Chapter 228: Killing One Is the Same as Killing Two

Xiao Yang had confirmed Ji Xuanmo’s identity through her system long ago. Today was just a public formality.

Once everyone had arrived, the results were announced.

Marquis Pingchuan and Duke Liang reported everything they had discovered, down to the last detail.

According to Ji Xun’s testimony, he had just been leaving the Capital City for a new post when he found Chen Nian’en on the road, barely breathing. Taking pity on the young woman, he took her with him for treatment.

When Chen Nian’en awoke, she claimed to have no memory of who she was. But she was a hard worker, and both Ji Xun and his wife grew very fond of her. Ji Xun’s wife even considered making her Ji Xun’s concubine, but then they discovered she was pregnant.

Chen Nian’en desperately wanted to keep the child. In the end, the couple decided to adopt the unknown woman as their sister, giving her the name Ji Xue, and had her live with them.

Six months later, Ji Xue gave birth to Ji Xuanmo, and Ji Xun’s wife gave birth to their daughter, Ji Feifei.

Ji Xuanmo was a gifted child from a young age. He could speak at one, read at two, and by three, he could recite books from memory.

Ji Xun treated him like a priceless treasure, teaching him everything he knew and seeking out renowned masters to tutor him.

The Ji couple treated Ji Xuanmo wonderfully. Although they were not his true uncle and aunt, they regarded him as their own son.

To repay the couple’s kindness, Ji Xue worked tirelessly for the Ji Family. Two years ago, she developed a cough. After a year of treatment, she passed away in agony.

Before she died, she spoke at length with Ji Xuanmo alone. All Ji Xun and his family knew was that Ji Xue wanted Ji Xuanmo to find his biological father and be acknowledged by his clan; they had no idea who he really was.

Ji Feifei was also questioned. She knew Ji Xuanmo might be from the Imperial Family because she had secretly seen his Jade Pendant, which was carved with a dragon pattern.

In other words, the Ji Family hadn’t knowingly harbored him while aware of the truth; they were genuinely in the dark.

Ji Xue kept this secret until her dying day.

It seemed the Ji Family was truly blameless, then.

Ji Xuanmo’s face was grim as he listened, and his eyes had turned red.

"Are you satisfied now?"

He fought to control himself, his whole body trembling with anger. "Do you think I care about any of this? If my mother hadn’t repeatedly urged me on her deathbed, I would have never set foot in this Capital City. I only came to state my identity. What great crime have I committed for you to humiliate me like this?"

"Release Feifei. Stop making things difficult for the Ji Family. I renounce this ancestry. Let’s just pretend this never happened."

He struck a pose of utter heartbreak, looking both desolate and tragically heroic.

’How laughable. He still hasn’t grasped the situation.’

Xiao Yang couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and announced her decision directly.

"The investigation has confirmed that Ji Xuanmo is indeed of the late Emperor’s bloodline. The Astronomical Bureau will select an auspicious date for him to be formally acknowledged by the clan."

"The Ji Family will not be prosecuted for now. Chen Nian’en was a runaway slave, but as she gave birth to a child of the Royal Family, her merits and demerits cancel each other out. The matter will not be pursued."

Xiao Yang appeared to make a big show of the affair only to let it go lightly, yet Ji Xuanmo showed no gratitude. Instead, he wore the expression of someone who had seen through the cold indifference of the human heart.

"This commoner is not of the Royal Family’s bloodline. The honor of the Xiao Royal Family is something this commoner cannot aspire to."

The corner of Xiao Yang’s eye twitched. Without another word, she drew a gun.

BANG!

Everyone jumped in shock. They quickly turned to look, first checking Ji Xuanmo’s head. There was no bloody hole; his shoulder was injured.

Everyone dropped to their knees. "Your Majesty, quell your anger!"

Xiao Yang wasn’t angry. ’I’ve seen too many fools to bother getting angry at one.’

She rose from her high seat and walked down, looking down imperiously at Ji Xuanmo, who was sitting miserably on the floor in pain. Her eyes were cold and indifferent.

