Shen Yun Xuan looked at his subordinates, who were controlled within the manor, without any anger. Instead, his expression was unreadable.
"Shen Yun Xuan, surrender, and this King can consider sparing your life. Otherwise..."
"Hua Yun Jin, words are useless. I was merely caught off guard by your schemes. However, if the Empress learns you colluded with foreign enemies, do you think the court officials will support you or me?"
Hearing this, Hua Yun Jin's gaze turned cold. Shen Yun Xuan sneered, "It seems Hua Yun Jin, you aren't entirely indifferent to everything."
"Whether this King cares or not is not your concern. However, I fear you won't live to see the final outcome."
"It doesn't matter if I don't see it. In my life, I've only made two mistakes: one, why I didn't kill you, the traitor who betrayed His Majesty back then. Second, why I still harbored a shred of kindness towards you. How could you possibly reform and ascend to that position? How could someone in that position ever let go?"
Hua Yun Jin burst into laughter. "You speak the truth. It is precisely because you didn't kill me back then that I learned to bide my time. Shen Yun Xuan, reaching this point today is entirely your own doing, you have no one else to blame."
"Indeed, no one else to blame." Shen Yun Xuan lowered his gaze. For some reason, when facing Hua Yun Jin, a sense of kindness would always rise within him. Perhaps it was still because of His Majesty!
"Shen Yun Xuan, do you have any last words? You may speak them, and this King can grant you one request to repay your past mercy of sparing my life," Hua Yun Jin said.
"A request? I have lived a life on the battlefield, and I have no regrets. Let it be so!"
Hua Yun Jin looked at Shen Yun Xuan. He turned and walked towards a tree. Beneath the tree stood a man dressed in snow-white robes. His stern face bore a cold gaze as he looked at the approaching man and said, "Your Highness."
"Your Highness, I have a favor to ask," Hua Yun Jin said to the man before him.
Hua Yun Jin slightly bowed. "Please speak."
"This King wants Shen Yun Xuan's head."
"Your Highness, this should have been your decision from the start."
"Good, great kindness needs no thanks." The man finished speaking and walked towards Shen Yun Xuan. He extended his hand, and Cheng Chang Xing drew his long sword and handed it to him.
The man took the sword and pointed it at Shen Yun Xuan. "Shen Yun Xuan, this King will give you a swift end."
Shen Yun Xuan looked up, his gaze startled. He frowned and asked, "You are Hua Yun Jin, and he is too. Which one of you is Hua Yun Jin?"
How could there be two such similar individuals?
"Shen Yun Xuan, you have discovered my secret. You deserve to die."
Shen Yun Xuan trembled all over and retreated several steps. "You..."
If there were two Hua Yun Jin, then one must be fake. Then who was the real one?
"Shen Yun Xuan, in gratitude for you saving my life once, I will let you die knowing the truth."
"I was originally Hua Yun Jin's double, Hua Yun Dan..."
The man in snow-white robes stepped forward and said, "Yes, this King is the real Hua Yun Jin. However, Master Shen, you know my secret, and you cannot live."
Shen Yun Xuan took a step back and chuckled softly. "So that's how it is. In fact, you never truly intended to submit to His Majesty; you harbored treacherous ambitions all along."
"No matter what you say or how you denounce this King, it is useless. Today is your day of death."
"Come!" Shen Yun Xuan said, slowly closing his eyes. He never imagined he would die because of a moment of soft-heartedness.
Fate was truly amusing, circling back in such a manner.
Hua Yun Jin raised his long sword and swung it towards Shen Yun Xuan. Just then, a shout came from outside, "Jin'er, hold your hand!"
Hua Yun Jin's sword paused just as it touched Shen Yun Xuan. This pause allowed the person who rushed in to knock the sword from his hand.
The sword clattered to the ground. Hua Yun Jin angrily exclaimed, "Audacious!"
The one who knocked his sword away knelt on one knee. "Your Highness, please forgive me. This subordinate was merely following the Empress Dowager's decree."
Empress Dowager? Hua Yun Jin was stunned, then asked, "The Empress Dowager is here?"
Before his question was finished, a person hurried into the courtyard from not far away. Perhaps due to the haste, her hairstyle was somewhat dishevelled, but Hua Yun Jin recognized her as the Empress Dowager at a glance.
"Mother, why have you come?" Hua Yun Jin quickly stepped forward to greet the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager took his hand and asked, "Jin'er, where is Shen Yun Xuan?"
Although Hua Yun Jin was somewhat puzzled, he still stepped aside. The Empress Dowager saw Shen Yun Xuan at a glance and breathed a sigh of relief to see him alive.
"Mother, why are you in the capital?" Hua Yun Jin asked, confused.
The Empress Dowager looked at him, and after a long moment, asked, "Hua Yun Jin, how do you wish to deal with him?"
Hua Yun Jin was taken aback. Though he didn't understand why his mother was asking this, he still replied, "This King wishes to deal with Shen Yun Xuan personally. That way, I will have no more worries."
"No, you cannot kill him," the Empress Dowager suddenly said.
Hua Yun Jin froze and looked at the Empress Dowager. "Mother, what do you mean by this?"
The Empress Dowager lowered her gaze for a moment, then looked up at him. "Jin'er, listen to your mother and spare his life?"
Hua Yun Jin looked at the Empress Dowager, feeling that his mother was rather strange today. "Mother, you know that if I don't ascend to the throne, then..."
"Jin'er, do not let yourself regret it..." the Empress Dowager said word by word.
Hua Yun Jin stiffened and looked at the Empress Dowager. At this moment, Shen Yun Xuan suddenly laughed, a somewhat mocking smile. "Hua Yun Jin, you still cannot make your own decisions. You will always be the one hiding behind a woman. I look down on you for that."
"Shut up," Hua Yun Jin said angrily. He looked at the Empress Dowager and asked, "Mother, if you cannot give me a reason today, this King will not spare Shen Yun Xuan."
"Hua Yun Jin, if you want to kill me, do it quickly. If you cannot kill me today, I will not spare you in the future."
Hua Yun Jin picked up the sword from the ground and pointed it at Shen Yun Xuan, saying coldly, "Today, no one can stop me from killing you."
With that, the sword swung towards Shen Yun Xuan's neck. The Empress Dowager cried out in alarm, "No, he... he is your brother."
The sword stopped just as it was about to pierce Shen Yun Xuan's neck. Hua Yun Jin mechanically turned his head. "Mother, what did you just say?"
The Empress Dowager bit her lower lip, then looked up after a long time. "Jin'er, Mother does not want you to commit fratricide. He... is your own brother."
Hua Yun Jin shook his head. "Impossible, you are lying, you are lying. The only brother this King has is Yun Dan. How can it be Shen Yun Xuan? Impossible?"
The Empress Dowager's eyes reddened. "Jin'er, I am sorry."
"Ah..." Hua Yun Jin let out a long wail.
"You... are you telling the truth?" Shen Yun Xuan looked at the Empress Dowager, his gaze unwavering as he asked.
The Empress Dowager said, "When I gave birth to you that year, it was during a time of chaos. I lost you while fleeing. Although I searched for you afterward, all my efforts were in vain."