Chapter 390 He Wouldn’t Allow Her to Marry Another Man!

Chapter 390: Not Allowing Her to Marry Another Man!

Xiao Zhengxian had a bizarre yet incredibly vivid dream.

In the dream, he was still the Emperor of Daye, but before he'd even warmed the dragon throne two years, his body had completely collapsed.

No medicine could save him; his life was burning out.

He lay on the sickbed, barely able to breathe.

Empress Gu Wanying held him in her arms, her face covered with tears, each drop scalding hot against his cold skin.

He wanted to raise his hand to wipe them away, but he lacked even the strength to move a fingertip. He could only muster a smile more pitiful than tears, his voice barely a whisper: "Wanying, if there's a next life... I'd rather give up being Emperor of Daye, just so I can grow old with you—that's enough."

"Your Majesty..." Gu Wanying sobbed her heart out, "We made a pact: in the next life we'll definitely grow old together!"

With a smile, he took his last breath in her arms.

…

But he didn't go to the afterlife.

His spirit hovered in midair, coldly watching the world down below.

Only then did he realize his death wasn't due to his weak body or the heavy burden of state affairs.

Someone had orchestrated it all.

He saw it with his own eyes: his third brother, Xiao Xiuzhan, whom he had always trusted, smirking coldly at a strange palace attendant in the imperial kitchen: "Good job. That sickly bastard has sat on this throne way too long; it's time he croaked."

It turned out that day after day, a colorless, odorless chronic poison had been slipped into his food every day.

He'd been marched to his death one step at a time by his own younger brother.

After his death, chaos erupted in the palace.

The kicker? The one who finally grabbed the throne wasn't the scheming Xiao Xiuzhan—it was his fourth brother, Prince Jing Xiao Lingchuan, the one the imperial family had always scorned and cast out.

On the blood-soaked floor of the throne hall, Xiao Xiuzhan, like a demon possessed, pointed at Xiao Lingchuan and screamed: "I offed that sickly loser early, never thinking I'd be making a way for you—you bastard! You've got Nanyue blood in you—what right do you have to sit on Daye's throne?!"

Xiao Lingchuan wore a black dragon robe, his face cold as ice, his voice flat and dead.

"You murdered your own brother, Xiao Xiuzhan. A beast like you—how could you ever deserve to be Daye's emperor?"

In the end, Xiao Lingchuan had Xiao Xiuzhan put to death for the crime of killing his elder brother and emperor.

It was, in a sense, avenging his wronged imperial brother.

For years his spirit drifted, and he watched Gu Wanying go back to her family.

She never married again.

She hung his portrait in her room, caressed it constantly, wept every night, called his name again and again. Alone and slowly, she grew old.

…

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, wake up!"

Urgent shouts yanked Xiao Zhengxian out of the nightmare's abyss.

He snapped his eyes open, gasping, his chest crushed like a boulder was on top of it.

The first thing he saw was Gu Wanying's tear-stained face, panicked and full of guilt.

That face perfectly matched the one from his dream right before he died.

For a second, it felt like a whole lifetime had passed.

"Your Majesty, the doctor said you got so angry you coughed up blood. It's my fault—I shouldn't have said those things to rile you up..." Gu Wanying clutched his cold hand, her hot tears splashing onto his skin as she sobbed without control.

Xiao Zhengxian stared at her in a daze. The vision of her white-haired and alone in his dream flickered with her trembling, crying face in front of him.

His heart seemed squeezed by an invisible hand, aching and throbbing for no clear reason.

He flipped his hand and gripped hers with all he had.

"Wanying..." His voice was hoarse and dry, as if scraped by sandpaper. "Summon the Chief of the Imperial Secretariat and the Chief of the Central Secretariat... all of them."

"I want them to draft the abdication decree." He looked into her eyes, speaking each word with unusual clarity. "I'm stepping down and handing the throne to the Prince Regent."

Gu Wanying was floored. She thought grief was making her hear things.

Her eyes widened in shock, her lips quivering: "Your Majesty, why... why all of a sudden...?"

"I've figured it out." Xiao Zhengxian smiled weakly, but there was an unprecedented sense of relief in that smile.

"To me, the empire has always been a heavy chain." He gazed at her, speaking each word with deliberation. "I don't have the skill to stabilize the realm and keep the peace. Stubbornly sitting on this dragon throne is just stealing a title I don't deserve. It'll hurt the country, and more importantly, hurt you."

"Since that is the case, it is better to let go... and use the rest of this life to build a cage of love for you alone."

His gaze was as gentle as a spring pond, reflecting her astonished face.

"I'm giving the throne to our fourth brother. I believe he'll be good to us as a couple."

Hearing this, Gu Wanying's tears burst forth again.

But this time, it was no longer fear or sorrow—it was a tremendous, almost overwhelming joy.

She could not say a word. She simply rushed forward and tightly embraced Xiao Zhengxian.

At that moment, Gu Wanying felt as though the long-dark, oppressive sky in her heart had finally been torn open by a golden light, suddenly brightening.

—

Upon learning that Xiao Zhengxian was preparing to abdicate, Chancellor Jiang hastily went to the Prince Jing's residence to tell Xiao Lingchuan the good news.

Hearing this, Xiao Lingchuan's dark eyes showed no trace of joy; instead, they were covered in a layer of frosty scrutiny.

"Is His Majesty truly going to abdicate the throne to me?"

