Chapter 285: Desperate Gamble

The atmosphere.

In an instant, the air was thick with murderous intent.

Xie Tianyao's gaze was as sharp as a Falcon.

Liu Zheng felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, a chill running down his spine.

He believed without hesitation that in this Yangxin Hall of the temporary palace, there must be experts hidden who could kill him in an instant. Which emperor in ancient times did not have his own Secret Guard?

Did he really think those imperial guards were all there was?

Especially for an emperor like Xie Tianyao who had been cautious his entire life, this was his first time leaving the palace in over a decade; he would naturally have arranged this matter perfectly.

Killing intent!

This was true killing intent!

A killing intent that made even Liu Zheng not dare to move a muscle.

However...

He did not kneel down; he struggled to hold onto his willpower. He felt his back had already begun to sweat, but he remained as he was, appearing to look at the chessboard in front of Xie Tianyao with great interest.

"Kneel, quickly kneel!"

Grand Eunuch Zhou was nearly scared to death, cold sweat streaming down.

What could you not say? You said the Emperor was old? You said the Emperor was no longer a young man, but an old man? This is a grave act of lèse-majesté! You must know, in ancient times, the Emperor is supposed to live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years. The Emperor is only sixty now, still far from those ten thousand years; he is in his prime, what "old" are you talking about?

Liu Dahao was also on the verge of tears, immediately kowtowing like a pestle hitting garlic.

"Emperor, please calm your anger, Emperor, please calm your anger. My foolish son spoke out of turn, he deserves to die ten thousand times, he deserves to die ten thousand times..."

Xie Tianyao just looked coldly at Liu Zheng, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly. The young man before him had truly given him a shock.

This was likely the first person since his ascension to the throne who dared to call him old!

Suddenly.

He felt this young man before him was truly interesting.

Considering the fame this Prefect Liu had gained in the Longyan Dynasty and his various deeds, Xie Tianyao first looked at Liu Dahao, who was still kowtowing, a hint of jealousy he had never felt before appearing in his eyes, and then continued to look at Liu Zheng, laughing heartily: "What a good 'old man', what a good 'old man'! The whole world says I am in my prime, yet only one Prefect Liu dares to say I am an old man! Hahahaha, interesting, interesting!"

As he spoke, he began to cough violently.

Once this coughing started, it could not stop at all.

Seeing this, Grand Eunuch Zhou was so frightened he scrambled up from the ground and hurriedly took out some Immortal Pills, giving them to the old Emperor with water. A moment later, the old Emperor finally caught his breath.

However...

The handkerchief he used to cover his mouth already had a pool of black blood on it.

Liu Zheng watched, his heart struck with terror.

He knew that Xie Tianyao in this condition truly did not have much time left. He suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for this old Emperor. After ascending the throne, he had only enjoyed glory for a dozen years before encountering the shame of the Western Regions, and then he had locked himself in the palace for over a decade without coming out. The vast Longyan Dynasty, with its immense territory and abundant resources, yet he could only dwell deep within the palace, having to deal with the infighting and deceit among the various factions of the Longyan Dynasty.

Being an emperor is truly exhausting...

Now, with his own time running out, he still had to worry about whether there was a successor. Is it the Crown Prince, or the Third Prince? The key is that neither of these two sons is worth showing off.

He is about to leave; can he be content?

Will the crumbling Longyan Dynasty fall apart just like this?

Suddenly.

Liu Zheng understood why Xie Tianyao had insisted on enduring the hardships of travel to come to Liangzhou this time.

He wanted to see.

He wanted to see what Liangzhou, under his own governance, would look like, and whether it matched the prosperous age in his mind.

Liangzhou...

Might it be the spark to save or change the Longyan Dynasty?

Which is to say...

Xie Tianyao, in his heart, wanted to change!

He could not see hope in his two sons, so he wanted to see if there was any in Liangzhou!

Thinking this through, Liu Zheng's whole body trembled.

