Priceless: A widow with a baby asks the prince to marry again

On the city wall, pairs of eyes, like hawks, closely watched the tragedy unfolding under the city gate.

When the Minister of War saw Chu Wei pick up the long sword and stagger towards Qin Shuangyu with a sacrificial determination, the silent man in black beside him suddenly tensed up! A violent murderous intent that almost became tangible instantly spread!

His body leaned forward slightly, as if he was about to pounce down from the high city wall in the next second!

The Minister of War immediately grabbed the man in black by the wrist and shouted, "Don't interfere!"

"She...she is about to take action! Let me down! The master said that Qin Shuangyu's life can be left to me to kill!" Tianyi's voice suppressed extreme anxiety and unwillingness, like a ferocious beast about to break free from a cage.

"Tianyi! Are you going to disobey your master's will?!" The voice of the Minister of War was not loud, but full of confidence.

As if being doused with a basin of ice water, Tianyi stood there unwillingly... his master Chu Tianming's last words... this was the iron rule he lived by! His strength to struggle instantly dissipated. Even if Tianyi had used a little more force, he could have easily broken free from the restraints, but his body still trembled slightly with anger, and a suppressed, beast-like growl emanated from his throat.

Seeing him stop, the Minister of War relaxed his tense nerves a little, but he didn't loosen his grip on his wrist. He analyzed the current situation in a low voice, trying to appease him thoroughly: "The master did say that Qin Shuangyu's life 'can' be left to you to kill."

He deliberately emphasized the word "may" and continued, "But 'may' does not mean 'must'! Princess Chu Wei personally killed her husband, heartlessly! This is the result that the master would like to see most!"

The Minister of War's gaze swept towards the city walls, where Chu Wei's sword was already pressed against Qin Shuangyu's back, who was at his mercy. His voice was filled with the coldness of someone who knew the reason: "Only in this way can the resentment of the Qin family army and the criticism of the world be attributed to this 'evil woman' Chu Wei! She already has a criminal record. Now that she has killed her daughter with her own hands, it will be difficult to doubt that she killed her husband!"

"All the sins and hatred are borne by her alone! No one will hold His Royal Highness Prince Kang or the court responsible for this blood debt! And she is Qin Shuangyu's wife, and her children are also Qin Shuangyu's flesh and blood. This life-and-death struggle can only be hastily resolved here! This is the outcome the master wants, minimal loss, clean and tidy, with no future troubles!"

The resentful anger in Tianyi's heart flickered like a candle in the wind and gradually dimmed under the cold analysis of the Minister of War.

He stared silently down at the city walls, watching Qin Shuangyu, the man he had longed to slay day and night, being ended by a single, effortless blow. How could Qin Shuangyu die with the reputation of being undefeated? — Defeat by the Third Prince didn't count... That was the master's child, and the master's child was naturally the best!

And he was given the name Tianyi by his master! He should be the most powerful martial artist in the world! But in front of everyone, Qin Shuangyu cut off his hair crown! The master said this was a great shame and humiliation!

However, the hair crown was given by the master... and the master did not want him to interfere with this wonderful ending...

"Ugh..." Tianyi let out a short, muffled groan from his throat, as if his throat was being strangled. He looked at Qin Shuangyu's blood gushing out with a fierce look, and leaned forward. However, because his daughter was still in his arms, he couldn't lie down on the ground. His broad back arched, forming a small dome...

The fatal blow that he had practiced for twenty years and longed to inflict on his enemy day and night was accomplished by a woman who couldn't even hold a sword in a way that was almost "merciful".

The Minister of War slowly released his grip on Tianyi's wrist and sighed silently, with a subtle hint of complexity. He knew that this was the only thing Tianyi wanted to do on his own, but he was deprived of it. However, Tianyi himself might not be able to feel the cruelty of it.

Tian Yi felt as if all his strength had been drained away. He looked down at the city wall. After the princess had stabbed her with her sword, she placed the sword against her own neck. She stared at the silent father and daughter for a long time, her sword twitching...

