Chapter 11: Chapter 184: Women Are Cheap Things

Chapter 184: Women are Cheap Things

"You knew all along that I was closely aligned with the Prince of Jing, and that is why you sought to frame me in such a manner?" During these past few days in prison, Yao Zhenting had thought things over repeatedly. He simply could not believe that Ye Zixiao would abandon his grand ambition of becoming Emperor for the sake of a woman. If it wasn't Ye Zixiao, then it had to be Yao Mowan!

"Father truly thinks highly of Mowan. Even if Mowan had the intention, she wouldn't have been able to engrave the character 'Yao' onto ten thousand weapons in such a short amount of time. Actually, it isn't strange at all that Father still doesn't believe this was a trap set by the Prince of Jing. It is because, in Father's eyes, women are nothing more than cheap things. Whether they are wives or daughters, in Father's eyes, they are merely tools—either for wielding power or for continuing the bloodline. But the Prince of Jing is different; his feelings for Duan Zirou have withstood the test. To this day, having fallen to such a state, does Father feel even a shred of regret? If Father had been willing to value women even slightly, perhaps he would not have reached this stage of a desolate old age." Yao Mowan's expression was solemn, her eyes filled with icy coldness.

"Shut up! You are nothing but a lowborn brat; what right do you have to lecture me! Everyone must die. Even if I die, I will not regret causing Mo Li's death! It was all Mo Li's fault! It was all because Mo Li gave birth to a lowborn brat like you!" Yao Zhenting roared hysterically, his finger pointing fiercely at Yao Mowan.

"The more fiercely Father curses, the more it proves the regret in your heart. As for death... rest assured, Mowan has already begged the Emperor to spare Father's life. However, from this moment on, Father shall spend the rest of his life here among the rats, until death!" Yao Mowan's voice sounded as if it came from hell; every word was a sentence passed upon Yao Zhenting's life.

"The Emperor actually won't kill me? Why? Why won't the Emperor kill me!" Yao Zhenting looked at Yao Mowan in shock and fury. His crime was treason; even if he wasn't executed by death by a thousand cuts, he should have been beheaded and displayed to the public. Yet now, because of a single sentence from Yao Mowan, the Emperor had actually abandoned the thought of killing him. This filled Yao Zhenting with immense rage.

"Mowan believes Father truly wants to die, because death would mean liberation. However, Mowan believes even more that Father could never bring himself to commit suicide, because you are too narcissistic. In this life, the only person you care about is yourself. Based on that, how could Father bear to do something that harms himself?" Yao Mowan saw right through the man before her, her cold voice laced with absolute mockery and sarcasm.

"Yao Mowan... you are not my daughter, you are a monster... you are a demon..." Yao Zhenting slumped back into the straw in despair. He desperately wanted to use his own death to prove Yao Mowan wrong, but he truly could not bear to close his eyes just like that.

Inside Huaqing Palace, Yao Suoluan's slender fingers gripped a wine flask. During the day, Ye Hongyi had come to warn her not to follow in Yao Zhenting's footsteps; he had stated that if he discovered even the slightest hint of her misconduct, he would make her pay the price, even if it meant mutual destruction.

"Ye Hongyi, you fool! Yao Zhenting was merely a scapegoat! Are you blind?! Yes, you are blind, otherwise how could you have taken a liking to Yao Mowan! A fool meeting a fool! Haha! Good! Very good!" Yao Suoluan desperately gulped down wine, cursing and mocking frantically while slamming her hand against the table.

A breeze passed, bringing the scent of sandalwood to her nose. In the next second, Yao Suoluan felt her throat go dry, followed by an inability to breathe. That intense sensation of suffocation snapped her into clarity instantly.

"The Prince of Jing... Ye Zixiao! Damn you, Ye Zixiao, you actually dare to come to this Palace! You caused the destruction of the Yao household; what face do you have to stand before me, you despicable and shameless villain! You cowardly, mouse-like waste!" Using the momentum of the alcohol, Yao Suoluan violently pushed Ye Zixiao away, her angry eyes seemingly erupting with countless sharp swords, all piercing toward Ye Zixiao's handsome face.

"Yao Suoluan, why didn't you go?" Ye Zixiao looked at Yao Suoluan with cold eyes. He had sacrificed ten thousand weapons with the goal of targeting the father and daughter, Yao Zhenting and Yao Suoluan. But to his disappointment, Yao Suoluan had never appeared in the Purple Bamboo Forest from beginning to end, and Yao Zhenting had not been executed by death by a thousand cuts as he had wished. He was unwilling to accept this; Zirou had paid with her life, yet the culprit was still living safely and soundly!