He had not expected this old Emperor to have such breadth of mind. Regardless of whether it was for the continuation of his imperial house or truly for the Longyan Dynasty and the people of the world, having such exceptional vision and the desire to change already made him a wise monarch. It was just that he was very powerless...

From this remnant game, Liu Zheng saw the regret and powerlessness in the heart of this dying old man.

He even saw a trace of sorrow and helplessness in Xie Tianyao's eyes.

He gritted his teeth hard and continued to kowtow: "Emperor, although this game is incomplete, it is not beyond saving! An old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand miles. The Emperor's foresight is profound, and your vision and breadth of mind are unmatched by anyone! If the determination for reform is firm, the resurgence of Longyan is no empty dream!"

After saying this, he lowered his head and remained silent.

Silence.

He was actually gambling too.

Gambling that Xie Tianyao's thoughts were truly as he had guessed.

Otherwise...

For the disrespectful words he had just spoken, he could have died ten times over today!

Grand Eunuch Zhou looked miserable with fright.

Oh, Prefect Liu, Prefect Liu!

You really dare to say anything!

First you call the Emperor an old man, then you say the Longyan Dynasty is crumbling and no longer prosperous; do you really not know how to write the word "death"?

Liu Dahao.

Continued to kowtow, his forehead nearly breaking.

Xie Tianyao smiled coldly: "Prefect Liu, do you truly think I cannot kill you?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zheng felt a sense of relief instead, and continued: "Emperor, every word I have spoken comes from the bottom of my heart. If the Emperor does not have such capacity for tolerance, then I, shall die without regrets!"

Xie Tianyao laughed irritably: "Is that so? Then let Me first execute that Chen Ping. In these coming days, let Me see what kind of courage you have to utter such rebellious words!"

"I urge the Heavens to shake off their lethargy, and recruit talent without restraint!"

"I shall grant your wish, Prefect Liu, and see if you, this talent, can give Me a surprise!"

"Kneel down for Me!"

Liu Dahao felt as if he had been granted a reprieve and hurriedly thanked the Emperor.

Unexpectedly, Liu Zheng did not leave, but continued to kneel and kowtow: "Emperor..."

Xie Tianyao frowned: "Get out! Every three sentences I hear from you, I lose a few months of my life! Isn't it just that you want to use a royal title to trade for the life of Chen Ping's daughter? We shall see how I feel! But I must make it clear to you first: the daughter of a condemned official cannot be taken into your household. As for your marriage, Prefect Liu, I have My own arrangements!"

"Get out!"

Only then did Liu Zheng pull up his old father, and they scrambled out of the Yangxin Hall. Once outside the palace gates, Grand Eunuch Zhou said with a bitter face: "Oh my, my dear Prefect Liu, you scared me to death. You actually dared to touch the Emperor's reverse scale!"

Liu Zheng hurriedly smiled and handed over a red envelope: "Grand Eunuch Zhou, how do you know that what the Emperor wanted to hear wasn't exactly this?"

Grand Eunuch Zhou was stunned, then burst into hearty laughter: "I must say, the Emperor rarely laughs so heartily."

"But you, you must be careful. The Emperor's health lately..."

Liu Zheng cupped his hands, indicating he understood.

Walking out of the temporary palace, Liu Zheng realized his back was already drenched in cold sweat. He knew that if he had misjudged the Emperor's intentions just now, he would likely have lost his head by now. The ancients often said that accompanying a monarch is like accompanying a tiger; it truly does not deceive!

Fortunately.

He had escaped a disaster today.

"Son, how were those kowtows of your old man? Did they look the part? It seems this Emperor really eats this up! Otherwise, the two of us would have been dead today!"

Liu Dahao was triumphant, wiping the blood from his forehead.

Liu Zheng had black lines on his face and could only smile bitterly and nod, expressing his thanks in various ways.

The Yangxin Hall returned to silence once more.

Xie Tianyao watched the two as they left, as if their retreating figures had not yet vanished.

Immediately after, he laughed heartily: "A very interesting little fellow; it was not in vain that I made this trip to Liangzhou."

In the Yangxin Hall, no one answered.

