The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Boom!

  Bolts of Sword Qi and sharp needles barraged the figure, but the armored man was like a steel wall, blocking all of these attacks while remaining utterly unmoved.

  “How could this be?!”

  Asura paled, his pupils constricting. He was a Brigadier General expert, bordering on the Great General level. Otherwise, the First Prince would have never regarded him as one of his trusted aides, and he would have never been assigned on such special missions.

  No one except the three Grand Marshals of the Imperial Army were a match for him within the Imperial Palace. And the three Grand Marshals had been ordered away long ago by the First Prince. Those that remained were no match for him, not even that Imperial Army Marshal, Zhao Fengchen, who had caused so much trouble not too long ago.

  This was why he had not cared or panicked upon learning that he was in a trap.

  He couldn’t understand how there could be such an expert in the palace. To be able to take on his attack and be completely unmoved was simply absurd, and he had never heard about there being such an expert in the palace.

  But the situation was still rapidly developing.

  Bang!

  A split-second after his attacks had been blocked, the air exploded as a massive axe, pitch-black and lightless, hurtled toward the air.

  Fwoosh!

  The air suddenly turned twisted and indistinct, and what was empty air just moments ago suddenly revealed a figure vomiting blood. That axe had struck his chest, which was now soaked in blood.

  “How could this be? Who are you?”

  As he gazed at the terrifying existence before him, Asura felt an intense fear and panic. He had never imagined that the figure who had emerged from behind ‘Jade Consort Xiao’ would be so frightening.

  This was a completely one-sided battle. This man was far more powerful than he was, even finding his hiding spot with a single glance.

  If he hadn’t been so sure that the King of Foreign Lands was in his residence and had never left, and if not for the large difference in body size between the two, he would have believed that the King of Foreign Lands himself had defied the laws of the Great Tang and entered the palace in the middle of the night.

  Flee!

  Asura panicked, and there was only one thought left in his mind. Swish! With no time to think, he blinked away, transforming into a zigzagging lightning bolt, leaving behind afterimages and splashes of blood in the air as he ran.

  He had come with ease and grace, but left in utter panic!

  Right now, the only thing he could believe in was that while his opponent was more powerful, his own movement technique was probably superior. As long as he could get out of Shuhua Palace, he was confident that his understanding of the palace would allow him to find a hall in which he could hide and throw off the pursuit.

  But Asura’s plan was too simple!

  A sharp cry of ‘Seize the assassin!’ shattered the silence of the palace and made Asura’s heart sink like a stone.

  Asura hadn’t even left the grounds of Shuhua Palace when he heard the whooshing of torches coming to life in the darkness, so many of them that Shuhua Palace was as lit as brightly as day.

  And within the light of the torches, one could see that countless Imperial Army soldiers had tightly surrounded the place.

  Kaclack!

  Creaking could be heard as countless master archers pulled on their bowstrings and took aim at Asura. In the blink of an eye, countless arrows were pouring down.

  “Seize the assassin!”

  “Don’t let him run!”

  Furious roars came from all around.

  “Bastard!”

  Asura clenched his fists, his face ghastly pale.

  Chapter 1624 - The Dust Settles!

  Chapter 1624: The Dust Settles!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Asura had never imagined that his foe would be so crafty. He had scouted out the area before and seen that no one was around. Otherwise, he would have never walked into the trap in the first place.

  But it was clear that his foe had outplayed him. They had positioned men even farther off and waited until now to close the net.

  If this tight encirclement had not been enough to make Asura yield, if he still wanted to try and break out, at this moment, even more torches appeared as the various consorts appeared with their maids, eunuchs, and servitors. Asura’s face instantly turned ashen.

  “This consort can’t believe it! To think it was true! Someone really was trying to kill Jade Consort Xiao!”

  “How despicable! They even tried to frame Jade Consort Xiao and the Fifth Prince!”

