Supreme Majesty's Wrath

r; why can't you be more accommodating towards Rong’er Are you happy if he gets injured and falls behind in his studies"Ye Li sneered inwardly but remained expressionless on the surface. She calmly re...313. The King's Wrath

"Disobedient" Mo Xiuyao seemed to hear a joke, looking at Bai Qingning's beautiful face contorting in anger and resentment with indifference. "What right do you have to tell me that Causing Ah Li’s injury, all of you… deserve death!" The last sentence he said was extremely low, so the nearby ladies did not hear it clearly. But for Bai Qingning, his words were like a drumming sound in her ears.

At this moment, Bai Qingning even felt that she saw flashing crimson lights in Mo Xiuyao’s eyes, resembling evil ghosts from hell. She couldn’t help but scream out loud. Lady Bai, who was not far away, understood that things were not as good as she thought when seeing the situation and hurriedly stumbled over to him, "Your Highness… my daughter…"

Seeing Mo Xiuyao unwilling to speak up, Feng Zhirao calmly explained, "Miss Bai caused the Queen to be scared into fainting and Prince Fourth was severely injured..." This way, it wouldn’t be unfair towards Bai Qingning. If not for her being in the way, the guards would have taken Xu Qingbo out earlier, avoiding the situation where both of them got hurt.

"What… what" Lady Bai was shocked and said with a trembling voice. How could she dare to believe that her obedient and intelligent daughter had caused such an almost clan-exterminating disaster in such a short time Realizing this was crucial to her life, Bai Qingning hurriedly grabbed Lady Bai and shouted, "Mother, I am innocent! I did not cause harm to Prince Fourth or the Ding Wang Manor... I am innocent..."

"Your Highness…" Lady Bai swallowed with difficulty, saying in a trembling voice, "Your Highness, this… This might be a misunderstanding. My daughter would never do such things. Please take into account the loyalty of my family." Mo Xiuyao, who was closing his eyes to meditate, suddenly opened them, looking at Lady Bai like he was holding a sword. He asked, "Lady Bai, are you threatening me"

"I am not daring enough to do that, Your Highness!" Lady Bai was so scared that she fell on the ground and dared not speak anymore. Mo Xiuyao glanced coldly at Bai Qingning and said, "Take her away. I don’t want to see her again."

Feng Zhirao sighed inwardly. Actually, Bai Qingning’s crime was not worthy of death; it could only be blamed on her bad luck. He waved his hand and ordered them to take her away. Despite struggling, Bai Qingning couldn't match the strength of two men who dragged her out. Her terrified screams echoed far: "No! I don’t want to die! Mother… Save me, I don’t want to die..."

The heartbreaking screams gradually faded in the wind as all the ladies and young miss from the flower garden turned pale and shivered with fear in the cold.

Lady Bai stared blankly at her daughter’s disappearing figure before bursting into tears. She had only this one daughter who she had always hoped would make a name for herself, but now she was executed by Ding Wang without any reason. How could she bear it Two guards came over and carried Lady Bai away as she cried uncontrollably. If the King continued to be upset, her crying might worsen his mood; then, more people would suffer.

"Your Highness," Lady Sun hurriedly approached with a book in hand, only changing expressions when seeing the corpses on the ground before immediately walking towards Mo Xiuyao and whispering, "This is what Your Highness asked for." Feng Zhirao couldn’t help but look at this woman appreciatively. As a lady staying at home, she was not as capable as Ding Wang’s wife, but her courage and composure were already impressive.

Mo Xiuyao took the book and flipped through it; his expression became more gloomy. After a while, he snapped the book shut and casually threw it into Lin Han’s arms behind him. "Bring everything recorded in this book to me." Lin Han caught the book without looking at it and stuffed it into his chest, loudly saying, "I obey Your Highness’ order," before vanishing like wind.

