Rebirth as the General's Wife

38: Unmasking Ye Feng

"I placed hope in you, Ye Feng. You were always gentle, wise, and intelligent. How could you harm so many people like this?" the Emperor sighed, "Not only did you smuggle illegal weapons in, you dare attack the palace! You have even sent your own wife to death and plotted to kill your own blood brothers. Your courage is really brave."

"And Zheng, you never had a problem with the imperial family. Did I not let you have what you want? You ate and drunk with maidens on both of your sides, you went around sleeping, and you acted like a fool. I did not scold you one bit. Why must you collaborate with Feng to hurt the people of this nation, your own blood relatives?"

Ye Zheng said nothing and simply scoffed. Meanwhile, Ye Feng began to gently giggle. His soft laughter echoed in the deadly silent imperial hall, increasing in volume by every second while his shoulders shook uncontrollably.

Ye Feng laughed like a maniac as he threw his head back, "Oh, Father. Don't act like you have never sacrificed some people for the greater good. You're not that pure either."

A sudden ache attacked his chest. The Emperor clenched his jaws and glared at two, "I truly did not know you."

"You never bothered to," Ye Feng smiled bitterly, "ever since I was young, I was alway the last choice. You always favored Eldest Brother the most and forgot about the rest."

After a long sigh, he smiled slyly with a particular glint in his eyes, "Unfortunately, he met his end at a young age, didn't he?"

The sword in Ye Yuan's hand shook violently and he gulped loudly, mouth completely dry, "You...don't tell me that you—"

He laughed heartily, "Yes...I did it. But you can't bring back the dead now, can you?"

Ye Yuan was extremely close with the First Prince and was devastated when he passed away. The First Prince was peacefully riding his most beloved horse when it suddenly went out of control and threw him off his back. Caught by surprise, he could not evade the strong trampling of his horse and instantly died. Ye Yuan did not expect that Ye Feng had something to do with it.

Ye Yuan kicked the back of Ye Feng's knees and forced him to kneel with a harsh impact. He swung his sharp sword at the nape of his neck.

"You insolent—"

The Emperor stopped Ye Yuan from attacking him. His heart and head was in pain. He now suspects that all of the deaths of his offsprings were related to...Ye Feng. He bore the discomfort in his chest with agony and swallowed hard before deeply inhaling through his nostrils a few times.

"That day, you were the one who was behind the accusations of Prime Minister Chen, weren't you?"

The care for the world left Ye Feng's eyes, as if he was ready to give it all up. Nothing seemed to matter to him anymore. There was nothing left for him in this world. In order to succeed, he had to be ready to give up everything he built with his own hands. Unfortunately, in his eyes, he believed that he had nothing left to lose other than himself.

Ye Feng smiled lazily with lunatic eyes, "Of course. If I didn't get rid of him, he would interfere with my succession to the throne. That old man has never liked me from the start. If he was not dead, father would not be left vulnerable without a right-handed man. Afterwards, your new prime minister position would be given to my left-commander."

"Unfortunately that vixen, Chen Jufen, ruined my plans. Gu Meiyue was nothing more than a pawn in this game of chess. With her family connections, I could have access to thousands of men, resources, and most importantly, power. However, Gu Meiyue's family business had perished, leaving no use for me. The only way was to attack when you're weak."

Ye Feng smiled innocently, reverting back to his gentle demeanor within a second, "Obviously, the public will not know that I was the one that attacked the palace. It was simply a vicious gang that invaded the imperial courts and had heavily injured the Emperor. It was I, the Fifth Prince, that conquered the beast and encaged it in prison. Unfortunately, though I saved the palace, I could not save the Emperor in time. Without Third and Fourth, you have no other choices but for me to take the throne. With your last dying words, you passed me the crown."

The Emperor was so angry that the veins on his forehead was on the edge of bursting with fury. His callus hands formed into balls of fist, clutching so tightly that blood was drawn from his nails. He was silent for a long time before he finally closed his eyes, "You have this planned all along..."

"Are you not proud of your calculative son? You have always said that you desired a son that can foresee the future and be talented enough to fool his enemies," he taunted.

The Emperor did not respond to his sarcastic comment, "If not for Chen Jufen and Xu Jun, I would not have suspected you."

That very night when Ye Yuan fell ill, the Emperor received a letter from Jufen. After the Third Prince reached out for their help, Jufen calmly set down her chess pieces and smiled gently. She ordered her maid to prepare paper, ink, brush, and some booklets that she hid in one of her treasured chests.

In the letter, she stated Ye Feng's wrong doings from the beginning to the very end. How he plotted against her family, the princes, Gu Meiyue, implanting his own men in the official courts, and last of all, his position as the head commander of the Shu corporation. The last statement plays a crucial part in sentencing Ye Feng to death. His corporations had stirred plenty of serious crimes for the nation but the Emperor could not track them down at all. Never would he imagine, that they would be hiding in the Fifth Prince's place.

At first, he did not believe her. Until at the end, Ye Yuan personally stamped his signature and wrote that he was currently being targeted and in hiding. He begged his Imperial Father to play along with his scene, so he can show him the true face of Ye Feng. He swore that if he be lying, he would be struck by the heaven's lightning three times.

Ye Feng's face contorted with confusion before anger was revealed. From time to time, she always ruined everything for him. His heart bursted with pain, anger, hatred, madness, and most unexpectedly, betrayal.

How dare she betrays him? Out of everyone, why her? It could be anyone in this world, but why must it be her that betrays him?