The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “Unfilial son, you’ve deeply disappointed Us!” A majestic voice spoke, causing Li Ying to tremble and raise his head. That supreme existence of the realm had at some point walked up to him.

  “We favored you so much, so why did you do such a thing?”

  The First Prince’s expression dimmed. All the courage drained out of him, and he lowered his head and dropped to his knees.

  His crown had been blown away some time ago, and his hair draped down over his shoulders and covered his face.

  “Imperial Father, I…” the First Prince fearfully said, his body shaking.

  Although he had taken control of the one hundred thousand soldiers of the Imperial Army, seized three protectorates, and had long ago decided to start a rebellion, when he saw the Sage Emperor, instinctive fear seized his heart once more.

  When they were growing up, whether it was him or the other Princes, the Sage Emperor had always been a transcendent and unfathomably powerful being.

  This fear toward the Sage Emperor had rooted itself in his heart long ago. Thus, even though he had already decided to rebel, Li Ying had only dared to do so after waiting ten-some years, striking when the Sage Emperor was confused and at his weakest.

  Now that his coup had failed and the Sage Emperor was standing before him alive and well, Li Ying felt all his courage disappear, his grand ambitions gone.

  “Imperial Father, I was momentarily bewitched and was not in the right state of mind. Imperial Father, please forgive me.”

  The First Prince’s face was as white as a sheet of paper, and he didn’t even dare to look up at the Sage Emperor.

  “Bewitched?”

  The Sage Emperor shook his head, disappointment written on his face.

  “Was Jade Consort Xiao also because you were bewitched?”

  “I…”

  Li Ying’s face froze, and any last shred of color on his face instantly drained away.

  Jade Consort Xiao was one of the Sage Emperor’s consorts, and he had used her to frame the Fifth Prince, even killing her to ensure that she could not testify. This was a serious crime that was enough on its own for the Sage Emperor to execute him.

  “Geshu Han was an important subject of the court who had rendered great service for the country. You colluded with outsiders, throwing aside the welfare of the Great Tang and its people. Was this also because you were bewitched?”

  The Sage Emperor’s cold voice came from above. Li Ying trembled and opened his mouth to argue, but he found that he couldn’t say a word.

  “We made you the regent so that you could govern the country in Our place. We always believed that as Our eldest son, no matter how stubborn you were, you would not fall to this level. But you were blinded by greed so that you disregarded the welfare of the country. We are very disappointed!”

  The Sage Emperor sighed.

  “Imperial Father, I was wrong! I was wrong! Please, give me another chance. Your child would never dare to do this again! Your child is willing to atone for his misdeeds and be jailed for three years.”

  Li Ying knocked his head against the ground. He was keenly aware that he had lost and this was his only chance to preserve his life.

  “It’s too late!”

  The Sage Emperor placed his hands behind his back and shook his head.

  “Did you know? This was Our test for you. If you had been able to restrain yourself, We would have named you Crown Prince.

  “We have always believed that it was a good thing for a Prince to have ambition, so long as it did no harm to the country. Alas, you went well past these boundaries.”

  “Imperial Father, spare me! Spare me! Your child will never dare to do such a thing again! Your child swears!”

  Li Ying’s body shivered, and he clenched the Sage Emperor’s right leg like a drowning man.

  “Please, take this as a first offense and give me another chance!”

  Li Ying had not even a shred of his former vigor, ambition, and callousness.

  All was quiet in front of Taiji Palace. For a moment, as the Sage Emperor looked at the quivering ball at his feet, he wavered, but then he calmed back down.

  The Sage Emperor closed his eyes and loudly proclaimed, “Come! Escort the First Prince to the Imperial Clan Court! Henceforth, the Imperial Clan Court has full authority over this matter!”

  As he spoke, two Dragon Guards stepped forward.

  “Imperial Father! No!”

  The First Prince’s body froze, his face covered in disbelief.

  “Look at what your mistakes have wrought! Rivers of blood run through the Imperial City! If We give you another chance, who will give them another chance?

  “You treated political power as a mere game!”

