The Prodigal Son

Led by Pei Du, Qin Yu arrived at the dungeon.

At this moment, Zhao Yan lay listlessly on a straw mat in the dungeon.

He had lost all his former elegance and was left only with endless embarrassment.

When Zhao Yan saw Qin Yu holding the imperial edict and the eunuch behind him carrying poisoned wine, he understood everything.

When he learned of his father's death, he knew this day would come.

These past few days, he has been reminding himself that even if he dies, he should die with dignity!

We must not let people like Qin Yu make a fool of ourselves.

But when that day suddenly arrived, he couldn't help but feel a sense of fear.

Perhaps he wasn't as fearless as he thought.

Or perhaps, everyone is actually afraid of death, but before death arrives, many people overestimate themselves!

Zhao Yan struggled to suppress her fear, her eyes blazing as she looked at Qin Yu: "Aren't you feeling smug right now?"

"well enough!"

Qin Yu smiled casually, "To be honest, I'm a little nervous doing this for the first time."

"Shouldn't you be agitated?"

Zhao Yan stared intently at Qin Yu, as if trying to memorize his appearance.

"What's there to get excited about?"

Qin Yu remained calm. "Originally, we were two people who had little interaction! Imagine if you were asked to order the death of someone you had little connection with, would you be excited?"

"Won't!"

Zhao Yan answered without hesitation.

"Isn't that enough?"

Qin Yu shrugged. "Do you have any last words you'd like to say?"

"No!"

Zhao Yan took a deep breath. "Throughout history, it's always been a matter of the victor taking all and the loser being condemned! I, Zhao Yan, have lost and ended up like this, so I have nothing to say!"

"Alright, let's just go through the motions then!"

Qin Yu stopped wasting time and directly unfolded the imperial edict, loudly proclaiming: "His Majesty decrees that Zhao Yan, the heir apparent of the Prince of Chengyang, harbors treacherous intentions and plots rebellion..."

The imperial edict was not long.

Zhao Yan did not kneel down to receive the imperial decree.

On the contrary, Lu Yong and others in the prison opposite Zhao Yan all knelt down.

After Qin Yu finished reading the imperial edict, a eunuch offered him a cup of poisoned wine through the prison bars.

Zhao Yan raised her hand with difficulty, her fingers trembling as she reached for the wine glass.

After taking a deep breath, Zhao Yan suppressed his fear, grabbed the wine glass, and drank the poisoned wine in one gulp. Then he turned and walked to a corner of the prison, his back to Qin Yu and the others.

He ultimately didn't want anyone to see his miserable and painful death.

"Tell Zhao Luan that I, Zhao Yan, will not be lonely on the road to the underworld! But she will ultimately be all alone!"

Zhao Yan spoke blankly, then slowly sat down, quietly awaiting death.

Half an hour later, Zhao Yan died from the poison.

Throughout the entire process, Zhao Yan kept his back to them.

During the onset of the poison, Zhao Yan silently endured the pain, only letting out a few muffled groans.

Pei Du opened the prison gates, and Qin Yu, Pei Du, and the eunuch who had given the poisoned wine jointly examined the body.

Looking at Zhao Yan's corpse, Qin Yu couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Although he disliked Zhao Yan, Zhao Yan was still quite assertive.

There was no kneeling or begging for mercy, nor any screams of pain.

He ended his undignified life in a dignified manner.

Ugh!

Why can't he just be a good Prince Chengyang?

They just have to cause trouble!

Now, haven't you ruined your own life?

Soon, the autopsy was completed, and Zhao Yan was confirmed to be dead beyond any doubt.

Qin Yu stood up and took out a silver note from his pocket, handing it to Pei Du: "Buy him a coffin and find a place to bury him! Don't bother with a tombstone."

Pei Du looked at Qin Yu in surprise, "I didn't realize you were so particular!"

"Nonsense! I've always been particular!"

Qin Yu glared at Pei Du with displeasure. "Have you forgotten your place again? How dare you speak to your mentor like that?"

"I……"

Pei Du smirked and reluctantly accepted the silver note.

"Be more careful next time, or I'll give you a beating!"

Qin Yu adopted a master's demeanor to warn Pei Du, then glanced at Zhao Yan's corpse one last time before turning and walking out of the prison.

"Doctor Qin! Doctor Qin..."

As soon as Qin Yu stepped out, Lu Yong and the others in the opposite cell began to shout and scream.

"What are you yelling about?"

Qin Yu glanced at them impatiently, "Speak your mind, or shut up!"

Meeting Qin Yu's gaze, Lu Yong forced a smile, suppressing his fear, and asked with a hint of expectation in his eyes, "Your Majesty hasn't pardoned our death sentence, has he?"

Qin Yu came to order Zhao Yan to commit suicide, but did not order the deaths of the others.

This gave them a glimmer of hope, even though they had already given up hope.

They don't want to die!

As the saying goes, it's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death!

Even being exiled or sent to serve as a slave in the army is better than being sentenced to death!

"..."

Qin Yu didn't bother to answer Lu Yong's question, and just gave him a look that seemed to think he was an idiot.

Why the hell don't you write a book called "How to Become an Idiot"?

You've been following Zhao Yan around all day, jumping up and down. Although you haven't directly rebelled, it's practically the same as rebelling!

You still want to live?

What are you thinking about!

After spending a few days in the dungeon with nothing to do, he started having sweet dreams?

Qin Yu was too lazy to say anything more and started walking outside.

Upon seeing this, Lu Yong panicked and cried out, "Doctor Qin, Doctor Qin..."

However, Qin Yu didn't even turn his head.

As Qin Yu's figure disappeared from sight, Lu Yong felt his body go limp and collapsed to the ground, his face filled with despair.

After leaving the Baojing Bureau, Qin Yu returned to the palace to report to Zhao Luan before departing.

No sooner had he left than Zhao Luan summoned the eunuch who had accompanied him to order Zhao Yan's execution.

Zhao Luan asked with great interest, "What did Qin Yu and Zhao Yan talk about?"

The eunuch dared not conceal anything and told Zhao Luan what Qin Yu and Zhao Yan had briefly discussed.

But when the topic turned to what happened after Zhao Yan drank the poisoned wine, the eunuch became hesitant and stammering.

"Why did you stop talking?"

Zhao Luan raised her phoenix eyes to look at the eunuch, her expression authoritative without being angry. "Stop stammering, speak!"

"This servant dares not say," the eunuch said, his face filled with panic.

"explain!"

Zhao Luan's voice suddenly turned cold, "I pardon you!"

Feeling the imposing aura emanating from Zhao Luan, the eunuch couldn't help but tremble.

After a moment's hesitation, the eunuch stammered out Zhao Yan's last words.

A simple sentence, yet it seemed to drain all the eunuch's strength.

He had expected Zhao Luan to be furious after hearing Zhao Yan's last words, but Zhao Luan was surprisingly calm.

Alone and lonely?

In the end, how many emperors are not all alone?

Since she dared to take on this responsibility and sit on the throne, she is not afraid of becoming a lonely person!

After a moment of silence, Zhao Luan asked calmly, "And then?"

The eunuch dared not delay and quickly recounted what happened next, including Qin Yu giving Pei Du money to prepare a coffin for Zhao Yan.

After hearing the eunuch's words, Zhao Luan couldn't help but secretly admire him.

He's a man of principle!