The Phoenix Reborn Book II

Chapter 84 Sadness and Happiness

One servant girl is seen pointing a kitchen knife at a number of Nanhan soldiers. The soldiers laughed at the behavior of the brave little servant, and their minds were moved to imagine how the fierce expression of the servant girl would turn clear when under them.

“Little girl, the woman you protected is dead! What are you protecting a dead man for?” said a Nanhan soldier with his hoarse voice. “Compared busy protecting the corpse, you better have fun with us!” his god laughed loudly, followed by the laughter of other friends.

“What is this?” the question made everyone turn their heads, surprised by the unexpected presence.

“King An, your palace servant is quite good too,” said a Nanhan soldier with a condescending look, not the slightest bit of respect he showed to Li Changsheng other than the name he used. “Only for a piece of lifeless meat, dia—!” The man did not have time to finish his words .. because the side of his mouth had first been torn. “ARGHH!”

Everyone gasped to see the soldier groaning in pain as his hands floated on both sides of the face. Blood flowed down his face, producing a terrifying scene and making the atmosphere instantly stiffen.

Each pair of eyes quickly turned to the figure of Li Changsheng who was standing with a flat face. “Those lifeless flesh was once the empress of this kingdom. At the very least, he had once become a noble existence compared to you.” Li Changsheng's expression turned furious, “Enyah!”

Those Nanhan warriors no longer dared to say anything. They rushed to help their friend stand up, then left the courtyard. Although not their boss directly, but Li Changsheng was an important person in their chairman's plan. It's not a good thing to get into trouble with that guy.

After the departure of the soldiers, Li Changsheng turned his gaze to the servant girl who was still sculpting in her place. “What do you think you're doing?” asked the man with a dark expression.

The servant girl again raised the small knife in her hand, again wary of Li Changsheng. “M-they want to burn the Empress on the main page! I won't let them humiliate him like that!” Being made a spectacle by a bunch of enemy soldiers, it was tantamount to insulting the royal family.

Li Changsheng turned his gaze to the corpse lying on the ground. The lifeless woman's face looked so calm, with no regrets when she left the world. This made Li Changsheng frown.

‘Died for protecting, but not the slightest bit of regret is depicted on your face ...’ Li Changsheng's hands clenched tightly. ‘Didn't you know that regret is bestowed entirely upon the living?’

*Some time ago*

“Zhen’er!”

Wu Huatai's shout made everyone turn their head quickly towards the sword aimed at Empress Tianzhen's figure. Li Changsheng took a step forward, trying to stop it. However, the distance between her and the empress was far adrift.

The sword in Hudie's subordinate's hand pierced through Empress Tianzhen's body so easily, and the incident caused everyone to instantly freeze, including Hudie's subordinate who realized he was wrongly targeted. Those in that place were fixated on the fact that the empress had just received a fatal attack.

With a furious rage within him, Wu Huatai immediately grabbed a sword lying on the ground—from the soldier who had lost his life—and shot towards the soldier who stabbed Empress Tianzhen. “Bedeb*h!”

Seeing Wu Huatai approaching himself at high speed, the soldier clicked his tongue. He immediately attempted to draw his sword, but the weapon did not move. The soldier's eyes glanced forward, noticing that Empress Tianzhen was gripping the sword still connected to her body using both of her bare hands, regardless of how the sharp object sliced through the skin of her palm.

“Jal! Release!” maki the soldier while exerting all his strength to pull off his sword.

Out of nowhere came the energy that Empress Tianzhen had, but the woman was strong enough to withstand the pull of the soldier before her. With blood coming out from the side of her mouth, the woman said, “You .. will die with me.”

When a black shadow enveloped part of him, the Hudie man glanced sideways, finding a sword swinging towards him. A single sword slash was received by the soldier, resulting in a long wound from his left shoulder to the right side of his waist. Then, a hard kick was thrown at him, causing himself to slam back and his head to hit the wall violently, instantly dispelling his consciousness.

Seeing this, Li Changsheng was shocked. The man immediately shouted in a warning tone, “No one should touch Wu Huatai! The ones who dare to fight, then I will kill you!” Her eyes quickly turned to the figure of Empress Tianzhen. Followed by her furrowed brows, Li Changsheng's face revealed such complex emotions.

Seeing that the threat to her husband was gone, Empress Tianzhen said weakly, “Gratitude ...” All the magical energy he had exerted instantly disappeared, making himself fall to the side.

Before Empress Tianzhen's body met the ground, Emperor Huatai rushed down the sword and captured her body. “Zhen’er! Zhen’er! Hang on!” his free right hand was seen groaning at the sword that was still stuck in his wife's body, but did not dare to touch it. Although she knew that Empress Tianzhen could not be saved, her consciousness refused to accept. “You will be fine, the healer will be here soon,” whispered Wu Huatai.

“Bring the palace healer here!” li Changsheng shouted to a soldier, his eyes not separated from the figure of Empress Tianzhen drooping in Wu Huatai's arms. ‘Why would anyone dare attack Wu Huatai?’ the inner man. Then, his gaze turned to the figure of Hudie who was standing casually at the other end. Suddenly, Li Changsheng's hand clenched, ‘Hudie!’

Empress Tianzhen tried to raise her hand, wanting to wipe away the blood that soiled Wu Huatai's face. But he no longer had the energy. “Y-Your Highness ..” call him. Tears began to flow out of the corner of his eyes, “Our son ...” Her heart ached so much, hurt from the loss of life in her womb, also because she felt she was going to leave the man before her. “I'm guilty of you ..” The promise of life, he could not keep.