  Stellar Energy spread out from the Sage Emperor’s feet, jolting away the First Prince. The two Dragon Guards came forward and held Li Ying down.

  Thump!

  That last rescue rope had been cut away.

  A thread in Li Ying’s mind snapped.

  Bang!

  Stellar Energy erupted from his body, jolting those two Dragon Guards away.

  “Imperial Father, must you be so heartless?”

  Several feet from his father, Li Ying straightened up, revealing his red eyes.

  Given the crimes he had committed and now that he no longer had the protection of the Sage Emperor, he understood more than anyone else what would happen once he was sent to the Imperial Clan Court.

  “Unfilial son, even now, you still refuse to repent?” the Sage Emperor coldly said, but he did not move.

  “Unfilial son, hahaha… unfilial son!”

  Li Ying’s shoulders trembled, and then his entire body quivered.

  “Hahaha, in the end, it’s always like this. I’m always going to be an unfilial son in your eyes, right?

  “Aren’t you going to ask me why I did this?

  “Let me tell you now! You taught me all of this, Imperial Father!

  “Imperial Father, you said that you favored me, but since you favored me, why did you never make me Crown Prince after so long?!

  “You let me suffer everyone’s doubting gazes!”

  Li Ying laughed like a madman, and he vented all of his hatred and dissatisfaction.

  “Because of your favor, Fourth Brother fought with me, as did Fifth Brother, Seventh Brother, and Ninth Brother! They all fought with me!

  “You even made me the regent, so why did you refuse to make me the Crown Prince?! Is this your favor? Since you weren’t willing to give it to me, I could only take it for myself. Besides, Imperial Father, didn’t you also seize your seat?”

  Anger had overcome fear, and Li Ying was practically bellowing every word.

  “Imperial Father, since you can do it, why can’t I?!”

  Buzz!

  Li Ying’s treasonous words frightened the two Dragon Guards, the Imperial Army soldiers, and even Zhu Tong’en, and all of them immediately lowered their heads.

  Everyone in the Great Tang knew that the Sage Emperor had not been the eldest. According to the traditions of primogeniture, the Sage Emperor had not been the rightful successor. To mention this was a great taboo in the Great Tang. No one had expected Li Ying to be so bold as to directly criticize the Sage Emperor in this way.

  “Your Highness, you can’t!”

  Zhu Tong’en kneeled against the ground, his heart stricken with panic. After the rebellion’s defeat, Li Ying still had a slim chance of surviving, and there had been a chance of obtaining the Sage Emperor’s forgiveness. But now, this slim chance was microscopic.

  The Sage Emperor’s face instantly chilled, and a cold energy erupted from his body. The temperature for several thousand feet instantly plunged, and everyone lowered their heads even more.

  “Continue!”

  The voice was cold and devoid of emotion.

  “Hahaha, is that not the case?”

  Li Ying stared at the Sage Emperor, not backing down an inch.

  “If you want to know, We wil
l tell you.

  “When you were five, you took a liking to a jade ruyi owned by King Rong’s second son. Because he was not willing to give it to you, when he entered the palace, you lured him to the back garden and had him fall from a tree, thus taking your revenge.

  “We believed that you were still immature then, so We pretended not to know.

  “When you were nine, your fourth brother was born. He had a delicate face and appeared cute and pleasing. When We praised him, you used the excuse of his mother being a Hu to urge your other brothers and sisters to secretly exclude him.

  “When you were thirteen, you had already developed an understanding of political power, and began to form a faction, recruiting your second brother and third brother, even buying the authority of palace maids and eunuchs to attack your fifth brother. Your fifth brother continuously yielded ground until he was eventually forced into Kunwu Training Camp. You still did not let him go. On the surface, it was your third brother who sent assassins against him, but the true architect was actually you!”

  As the Sage Emperor spoke, he coldly glanced at Li Ying.

  Chapter 1796 - Wang Chong Appears!

  Chapter 1796: Wang Chong Appears!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Buzz!

