The Sickly Beauty Official Faked His Death and Now the Tyrant Has Gone Mad - Chapter 20

Under a vast, clear sky with a gentle breeze, the refreshing wind lifted the crimson sleeves, dispelling the winter chill as the heat of summer approached.

Su Yang walked along the long palace path amidst the falling ceremonial fireworks and flowers, stepping gracefully onto the altar under the gaze of hundreds of officials.

The offerings on the altar were complete in every way, yet there were no dragon-and-phoenix wedding candles, no empress’s phoenix seal, and no “empress” in wedding attire who should have been standing beside Su Yang.

An official from the Ministry of Rites stood nearby, holding a scroll and reciting the sacrificial prayers: “Heaven, in its utmost fairness, witness our sincerity, grant us a bountiful year, peace for the people, and prosperity for the nation.”

“Heaven, in its infinite greatness, witness our utmost sincerity, grant us a bountiful year, and everlasting peace.”

“We reverently inform the August Heaven, protect our sovereign, extend the nation’s fortune, and bring well-being to all people.”

“The August Heaven above, the Earth below, we humbly offer clear wine and fine delicacies to the heavens.”

“We pray that Heaven’s benevolent heart will protect our people, bring favorable weather, and ensure abundant harvests.”

“We reverently inform the August Heaven, protect our sovereign, extend the nation’s fortune, and bring well-being to all people.”

What should have been an empress’s coronation ceremony had now turned into a royal sacrifice, praying for favorable weather and a prosperous year ahead.

When the Ministry of Rites announced “bow,” everyone knelt and paid their respects, offering sincere prayers.

However, when they looked up again, they saw flames soaring into the sky from the northwest.

The civil and military officials erupted in uproar.

“What’s happening? Is there a fire?”

“Where did the fire start? Is that direction the rear palace?” someone said uncertainly, looking toward the flames.

Others remarked, “How could a fire break out in the rear palace for no reason? Could it be that Heaven, moved by His Majesty’s sincerity, has bestowed an auspicious sign?”

But the fire grew larger and larger, with billowing black smoke and flames that seemed to set the horizon ablaze.

Only then did everyone panic: “It’s a fire! This must be a fire!”

“This hurry and put it out! How did it get so big?”

“The ceremony has been interrupted could this be an ominous sign?!”

“Hush! Keep your mouth shut!”

The officials naturally turned their gaze to Su Yang, only to see the figure in bright crimson staring in the direction of the raging flames, his expression changing.

The usually composed and unflappable emperor immediately abandoned the ceremony and rushed frantically toward the source of the fire.

For the first time, Su Yang felt that the palace path was so long, as if he could never reach Qinchun Palace in his lifetime.

Along the way, countless thoughts flashed through his mind: perhaps the fire was in some corner of the rear palace, not Qinchun Palace; or perhaps it was near Qinchun Palace but not exactly there. In any case, it couldn’t possibly be Qinchun Palace.

Yet he also knew that the vast rear palace housed no one else only Qinchun Palace, where his teacher resided, where Lin Huaiyu lived.

If there was a fire, how could Lin Huaiyu not escape? He must have already left Qinchun Palace by now. Why was he in such a hurry? By the time he arrived, he’d be out of breath, giving Lin Huaiyu another reason to mock him and scold him for behaving so unbecomingly as an emperor.

Though Su Yang thought this, his pace quickened. Ignoring De Fu’s shouts behind him to take the sedan, he ran all the way to Qinchun Palace.

The sight that greeted him felt like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, and his heart tightened.

Outside the Palace of Spring, a group of imperial physicians and palace servants knelt in a row on the palace path, none daring to move. The Palace of Spring was engulfed in raging flames, and the scorching, thick smoke was unbearable even for those standing outside.

Su Yang’s pupils contracted sharply. He grabbed a servant by the collar, hoisted him up, and roared, “Where is Lin Huaiyu? Where is he?!”

The servant trembled at the sight of Su Yang and pointed a shaking finger toward the blazing palace. “Lord Lin… he didn’t come out.”

In that instant, all surrounding sounds faded away. Only one thought echoed in Su Yang’s mind:

Lin Huaiyu hadn’t come out. He was still trapped in the fire.

Su Yang shoved the servant aside, kicked another kneeling nearby, and charged straight into the flames.

De Fu rushed over as fast as he could, ordering others to stop Su Yang while throwing himself forward. “Your Majesty, you mustn’t!”

Su Yang pushed aside all resistance without a second thought. “Get out of my way! Anyone who dares stop me will have their entire clan executed!”

Like a madman, he plunged into the inferno. The towering flames swallowed him whole, and De Fu could only watch helplessly as Su Yang recklessly charged into the Palace of Spring, nearly brought to tears by desperation.