The flame that had burned in Tianyi's heart for twenty years was completely extinguished, leaving only a boundless sense of bewilderment and emptiness, a feeling of being toyed with by fate. He slowly turned away from the pool of blood, his gaze fixed in a certain direction, like layers of a building, landing on the cold imperial tomb.

"Then I..." He muttered in a whisper, "...I should go...to protect the master..."

Protecting his master, Chu Tianming, who had fallen into eternal rest and taken his desire for revenge with him to the grave, was the only fate he could imagine at this moment.

"Tianyi!" The voice of the Minister of War rang out again, carrying an unquestionable command, "Your life has never been decided by yourself. The master has other plans for you."

Tianyi showed reluctance again, but turned around and looked at the Minister of War with a questioning look.

The Minister of War met his gaze and stated clearly, "When His Royal Highness Prince Kang returns triumphantly to the capital, you must apologize to His Royal Highness! Explain that you, following the late emperor's will, lurked on the roadside in Kaifeng, feigning an attack and killing, attempting to prevent his return to power and faking his own death. His Royal Highness will understand your master's good intentions... and from now on, everything you have will be left to the new master... life or death, reward or punishment... all is determined by fate!"

Tianyi's pupils shrank slightly. He didn't want a new master... but he was silent for a long time. But in the end, he nodded slowly and very heavily. This was the master's order.

Everything he has is given by his master, and his master's wishes always come first. If his heart goes against it, he should obey his master absolutely...

On the city wall, everyone looked down at the bloody battlefield that was gradually shrouded in shadows, their eyes calm.

The late emperor's chess game had yielded a crucial move, but it wasn't the final one. The Minister of War didn't know where the final move was; he only knew that his master was always right and that everything he did was right.

A cold wind blew by, and the 100,000 Qin family soldiers retreated several miles away in silent grief and confusion, slowly retreating into the distance.

"Open the city gates and gather the bodies of the Princess, Wei Yu, and Chang Ning."

"The pigeon will report the current situation to His Royal Highness Prince Kang, and he will make the final decision."

"Oh, right, send a letter to General Zhenyuan right away. The crisis has been resolved. We can wait for an opportunity to act mid-way. There's no need to show up in the capital..."

When the imperial power changes, everyone is a chess piece, and will move towards their own destiny according to the will of the emperor, until the new emperor seizes power and becomes the new ruler.

...

Across the vast rivers, the city of Jinling in the south of the Yangtze River has lost its former luxury and bustle.

Prince Kang, Chu Shikun, was in charge of the palace, with documents piling up like mountains.

The three main culprits, Prime Minister Zhou, Concubine Xian, and Chu Shiqi, are dead, but what they left behind is a situation that is so huge that it is suffocating.

"Participation", "involvement", "dependence"... these words appear repeatedly in countless reports.

Chu Shikun rubbed his swollen temples. If the law really were to be followed, the number of aristocratic families, gentry, landlords, and even the common people and slaves who had inextricable ties to the Zhou family and its cronies would exceed millions. The entire Jiangnan region would be littered with corpses...

This can't be done... nor is it necessary. Chu Shikun pondered secretly.

He knew very well that the storm he had set off in Jinling City was under the righteous pretext of "settling accounts with the regicide and treason", and he had cleverly borrowed the long-accumulated anger of the oppressed people to destroy the manors and businesses of these families in Jinling with lightning speed.

But Jiangnan isn't just about Nanjing. A cunning rabbit has three burrows. Those great families have businesses all over the southern region. If they were to be completely wiped out, it would only lead to confrontation. Desperate, Jiangnan and even the entire Great Xia would be plunged into endless chaos...

The attendant presented a summarized list.

Even though Chu Shikun was mentally prepared, his pupils couldn't help but shrink suddenly! Shocking!

Hundreds of millions of taels of gold and silver!

Jewelry, jade, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, rare medicinal herbs... piled like mountains!

However, in Chu Shikun's eyes, these dizzying wealth and intangible things were far less chilling than another list - the countless confiscated land deeds, house deeds, salt permits, tea permits, mining shares, and grain transport shares...

These black and white papers depict a suffocatingly large web! It covers almost the entire Jiangnan region, and its greedy tentacles have even reached further!

