Chapter 89

“Tomorrow, His Majesty is hosting a banquet for Consort Ling to show his favor. As the family members of the Minister of Justice, you naturally have the right to attend—and to see the emperor.”

“I have something here that may help you assassinate him.”

Yun Yaoyao produced a crossbow about the size of a palm, complete with a short bolt.

Yan Fengming frowned. “They’ll search everyone entering the palace. The emperor’s presence will be even more heavily guarded. There’s no way we can bring something like that inside.”

To his surprise, Yun Yaoyao swiftly dismantled the crossbow and bolt into a collection of tiny parts.

“I’ve already considered that. Both the crossbow and the bolt can be disassembled and reassembled. All you have to do is hide the pieces in different places on your bodies, get past the searches, sneak them into the palace banquet, assemble the crossbow as quickly as possible, aim at the emperor’s heart, and kill him with a single shot!”

By the time she finished, even Yun Yaoyao herself was getting fired up.

Who could understand the feeling of personally teaching other people how to kill you?

“Assembly and accuracy won’t be easy. You’ll stay here today and train intensively in both.”

“After you finish training, go back to the Yan residence. Remember to act obedient and don’t reveal anything about what happened today. You must also completely distance yourselves from Prince Ze, so Minister Yan will let down his guard and be willing to bring you to the palace banquet.”

The Yan siblings nodded. “Mm!”

Thus began Yun Yaoyao’s transformation into a tyrannical drill instructor.

“Keep going! Faster! No stopping! Your assembly is still nowhere near smooth enough!”

“You can’t even hit the bull’s-eye from this distance? What are you good for? Keep shooting!”

“You’re the worst students I’ve ever trained! As dumb as pigs!”

“Prince Ze is still suffering in the Heavenly Prison! How dare you slack off? No breaks—keep practicing!”

Before Yun Yaoyao returned to the imperial palace, she thoughtfully left two Dragon Shadow Guards behind to serve as even more ruthless instructors.

The Yan siblings had never endured any real hardship. Under such brutal training, they completely broke down. By the end, they were sobbing as their hands and feet trembled uncontrollably.

Whenever they could no longer bear it and wanted to give up and collapse, the Dragon Shadow Guards would drift toward them like ghosts and whisper demonic words into their ears.

“You’re Prince Ze’s only hope~”

“If you love someone, you should be willing to give everything for him. Are you saying that, for Prince Ze, you can’t even endure a single day of hardship~~?”

“Prince Ze is suffering in prison, waiting for you to rescue him~~~”

“Prince Ze~”

“Prince~ Ze~~”

“Prince~ Ze~~~~~!”

Both their bodies and minds teetered on the edge of collapse. The words “Prince Ze” echoed incessantly in their ears like a demon’s whisper, while the two ferocious brutes standing over them gave them no choice but to continue practicing through their wailing and sobbing.

It was not until dawn the next day that the Dragon Shadow Guards finally allowed them to leave.

Yan Fengming and Yan Yuyou dragged their nearly ruined “corpses” back to the Yan residence. The moment they saw their worried and haggard family members, they burst into genuine, heart-rending sobs.

“Father! Mother! Grandmother! Home is still the best, sob!”

“From now on, we’ll listen to you properly. We’ll never throw another tantrum!”

The two of them kept silent about everything that had happened that day and did nothing but cry.

Seeing this, Madam Yan and the old madam stopped asking questions and began soothing them with aching hearts.

Yan Qinghong cautiously asked, “What about Prince Ze...?”

The moment they heard those two words, the siblings shuddered and shook their heads repeatedly.

“Don’t mention him again! I’m never going to look for him anymore!”

“I’m not repaying any debt of gratitude to him, either!”

Although they said this to deceive Yan Qinghong, their reactions were not feigned.

After more than half a day of demonic training, they had genuinely developed a stress response to the words “Prince Ze.”

Seeing this, the furrows in Yan Qinghong’s brow slowly smoothed out, and he smiled in relief.

His two wicked children had finally made some progress. As long as they could change, that was all that mattered.

The teahouse incident earlier that day had been arranged in advance by him and His Majesty. Although he had no idea what his son and daughter had gone through afterward, judging from their condition, they had clearly suffered quite a bit.

They were still his children, after all, and Yan Qinghong felt a pang of heartache. “Go on downstairs and get some proper rest.”

