Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 139 Defying the Imperial Decree? Then Suppress the Rebellion!
The blood-pumping scene before him left Zhu Cunxu, who had arrived at his granary with a heart full of anger and a hint of panic that he himself was unaware of, completely stunned.

The massive wooden door of the granary, large enough for two carriages to drive side by side, was groaning in pain with loud bangs.

A dozen or so soldiers dressed in standard armor of the Beijing Garrison were carrying a huge battering ram and slamming it against the gate repeatedly.

Each impact felt like a direct blow to Zhu Cunshu's heart.

Sun Chuanting stood behind the wooden battering ram, his crimson official robe standing out like an inextinguishable flame against the dusty gray building. In his hand, he held aloft the gilded imperial edict that Zhu Cunshu hated to the core.

The situation was even more dire in front of Sun Chuanting.

Of the dozen or so soldiers from the Beijing garrison he brought, no more than a hundred had already been wounded, leaving glaring dark red stains on the ground. But none of them uttered a groan; they simply stared intently at their opponents with the eyes of wolf cubs.

Opposite them was a dense, dark mass of over five hundred guards from the Qin Prince's mansion, arriving one after another.

They surrounded Sun Chuanting and his men, with spears like a forest and swords gleaming.

The head of the personal guards, with a hideous scar on his face, roared menacingly, "Sun Chuanting! You're fucking insane! Without the Prince's order, who dares to trespass into the Wang family's granary! I think you're tired of living!"

Zhu Cunshu's gaze swept over the wounded soldiers of the Beijing garrison, then landed on his arrogant and domineering personal guards. A chilling coldness rose from his lower body once more, soaring to the clouds.

Things have gotten out of control.

From the city lockdown to the edict of self-reproach, from family letters to imperial decrees, and now to the forced entry into the granary and the confrontation with soldiers... all of this happened too fast and too strangely! One thing leads to another, so precise that it seems like the work of an ordinary person, more like a net woven by the gods to capture and kill a giant dragon.

This is simply not an arrangement that a young emperor, who is far away in the capital and suffering from a serious illness, could make!

A terrifying thought, like a monstrous beast from the deep sea, slowly emerged from the dark corners of his consciousness—

But he dared not think about it too deeply.

That's crazy, that's unbelievable.

Zhu Cunshu preferred to believe that this was a test and warning to all the imperial relatives by civil officials in the court who coveted the wealth of the princes, using the emperor's name.

That must be it!

If Zhu Cunshu backs down today, taking even half a step back, then tomorrow, all the princes in the land will become fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others! And Zhu Cunshu will become the first laughingstock to be disemboweled!

Thinking of this, the chill that had just risen was instantly swallowed up by a raging fire of anger. His fat face, swollen from excessive indulgence, turned dark red, and the majesty of a prince accumulated over two hundred years made him forget his fear.

Zhu Cunshu pointed at Sun Chuanting and shouted angrily with all his might, "Sun Chuanting! How dare you!"

"You falsely claimed to have issued an imperial edict, trespassed into the Prince's residence, injured my personal guards, and attempted to plunder the Prince's treasury! You are no longer a subject, but a traitorous rebel!"

"Guards!" he screamed hysterically, his voice shrill with rage. "Seize this traitor! Strip him of his official robes and break his limbs! I will personally petition the court to impeach this lawless scoundrel! Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"

He still hoped to use his princely status—a golden brand that was almost invincible in the Ming Dynasty—to deliver a final crushing blow. He wanted everyone to see the consequences of offending a prince!

……

Zhu Cunshu's order was like a pardon, instantly exciting the already restless guards of the Prince's mansion. They let out beast-like howls, raised their weapons higher, and the encirclement began to tighten. The oppressive feeling of the five hundred men gathered together was like a mountain collapsing.

However, Sun Chuanting just coldly looked at Zhu Cunshu, who seemed to have gone mad.

His eyes held no fear, not even gravity. Instead, they held a complex emotion akin to pity and mockery, as if he were looking at a condemned prisoner who, despite being sentenced to death, was still jumping and cursing on the execution ground!

Sun Chuanting made a move.

