Chapter 105: Unexpected Turns (1)

“You truly are an unstable element, always acting unpredictably!” Zhao Yaru remained silent for a moment, a trace of fear lingering within her. Just now, she had let her guard down; Ye Lang’s sudden attack, without a word, had put her in grave danger.

And she understood this deeply. It was precisely because of this unpredictability that she had resolved to kill the emperor outright.

“Because of that, even if you submit to me, I will still kill you! And for that reason, your Ye family is doomed to perish with you—I will not keep such a threat at my side!” Zhao Yaru spoke with resolute finality. This time, she made it clear: she intended to kill Ye Lang, regardless of whether it stemmed from personal grudges or the consolidation of imperial power.

“Why? If you want to be emperor, then be emperor. What does that have to do with me?” Ye Lang asked, genuinely puzzled. He felt he hadn’t hindered Zhao Yaru.

“Don’t you care?” Zhao Yaru asked, somewhat surprised.

“Care about what? Whoever sits on the throne is the same to me. As long as they govern diligently and love their people, it doesn’t matter if they’re twisted or seized power through scheming—they are good emperors! And as an emperor, one must be prepared to be killed. You are no exception!” Ye Lang answered calmly.

Though harsh, it was an undeniable truth: whether to commoners, nobles, or ministers, if the emperor was just and benevolent, no one cared about his personality or how he came to power. Even if it’s hard to accept at first, time would dull the sting.

“Then why did you oppose me before? If it weren’t for you, none of this would have happened!” Zhao Yaru gritted her teeth, glaring at Ye Lang.

“I was right, but do you listen to me?” Ye Lang asked indifferently.

No, most here would say that without hesitation.

“I do! I care!” Zhao Yaru’s resolve deepened. “Though you’re foolish, what you say is always true. Sooner or later, your words will cost me my inheritance. I won’t allow that to happen. I must prepare in advance. The best way is to seize the throne directly, no matter the cost!”

“In truth, you are terrifying. For this reason, you would commit patricide and usurp the throne. I once thought you a menace, knowing you would eventually do something dreadful like this, but I never imagined you’d act so swiftly,” Ye Lang sighed. He had anticipated such an event, but thought it would come decades later.

“Why are you so sure it’s me? Because I answered those questions. What kind of questions were they, anyway?” Zhao Yaru pressed, still unsettled.

Ye Lang glanced at her before speaking slowly: “Those questions were a form of reverse psychology, perhaps beyond your understanding. You just need to know this: the more questions you answer correctly, the more psychologically twisted you are. You answered them all perfectly; that needs no further explanation.”

“So that’s how it was. No wonder Xiao Qi and I didn’t get them right. When you said we were good, I thought you were mocking us!” Ye Lanyu remarked.

“Well, just a few questions and my decade-long act as the obedient child is ruined. Ten years of pretending, undone so easily by you!” Zhao Yaru laughed, a complex and hard-to-describe smile.

“Enough idle talk. If you wish to submit to me, come into the palace; you will be received. If you seek death, remain outside—you will be received as well,” Zhao Yaru declared. Having said most of what she needed to Ye Lang, she swiftly moved on to the main point.

“Wait, there’s one more thing I want to clarify!” Ye Lang was reluctant to let Zhao Yaru proceed so quickly.

“What is it you want to know?” Zhao Yaru frowned but oddly did not refuse his question.

“I want to know if the recent disturbances caused by those spies and scouts were orchestrated by you,” Ye Lang asked, his tone strange, making it difficult to see any connection between this and Zhao Yaru.

“That’s right! I arranged it and leaked the information to you and your people!” Zhao Yaru nodded, revealing a surprising truth.

“Why would you do that?” someone asked. But it wasn’t Zhao Yaru who answered—it was Ye Lang.

“Simple. She wanted to create a crisis, then use that crisis to seize power, control the troops guarding the city and palace, thus achieving the current situation,” Ye Lang explained.

“Impossible! If that were true, how could she be certain she could seize power and command the troops?” someone questioned.

Indeed, Zhao Yaru had only narrowly won in this covert struggle. Anyone could have emerged victorious. The uncertainty was enormous.

“She can’t be sure, but I believe she has other plans. Even if it’s a gamble, there’s nothing to lose. Why not try?” Ye Lang said casually, as if chatting about trivial matters.

“Ye Lang, I truly hesitate to kill you. You never cease to surprise me. But I no longer wish to be startled. Tell me—how should I treat you now?” Zhao Yaru’s tone softened, as if negotiating with Ye Lang. Yet no one was fooled; beneath that softness lay ruthless cruelty.

“Just let me go! If you want the Ye family to vanish, fine—I can hand over all their wealth to you, squander it all at once!” Ye Lang didn’t feel ashamed; he boldly asked for his freedom.

“You prodigal son! It’d be better if you wasted your days in folly and ignored these matters. I’d let you be a spendthrift forever. But since you are of the Ye family and betrothed to the empire’s seventh princess, you’re destined to meddle, whether you want to or not,” Zhao Yaru said, still gentle, as if reluctant to kill him.

“But if I kill you, I must deal with the Ye family. Otherwise, I’ll have endless trouble!”

“Do you think that by killing us, you can make the Ye family disappear? Do you think trouble just vanishes like that?” Ye Chengtian snorted coldly.

“Of course the Ye family won’t vanish—I’m not that naive. But when that time comes, the ones who lead the Ye family won’t necessarily avenge you,” Zhao Yaru smiled.

The faces of Ye Chengtian and others darkened. They had not considered this before. Zhao Yaru was not targeting the Ye family as a whole, but their faction.

Within the Ye family existed many factions. If one was extinguished, another would rise to power. If that faction didn’t concern itself with this matter, or even sided with it, the whole affair would inevitably stall.

The logic was the same as Zhao Yaru’s usurpation: merely replacing one emperor with another.