"Zhou Jinyu, you are a woman of Beifeng—do you truly believe Lu's army will grant you mercy?"

"Pathetic. Pathetic."

Hearing this, Lu Lu's heart trembled violently; his fists clenched tight, fingernails digging into his palms, longing to draw his sword and kill this old hag forever.

But reason told him that killing now would bring eternal damnation.

The lives of everyone present hung solely on the choice of that one calm Lu family young master—ten thousand lives rested in his hands.

Lu Lu dared not take even a single step lightly; every word and gesture now meant life or death.

Lu Lu bowed his head lower still, forehead touching the ground; all he heard was the pounding of his own heartbeat—thump, thump, thump—in his chest.

Between life and death lies great terror!

Zhou Jinyu's face remained calm, her heart indifferent—she had long felt, "Life is like duckweed, fate like mayfly."

She feared neither life nor death.

You looked at them all, finally settling your gaze on Zhou Jinyu's face.

"I remember, years ago at the foot of Mount Zhongnan, you once asked me how I viewed Beifeng's peace negotiations."

Zhou Jinyu slowly lifted her head.

In that moment, she understood.

It was as if she had returned to that Mount Zhongnan, when she had just married into Daqing, a girl of twenty.

Back then!

Behind Zhou Jinyu, the palace courtyards echoed with the laughter of ladies, fans gently swaying amid chatter and merriment, mingling with the murmurs of officials' families.

Lu Chen stood on the steps to greet guests!

As Princess of Han, Zhou Jinyu had stood among them then, pressing Lu Chen with her questions.

Back then, she believed she had won.

Lu Chen, the man feared by countless Beifeng warriors, had been stripped of his edge by her.

The past resurfaced.

The taste in her heart, only she knew.

Beside her, Lu Lu, sensing the moment had come, rushed to speak:

"Had Emperor Shunzong not been so foolish, the Young Master would have long since marched on Huanglong Prefecture—how could Beifeng have ruled unchecked to this day?"

Lu Lu's tone was earnest, as if pleading your cause:

"Emperor Huizong was weak, Emperor Shunzong tyrannical, and Zhou Zhen took his own life to atone before the realm—clearly, the Zhou clan was at fault. What sin did the Young Master commit?"

"The Huanglong affair was the Zhou clan's fault. The Young Master acted with righteousness."

The Grand Empress Dowager's face darkened further at Lu Lu's words—he had dared speak the Emperor Zhou Zhen's name outright and openly criticized generations of emperors.

"Lu Lu, you… how dare you!"

"To speak ill of the emperor merits the execution of nine clans."

Such conduct was a capital crime under Daqing law—no pardon possible.

Hearing this, Lu Lu could no longer contain his rage—what time was this?

Faced with this old woman who had long lorded over him, under the crushing weight of life and death, his pent-up emotions erupted.

He leapt to his feet, finger pointing straight at the Grand Empress Dowager, eyes blazing, voice trembling with fury:

"Emperor Huizong was captured by Beifeng! The northern lands fell, the people suffered—what right had such a ruler to sit upon the dragon throne? Had the Young Master not reversed the tide and stabilized Beifeng's chaos, could Emperor Shunzong have clung to his crumbling throne?"

Zhou Zhen's father, posthumously honored as Emperor Shunzong.

In his words,

Lu Lu's emotion grew fiercer, each phrase a knife, each sentence a sword, piercing straight to the deepest wounds.

"How could ancestral legacy be so easily surrendered? What virtue, what merit did such rulers possess to continue ruling this vast empire?"

His words seemed to unleash all the years of suppressed bitterness in one torrent.

"Emperor Shunzong's policy of marriage alliances was merely a temporary measure—to preserve his throne, he sacrificed national interests. He feared the Young Master would rescue Emperor Huizong and shatter his rule."

"And you, Grand Empress Dowager, sought to harm the Young Master—without him, Daqing would have fallen long ago. Is this not the greatest joke?"

