Crowned Consort in Golden Age-Chapter 315 - 313. Wrath of the King

313. The King’s Wrath

"Refusing to accept punishment?" Mo Xiuyao scoffed as though he had heard a joke, looking disdainfully at Bai Qingning’s beautiful face, twisted in anger and defiance. "What right do you have to protest against me? For harming Ah-Li, you... all of you deserve to die!" His voice dropped to a low whisper for his last words, so faint that the noble ladies nearby did not hear him. But to Bai Qingning, it was as deafening as a roaring drum.

For a moment, Bai Qingning even thought she saw a crimson light flickering in Mo Xiuyao’s eyes, reminiscent of a malicious demon. Overcome by fear, she let out a piercing scream. Not far away, Madam Bai, realizing that the situation wasn’t as favorable as she had hoped, hurriedly stumbled over, crying out, "Prince... My daughter..."

Seeing Mo Xiuyao had no intention of speaking, Feng Zhiyao calmly explained, "Miss Bai caused the Princess Consort’s shock and fainting, and the Fourth Young Master was seriously injured.... Saying so wouldn’t be entirely unfair to Bai Qingning. If she hadn’t obstructed them, the guards would have escorted Xu Qingbai away much sooner, and they wouldn’t have fumbled and nearly allowed both to be injured."

"What... What?" Madam Bai stammered in shock. She could not believe that her always well-behaved and intelligent daughter could cause such a devastating calamity in such a short time. Bai Qingning, realizing that her life was hanging by a thread, clung to Madam Bai and cried out, "Mother, I am innocent! I did not harm Prince Ding’s Mansion or Fourth Young Master Xu! I am wrongly accused..."

"Prince..." Madam Bai choked back her fear, nervously swallowing. "Prince, this... This may be a misunderstanding. My daughter, my daughter would certainly never do such a thing. I implore you to investigate thoroughly, considering the Bai Family’s loyal service." Mo Xiuyao, who had closed his eyes, seemingly in meditation, suddenly opened them, his gaze sweeping like a blade across Madam Bai. "Madam Bai... Are you threatening this Prince?"

"Your servant dares not, Prince! Please discern the truth!" Madam Bai, terrified, stumbled and fell to the ground, unable to utter another word. Mo Xiuyao looked down at Bai Qingning indifferently and said, "Take her away; I have no wish to see her again."

Feng Zhiyao sighed slightly. Bai Qingning’s crime didn’t truly warrant death; perhaps it was just her ill fate. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the guards to drag her away. Bai Qingning struggled, but her feeble attempts were no match for the strong grip of the two large men. As she was forcibly dragged out, her desperate cries echoed in the distance, "No! I don’t want to die! Mother... save me, I don’t want to die..."

The horrifying scream, carried by the wind, slowly faded away. The noble ladies and young maidens in the garden stood pale-faced, shivering in the cold wind.

Madam Bai stared blankly in the direction where her daughter had disappeared, unable to hold back her tears. Having only this one daughter, for whom she had harbored high hopes since childhood, she was incapable of accepting such an end. Seeing her falling apart, two guards came forward, lifted her up on either side, and began to escort her away. The Prince was in a foul mood. If she continued to wail here, it might worsen his mood, and then it wouldn’t just be these people who suffered.

"Prince." Madam Sun approached hurriedly, holding a ledger. She glanced at the corpses lying around, her face paled slightly, but she steeled her resolve and continued towards Mo Xiuyao. In a low voice, she said, "Prince, here is the document you requested." Feng Zhiyao couldn’t help but cast an appreciative glance at the woman before him. As a woman typically confined to the inner quarters, she was naturally unlike Princess Consort Ding, who could navigate the battlegrounds of the imperial court. However, to possess such courage and composure was already extraordinary.