“I suppose being confined these past few days drove you stir-crazy enough to sneak out. I won’t pursue the matter this time, but don’t do it again. There’s a banquet in the palace tomorrow. I’ll take you both along, so you can relax a little.”

With that, Yan Qinghong turned and walked back to his room, his steps light and the smile on his lips impossible to suppress.

His Majesty really did have a way to deal with them!

Tomorrow, he would have to find an opportunity to thank His Majesty properly.

Now that the problem with his wicked children had been solved, he could finally throw himself into His Majesty’s embrace without a care in the world~

Ha ha!

After going to sleep, Yan Qinghong dreamed only of sweet things.

The next day, another dispute over Prince Ze broke out in the Hall of Political Affairs.

Compared with the previous few days, however, Prince Ze’s faction had now grown increasingly feeble.

The factions under Du Guanliu had been making a fortune off Prince Ze’s misfortune, and the Yaoyao Corps was no less enthusiastic. Under this two-pronged suppression, Prince Ze’s faction had less and less room to survive.

After court, Grand Tutor Tu was still standing outside the Hall of Political Affairs, shivering in the cold and preparing to submit another remonstrance.

Yun Yaoyao gave him a faint smile and brushed him off with the classic “put it off until later.”

“If Grand Tutor Tu has something to say, you can wait until after the palace banquet.”

With that, she walked past him without looking back and headed to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to deal with state affairs.

As evening approached, the palace banquet began.

Du Luoling attended in all her finery and sat beside Yun Yaoyao. The two of them looked every inch the devoted couple.

Below them, Du Guanliu was even more pleased with himself, while all the Du family’s younger generation sat there brimming with confidence.

The Du family was now the most powerful and prestigious clan in the empire after the imperial family itself!

From her seat above, Yun Yaoyao clearly felt two burning gazes fixed on her.

She looked over and, sure enough, saw the Brat Siblings glancing her way from time to time, their expressions tense and filled with hatred.

So they’ve assembled the thing. In that case, I suppose I’m ready to go die for them!

Holding her wine cup, Yun Yaoyao walked among the officials, pretending to mingle with them.

When she reached Yan Qinghong, he hurriedly bowed and raised his cup in salute. At that very moment, an arrow shot swiftly from the side and plunged straight into the emperor’s heart.

The Son of Heaven collapsed right in front of them.

Yan Qinghong’s pupils contracted. He instinctively turned toward the direction from which the arrow had come, only to discover that it was his own son and daughter.

The two of them were jointly holding a palm-sized crossbow!

Yan Qinghong’s lips trembled, and his mind went completely blank.

Before he could react, screams and uproar had already erupted all around them.

“Protect His Majesty!”

“Imperial Physician Shan, come quickly!”

“The Yan family has assassinated the emperor!”

The next second, the imperial guards slammed Yan Qinghong to the ground, face-first!

The rest of the Yan family members were swiftly restrained as well.

Although the Yan siblings were terrified, they still held their heads high and shouted:

“The bastard emperor is cruel and treacherous! He deliberately framed Prince Ze! We’re only ridding the people of a menace!”

“We were the ones who assassinated the emperor! Our father and the rest of the family knew nothing about it. If someone must die, then kill the two of us!”

Hearing this, Yan Qinghong nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Wicked children! Wicked children!

Yan Qinghong roared, “You bunch of idiots! Regicide is a capital crime punishable by the extermination of your entire clan! For the sake of one man, you’re willing to sacrifice your whole family?!”

“You think they’ll only kill the two of you? What utter foolishness! Not a single member of the Yan clan will escape!”

Yan Fengming hurriedly explained, “Father, there’s no need to be afraid. We aimed for the tyrant’s heart, and I coated the arrowhead with poison, too. He’s sure to die. Once Prince Ze takes the throne, we’ll all be great heroes, and you’ll be a founding statesman.”

Seeing that the two of them still looked as though they had done nothing wrong, Yan Qinghong truly did not know what to say. Overcome by a surge of anger, he rolled his eyes back and fainted dead away.

Just as the Yan siblings had wished, the entire Yan clan was promptly thrown into the imperial prison.

There, they were reunited with Prince Ze.

At the same time, Yun Yaoyao—who had been “knocked unconscious”—awoke on the dragon bed. She removed her outer robe, revealing the armor she wore underneath.

