Chapter 1: Shao Cheng

Crash

The sound of a cup falling down the ground and breaking into tiny pieces resound loudly at the magnificent hall where three people are currently wearing luxurious and noble robes and seating on an excellent chair made with rare materials.

The two people, a man, and a woman sitting next to each other who has been smiling gently and filled with friendliness have instantly change into cold expressions as they watch indifferently as the beautiful handsome man sitting opposite them has suddenly coughed up blood over his mouth.

Beautiful hands raise up to cover it, but droplets of blood still trail down from his thin lip and into his fine jaw before staining his white brocade robe like a beautiful blooming flower, it was so eye-catching that the man wearing a majestic golden robe expression wavered a bit before it disappeared quickly as the negative emotion he felt toward the person before him was denser than the long years of friendship that they have experience with each other.

However, the woman who retains her beautiful and youthful appearance when she was already almost in her thirties, face twisted with overwhelming jealousy before it quickly turns back to her usually soft, kind, and lovely appearance.

This man is already in his thirties but he still looks so young that she was so envious and jealous. She has done everything in her power to remain beautiful and youthful but this man has never done anything but still retains that outstandingly beautiful appearance that made her die with envy, ah, heaven is so unfair.

But now, heaven is finally listening to her wish.

However, this man is really hateful, despite obviously dying, he still retains that calm and gentle disposition of his, right now all she really wanted was to see his beautiful appearance twisted in despair.

"Chang Pei… Huang Ya… W-why?"

With pained sapphire eyes, a hoarse voice calmly and smoothly asked despite the burning throat that he was currently feeling on his throat which is currently spreading over to his entire body as he stared at the handsome man wearing a majestic golden robe befitting of his status and to the beautiful and charming woman dressed in a magnificent crimson robe with golden phoenix embroidered beautifully.

Despite being betrayed and secretly having been given a lethal poison without any cure, his entire disposition remains calm and gentle without an ounce of anger showing on his beautiful handsome face causing the two people before him to shudder in fear.

Among everyone else, the two of them completely know how ruthless and cruel this person can be, he was Shao Cheng, the person who has the largest merit of making the current Emperor to be seated in the throne of power in the Chang Empire!

And the current person that holds a large amount of power in the Royal Court and was both feared and respected by all those old veteran and shrewd officials that have remained after the fierce fight toward the Imperial Throne.

As the two of them began to sweats in fear while standing up from their chair and taking a few steps back away from the dying man, even though they have extremely made sure that Shao Cheng will really die after taking the poison, but the two of them is unable to stop the fear that is already ingrained deep into their bones during this moment.

However, unknown from the two-person, no one really knows about how much pain and despair Shao Cheng is currently feeling, the suffering of the lethal poison breaking and damaging his entire body doesn't compare to the feeling of being betrayed by the closest people he has treated with all his heart in this world.

Is this perhaps… the retribution of all the sinister and harmful events that he has just done in the past longs years of living in this world after miraculously has been given a second chance?

Shao Cheng couldn't help but inwardly remember while still retaining a smile on his beautiful face, after all, despite living a second life in this world and experiencing many hardship and suffering as he has grown into the current person he current was, but somehow, he was still rather too naive despite it all.

Cough Cough

Feeling his entire body weakening, Shao Cheng just let out a deep sigh, accepting his fate, it was not like he wasn't angry and furious at the betrayal of the important people that he treated like his closest family, but as he saw their twisted expression, while still retaining that fear inside their eyes, Shao Cheng can now clearly see the hidden scornful and vicious light on the woman face that he has treated as a younger sister in this new life which was also the person that has saved his life after he just transmigrated into this world.

Ah, he knew that he was so blind all along, or he might have been feeling wistful and so nostalgic about the previous life that he let himself be blinded by the people he has chosen as his loved one in this new world.

Even after all these years, despite being known as the greatest advisor, full of wisdom and knowledge as he handles the national state affairs along with the current Emperor, that he was truly naive and incompetent.