  “Just what sort of person was behind it all? We must have the Sage Emperor investigate this! Seize that assassin, quickly! Don’t let him escape! We might be able to find a clue on him.”

  “Everyone, hear my order! Seize that assassin, and this consort will richly reward you!”

  The voices of the various consorts caused Asura’s heart to sink. When evil grew one foot taller, the righteous would grow ten feet. Anything he did now would be pointless.

  Even if he turned back around and killed Jade Consort Xiao, it would still be pointless.

  After tonight, whether Jade Consort Xiao lived or died, Fifth Prince Li Heng would be walking out of the Imperial Clan Court.

  And he was the crucial piece that would allow Li Heng to go free!

  King of Foreign Lands!

  Asura looked up, only one name on his mind. Although he had no evidence, Asura was sure that the King of Foreign Lands had planned all of this.

  He had lost, utterly and thoroughly.

  And he had brought the First Prince down with him!

  ……

  “What? Asura was captured?”

  The Eastern Palace resounded with furious roars that shook its very foundations.

  “How could this be? How could this be?! It’s impossible!!”

  The First Prince raved and bellowed.

  He had just gone to deal with a weakling consort, and Asura was a peak Brigadier General, but he had been captured? How could that be?

  He would never believe it!

  The First Prince’s eyes were bulging in rage and disbelief.

  “Your Highness, this news is confirmed! We also didn’t think that Jade Consort Xiao would get in touch with the other consorts. Even the Assistant Minister of the Imperial Clan Court was called over,” a kneeling guard reported.

  Around him, Zhu Tong’en and the other Eastern Palace aides were also kneeling, panicked looks on their faces.

  This development was too sudden, and not even they had expected it!

  “Impossible! This can’t be! I transferred away all three Grand Marshals! Just who else in the inner palace could be so powerful that they could heavily injure Asura with just one axe strike!?”

  The First Prince gnashed his teeth, his last few words unleashed in an infuriated roar.

  His previous subordinates had all been killed by Zhao Fengchen and Wang Chong’s joint operation, and Asura had been his sole loyal and reliable subordinate left.

  He could still find powerful subordinates, but how could he find ones as loyal and reliable as Asura at such a critical time?

  “Your Highness, we don’t know either!”

  Everyone was pale, their minds in disarray.

  While assisting the First Prince, they had assisted him diligently in defeating numerous foes and planning many operations. There had never been any sort of error, but in this rather simple operation, one flaw after another had emerged, and even their colleague Asura had been captured. This made all of them panicked and uneasy.

  “Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!”

  The First Prince was even more enraged by his terrified advisors.

  “How could it be like this? Impossible, impossible! This prince doesn’t believe that Jade Consort Xiao would be this shrewd. Wang Chong, it was you! It was definitely you!!”

  Th
e First Prince furiously paced within his palace, his voice tearing from his enraged bellows.

  “Wang Chong, things won’t end like this! This prince won’t let you go!”

  ……

  Whoosh!

  As the First Prince bellowed, a carrier pigeon took flight from the Imperial Palace and landed several thousand meters away in the King of Foreign Lands Residence.

  Within the resplendent hall, Xu Keyi received the pigeon, glanced at the letter it had delivered, and then smiled as he walked up to Wang Chong and bowed.

  “Your Highness, the fish that escaped the net last time, Asura, has been captured. Just as you predicted, the First Prince really did walk into the trap.

  “In addition, the consorts and concubines were all there to serve as witnesses, as was the Assistant Minister of the Imperial Clan Court. With so many people as eyewitnesses, the Fifth Prince’s departure from the Imperial Clan Court is certain.”

  Wang Chong silently listened, his eyes half-closed and his face expressionless.

  The entire incident from start to finish had been basically as he had predicted. From the moment he learned the news, he knew that the First Prince was involved.

  The First Prince was vicious and willing to resort to any method, so Wang Chong could only respond with his own trick.