That day, the Western Capital witnessed one of its bloodiest scenes in nearly sixty years. Even when Southern King seized power, such a fierce situation had never happened. Outside Sun Manor’s garden gate, almost all imperial relatives and nobles were brought to the street outside the garden. The whole intersection was crowded with people. One-third of families from the city were massacred; executions took place on the streets outside the garden. Such an important event naturally alarmed the Western Capital emperor to rush out of the palace immediately. Unfortunately, even his presence could not save these people’s lives. Outside Sun Manor’s street, blood flowed like a river. The whole street was dyed dark red with blood. That day, one duke, one princess, two marquesses, four officials above Third Rank, and twelve officials above Fifth Rank were killed in succession; the number of those below Fifth Rank was countless. All of this happened because Ding Wang’s wife was stabbed. It made the entire country tremble.

In later generations, "Western Capital Real Records" wrote: In September, Queen Consort of Ding Wang was attacked at the capital. The king was enraged and bloodbathed the city. This incident became known as the “Bloody Disaster of Sun Manor’s Flower Garden.”

"Chronicles of Chu Kingdom" recorded: Mid-September, the queen consort was stabbed in the Western Capital. Ding Wang was enraged, executing over a hundred people related to Southern King. One-third of nobles and officials were killed; it shocked the country.

Moreover, there were many unofficial historical records such as "Biography of Queen Consort of Ding Wang" that commented: In order to protect his queen consort, Ding Wang executed more than half of Western Capital’s nobility. Blood flowed like a river in the city, with wailing spirits everywhere; their love was undoubtedly touching but it stemmed from countless killings caused by her beauty—truly fitting the description of "a beautiful woman causing disaster.

No matter how bloody this incident might have stained the Crown Prince’s reputation, those officials who were forced to witness the punishment had been terrified. Some even fell ill upon returning home and a few died within days.

However, none of these affected Mo Xiuyao at all. Since Ye Li fell into a coma after being poisoned, there was no trace of warmth on Crown Prince’s face. Even his smile made people shudder involuntarily. Not even the news of her pregnancy brought any joy to Mo Xiuyao. Instead, Feng Zhirao felt dread every time he saw Mo Xiuyao staring at Ye Li’s still flat stomach with a dark expression.

"Your Highness."

In the elegant and tranquil room, Ye Li lay on her bed in deep sleep. Mo Xiuyao sat by her side, his half body leaning against the bed as he watched Ye Li's calm sleeping face tenderly. He only sat up when Feng Zhirao’s voice was heard. “Come in,” he said in a solemn voice.

Feng Zhirao came in and saw the sleeping woman on the bed and the white-haired man still sitting by her side. He sighed inwardly and reported, "Your Highness, all those who were involved with the assassins have been arrested as well as those whom Madam Sun had investigated. Should we…" Those officials did not know that what they witnessed today was only a small part of this storm.

When an emperor is enraged, rivers will run red with blood. Feng Zhirao could not help but recall his master’s teachings from their youth and sighed at the thought of how those who planned all these would regret it.

"None shall be spared." Mo Xiuyao's voice was soft as he stroked Ye Li’s beautiful face gently. However, his words were filled with bloodthirsty intent.

Feng Zhirao did not find this surprising. He asked after pondering for a while, "Your Highness… do you truly believe the Southern Prince is responsible" This time, all of the Southern Prince’s spies and secret agents in the capital had been eliminated. It even included the entire family of the Southern Prince. Although the Southern Prince did not have many descendants, Lei Tengfeng still had several children. Before the arrival of the Mo Army, his two eldest sons were taken out of the city. However, there were a few younger sons and daughters left in the palace within the city walls. If it was indeed the work of the Southern Prince, things would have been much more dangerous this time round. In fact, if Ye Li had really met with an accident, it wouldn’t just be a matter of killing several people to settle things.

"Even if he isn’t responsible, his failure to discipline them is still unforgivable!" Mo Xiuyao said coldly.