Weaving, tea, silk, porcelain... these symbols of Jiangnan's prosperity had long been under their control. Even more terrifying, even the salt and iron industries, vital to the nation's very existence, had been coerced and exploited by these deeply rooted Jiangnan clans! They were no longer simply wealthy gentry, but monstrous parasites parasitizing the Great Xia Empire, madly sucking the blood of the people! Through generations of marriages and vested interests, they monopolized trade, manipulated market prices, and even extended their influence to the very foundations of the grain transport system and taxation!

Jinling is the core hub of this vast web of interests that encompasses the entire world! It can even be said to be the capital of these aristocratic families!

"A pest to the nation! A great scourge to the people!"

Chu Shikun's chest was boiling with rage. He slammed his fist down on the desk, causing the pen and inkstone to vibrate. If these termites were allowed to continue to expand, the foundation of Daxia would eventually be eaten away by them! Until it collapsed!

Rage burned in his chest like magma, almost bursting out! However, at the peak of his anger, Chu Shikun's thoughts suddenly stopped, as if struck by a cold lightning -

Behind Chu Shiqi is the Zhou family, now known as "the most powerful family in Jiangnan." Strictly speaking, Chu Shiqi was only an accomplice who protected and condoned the crime of regicide by poisoning his father. The real culprits were Prime Minister Zhou and his daughter, Consort Xian!

However, if Chu Shiqi hadn't been so obsessed as to move the capital to Jiangnan and bring the core of his power to the center of Nanjing...

Even if the Zhou family was held accountable for the crime of regicide, and even if all nine generations of their clan were executed, the scope of its involvement would never reach the level it has now!

Even Chu Shikun could not see so clearly the terrifying network of interests buried deep in the fertile land of Jiangnan, which was almost as decadent as the country!

Everything was so smooth... so smooth it was weird!

From the "accidental" death of their father, Chu Shiqi's usurpation of the throne and the relocation of the capital, the Zhou family, along with other aristocratic families, expanded and became exposed, until the sword stained with the blood of the emperor fell! These rats had no way to escape and could only wait in fear for their fate!

Are these drastic changes in the world, which are linked one to another and are pressing forward step by step, really a coincidence of destiny?

It's like... it's like the water of a river is precisely guided, rushing down along the ditches that have been dug long ago, and finally converging here, forming this turbulent situation!

A bone-chilling chill instantly gripped Chu Shikun!

He seemed to see a pair of invisible hands, calmly manipulating the chessboard of the world behind the curtain of his father's "sudden death"! And these hands were turning the tide, treating everyone, including himself, as chess pieces... These hands might very well be his father, the emperor who now rests in the imperial mausoleum - Chu Tianming!

This thought was like thunder, exploding in his mind!

Just as he was feeling emotionally charged and racking his brains over the shocking ills of Jiangnan, thinking about how to cure the disease without completely paralyzing Jiangnan, an urgent secret report from the capital, sent over 800 miles, was quietly presented to his desk.

Chu Shikun unfolded the secret report and scanned it. It detailed the gruesome fratricide outside the capital's gates: Princess Chu Wei had used her own daughter to force Wei Yu to withdraw his troops, a standoff that ended with the princess herself murdering her daughter and her husband... Aside from the three of them, no one else suffered any loss...

It was like a hundred thousand soldiers were at the gates of the city, but only a light breeze blew...

At first, there was shock, and then a huge sense of absurdity! Chu Wei...that noble and arrogant imperial aunt, would she actually go this far?

But soon, a cold chill crept up his spine. He also eliminated the hidden danger at the lowest cost! All of this was too smooth, too coincidental! From his father's sudden death, Chu Shihuan being hunted by Chu Shiqi, to being entangled with the equally ambitious Qin Shuangyu...

Chu Shikun stood up suddenly, walked to the window, and looked out at the misty Jiangnan. He seemed to see his father's cold, all-seeing eyes, staring at him silently through time and space.

He finally became convinced that everything was planned...

"Father..." Chu Shikun murmured to himself, his voice trembling with an unnoticeable awe and a heartbroken remembrance. Perhaps even his father's own death was a sacrifice for the chess game of the world...

