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Meng Fuyao watched him calmly with her dark, unfathomable eyes. 'Xuanji, Xuanji, from now onwards, there will be no more of that darn Xuanji Imperial Family. Xuwan, Xuwan, from now onwards, there will only be your tablet!'

Feng Xuan only regained consciousness after a very long time.

When he woke up, his entire vision was black. Initially, he thought that he had gone blind, but then, he noticed something glistening in the dark. Then he realized it was nighttime.

And that glistening thing, was the eyes of a human, the eyes of Meng Fuyao who had not left.

Feng Xuan lay on the floor in the exact same position he had fainted in. He lay there, cold and frozen like the dead. Only then did he realized how deep Meng Fuyao's hatred towards him was. He initially thought that such things were a common occurrence amongst the Imperial Family. He thought that Meng Fuyao did not have her memories before she was five. He believed that an honorable throne was enough to soothe her rage and hatred. However, he thought it too simply.

He simplified humanity, grudges, hatred, pain, and darkness.

To him, power and authority reigned above all. Unfortunately, he did not know that to others, the most important thing could be their own heart.

Those past experiences that contained joy and tears. Those memories that needed redemption.

”… Aren't you… afraid of being… cursed…” To witness the Feng Empire, he had protected all his life be destroyed in his own hands. To witness his sacred ancestral tablets being tossed into a dirty cart like trash. To witness himself being the traitor of the Feng family, unable to face his ancestors in death. Feng Xuan struggled with his very last bit of strength, attempting to control the child he thought he could with his vicious words.

”I've been waiting for you just to tell you this.” Meng Fuyao squatted down and leaned in. ”… That oath had nothing to do with me.”

She smiled and gently whispered beside Feng Xuan's ear, ”The child you had with Xuwan, Feng Fuyao, was stillborn. And I… am just Meng Fuyao.”

Feng Xuan trembled.

”Feng Fuyao was loyal to the Feng family. She did not destroy Xuanji's Imperial Family. Feng Fuyao would never go against her oath because she was only alive for one hour.” Meng Fuyao smiled calmly. ”Feng Xuan, do you remember the oath? It was Feng Fuyao who said that, not me.”

Feng Xuan suddenly started to convulse. His eyes were fixated on Meng Fuyao's eyes. Those eyes of hers were emotionless, staring straight at him, locking him in an eternal abyss.

In the dark night, he shook uncontrollably under the icy cold gaze of Meng Fuyao. He could hear the sound of his muscles tearing apart, his bones shattering, and his heart pierced. Somewhere in his body, something seemed to have snapped, inflicting upon him unbearable pain. A tiny crack appeared as a wisp of smoke escaped.

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It turned out the death of an emperor… was so simple.

An entire lifetime of scheming, manipulating, but ended up… to be controlled.

This was karma, karma… it was.

Xuanji, Duan Ming Era, on the 18th of the fifth month. Xuanji was now known as Wan Changsheng. It was only then that everyone understood the previous name was, but short-lived [1. Changsheng refers to longevity in Chinese, thus a pun].

With the exception of the Ninth Princess, who was already married, the rest had now become commoners.

Changsheng, on the 19th of the fifth month. Feng Xuan had passed on, buried in the mausoleum. There was no one else in the mausoleum, only him. Apparently, before he had passed on, he had requested to be buried with a yellow napkin over his face as he had no face to meet his ancestors. The Empress had allowed his request.

Feng Xuan had become the last emperor to be buried in the mausoleum.

However, there was a lucky one amongst the Xuanji Imperial Family—Feng Wu. He was the prince that wasn't abolished and, instead, was tasked to become the next Prime Minister, overseeing the political scene.

This move by the Empress left many confused. ”I gave everyone a chance, but he was the only one that passed,” was the only sentence the Empress had left.

That day, where they all had been under house arrest, it had actually been to test them.

1. Political commentary-wise, there were 7 excellent people, including Feng Wu that had caught her eye.

2. Starving them for three days before giving them buns. The moment the buns had been sent in, only those that had been willing to share had passed the test. Feng Wu, who had too been starving for three days, had chosen to give up his bun to his nephew. At that point, there had only been three people left that had passed both the first test and the second test.

3. Ji Yu informing them that the Empress had the intention to choose officials from the princes and princesses. He had also told them the list of people that the Empress had plans for. Amongst the trio, two had been elated and begun to verbally attack each other. Only Feng Wu had remained calm.

Hence, Feng Wu had passed.

A good political commentary showed his talent. Giving his bun up showed his kindness. To not be swayed by temptation showed his prudence.

Meng Fuyao used such methods to choose her officials.

Initially, she could have slowly picked them from the nation, but since she was running out of time, she could only search for talents in the Xuanji Imperial Family that was experienced with the workings of politics.

She also thought that if she were to leave in the future, she would hand the throne to Feng Wu. The nation would be incorporated into either Wuji or Dahan, and with Zhangsun Wuji or Zhan Beiye around, even if Feng Wu were to inherit the throne, he could forget about changing the nation's name back to Xuanji.