After the divorce, I was adorned in a phoenix robe, while my ex-husband's entire family dug up

His rebellion was nothing but a self-directed joke.

"Impossible... This is impossible..." the prince muttered to himself, his eyes unfocused, as if all his strength had been drained away.

Fang Min, on the other hand, had long since sided with the Regent for the sake of personal gain.

The Crown Prince has no cards left.

Pei Yi slowly rose, straightened the hem of his dark court robe, and walked step by step to the Crown Prince.

He looked down at him, his tone indifferent: "Considering you are His Majesty's son, I will spare your life."

The Crown Prince suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, his voice chilling and piercing: "Leave me a whole corpse? Pei Yi, you've always looked down on me, from childhood to adulthood! You think you've won? You've won the empire, you've won power, but you've forever lost Xue Xiang, and you'll never find true happiness!"

Pei Yi's eyes darkened, and he remained silent.

The prince's laughter gradually subsided. He suddenly drew a dagger from his waist and plunged it into his heart without hesitation.

Blood gushed out, and he collapsed to the ground. He took one last look at Pei Yi, his eyes filled with complex emotions—hatred, resentment, and a hint of relief.

The crown prince lay on the gold bricks, his blood spreading a dark red, his breath long since ceased. The hall was eerily quiet. The guards remained on high alert. Wei Zhaoning sheathed her sword, her expression calm. Pei Yi stood still, a smudge of blood on the hem of his black robe, his face expressionless.

"His Majesty has arrived."

The eunuch's announcement broke the deathly silence, and the emperor, supported by two palace maids, entered the hall. He had just been freed from house arrest; his dragon robe was wrinkled, and his face was pale, but he showed little panic, instead displaying a weariness and impatience born of betrayal by his own son. As the elder brother of Pei Yi and Pei Ran, he had reigned for many years, possessing a calm and detached nature, and had never had much affection for this legitimate son.

When the emperor's gaze swept over the prince's corpse on the ground, he paused, his brows furrowing slightly. There was no shock or sorrow in his eyes, only a faint, complex emotion.

"Dead?" he asked, his voice dry but unusually calm, as if asking something insignificant.

Pei Yi bowed and replied, "Yes, the Crown Prince committed suicide."

The emperor grunted in acknowledgment, then slowly stepped forward, looking down at the crown prince's corpse. The crown prince's eyes were wide open, his face still contorted with the madness of his past, the wound on his chest grotesque, and the blood had soaked through his magnificent crown prince robes, turning them black.

The emperor's gaze lingered on him for only a moment before shifting away, a barely perceptible sneer playing on his lips: "In the end, he's utterly useless, good for nothing but causing trouble."

Pei Ran stood aside, unsurprised by the Emperor's attitude. She had known since childhood that her elder brother had never liked his nephew, the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was mediocre in talent and sensitive and extreme in temperament, far inferior to her steady and decisive second brother, Pei Yi, and had never caught her brother's eye.

"Brother, the Crown Prince rebelled and kidnapped his own father. Such a heinous crime, killing himself is too lenient for him," Pei Ran said softly, her tone filled with dissatisfaction with the rebellion, but without a trace of sympathy for the Crown Prince.

The Emperor nodded, his tone calm: "He has never given me a moment's peace in his life. When he was young, his tutor said he was restless and couldn't concentrate on his studies; when he grew up and joined the army, he couldn't endure hardship and always felt that others had mistreated him. I said long ago that he was not fit to be the crown prince, but the Empress begged him on her deathbed, so I made him the heir."

He paused, his gaze falling once more on the Crown Prince's corpse, a faint trace of regret finally rising within him: "In the end, he was also my flesh and blood, the legitimate son of the royal family, and to end up like this is truly unsightly."

This was the emperor's only emotion towards the crown prince. There was no deep sorrow of fatherly love, only consideration for the face of the royal family, and a faint regret that "he is, after all, his own son."

Pei Yi said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will give him a grand funeral in accordance with the regulations for a crown prince, so as to preserve the dignity of the royal family."

