Chapter 55: Attempting Regicide?!

"I! Will! Kill! Him!"

After an indeterminate stretch of heavy silence, Zhao Guangyi finally spoke, biting out each word individually as if forcing them through the gaps in his teeth.

At that moment, his eyes were completely bloodshot.

"Your Highness speaks correctly!"

Hearing Zhao Guangyi's outburst, Cheng Dexuan, who had been quietly waiting on the side while a thousand thoughts raced through his mind, immediately chimed in.

"That fellow should have been killed long ago. What use is keeping such a wretch alive?
If he had been put to death sooner, today's troubles would never have arisen!
Some uncultured country bumpkin, crawled out from who knows where, daring to spread malicious rumors and stir up the political waters.
He simply has lived too long for his own good!"

Cheng Dexuan's voice dripped with murder.
He made no attempt to conceal the savage expression contorting his face.

"Your Highness is entirely right. Such a scoundrel, daring to ruin Your Highness's grand plans, deserved to be hacked to pieces a thousand times over long ago!"

Ma Shao had been in the room for a while, standing obediently in the shadows with a gloomy expression on Zhao Guangyi's face, remaining silent until Cheng Dexuan signaled him. Now he too spoke up in agreement.

"Ever since Zhao Dezhao brought that sort of creature to see the Emperor, His Majesty has fundamentally changed.
And to this day, that man remains alive, locked away within the Imperial Garden. There's no longer any need to investigate his true origins.
Nor is there any need to find out what he and His Majesty discussed between them.
Just by looking at all the subsequent events, one can tell that this person is the root of the mischief!
Regardless of who he might be, daring to act in such a manner means he has only one path left—death. He must not be allowed to live!"

"Has any fresh news come from Wang Ji'en? Have you managed to find out the fellow's background?
And what exactly did he say to Zhao Kuangyin?"

Zhao Guangyi's voice rang out as his gaze locked onto Cheng Dexuan.

"The latest report was already submitted to Your Highness a few days ago.
It stated that as soon as the news arrived of Qian Chu returning the prefectures of Changzhou and Runzhou to the court, His Majesty immediately rushed without a moment's rest to the Imperial Garden to see this man.
As for what was said, or precisely why the fellow still hasn't been executed, Wang Ji'en has yet to uncover the specific details..."

"Your Highness, this person is nothing more than a common charlatan playing at ghosts and spirits.
That absurd claim about coming from a thousand years in the future is utterly unworthy of belief—it is pure nonsense.
It is merely a novel pretense he invented to hoodwink people."

Ma Shao spoke again.
As an old hand at the trade of ghost-summoning and ritual dances, he smelled the unmistakable scent of a professional peer in these developments.

"I simply cannot fathom what method the man used to make His Majesty actually believe such an outrageous fabrication about hailing from a millennium hence.
Judging by the current outcome, His Majesty has swallowed the lie completely.
Once you believe a premise like that, the fellow is naturally free to concoct all sorts of future events at will to bewitch the Emperor.
From the drastic shift in His Majesty's attitude over this short period, one can tell that this person has certainly been stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

Every single move he makes is aimed directly at Your Highness, and he has undoubtedly poisoned the Emperor's ear against you.
Otherwise, with Your Highness's brilliance and martial prowess, you would undoubtedly ascend the throne in the days to come!
You would inevitably establish peerless, epoch-making achievements!
Under Your Highness's enlightened leadership, the Great Song would shine even brighter.
Upon hearing of this, His Majesty should have treated Your Highness with even greater reverence, or perhaps even abdicated the throne to Your Highness on the spot.
Things should never have ended up like this."

Even in the white-hot heat of his rage, Zhao Guangyi could not help nodding as he listened to Ma Shao's words.
He felt that Ma Shao's analysis was spot on.
Was he not, after all, brilliant, martial, and possessed of unworldly talent?
The very anxieties he had confided in his wife during their recent conversation had indeed come true.
Such a person held deep-seated prejudices against him; in order to elevate Zhao Dezhao, the wretch had deliberately distorted facts, offered slanderous counsel, and framed him.
Otherwise, given his own extraordinary capabilities, how could things have ever reached this state?
Zhao Dezhao wasn't even worthy of carrying his shoes.

