109: "How did your eldest brother die?" "How did your younger brother die!"

However, the soldiers of the Great Wall Guards only had cold iron masks on their faces, and their movements showed no hesitation.

Fists smashed into faces, sword hilts jabbed into abdomens, and screams abruptly ceased.

One by one, the Officials of the aristocratic clans, who usually lived in luxury and held high positions, were now roughly handcuffed behind their backs and tied securely with hemp ropes.

Their beautiful official robes were torn askew, stained with mud and blood, and their official hats rolled to the ground, trampled upon at will.

Princess Gaoyang collapsed not far away, watching all of this with wide eyes.

She watched those aristocratic uncles who usually flattered her and bowed to her, now being dragged away.

Then she looked at her Imperial Brother.

He stood there quietly, observing this Hell-like scene, with not a ripple in his eyes.

It was as if none of this concerned him.

Fear gripped Gaoyang's heart tightly, almost suffocating her.

She finally understood that her Imperial Brother, the one who used to gently call her "Gaoyang," was dead.

Standing there was a devil she didn't recognize at all.

A monster who used the world as a chessboard and all beings as chess pieces!

She trembled, wanting to get up and run away, but her limbs simply wouldn't obey.

Li Chengqian's gaze finally fell upon her.

That gaze was light and faint, yet it was more piercing than the sharpest knife.

Gaoyang stiffened, her breathing completely halted.

She watched Li Chengqian walk towards her.

One step, then another.

The 'clop-clop' sound of military boots stepping in blood was the only sound she could hear at that moment.

The terror in her eyes instantly reached its peak.

She opened her mouth, wanting to scream, wanting to beg for mercy.

"Imperial... Imperial Brother..."

However, the sound that came out was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Li Chengqian stopped in front of her, looking down at her from above.

He said nothing, only reached out and gently tapped her pale cheek with the sword that was still dripping blood.

The cold blade, carrying a strong smell of blood, pressed against her skin.

Gaoyang's body trembled violently.

She felt like she was going crazy.

"Do you see?" Li Chengqian's voice echoed above her head, very soft and gentle, yet it made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave, "This is the consequence of betraying me."

"Remember, you are a Princess of the Li family, not a daughter of the Longxi Li Clan."

"If there's a next time, this sword will fall upon your neck."

After speaking, he withdrew his sword, no longer looking at her, and turned to leave.

All of Gaoyang's strength seemed to be drained away in that instant.

She collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, tears and snot mixing together, making her look utterly disheveled.

Just as Princess Gaoyang's Divine Soul seemed to be frozen by that cold killing intent, a rapid and heavy sound of horse hooves arrived.

Rumble—

The sound came from far to near, carrying an undeniable majesty and towering rage, fiercely shattering the deadly silence and bloodiness in front of Xuanwu Gate.

"Stop!"

A furious roar made people's eardrums buzz.

Li Chengqian slowly raised his eyes.

At the end of the palace road, a squadron of a hundred riders in golden armor surrounded a figure in imperial yellow, galloping towards them.

The person at the head, wearing a winged crown and a Dragon robe, was none other than the current Emperor Li Shimin!

Warhorses neighed, iron hooves trampled on the blood-soaked bluestones, splashing crimson stains.

Li Shimin dismounted with an air of thunderous power. He didn't even glance at the disheveled clan Officials tied on the ground, his gaze piercing directly at Li Chengqian, who stood with his sword, and Gaoyang, who was slumped at his feet, trembling.

His usually calm and majestic face was now filled with furious rage and disbelief.

What did he see?

Xuanwu Gate, where blood flowed like rivers, court Officials wailing everywhere, and his most beloved daughter, pale-faced, lying in a pool of blood, while his Crown Prince, his own son, pointed a blood-dripping sword at his own sister!

"Naughty child!" Li Shimin's chest heaved violently, his voice hoarse with extreme anger, "Li Chengqian, you must not harm Gaoyang!"

He strode forward, the hem of his Dragon robe fluttering in the wind.

"Are you still going to commit fratricide?!"

He practically roared this sentence.

The sound echoed in front of the empty Xuanwu Gate, carrying a strange tremor and sharpness.

The air, in that instant, solidified.

Everyone held their breath.

The soldiers of the Great Wall Guards silently lowered their heads, but their hands gripping their sword hilts tightened.

A glimmer of hope flashed in the eyes of the captured Officials, only to be immediately drowned by an even greater fear.

The Imperial father and son, confronting each other like this, right here!

Li Chengqian did not answer immediately.

He didn't even look at his enraged Imperial Father.

His gaze remained on Gaoyang's ashen face, and a faint, cold smile even hung at the corner of his lips.

He savored this silence.

He savored the fleeting panic in his Imperial Father's voice.

He savored the feeling of the wind of Xuanwu Gate blowing on his face.

This wind, how similar it was to that clear summer morning many years ago.

After a long time, so long that Li Shimin was almost unable to suppress his renewed anger, Li Chengqian finally moved.

He slowly, inch by inch, turned around.

His movements were very slow.

He finally looked squarely at Li Shimin.

Those eyes had no ripples, and no trace of reverence for his ruler and father.

There was only calmness.

A chilling, stagnant-water-like calmness.

"Imperial Father."

He spoke, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears.

Li Shimin's eyes widened, staring intently at him.

However, Li Chengqian's next words struck him in the heart.

Li Chengqian suddenly turned around, a drop of blood from the long sword in his hand 'drip-dropping' onto the stone slab, the sound crisp and piercing.

He looked directly at Li Shimin, enunciating each word with utmost clarity.

"Imperial Father, you speak of fratricide?"

He took a step forward.

The sound of his military boots stepping in blood was exactly the same as when he had threatened Gaoyang earlier.

"The one who committed fratricide, is you!"

Boom!

In Li Shimin's mind, it was as if a thunderclap had exploded.

He froze in place, the furious rage on his face instantly receding, replaced by extreme paleness and horror.

He looked at Li Chengqian, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He seemed to see a devil.

A devil that had crawled out from the depths of Hell, specifically to claim his life!

Li Chengqian, however, gave him no chance to catch his breath.

His cold and cruel voice continued to echo in front of the bloody Xuanwu Gate, stabbing into Li Shimin's already scarred old wounds, then fiercely twisting them.

"How did your eldest brother die?"

"How did your younger brother die!"