The King’s Summit Is Paved With Countless Corpses

At fifteen, Prince Nolan returned to the Capital City without a sound—just as quietly as he’d left, no one even noticed. During those years, a substitute lived in the palace under his name, keeping up the illusion. The lavish, cold palace never changed, whether he was gone or back.

No one suspected a thing. Only now did Prince Nolan realize: after all those years away, not a single person knew he was gone. His existence had always been so insignificant.

A descendant of the Former Dynasty royal family? The future emperor of Eastlyn? Right now, he was none of those things. He returned to his old life, but he could never again be an innocent fifteen-year-old living in the palace.

Three years—he lived in the palace, moving between day and night, getting used to his double life. He began to secretly gather strength and build his own power base. He knew Lan clan members and imperial connections were at his disposal, but all those gifts could be taken away. Only what he built himself was truly his.

Looking back, Prince Nolan could hardly believe he’d survived. Dangers had come one after another—he’d seen countless people die for him, and killed even more himself. He endured Venom Island for one reason: to stay alive.

After leaving, it was the Former Dynasty that gave him a new goal: unify the Four Kingdoms, no matter the cost. When he had no will to live, they gave him a mission. Without that heavy burden and his identity, he would never have survived that dark period.

Prince Nolan exhaled, his voice low. "Life is strange—you never know what the next moment will bring. Before I met you, I never imagined I’d live to see this day." He held Serena close, heart full of emotion.

He confessed his exhaustion, asking Serena to let Little Dumpling ascend the throne early so he could step down. The burden of being emperor, the endless state affairs—he no longer cared for any of it.

Serena sighed, half exasperated, half amused. She patted his shoulder and dryly asked if this emotional confession was just a ploy to get her to lobby Little Dumpling into taking the throne.

Nolan’s silence was an admission. Serena, helpless and a little amused, warned him: "If you force Little Dumpling onto the throne, he’ll cry." Nolan countered, "He’s grown up. He has a ruler’s demeanor and can already sit the throne stably. At that age, I was already independent and carrying heavy responsibility."

He knew he had Lan clan members and imperial connections at his disposal. With his status, he could have power without lifting a finger. But none of that was truly his—what others gave could be taken away. Only what he built himself was real.

Looking back, Prince Nolan shook his head. 'I can’t believe I survived.' He’d faced so many dangers, seen people die for him, killed even more. The only reason he’d come this far was that he’d clung to one thing: staying alive.

On the island, it was just about survival. After leaving, the Former Dynasty gave him a new goal: unify the Four Kingdoms at any cost. Without that burden and identity, he’d never have gotten through those days.

Prince Nolan let out a long sigh. 'Life is strange—you never know what’s coming next. Before I met you, I never thought I’d see a day like this.' He held Serena close, heart full of complicated feelings.

Far away, Sweet Dumpling was in the Imperial Mausoleum. At first, she wasn’t crying at all. She was brave—afraid of ghosts, yes, but she still ate well, slept well, and made friends with the guards, chatting with them every day.

The guards were miserable, unable to keep up with her endless chatter. Finally, a shadow guard gently warned, 'Little princess, if Her Majesty finds out, she won’t be happy.' Every move Sweet Dumpling made was being watched—she shouldn’t go too far.

Sweet Dumpling saw right through it. 'Uncle Guard, are you going to tattle on me to Mother?' She didn’t pretend to be clueless; she asked directly. The guard hesitated, then rephrased, 'My orders are to protect the princess, and to record her time reflecting.'

Sweet Dumpling propped her chin in her hands, looking utterly crushed. 'So Mother really is having me watched.' She wondered aloud, 'Why is Mother so angry with me? I only made a small mistake, but the punishment is so harsh. She never used to be like this...'

She anxiously tugged at her hair, turning her neat braids into a messy nest. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t figure out what terrible crime she’d committed to be left alone in the mausoleum.

'Grown-ups’ world is so complicated. I just don’t understand what I did wrong for Father to agree to send me here too.' The more Sweet Dumpling thought, the more she cried. Panic set in—what if her parents really abandoned her? What if she became pitiful and unwanted, just like Miles Lan, locked away and forgotten?

He told Serena that ending up on the island was an accident, but the truth was, he knew perfectly well his presence there was no accident—it was orchestrated by his mother...

Even Yuan Bai’s handover and betrayal, the aphrodisiacs, and those depraved scenes were all arranged by his mother—her goal was to break his spirit, turn him into a puppet living only for the mission of unifying the Four Kingdoms. Once he succeeded, she meant to use those memories to destroy him completely...

He didn’t blame his mother. As a royal princess, she was willing to sacrifice everything for restoration—there was nothing inherently wrong with her choice. She had her reasons; as long as she didn’t regret them, that was enough. But in the end, who would win was not up to her...

Even if he was a chess piece, he would never stay on the board forever, letting others move him at will. Anyone who tried to control his life had to be ready for the consequences when he struck back.

He knew exactly what had happened to his mother in the Imperial Mausoleum, and he was fully aware—and silently approving—of Serena’s methods of revenge.

Serena always worried about Lady Min being his mother, but in truth...

He had long since stopped seeing that woman as his mother. He didn’t want her dead or utterly insane—because living in pain and despair is far worse than death.

He wanted that woman to regret her choices for the rest of her life!

Letting out a long sigh, Prince Nolan rested his head on Serena’s shoulder. "Serena, I’m exhausted. Will you let Rory take the throne?"

He really was tired—so tired that he wanted to abdicate and let Rory inherit the throne.

The throne, power... He used to crave them, but only after gaining them did he realize they weren’t truly important.