Soon his sapphire eyes turn to gaze at the current Emperor, suddenly the image of another person with almost exactly the same appearance, but younger, has replaced the person before him, it was the face of the only family and younger brother that he has a very deep attachment in his previous life.

Alright, now that he was on his doorstep of death, he admits the fact that he has used this person as a substitute for the only family that he was unable to protect in his previous life while this person has also used him along the way to get what he wanted.

Rather than feeling a strong hatred for wanting to avenge himself for being betrayed by the people closest to him, Shao Cheng only felt deep regret about what he has done into this world as memories of his life flash on his mind, especially toward the family of the body that he has been using all along in this new life.

Shao Cheng was truly an ungrateful, wicked, selfish, cruel and ruthless person that deserve a miserable ending in this life.

"This Emperor has always loathed the way you always look toward us. We are the Emperor and isn't the person that you have been replacing me with your eyes."

The handsome man with a majestic bearing standing before him has suddenly spoken a word filled with indifferent emotion, although he appeared to be noble and dignified, it doesn't change the fact that he was completely rotten inside.

"Although we are grateful for all the help you have done with us, however, we are the Emperor, we are competent and doesn't need any help in handling our Empire. We also don't need another person to have more power than us."

Huang Ya has suddenly gone to cuddle the man wearing a majestic golden robe before raising her wide long sleeves to cover half of her face, looking so charming and lovely before she started speaking with deep regret.

"Ah, your majesty, you are always so kind and gentle. There is no need to be so gentle toward this traitor, after all, we learned a few days ago that the remaining family member of the Shao Family has been a close subordinate of the rebel leader that is currently after and greedy over your throne."

Huh… so it was because he was powerful and talented that the person he has treated as his younger brother in this world has feared him while greedy about having more authority and power, while the innocent younger sister on his memories has given him a label with the crime of being a traitorous person.

Ah… those novels that he once read is really true, in ancient time it is really a place where most people can be sinister, ruthless and cold-hearted.

People change in the passage of time and can be betrayed anytime, those who don't forget their true disposition and nature and remain true to their selves is really the rarest one.

It was ironic since he was the best example out of them all but has never guarded against these two people.

How could he do that though? After all, these two people have been the most important people in his entire life, so he has easily let his guard down and now here he was, currently dying by the poison that they have secretly fed him with.

"Heh…" a chuckle was suddenly let out from his bloodstain lip, which contains a hidden bitterness and hopelessness causing the two people before him to tense up while their entire body stood still, seemingly going to run away as soon as he made a move against them.

Shao Cheng couldn't help but smile about how these two people are also naive just like him, even though he was poison with no cure and can die any seconds, they seemed to have forgotten that he is proficient in martial arts and was one of the best one too in the entire Chang Empire.

But he won't take their life away, there is someone else who has the right to end these people's life, he will see how these two people will fare that now that he was going to die.

After all, Shao Cheng has been the one that has been taking care of everything and keeping their life stable and safe, but in the end, it was a pointless move of his.

But for now, although he accepted that he deserves a miserable ending, as it was the path he has chosen, albeit seemingly to have been a wrong path from the start, it doesn't mean that he will easily let himself die just like this.

He was here today to discuss a very important matter to these two people but now, it was impossible.

Though Shao Chang couldn't help but feel happy since their retribution will happen soon.

But now that the words that Huang Ya has spoken were repeated on his mind, although it was too late and could not change anything about what he has done in the past however it was the least he can do right now.

Thus without any hesitation, Shao Chang left the magnificent hall with the use of his martial arts skill, ignoring the pain and suffering that he was currently feeling as it doesn't register one bit on his mind as he persistently and stubbornly wants to complete about what he has to do, leaving the surprised and screaming people that have betrayed him resolutely.

However, after Shao Chang's figures have disappeared, a loud voice filled with terror and fear has suddenly announced an astonishing news a second later.

"Your Majesty! We are currently under attack! A rebellion is happening right now! What do we do now, Your Majesty?"

"What?"