Chapter 680: Chapter 266: Revenge, the Death of the Empress Dowager (First Update)

"Wu Xufan, I’m giving you one more chance, for your father’s sake, release me, and I will let bygones be bygones!" Wen Jingtang attempted to entice, never giving up until the very last moment.

"I have already made myself clear just now." Wu Xufan remained unmoved, "Empress Dowager, save your breath."

"Aren’t you afraid that your father might kill you?!" Wen Jingtang snapped in anger.

"Even if he kills me, it is my duty to accept it."

"You!" Wen Jingtang was so infuriated by Wu Xufan that she was at a loss for words.

Her eyes fiercely glaring at Xiao Jinxing.

Clearly, she knew that all of this had been premeditated.

"When did you start plotting against me?" Wen Jingtang asked Xiao Jinxing.

Without prior strategizing, it wouldn’t have come to this.

"It has been a long time, exactly how long, I cannot remember," Xiao Jinxing said indifferently.

For him, everything he faced now was within his expectations.

Thus, he was unperturbed by emotional upheaval.

"When did you know that your mother was framed by me?!" Wen Jingtang exclaimed excitedly.

If not knowing.

Why else would he plot against her?!

"Just now," Xiao Jinxing straightforwardly replied.

Wen Jingtang looked at Xiao Jinxing in disbelief, "Impossible, if it was just now, you wouldn’t have bribed Wu Xufan in advance!"

"To be precise, I have suspected for a long time, but I was only certain it was you who did it when you admitted just now," Xiao Jinxing looked at Wen Jingtang, "I had been investigating who drugged my mother all these years. I investigated the Empress, the Imperial Concubine, and everyone who had a motive and was capable of doing this, all to no avail. Since it wasn’t any of them... the only one left in the Imperial Palace was you! But I dared not investigate you directly, as once you discovered, it would give me away. With my capabilities, I am simply no match against you; I could only have ended up like my mother. So I could only rely on the process of elimination to determine that the chief culprit was you!"

Wen Jingtang listened to Xiao Jinxing’s analysis, shivering with suppressed anger.

If she had not admitted just now... Xiao Jinxing would not have been sure it was her who harmed his mother, they wouldn’t have reached this point, and Xiao Jinxing wouldn’t have harbored the intention to kill her.

"Last night, I did not kill father, in order to lure you out," Xiao Jinxing said, "I knew well that your patience with father had reached its limits. This perfect opportunity would certainly bring you to kill him, hence I let Ye Qichi save him, leading you to walk right into the trap. The moment you entered this bedroom, you were destined to fail! Inside and out, everyone here is my person, you’ve no escape!"

"Ha, haha, hahaha..." Suddenly, Wen Jingtang burst into insane laughter.

She laughed until tears streamed down.

After all her years of enduring, she had actually fallen into her own trap.

"Just now with Wu Xufan was also a play acted in front of you," Xiao Jinxing said coldly, without care for Wen Jingtang’s frenzy, "If you did not admit to killing my mother, even if just using me to take your revenge, I would not have acted this way towards you. I would have willingly become your pawn to avenge your grudges. But in the end, you admitted it was you who framed my mother, and now, I will have no further concern for you."

"So you’re going to kill me?" Wen Jingtang, after her laughter, fiercely asked Xiao Jinxing.

"Naturally," Xiao Jinxing replied coldly.

The coldness at this moment seemed to truly emanate from the very marrow of his bones.

That kind, so subtle yet soul-shiveringly terrifying.

"Before killing me, kill Xiao Zhanping first," Wen Jingtang demanded.

Xiao Jinxing raised an eyebrow.

He did not agree.

"The person who granted the death order on your mother was Xiao Zhanping! If he had any hint of past affection, he wouldn’t have taken your mother’s life. If you want to avenge your mother, he’s the one who truly deserves to die!" Wen Jingtang gritted her teeth.

She was indeed provoking Xiao Jinxing to kill Xiao Zhanping.

Xiao Zhanping, who had just relaxed, felt a chill run down his spine once Wen Jingtang spoke these words.

Xiao Jinxing glanced at Xiao Zhanping.

He said, "Before killing him, I’ll kill you first."

Wen Jingtang’s expression drastically changed, "Xiao Jinxing!"

"Whether I kill him or not depends on my mood," Xiao Jinxing added.

"He won’t let you off! The likes of Xiao Zhanping, once they see a chance to turn the tables, will eliminate all who threaten them! Don’t believe any promises from someone like him!"

"That’s my business, not yours."

"Xiao Jinxing!"

"Wanting to avenge your son..." Xiao Jinxing smirked coldly, "I will not let you have your wish!"

"You..." Wen Jingtang was so angered, she felt a tightness in her chest.

As if a mouthful of blood was about to spurt out.

For Wen Jingtang, whether she lived or died was not so important.

Having lost her son, if not for the hatred sustaining her, she would have long lost the will to live.

And in her final moments, she couldn’t even avenge her son...

Ye Qichi just watched the deep-seated hatred between Xiao Jinxing and Wen Jingtang.

In the text, it is clearly stated that Wen Jingtang is the murderer of Xiao Jinxing’s mother.

And Ye Qichi never spoke up because the book also made it clear that Xiao Jinxing had long suspected it.

Besides, she had no evidence.

If she revealed it, Xiao Jinxing wouldn’t believe it,

Instead, he would conclude that she knew too much.

Knowing too much in the court and political realm is not necessarily a good thing.

"If it weren’t for your deep-seated hatred towards the emperor, perhaps I would have really killed the emperor and seized the throne," Xiao Jinxing said calmly, truly infuriating Wen Jingtang to the extreme, yet he remained indifferent, "But seeing how much you want the emperor dead, I rather he did not die."

"If he doesn’t die, you must die!" Wen Jingtang shrieked.

"I don’t care, as long as I can make sure you die a horrible death and avenge my mother, I don’t mind my own life or death."

Murder that pierces the heart.

One really must admit Xiao Jinxing’s effectiveness!

At that moment, driven by Xiao Jinxing’s words, Wen Jingtang really vomited a mouthful of fresh blood.

Anger-induced cardiac event, it was just so.

Unendurably painful!

"Wu Xufan, do it," Xiao Jinxing commanded.

For him, Wen Jingtang was nothing but an enemy.

An enemy must, of course, be eradicated completely.

"Xiao Jinxing, consider it me begging you, I beg you to kill Xiao Zhanping, I beseech you..." Wen Jingtang, with a mouth full of blood, had no fiery spirit left.

At that moment, she suddenly appeared as a pitifully ordinary old woman.

The great hall was filled with Wen Jingtang’s agonizing and desperate pleas.

Even then.

Xiao Jinxing just looked on coldly.

Without a shred of compassion.

What remained was the long-hidden deep hatred for the murder of his mother.

With just one look.

Wu Xufan’s fingers moved slightly, instantly piercing through Wen Jingtang’s throat.

A sword sealed the throat.

Wen Jingtang died with her eyes wide open, staring at Xiao Jinxing.

Intense hatred lingered in her eyes, unshakable.

Just like when her own mother died.

That unwillingness.

That deep hatred.

And that absolute despair!