"Just hold on two more years." All the heartache Serena felt for Prince Nolan vanished at those words. She patted his shoulder, "You’ve told me all this just to get me to persuade Rory to take the throne, haven’t you?"

"Uh..." Prince Nolan didn’t answer.

And not refuting her meant that was exactly the truth.

"Your son will cry, you know." Serena couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. She felt for Prince Nolan, but she also cared about her son.

"That boy’s already grown up. He handles things with the bearing of a ruler—he really can sit the throne." His son was never ordinary; even if the young master ascended early, Prince Nolan wasn’t worried about Rory’s ability to rule.

"But he’s still so young. Didn’t you agree to wait until Rory turned eighteen before letting him inherit?" Was Prince Nolan just being lazy?

No, Prince Nolan had tried to abdicate every chance he got. He truly didn’t want to be emperor anymore, didn’t want to waste time and energy on endless state affairs.

"When I was his age, I was already handling everything on my own." Prince Nolan insisted again—Rory really wasn’t a child anymore.

At the very least, when he was Rory’s age, no one treated him like a child.

"If you can convince him, I won’t object." Faced with Prince Nolan, Serena could only surrender.

Well, compared to her son, she felt even more for Prince Nolan, so...

This time, she’d have to sacrifice her son.

Achoo, achoo...

While handling the aftermath, Rory sneezed several times in a row. Rubbing his nose, he caught the scent of flowers in the air—and sneezed even more...

"Where’s that annoying flower smell coming from? The first thing I’ll do after I take the throne is yank out every flower inside and outside the city." Achoo... achoo.

Rory kept sneezing all the way, feeling something wasn’t quite right!

Well, maybe there was nothing wrong—he was just unlucky and hated flower scents.

Of course, unlike his father’s strange pollen allergy, Rory simply loathed the smell of flowers. Any floral scent made him sneeze non-stop.

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Because of his father’s strange quirk, all the major estates in the capital had gotten rid of their flowers, replacing them with grass and trees. The ladies of the capital hadn’t been able to enjoy flowers for years—if they wanted to, they had to leave the city.

Rory had long gotten used to the capital’s lack of flower fragrance, so whenever he left the city and caught the scent of wildflowers, he’d start sneezing uncontrollably...

Honestly, it was a bit of a tragedy—at least, that’s what Mengbao said about him, since he was so much like his father.

Uh... In some ways, Rory realized he really was a lot like his father. He’d inherited some of Prince Nolan’s odd habits, while Mengbao hadn’t gotten any of them.

So unfair!

Rory gritted his teeth, but when he thought about Mengbao suffering in the Imperial Mausoleum, he felt sorry for her...

Forget it, he wouldn’t give Mengbao a hard time—who knew how much that little girl would cry.

Cry?

Rory had really underestimated Mengbao.

It wasn’t her first time at the Imperial Mausoleum—what was there to cry about?

Mengbao was brave—though she was afraid of ghosts, in the Imperial Mausoleum she still ate well, slept well, and even made friends with the surrounding guards, chatting with them every day.

The guards were at their wits’ end—they couldn’t think of anything else to say to amuse this little ancestor. Was she here to reflect on her mistakes, or was she on vacation at the mausoleum?

Today she grilled meat at the mausoleum, tomorrow she’d roast sweet potatoes—she treated the mausoleum like a holiday estate, running wild, rolling in the fields like a little tomboy, looking for all the world as if she’d forgotten her troubles...

"Little princess, if Her Majesty finds out, she won’t be happy." A secret guard gently reminded Mengbao that every move she made was being watched, and she shouldn’t go too far...

"Uncle Guard, are you going to tattle on me to Mother?" Mengbao didn’t pretend to be clueless; she asked directly. The guard hesitated, then rephrased: "My orders are to protect the princess, and to record her time reflecting."

He wasn’t tattling, just keeping a detailed record—nothing more.

"So Mother really is having me watched." Mengbao propped her chin in her hands, looking utterly crushed. "Why is Mother so angry with me? I only made a small mistake, but the punishment is so harsh. She never used to be like this..."

"Uncle Guard, do you think if Mother finds out I’m not really reflecting, she’ll come here herself?" Mengbao looked at the guard hopefully.

She wasn’t as happy as she seemed, nor was she really having fun. She just...

...wanted to know if Mother was truly angry, or just pretending. So she acted out and made trouble, hoping Mother would come—whether to scold her or even spank her, anything was better than being left alone in the mausoleum.

Being here alone, she was afraid, she worried...

"Does Mother not want me anymore? Why is she so angry? What did I do wrong?"

Mengbao anxiously tugged at her hair, turning her pretty braids into a bird’s nest. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t figure out what terrible crime she’d committed to be left alone in the mausoleum.

"Grown-ups’ world is so complicated. I just don’t understand what I did wrong for Father to agree to send me here too." The more Mengbao thought, the more she cried...

Mother wanted her to come to the mausoleum, and she didn’t dare refuse, but...

She really couldn’t understand—were her mistakes truly so serious that she had to reflect in the mausoleum?

"Does Mother not want me anymore?"

The thought suddenly scared Mengbao...

If Father and Mother didn’t want her anymore, would she be pitiful? Would she end up like Lan Mo—a wild child?

"No, no—Mother, Father, Mengbao knows she was wrong. Please don’t leave Mengbao alone in the mausoleum, don’t abandon her, Mengbao doesn’t want to be alone."

"Mother, what did I do wrong? Please tell me, I’ll never do it again."

"Waaah... Mother, Mengbao is scared all alone."

...

After days of wild play, Mengbao finally began her period of reflection. When Prince Nolan and Serena saw the reports from the secret guards, their hearts ached for her...