Mo Xiuyao took the ledger and began to flip through it, his expression growing even more somber. After a long while, with a SNAP, he closed the ledger and tossed it to Lin Han behind him, ordering, "Bring everyone recorded in this ledger to me." Lin Han caught the ledger and, without even glancing at it, tucked it into his robes, declaring in a loud voice, "This subordinate obeys." He turned and vanished from the garden like a gust of wind.

That day, the most brutal and bloody scene in Xiling’s royal city for the past fifty or sixty years unfolded—something that had not been witnessed even when the Southern Garrison Prince usurped power and suppressed court ministers. All the esteemed royals and noble families, irrespective of their gender, age, or status, were dragged out to the entrance of the Sun Family’s garden. The crossroads there were packed three layers deep, inside and out, with people. One-third of the families in the Royal City met their brutal end, executed right there on the street outside the garden. Even His Majesty, the Emperor of Xiling, was startled and rushed to the scene, but alas! His presence could not save those doomed. Blood flowed like a river on the street outside the Sun Family’s garden, staining almost the entire street a dark crimson. That day, those slaughtered included one Commendary Prince, one Princess, two Marquises, four officials of the third rank or higher, twelve officials of the fifth rank or higher, and countless officials below the fifth rank—all because Princess Consort Ding was ambushed. The world shuddered at this news.

The historical record *Chronicle of Xiling: Chronicles of the Last Emperor* states: In September, Princess Consort Ding was attacked in the royal city; Prince Ding unleashed his wrath. The Royal City was bathed in blood—an event known as the "Sun Family’s Bloody Garden Massacre."

The book *Chronicles of the Great Chu: The Record of Prince Ding*, in the *Chapter on Pacifying the World*, states: In mid-September, the Princess Consort was attacked in the Xiling Imperial City. The Prince, infuriated, killed more than a hundred people connected to the Southern Garrison Prince. The influential figures of the Royal City were suddenly reduced by three-tenths, shocking the world.

There are also unofficial histories like *Biography of the Princess Consort Ding* that comment: For the Princess Consort, Prince Ding slaughtered more than half of Xiling’s nobles, leaving the city of Xiling awash with blood and the souls of the innocent crying out in pain. The love between Prince Ding and the Princess Consort is truly moving; yet, his iron-fisted methods and the countless lives lost were all because of the Princess Consort. Lady Ye could indeed be called a ’disaster beauty.’

No matter how this bloody spectacle tarnished Prince Ding’s reputation with bloody hues, an unknown number of the dignitaries forced to witness the executions were scared out of their wits. What’s worse, it was heard that some of the more timid ones were so frightened that they fell ill upon returning home. A few even passed away within days.

However, none of these affected Mo Xiuyao in the slightest. Since Ye Li had fallen unconscious, no expression that could be called ’gentle’ had appeared on Prince Ding’s face. Even when he smiled, it sent shivers down the spines of others. Not even the news of Ye Li’s pregnancy could elicit even a hint of joy from Mo Xiuyao. Instead, whenever Feng Zhiyao inadvertently saw Mo Xiuyao’s gloomy gaze fixed on the Princess Consort’s still-flat abdomen, he couldn’t help but feel a chill of dread. But then he’d recall that the Prince hadn’t looked too fondly upon the young heir back then either, yet hadn’t the young heir grown up bouncing around energetically and was now even capable of opposing the Prince?

"Prince," Feng Zhiyao’s voice called from outside.

In the quietly elegant room, Ye Li lay peacefully asleep on the bed. Mo Xiuyao sat by her side, half-leaning against the bed, silently watching Ye Li’s calm sleeping face, his eyes full of gentle affection. He only sat up straight upon hearing Feng Zhiyao’s voice and said deeply, "Come in."

Feng Zhiyao entered, casting a glance at the sleeping woman on the bed and the white-haired man still seated by the bedside, and sighed inwardly. In a deep voice, he reported, "Prince, everyone associated with the assassins, and those identified by Madam Sun, have all been taken into custody. Are we really going to...?" Those terrified nobles didn’t know that the bloodshed they had witnessed today was merely the tip of the iceberg of this turmoil. Many more people were still awaiting Mo Xiuyao’s judgment.

