Ping Zhao Lu

Chapter 156 Kill them all

Thinking of this, Xu Zhouye unconsciously flexed his hands slightly, as if trying to grasp something. He slowly raised his head and looked towards the endless sky.

What meets the eye is a pitch-black expanse that seems to have no end, like a deep pool of ink, which makes people feel terrified.

He lowered his head somewhat disappointedly and shifted his gaze to his feet.

At this moment, the originally solid floor began to undergo miraculous changes.

The wood grain gradually twisted and flowed, as if it had life.

Faced with such a strange scene, Xu Zhouye was no longer as shocked and at a loss as he was at the beginning. Instead, he accepted this bizarre illusion calmly.

This time, when the surrounding scene stabilized, he suddenly found himself on top of the Xuanzheng Hall.

The huge palace was empty, with no other court officials in sight. There was only the gray-haired Chu Yunxiao sitting on the dragon throne and Zhuang Yan standing opposite the emperor with a long sword in hand.

Zhuang Yan stood straight, his expression solemn and dignified, the sword in his hand flashing with cold light.

His voice was sonorous and powerful, echoing throughout the entire hall: "Your Majesty, today Zhuang Yan is risking his life to ask this question!" His tone was extremely firm, leaving no room for doubt, "Is the Queen's death related to you?"

Hearing these words, Xu Zhouye trembled all over as if struck by lightning, and an indescribable feeling of emotion and shock surged in his heart.

He never imagined that after his death and burial, his close friend Zhuang Yan would risk his life to find out the truth and confront the emperor directly to question him.

At this moment, Xu Zhouye's heart beat rapidly, and his heart instantly rose to his throat. He looked at the Dragon Throne nervously, his eyes fixed on Chu Yunxiao, fearing that he would be angry because of Zhuang Yan's offense and then execute him.

However, Chu Yunxiao's expression remained unchanged, and he stared at Zhuang Yan solemnly. Then, he opened his thin lips and slowly spoke, "I know what you want to do. The culprit who murdered the Queen, I have already chopped off his limbs and plunged him into a pig cage. But if you think that's not enough and you still want to kill to vent your anger, then come and take my life. I feel guilty about him, and naturally I have nothing to say."

Zhuang Yan's hand, which was tightly gripping the long sword, began to tremble slightly. The resentment in his eyes did not diminish at all, but became even more intense.

He roared angrily, "Rong Yu'an deserved death, but what about the Queen Mother and the King of Yue? Your Majesty, why is it still so late to punish them? They are the ones who started it all, and they have killed so many innocent lives. Are you going to sit back and do nothing?"

Hearing this, Chu Yunxiao lowered his eyes, chuckled softly, and asked softly, "Why do you think I'm sitting here alone today?"

Zhuang Yan was stunned. "What...what do you mean?"

Chu Yunxiao raised his head, looking directly at Zhuang Yan, and replied in an unusually calm tone, "The King of Yue, the Queen Mother, General Fu, and all the other conspirators have been personally executed by me. So, do you still have any questions?"

Xu Zhouye widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Chu Yunxiao actually killed them all!

Zhuang Yan, who was standing aside, was stunned on the spot, unable to move as if he had been struck by lightning.

After a long while, he finally woke up from a dream and muttered to himself: "When did this happen? Why hasn't there been any news at all..."

Chu Yunxiao sneered: "Because everyone who knew about this is dead." After saying this, his eyes became even colder, which made people shudder.

Zhuang Yan's body trembled violently upon hearing this, as if struck hard. The sword in his hand suddenly lost its strength and fell to the ground with a clang.

Looking at the distraught Zhuang Yan in front of him, Chu Yunxiao shook his head gently and sighed helplessly: "Go away." Although his voice was not loud, it carried an unquestionable majesty.

Chu Yunxiao then slowly stood up, his face full of fatigue. He looked into the distance and said slowly, "From tomorrow on, the person sitting in this position will no longer be me. As for you, whether you want to stay or leave is up to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Yunxiao didn't even look at Zhuang Yan again and turned away resolutely.

He walked down the stairs slowly, step by step, with heavy steps. His tall figure looked so lonely and desolate at that moment, as if he was the only one left in the world.

Xu Zhouye stood there silently, staring at Chu Yunxiao's figure gradually disappearing into the distance.

His eyes were complex and difficult to understand, with surprise, regret, and a subtle sadness. Even until Chu Yunxiao's figure completely disappeared from his sight, Xu Zhouye still did not come back to his senses for a long time.

After a long time, Xu Zhouye seemed to suddenly remember something. He slowly withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Zhuang Yan who was still standing there in a daze.

Zhuang Yan's face was expressionless, his eyes hollow and lifeless. Sometimes he slowly raised his head to gaze at the ceiling, then lowered it again, his gaze fixed on the gleaming sword at his feet, a hint of confusion and despair in his eyes.

After a long while, Zhuang Yan seemed to come to his senses suddenly. He slowly and with difficulty squatted down, stretched out his trembling hands, gently picked up the sword on the ground, and then -

He raised the sword in his hand without hesitation and slashed it towards his neck!

"Zhuang Yan!"

Seeing this, Xu Zhouye let out a cry of horror.

He took a step forward and ran towards Zhuang Yan as fast as he could, while stretching out his hands with all his strength, trying to catch Zhuang Yan at the critical moment.

However, the moment his arm touched Zhuang Yan's body, he felt as if his hand had passed through an invisible barrier and was unable to grab Zhuang Yan at all.

The next moment, he watched Zhuang Yan's body fall straight to the ground like a kite with a broken string.

Xu Zhouye's heart trembled suddenly, and he was completely stunned. He stared at the scene in disbelief, his eyes wide open, his mind blank.

It was not until a long time later that he came to his senses as if waking from a dream. His legs went limp and he sat down on the ground powerlessly.

……

"Queen?"

Chu Yunxiao's face was solemn.

Xu Zhouye, who was sleeping beside him, had an endless sadness on his face, and tears kept flowing down like a broken dam.

Chu Yunxiao felt distressed and raised his hand to gently wipe away the tears rolling down Xu Zhouye's eyes. "Xu Jin..." His voice trembled slightly.

But all he got in response was silence. His queen seemed to be immersed in an inescapable nightmare and showed no reaction to the outside world.

Seeing no reaction from the other party, Chu Yunxiao's heart became more and more anxious. He subconsciously raised his voice, "Xu Jin!"

"Ajin..."

……

No matter how he called, Xu Zhouye in his sleep still had his eyes closed, his brows tightly furrowed, and tears kept oozing from the corners of his eyes.