After the shock, there is a huge lesson and a heavy responsibility.

He understood that what he inherited was not only a throne, but also the Great Xia Kingdom, which had been carefully planned and cleared of obstacles by his father, but still had countless complex problems waiting for him to take over and solve.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his turbulent emotions, and once again devoted himself to the chess game of the world that would never end and could never end.

In a corner of the palace, there is a quiet but heavily guarded courtyard.

Qin Tao's face was haggard, his eyes dim, and he had long lost the high spirits he had when he escorted Chu Shihuan out of the capital. These days, he had heard about the dramatic changes in Jiangnan, the demise of the Zhou family, and vaguely knew that his own army was approaching the capital, and his heart was filled with ominous premonitions.

The door was pushed open, Chu Shikun walked in, and the servants stayed outside.

"Cousin..." Qin Tao raised his head and called softly, a complex expression flashed in his eyes, and finally turned into a dead silence. He did not stand up to salute, but just looked up at the person who came quietly.

Chu Shikun didn't waste any time and directly handed over the secret report that detailed the tragedy outside the capital.

Qin Tao took it doubtfully and unfolded it. At first, he was bewildered, but then his pupils suddenly contracted! The hand holding the paper began to tremble violently! His breathing became heavy, and his face instantly turned as pale as paper!

"No... Impossible... Mother... How could Mother... Zhen'er... Zhen'er!!!"

He suddenly raised his head, staring at Chu Shikun with bloodshot eyes, his voice hoarse and broken, "This is fake! Right?! It's you, cousin, who's lying to me?! You want to scare me on purpose, right?!"

Chu Shikun's face was expressionless, but there was a hint of pity in his eyes that Qin Tao couldn't discern. "My lord, there's no need to lie to you. This is the true report that the commander of the capital witnessed with his own eyes and was delivered by carrier pigeon. Of the Qin family, only your wife and your young son, Qin Zhao, remain."

Every word hit Qin Tao like a hammer in the heart! He stumbled back, bumping into the corner of the table, and the secret report fell out of his hands. He held his head in his hands, whimpering in agony like a wild animal, and his body slid down the wall to the ground.

"Why...why...Mom...Zhen'er...Dad..."

He was incoherent, tears streaming down his face. He still felt it was absurd and unbelievable, but the immense pain of losing his loved ones and the endless self-blame had already overwhelmed him: "It's all my fault... It's all my fault! If I hadn't wanted to leave the capital... If I hadn't gone to the southwest to find my father... If I hadn't persuaded my father to seek revenge... If..."

All the things he had experienced became Qin Tao's regret. If he had made some different choices along the way, would today's tragic news not have happened?

If he had told his father the news that his nephew was still alive, wouldn't his father have been blinded by hatred and wouldn't have rushed to his death? At least, he wouldn't have lost all hope at the last moment...

Chu Shikun listened quietly to Qin Tao's mumbling in the abyss of regret. Those assumptions about "what if" were like broken bubbles, appearing pale and powerless in the face of the cold reality.

His thoughts drifted uncontrollably to another "confession" he had recently received—Chu Shihuan's carefully worded letter of atonement. The letter was filled with utmost humility, deftly shifting all blame onto Qin Tao and his son, as if he were merely an innocent fallen leaf, swept along by the Qin family's surging ambitions...

His gaze shifted from Qin Tao's painfully curled figure to the misty rain outside the window. A clear and cold thought emerged in Chu Shikun's mind:

"He sees the difference between truth and falsehood, but truth and falsehood are no longer important."

Qin Tao was addicted to the bitter sea of "what ifs". He felt real regret, but it was of no use.

Chu Shihuan's use of "innocent" oil paint is a hypocritical excuse, and his heart is despicable.

The last trace of ambiguity in Chu Shikun's heart, which was affected by his blood, completely dissipated.

Without looking at Qin Tao lying on the ground immersed in a painful dream, Chu Shikun turned around and strode away.

The heavy door slowly closed behind him, isolating him from the endless regrets and tearful "ifs", along with the misty rain of Jiangnan.