Feng Zhirao didn’t feel sympathetic towards Lei Zhengting who was being blamed. He changed the topic and asked, "Are you really going to kill Bai Qingning of the Bai family" Mo Xiuyao shot him a cold glance. “He’s already dead. Is there any use in talking about it now” Feng Zhirao sighed helplessly and said, "I mean, what is Your Highness’ plan for the Bai Family This incident might cause some resentment within the Bai Family. We must be wary of them…" After all, the Bai Family was one of the powerful families in Xi Ling. Mo Xiuyao snorted coldly, “Among the relatives of imperial consorts, can the Bai Family even produce a single talented person I don’t need useless people.”

"I understand," Feng Zhirao said.

“How is Xu Qingbai” Mo Xiuyao asked with a frown. If anything happened to Xu Qingbai, Ye Li would feel guilty for the rest of her life. This was not something that Mo Xiuyao wanted to see happen. Furthermore, no matter what had happened, it was still Xu Qingbai who had blocked the sword strike meant for Ye Li. What if that sword had pierced Ye Li instead… At this thought, Mo Xiuyao’s aura turned even colder.

Feng Zhirao raised an eyebrow and did not understand why his Highness would let out killing intent just because he was asking about Xu Qingbai's injury. "Doctors from the palace as well as our own army doctors have already examined him. He is uninjured in vital areas, but has lost a lot of blood. He’s still unconscious and might need some time to recover." By ‘unconscious’, it meant that they had given him sleeping pills and painkillers. Being pierced through with a sword from the back was no easy feat for even Xu Qingbai who was not adept in martial arts, let alone them who were trained in it. It would be better if he slept so as to endure less pain.

Mo Xiuyao nodded and said, "Tell everyone to take good care of him. If anything happens to the Fourth Young Master Xu, don’t blame me for my ruthless measures."

Feng Zhirao was speechless. After today’s incident, who would dare defy His Highness’ orders

"Your Highness, Zhuo Jing has come to see you," Zhuo Jing's voice came from outside the door. Mo Xiuyao said to Feng Zhirao, "Go ahead and leave first, Zhuo Jing can come in."

Zhuo Jing walked in and brushed past Feng Zhirao, “Your Highness… Your Highness…”

"It's nothing," Mo Xiuyao said indifferently. "Are you referring to the matter I asked you to investigate" Zhuo Jing respectfully replied, "The list provided by Sun Huiniang is mostly accurate. The person secretly stirring up these individuals has already left the city. I instructed my men to follow him discreetly. He seems to be from the Great Chu region, but our intelligence at Dingwang Manor hasn't been able to identify this individual. Now he should be heading north towards the capital of the Great Chu."

Mo Xiuyao lowered his gaze and pondered for a moment before saying, "Great Chu... Mo Jingli has already moved southward. What could this person possibly be doing in the capital of Chu Wait… there is still another person with many followers from the Great Chu region—Ren Qining…" Zhuo Jing quickly thought, "Does Your Highness suspect that it might have something to do with the northern border" Mo Xiuyao smiled without answering and gave a simple order: "Send people to follow him. If he truly belongs to Ren Qining..."

Zhuo Jing waited silently for further instructions from Mo Xiuyao. After a long time, he heard Mo Xiuyao chuckle softly, "I remember that Ren Qining has a beloved wife who is the princess of one of the powerful northern tribes and several children."

"That's correct," Zhuo Jing responded. Back then, Ren Qining was able to unite the northern border precisely because he married the only daughter of the most powerful tribe’s chieftain.

“Execute them all,” Mo Xiuyao said calmly.

“I will carry out your orders.”

After dismissing Zhuo Jing, the room once again fell silent. Mo Xiuyao stared blankly at Ye Li’s sleeping face and lightly kissed her lips, whispering softly, "Ah Li, please wake up soon. You don't know how scared I am seeing you like this... If you don’t wake up soon, I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself from turning the entire Western Capital into hell. I know that… you dislike such things. So, please wake up quickly."

