Watching Prince Cyrus Drake collapse in that moment, it felt like everything was finally over.
It all happened so fast—even the Chu Emperor felt like he was dreaming. How could this be? Wasn’t he supposed to fight back for power?
Now, Prince Cyrus was dead. No one could tell him why—why did it happen so quickly? Even though he’d wished for Cyrus to die, when the moment actually came, all those memories flooded back like a spring...
But there was no time for nostalgia—there was still one huge unresolved issue, and everyone was stuck on it.
The Chu Emperor was still alive. How would the new emperor—Ethan Chu—deal with his father? And would the Chu Emperor ever accept Ethan as the new king?!
All of this had to be settled!
“Cyrus...” Staring at the cold corpse on the ground, the Chu Emperor’s voice trembled. So this is what it feels like to watch your own flesh and blood leave you—God, what has he done?!
“Hurts now, huh?” Seeing the grief on the emperor’s face, Ethan Chu felt complicated. Back when he was being abused, did you ever show even a hint of sadness?
“Ethan, Ethan—Father was wrong, I was wrong!” The Chu Emperor suddenly burst out, sobbing. All these years, what had he actually done? What was he obsessed with?!
Hearing this, Ethan fell silent. Beside him, Lucian Vane tilted his head and asked Ivy, “Ivy‑dear, do you think he’ll kill his own dad?”
"No way!"
"Why not?"
"Because he shares his blood." Ivy answered without a hint of hesitation, totally sure.
"Just kill me. I know you hate me. All these years I ignored the court, but now that you’re king, Chu finally has hope." This time, the Chu Emperor openly acknowledged Ethan’s ability. He’d always known, really—he’d just let Marina Jade control him, caring only about his own pleasure.
"I’m just not ruthless enough. I’ll let you go—go live out your dreams, travel a little." Suddenly Ethan said something that shocked everyone.
At once, everyone dropped to their knees, shouting, "Long live the merciful emperor!" Honestly, nobody wanted to see the new king kill the old one—sure, the Chu Emperor had stopped ruling, but he’d still led Chu into its golden age.
"Ethan..." The Chu Emperor was stunned, at a loss for words. After all the cruelty he’d shown, Ethan was letting him live?
"Just don’t come back." That was Ethan’s only request—he didn’t want to relive the pain of the past. Seeing his father was like staring at his own suffering, and at his mother’s lifetime of misery.
"Your Majesty..." At that moment, National Preceptor Evan Ward called out timidly, eyes already brimming with tears. He glanced at Cyrus and Marina Jade’s corpses, shivering—like he’d be next.
"It’s all that monster’s fault for corrupting the emperor!" No one knew who shouted it first, but soon everyone was nodding and yelling, "Burn the Preceptor! Burn the Preceptor!"
"Ethan, don’t—!" The Chu Emperor trembled as he rushed to Ethan’s side, begging, "Ethan, Father begs you, please spare him! Please, please..." Suddenly, the emperor seemed to age ten years in an instant.
Seeing this, Ethan was filled with disgust. He still cared so much about that man? To beg for him, for the first time ever—was this guy really more important than anyone else?
"Burn the Preceptor! Burn the Preceptor!" At this moment, everyone dumped all the blame on Evan Ward. Ever since he arrived, the emperor had stopped caring about the court. He was a scourge—he had to go!
Ethan raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop shouting. Then he looked at his father, voice full of sorrow: "Take care of yourself." With that, he turned away, refusing to look back.
Father, this is the last thing I can do for you. Just count it as thanks for raising me all these years!
Seeing this, the Chu Emperor understood—Ethan was letting them go. Ignoring everyone’s shock, he grabbed Evan Ward and hurried out under the crowd’s gaze. Watching from above, Ethan felt complicated. Ivy was right: even if his father wasn’t much of a dad, without him, Ethan wouldn’t exist. Forget it—the old man’s life is his own now.
"Everyone listen up: nobody’s allowed to lay a finger on the former emperor. If anyone does, I swear I’ll tear them to pieces!" Right now, Ethan knew—whatever his father’s faults, he was still his dad. All he wanted was for him to live out his remaining years in peace.
The Chu Emperor hired a carriage and sped toward the outskirts with Evan Ward. Who cares about being emperor or having a harem? All he wanted was to be with the one he loved. For the rest of his days, he’d devote every breath to cherishing Evan.
But reality rarely goes as planned...
"Stop the carriage!" They’d barely left the city gates when Evan suddenly called out to the driver.
The longtime eunuch attendant quickly stopped the carriage at Evan’s command. The Chu Emperor looked at him, confused: "Evan, why are we stopping? We need to get out of here to be safe!" Even though Ethan had let him go, he still couldn’t relax.
"Your Majesty—oh wait, I should call you Old Man Chu." Evan’s tone was full of biting sarcasm.
"Evan..." For some reason, hearing that tone made the Chu Emperor uneasy.