"Ji Xuanmo, who do you think you’re talking to?"

"The imperial family... do you think it’s a place you can just come and go as you please?"

’Throwing a tantrum at me? Where does he get the gall? The confidence?’

"I don’t know what precious little figure you fancy yourself to be, but *I* am the Emperor, not your sister. Even if you are the late Emperor’s son, you have no right to call me brother or sister."

"This shot was a warning. The next one will be for your head."

’He’s a Child of Fortune, so what? I’ve killed one, I can kill another.’

"The punishment for disrupting the imperial examinations hasn’t been carried out yet, has it? Drag him out. Thirty strokes with the cane. Not one less."

Duke Liang looked at Prince Jing. "Your Highness, won’t this beating kill him?"

’He’s the late Emperor’s only son, after all. How could Prince Jing just stand by and watch His Majesty beat him to death?’

Prince Jing kept his head bowed, which didn’t stop him from rolling his eyes. "If you’ve got the guts, *you* try to persuade her."

’Don’t try to drag me into this foolishness.’

’This Ji Xuanmo is clearly a lunatic. He thinks being the late Emperor’s son gives him the right to challenge the Emperor’s authority. He deserves to die.’

’I, his own uncle, bow obediently, yet Ji Xuanmo spouts arrogant nonsense again and again. He’s completely detached from reality and courting death. Why should anyone save him?’

Ji Xuanmo was dragged away, his face pale from the pain of his wound, unable to utter a single word.

In the end, he received the full thirty strokes, his back beaten to a bloody pulp.

Xiao Yang wanted to beat him, but she didn’t want him dead.

That was why she had the Imperial Physicians standing by early on.

To personally watch a man be beaten half to death, only to then have him be saved.

The Imperial Physicians: "..." They felt it was all a bit bizarre but couldn’t quite put their finger on why, which left them feeling rather gloomy.

For the time being, the matter of Ji Xuanmo was settled. He would be acknowledged as was due, and a public announcement would be carefully written and published for all the world to know.

’It’s just one more person. It’s not as if I can’t afford to support him.’

"Your Majesty..."

Prince Jing wanted to offer some words of consolation. Although he had already complained, the Emperor was truly being wronged. What kind of mess had the late Emperor left behind?

"I’m fine."

The emotion had already drained from Xiao Yang, and she could even manage a smile. "I’ll have to trouble you, Uncle, to preside over the clan acknowledgment ceremony. We’ll do it by the book, according to all the rules and rites."

Acknowledging him into the clan just meant changing his name and adding a line to the family register.

The Ministry of Rites would prepare sacrificial offerings, pick a date, inform the ancestors, and have Ji Xuanmo kowtow. That would be it.

Prince Jing, feeling uncharacteristically stifled, still accepted the task. "Very well. This subject will make the arrangements."

When Xiao Yang walked out, Ji Xuanmo had already been beaten and carried away by the Imperial Physicians. The bench was gone, too. Now, two eunuchs were on the ground with basins of water, scrubbing away the dripping blood.

Xiao Yang glanced over, the corner of her lip curling into a faint, mocking arc.

’I really do look like the main villain right now.’

Xiao Yang believed that Ji Xuanmo, at this moment, was a Child of Fortune who—while foolish—was pure of heart. Just as he said, he was only here to fulfill his mother’s dying wish to be acknowledged by his clan. He had no designs on Imperial Power, nor did he want any princely title.

A bit self-righteous, perhaps, but without ambition.

And yet, this kind, sincere man was met with the Emperor’s suspicion, suppression, and abuse, until he was finally pushed to the brink and forced to rebel.

Then, on some rainy night while gravely injured, he would meet a benefactor who would change his life. He would slowly grow his influence, accumulate power, and climb his way up over the corpses of those who once mocked him. In the end, he would slay the tyrannical, cold-blooded villain—the Emperor—and ascend the throne with tears in his eyes.

"Heh..."

’I really have a talent for writing novels.’