Within the imperial palace of Western Capital, the emperor sat pale and limp on his throne, utterly drained of strength. The scene outside the garden today not only shocked and intimidated all the high-ranking officials in the Western Capital but also deeply frightened him as a monarch. Watching that man with white hair sitting at the door calmly observing those present, seemingly indifferent to happiness or anger, every word he spoke seemed like it would bring about bloodshed. That god-like figure who could decide life and death seemed to be what the emperor of the Western Capital had always yearned for: a king who could make decisive decisions without hesitation. However, now he began to doubt whether he could truly achieve such a state Could he really kill nearly half of his high-ranking officials like Mo Xiuyao did without batting an eyelash

The emperor weakly shook his head; he couldn't do it. Not only him but not even Lei Zhen霆 could manage to be as decisive or cold-blooded as Mo Xiuyao.

"Your Majesty…" A eunuch by the side worriedly observed that since returning from outside, the emperor had been in a daze and refused to see doctors. They were truly concerned about his state of mind but considering what they saw this morning, it seemed reasonable for him to be like this right now. Even those who had witnessed much darkness and bloodshed still trembled in fear.

"How is Princess Lingyun" After a long while, the emperor finally asked quietly. Although this daughter was not close to him, she was one of his better children among all his offspring. Her death would naturally make him feel sorrow, but as an emperor, he lacked both the capability and courage to seek justice for her.

The eunuch cautiously replied, "Princess Lingyun's body has been returned to her residence, and the Ministry of Rites will choose a favorable day to inter her. Please take care of your health, Your Majesty."

The emperor gave an helpless laugh before saying, "Alright then. Compared to those others… she left without enduring much suffering. Instruct the Ministry of Rites to quickly arrange Princess Lingyun's funeral and let’s head for Ancheng sooner." Whether he felt defeated and couldn’t face reality or was afraid of the Mo Family Army and Dingwang Manor, the emperor no longer had any affection towards this imperial city.

"Old servant obeys," the eunuch said. "Your Majesty, there's news from outside that several illegitimate sons of Rui County Prince at Zhen'nan王府 have died." After some thought, the eunuch believed it was better to report good news to his lord. The emperor opened his eyes and asked, “Oh Is it true"

"Absolutely true. This matter is surely related to Duke of Zhen’nan. Prince Ding angrily confiscated their properties. All members of both households… none spared…" Upon reaching this point, even the old eunuch couldn’t help but shiver.

The emperor was stunned for a long time before he chuckled and said, "Lei Zhen霆... Could he possibly have foreseen today Never mind then. At least Lei Zhen霆’s power is nearly gone due to Mo Xiuyao. Let's quickly leave the imperial city and head towards Ancheng. Order everyone not to provoke this calamity-bringer anymore."

"Old servant obeys.

Ye Li woke up three days later, as expected. Although three days wasn't a long time, the efficiency of the Prince Dìng's王府 in handling affairs was usually very high, so within these three days, all remnants of various forces inside and outside the imperial city had been thoroughly eliminated by Qin Feng, Feng Zhirao, and others. As for how many families lost their assets or how many heads rolled, it wasn't something ordinary citizens could know about. Nevertheless, quite a few people noticed that many familiar faces in the imperial city vanished overnight.

"Fourth Brother... Fourth Brother!" Ye Li suddenly opened her eyes while asleep and grabbed the person beside her by the wrist. When she saw who was sitting next to her on the bed, she was slightly taken aback, "Aunt-in-law..."

The one sitting by the bedside was precisely Lady Xu—the matriarch of the Xu family—and in her hand was a warm cloth that she intended to wipe Ye Li's sweat. However, when Ye Li suddenly grabbed her wrist, Lady Xu was also startled. "Li'er, you finally woke up" Seeing her come around, Lady Xu was relieved and smiled with affection.

She had traveled thousands of miles for her son to reach Xi Ling. Apart from the journey from Yun Zhou to Li City before, this was the first time in her life that Lady Xu left home far away. She never expected both her son and his cousin to be unconscious when they arrived at Li City. If Feng Zhirao hadn't explained the situation thoroughly beforehand and urged them not to worry too much, Lady Xu might have fainted from fear.