When a king is enraged, blood flows enough to float pestles. Feng Zhiyao couldn’t help but recall the teachings and sighs of his tutor from his youth. He wondered if those who had secretly planned today’s events would regret it now.

"Spare none." Mo Xiuyao’s voice was soft, yet the meaning in his words carried an overwhelming bloodlust and killing intent. His long, slender fingers gently caressed Ye Li’s beautiful face.

Feng Zhiyao wasn’t surprised. After some thought, he asked, "Prince...are you sure that the Southern Garrison Prince is behind this? This time, it could be said that all of the Southern Garrison Prince’s remaining network and hidden agents in the Imperial City were completely uprooted. This included the entire household of the Southern Garrison Prince’s Mansion. Although the Southern Garrison Prince was not blessed with many descendants, Lei Tengfeng did have several children. Before the Mo Family Army marched into the city, Lei Tengfeng’s pair of legitimate children had already been taken out of the city, but several concubine’s sons and daughters remained behind in the mansion within the city. To say it was the Southern Garrison Prince’s doing was not entirely implausible. But if it truly was the Southern Garrison Prince, the attack would have been far more vicious than this one. In fact, this time, if it weren’t for the Princess Consort’s special constitution, those assassins wouldn’t have been able to touch a single hair on her head. Moreover, Lei Zhenting couldn’t possibly fail to understand that if Ye Li were truly assassinated, it wouldn’t be a matter that could be settled by killing just a few people. It was no exaggeration to say that likely not even a chicken or dog in the entire Xiling Imperial City would be spared."

"Even if it’s not him, it’s due to his poor governance!" Mo Xiuyao retorted coldly.

Feng Zhiyao had no mood to sympathize with Lei Zhenting, who was being scapegoated. Changing the subject, he asked, "As for Bai Qingning of the Bai Family, Prince, you killed her just like that. Was that really alright?"

Mo Xiuyao shot him a cool glance. "She’s already dead. What’s the use of saying this?"

Feng Zhiyao sighed in resignation. "What I meant was, what are your plans for the Bai Family? I’m afraid the Bai Family will harbor resentment after this incident. The Prince must be wary of them... No matter what, the Bai Family is still one of Xiling’s prominent noble families."

Mo Xiuyao snorted. "A family of an imperial consort. Can the Bai Family produce even half a capable person? This Prince has no need for useless people."

"This subordinate understands," Feng Zhiyao nodded.

"How is Xu Qingbai?" Mo Xiuyao asked with a frown. If anything happened to Xu Qingbai, with Ah-Li’s disposition, she would undoubtedly feel guilty for a lifetime. This was not something Mo Xiuyao wished to see. Moreover, regardless, it was Xu Qingbai who had blocked that sword for Ah-Li. If that sword had struck Ah-Li... At the mere thought of this possibility, the murderous aura emanating from Mo Xiuyao surged uncontrollably.

Feng Zhiyao raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled as to why the Prince’s concern for Fourth Young Master Xu’s injuries could also release such killing intent. "The doctors, the imperial physicians from the palace, and our own army medics have all examined Fourth Young Master Xu. He wasn’t injured in any vital spots, but he lost a lot of blood and is still unconscious. He’ll likely need many days of recuperation." He added, "To say he was unconscious was actually because the doctors had prescribed him a significant amount of sedatives and painkillers. A sword pierced clean through him from the back. Let alone a frail scholar like Xu Qingbai, even martial artists like us would suffer considerably from such an injury. So it’s better for him to sleep and suffer less."

Mo Xiuyao nodded. "Order them to take good care of him. If anything happens to Fourth Young Master Xu, don’t blame this Prince for being merciless."