Lu Lu's emotions spiraled completely out of control; his former scholar-general demeanor replaced by a near-mad roar.

"How dare you point fingers at me?"

His voice echoed through the hall, thick with mockery and rage.

Look at your own children—not one of them is anything but weak and incompetent, possessing only the title of royalty without a shred of responsibility or courage? You've raised a bunch of cowards, yet you still dare to imagine you can control the fate of the empire—how laughable and absurd!

Lu Lu's words were sharp blades, each syllable striking precisely at the Grand Empress Dowager's heart.

Her face twisted in sudden, shifting pallor; her weathered eyes flashed with shock and disbelief.

She had sat atop power, accustomed only to flattery and praise—this sudden "truth" struck like thunder, leaving her nearly unable to bear it.

Especially!

"Raised a pack of cowards"—those words nearly broke her.

The Grand Empress Dowager trembled, clutching her ears tightly, trying to shut out the piercing voice.

Zhou Jinyu merely gave a cold smile—indeed, it was true.

Without Lu Chen, Beifeng would have stormed into Daqing's capital and captured the emperor long ago.

Lu Lu turned his fury toward Zhou Jinyu, bellowing:

"You, a woman of Beifeng, dare question the Young Master? How presumptuous! How ignorant of death!"

With that,

He no longer cared—kneeling flat upon the ground.

"Today, thanks to the Young Master's presence, I, Lu Lu, finally abandon darkness and embrace the light! I swear eternal loyalty to the Young Master!"

"Lu Lu, pays homage to the Young Master."

He spoke with grandeur, conviction ringing clear.

Zhou Jinyu heard him and only sneered.

The Daqing court had few men of true spirit.

She simply watched you, as if waiting for the answer to a question nearly a decade past.

The answer that the late Emperor Shunzong had died wondering.

How does the Young Master view the peace negotiations?

You spoke softly: "I never sought to vie for the throne—I only wished to be a hermit among the hills."

Zhou Jinyu seemed to have known the answer all along.

In the affairs of the north, perhaps the Young Master had never felt regret.

She lifted her chin, asking slowly: "Then what of you now?"

Lu Chen had cultivated for fifteen years—yet still some refused to believe he was merely cultivating, not cultivating reputation among the realm.

Fifteen years have passed—has your heart changed utterly?

You said nothing, gazing at the crowd before Fengtian Hall, behind you the Lu army, and in memory, the people of the north.

The robe upon your body—woven stitch by stitch by the hands of northern commoners.

The farther one walks, the higher one stands, the more one carries not just oneself, but the hopes and fates of countless others.

All you ever sought was a small cottage among the hills—to wake to the bright moon, to drift asleep to spring winds.

A single pot of wine would be enough to soothe the dust of the world.

Alas!

When the true age arrives, there is no escape, no hiding.

At this moment!

Dou Gu, sneering, looked at the kneeling Lu Lu:

"General Lu, you seem to have forgotten—once, before Emperor Shunzong, you too spoke with such lofty ambition."

"In the seventeenth year of Yongxiang, when many veteran soldiers of the Lu army longed to return home, you slaughtered them—104 innocent lives lost."

"In the nineteenth year of Yongxiang, you secretly petitioned the emperor, claiming the realm owed the Young Master too much, and begged for his execution. Do you remember these?"

Dou Gu's words grew sharper, exposing more of Lu Lu's past:

"Then, in the twenty-third year of Yongxiang, during your suppression of a rebellion, you murdered twelve elderly Lu army veterans. They had already laid down their armor, retired to Jiangnan, living quiet lives of farming—yet they could not escape this senseless massacre. What do you say of such deeds, General Lu?"

As each crime was laid bare!

The Lu Family Army glared with fury!

After hearing this, Lu Lu's heart plunged into chaos; secrets long buried deep within him, known to no one, seemed to be peeled open one by one, filling him with unprecedented terror.

Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead; he could not fathom how the Lu Family Army had learned these hidden truths.

But!

Lu Lu had no time to dwell on this—his instinct for survival drove him to beg desperately.