"Aunt-in-law..." After waking up, Ye Li's mind was in a moment of confusion. Suddenly recalling the scene before she fell unconscious, she sat up involuntarily. "Aunt-in-law, Fourth Brother..." Lady Xu hurriedly pressed her down and said, "It’s fine, your fourth brother is okay. Why aren’t you being careful"

"I'm sorry... Aunt-in-law, it's all because of me..." Recalling how the long sword pierced through Fourth Brother as he rushed to her side, Ye Li paled. As a weak scholar without any strength for combat, Fourth Brother was severely wounded; Ye Li couldn't even imagine just how bad the situation was.

Thinking about her son who still lay motionless in bed, Lady Xu’s eyes welled up with tears as well. Seeing the thick white gauze wrapped around her son and his colorless face, could a mother not feel heartache But how could this be Ye Li's fault As a mother, she would certainly understand her son’s character; regardless of whether it was for Ye Li or someone else, Xu Qingbai would have rushed over in such circumstances. If her son hadn't blocked that sword, something would indeed be amiss. Lady Xu patted Ye Li gently on the back and said kindly, "Foolish child, your fourth brother is fine now; why are you crying I'm talking about you. You learned some medical skills from Doctor Lin, so how could you not notice when your body wasn't well"

Ye Li was taken aback; Lady Xu smiled and shook her head saying, "Foolish child, you've been pregnant for three months now and have already given birth to a child before. How come you didn’t pay attention at all"

This time, Ye Li was completely stunned. She didn't even react when Lady Xu reached out to wipe her tears. After a while, she lowered her head and placed her hand on her flat abdomen. Then, she felt for the pulse on her wrist with her left hand and said anxiously, "I... I couldn’t feel it; what’s wrong with the baby" Although Ye Li had learned some medical skills from Doctor Lin, most of them were related to pharmacology and poisons. Medicine wasn't a discipline that could easily be applied across different areas; it was quite difficult for someone who had studied medicine less than half a year to clearly identify signs of pregnancy like the slippery pulse. Moreover, Ye Li’s heart was somewhat in turmoil at this moment. Even someone as composed as Mo Xiuyao might not feel his pulse amidst such confusion, let alone diagnose the pulse.

Lady Xu smiled reassuringly and said, "It's fine; the baby is alright. You just need to be more careful; if anything happens, it won't only affect you."

Ye Li looked down at her abdomen, utterly lost in thought. She indeed had been careless this time around. Although she once had experience with pregnancy before, during this one there was nothing but mood fluctuations—she hardly felt any physical discomfort from the baby. Additionally, due to the significant energy depletion from giving birth to Mo Xiaobao earlier, even though she took great care of herself, her menstrual cycle often wasn’t regular. Hence, she thought it might be temporarily disrupted by the unfamiliar environment in Xi Ling. Lastly, there had been no news about this pregnancy for several years, so Ye Li almost habitually didn't think much about it.

"No matter what, waking up is good enough," Lady Xu smiled and said. "I haven’t sent anyone to inform Prince Dìng yet."

“A-Ge Li!” Before she could finish speaking, Mo Xiuyao’s voice came from the doorway. When he darted into the room like a white shadow, it genuinely startled Lady Xu; someone must have reported to him directly and he had come over using his lightness skill.

"Xiuyao..." Ye Li looked up at the man with silver hair before her. Though there was nothing outwardly wrong with him, she could feel his tension and fatigue. In a flash of white, Mo Xiuyao enveloped her in a cool embrace, burying his face in the crook of her neck and inhaling deeply of the familiar scent, his voice hoarse, "A-Ge Li... You finally woke up..."

Ye Li felt inexplicably sad. She hugged him around the waist, which had become slightly slender, and said softly, "Sorry for worrying you."

A short distance away, Lady Xu looked at this couple with a satisfied smile and quietly withdrew to give them some space. and best in his heart, the soft words causing an endless sense of joy to surge in his heart, even more so than when his father praised him during his youth. But at the same time, it also brought up m...