You Cannot Kill Me
After hearing Alexander Hayes's words, Emperor Jin Xuan's body suddenly jerked twice, as if struck by lightning.
A look of panic flashed across his face, and he quickly said, "What are you talking about? I don't understand!"
"Does Your Majesty truly not understand, or are you just pretending to be confused?" Alexander Hayes's cold gaze bore into Emperor Jin Xuan. "Twenty-one years ago, you murdered the former emperor and empress, forged imperial decrees, committed regicide and usurped the throne. Did you really think that after twenty-one years, no one would know what you did back then?"
When the events of the past were mentioned, Emperor Jin Xuan seemed to fall into a state of extreme panic. He immediately lost his composure and shouted, "Where did you hear such rumors, coming here to slander me! My throne was passed down to me by the former emperor's decree! Back then, the former emperor suddenly fell gravely ill, beyond saving, and with no heirs, he issued an edict transferring the throne to me! You accuse me of regicide and usurpation—this is sheer slander!"
"Was it truly that the former emperor had no heirs, or was it you who wanted to wipe out all traces? Back then, when you were still Prince Xuan, you sent men to South Hill Imperial Temple to hunt down the empress, who was about to give birth. In her panic, the empress gave birth to a child. Your men broke in, found the baby was a girl—and a stillborn. They carelessly buried the dead child outside South Hill Imperial Temple, killed the empress, and then set fire to the temple to destroy the evidence." Alexander Hayes stared intently at Emperor Jin Xuan.
The panic on Emperor Jin Xuan's face grew even more obvious, and he kept repeating, "Slander! Alexander Hayes, someone with ulterior motives must have fabricated these rumors to hurt and defame me!"
"Rumors? Heh..." Alexander Hayes stepped closer and closer to Emperor Jin Xuan, finally crouching down so they were eye to eye.
This aging emperor looked at the ruthless, iron-blooded, and strikingly youthful War God before him. From the depths of his heart, he felt fear and dread, yet he clung desperately to the last shreds of his imperial dignity, trying hard to sit up straight.
Alexander Hayes looked at Emperor Jin Xuan and spoke softly, "Your Majesty, you surely never expected that among those offering incense at South Hill Imperial Temple that day, besides the empress, there was also the Marchioness Valor, who was likewise about to give birth..."
Emperor Jin Xuan's pupils contracted sharply. He stared at Alexander Hayes's face, searching his mind for memories buried for over twenty years.
In Emperor Jin Xuan’s mind, the gentle face of his elder brother, the wise ruler from his memories, began to blur and merge with the iron-blooded general standing before him.
Emperor Jin Xuan’s eyes widened in horror. “You—are you… No, that’s impossible! How could this be!?”
Alexander Hayes curled his lips into a cold, mocking smile. “Should I call you Emperor, or Uncle? You never imagined, did you? The stillborn girl the Empress gave birth to was actually Marchioness Valor’s daughter; and the true Crown Prince was spirited out of South Hill Imperial Temple by Marchioness Valor, secretly raised in the Marquis Valor Estate until he came of age…”
Emperor Jin Xuan collapsed to the floor, his chest heaving violently as he stared at Alexander Hayes. “You… you’re my brother’s son?!”
“Precisely.” Alexander Hayes met Emperor Jin Xuan’s gaze. “I am the late emperor’s son—the rightful Crown Prince. And you? You’re just a traitor who murdered his sovereign and stole the throne. How dare you act arrogant before me?”
With that, Alexander rose and drew his sword, the tip pressing coldly against Emperor Jin Xuan’s throat. His voice was like ice: “You killed my parents. Their blood feud cannot be forgiven. Today, I will not let you go!”
Emperor Jin Xuan’s face turned ashen. Suddenly, he shouted, “You can’t kill me, because—”