Intense resentment and murderous intent churned within his eyes.

"That man must die, of course; I shall have him sliced into a thousand pieces!
But... the person I intend to kill right now is not him!"

...

"In the future, you must grow somewhat closer to your Empress."

Inside the Wansui Hall, Zhao Kuangyin looked at Zhao Dezhao and spoke.

"I know. When your mother passed away, you were already quite old.
Your heart has always clung to your mother, and whoever came after was ultimately a stepmother, making it difficult for her to ever truly enter your heart..."

Seeing Zhao Dezhao's expression shift as he wanted to offer an explanation,
Zhao Kuangyin waved a hand to signal that it was unnecessary.

"I can understand that. If you actually dared to forget your mother, I'd be the one beating you!"

"You and your present Empress are not far apart in age; she is even a year younger than you.
I am well aware that interactions between the two of you are awkward, and that you must mind the proprieties of stepmother and stepson.
However, how should I put it? In the end, you are family.
Since I took her as my wife, by title she is your Empress.
While you must observe proper boundaries, there is no need to be so rigidly distant.
We are a family.
I am no longer young myself. If I should pass away in the days to come, your Empress, along with Defang and the rest, will all have to rely on you for support.
By then, you will become the main pillar of the Zhao family."

Hearing his imperial father speak in such a manner, Zhao Dezhao was suddenly seized with panic.

"Imperial Father! Your health is robust enough for men to stand upon your fists and horses to gallop across your arms.
Even now, if Your Child were to fight you bare-handed, I would be no match for you. You are destined to live a hundred years!"

"Ha, nonsense! If I can just live past sixty, I'll thank the heavens and earth!"

Recalling the time of his own death as foretold by Li Cheng, Zhao Kuangyin smiled and shook his head.

"A man who has survived the chaos of war does not put his faith in longevity.
Among those who become emperors, precious few live to a ripe old age."

...

The person he wanted to kill turned out *not* to be that charlatan playing at ghosts and spirits?!

At the Prince of Jin's mansion, both Cheng Dexuan and Ma Shao were struck dumb with astonishment when they heard Zhao Guangyi utter these words.

If they weren't going to kill Li Cheng, then... whom else could they possibly target?!

"Li Cheng richly deserves to die, but trying to kill him right now is utterly impossible.
That treacherous dog resides within the Imperial Garden, and the Imperial Garden is deep inside the imperial palace.
Zhao Kuangyin has personally dispatched the imperial guards and palace elite to stand watch there—how could anyone possibly kill him?
Judging by the current situation, this fellow has thoroughly won Zhao Kuangyin's trust.
Even if we somehow managed to assassinate him, it would merely give Zhao Kuangyin a pretext to strike at us all the more fiercely.
Killing him would do nothing to change the overall situation.
We only get one chance. If we strike, we must strike at someone of consequence!
Someone whose removal can completely reverse the tide!
We must kill Zhao Kuangyin, and I shall ascend the throne as Emperor!"

As he spat out these words, Zhao Guangyin's eyes burned with madness and ferocity.

Hearing this declaration, both Ma Shao and Cheng Dexuan felt a violent jolt in their chests.

Although the two of them had already harbored certain suspicions just moments before, hearing such a revelation directly from the Prince of Jin's mouth still made their hearts leap wildly.
This was regicide! A coup d'état!

Yet, even as their hearts hammered against their ribs, a moment's reflection told them it was the only logical choice.
If they wished to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and turn the tables now, this was the solitary path left to them.

"Your Highness is entirely correct! This is the only way to break the deadlock!
This humble servant is willing to follow Your Highness's commands!"

"This humble servant likewise obeys Your Highness's decree. I shall brave boiling water and tread through fire without the slightest hesitation!"

Ma Shao and Cheng Dexuan hastily professed their absolute loyalty.

"Only... how are we supposed to manage the assassination of Zhao Kuangyin?"

Ma Shao raised the most critical question of all.