Evan suddenly flashed a cold smile. "Old man, since you saved me today, I’ll let you live. Now you and your eunuch can get lost!" With no status pressure, he had no reason to fake it anymore.
"Evan, what are you saying?" The Chu Emperor was stunned. Was this really the same timid, anxious National Preceptor?
Seeing the confusion on the emperor’s face, Evan smirked and dropped all pretenses. "Old man, did you really think I was a cut-sleeve? Let me tell you, I’m not. I like women, not men—and definitely not an old guy who could be my grandpa!" Just thinking about all those years together made his skin crawl.
"You..." The emperor was floored. The man who’d called him "darling" day and night was now saying he was old enough to be his grandfather?
"Don’t look so surprised. I’ll be real with you: I only stuck around to use you. Now that you’re worthless, why should I keep putting up with it?" Evan’s true self was icy cold.
"How could you—? Don’t you know what I did for you? I sold out my own flesh and blood for you, I was willing to abdicate for your happiness—how can you say this now?" The emperor, always so proud, suddenly seemed ancient.
"Old man, don’t be so ungrateful. I’ve already treated you well—if you hadn’t saved me today, I would’ve killed you myself. Think about it: me, a handsome guy, falling for someone old enough to be my grandpa? Every time we slept together I was sick to my stomach. I’m normal, I have needs, but I like women. What could I do—you're the emperor, I had to go along with it!"
"Why?" Even if he didn’t love Evan anymore, why threaten to kill him? Was he really that unforgivable?
All those nights together—who was it panting and gasping in his arms?!
Who whispered in his ear that life would be meaningless without him? Was it all a lie? Why did it have to end like this? All he wanted was real love!
"Why? Because your son killed my wife!" Evan suddenly exploded with anger.
"Wife?" The Chu Emperor echoed, stunned. Then, eyes wide, he blurted out, "You mean Marina Jade?"
"That’s right. She was the love of my life—we grew up together. But..."
"But in the end, she chose power and married Cyrus, right?" The Chu Emperor’s voice was tinged with anger. So every time Marina ran to them after sex, it wasn’t coincidence—it was all planned.
"Yes. But it didn’t matter what she wanted—I’d help her get it!" Even if she threw away years of pure love for wealth and status, Evan still couldn’t forget her. So he’d swallowed his pride, caught the emperor’s eye, and helped her chase her dreams.
"Didn’t you realize your beloved woman had already fallen deeply for my son?" Suddenly, the Chu Emperor found it all a bit ironic.
"No, she didn’t love your son—she loved power, that’s all!" Evan shot back, rejecting the idea outright.
"Power? If that’s all she cared about, why did she kill herself—why did she follow Cyrus into the afterlife?"
"Enough!" Evan snapped, furious at the emperor’s relentless questioning. "Shut up! I’m telling you, no matter what, she was the woman I loved—this life, the next, and the one after that!" Just thinking of Marina Jade’s suicide made his heart ache. Did she really love that man so much? What was so special about him?!
Suddenly, the Chu Emperor let out a bitter laugh. "All these years on the throne, and this is the first time I’ve been played for a fool!" He realized how twisted his love had been—he’d nearly killed his own kind-hearted son for it.
"Well, since you know the truth, I won’t bother with goodbyes. You’d better take care of yourself—your body’s so worn out from overindulgence, I doubt you’ll last long." Evan gave a cold laugh and reached for the carriage curtain. But just as he touched it, the emperor’s voice drifted over: "You loved her so much you’d do anything—even pretend to be a cut-sleeve. So why, now that she’s dead, don’t you follow her?" He glared at Evan with hatred.
Evan turned back, smirking at the emperor. "I’d love to join her, but who’d take care of our son?"
"What? You—you have a son?" The Chu Emperor clutched his chest, struggling to breathe.
"Did you forget how, two years ago, Marina said she was going on a summer retreat? She was gone for a full year, making up excuses not to see Cyrus—and none of you noticed?" Evan’s mocking smile made it clear they’d all been played for fools.
"She... she wasn’t on retreat—she was having your child? You two had a secret baby?"
"He’s a child of love." Evan didn’t want to tell anyone, but when Marina begged him to help Cyrus, he took advantage of her, and soon she was pregnant. She wanted to abort, but he insisted on keeping the child—his price was making Cyrus emperor. To avoid suspicion, Marina pretended to go on retreat and gave birth in secret. She never loved the child, but Evan didn’t care—he loved him enough for both of them. That’s why he’d sold himself out. The past was too painful to revisit.
So Evan refused to say more. "I’ll teach my son everything I know. In eighteen years, I’ll have him settle the score with your grandson—revenge for his mother’s death!" With that, he left without a backward glance.
The timid eunuch was already shaking with fear. As Evan Ward walked away, the eunuch lifted the carriage curtain to check on the emperor, but...
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." A shrill cry rang out—the Chu Emperor had literally been angered to death!