He hastily commanded the servants, “Quickly, put out the fire! What are you all standing around for? Can’t you see it’s burning? How could such a massive fire go unreported?!”

No one dared to respond, scrambling into action instead.

De Fu’s thoughts were fixed on Su Yang. The fire was too fierce, the heatwaves overwhelming so intense that De Fu himself hardly dared approach. Yet Su Yang had charged straight in.

He prayed silently, “Lord Lin, you must be inside.”

But then he realized the absurdity of his plea and hastily spat twice, correcting himself, “Lord Lin, you must not be inside…”

Yet he also knew that whether Lin Huaiyu was inside or not, the situation was dire either way.

Seeing that Su Yang still hadn’t emerged, De Fu steeled himself. He tore off his outer robe, soaked it in water, and draped it over his head.

“To hell with it!” De Fu charged into the flames as well. He couldn’t stand by and watch Su Yang throw his life away.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

“Lin Huaiyu!!!”

Their shouts intertwined, drowned out by the roaring fire. Only the crackling of burning beams could be heard.

De Fu quickly found Su Yang, who was already engulfed in flames, his clothes alight, yet still desperately calling out for Lin Huaiyu, his face etched with anguish.

But in such a blaze, by the time they had arrived, the Palace of Spring was already reduced to ruins. They both knew that no one could have survived such a fire not even bones would remain.

De Fu draped the wet robe over Su Yang and pleaded, “Your Majesty, Lord Lin isn’t here. Let’s get out.”

But Su Yang shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the flames. “No, he can’t be dead. He wouldn’t die so easily!”

De Fu couldn’t hold him back. As Su Yang tried to press further into the fire, a collapsing beam crashed down, blocking his path. Watching the flames consuming Su Yang, De Fu wept, “Your Majesty, if you don’t leave now, you’ll die here! I beg you, let me search for him instead, please?”

Su Yang turned a deaf ear, using his hands to bat away the flames, trying to see inside. But the overwhelming fire nearly blinded him. He stood bathed in the blaze like a ghost being consumed by flames, desperately searching for that obsession. Again and again, he pushed De Fu aside, shouting Lin Huaiyu’s name, yet he could not find him.

Seeing that Su Yang seemed determined to die in the fire if he couldn’t find the person, De Fu had a sudden flash of inspiration. After a moment of hesitation, he rushed toward Su Yang once more.

So be it if it’s a crime of deceiving the emperor the Great Yong cannot be without its sovereign.

De Fu ran back to Su Yang’s side and said, “Your Majesty, Lord Lin is not inside. Lord Lin is outside!”

Su Yang whipped his head around to look at De Fu. Having been in the firelight for too long, the heat waves battered his eyes, yet he kept them wide open, straining to see clearly. Now, even De Fu appeared blurry to him. “Are you telling the truth?”

De Fu looked at Su Yang’s disheveled state and nodded emphatically. “How would this servant dare deceive Your Majesty?”

Su Yang smiled faintly, as if relieved after a narrow escape. Knowing that Lin Huaiyu was not in the fire filled him with such joy. He stared at De Fu and said, “If you dare lie to me, I will not spare you lightly.”

De Fu quickly draped his outer robe over Su Yang’s head and helped him out. “This servant wouldn’t dare, Your Majesty. Please, let’s get out quickly.”

Su Yang’s body was so scorching hot it was almost untouchable, flames still clinging to him. Once they were out of the fire, De Fu immediately took a basin of water from a palace servant and poured it over Su Yang, extinguishing the flames on his body.

“Quick, summon the imperial physician!” De Fu panicked at the sight of Su Yang’s dreadful condition, forgetting that Zhou Li was right beside him.

Su Yang’s crimson robe had long been burned away by the fire, leaving little behind. His skin was scorched by the flames, with not a single spot left untouched. It was too painful to even make contact. De Fu had thought of fetching clothes to cover him but feared injuring the imperial body.

Zhou Li, however, quickly stepped forward on his own. Just as he was about to tend to Su Yang’s wounds, before he could even touch him, Su Yang didn’t even glance his way and demanded directly, “Where is Lin Huaiyu?”

The entire scene fell into dead silence. Aside from the palace servants fighting the fire, everyone else knelt on the ground, not daring to make a sound.

Zhou Li was also intimidated by Su Yang’s appearance and knelt at the emperor’s feet. At this moment, Su Yang had just emerged from the fire, looking utterly disheveled like a malevolent ghost, the ferocity in his eyes impossible to conceal. The oppressive aura he exuded made it hard to breathe.