Feng Zhiyao remained silent. After today, who would still dare to feign compliance while secretly defying Prince Ding’s orders? Were they tired of living?

"Prince, Zhuo Jing requests an audience," Zhuo Jing’s voice came from outside the door.

Mo Xiuyao said to Feng Zhiyao, "You may go. Let Zhuo Jing come in."

Zhuo Jing entered, brushing past Feng Zhiyao. "Prince, the Princess Consort..."

"She’s fine," Mo Xiuyao said lightly. "The matter I had you investigate?"

Zhuo Jing respectfully said, "The list provided by Sun Huinang is basically accurate. The person who secretly instigated these individuals has already slipped out of the city. I have ordered men to follow him covertly. The other party appears to be from Great Chu. However, Prince Ding’s Mansion’s intelligence network has not found any information on this person’s identity. Currently, that person is heading north, likely towards the Capital of Great Chu."

Mo Xiuyao lowered his eyes, pondering for a moment before saying, "Great Chu... Mo Jingli has already gone south. What would he be doing in the Capital of Great Chu? No... there’s someone else who also has many people from Great Chu under his command. Ren Qining... Lin Yuan..."

A thought struck Zhuo Jing. "Prince, do you suspect this is the work of the Northern Territory?"

Mo Xiuyao smiled without answering, merely giving a light instruction, "Send someone to follow him. If he really is Ren Qining’s man..."

Zhuo Jing silently awaited Mo Xiuyao’s command. After a long moment, he heard Mo Xiuyao give a low chuckle. "I recall Ren Qining has a beloved wife who is a princess from a Northern Territory tribe, and several children, correct?"

"Exactly. Back then, Ren Qining, as an outsider, was able to become the king who unified the Northern Territory precisely because he married the only daughter of the chief of the most powerful tribe in the Northern Territory at that time."

"Kill them all," Mo Xiuyao said indifferently.

"This subordinate obeys."

After dismissing Zhuo Jing, the room once again became silent. Mo Xiuyao gazed fixedly at Ye Li’s delicate sleeping face, lowered his head and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Ah-Li, wake up soon, okay? You have no idea... how afraid I am to see you lying here like this... If you don’t wake up soon, I’m afraid I’ll lose control... I might really turn all of Xiling into a living hell. I know... I know you wouldn’t like that... So, please wake up quickly."

「Inside the Imperial Palace of Xiling」

The Emperor of Xiling sat slumped on the Dragon Throne, his face deathly pale, as if devoid of all strength. The scene outside the garden today had not only shocked and terrified all the dignitaries of Xiling; even he, the sovereign of the nation, had been thoroughly frightened. He recalled the white-robed, white-haired man sitting at the entrance, looking calmly at the people before him, seemingly devoid of joy or anger. Yet every light, almost ethereal word he uttered resulted in a splash of blood. Such a deity-like figure, seemingly high above, capable of arbitrarily deciding the life and death of mortals, was once the kind of state the Emperor of Xiling had yearned for most—as an emperor, to wield the power of life and death, to make decisive judgments. But now he began to doubt: could he truly do that? Could he, like Mo Xiuyao, slaughter nearly half the dignitaries without batting an eye?

The Emperor of Xiling weakly shook his head. He couldn’t. Not only him, but even Lei Zhenting couldn’t. No matter how powerful they were, they couldn’t achieve Mo Xiuyao’s level of decisiveness... that level of... ruthlessness...

"Your Majesty..." The attendant eunuch beside him looked at the Emperor of Xiling with concern. Since returning from outside the palace, His Majesty had been in a daze and refused to summon the imperial physicians. This truly worried those who served him closely. But recalling the scene he had witnessed that morning, he felt His Majesty’s current state was understandable. Even they, who were accustomed to darkness and bloodshed, still had trembling legs.