Just as five hundred spears and swords were about to surround him, he took a step forward.

It's just one step.

But this step seemed to have hit some invisible juncture, causing the tense atmosphere to momentarily freeze.

"By imperial decree, the granaries will be inspected. Anyone who obstructs this will be punished as a traitor!" Sun Chuanting's voice clearly pierced through all the noise!
"Bullshit!" The scarred-faced captain of the personal guards grinned maliciously, spitting as he spoke. "The Prince is here, and the Prince's orders are law! Brothers, charge! Take him down, and the Prince will reward you handsomely!"

"on!"

"kill!"

Hundreds of guards surged forward like a floodgate being opened!
Sun Chuanting smiled.

That smile held a chilling coldness, a final verdict.

"Good, good Prince Qin! Good that the emperor is far away!" His voice suddenly rose, like a dragon's roar, "Disobeying imperial orders, resisting orders with troops, attacking the imperial envoy, and killing imperial soldiers! Zhu Cunshu, your crimes are enough to warrant the confiscation of your property!"

"This matter is no longer a warehouse inspection!"

Sun Chuanting suddenly waved his hand, his voice as firm as a nail striking iron.

"It's—a—suppression—of—the—rebellion!"

"Waaaaah—waaaah—"

A desolate, long, and murderous bugle call rang out from the mouth of one of Sun Chuanting's personal guards!
The bugle call pierced through the clouds and split the rocks, instantly drowning out all the noise and shouts, carrying an ominous premonition as it spread throughout the entire city of Xi'an.

The prince's personal guards, who were about to rush forward, were startled by the sudden sound of the horn and instinctively stopped in their tracks.

Zhu Cunshu's heart sank sharply at the sound of the bugle.

Suppress the rebellion? With less than a hundred defeated soldiers like yours? What do you think you can do to quell it...?

His thoughts hadn't fully formed yet.

The earth began to tremble.

It's not an illusion.

It was a deep, dull yet penetrating vibration, growing stronger as it approached, from faint to intense. It was as if thousands upon thousands of invisible giant feet were trampling the bluestone streets of Xi'an with an unstoppable rhythm, heading straight for this place!
"Boom...boom...boom..."

The sound seemed to strike directly on everyone's heart. Each beat made their blood surge and their breath catch in their throats.

At the end of the street, in the air distorted by the scorching heat, a strange blackness appeared.

That blackness was initially just a line.

But it widened and thickened at a visible speed, and finally transformed into a humanoid tide that could devour everything!

"What...what is that?!" a royal guard exclaimed in disbelief, his voice trembling.

No one answered him.

Everyone was so stunned by the sight before them that they lost the ability to speak.

The first to appear were ghosts and demons.

Dozens of Imperial Guard officers, dressed in flying fish robes and carrying embroidered spring knives at their waists, appeared silently on both sides of the street like a group of ghosts crawling out of hell.

Their eyes were sinister and empty, like poisoned knives. They made no sound, but used extremely efficient and ruthless methods to push the civilians and bystanders who were originally watching from a distance away, like herding sheep, mercilessly pushing them to the outer perimeter.

Their actions created a vast and silent vacuum.

An execution ground. Immediately following, a steel city wall.

"Wow--"

The uniform clatter of armor, like a symphony of metal, echoed as countless new soldiers of the Beijing garrison, clad in fine plate armor and wielding standard swords, shields, and spears, poured out from the streets and alleys in all directions.

"Block the left wing!"

"Right-wing encirclement!"

"Cut off their retreat! Archers, get on the wall!"

The cold, commanding voices rose and fell.

They methodically sealed off all the street exits, turning the massive granaries into an impenetrable fortress. Sunlight shone on their imposing armor and forest of weapons, reflecting a chilling gleam.

The five hundred royal guards who had been so arrogant just moments before instantly became like a bunch of naughty children wielding sticks in front of this regular army that seemed to have fallen from the sky. Their formation crumbled, their momentum vanished, and only panic and fear remained on their faces.

However, this is not the end.

This is just... the prelude.

The real storm is in the center.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The footsteps, so loud they seemed capable of crushing one's heart, finally drew near.