  Li Ying’s pupils constricted, and his heart quivered. He had always believed that he had kept the matter of Li Heng a secret, and there was no evidence pointing to him. Moreover, the Sage Emperor had never questioned him on the matter, much less criticized him.

  But to Li Ying’s surprise, the Sage Emperor’s sharp insight had long ago seen through it.

  “When you were seventeen, Wang Zhongsi was in command of Longxi and was at the very pinnacle of his career. You hoped to use his influence to firm up your own position, so you attempted to recruit him, but he refused. You developed a grudge, and in order to suppress his edge, you colluded with the Ü-Tsang Empire, sending them a secret message that revealed the situation in Longxi as well as the distribution of Wang Zhongsi’s soldiers. This allowed the Tibetans to be ready, and so when Wang Zhongsi attempted to take Ü-Tsang’s Stone Fortress, he was forced to turn back in frustration. Did you think you could hide this from Us?”

  Bang! The First Prince staggered backward like he had been struck by a lightning bolt.

  “Impossible!”

  Li Ying opened his eyes wide as he fearfully stared at the Sage Emperor.

  The incident from that time had been his greatest worry and fear. This crime alone was enough to lock him up in the Imperial Clan Court and strip him of his right of succession.

  But to think that the Sage Emperor had known about it for so long…!

  “This incident caused Wang Zhongsi to plunge from the pinnacle of his fame, but you were still not satisfied. You set up a feast in your residence and invited Wang Zhongsi. Exploiting his honest and frank personality and his relationship with Us, you claimed that We feared him, that his achievements had shaken the sovereign, and that he should know when to courageously back away. After that, you went to Us and requested that Wang Zhongsi be made your Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian.

  “Did We say anything wrong?” the Sage Emperor coldly said.

  In the back, the kneeling Zhu Tong’en was already drenched in cold sweat. Although he was one of the First Prince’s closest aides, the First Prince had not told them everything.

  He had known that the Eastern Palace had some connection with the Ü-Tsang Empire, but he had not known when this alliance had begun.

  And for the First Prince to have even sent intelligence to the Ü-Tsang Empire was an unforgivable crime!

  “There was no firm evidence, so We did not question you at the time. We gave you one chance, two chances, three chances, and many more. Although you had so many problems, you were still Our eldest son. We poured a great deal of effort into you. Even if you had many faults, you were still one of Our most outstanding children.

  “When you were nineteen, when Jiangnan was afflicted by flooding, you volunteered yourself and spent six months rectifying the problem.

  “When you were twenty-two, the borders of Beiting were being raided. You volunteered yourself, saying that as a Prince, you should shoulder the same worries as the people and experience the suffering of the subjects on the border. You also said that you desired to study the style of Us and Taizong and sweep away the foreigners. We permitted you to go.

  “You spent one year on the border, personally leading your soldiers in charges on the enemy. You pushed back multiple attacks from the Western Turkic Khaganate and did not let down Our expectations.

  “For these reasons, We did not investigate your past wrongs, but similarly, We did not make you the Crown Prince.”

  All was silent. Li Ying’s eyes were wide, his teeth were clenched, and his body was constantly trembling.

  “Impossible! Simply impossible!”

  He had always believed that he was a wise and shrewd character who had managed to hide his schemes from everyone, even the Sage Emperor. Little had he expected that the Sage Emperor had known everything, even his greatest secrets.

  “This was Our last chance to you, but in the end, you wasted it. You stripped yourself of the right to succeed the throne! We are very disappointed!” the Sage Emperor said.

  “I don’t believe it! I refuse!

  “You must be deceiving me! There was no intent to make me Crown Prince, no last chance! This is all a trick!”

  Li Ying’s eyes were streaked with blood as he bellowed.

  “You’re wrong. The Sage Emperor never deceived you. You were simply deceiving yourself while trying to deceive others!” A voice came from within Taiji Palace, and then another person emerged from within.

  “Who? Who is it?!”

  Li Ying savagely turned on this newcomer, and a moment later, he saw a familiar figure coming from behind the Sage Emperor.

