Chapter 1: The Death of General Zhan Huang

"Zhan Lan, do you still think you're the Empress, the mighty General Zhan Huang? And now, are you not just a prisoner at the foot of the stairs?"

The bone-chilling wind of winter blew through the broken window into the damp and stinking Heavenly Prison.

Clad in prison garb, Zhan Lan was covered in scars with her tendons in hands and feet severed, wretchedly shackled by two rusty chains.

She was the adopted daughter of the General Mansion of Nanjin, married to the least favored Prince Si Jun, with her military exploits helping him ascend the throne and personally battling to protect their lands.

Returning from the battlefield, in her own Kunning Palace, she witnessed her husband who had never laid a hand on her, entwined in a desperate embrace with Xuerou, the legitimate daughter from the General Mansion.

Subsequently, her Deputy General was captured, and she too was accused of conspiracy and imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison.

Dressed in finery and looking radiant, the succeeding Empress Xuerou walked over gently, her icy dagger slicing across Zhan Lan's cheek.

Amidst Zhan Lan's painful groans, Xuerou whispered in her ear, "Your husband, sister has been with him in your stead. That year when His Majesty was indisposed and did not consummate the marriage with you, in fact..."

Xuerou covered her face with a laugh, "We were passionately entwined each night until dawn. His Majesty was quite ardent! Such a shame, sister, with such peerless beauty but unaware of the principle of pleasing the man."

Xuerou gently tapped on Zhan Lan's face, roughened by the border's windswept sands.

She continued in a soft voice, alluringly smiling, "Considering you're about to die, let sister tell you a secret; you are the true legitimate daughter of the General Mansion. Your devoted mother of over twenty years, Lady Li, is my birth mother!"

"The position of legitimate daughter, your parents' boundless affection, truly wonderful!"

Under Zhan Lan's shocked expression, Xuerou's face was filled with pride, "And also, I, along with the second branch, Aunt Ji Yue's family, righteously exterminated our own, and your grandparents, parents, elder brother, and younger siblings each met their fates..."

Listening to Xuerou detailing the tragic ends of her family, Zhan Lan clenched her fists in anguish and fury but could not muster any strength, trembling all over like leaves in the autumn wind.

She never would have imagined the seemingly delicate Xuerou, would have swapped fates with her from the day they were born!

And the mother she had sworn to protect with her life was a fake. With towering hatred, Zhan Lan fiercely bit at the hand Xuerou reached out to her.

"Bitch!" Xuerou abruptly withdrew her hand, blood bursting forth from her finger instantly.

Zhan Lan's lips were bloodied, the taste of blood permeating her throat.

"Stop! Rou'er, are you alright?" A woman who hesitated with a hint of regret, not intending to appear, quickly stepped into the cell.

Holding a handkerchief, she grasped Xuerou's hand, her face full of concern.

Startled, Zhan Lan realized that was Lady Li, the mother she had called for twenty-one years!

This was a level of concern she had never seen from Lady Li before.

If not for being threatened with Lady Li's life, she would not have surrendered after defeating hundreds of the Imperial Army!

But now, she realized her own birth was a plot!

Lady Li dared not meet Zhan Lan's gaze, fierce as a King Beast. Stammeringly, she said, "Rou'er has always been frail since childhood. I just wanted her to be well cared for. Besides, my husband died protecting your father; we deserve this!"

As she said this, Lady Li straightened up a bit, the guilt on her face vanishing in an instant.

"Don't blame me or Rou'er. Aunt Ji Yue's family of three and the second branch have now received His Majesty's recognition and rewards. Have you ever wondered why?"

Upon hearing this from Lady Li, Zhan Lan felt as if all strength had been drained from her body!

They were all in it together!

No wonder, over the years, Lady Li had been distant and harsh toward her!

"Liar! Disgusting!" The chains on Zhan Lan's arms clanked, but her limbs felt no strength, and blood spurted from her mouth.

She's been poisoned!

Just now, in the Heavenly Prison, she drank the water brought by the palace maid close to her, no, it was poison!

At this moment, the poison has taken effect, and having lost her power, the maid Qinglian defected to Zhan Xuerou.

Zhan Lan endured endless suffering, bathed in blood to rise like a phoenix, and became the General Zhan Huang in the hearts of the people, becoming Empress Zhan.

But in the end, her family was harmed, everything that belonged to her, all turned to bubbles!

Zhan Xuerou looked down at her injured finger, her face full of sinister and vicious colors, "Mother, why waste words with her, His Majesty is kind, poisoning her is letting her off too easy, better to turn her into a punished slave, to torture her daily!"

"His Majesty has arrived!" A sharp, chicken-like voice rang out, and Zhan Xuerou immediately turned into the appearance of someone who had been bullied.

Si Jun, wearing a golden yellow dragon robe, stood in a beam of sunlight that stung Zhan Lan's eyes.

The man caught sight of Zhan Xuerou's injured hand and Zhan Lan's bloodied lip corner in a glance, and strode forward to grab Zhan Lan's throat, angrily saying, "You dare to hurt Rou'er!"

"Your Majesty, it's all Rou'er's fault, after all, we are sisters, it's because she is angry at me for taking her place!" Zhan Xuerou's voice was soft, like a ball of cotton.

Si Jun's hand tightened, Zhan Lan coughed violently twice, raising her eyes to see Si Jun looking at her with disgust, saying, "You were never worthy to be the Empress, if not for my father Emperor's imperial marriage, I would never have married an adopted daughter!"

This is his shame!

He is the illegitimate son of Emperor Xuanwu, and Zhan Lan is just an adopted daughter of the General Mansion, his father disdained him so!

To marry such a lowly woman to him!

Zhan Lan sneered, "A bastard dog emperor, in the end, you still married a lowly adopted daughter!"

Si Jun's face collapsed, fortunately, no one in the world knew that Zhan Xuerou was actually the adopted one.

Si Jun sneered contemptuously, his next words stabbed into Zhan Lan's heart like a sharp knife, "Xiao Chen, Li Sui, Huang Gun, their corpses now hang on the city gate together with your father!"

"Scoundrel!" Zhan Lan's eyes were bloodshot, killing intent and rage rolling in her heart.

She looked towards the war spear Wuming casually thrown on the ground, wishing she could kill this pair of dogs right now!

Si Jun looked at her indifferently, kicking the war spear away with his foot, with a clang, the war spear landed at Zhan Lan's feet.

"General Zhan Huang? The people truly respect you, huh! Ha, but can you even lift that war spear now? In consideration of our marriage, I bestow you with poison to keep your corpse intact!"

With a creak, the iron door was pushed open once again, Si Jun was taken aback, seeing the newcomer he reverently said, "Regent King, why have you returned?"

Mu Yan, who had hurried back, could not hide his handsome and sharp aura, with a black mole at the corner of his eye adding a touch of bewitching charm, he glanced at Si Jun with a cold expression, saying firmly, "Such matters, I handle more effectively."

Si Jun hated Mu Yan's disregard for everything.

But his control over the imperial court was not stable, and he still needed Mu Yan to intimidate the court officials, so he could only respectfully say, "Imperial Uncle, please proceed as you wish!"

Si Jun left with Zhan Xuerou's hand in his, leaving only Mu Yan and Zhan Lan in the room.

Zhan Lan never thought that the Regent King, with whom she had only had a few encounters, would come to see her.

Now twenty-nine years old, his presence was formidable, more kingly than Si Jun, standing there exerting a powerful pressure.

Could it be that this Regent King, with his hands stained in blood, had come to finish her personally?

However, the poison would soon claim her life, was there still a need for this?