"The soldiers are here!"

"We have to go."

The bandit's leader looked at Feng Zhu Liu, who was still stabbing her twin brother with great hatred. Blood pooled on the ground while Feng Hao Shui no longer moved. His dilated pupils were staring forward.

Under the effect of the drugs, he probably didn't even realize what had actually happened to him.

"Feng Zhu Liu!"

The bandit's leader pulled her up and dragged her away. Even though Feng Zhu Liu still wanted to continue, she didn't have the chance to do so. Her tearful face made her looked pitiful, yet her eyes were blazing with hatred and indignation.

In her opinion, it was all her twin brother's fault.

Without him, her life would have been far better.

Clang!

"You're fast." The bandit's leader looked at the soldiers' reinforcement as his heart fell. His men were already being killed by the group of soldiers in front of him. He thought that they would never heard the news until it was very late.

But it seemed that things didn't go in accordance to what he wanted.

"It's your end." The man snorted coldly.

That day, the bandits were all exterminated. Princess Feng Zhu Liu, who was no longer recognizable due to the massive change in her appearance, was also killed alongside them.

Blood flowed like river on the street.

Among the Imperial Family members, there were only the Emperor and Princess Lin Xie Ni, who were lucky because they were the next target.

Both were already pretty old.

And with the Emperor already on the death bed, he was feeling even more remorse when he heard what happened from the prime minister. Aside from Prime Minister Feng, there was also Prime Minister Yan, who was responsible for other matters.

Now, he was the only high ranking official who was left.

"Your Highness, please pick your future successor." Prime Minister Yan looked at the dying Emperor and sighed internally. It was not like he didn't want to have the Emperor thrive for longer, but this disaster had already eliminated their future crown prince.

Prince Feng Hou Xiang was dead after being stabbed for so many times.

"Who... alive?" The Emperor asked in hoarse tone. He looked into the ceiling and felt that the blow this time was really heavy for him.

Prime Minister Yan was silent for a moment before replying, "Her Highness Princess Lin Xie Ni and her husband, Minister Qiu, are still alive. At the same time, Her Highness Princess Xing and her husband, Prince Lin Zi Xuan, are both still alive because they're in Yuan Temple, which was a considerable distance from here."

Princess Lin Xie Ni is Princess Lin Xie Ya's sister. She didn't have any children and the Imperial Doctor had already checked her pulse. Based on the Imperial Doctor last examination, it was said that there was no chance for Princess Lin Xie Ni to have any children anymore.

She was already in her forties. For her to try having another child would be quite risky and her husband didn't want to take the risk either.

Thus, they ended up childless.

On the other hand, Princess Feng Ning had only gotten married not long ago. She's only 15 years old and in her prime. Probably, in the future, she would have her own children with her husband.

The Emperor closed his eyes as tears dropped from the corner of his eyes.

"Do... I... ha...have any.... choice?"

He always hoped that Lin Han Xing and his descendant wouldn't be able to ascend the throne. It was also the reason why he prevented Prince Lin Hu Xi's marriage with Princess Lin Mei Ni even though they had been begging for that.

He wanted for his daughter to be married to a minister who was capable enough to replace him.

But it was all now only pipe dream.

Only Princess Xing and Prince Lin Zi Xuan were left. It was impossible to ask for the two of them to divorce either because the Emperor knew that the two wouldn't agree to it. Even though Princess Xing was the only surviving Imperial Family member in the younger generation who could ascend the throne, she's a mute.

It meant that the power would definitely fall for her husband.

What could he even do?

Prime Minster Yan was silent when he saw the Emperor breaking down. He sighed and shook his head, feeling that fate really worked in unexpected way. The very princess whom everyone thought to be worthless and the prince who was loathed by everyone for his low birth....

It was only these two who could possibly ascend the throne.

Was it fate, coincidence, or these two plans?

He would never be able to know.

...

The Emperor gave decree to have Princess Xing become the crown princess while Prince Lin Zi Xuan as the crown prince. That way, when he passed away, there would be still someone who could continue ruling the kingdom.

When Feng Ning heard it all, she was having lunch with her husband. Prince Lin Zi Xuan seemed to have found a new habit as he put a lot of vegetables into her plate, making sure that his wife is well fed.

"Your Highness, there's an Imperial Decree. Princess Xing will be the Crown Princess while Prince Lin Zi Xuan will be the Crown Prince."

The two of them stopped eating.

Feng Ning arched her eyebrows and felt that her husband sure move so fast. What did he do to be able to convince the Emperor so quickly?

On the other hand, Prince Lin Zi Xuan nodded calmly. He had already expected this to happen, especially since there was no other descendant of the Lin Family except for Princess Feng Ning.

The only princess.

She naturally become the one and only person who could inherit the throne.

"We should return to the Capital City." Prince Lin Zi Xuan looked at his wife and smiled.

Looking at the way he smiled, Feng Ning could guess that he had already expected this to happen. She didn't say anything and merely nodded, following him.

It was only when they reached the Capital City did Feng Ning realized that the situation was actually that worse. It was to the point that it would be hard to believe if people said that there was nothing that happened.

'They're all dead?'

Feng Ning looked at the corpses of her parents and siblings. She rarely spent any time with them, but there was some kind of feeling of loss within her. It was not strong. Probably because she didn't really treat them as someone she would pay attention to.

Still, she bowed in front of her parents' body and paid her respect. In the end, they were still her parents who had raised her (by leaving her be and paid for her living expense).

Who would have thought that it would be this cruel?

No...

Feng Ning looked at Prince Lin Zi Xuan, who was putting on remorse in front of his parents' bodies. Aside from his birth mother, everyone else in his family was all killed. His father, Imperial mother, and brother. The three of them were all dead.

It was all his doing.