Chapter 610: What Is a Human Life Worth?
The Beili Emperor considered burial in the imperial mausoleum the highest of honors. He believed that once the people learned of it, they would praise him as a good monarch, sing his praises, and public support would soar.
What a perfect little scheme he had cooked up.
’However, the issue of her burial set off alarm bells for Ye Qianning. If she really can’t regain consciousness and gets buried, it’s all over.’
’Even if she wouldn’t have to face the fear of being buried alive, living forever in a space devoid of human life would be its own kind of torture.’
’A lifetime is a very long time...!’
All eyes were on Sang Zhi as he approached, step by step.
"Your Highness." Mr. Li stepped forward and bowed, his expression complicated. "Eighth Prince, the Emperor has ordered me to escort you back to the palace."
"Dean Chen, and all of you, must be quite curious," Sang Zhi began, standing before the door. He paused, raising his fingers to his eyes. "Why did East Shu trick me into going to Four-direction Mountain? Why did the Emperor dispatch troops there? And why did the Emperor leave the palace himself?"
Dean Chen stared at him.
Qian Fanji, Gu Shuo, and the others also stared at him.
Zhan Yi and Qian Fu were also filled with suspicion and confusion regarding the matter.
"Eighth Prince."
Mr. Li’s voice was urgent, as if warning him not to say another word.
"These eyes, considered ominous since I was a child... suddenly, someone claims they hold a sealed map to the immortal mountain of Penglai. As the emperor of a nation, how could he not take such news seriously?" Sang Zhi finished slowly, then let out a self-mocking laugh.
At these words, everyone in the courtyard was utterly stunned.
The legendary immortal mountain of Penglai was hidden in a child’s eyes?
"Eighth Prince, can this be true?" Dean Chen asked in shock.
"It’s true if he believes it is."
A storm raged in Dean Chen’s heart. If this was true, then even if several great families submitted a joint petition, even if every official in the imperial court did the same, they would not be able to change the Emperor’s mind.
He knew all too well the depths of the Beili Emperor’s ambition and greed.
Zhan Yi and Qian Fu exchanged a look, each guessing the other’s thoughts. If this was truly about the immortal mountain of Penglai, the Emperor would never let it go.
If word of this got out, it would unleash a storm of blood and gore across the martial world, and even among the four nations. The Eighth Prince would be in grave danger.
Zhan Chi was shocked, but what did any of this have to do with him? His daughter would not die for nothing. Everyone who harmed her would pay the price.
Even if that person was the Emperor himself.
Gu Shuo had once searched for the immortal mountain of Penglai and pursued its ancient secrets for many years, yet hearing of it now stirred little within him.
The Beili Emperor and East Shu had killed his daughter for the sake of Penglai. As he stared at Sang Zhi, he felt a fire blazing in his chest—a desire to destroy this so-called immortal mountain.
The more the Emperor desired it, the more he wanted to obliterate it.
Beneath Qian Fanji’s calm exterior, a tempest brewed. ’So this was it.’ Years ago, the Qian family had been framed for treason, and the Emperor had immediately ordered the Qian Residence to be seized. The matter of Consort Yuan’s treachery had been dropped without resolution... the reason was finally clear.
In the face of such greed, desire, and ambition, what was a human life worth?
Never mind Ye Qianning’s life; the lives of everyone in the Qian, Zhan, Xiang, and Gu families combined weren’t worth a thousandth of the immortal mountain of Penglai.
In his heart, he already knew how this would end.
The concubines were so shocked they forgot to cry, staring blankly at the Eighth Prince’s eyes.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Madam Zhan suddenly burst into laughter.
"My lady?"
The maidservant’s heart skipped a beat.
The piercing laughter jolted everyone back to reality.
Madam Zhan’s smile vanished, her voice dripping with mockery and venom. "All for some immortal mountain of Penglai that might not even be real, the Emperor would shield a murderer? Where is the justice in that? Where is the justice!"