  The revival of ‘Jade Consort Xiao’ had completely upset the First Prince’s tempo.

  The First Prince would never know that Wang Chong’s every action from the moment he had departed his residence to the moment he had returned had been deliberate. He had even left the First Prince’s scouts unmolested so that they could see it all.

  The First Prince was just too vigilant, particularly after the Public Order Squad and border incidents. Wang Chong knew that the First Prince regarded him as a major threat and would be watching his every movement, and anything he did would draw the First Prince’s suspicion.

  Thus, Wang Chong let his foe see all of his actions. Only this would allow the First Prince to disregard his subordinates in the shadows.

  “Your Highness, should we eliminate the First Prince’s scouts outside the residence?” Cheng Sanyuan asked.

  “There’s no need.”

  Wang Chong waved his hand.

  “Let them do as they please!”

  What was true was false and what was false was true. This was the only way he could prevent the First Prince and King Qi from seeing his true goals.

  Wang Chong paused for a moment before adding, “In addition, Xu Keyi, write a letter of gratitude for me to Consort Taizhen.”

  “Yes, Your Highness!”

  Xu Keyi bowed.

  Outside officials were forbidden from entering the palace after the Xu Period (7-9 pm). This was an iron law that not even Wang Chong could defy.

  The number of experts in the palace that could heavily injure an expert like Asura with one blow could be counted with one’s fingers, and Consort Taizhen just happened to have one. This was a secret Dragon Guard that the Sage Emperor had dispatched specifically to guard Consort Taizhen.

  Dragon Guards had a special status and Consort Taizhen herself had a very sensitive status, so Wang Chong had the Dragon Guard wear a suit of black armor and a black mask to conceal his identity.

  Thus, Consort Taizhen had played no small part in the success of this operation.

  ……

  Time flew by. Jade Consort Xiao had been attacked and made to seem like she had committed suicide, and after she survived this tribulation, another assassin had made an attempt on her life. The consorts of the palace and their numerous maids and eunuchs had all witnessed this, and the entire palace quaked. All the one-hundred-thousand-some Imperial Army soldiers in the palace were mobilized to scour the place for any more assassins.

  Three days after this massive operation had begun, outside the Imperial Clan Court…

  Boom!

  The gate opened with a boom, and Fifth Prince Li Heng and Li Jingzhong walked out together.

  “Finally out!”

  Fifth Prince Li Heng couldn’t help but emotionally sigh as he looked at the sky outside the Imperial Clan Court.

  Although this trial had only lasted for a few days, it had felt like years for Li Heng.

  This was the closest he had been to death. It was also the first time he had ever been imprisoned within the Imperial Clan Court, and it had even been for the charge of meddling with the harem!

  This was something that he had never imagined possible.

  If not for Wang Chong, he would have truly become a prisoner with no right to inherit the throne.

  “Your Highness, the First Prince is willing to go to any lengths to obtain victory. We can’t back down anymore!”

  Li Jingzhong took in a greedy breath of air. As he basked in its freshness, he found this chance to once again see the light of day even more precious.

  Only when one lost something would one realize how precious it was. Even though he had left the Imperial Clan Court alive, just the thought of his experience had him sweating in fear.

  Power was the most fundamental thing in the world, that which allowed one to control one’s own fate. Without power, he would be manipulated by others as they pleased, and he would end up in the Imperial Clan Court again.

  After a few moments of silence, Li Heng spoke with an entirely different tone in his voice.

  “Uncle Jing, I understand!”

  A stunned Li Jingzhong subconsciously turned to look and saw Li Heng looking forward with a profound light in his eyes. Li Jingzhong saw a determined look in Li Heng’s eyes and a luster and radiance on that young face that he had never seen before.

  “I won’t yield again! Since First Imperial Brother wants to fight, then we’ll fight to the end!”

  After a few moments of stunned silence, Li Jingzhong understood what was happening and became ecstatic.

