Chapter 127: The Aged Monarch Fuming Till Coughing Blood

The atmosphere at the press conference was heavy and oppressive.

An immense weight hung over the Capital of Great Chu, pressing down upon all Chu People.

Chu Yanyu sat in the center of the stage, alone amidst the vast setting.

In the camera lens, her fair face bore deep sorrow. Though her eyes were red and swollen, an air of nobility remained unmistakable. Whatever Chu People held deep in their hearts about this Eldest Princess, the fact stood: in the wake of the Chu imperial family’s complete destruction, it was Chu Yanyu, one person alone, seated upon the stage. Projecting an overwhelming presence, even if a thousand angry curses filled her mind, they remained entirely stilled now.

Ling Yi, Luo Xue, Diwu Qianqian, Hu Xiaoxian, Hu Dali, and others waited in the wings.

The Seven Free Swords were also present there.

Song Ying and Song Yue had returned too.

The two women occasionally glanced towards Ling Yi’s group, their moods intensely complicated.

Within the Carefree Sect, Lu Qingming bore the Daoist title Song Qingzi. Though he chose an earthly path, that was his Dao! Internally, Lu Qingming was hailed as a top-tier talent, held in high esteem by the Sect Leader. Regardless of other considerations, he had been their junior brother, consistently respectful towards them. Now, he had been slain publicly. A Peak Dao-Entry cultivator, only to… perish both body and Dao, leaving behind naught but bones…

Honestly, a bitter taste filled their hearts too. Such was the Cultivation World!

Seemingly less intricate than the mundane world, devoid of so many twists and turns, yet incomparably brutal. When faced with the vast chasm of cultivation levels and the pitiless crushing force of superior strength, even the most towering rage must be swallowed. Refuse to swallow it? Then die.

When the Mount Taiyue Sect was wiped out completely, had anyone dared to step forward? The remaining Elders Xuan and Huang, weren’t they just sitting idly within the Great Chu Imperial Palace? Revenge? One needed the capability first!

Everything was ready. Chu Yanyu faced the camera. Words failed her at first as a sob choked her. That intense grief was etched upon her countenance, broadcasted into the eyes of everyone watching the live stream.

Reactions differed starkly. Those convinced Chu Yanyu had murdered her own father and brother felt deeply insulted by her apparent sorrow. Intense anger surged! They saw a venomous woman, a snake-hearted schemer putting on an act. Those refusing to believe the Eldest Princess capable of such deeds felt her pain as their own. Stripped of royal trappings, she was merely a young woman. Her entire family slaughtered, saving only her. Forced to bear crushing grief alone, yet to face the nation summoning a press conference… it demanded immense strength.

How her countrymen would perceive her? Chu Yanyu cared little now. She simply needed to carry out her task. The rest? Entrust it to fate. While she drew breath, the Chu imperial line would not end with her. Her heart had felt extinguished before, crushed beneath the shadow of Lu Qingming’s indomitable peak. Now that Ling Yi had shattered that peak, she naturally had to pull herself together.

“I am Chu Yanyu, Eldest Princess of Chu State, a member of the Cabinet.” Chu Yanyu’s voice was husky as she spoke calmly into the lens.

After this brief introduction, she signaled for the video to play. “Due to time constraints, the video will be played sped up. The full version will be released later via official accounts.” Chu Yanyu, eyes red, voice low and raspy, stated, “I did not murder my father. I did not murder my younger brother. I certainly would not murder the imperial clan members. I believe everyone possesses sound judgment. Even if one were immensely ambitious, eager to seize the throne, they would never commit such madness. What purpose could murdering my own entire family serve?”

She then instructed the video from the hotel to be shown at speed. She remarked softly, “The Qin State was never our enemy. On the contrary, it was we who forcibly occupied their vast territories, who took their Eastern Sea City by force! Ling Yi is not our enemy either. He has never committed atrocities within Chu State, never harmed a single one of your ordinary citizens. He is young, outstanding, and kind-hearted, never stirring up trouble without cause. That is why I count him as a friend. Just as many young people befriend foreign exchange students, so Ling Yi and I became friends.” Chu Yanyu’s expression was utterly candid as she added coolly, “This whole affair began when the National Traitor Lu Qingming hosted a banquet…”

The utterance of “National Traitor” sent immediate shockwaves throughout Chu State. Coming from Chu Yanyu, using the term for Lu Qingming was effectively an official declaration! All members within Lu Qingming’s faction understood upon hearing those words: their end was nigh! Rebel, or face inevitable death!