"How is Princess Ling Yun?" After a long time, the Emperor of Xiling finally asked in a low voice. Although this daughter was not particularly close to him, the Emperor of Xiling had few children, and Princess Ling Yun was one of the more outstanding ones. Now that she was dead, it was impossible to say he felt no grief. But even if he was grieving, he, as a father who was also the emperor, lacked the power and courage to seek justice for his daughter.

The eunuch carefully said, "The Princess’s remains have been sent back to the Princess Mansion. The Ministry of Rites has chosen an auspicious day for the Princess’s burial. Please take care of your health, Your Majesty."

The Emperor of Xiling gave a helpless smile. "So be it. Compared to those others... she at least went without much suffering. Issue the order: have the Ministry of Rites expedite the Princess’s funeral arrangements. We shall depart for Ancheng City earlier than planned." Whether it was because he felt like a failure and couldn’t face it, or because of his fear of the Mo Family Army and Prince Ding, the Emperor of Xiling no longer felt the slightest attachment to this Imperial City. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Your old servant obeys. Your Majesty, news has just come from outside the palace: several of Commandery Prince Rui’s concubine’s sons in the Southern Garrison Prince’s Mansion have also died." After a moment’s thought, the eunuch felt he should share some good news with His Majesty.

The Emperor of Xiling opened his eyes. "Oh? Really?"

"It is absolutely true. This matter is likely inseparable from the Southern Garrison Prince. Prince Ding, in his fury, ransacked the Southern Garrison Prince’s Mansion and Commandery Prince Rui’s Mansion. Everyone in their households... not a single one was spared..." Speaking to this point, the already aging eunuch couldn’t help but shiver.

The Emperor of Xiling was stunned for a moment before chuckling dryly twice. "Lei Zhenting... with all his cunning, could he have anticipated today? Never mind. At least... Lei Zhenting’s power base has been all but wiped out by Mo Xiuyao. Let’s leave the Imperial City for Ancheng City as quickly as possible. Pass down the order: no one is to provoke this star of calamity any further."

"Your old servant obeys."

「When Ye Li woke up, it was indeed three days later.」

Though three days wasn’t a lengthy period, the efficiency of Prince Ding’s Mansion was never low. Therefore, within these three days, the residual forces inside and outside the Imperial City had been thoroughly swept clean by Qin Feng, Feng Zhiyao, and others. As for how many families were ruined and how many people were decapitated in the process, it was not something that ordinary people could know. Even so, many people noticed that numerous familiar faces within the Imperial City had vanished overnight, clean gone. In such turbulent times, merely surviving peacefully was already a great challenge, so even if people had suspicions, they quietly buried them deep in their hearts.

"Fourth Brother... Fourth Brother?!" Ye Li, who had been deep in slumber, suddenly opened her eyes and grabbed the wrist of the person before her. Upon recognizing the person sitting by the bed, she was slightly taken aback. "Aunt..."

The woman sitting by the bed was First Madam Xu. She held a warm handkerchief in her hand, intending to wipe Ye Li’s sweat, but was startled when Ye Li suddenly seized her hand. "Li’er, you are finally awake?" Seeing her awake, First Madam Xu was also delighted, a reassured smile blooming on her kindly and gentle face.

Thinking of her son, she had rushed thousands of miles to Xiling. Apart from her initial journey from Yunzhou to Licheng, this was the first long journey First Madam Xu had ever undertaken in her life. Yet, upon arriving in Licheng, she found both her son and her niece unconscious in bed. If Feng Zhiyao, who had gone to greet her, hadn’t explained things clearly beforehand and repeatedly reassured her, First Madam Xu might have fainted from shock.

"Aunt..." Having just woken up, Ye Li was slightly disoriented for a moment. Suddenly recalling the scene before she had fainted, she sat up abruptly. "Aunt, Fourth Brother..."

First Madam Xu quickly pressed her down, saying, "He’s fine, your Fourth Brother is fine. You child, how could you be so careless..."