A torrent of pure steel and murderous intent surged straight in from the very center of the main street.

Their armor was thicker and more antique in style than that of the new Beijing garrison. Each armor plate was engraved with the royal family's unique ascending dragon pattern in red gold, its menacing aura almost freezing the air.

The Imperial Guards! The Imperial Guards of the Imperial Palace! The Emperor's Personal Bodyguards!

These soldiers, like a red-hot iron plow, forcefully carved a bloody path through the formation of the Prince's personal guards, heading straight for Sun Chuanting.

Before the scarred captain of the personal guards could even react, a captain of the Imperial Guards slapped him hard across the face with the scabbard of a sword. His teeth flew out, mixed with blood and foam, and he was sent flying backward like a broken sack, unconscious.

Panic, like a plague, exploded instantly.

"They're government troops! It's a large army from the capital!"

"Run!"

The prince's personal guards completely collapsed. They threw down their weapons and fled in all directions, crying and screaming, only to find that all their escape routes were blocked. What awaited them was the cold, merciless blade of the Beijing garrison soldiers.

Screams, cries, the sound of weapons piercing flesh...

Zhu Cunshu was completely dumbfounded.

He stood there, stunned, staring at the earth-shattering scene before him, his mind blank. His obese body trembled violently, his face drained of all color, whiter than the Xuan paper in the palace, and sweat mixed with tears that had flowed out sometime earlier, smearing his face.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard... the Capital Garrison... the Imperial Guard...

It's over, it's over!

The lockdown was not to prevent the outflow of disaster victims, but to trap and thwart them.

The edict of self-reproach was not the emperor's self-repentance, but a manifesto that stripped him of his moral high ground.

The letter from his cousin was not a plea, but a cup of deadly poison offered to him.

An imperial edict is not a command from the court; it is the final signal to pull the noose.

This is not a test.

This is not a reprimand.

This is... a sure-fire trap.

The crazy and terrifying thought that he had never dared to think about before and had desperately suppressed now erupted in his mind like a volcano, shattering all his reason and luck!
emperor……

He wasn't even in the capital!
He is in Xi'an!

……

Dead silence.

It was as if even the flow of air had been frozen at that moment.

The torrent of menacing imperial guards, composed of soldiers, stopped just ten feet away from Zhu Cunshu.

Then, amidst a sickening screech of armor rubbing together, the tide parted silently to the sides like waves encountering reefs, making way for a passage to hell.

All eyes were focused on the end of that passage.

A figure slowly walked out.

He was very young, looking no more than twenty years old, with a thin face. But that thinness was not the sickly air of a weak scholar, but rather the sharpness of a peerless blade that had been tempered and refined, shedding all impurities and leaving only its most deadly edge!
He walked very slowly, each step taken with exceptional steadiness.

With each step he took forward, the invisible pressure, seemingly emanating from the heavens above, grew heavier.

Zhu Cunshu felt as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on him. His knees began to weaken, his teeth chattered uncontrollably, and a bone-chilling cold was emanating from between his bones.

That wasn't murderous intent; it was something far more terrifying. It was absolute authority, the power of life and death, the control over all things. It was the self-evident truth that "I am the state, I am destiny!"

Zhu Cunshu had never seen the young emperor in the Forbidden City before.

When the emperor ascended the throne, he didn't even bother to send a proper envoy to the capital to offer his congratulations. In his eyes, the emperor was nothing more than a lucky young man who had snatched the throne from his elder brother, the Prince of Xin.

But now, just one glance.

I only glanced at those eyes.

Deep and calm, showing neither joy nor anger, those eyes reflected mountains and rivers, the sun and moon, and all living beings, but not his own figure, Zhu Cunshu!

It was as if, in his presence, he, the so-called prince of the Ming Dynasty, was no different from an ant or a speck of dust on the ground.

At that moment, Zhu Cunshu even forgot his fear.

Only one incredibly clear and certain thought remained in his mind.

It's him.

it's him.

The sixteenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the current emperor.

Zhu, You, Jian!

　Thank you to "Addicted to Loneliness" and "Waking Up Meowing" for their generous donations, as well as to all the other fans!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)