The generals who had retreated to Chu State’s borderlines, hearing Chu Yanyu’s designation for Lu Qingming, erupted with fury—a gathering of proud veterans turning instantly turbulent. Beneath the seemingly settled state of Chu, dangerous streams began swirling violently at this very moment.

“Many unexpected things occurred at that banquet. Perhaps many of you recall this: In summer this year, Lu Qingming privately entered Qin territory. He set an ambush at Black Mountain and killed Shen Xiaowu, president of the Qin State’s Zongwu Academy. Ling Yi, Shen Xiaowu’s adopted son, sought vengeance for his foster father—a son’s righteous retribution. Lu Qingming sought to eradicate every trace, to pull the roots. To achieve this, he detained Luo Xue, Ling Yi’s girlfriend studying at our Great Chu Academy, using her as leverage to force Ling Yi into coming to Chu…”

At this point, Chu Yanyu’s face warped with deep pain and frustration: “Our nation’s strength does not lie here! Not gained through brute might and arrogant privilege! Our strength comes from a powerful nation and from citizens of high caliber! Since when do we require assassinations and extortion to prove our might? Lu Qingming’s underlings apprehended a student from the Great Chu Academy, without cause, without warrant… This is an immense disgrace! Shame upon the Great Chu Academy! An indelible stain upon our entire Chu State! While we deeply love our homeland, this love must never manifest as oppression towards others!” Chu Yanyu’s strained, rasping voice reverberated within every corner of Great Chu. Within crowds rose angry shouts; scornful sneers; contemplative silences; and vacant confusion…

“Through this coercion, Lu Qingming forced Ling Yi to enter Chu. Then, at the banquet, he publicly insulted the Qin State Diplomatic Mission before many foreign envoys. He openly ordered their expulsion, shouting arrogantly at them: ‘Return and await war!’ Thus, a catastrophic war began. Each one of you must know: by this very noon, this war had commenced! And you saw the outcome, did you not? Did Qin retreat in the face of invasion? Countless of them perished. Countless of our own also fell! Does it not wrench the heart? Those soldiers were sons to their parents, fathers to their children! They did not die defending their homes against Demon Beasts… Instead, they perished within the vortex of one man’s limitless personal ambition!” Chu Yanyu’s eyes flashed with piercing fury. “And the source of it all? Lu Qingming! He murdered my father! He murdered my brother! He slaughtered every member of the Chu imperial family! The aged, nearing a century… Infants nestled in swaddling clothes… He spared none!”

“Is this kind of beast not a national traitor?”

As she spoke, Chu Yanyu spat out a mouthful of blood.

The audience below immediately panicked, and someone hurried onto the stage.

Chu Yanyu waved her hand, took a sip of water to rinse her mouth, and then pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from the corner of her lips.

She said calmly, “Sorry, no one wrote a script for me. I spoke from the heart. I was a bit emotional and my words were messy. Please forgive me.”

“Now, back to that banquet. Lu Qingming’s ugly face was fully exposed. After driving out the Qin State Diplomatic Mission, he began looking for a chance to kill Ling Yi…”

“If not for the powerful guardian by Ling Yi’s side, even with me, the princess of Chu State, present, he would have definitely died here in our Chu State!”

“A young Heaven’s Pride who could contribute greatly to fighting against the Demon Beast invasion nearly perished right here!”

Chu Yanyu faced the camera. “In this situation, as the Eldest Princess of Chu State, I felt deeply uneasy inside. So I went to Ling Yi to apologize. I wanted him to know that Lu Qingming’s actions do not represent all of Chu State. We Chu People are not like that!”

“I also told him that the State Preceptor’s tyranny… his deception and concealment, all of this was not my father’s intention either!”

“After the Qin State Diplomatic Mission left, Lu Qingming even forbade Ling Yi from staying at the hotel where the mission had been lodged… I could only use my personal status to book a room for Ling Yi at a hotel in the Royal Capital.”

“I know there are some bad rumors about me, but please look clearly. Here… adjust the video to the time of check-in.”

Chu Yanyu’s voice was cold as she spoke.