"Absolutely true! The Chief of the Imperial Secretariat and the Chief of the Central Secretariat are drafting the abdication decree. I have seen it with my own eyes—black and white, clearly stating abdication in your favor! Your Highness, your merits are immense; this empire of Daye was always meant to be yours! Soon, you will be the new sovereign of Daye!"

Xiao Lingchuan's lips curled into an extremely faint, cold arc: "But His Majesty was clearly extremely wary of me before, wishing for nothing more than to get rid of me. Now, suddenly wanting to emulate the sage kings Yao and Shun in abdication—isn't that laughable?"

"Could it be that he has set another trap for me?"

He had already been determined to take this throne.

But not in such a bizarre manner, "bestowed" upon him by his good imperial brother.

"Let me head to the Yangxin Hall myself and see what tricks he's playing."

Chancellor Jiang quickly added, "Very well—I'll accompany you!"

The Yangxin Hall was thick with a heavy, oppressive scent of medicine that made it hard to breathe.

When Xiao Lingchuan and Chancellor Jiang stepped inside, this was the scene that greeted them.

Xiao Zhengxian was half-reclining on the dragon bed, while Empress Gu Wanying sat at its edge, holding a bowl of herbal soup. She carefully blew on the spoonful to cool it before bringing it to his lips.

The imperial couple's gazes met in the air, lost in their own world, inseparable, as if glued together.

Xiao Lingchuan's steps halted.

A strange, bitter ache struck his heart like a heavy blow.

This was the very scene he had once yearned for.

An emperor and empress deeply in love, standing by each other's side.

But in his past life, when he had walked a bloody path to ascend to that supreme throne, Jiang Shuning was already gone.

So this is what it meant to have an empress by his side.

He quickly suppressed the turmoil surging within him and regained his usual cold, hard expression.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress."

Gu Wanying turned at the sound of his voice, and her expression showed no surprise.

She set down the medicine bowl, rose gracefully, and curtsied: "It seems the Prince of Jing has much to discuss with Your Majesty. I shall take my leave."

She performed a curtsey and slipped out silently, the chamber doors closing gently behind her, sealing off the inside from the outside.

The atmosphere inside the hall instantly turned cold.

Xiao Lingchuan had no patience for empty formalities and cut straight to the point: "Your Majesty, I hear you intend to abdicate the throne to me. I wish to know—why?"

Xiao Zhengxian looked at him and spoke frankly: "Fourth Brother... in the past, I overestimated myself, foolishly clinging to this throne that was never truly mine."

He paused for a breath, his eyes remarkably sincere: "After much thought, this land of Daye is best suited for you to rule. I plan to abdicate the throne to you."

"I have no other request—only that you spare our lives—Wanying's and mine."

Xiao Lingchuan was unmoved, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, locking onto the man in the bed: "I request Your Majesty to tell me why you suddenly wish to abdicate. Otherwise, this throne is one I dare not accept."

Xiao Zhengxian's eyes flickered, and finally, he let out a long, drawn-out sigh, as if it drained all his strength.

"It's because... I had a dream."

"A dream?" Xiao Lingchuan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Xiao Zhengxian's gaze grew distant and fearful, as if he had fallen into a terrible memory. "In that dream, within two years of my ascension, I fell ill and died. As I lay on this very bed at the end, my heart was consumed not by thoughts of the realm or imperial power..."

"But by regret—that I could not grow old with Wanying. I could even feel her holding my cold corpse, weeping as if her heart would break..."

"When I woke, I was drenched in cold sweat! I told myself I could not let that nightmare come true! I don't want to be emperor anymore. I just want to be an ordinary man, to live with my wife and grow old together!"

"Fourth Brother, I entrust the realm of Daye to you!"

Xiao Lingchuan looked down at him, his heart filled with sudden clarity.

So that was the reason.

Xiao Zhengxian had dreamed of his past life.

The past life where he had been poisoned by Xiao Xiuzhan and died young.

No wonder he was willing to hand over the throne.

The last shred of doubt in Xiao Lingchuan's heart evaporated.

He spoke slowly, his voice steady and clear, each word striking Xiao Zhengxian's heart.

"Very well. I accept!"

The moment Xiao Lingchuan stepped out of the palace gates, he saw Ling Feng rushing toward him, his expression panicked, voice trembling: "Your Highness, terrible news! Scouts from Beiling report that the Prince of Ning plans to marry a consort in Beiling! The entire Beiling palace is bustling with wedding preparations!"

Xiao Lingchuan's face changed instantly, his peach blossom eyes flashed red, as if a storm of fury and pain churned within.

He clenched his jaw, his voice low and icy: "When is the wedding?"

"Three days from now!" Ling Feng bowed his head, sweat beading on his brow.

"Saddle the horses!" Xiao Lingchuan flicked his sleeve, his gesture as sharp as a blade. "I will set out immediately for Beiling and stop this wedding at all costs."

Chancellor Jiang, standing nearby, quickly stepped forward to dissuade him: "Your Highness, in three days, the abdication edict will be formally announced, and you will ascend as the new emperor of Daye. The burden of the realm rests on your shoulders—you must not act rashly!"

"The ascension can wait," Xiao Lingchuan cut him off coldly, a gaze burning with obsessive resolve. "But I will never allow Shuning to marry another man!"

Her phoenix coronet and bridal gown are meant for him alone!