  “Wang Chong!!”

  Li Ying’s face froze in disbelief.

  And it wasn’t just Li Ying. Zhu Tong’en and all the other Imperial Army soldiers were similarly stunned.

  There were cries of alarm from all sides. Even the Dragon Guards didn’t know what was going on.

  The previous intelligence reports had said that Wang Chong was outside with Hou Junji, but he had appeared here, and he had emerged from Taiji Palace.

  This was probably the one place in the Imperial Palace that Wang Chong was least likely to appear.

  “It’s you!”

  But after his initial shock, Li Ying exploded in fury and hatred.

  Everyone watched as Wang Chong confidently and slowly walked out from Taiji Palace.

  Fire and smoke covered the Imperial Palace, and he could see corpses everywhere he looked. Wang Chong could not help but sorrowfully sigh at this sight.

  Even though this was still a rather heavy price, it was much smaller than the price that had come with the rebellion in his memories.

  In addition, this matter was finally over!

  “Your Highness, you’re wrong.”

  Wang Chong quickly turned to Li Ying.

  “Decrees carry an enormous weight, as heavy as a mountain. If His Majesty wanted to deceive you, there would be no need to go through so much trouble, much less any need to make you the regent and give you the Imperial Seal. Does Your Highness not know the weight of the Imperial Seal?” Wang Chong sternly said.

  ‘Accepting the Mandate of Heaven, Let the People Live Long and the Country Forever Prosper.’ These were the words inscribed on the Imperial Seal, and they represented the supreme status and authority of the Son of Heaven. Since ancient times, only the Son of Heaven could hold this seal. Regents were empowered by decree, but they did not hold the Imperial Seal. In granting him the seal, the Sage Emperor had clearly exhibited his favor.

  “Bullshit!

  “Bullshit!

  “Wang Chong! If not for you, this prince would have succeeded long ago and would already be seated on the thron
e of the Sovereign of Nine and Five. The victor is king and the loser is scorned! That’s all it is! But even when I’m dead, I won’t let you go!”

  The First Prince’s eyes burned with rage. If not for Wang Chong, how could he have possibly ended up like this?

  If not for Wang Chong, he would have seized Li Heng long ago. Would there have been any need to kill Jade Consort Xiao and order Geshu Han’s death? If not for Wang Chong, what would he have had to fear with his more than one hundred thousand soldiers and three protectorates? As long as his forces could join together, he would have had a high chance of success.

  If he had been willing to assist him, the sovereign and subject complementing each other’s flaws, why couldn’t they have continued the fairytale that had begun with the Sage Emperor and Duke Jiu?

  If not for him, there would have never been so many setbacks!

  “Damndamndamn!”

  The First Prince’s eyes were red, the veins bulging all over his body. A thick black energy of the same nature as the men in black erupted from within.

  “Wang Chong, I’m going to kill you!”

  Bang! Before anyone could react, Li Ying was shooting toward Wang Chong like a cannonball.

  “Black Heaven Demon God!”

  Amidst the thick plumes of black energy, one could hear tens of thousands of howling beasts.

  Behind Li Ying, space twisted and a massive twelve-armed demon god appeared. Li Ying’s energy instantly began to climb, rising from the Imperial Martial realm to the Saint Martial realm, and then to the peak of the Saint Martial, to peak Great General, and finally drawing infinitesimally close to the Subtle realm.

  After holding it down for so many years, the First Prince finally revealed his immense cultivation level. He was far stronger than King Qi.

  “Unfilial son! You still stubbornly cling to your misguided path!” A voice resounded in the First Prince’s ears like a thunderclap.

  Boom! The Black Heaven Demon God that the First Prince had manifested lasted half a second before it was blasted apart by the Sage Emperor’s divine majesty.

  While the First Prince had displayed a high level of cultivation, he was ant-like, almost nonexistent, in front of the Sage Emperor. Boom! An immense, almost tangible pressure descended on Li Ying. Crack! Li Ying’s legs went soft, and he was rammed into the ground like a nail, blood flowing out of his arms and orifices.