SA Chapter 95 (Part 2) – The Embroiderer, Complete

Post (2/2). If you haven’t read post 1/2, please click here (Chapter 95 part 1)! It was posted just moments before part 2. ^u^/

Potential trigger warnings: Blood

Unedited

---

     The Crown Prince’s behavior silently proved that the words of the Sheng family’s orphan were all true. It was the Crown Prince who wrongfully accused the loyal Elder Sheng Ge of treason and eliminated the Sheng family. It was also the Crown Prince who framed the East Faction and was now leading the Royal lineage by the nose to steal away the throne.

     Countless officials and soldiers gathered from all directions, and the members of the Crown Prince’s faction were also dumbfounded. No one dared to show support for the Crown Prince at this time. The Crown Prince was currently holding the Emperor in his hands. Since he was a child, the Crown Prince had been skilled in horse riding and shooting, however his martial arts was left wanting. But, as long as he held a dagger to the Emperor’s neck, no one dared force or rush him.

     “Scram! Tell Kong Chao to come!”

     The young and handsome prince drew one of the guard’s swords and blocked an advancing Elite Guard while shouting at him (to get Kong Chao).

     The entirety of the scene was extremely chaotic, and only Old Liu could find a logical progression in such a disorder and portray the scene in an orderly manner. Numerous Elite Guards surrounded the Crown Prince. Zhu Molang’s eyes were bloodshot as he held a dagger to the Emperor’s neck with his left hand, and a longsword in his right.

     The Elite Guards didn’t dare use their full abilities for fear of hurting the Emperor, so they forced Zhu Molang to flee from the main hall to the palace gates. With the gates closed tightly. Zhu Molang held the emperor in one hand while demanding loudly: “Open the door!”

     Countless archers were stationed around the palace gate walls, all their bows and arrows aimed at the prince. However, they dared not shoot.

     Zhu Molang raised his head again and yelled towards the group of guarding archers: “Open the door!!!” Traces of exhaustion made his otherwise beautiful face a bit more hideous, like a beast trapped in a desperate situation, facing the enemy with frantic roars.

     In this moment, Zhu Molang didn’t notice that a solemn individual had already arrived at the palace gates. Standing on the other side of the palace walls, he picked up his longbow, squinted, and aimed at the pale Emperor and the almost mad Crown Prince.

     Then, he drew back the bow and aimed!

     “SHINNNNGGG—”

     A thin, feathered arrow directly pierced through Zhu Molang’s left hand and brushed off the Emperor’s neck, leaving only a slight streak of blood!

     This was Kong Chao, one who has mastered the art of archery and was regarded by the hundreds of obedient Elite Guards as their leading Brother.

     The scenes that followed were then all Kong Chao and Zhu Molang’s.

     Although his left hand was pierced through, his short sword fallen to the floor, and his fingers were in extreme pain, the Crown Prince still gritted his teeth leapt forward, grabbing the Emperor with his right hand.

     Suddenly, the tall palace gates opened up behind him, and Zhu Molang’s eyes flashed with a glimmer of hope. However, when he turned to look, he only saw Kong Chao slowly walking towards with his embroidered spring sword.

     The hope in his eyes gradually dimmed.

     The sword was swung and blood poured out. Kong Chao drew his sword and slashed, and the jade headpiece on Zhu Molang’s head was split into pieces. His long black hair waterfalling behind him made his pale, handsome face even more transparent. However, (Zhu Molang) still gritted his teeth, and tried to pull the Emperor with him to block Kong Chao’s movements. But, in the end, Kong Chao struck him with the sword as (Zhu Molang) raised his (own) sword to resist. He shouted desperately: “Kong Chao, how have I treated you? You betrayed me today, do you dare speak to the Heavens with a clear conscience!”

     The knife struck three inches from the Crown Prince’s sword before suddenly stopping.

     A streak of blood appeared on Kong Chao’s handsome face. He lowered his head and looked deeply at the awkward Crown Prince in front of him.

     After a long time, the Commander of the Elite Guards said in a low voice: “The Crown Prince had treated me very well. Drinking under the moonlight. This official has admired the Crown Prince’s personality and longed for the glorious days that the Crown Prince has spoken of. But, this prince…… you should never, ever, have killed the One hundred and thirty-six people across generations of the Sheng Family, killed my eleven innocent Brothers!”

     Blood oozed out of Zhu Molang’s mouth. He smiled coldly, discarding the original gentleness and kindness while saying: “If I didn’t kill them, then I would die!”

     There was a trace of sorrow in Kong Chao’s eyes. He shook his head slightly: “In the end, Elder Sheng Ge had decided not to expose this matter. Only one of my eleven brothers knew about it. If you didn’t kill him, he wouldn’t have wanted to tell anyone. When he died in my arms that day, you know, he told me the day before that he was going to resign and return to his hometown to lead a simple life with his fiancee, Qingmei!”