"I'm innocent!"

Lu Lu banged his head repeatedly on the ground, his voice trembling with sobs. "Please, Young Protector, spare my life! I was coerced by Zhou Zhen and others into committing those crimes!"

His cries echoed across the empty grounds, hollow and hopeless.

The Grand Empress Dowager watched coldly from the side, a smug smile on her face.

That smile carried a sense of vengeance, more satisfying than witnessing her enemy's death outright—her earlier humiliation and resentment found slight release in this moment.

Dou Gu looked at the Grand Empress Dowager and said: "After Zhongnan Mountain, Your Majesty approved the Western Depot's covert assassinations of elderly Lu Family Army members, and even sent assassins to Zhongnan Mountain twice!"

The Grand Empress Dowager did not deny it:

"Yes, I did it. If you have the guts, kill me."

The Lu Family Army soldiers had long been stifling their rage, faces dark with fury, but bound by your orders, they held back, refraining from action.

They knew full well: whoever committed the crimes of slaughtering the Lu Family Army or attempting to assassinate the Young Protector would face only death.

Zhou Jinyu, however, faced death with calm acceptance; she gently smoothed her disheveled bangs, a faint smile forming on her lips:

"To die by the Young Protector's hand—Zhou Jinyu has no regrets."

Lu Lu, meanwhile, kept banging his head while tremblingly cried out: "Please, Young Protector, spare my life!"

Around him, the city gate captains had already dropped their weapons, exchanging uneasy glances, not daring to breathe.

The Grand Empress Dowager knew her end was near, yet she still upheld the dignity and pride of the imperial house.

She gazed coldly at you, as if her eyes said: "I've lived enough in this life. Kill me, then."

She cast one last glance at Lu Lu and Zhou Jinyu: "With you two to accompany me to the netherworld, I won't be lonely on the journey."

You looked at the three before you, then fixed your gaze on Zhou Jinyu, speaking calmly:

"What if I told you, you don't have to die—you can remain Empress Dowager of Daqing?"

Zhou Jinyu froze, her beautiful eyes widening in shock.

These words exploded in the Grand Empress Dowager's mind like thunder; her previously composed face twisted in horror as she shrieked:

"No! No! A child with Northern Wind blood cannot become Emperor of Daqing!"

She had assumed you would make Zhou Cheng emperor—she never imagined you would place Zhou Jinyu's infant child, barely a year old, on the throne!

A toddler on the throne? The consequences would be catastrophic—it shattered all her expectations.

But!

Before she finished speaking, someone in the Lu Family Army understood.

Jia Fu, enraged beyond control, spurred his horse forward; his great blade flashed like lightning as it came down.

The first strike severed Lu Lu's life, leaving him no chance to beg.

The second strike fell mercilessly upon the Grand Empress Dowager's neck; her head rolled to the ground, eyes wide open, filled with disbelief and fury.

Jia Fu spat on the severed head.

"Whoever sheds Lu Family Army blood—no matter who you are—blood must be repaid with blood!"

Jia Fu slowly reined his horse and returned to the ranks.

This moment came too suddenly!

Among the eunuchs and soldiers kneeling, heads bowed in terror, their bodies trembled even more violently.

The Emperor is dead. General Lu is dead. The Grand Empress Dowager is dead!

Their pillar is gone.

All courage within them has been drained.

Only one person remained standing in the courtyard—the noble, yellow-robed Empress of Daqing.

Zhou Jinyu's face was splattered with blood; before her lay two freshly severed heads.

She numbly touched the blood on her cheek, as if trapped in a dream, unable to believe what had just happened.

Then!

Amid the chaos and bloodshed,

You rode slowly past Zhou Jinyu.

A single phrase reached her ear—neither sorrowful nor joyful, utterly plain.

Yet it was this one phrase.

That made her long-dead heart, now utterly hopeless, suddenly beat again.

"If you don't want to die, follow me."

PS: Today's rushed—two chapters merged. Another one tonight!

(End of Chapter)