  Li Heng’s eyes were sparkling. Well-behaved men were bullied, and well-behaved horses were ridden. The War of the Princes had always been a cruel affair, and this experience had finally made Li Heng understand that he could show no compassion in the War of the Princes, nor could he back down.

  On this point, master and servant were in complete agreement.

  ……

  With the Fifth Prince’s release, this incident that had riled up the palace and even drawn in the harem finally came to an end.

  Meanwhile, after the series of ‘frights’ she had experienced, Jade Consort Xiao began to get weaker and weaker. Half a month later, she tripped and fell into a lake, where she ‘drowned’. But this time, Jade Consort Xiao’s death did not cause much of a stir within the palace.

  Not long after the death of ‘Jade Consort Xiao’, a carrier pigeon flew into the King of Foreign Lands Residence.

  Chapter 1625 - Coda!

  Chapter 1625: Coda!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Your Highness, it’s a letter from the Fifth Prince!”

  Xu Keyi glanced at the letter and was immediately very interested.

  “It’s about the Jade Consort Xiao matter. The Fifth Prince wants to know what is going on with Jade Consort Xiao.”

  Wang Chong was cultivating while seated on his throne, and after hearing this, he couldn’t help but smile. After leaving the prison, the Fifth Prince had only been able to suppress his curiosity for a few days.

  “He still couldn’t wait!” Wang Chong softly chuckled as he immediately rejected the idea. “Tell the Fifth Prince that he can keep guessing. I won’t tell him.”

  The Fifth Prince was merely asking out of curiosity, but he was still a Prince. Knowing too much was not necessarily a good thing.

  “It’s about time. Let’s go!”

  Placing the Fifth Prince’s letter on the table, Wang Chong stood up and began to head out.

  Inside the hall, Cheng Sanyuan and Xu Keyi smiled at each other. Although Wang Chong hadn’t said where he was going, everyone already knew.

  W
hen leaving the residence, Wang Chong did not use his ordinary royal carriage, but instead boarded a rather unremarkable one. This carriage circled around the city before finally stopping in front of an ordinary house in the eastern part of the capital.

  There was a secluded yard here, and bamboo had been planted in one corner, tall and straight, exuding vitality.

  A little stream flowed past the bamboo, and standing next to the stream was an elegant and graceful woman who was seemingly waiting for someone.

  Upon seeing that familiar figure, Wang Chong smiled and went up to greet her.

  “When did you get here?” Wang Chong asked as he walked up with Cheng Sanyuan and Xu Keyi.

  The woman by the stream suddenly turned her head, revealing her cold and beautiful face that exuded nobility. This was clearly that ‘Jade Consort Xiao’ that the palace had recently announced to have died by drowning. Upon seeing Wang Chong, Jade Consort Xiao seemed slightly panicked and startled.

  “King of Foreign Lands, why have you appeared here? Impudent! Should you not kneel before this consort?”

  Jade Consort Xiao seemed both shocked and furious.

  While Wang Chong remained silent, Cheng Sanyuan and Xu Keyi were on the verge of exploding in laughter.

  “Enough!”

  Wang Chong shook his head, apparently helpless against this woman’s mischievous nature.

  “The harem incident is over, so there’s no need for you to use this face anymore. Miyasame, you should go back to your original appearance.”

  There was only one person so close to their group that Wang Chong called ‘Miyasame’.

  Sure enough, after Wang Chong had spoken, the woman’s face began to ripple like water, revealing another, even more alluring and cold face—the face of the assassin from the Eastern Islands, Miyasame Ayaka.

  Miyasame Ayaka was one of Wang Chong’s earliest followers, but unlike the others, Miyasame Ayaka had originally tried to assassinate Wang Chong but was later recruited.

  Later on, because of some problems back in the Eastern Islands, Miyasame Ayaka returned to her home. Now that everything was resolved, she had finally returned to Wang Chong’s side.