The Yandere Came During The Night

Chapter 132

Lord Sun dedicated his whole life studying intensively into farming and water irrigation works. He had no long-term ambition to attain the highest official positions. However, he did not expect himself to marry a foolish and avaricious di wife. She gave birth to a di son who was very ambitious and had tyrannical tendencies. And he had a younger sister aiming to live in riches and honor by entering the forbidden palace. The Sun family's good name for five generations was thus destroyed; however, he was powerless to turn back the clock. Therefore, he had no choice but to go down this path to make the best of the worst situation.

Usually during the court assembly, Lord Sun would just stand among the courtiers and listen to their speeches very calmly. However, his hands were shaking as he gripped the ceremonial tablet[1] today. Cold sweat was seeping from the edge of his official hat and trickling down along his temples and earlobes. He did not dare to wipe it off. He could only inch slightly behind the Minister of Works. When he looked up, his gaze met the Fourth Prince's, who was walking forward. He was rooted on the spot by the ambition roaring fiercely in his pupils.

"Is Lord Sun feeling unwell?" the Fourth Prince smiled back. He was elegant, compassionate and magnanimous as he was rumoured to be.

"This subject thanks the Fourth Prince for your concern. This subject has caught a cold, but I am not seriously ill." Lord Sun hung his head low, not daring to meet his eyes.

"The weather is very cold, so you should bundle up more when you go out." The Fourth Prince spoke a few words of concern and went to the front hall, where only the imperial princes were allowed to stand.

The Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince arrived one after another. They smiled upon seeing one another, but with a myriad of saber-rattling glints flashed through their eyes. Some of the courtiers looked away, some were absorbed in their own thoughts, and the rest were in a frenzy of emotion and were slowly making a move. All in all, today's imperial court still had an undercurrent of tension like in the past. It was as if an ominous scent of impending storm was brewing in the air.

Emperor Cheng Kang's arrival intensified the already stagnant atmosphere and he spoke expressionlessly, "Go ahead and say if you have something to say. If there is nothing, this assembly will be adjourned."

The Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince were still reluctant to give up and incited the courtiers to seek for the abolition of the Crown Prince again. It was just that they had been fighting for months while the Crown Prince was still sitting firmly on the position of an heir. At this moment, they were also a little anxious, and even said that the Crown Prince's crime could be pardoned; that he ought to be executed and that the two young imperial grandsons should be relegated to common people.

"Execute the Crown Prince?" Emperor Cheng Kang repeated the courtiers' request presented to him word for word. It was difficult to discern his mood with his dark and gloomy expression.

Lord Sun only felt that the originally cold air had already solidified and turned into frost and snow, and piercing pain would seep in with every breath he took in. He raised his eyes to glance at the Fourth Prince, but all he saw was his upright back and his hands clenched into a fist in his sleeves.

He withdrew his gaze and buried his already low head again. His ears faintly heard the sound of soldiers marching and swords colliding, thus, he thought it could have been his own imagination.

Emperor Cheng Kang sat on the throne for a long time without speaking. He only looked at his sons ‒ who were fully grown and possessed with their own power ‒ with an unfamiliar gaze, causing one to feel their blood turn cold. The Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince, who were still making impassioned speeches, stopped talking and did not dare to utter another word. Emperor Cheng Kang's lips suddenly curled into a smile. He slowly turned his head to face neither obsequious nor supercilious Fourth Prince. The smile on his lips deepened, but the coldness in his eyes became increasingly frightening.