"Yes, the necessary rules cannot be omitted." The emperor nodded, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger. "No matter how incompetent he is, he was once the crown prince. If word gets out, people will laugh at the royal family for its lack of discipline."

He turned to look outside the hall, his expression regaining its usual majesty: "The rebellion has been quelled. Those who followed him in the rebellion should be dealt with or appeased as appropriate. Don't let this matter escalate further and affect the court."

"Your subject understands," Pei Yi replied.

Wei Zhaoning stood to the side, taking in the emperor's expression. She had long heard that the emperor was always indifferent to his own son, the crown prince, and now, seeing it with her own eyes, she knew the rumors were true. Such a father-son relationship was as thin as a sheet of paper, easily torn apart.

The emperor seemed to remember something and spoke again: "I remember when he was five years old, he insisted on going hunting with me. He was so frightened by the rabbit that he cried and hid behind me, too scared to come out. At that time, I thought to myself, how can this child, who is so timid, shoulder the heavy responsibility of the country in the future?"

His tone carried a hint of reminiscence, but not a trace of warmth; it was more like stating an undeniable fact: "Later, as he grew up, his temperament became increasingly extreme. He wouldn't listen to advice and always felt that I favored my second brother and that Pei Yi was targeting him at every turn. In fact, I was just stating the facts; he was indeed not as capable or responsible as Pei Yi."

"If it weren't for the Empress..." The Emperor sighed, a sigh that contained both a promise to the Empress and helplessness towards the Crown Prince's incompetence. "Never mind, she's dead now, there's no use saying these things."

His gaze swept around the hall, finally settling on Pei Yi: "Second brother, this empire will require your continued care in the future. I am also exhausted after this incident."

"Your Majesty, I have done my duty. Please rest assured," Pei Yi said, bowing.

The emperor nodded, turned to leave, but paused, glanced back at the bloodstains left after the crown prince's body was carried away, and frowned: "Clean this place up quickly, it looks unlucky."

"Yes," the palace servant replied hastily.

Stepping out of the main hall, the emperor looked up at the sky. The setting sun cast its golden rays upon the glazed tiles of the palace. He suddenly spoke, his voice soft, as if talking to himself, yet also as if addressing Pei Ran beside him: "Actually, if he had simply lived a peaceful life as a prince, guarding his fiefdom, he could have lived a tranquil and prosperous life. It's a pity, though; his ambition was too great, and his abilities were insufficient."

This was the emperor's final assessment of the crown prince, and also his only regret.

It's a pity that the bloodline of this royal heir was ultimately wasted, and it's a pity that my indulgence back then ultimately raised a rebellious son.

Pei Ran said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince was also blinded by resentment, which led him to his death."

"Resentment?" The emperor scoffed. "What does he have to resent? I gave him the position of crown prince, I gave him fine clothes and sumptuous food, I gave him wealth and glory that others could only dream of. He himself is not ambitious enough, so who can he blame?"

His tone carried a hint of impatience, clearly indicating he didn't want to discuss the Crown Prince any further: "Let's put this matter behind us and never mention it again. He has utterly disgraced the royal family."

Back in his palace, the emperor sat on his dragon throne. Palace servants served him hot tea. He took a sip, and his expression gradually returned to its usual calm. It was as if the rebellious crown prince and his own son who had committed suicide were merely insignificant trifles that had never stirred any great ripples in his heart.

He recalled the Empress's dying wish that he take good care of the Crown Prince. A faint sense of regret resurfaced, and he sighed softly, "So be it. In the end, it is I who have failed you, for failing to look after our son. But he chose this path himself, and he has no one to blame but himself."

After saying that, he put down his teacup, closed his eyes, and waved his hand: "All of you, step down. I want to be alone."

The palace servants withdrew one after another, leaving only the emperor in the hall. He leaned back on the dragon throne, his expression calm, without grief or self-blame, only a fleeting trace of regret, like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating a ripple before quickly returning to stillness.