Chapter 14
Chapter 14
How did a perfectly good pair of siblings end up like this?
Emperor Father was in a towering rage, questioning us with explosive fury.
I wanted to know too-how did a perfectly good pair of siblings end up like this?
When we were children, if a palace maid neglected me, Li Chengze would vent his anger on my behalf. After replacing the staff, he would personally teach me the art of management, telling me that a ruler must balance kindness with authority.
In return, I worried for him and looked out for him. When Emperor Father punished him, I pleaded for mercy. When he couldn’t answer the Grand Tutor’s questions, I would whisper suggestions to him. I even threw stones at the Grand Tutor’s head because he had scolded my brother.
Why have we come to this now?
Li Chengze roared, “I don’t have a sister like her!”
With a sharp *slap*, Emperor Father struck him across the face.
He didn’t blame Emperor Father. Instead, he stared at me with pure hatred. It took a long time for him to snap out of it, a look of remorse finally surfacing on his face.
“Emperor Father, your son was wrong. I should cherish my siblings. Even if they make mistakes, I should teach them with patience rather than resorting to violence.”
It was a flawless response.
He bowed his head submissively, so he didn’t see the thick disappointment clouding Emperor Father’s face.
“You yield with your words, but not necessarily in your heart. Your path has been too smooth; at the slightest setback, you resort to violence and killing. You are the Crown Prince. What you must learn is the way of a sovereign. I never want to hear such words from you again. Come inside and tell me exactly where you went wrong.”
Li Chengze followed Emperor Father into the Imperial Study with a submissive air.
I remained kneeling there, ignored by everyone.
A long while later, Li Chengze emerged with bloodshot eyes. As he passed me, he let out a cold snort. “You should be glad you and I share the same mother. Otherwise… hmph!”
I looked up and met his gaze calmly.
He was wrong.
That was perhaps my greatest misfortune.
After he left, Emperor Father called me in. The exhaustion between his brows was hard to hide.
“You asked me to favor you, and this is how you repay me? The Crown Prince is your elder brother and the heir to the throne. You committed an act of insubordination using such low-handed tactics. Do you realize your mistake?”
My heart, once full of hope, turned cold in an instant.
I had waited so long, only for this result.
What else was I hoping for?
I looked up, my eyes vacant.
“Emperor Father, I do not understand where I went wrong. Is a person who is being framed supposed to just sit there and wait to be harmed? Is it an act of treason, a crime punishable by death, the moment she fights back?
“If this is how the world works, then it is the world that is wrong.
“If this world has no place for me, then kill me. Let me repay the debt of my birth and upbringing to my parents.”
I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, offering my neck to death.
Emperor Father was furious. “Are you threatening me?”
“Emperor Father, when I was little, you told me: ‘Do not provoke others if they do not provoke you, but if they do, you must destroy them’…”
“That was for enemies, not for your own flesh and blood,” Emperor Father interrupted.
I remained silent.
When one’s own flesh and blood turns vicious, they are more terrifying than any enemy. After all, an enemy could never get this close to me.
Emperor Father said, “I will give you one month to find a suitable husband. If you cannot, you will accept your Imperial Mother’s arrangements.”
I bowed and accepted the command, walking out in a daze.
Behind me, Emperor Father’s voice drifted out: “That day… it wasn’t your Imperial Mother. Do not blame her…”
He was defending her.
But what difference did it make?
Li Chengze’s greatest support was the Imperial Mother. Without her backing him, would he and Zhao Duanhua have dared to go so far?