“Is it the Emperor?”
As the black-clad man led the group inside with Wanqing, he removed his hood. Seeing his face, Honglian and Wanchun gasped in shock.
Then they watched as the Emperor unsealed Wanqing’s pressure points.
“What… what do you want?” Seeing the Emperor signal Sun Fengyu to release her, Wanqing collapsed to the ground following his gesture. When she noticed Prince Ning and Qingfeng lying unconscious beside her, she glared at the man before her, recalling all her suspicions, and coldly demanded an answer.
“What do I want? Second Miss Mu, let’s not pretend to be ignorant. My demand is simple—hand over the Dragon-Tiger Token, and I’ll give Prince Ning and the others the antidote. Otherwise…”
Facing Wanqing’s shock and disbelief, the Emperor smirked and laid out his terms.
“You… Your Majesty! Prince Ning and I thought we had wronged you before, but never did we imagine… He’s your own son! What could possibly drive you to this? Is the Dragon-Tiger Token truly so important that you’d sacrifice your own flesh and blood?”
Already suspicious of the Emperor’s past actions, Wanqing was stunned when he demanded the token. Though she could hardly believe it, she stared at him in shock, her voice trembling with heartbreak and disappointment.
“Indeed, nothing is more important to me than the Dragon-Tiger Token—not you, not even him. Let’s not waste time. Hand it over now, or you’ll be left to collect their corpses. Sun Fengyu—”
The Emperor sneered coldly at Wanqing’s shock and suspicion, showing not a trace of paternal warmth as he called for Sun Fengyu.
“You—Fine, I’ll give it to you. But tell me why! If he dies, are you truly willing to let Empress Sun’s son inherit the throne?”
As Sun Fengyu raised his sword to Prince Ning’s throat, Wanqing took a deep breath, suppressing her fury, and agreed—but not without demanding answers.
“The throne? He’s not my son at all. The only one fit to inherit is Prince Xiu—my child. Not him. And not you either. Both of you are the offspring of my elder brother and Consort Hui. Now do you understand?”
The Emperor burst into cold laughter at Wanqing’s words before suddenly turning to her.
“What? Your elder brother and Consort Hui? You… you’re—” Wanqing’s mind reeled at his revelation. Though she had harbored suspicions, she never imagined that this man—whose appearance even fooled the Empress Dowager—was not the true Emperor of Daqi, but Prince An.
“Correct. I was once Prince An, but now I am the Emperor. I assume you’ve pieced it together from Ye Mei’s clues and your own investigations?” The Emperor smirked arrogantly at her shock.
“No wonder. But if you threaten me like this, aren’t you afraid I’ll stop treating you? Without my help, your poison will have no cure!”
Finally understanding the truth, Wanqing glared at him, recalling his earlier pleas for her medical expertise.
“Before, I might have hesitated. But last night, I crushed Ye Mei’s forces—and his antidote is now in my hands.”
The Emperor’s cold, composed reply sent a chill down Wanqing’s spine.
“The Dragon-Tiger Token doesn’t belong to you. I don’t have it on me, and even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you.”
Now everything made sense. The poison in his system was from Ye Mei. Though she didn’t know the full history between them, their mutual manipulation and power struggle were clear.
Ye Mei’s reckless departure from the manor last night, his injury at Cold Mingye’s hands, and his subsequent poisoning upon returning to the palace—it all fit. The delicate balance between the three factions had collapsed with Ye Mei’s fall, leaving this man in control.
Though she knew he wasn’t the true Emperor, Wanqing understood she had little choice in this situation. Still, she met his gaze with icy defiance.
“If you refuse, I have countless ways to make you comply. Not just them—your entire household will pay the price. You can hold out, but they’ll all die. Sun—”
The Emperor’s expression darkened at Wanqing’s stubbornness. With a cold command, Sun Fengyu acted.
“Ugh—”
As the blade pierced Prince Ning’s shoulder, he jolted awake with a pained groan.
“Will you hand it over now?”
Seeing Wanqing’s composure shatter, the Emperor smirked. At his signal, Sun Fengyu pressed the blade deeper.
“You—Stop! I’ll give it to you. But it’s not on me now. Let me go, and I’ll return to the manor to fetch it. And you must ensure his wounds are treated immediately. If anything happens to him, I’ll destroy the token before you ever get it!”
Wanqing had faced countless dangers, but the sight of Prince Ning and Qingfeng writhing in agony shook her to the core. Though she refused to acknowledge this man’s authority, she had no choice but to yield. As Sun Fengyu’s sword carved another wound into Prince Ning, she finally snapped.
“No. If I let you leave, you’d only rally others against me. Just tell me where it is, and I’ll send someone to retrieve it. Then I’ll release them. Otherwise, you all die.”
The Emperor dismissed her plea without hesitation, tightening his grip on the situation.
“Fine. It’s buried beneath the tree outside my courtyard in the Marquis’s estate—inside an iron box. Now let them go! Prince Ning! Qingfeng! How are you? Here—quick, take this—”
Under Prince An’s relentless pressure, Wanqing relented. Though her pressure points were still sealed, she struggled to her feet and rushed to Prince Ning’s side. Seeing him and Qingfeng drenched in blood, she pulled them close, tears streaming as she administered medicine from a small vial.
“How touching. But without my special antidote, even your medical skills won’t save them. My blade is no ordinary weapon—its wounds won’t heal without the cure. Even if you bring the token now, they’ll bleed out before long.”
The Emperor watched Wanqing’s desperate efforts with cruel amusement, relishing his handiwork.
“That treacherous snake—Prince An! No wonder he’s targeting our master and Miss Wanqing. I have to save them—”
From above, Honglian and the others witnessed Prince Ning and Qingfeng’s suffering and Wanqing’s despair. Unable to bear it any longer, Honglian surged forward.
“Don’t act rashly! His blade’s effects are real. Without his antidote, not even the gods can stop the bleeding.”
The cloaked man’s voice was grim as he stopped them, his eyes fixed on the scene below.
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