De Fu could only steel himself and step forward. “Your Majesty, perhaps you should let Chief Physician Zhou examine your injuries first.”

Su Yang’s bloodshot eyes fixed directly on De Fu. “Where is Lin Huaiyu? You said he was outside. Where is he?!”

De Fu avoided his gaze, speaking with evident guilt. “Your Majesty…”

Seeing his expression, Su Yang understood all too well that he had been deceived. He turned to rush back into the fire, but this time, De Fu clung tightly to his leg. “Your Majesty, you cannot go back in!!!”

Su Yang’s face turned cold, his voice trembling. “De Fu, you have such audacity, daring to deceive me!”

De Fu shook his head but offered no explanation, using his own body to desperately hold Su Yang back. Meanwhile, Zhou Li also knelt down and grabbed Su Yang’s other leg. “Your Majesty! Lord Lin is already dead. Even if you rescue him now, it will be of no use!”

Su Yang’s struggling form froze in place. He slowly turned his head, as if mechanically, to look at Zhou Li kneeling on the ground, his voice trembling slightly: “What did you say? Who died?”

Zhou Li had no choice but to bear the pressure and repeat: “Lord Lin he was already beyond saving long ago.”

A single tear fell from Su Yang’s bloodshot eyes, yet his expression remained resolute: “Impossible! How could Lin Huaiyu die? He was just a bit frail. Someone as cunning and scheming as him, how could he die so easily?! Zhou Li, do you know the consequences of deceiving the emperor?”

Zhou Li kowtowed deeply and hurriedly said: “Your servant would never dare deceive Your Majesty. But Lord Lin’s condition was not mere illness he was poisoned. When I treated him, the poison had already penetrated his organs. Even if he were still alive, he would have had only a year left. But recently, Lord Lin frequently coughed up blood, which means the poison had reached his heart and blood vessels. Medicine and treatment were useless!”

Su Yang listened to Zhou Li’s words in a daze, momentarily unable to comprehend them. He understood every word spoken, yet when strung together, he couldn’t grasp their meaning.

What did it mean that Lin Huaiyu had only a year left to live?

What did it mean that he frequently coughed up blood, and medicine was useless?

Countless images flooded his mind in that instant. Su Yang recalled the days when he and Lin Huaiyu had bathed together the scent of blood in the bathwater. He had smelled it then and assumed it was from Lin Huaiyu’s torn flesh. He had even wanted to apply medicine for him, but Lin Huaiyu had refused.

Later, he had locked Lin Huaiyu in the dark chamber. Though Lin Huaiyu appeared calm on the surface, his pale complexion and the uncontrollable trembling in Su Yang’s embrace revealed the terror he felt while confined.

What had Su Yang been thinking at that time?

He had thought he had discovered Lin Huaiyu’s weakness that he could finally lock him by his side, ensuring Lin Huaiyu could never leave.

He had assumed the episode of coughing blood was merely Lin Huaiyu, weakened by illness, unable to endure the torment and frightened.

He had believed that Lin Huaiyu’s poor health, the coughing and blood, were ordinary ailments that could be remedied with nourishment.

As the Son of Heaven, what precious medicine could he not provide for Lin Huaiyu.

But…

Su Yang kicked Zhou Li fiercely, his gaze sharp and ruthless: “You just said he was poisoned. When did this happen?! Why didn’t you report it to me?!”

Zhou Li dared not show his pain, kneeling properly as he hurriedly explained: “Lord Lin forbade me from telling Your Majesty.”

Su Yang’s anger surged, a fire burning in his chest. He wanted to vent but had nowhere to direct it. He could only glare fiercely at Zhou Li, each word dripping with boundless rage: “He forbade you, so you joined him in deceiving me? Zhou Li, who gave you the audacity to dare deceive the emperor?!”

Zhou Li’s heart skipped a beat, cold sweat breaking out on his back: “Your Majesty, Lord Lin threatened the lives of my entire family. I dared not disobey. Lord Lin did not wish to tell Your Majesty about the poisoning, likely because he feared worrying Your Majesty.”

De Fu had never seen Su Yang so enraged. Sensing the danger, he quickly advised: “Your Majesty, please take care of your health. Do not let anger harm your body.”

Su Yang closed his eyes. At that moment, he had no desire to listen to Zhou Li’s excuses. He only asked: “Do you know when he was poisoned?”

On his very first consultation with Lin Huaiyu, Zhou Li had already diagnosed the situation with seventy to eighty percent accuracy. He couldn’t speak of it before, but now that Lin Huaiyu was dead, and things had come to this point, he spoke truthfully: “On the day Lord Lin entered the palace, when I took his pulse, I discovered that the poison had already invaded his internal organs, making it difficult to cure. I’m afraid it had been two years.”