Someone adjusted the video to that point.

Chu Yanyu said, “Do you see? Me, Ling Yi, and Ling Yi’s girlfriend all entered that room together.”

“Not long after, another girl… whom some of you might know, also went to see Ling Yi. Her purpose was the same as mine! She sympathized with Ling Yi’s plight and went to tell him that Chu People are not like that!”

“Speaking of which, she and the national traitor Lu Qingming were actually senior and junior disciples! But their characters are completely different!”

“All night, our group chatted in that room and never left.”

“No one could have imagined that the traitor Lu would commit such a insane act…”

Here, Chu Yanyu’s face was full of grief as she faced the camera. “At this point, many might question, saying the one who took action wasn’t Ling Yi, but the people behind him. And I, Chu Yanyu, am also a mastermind behind the scenes, so naturally I wouldn’t need to be present… right?”

This hit home for many, because it was indeed true.

Despite all the explanations Chu Yanyu had given earlier, at best they could only prove Ling Yi was not the murderer and that Lu Qingming was indeed the mastermind behind the war against Great Qin.

And the latter… for most Chu People, was actually something they were happy to see.

Because it meant bullying others!

Because it meant not being bullied!

What does the life or death of you Qin People have to do with us Chu People?

Empathy is not something everyone has.

So when Chu Yanyu reached this point, many people’s attention became even more focused.

They knew the real main event was coming.

If she had no evidence, would the Eldest Princess dare to sit here boasting and talking big?

“You all think that the large expanse of Blue Light in the Imperial Palace is the same as the Blue Light that appeared during the Spring City Beast Tide, right?”

“During the Spring City Beast Tide, Ling Yi was there. When the Imperial Palace was attacked, Ling Yi was in Chu State… What a coincidence, so the murderer must be related to Ling Yi, right?”

“So when someone commits a crime in the Imperial Palace, they must use their signature Divine Ability and create a large expanse of Blue Light for you to see—It’s me, it’s me, it’s me! Right?”

“I tell you responsibly, that Blue Light was a method Lu Qingming used to frame others!”

“No more talk, watch the video.”

Without hesitation, Chu Yanyu had someone play the video from the Imperial Palace, showing a group of people swaggeringly unleashing various Blue Lights.

The date and time on it were clear!

And the video was surprisingly long!

So long that even on fast-forward, it seamlessly connected to the later footage of Ling Yi bringing Diwu Qianqian into the Imperial Palace, up to the moment the real Blue Light appeared and Lu Qingming was killed!

Although the later footage became unstable, Chu Yanyu also gave an explanation directly—

“That’s because when the real Blue Light appeared, the Imperial Palace’s surveillance equipment had difficulty capturing the battle between the two sides. Any high school textbook in our Chu State explains this. Those who question the video’s authenticity, don’t worry. Later, these videos, like the previous ones, will be made public.”

“Although it is a shame for the royalty, we must not slander someone’s innocence without basis!”

“Additionally, I have many videos of the royal family members being killed. Although most are unrecognizable, a very few clearly show the faces of the attackers. Countless pieces of evidence indicate they were Lu Qingming’s people.”

“Because the scenes are too bloody, I won’t play them here. But I will submit all this evidence to the Cabinet exactly as it is.”

“Right and wrong will eventually have a conclusion!”

Chu Yanyu’s voice grew increasingly hoarse, but each word struck like a heavy hammer on the hearts of Lu Qingming’s faction and their supporters.

It was reasonable and well-founded.

Impossible to refute!

Although some of Chu Yanyu’s statements slightly damaged the prestige of Great Chu… at a time like this, what prestige did Chu State have left?

The State Preceptor rebelled, slaughtered the entire royal family, leaving only an Eldest Princess to shoulder the blame and attract hatred.

For such a treacherous official, is calling him a national traitor wrong?

Deep in a forest over three hundred miles from the Capital of Great Chu, in a secret bunker three to four hundred meters underground.

In a quiet room.

An old man with somewhat slack facial muscles and age spots on his face watched the Eldest Princess on the screen in front of him, speaking passionately to the camera with a hoarse voice. His eyes revealed boundless fury.

Unable to contain his hatred, he roared at the sky—

“That little brat Ling Yi ruined my plans!”

Amid his roars, he spat out a mouthful of blood.