CHAPTER 1274: CHAPTER 1274: PROCLAIMING THE CROWN PRINCE, THE EMPRESS ACTS AS REGENT DURING THE MINORITY

Huo Yuning looked at the dissipating Nether Power around Xiao Jun’an and sighed softly, "I cannot save you."

This man’s fate is too peculiar.

The vital Nether Power belonging to the Lord of Fengdu couldn’t be infused into the other’s body.

Xiao Jun’an’s flesh resisted all external forces’ penetration; she had no way to save him.

Huo Yuning observed the other’s face, hazy and unclear, as if wearing a false mask.

Xiao Jun’an faced life and death with equanimity, smiling faintly: "Time and fate are beyond my control."

Meeting his gentle eyes of a light black hue, clear and indifferent, Huo Yuning felt uneasy, subconsciously averting her gaze.

"What did you mention about a way to leave? What is it?"

Xiao Jun’an lowered his gaze, touching a drop of blood on his sleeve, his tone certain: "The day I die will be the day you leave.

In fact, the State Preceptor said that you came because of me, and Daqian’s destined destruction was altered due to your arrival."

The State Preceptor again!

Huo Yuning started to take an interest in this State Preceptor.

What kind of person was he, always speaking in riddles, igniting her curiosity to investigate further.

Huo Yuning held her chin and looked up at the starry sky, sighing with annoyance: "Fine, considering you’re about to die, I’ll ensure that your Crown Prince’s seat on the Daqian throne is secure."

Hearing her agreement, Xiao Jun’an’s face showed a smile.

He bowed again to thank her: "Tianxuan thanks the Empress for her kindness."

Huo Yuning raised her eyebrows: "Tianxuan?"

Xiao Jun’an smiled faintly: "It’s the name my mother gave me."

Thinking of the other’s mother, Huo Yuning remembered Empress Lan and realized she had not seen her in a long time.

Not just her, but lately, she had hardly seen any other malevolent entities.

They seemed to have vanished all at the same time.

Huo Yuning recalled the Empress Lan’s eyes filled with hatred, tinged with a creepy red, guessing that the latter must have returned to the Underworld.

A gust of night wind came, blowing Huo Yuning’s hair into disarray.

Seeing this, Xiao Jun’an spoke with a warm voice: "The wind has risen; Empress, you should rest early."

Huo Yuning stood up straight, took off the cape she was wearing, and handed it to him: "You should head back as well, to live each day as it comes, I suppose you have at least three months of life left."

Xiao Jun’an accepted the cape, and his lips curved into a smile at her words: "Three months is not too short."

Indeed, three months was quite a long time, sufficient for many things.

In the following days, Xiao Jun’an hurtled down the path of a tyrant.

He ordered the arrest of two Cabinet Ministers, whose families had been Aristocratic Families for hundreds of years, deeply rooted in both the Capital City and their ancestral lands, not to be disturbed lightly.

Dozens of officials in the Capital City were implicated, some demoted, some executed, and those two Cabinet Ministers were accused of treason and executed without delay.

Not long after, Xiao Jun’an decreed the arrest of Prince Rui’an and threw him into the death cell.

Although Prince Rui’an had no real power, his late mentor was a great scholar of the time.

Right after he was thrown into the death cell, hundreds of scholars in the Capital City gathered and knelt in front of the palace gates, petitioning to release Prince Rui’an.

Xiao Jun’an’s actions were brutal and decisive, ordering the execution of all petitioning scholars.

Blood flowed like rivers outside the palace gates, and the scholars, powerless as they were, stood no chance against the Imperial Guards, with no opportunity to flee or escape.

Of course, his actions incited the spirited scholars of Daqian, and even the civil servants of the court were implying Xiao Jun’an’s cruelty.

Not long after the execution of the scholars, Prince Rui’an’s numerous crimes were posted at the Imperial City.

Accepting bribes, insatiable greed, selling offices and titles, forming cliques for personal gain, debauchery, and wanton disregard for human life.

During the recent drought in the north, Prince Rui’an colluded with the local Aristocratic Families to control grain prices, forcing the poor to rebel.

In the south, the water disaster was due to the dam built being breached, officials close to Prince Rui’an embezzled funds leading to shoddy construction, and the makeshift dams stood no chance against the floods.

In Prince Rui’an’s backyard garden, dozens of young men’s and women’s skeletons were buried, all victims of his cruelty.

The list of crimes shocked the people, who had held the image of a gentle and elegant Prince Rui’an; he turned out to be so vicious, worse than a beast.

On the day Prince Rui’an was forced to drink poison, Xiao Jun’an did something else that shook all the officials in the court.

He appointed the legitimate son of his deceased imperial brother as the Crown Prince, entrusting the Empress to govern from behind the curtains.