Two years…

Su Yang had just emerged from the sea of flames and should have felt scorching heat all over his body. Yet, upon hearing Zhou Li’s words, he now felt a chill running through his entire being.

Two years ago that was when he had just taken over the Eastern Palace with Lin Huaiyu’s assistance, becoming the Crown Prince of Dayong. It was also the year Lin Huaiyu schemed and plotted for him, step by step eliminating the other princes, making him the sole heir to the Dayong throne.

At that time, all eyes were on the Eastern Palace. Those princes, even the late emperor, saw Su Yang and Lin Huaiyu as thorns in their sides.

Could it have been then that Lin Huaiyu was poisoned? And he had known nothing about it.

The mere thought of this possibility made Su Yang’s breathing grow rapid. Back then, his only focus had been on ascending to the pinnacle of power, so that no one could ever humiliate him or Lin Huaiyu again. He believed that with power, he could protect Lin Huaiyu.

But it turned out he had already pushed Lin Huaiyu into a desperate situation long ago.

“Did he know?” Su Yang swayed slightly as he asked.

Zhou Li nodded and, under Su Yang’s deathly pale gaze, replied, “Lord Lin seemed to have known for a long time.”

Known for a long time yet he had kept it hidden from him, never telling him.

Su Yang trembled uncontrollably. He didn’t know whether it was fear or something else, but it felt as if a part of his heart had been hollowed out. He glared fiercely at Zhou Li. “I am the Son of Heaven, yet you deceived me for Lin Huaiyu. Zhou Li, you have some nerve! I will have you executed!”

Su Yang drew the sword from the waist of a nearby guard and was about to strike Zhou Li down when a flash of golden light gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.

Su Yang immediately halted his movement, staring blankly at the pardon token Zhou Li held high with both hands.

Zhou Li, drenched in sweat but not daring to wipe it away, raised the pardon token above his head. At this life-or-death moment, he declared loudly, “Your Majesty, before his death, Lord Lin gifted this pardon token to me. He said that upon seeing it, Your Majesty would surely understand his meaning.”

Su Yang’s pupils contracted. He immediately dropped the sword in his hand and tightly grasped the pardon token from Zhou Li’s grasp.

Of course, he knew this was the very token he had personally bestowed upon Lin Huaiyu on the day he ascended the throne. Though he would never have killed Lin Huaiyu, this token was both a safeguard and an honor.

But now it had become the sharp blade with which Lin Huaiyu punished him.

He couldn’t even blame others, couldn’t even kill.

“He isn’t dead. He’s deceiving me,” Su Yang stared at the pardon token in his hand as if fixated on Lin Huaiyu himself. “You… you’re deceiving me too.”

Zhou Li dared not speak further, fearing he might add fuel to the fire. The pardon token could save him once, but it couldn’t save him a second time.

De Fu, witnessing this, was also startled and hurried forward, weeping sorrowfully, “Your Majesty, please restrain your grief.”

Only then did everyone kneel in unison. “We beg Your Majesty to restrain your grief.”

Hearing these words, Su Yang grew even more furious. He roared, “Lin Huaiyu isn’t dead! Didn’t he always want to escape? He must have devised a plan to leave the palace. How could he possibly be dead?!”

Defu saw that Su Yang’s wounds were left untreated and could not believe that Lin Huaiyu had passed away. He sighed and said, “Your Majesty, Lord Lin was frail. How could he have escaped such a great fire? Chief Physician Zhou’s diagnosis cannot be wrong. Your Majesty, please quickly tend to your wounds.”

But Su Yang seemed to hear nothing at all, repeating stubbornly, “Impossible… Lin Huaiyu cannot be dead. He is lying to me.”

Seeing that Su Yang was not himself, Defu tugged at the hem of his robe in panic and said, “Your Majesty, what is wrong with you?”

Su Yang remained unmoved, only staring at the pardon token in his hand and shaking his head. “He just wants to leave me. I know it all. He is not dead. He simply does not wish to see me.”

Fearing that Su Yang would not come to his senses, Zhou Li quickly spoke up, “Your Majesty, before we were driven out of the Qinchun Palace by Lord Lin, he had vomited a great deal of blood in bed. Even without this fire, Lord Lin would have been doomed!”

Everyone was urging Su Yang to face the truth. Looking at the people kneeling all around him, Su Yang felt as if the world were spinning.

He did not want to hear any of it was all lies!

Su Yang swept his gaze over everyone and said to Defu, “Issue my decree: search the entire city for Lin Huaiyu. If you see my teacher do not harm him. Tie him up and bring him back to me!”