Chapter 615 - Chapter 615: Bait

Chapter 615: Bait

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The moment the blade cut through the neck, the fear of death completely drowned the old emperor.

He opened his mouth as wide as he could to shout.

In the end, he could only make a sound like a broken bellow.

He looked at Xiao Juan with pleading eyes.

Xiao Juan increased his strength expressionlessly, and the blade dug into his flesh.

Blood flowed out continuously.

The old emperor’s body twitched uncontrollably. A moment later, he was completely dead.

He stared at Xiao Juan with wide eyes. The remaining bedsheets had already been soaked in blood and turned bright red.

Xiao Juan wiped the blood off the dagger and put it back into his sleeve. Then, he picked up the candlestick on the table and casually threw it on the bed.

The candlelight ignited the bed curtain, and the fire spread.

In just a moment, the old emperor was engulfed by flames.

Back then, he ordered someone to kill Feng Lianghan and Madam Xie and even burned the Feng family’s residence to ruins.

And now, he wanted to have a taste of being burned.

After doing this, Xiao Juan did not look at the old emperor again. He used his qinggong to fly up the beam.

Smoke seeped out through the crack in the door. The people outside the house sensed the abnormality and hurriedly pushed open the door to rush in. When they saw the fire in the house, everyone was frightened to death. Some people pounced on the bed, wanting to save the emperor, while others rushed out to get water and put out the fire.

People came and went in the bedroom.

Xiao Juan mixed in the crowd and silently left the bedroom.

When he arrived near the palace gate and prepared to sneak out as an imperial guard, his true identity was exposed.

“Stop him! He’s Duke Lang, the murderer who assassinated the emperor!” The person who shouted was a guard from the crown prince’s residence.

The guard followed Xiao Juan secretly under the crown prince’s orders. He saw Xiao Juan sneak into the palace in disguise and sneak into the bedroom. Not long after, the bedroom caught fire, and right on the heels of that, the news of the emperor’s assassination spread.

He knew that this was definitely done by Xiao Juan!

The Crown Prince had instructed him not to let Xiao Juan leave the palace alive.

Therefore, he exposed Xiao Juan’s identity in public just before he was about to step out of the palace gate.

The imperial guards pulled out their sabers, planning to take Xiao Juan down.

Xiao Juan naturally would not surrender.

The two sides fought near the palace gate.

Xiao Juan’s martial arts were strong and his skills were extraordinary. Even though the Imperial Guards had many people, they could not take Xiao Juan down for a while.

Seeing that the palace door was about to be closed, Xiao Juan made up his mind.

If the palace door closed, he would have no hope of escaping.

Although he was mentally prepared for the worst before he came, Xiao Juan was still a little unwilling.

He was still worried about Niaoniao. He wanted to see her again.

He wanted to hug her again and say goodbye to her properly.

Xiao Juan slashed at the imperial guards in front of him and rushed out of the palace gate without care.

The archers on the palace wall immediately drew their bows and nocked arrows, all aiming at Xiao Juan, who was running below.

Arrows rained down.

Even though Xiao Juan’s Qinggong was at its peak, he could not dodge all the arrows.

He was shot twice in the back.

However, he still did not stop. He gritted his teeth and ran out of the archers’ range while enduring the pain.

By the time Shen Zhuo arrived at the palace, the fire in the bedroom had been extinguished.

The old emperor’s body was burned beyond recognition. Empress Wen and a group of concubines knelt on the ground and cried.

Shen Zhuo went forward to help Empress Wen up and comforted her gently. “Mother, sit down and rest. Don’t cry yourself to death.”

Empress Wen wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a silk handkerchief. She saw that although Shen Zhuo looked sad, he was not surprised and could not help but ask.

“Junzhi, why aren’t you surprised? Do you know that your father was killed?”

Shen Zhuo glanced at the people beside him.

Evervone understood and silentlv retreated.

Only the mother and son were left in the room.

Shen Zhuo said, “I know. Father was harmed by Xiao Juan. I’ve already ordered someone to capture him. I definitely won’t let Father die in vain.”

Empress Wen could tell that something was wrong from his calm expression and suddenly had a bold guess.

She lowered her voice and asked, “Tell me the truth. Did you already know that Xiao Juan would harm your father?”

Shen Zhuo did not give a positive answer. “It was Xiao Juan who killed him. It has nothing to do with me.”

It really had nothing to do with him.

He had only deliberately asked someone to relax the surveillance in the palace when Xiao Juan sneaked into the palace, giving Xiao Juan an opportunity.

This matter had been done by Xiao Juan alone from the beginning to the end. Xiao Juan was the only one who should be cut into pieces.

Empress Wen involuntarily grabbed Shen Zhuo’s voice tightly and deliberately lowered it.

“Junzhi, he’s your father.”

Shen Zhuo asked calmly, “Back then, Mother died in childbirth and my twin brother was forced to die young. At that time, did Father ever think about the father-son relationship between him and me?”

Empress Wen could not help but remind him, “The person who killed Imperial

Concubine Yue was Noble Consort Shu.”

Shen Zhuo continued to ask, “But without Father’s tacit approval and indulgence, how could Noble Consort Shu harm Mother alone?”

Empress Wen was stunned.

From a young age, she had told Shen Zhuo that Noble Consort Shu had killed his mother and did not mention the emperor.

Unexpectedly, Shen Zhuo had already thought through the reason.

The child actually understood everything.

It was because he understood that he hated his father.

With this hatred, he had worked hard to become stronger and carefully planned for today.

Shen Zhuo held Empress Wen’s hand and said softly, “Isn’t this good now? Father is dead, and Xiao Juan will be executed for regicide. Niaoniao’s revenge has been avenged. Mother, you don’t have to suffer anymore to please Father.

Mother will rest in peace in the netherworld. Everything is great.”

At the end, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly in a faint smile.

He looked like he was really in a good mood.

For a moment, Empress Wen did not know what to say.

She looked at Shen Zhuo’s eyebrows and felt that this child had changed a lot.

He was becoming more and more shrewd, making it harder to see what he was thinking.

At this moment, a guard rushed over.

“Your Highness, Duke Lang broke through the siege of the imperial guards and escaped from the palace through Deyang Sect. He’s gone!”

Shen Zhuo’s expression changed, and a ruthless glint appeared in his usually gentle eyes.

“Can’t so many of you even capture Xiao Juan?

The guard knelt on the ground, trembling. “I didn’t do my job well. I deserve to die!”

Shen Zhuo sneered. “Does he think he’ll be fine after escaping the palace? Pass down the order. From today onwards, send heavy troops to guard the various city gates. Everyone who leaves the city has to be strictly interrogated. In addition, send someone to search the entire city. As long as anyone can capture Xiao Juan, they will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold!”

The guard obeyed and left.

Empress Wen looked at Shen Zhuo and asked, “Why didn’t you seal the city gate directly?”

Shen Zhuo said meaningfully, “When hunters hunt, they prepare bait in advance.”

To Xiao Juan, the hope of leaving the city was equivalent to the best bait..