The emperor's death not only marks the end of an era but also the beginning of struggles.
Zan, in his mansion, dressed in military attire, looked back at his tearful wife and daughter. Despite the unfavorable situation, he was full of confidence: "Don't worry, I've never lost."
Meanwhile, Tao, upon hearing the nine tolls of the bell, slowly rose from his seat, adjusted his crown, and said: "Now, if we don't fight, we die; if we fight, we might live."
Then Ren looked at his daughter Li and said: "Li, your father is going to secure a princess title for you and Qing!"
The usually composed Ren also donned his military attire, looked at his innocent daughter, and stroked her hair.
This is the inevitable beginning and end of a dynasty's transition, inescapable.
The strong and wise founding emperor, Ming, was always hesitant and indecisive about his successor.
His desire for power and reluctance to relinquish the throne grew stronger with age, inevitably leading to bloodshed and slaughter, even between father and sons.
The eldest prince, the second prince, the third prince, the seventh prince… involving five or six princes, with the crown prince deposed three times, caused several eligible princes to be either imprisoned or exiled, losing their chance to ascend the throne.
The matter of the nation's foundation shook the court multiple times, but all were suppressed by Ming's authority and iron fist.
Even as a time-traveler, facing the passage of time and the swelling desire for power, he couldn't remain as detached as he had imagined.
Countless lessons from history were laid before him, and Ming knew well that his suspicion and dark obsession with holding onto power would inevitably lead to a storm of blood after his death.
But he was both a visionary time-traveler and a supreme emperor of a vast empire, growing capricious and paranoid with time. Under the influence of power, he became a tyrant who knowingly committed wrongs.
After his death, he cared not if floods ravaged the land.
Kai slumped on the ground, tears streaming down his face, silent for a long time.
Qing also gazed into the distance, her tall and graceful figure motionless, silent.
The guards knelt towards the emperor's palace, unwilling to raise their heads for a long time.
Except for Elder Mu, who had escaped death, his wrinkled and spotted face streaked with tears, his turbid eyes slightly open, looking at the girl who saved him.
Qing's figure was slender and graceful, with a slim waist barely a handful wide. The perfect curves of the young girl were already evident, her ample bosom stretching her plain embroidered clothes into an astonishing arc.
The charming curve of her hips trembled under the breeze, her dress faintly clinging to her body, slightly sinking into the crevice between her legs. Two perfect peach-like buttocks loomed faintly, outlining a captivating arc.
Elder Mu's turbid eyes grew dazed. He remembered, long ago, he had seen that tender and juicy peach, half-ripe, not yet dripping with juice, yet crisp and appetizing, making one want to take a big bite.
The meat rod in his tattered pants stirred, lifting slightly, growing scorching hot, like a giant python awakening from sleep, reaching eighteen or nineteen centimeters in length.
Qing seemed to sense something; her gaze lightly swept over, like the moon shining on a ditch, casual and indifferent.
Elder Mu was clothed in rags, with only a few sparse hairs on his head lying messily. His face and body were caked with years of grime and mud, his features all wrinkles and unidentifiable black spots. His teeth, though not many had fallen out, were yellowed disgustingly, exuding a foul stench that made Qing, whose body had long been purified, frown slightly.
His clothes and pants, worn for years without replacement, were full of holes without a single patch. Through the gaps, his bony chest was visible, ribs starkly outlined, his arms and legs atrophied like bamboo poles.
Between his legs, however…!!!
A thick meat rod, like a spiked club, twenty centimeters long and five or six centimeters thick, was slightly rising, like a coiled python waiting for prey, ready to strike and bite fiercely.
On Qing's stunningly beautiful face, pure as a silver moon, a faint flush appeared, barely noticeable. She shifted her gaze elsewhere.
Yet that thick thing seemed etched in her mind, imprinted in her consciousness, impossible to shake off.
This was the first time in her life she had seen a man's private parts…
So vastly different from hers, even with a mess of chaotic hairs.
Then she recalled that sudden spark of inspiration… It came from here. Otherwise, she wouldn't have bypassed the palace's main gate and entered like this.
For a moment, the girl's thoughts were in chaos, a panic she had never felt in her life.
When Elder Mu was glanced at by Qing, it was as if he'd been thrown into a vast snowy wasteland, frozen solid, colder than a leaky roof on a winter night. Even his instinctively rising cock wilted, and he dared not sneak another look at Qing's figure.
"Who will win?"
After a while, Kai, slumped on the ground, seemed to regain his composure. Propping himself up on the bricks, carefully avoiding the bloody corners, he stood up and was the first to ask.
Qing hesitated for a moment and answered truthfully: "I don't know."
In her heart, she hoped her father could win…
But as a cultivator, she knew excessive concern for worldly affairs wasn't good.
Her divine sense had already perceived a small but bloody conflict outside the palace.
Kai steadied himself, brushed off the dust, and the foul smell seemed to fade with time, whether he had grown used to it or it had truly lessened. "County Princess, no… soon I'll have to call you Princess. This is the last thing I can do for the late emperor. Please don't stop me."
Now was a critical time, the last moment when Kai still had the power to kill someone. After today, no matter which prince ascended the throne, he, as the late emperor's confidant, would not be spared.
At best, he could retire and wait for death in his hometown; at worst…
He might not live to see this year's first snow.
*Is this my opportunity? A whim? Or… an illusion?*
Qing glanced at the trembling Elder Mu and gently shook her head.
Kai was about to say something when he heard noises from the palace gate, indicating someone had entered.
Soon, a group of armored soldiers arrived at Yong Row, and their leader, upon seeing Qing, immediately knelt halfway. "Greetings, Your Highness."
"So fast?" Kai smiled. "It seems Ren has won."
Those with insight knew that before the emperor's death, one should wait patiently. Those who bared their fangs too early ended up in the cold palace on one side of the capital or in the frigid north or the venomous, rugged south, their fates uncertain.
Only those who stayed low-key, like patient hunters, could stand until the end and join the final struggle.
But after the emperor's death, one had to act swiftly, settling everything quickly to stabilize the realm and prevent chaos.
Yet Kai hadn't expected Ren's victory to come so fast, before the sky even darkened… he thought it would take until dawn tomorrow.
The leader of the imperial guards first saluted Qing, then stood and walked toward Kai. The fully armed soldiers behind him immediately detained the surrounding guards.
Kai gave a bitter smile: "Ren, no, His Majesty the Emperor, is so eager to send me on my way?"
The leader of the imperial guards didn't answer, only saying: "I am just following orders."
Kai looked regretfully at Elder Mu, the escapee, and said: "This old slave has failed the emperor!" before being taken away.