     At the end, Kong Chao’s eyes burst into flames of anger: “Zhu Molang! No one wants your life, it’s you who wants your own life!”

     A trace of surprise flashed morbidly across Zhu Molang’s face. But, in the next moment, Kong Chao yelled in anger and suddenly slashed forward, directly breaking through Zhu Molang’s sword and slashing directly across his shoulder!

     A gush of blood sprayed out, Zhu Molang spat out a stream of hot blood, spraying all over Kong Chao’s face.

     He half-knelt onto the ground, lifted his head, and looked at the young Elite Guard Commander.

     Suddenly! He grabbed his broken sword and rushed as the Emperor not far away! But, in the blink of an eye, a sword pierced through his heart from behind and caused his movements to come to an abrupt stop.

     The sword was thin and light, the handle was straight, with a slightly curved blade.

     Warm blood ran off the cold blade and landed on the ground, (leaving no stains on the sword’s body) as if it couldn’t be contaminated with any trace of filth.

     Every member of the Elite guards nearby stopped moving. Duke Guangping, who was surrounded by his guards, was also staring wide-eyed at this scene, unable to say a word. All the civil and military officials who gathered around watched in astonishment as the Crown Prince was stabbed through by the Embroidered Spring Sword. 

     The broken sword in (Zhu Molang’s) hand clinked as it fell to the ground.

     Not a single peep could be heard from the audience, and only the sound was that of the rustling wind.

     After a long period, they watched the Crown Prince smile softly and say almost reluctantly: “Kong Chao, you have treated me like such. Your conscience…… is there not a single trace of unease?”

     Suddenly, the Embroidered Spring Sword was withdrawn through the back of his heart, and Zhu Molang abruptly collapsed to the floor. He laid there as blood flowed continuously from the large hole in his chest, quickly staining the bluestone tiles red. His long, soft, and jet-black hair was tainted with mud and dirt, his handsome and elegant face was covered with dark blood, and mouthfuls of blood continuously sprayed out of his chest and mouth.

     In the next moment, the Emperor suddenly screamed in grief: “Lang’er!” before running up and embracing the Prince’s almost-cold body into his arms.

     Zhu Molang raised his gaze with difficulty to look at the person he had called “Imperial Father” for 18 years.

     The Emperor who had been seriously ill for a long time and was already swaying like a candle in the wind was, at this moment, holding onto his Crown Prince tightly with tears constantly streaming down. There were still a few bloodstains from when the Prince had scratched his neck. The imperial doctors who wanted to step forward were all waved away by him, as he commanded them: “Save the Prince! Quick, save the Crown Prince!”

     The eunuchs all knelt down one by one, and no one dared step forward to save the prince.

     It’s not that they didn’t dare save him, but rather that they couldn’t.

     Just moments before, the prince had madly tried to kill the Emperor. Kong Chao’s sword had directly pierced through his heart, and like every Elite Guard skilled in martial arts, his attack was quick, accurate, and lethal. They would not pierce the neck if they want to pierce the heart, and would not pierce the head if they want to pierce the neck.

     In the end, the Emperor could only hold the Crown Prince and shout “Lang’er” over and over again. The Crown Prince smiled and looked at his elderly father. He wanted to speak, but he couldn’t because his throat was filled with blood. Whenever he wanted to speak, he could only cough up blood.

     The emperor held his son tightly and cried bitterly: “If you said something earlier, how could I have killed you? How could I ever have killed you!”

     When he heard those words, the Crown Prince’s pupils suddenly dilated as he stared at the Emperor who was holding him in distress.

     Zhu Molang stretched out his hand very slowly, seemingly wanting to wipe the tears from his Father’s face. However, his hand was only halfway out before it suddenly dropped and hit the ground heavily.

     A bleak wind slowly blew by, swaying the Crown Prince’s long hair which was drenched in a pool of blood. (The wind) tried to pull the hair up with it, but the weight of the blood made the strands of hair unable to be lifted. The entire palace hall was silent, and the emperor had also stopped crying. Everyone looked at the deceased Crown Prince, as if no one could have ever expected this sort of ending.

     As he died, the previously majestic Crown Prince gently curled the corners of his lips, revealing a serene smile. A single tear streamed down from the edge of his eyes and hit the ground silently before finally dissipating into the dust.

     “Lang’er!!!”

     The grief in his voice was so prominent that everyone around him was solemnly silent.

{Please read the original translations on SurrealSkyTranslations instead of supporting TL aggregator sites. Thanks!}

---

Previous | Index | Next