"That is because my life is not meant to end! And certainly not at the hands of a waste like you! For the sake of a woman, you actually abandoned even the throne! The throne! Something the people of the world scramble for, something they dream of obtaining, yet you gave it up for Duan Zirou! Ye Zixiao, without me, you will never be Emperor in this lifetime!" Yao Suoluan roared madly, her eyes full of hostility. Her only way out, her every hope, had turned to ash at this moment.

"If I cannot share it with Zirou, what use is being Emperor! Yao Suoluan, you father and daughter killed the greatest love of my life; I will surely make you pay with your lives!" Ye Zixiao's dark eyes flashed with a bloodthirsty cold light. In the next second, his palm was already clamped around Yao Suoluan's snowy neck, the force so great that he lifted her into the air.

"Ugh... Ye Zixiao... if you kill me, you will die as well... ugh..." Yao Suoluan struggled in pain, her hands exerting force to pry Ye Zixiao's hand open, but that overwhelming sense of suffocation grew stronger and stronger. She could even smell the scent of death.

Just then, with a *swish*, an arrow flew past Ye Zixiao and embedded itself deeply into the wall beside Yao Suoluan's ear. Seeing the sharp dagger flying toward her, Yao Suoluan immediately lost consciousness.

Noticing the note wrapped around the dagger, Ye Zixiao immediately released Yao Suoluan and reached out to grab the note. Upon seeing the contents of the note, Ye Zixiao's bloodthirsty eyes suddenly brightened, and he immediately leaped out of Huaqing Palace.

The Purple Bamboo Forest was silent in the deep night, with only the occasional rustle of the wind. Amidst the swaying bamboo leaves, a beautiful melody of a zither rose like a clear spring, echoing serenely and permeating the forest.

Under the moonlight, Duan Zirou, dressed in white, sat poised before a white jade zither. Her slender, delicate fingers brushed across the strings, the music rippling gracefully, carrying her current sorrow and making the listener's heart ache.

On that day, she had stayed with full confidence. She believed Ye Zixiao would surely appear; they had experienced too much that was etched into their hearts, too much life-and-death reliance. Therefore, as long as Ye Zixiao knew she was here, he would definitely come for her. But as the days passed, Duan Zirou's initial expectations and hopes gradually receded, leaving behind only desolation and sighs. At this moment, Duan Zirou's heart was like this zither music—winding and resentful.

"Zirou..." A thick voice carried an irrepressible tremor. Ye Zixiao stepped toward the small cottage, his eyes brimming with tears under the moonlight.

Her heart gave a sudden jolt. Duan Zirou's slender hands pressed against the zither strings, and the melodious music came to an abrupt halt. Yet she did not dare to look up; she was afraid it was all just an auditory hallucination, afraid of being disappointed once again.

It was not until she smelled that familiar scent—the scent that belonged only to Ye Zixiao—that Duan Zirou suddenly looked up, her tears instantly rolling down like broken strings of pearls.

Unable to speak, with only thousands of lines of tears, Duan Zirou looked through tear-blurred eyes at the man standing before her, her hands resting on the zither strings trembling uncontrollably.

"Zirou, how long has it been since you played this 'Phoenix Seeking Mate' for me? Zixiao wants to hear it..." Ye Zixiao slowly sat down opposite Duan Zirou, his narrow eyes overflowing with tenderness. His heart, however, was so excited it felt as if it would burst from his chest. He was grateful to the heavens that they had not taken Zirou away; the feeling of finding something lost made Ye Zixiao realize that in this world, what he cherished most was not that high-and-mighty dragon throne, but the beauty before him—the only woman he had ever deeply loved in his life, Duan Zirou.

The music rose again, rippling through the entire forest with incomparable joy. The moonlight was as hazy as gauze; this feeling, this scene, was inexplicably moving.

The song ended, but the people did not part. Duan Zirou leaned into Ye Zixiao's embrace, her tears falling steadily.

"Zixiao, thank you for appearing... thank you..." No matter what happened in the future, Ye Zixiao's appearance at this moment brought Duan Zirou peace. In this life, she had not chosen the wrong person.

"Those assassins were sent by Yao Zhenting and Yao Suoluan; your husband has already made them pay the price. Zirou, do not leave me again, alright?" Ye Zixiao held Duan Zirou tightly, as if wanting to crush her and tuck her into his very heart.