Imperial Physician Shan pulled the arrow from the armor, his face still pale with shock. “Your Majesty, you truly frightened this subject just now.”

“Although Your Majesty was wearing armor, it was still dangerous. Please avoid doing something like this next time.”

Yun Yaoyao gave a slight nod. “I certainly will. Imperial Physician Shan, later announce to the outside world that I am gravely wounded and have yet to regain consciousness.”

After ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‍Imperial Physician Shan left the sleeping quarters, the Dragon Shadow Guards secretly dragged Yan Qinghong inside.

By then, Yan Qinghong was ashen and despairing, looking utterly bereft of the will to live. He kept muttering the words “wicked son” under his breath.

Seeing Yan Qinghong brought so low by his two troublesome children, Yun Yaoyao could not help but feel a little sorry for him.

She cleared her throat twice. “Minister Yan, look at me.”

Yan Qinghong came back to himself and raised his head dazedly. The moment he saw her, his pupils contracted, and his reason instantly returned.

“Your… Your Majesty?!”

At that moment, Yan Qinghong understood everything.

His wicked son had attempted to assassinate the emperor—this had all been part of His Majesty’s plan!

The emperor had pretended to win the Yan family over, while secretly pushing his children into attempting regicide. That way, he could eliminate the Yan family under the guise of punishing the assassination attempt, then place the blame on Prince Ze and have him killed as well.

With hardly any effort at all, His Majesty had killed two birds with one stone. His methods were truly brilliant!

Yan Qinghong knew that there was no escape this time. He simply closed his eyes and refused to speak.

Yun Yaoyao let out a cold snort. “Don’t imagine me to be so sinister.”

“I told you that I admired your abilities. If I were to win you over, I would make you follow me willingly and wholeheartedly!”

Wait—was there still hope for the Yan family?

Yan Qinghong hurriedly opened his eyes, scrambled to his feet, and stood respectfully at her side. “Your Majesty, this subject is slow-witted. Please enlighten me.”

Yun Yaoyao said slowly, “What happened today exposed a major problem. Surely you saw it as well: your son and daughter are far more capable of causing trouble than you imagined.”

“Although it was I who suggested the assassination, they had already planned to break into the prison and rescue Prince Ze.”

A flush of embarrassment spread across Yan Qinghong’s face.

Yun Yaoyao continued, “They knew full well that regicide was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine familial clans, yet they still dared to do it. Why?”

“The confidence that lets them repeatedly cause trouble comes from you elders!”

“You hold office in the Ministry of Justice and are busy with official matters, so you have neglected to discipline your children. Your wife and your mother, meanwhile, dote excessively on them because the Yan family has so few heirs and both children are physically frail. They cannot bear to see them suffer the slightest hardship.”

“Thus, they naturally grew spoiled, naive, selfish, and conceited, taking everything for granted!”

“Too much indulgence is tantamount to killing a child. The personalities they have now, and their willingness to attempt regicide—how much of that is not the result of your indulgence and lack of discipline?”

“Their personalities are already deeply ingrained. To make them come to their senses, this plan required a powerful medicine. More importantly, it was meant to wake you elders up as well!”

“Both sides must be set right. Only then can the problem be solved at its root. Otherwise, how many times can your Yan family afford to have your nine clans exterminated?”

“Later, in the imperial prison, I’ll need you to put on an act…”

After hearing all this, Yan Qinghong slowly raised his head. His shame deepened, as did his emotion.

His Majesty could have used this opportunity to wipe out both the Yan family and Prince Ze in one stroke. Yet instead, he had gone to such painstaking lengths for their sake.

A thousand words crowded his mind, but in the end, they became just one sentence: “This subject will do exactly as Your Majesty commands!”

Yun Yaoyao nodded in satisfaction. She walked slowly to Yan Qinghong and patted him on the shoulder. “Minister Yan, I went to such painstaking lengths to set this plan in motion for your sake. I don’t want one of my most valued ministers to spend his days troubled and anxious over matters within his household.”

Yan Qinghong was deeply moved, his gaze growing increasingly tender. “Your Majesty, what virtue or ability does this subject possess to deserve such kindness?”

Yun Yaoyao was touched as well. “Minister Yan, you deserve it!”

At that moment, their gazes seemed to linger, stretching between them like threads of silk.