Xie Tianyao said softly: "If only I had another ten years of time..."

"I am truly envious that this Liu Dahao has such a good son!"

"Why is he not Mine?"

"Why?"

The next day.

The old Emperor Xie Tianyao issued an order to publicly execute the national traitor Chen Ping. When the people of Liangzhou heard this, they flooded the streets. After the prisoner cart slowly emerged from the jail, all sorts of rotten vegetable leaves and stinking eggs, along with endless curses, surged toward it like a tidal wave.

The skin-and-bones Chen Ping sat blankly, shackled in the prisoner cart.

For these past few days, his life had been worse than death; to be precise, he could not die even if he wanted to. Several times he had tried to commit suicide by biting off his tongue, all because he did not want the people of the territory he had ruled for over a decade to see him in such a state.

However...

The Supervision Department had far too many methods to deal with him.

Various strange medicines could make him lose the ability to bite off his tongue.

"Burn him to death!"

"Tear him apart with carts!"

"National traitor Chen Ping, you deserve to die ten thousand times!"

"Do not spare him!"

As soon as they left the gate, the public's emotions became extremely agitated, and the entire city echoed with their clamor. The front lines had already tallied that this plague had claimed over forty thousand lives!

A disaster!

This was absolutely the greatest disaster in the history of Liangzhou.

What was important was that this was not just a natural disaster; there was also human error involved.

And the one who caused this human error was none other than the Inspector of Liangzhou, Lord Chen Ping.

Who could endure this?

Chen Ping, Liu Chang, and some involved personnel, along with the nine generations of his family numbering in the hundreds, were dragged like this to the vegetable market of Liangzhou. When he saw the imposing Liu Dahao, wearing the crane-patterned official robe, as well as the Minister of Justice Weikang who was in charge of this execution, and the yellow curtain hanging within the dragon carriage...

Everything...

Seemed so unreal.

"You dog Liu Dahao, a mere merchant, yet you dare to ascend to the high hall? Ridiculous, ridiculous! The official system of Longyan is like child's play!"

He laughed wildly like a madman.

"Shut up!"

A jailer in charge of the escort struck him with a sword hilt, and Chen Ping was instantly covered in blood, but he still roared: "Longyan is finished! Longyan is finished!"

"Presumptuous!"

"Audacious!"

The expressions of those nearby changed instantly.

The Emperor was present at the scene; how could he spout such nonsense?

But since Chen Ping was already set to have his nine generations executed, he was going to die anyway, and things could not get any worse. He continued to scream crazily: "Liu Dahao, back then you knelt before me, begging me to spare you. Do you still remember your own humble and lowly face?"

Liu Dahao remained expressionless and smiled faintly.

But now he is already a First Grade civil official, wearing the crane-embroidered robe—Western Regions Commissioner; in the entire Longyan Dynasty, there are only nine. If the Emperor had given this title before, it was only to send them to their deaths, yet now that the Western Regions are pacified, this is a set-in-stone First Grade civil official position. And now, after the plague, Liu Dahao is even to be enfeoffed as a prince.

In these short two years, the world has been turned upside down.

Who would not sigh with emotion?

"You dog, shut your mouth!"

Chen Ping sought only death, yet these people could not manage to stop his mouth.

"Kneel!"

Finally, Chen Ping was escorted to the execution platform.

The Minister of Justice Weikang glared at Chen Ping: "Traitor Chen Ping, you betrayed the country and colluded with the enemy; what else do you have to say?"

With disheveled hair, Chen Ping raised his head and sneered: "Nothing to say; the winner is the king and the loser is the villain. Chen Ping has only one thing to say: Emperor, I, Chen Ping, die without regrets, but these Liu father and son have the heart to usurp the state; you must be on guard against them!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire crowd was in an uproar.

Liu Dahao and Liu Zheng both had cold expressions.

【Author's Note】

Once again, thank you to Muqiuhanshan, Gongxifacai, and Niuqichongtian for the tips. Thank you to Xiang de Cui Gengfu, thank you to Zhang Min Baba for the tip, thank you everyone.