“Don't talk, don't talk,” pinta Wu Huatai, hoping it will help ease his wife's pain. “You'll be fine.” Falsehoods.

Hudie rolled her eyeballs looking at the scene before her. With a look of disdain on his face, the man waved his hand. “Kill Wu Huatai,” the order.

The two warriors at Hudie's side immediately stepped forward, preparing to pull Wu Huatai apart from his wife. However, Li Changsheng growled, “You dare!?”

Hearing the threatening tone from Li Changsheng, Hudie squinted her eyes. “Li Changsheng, not because we are in Wu, then you can act as you please. Although the Chief promised you the position of emperor, but you still do not legally hold that status. Believe it or not, I could have killed you right now.”

Li Changsheng gritted his teeth. “Hudie, as you said, this is the Kingdom of Wu, and Wu has its own traditions for the removal of the throne. Without the royal military plaque and the dragon stamp, do you think the people will acknowledge me as emperor? Especially after the coup my mother did?” He added, “Only Wu Huatai knows the location of the two objects, we still need them alive.”

Seeing Hudie questioning herself, Li Changsheng rushed on, “It would be better to make her a hostage to provoke Chen Qiang's resistance, also controlling Liang's forces later on.”

Hearing Li Changsheng's last sentence, Hudie clicked her tongue. “Capture Wu Huatai,” he said, deciding to change his orders.

Wu Huatai's army had been completely crippled easily, something that had been predicted based on the small amount they had. Indeed there are still some who have consciousness, but most have lost their lives. Thus, when two soldiers from the Hudie side approached the emperor, no one was able to stand back and block.

“Do not approach!” wu Huatai shouted as he realized two figures intending to approach him. With one hand propping up Empress Tianzhen's body, she hurriedly grabbed the nearby sword and pointed it at the enemy side.

Seeing this, Hudie clicked her tongue. Then, he smiled mockingly, “Emperor Huatai, you better just give up.” He swung his hand from left to right, referring to the surrounding area. “All your men are dead, and you're all that's left. No more need to play the part of an honorable leader,”.

Hudie's words made Emperor Huatai look around at a glance. As his opponent said, all his troops had fallen. Then, he glanced down, Empress Tianzhen looking so weak. In his little heart, Wu Huatai knew that the woman would not last much longer.

Seeing Emperor Huatai's attention diverted, Li Changsheng rushed up an attack to shake off the man's sword. In one swing, the sword in Wu Huatai's hand slipped apart and slammed onto the ground. Two Hudie soldiers rushed to restrain the emperor's movements.

“Let go of me!” wu Huatai shouted as he thrashed with all his might.

Meanwhile, seeing Empress Tianzhen's body lying on the ground while covered in blood, Li Changsheng quickly carried the woman's body. Then, regardless of the gaze given by everyone, he ran with all his might leaving the place.

“Zhen’er! Zhen’er!” Wu Huatai did not know what was on Li Changsheng's mind, and seeing the man take his wife away made him even more unsettled. However, what could he do with the position being held like now? ‘Zhen’er ..’ Only tears could come down her face.

Meanwhile, leaving the ambush spot, Li Changsheng continued to shout inwardly, ‘Tabib palace! I have to get there!’

Empress Tianzhen was unable to move her body, but she could still faintly see a worried expression on Li Changsheng's face. A faint smile spread across his face, “Chang .. Sheng ..” the soft whisper managed to grab the man's attention for a moment.

“Hold, I will take you to the palace healer,” Li Changsheng said as he continued to run, passing through several pages covered in cries and helpless cries.

The smile on Empress Tianzhen's face slowly disappeared, “You ... have .. suffered ...”

Li Changsheng did not reply to Empress Tianzhen's words at all, he just kept running. However, when he realized that a weak breath could no longer be heard, the man's footsteps slowed down, until finally.

***

The sound of crying could be heard. This was accompanied by the sound of weathered wood consumed by fire. Two contrasting figures stood side by side in a courtyard, in front of a body that was no longer recognizable due to the enormous flames.

“Empress ... You died so unjustly ..” whining the servant girl. Perhaps, he was one of the servants who had accompanied Empress Tianzhen.

Meanwhile, at the side of the servant, Li Changsheng stood upright while staring at the tongue of fire that was dancing freely. Some of the ashes raised into the air caught his attention, his little heart thought it was the spirit of the empress who had flown away.

With a blank look, Li Changsheng clenched his hands. ‘What ... have I made the right decision?’

***

A melodious-sounding string passage echoed in one part of the palace. The chanted groove sounded excited, then turned calm, and continued with cheerfulness.

“What makes the Sixth Prince so happy?” said a voice that made the sitar player immediately stop the game.

Wang Chengliu's eyes suddenly opened, and he quickly turned his head towards the right. Found the figure of the father approaching the pavilion where he was, the sixth prince rushed to his feet and saluted, “Salam to Ayahanda.” His head was bowed, but his manic was pointing in all directions, sweeping the surroundings. ‘Easy eunuchs and waiters keep such a long distance ...’

Wang Weixin looked at Wang Chengliu with an indecipherable expression. “Do you know? When someone is happy, then there are others who are sad,” he said meaningfully. Then, he repeated his words, “Jawab my question, Sixth Prince. What makes you so happy?”

______

A/N: Many ask when the conflict will end, the author gives one answer:

Imminent.