webnovelfull Chapter 456 Capital Punishment
Chapter 456 Capital Punishment
"I want to see the Emperor. Who do you think you are!"
Li Zhilan breathed heavily and called out, "Please invite the Emperor over!"
"What am I, your humble servant?" Shen Fuhan smiled faintly. "Doesn't the Princess admire me? Why then does she belittle me to the point of being worthless?"
"I was blind back then!" Li Zhilan's breathing became even more erratic. "I have been incredibly successful in my life, but I only failed because of you. I admit defeat!"
"You may be incredibly powerful, but do you know how many people have lost their lives at your hands?" Shen Fuhan stared at her coldly.
Li Zhilan said dismissively, "So what? Being able to be my stepping stone is a blessing that others would beg for."
Wen Jiayue looked at her in shock, never expecting her to think this way.
Those in positions of power seem to need no justification to disregard human life.
In an instant, Li Zhilan stared at her with a sinister gaze, like a snake.
"I should have just sent someone to kill you back then."
Wen Jiayue was not offended and curtsied, saying, "Thank you for sparing my life, Your Highness."
With Shen Fuhan around, she wouldn't be afraid even if Li Zhilan rushed out to kill her right now.
Moreover, there was a cage separating them.
Wen Ruohuan kept repeating, "Your Highness, save me, save me..."
Li Zhilan was utterly fed up with her. Once she had mustered some strength, she casually pulled out the hairpin from her hair and stabbed it viciously into Wen Ruohuan's throat.
Blood splattered, and all life was lost.
All of this happened so fast that Wen Jiayue only had time to gasp before Shen Fuhan pulled her into his arms and covered her eyes.
"Don't be afraid, it's okay."
Shen Fuhan ordered the jailers in a deep voice to carry Wen Ruohuan out and clean up the bloodstains.
Wen Jiayue's vision was finally able to see the light of day again.
She looked at Li Zhilan, whose face was still covered in blood, which clung to her hair and flowed down her forehead, making her look particularly gruesome.
Li Zhilan was also looking at her, staring expressionlessly at their intimate behavior as if no one else was around.
"You said back then that you and the Wen family were only husband and wife in name only, but you were lying to me."
Shen Fuhan nodded and said, "Your Highness has a good eye."
"You've completely fooled me," Li Zhilan gritted her teeth in hatred. "Shen Fuhan, you're really something."
"She is not even one ten-thousandth as good as the Princess, and she easily manipulated my second brother."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhilan laughed, which triggered a violent coughing fit.
After she finished coughing, she couldn't wait to ask, "Do you know what I've done to your second brother?"
Shen Fuhan clenched his fists and listened silently.
"I never expected that your second brother is still a virgin. His reaction is immature and he resists. I whipped him a few times, and he became obedient, letting me do whatever I want with him."
"The way he gritted his teeth and endured it made it seem as if I had committed some unforgivable mistake. He was the one who benefited. Not everyone gets the chance to be intimate with me."
She looked smug, admiring the bulging veins on Shen Fuhan's forehead, as if that could soothe her pain and bring her only satisfaction.
Unexpectedly, her next words made her regain her composure.
“Your Highness seems to have forgotten that I have brought your male concubine with me. Please tell me more, so that I may teach him how to please you.”
The male concubine said impatiently, "Lord Shen, why don't we begin now?"
The smile on Li Zhilan's lips froze, and she shouted sternly, "How dare you!"
The male concubine flinched, but then raised his chin and said, "Princess, I am yours in life and in death. If I can make love to you before you die, I will definitely go down and accompany you."
As he spoke, he slowly approached, and Li Zhilan kept retreating.
She, the dignified Princess Yongzhen, the daughter whom the late emperor cherished like a precious jewel, had never experienced such a humiliating moment!
She forced back her tears and scolded, "Don't come any closer!"
Shen Fuhan suddenly spoke up: "When you insisted on staying in Chang'an, did you ever imagine that you would end up like this?"
Li Zhilan couldn't understand what he was saying at all. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "What do you mean?"
"You could have followed Pei Huaijin and fled far away to discuss the rebellion together..." Shen Fuhan paused, "Could it be that you stayed in Chang'an to be his spy?"
Li Zhilan's pupils contracted slightly. This matter had been kept well hidden, so how could he have known about it?
She vehemently denied it, her voice trembling: "Pei Huaijin? Rebellion? I don't understand what you're talking about."
“Five days ago, I caught him. In order to protect himself, he gave up your name,” Shen Fuhan sighed. “I didn’t want to believe it either, but I found the evidence.”
Without giving Li Zhilan time to think, he continued, "Does the Princess really think that without His Majesty's authorization, I would be so bold as to feed you the Bone-Corroding Powder?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible," Li Zhilan gasped. "Even so, the Emperor wouldn't take my life. I'm his own sister, and no matter what I do, he'll protect me!"
"The eldest princess is truly naive. What makes her think that treason would be included?"
Shen Fuhan coldly said, "Hasn't the Princess always wanted to see the Emperor? Why don't I invite the Emperor over so that he can confront you face to face?"
Unable to discern the truthfulness of his words, Li Zhilan could only say, "I...I suddenly don't want to see the Emperor."
"Is the Princess feeling guilty? If you didn't do it, why are you afraid?"
Shen Fuhan pressed closer and closer, and his male favorites also drew nearer.
Li Zhilan completely broke down and blurted out, "So what if someone else becomes emperor? If Li Zhixu doesn't listen to me, I can bring him down!"
"If I were a man, how could these men have a chance to claim the throne? It would surely be mine!"
Shen Fuhan suddenly smiled.
Li Zhilan felt a chill run down her spine from his laughter, but feigned composure and asked, "What are you planning to do now?"
Shen Fuhan didn't say anything, but stepped aside to make way for him.
In the shadows, the emperor walked steadily, step by step, like a death knell.
Shen Fuhan and Wen Jiayue bowed together, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Li Zhilan stared at the bright yellow figure with a gloomy face, but still had a glimmer of hope in his heart: what if the emperor had just arrived?
She immediately crawled over and grabbed the hem of the garment.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Shen Fuhan has given me Bone-Corroding Powder! You must bring him to justice immediately, hurry!"
The emperor looked down at her, the last trace of sorrow in his eyes fading away, replaced by the cold ruthlessness of an emperor.
He didn't want to say another word, and after a moment of hesitation, he slowly opened his mouth.
"Princess Yongzhen, Li Zhilan, has acted inappropriately, disregarded human life, and plotted rebellion. Her crimes are unforgivable. She is hereby demoted to commoner status and sentenced to death!"