"I’m sorry... Aunt, it’s all my fault Fourth Brother..." Remembering how her Fourth Brother had thrown himself in front of her, and that sword piercing through his chest, Ye Li’s face also turned deathly pale. Her Fourth Brother, a frail scholar with no strength to even truss a chicken, had suffered such a grievous wound. Ye Li simply couldn’t bear to imagine how terrible his condition was.

Recalling her son, who was still lying in bed, immobile, First Madam Xu’s eyes couldn’t help but redden. Seeing her son wrapped in thick white bandages, his face utterly devoid of color, how could she, as a mother, not feel heartbroken? But how could she blame Ye Li for this? As his mother, how could she not understand her own son’s temperament? Even if it wasn’t for Ye Li, if any of his brothers had encountered such a situation, Xu Qingbai would still have rushed forward. It would have been strange if her son *hadn’t* blocked that sword. She reached out and patted the back of Ye Li’s hand, saying gently, "Silly child, your Fourth Brother is fine. Why are you crying? Aunt is talking about you. You child, didn’t you learn some medical skills from Doctor Lin? How could you not even know when your own body was unwell?"

Ye Li was stunned. First Madam Xu shook her head with a smile and said, "Silly child, you are already three months pregnant. You’ve even had a child before, how could you be so unobservant?"

This time, Ye Li was thoroughly stunned. She didn’t even come back to her senses when First Madam Xu reached out to wipe away her tears. After a long moment, she lowered her head, her hand covering her still-flat abdomen. Then, she placed her left hand on the pulse of her right wrist, asking with some alarm, "I... I can’t feel it. The baby... what’s wrong with the baby?" Although Ye Li had learned some medical knowledge from Doctor Lin, most of it concerned pharmacology and poisons. And medical skills were clearly not a discipline where one could draw analogies from other areas. To expect someone who had studied medicine for less than half a year to clearly distinguish a slippery pulse indicating pregnancy was somewhat difficult, especially when Ye Li was currently quite flustered. Even someone like Mo Xiuyao, in a state of panic, could fail to even feel a pulse, let alone diagnose its condition.

First Madam Xu reassured her with a smile, "It’s alright, the baby is perfectly fine. It’s just that you were too careless. If something had happened, it wouldn’t have been just your concern alone."

Ye Li stared blankly at her abdomen. Indeed, she had been negligent this time. Although she had experience from before, this time, apart from her fluctuating emotions, the baby had been very well-behaved and had caused her basically no physical discomfort. And her monthly period, due to the considerable toll from Mo Xiaobao’s birth, was often irregular despite her careful efforts to nurse her health. So she had merely assumed it was temporarily disordered due to the change in environment upon arriving in Xiling. Furthermore, there had been no news for several years, so Ye Li had almost habitually stopped thinking in that direction.

"Anyway, it’s good that you woke up. I haven’t informed Prince Ding yet," First Madam Xu said with a smile.

"Ah-Li!" Before her words died away, Mo Xiuyao’s voice had already come from outside the door. In the blink of an eye, Mo Xiuyao swept into the room like a white shadow, genuinely startling First Madam Xu. Evidently, someone had informed him, and he had directly used his lightness skill to hurry over.

"Xiuyao..." Ye Li looked at the white-haired man in front of her. Although he didn’t look unwell on the outside, Ye Li could sense his tension and fatigue. A white shadow flashed, and Ye Li was pulled into a slightly cool embrace. Mo Xiuyao buried his head in her shoulder, deeply inhaling her familiar, sweet fragrance, his voice low and hoarse, "Ah-Li... you’re finally awake..."

A pang inexplicably tugged at Ye Li’s heart. She raised her arms to encircle his somewhat thinner waist, whispering, "I’m sorry. I made you worry."

Not far away, First Madam Xu watched the young couple before her. A gratified smile touched her lips as she quietly retreated, leaving the room to the young pair who clearly had much to say to each other.