AUBTN -Chapter 130 A Farce

The first thing he did after waking up was struggle to get out of bed. Grabbing a guard’s hand, his voice was so weak it sounded as if it might stop at any moment.

“Second Brother… I want to see Second Brother…”

Half an hour later, inside the Imperial Prison.

The cold, damp walls were lined with instruments of torture, their surfaces glinting faintly in the dim torchlight.

Supported by two guards, Tuoba Yun walked pale-faced toward the depths of the prison, where the Second Prince, Tuoba Feng, was being held.

Meanwhile, in a hidden chamber concealed in the shadows, Su Hewan and Shen Jue were watching everything through a mechanism built into the wall.

Inside the cell, Tuoba Feng was sitting quietly.

He looked as though he were calmly waiting for death to arrive.

“Second Brother…”

The extremely weak call made Tuoba Feng suddenly raise his head. Through the heavy iron bars, he saw his younger brother.

“Third Brother! You’re not dead?!” Tuoba Feng’s eyes widened like copper bells, and then he burst into wild joy.

“They said you were assassinated. How are you?”

Tuoba Yun dismissed the attendants around him and signaled for the jailer to open the cell door so he could enter.

The jailer hesitated for a moment but eventually opened it.

Tuoba Yun staggered forward and collapsed at Tuoba Feng’s feet. Tears instantly streamed down his face.

“Second Brother! I’m fine, but I’ve wronged you!” Tuoba Yun cried bitterly, his voice choked with sobs.

“If only I had woken up earlier—even a moment earlier—I wouldn’t have let you suffer such injustice!”

Tuoba Feng raised his hand, intending to help him up, but halfway through the motion it fell weakly back down. In a muffled voice he said,

“That’s enough. Who are you putting on this show for? As long as you remember the promise you made to me—and remember the future of Western Fan—then my life… will have been worth it.”

Tuoba Yun raised his head. His pale face was filled with complicated emotions—guilt, reluctance, but even more than that, a ruthless resolve born from being driven into a corner.

“Second Brother… it’s useless.”

“Useless? What do you mean?” Tuoba Feng frowned.

Tuoba Yun took a deep breath, as if suppressing immense pain.

“The people of Great Wei don’t care about the truth. Our eldest brother died in their relay station—they must give Western Fan an explanation. And now all the evidence points to you. You handed the poisoned wine to our brother, and your fingerprints are on the dagger… The charge has already been confirmed.”

Tuoba Feng let out a cold laugh, his eyes carrying a trace of bleak self-mockery.

“Since I’m sitting here already, I never expected to walk out alive. There’s no need to say more.”

“No!” Tuoba Yun grabbed the hem of Tuoba Feng’s clothes tightly, his voice turning sharp and desperate. This time, there was even a hint of genuine feeling in it.

“A few days ago, I was also attacked by assassins. Every strike was meant to kill—they clearly wanted to wipe out both of us brothers! If not for sheer luck, I would have already gone to meet our eldest brother!”

As he spoke, he pulled open his clothes, revealing the ferocious wound on his chest.

Seeing the wound, Tuoba Feng’s pupils shrank, and ripples finally appeared in his previously calm gaze.

“Who did it?!”

He knew that his third brother had killed their eldest brother, but he had believed everything was still under control.

But now it seemed there was a third force trying to eliminate both of them at once!

Tuoba Yun lowered his eyes, hiding the flash of cunning that passed through them, while his voice grew even more choked with emotion.

“Who it was no longer matters. Second Brother, the situation is already set. The Emperor of Great Wei needs to calm the public’s anger. As for Father… he’s already old. It’s better for him to accept the result of brothers killing each other than to learn that Western Fan has already been infiltrated from within and is on the verge of collapse.”

He paused, his tone becoming extremely sincere, even carrying the determination of someone prepared to face death.

“Second Brother, this is for Western Fan. Don’t worry—if you admit to this crime, I’ll bear all the infamy for you! After you… after you’re gone, I swear that if I ever ascend the throne, even if it costs me my life, I will posthumously honor you as the Loyal and Martyr Prince! Your son will be my son. I will ensure he inherits your title forever and enjoys supreme honor! Your daughter—I will make her the most noble princess!”

Tuoba Yun’s speech was righteous and stirring, every word framed as being for the sake of the family and the greater good.

But once that grand and righteous façade was stripped away, the core meaning was only one thing:

Second Brother, thank you for being willing to die. For the sake of my throne, for the stability of Xifan, please make sure you die willingly.

Inside the hidden chamber.

Su Hewan was trembling with anger.

“Have they gone mad?! One is ruthless enough to kill his own brother, and the other is actually willing to take the blame for him!”

Watching the two brothers performing their dramatic scene of entrusting the future to one another, she felt wave after wave of sorrow and disgust.

“Don’t look.”

A slightly cool hand suddenly covered her eyes.

Shen Jue’s voice sounded beside her ear—low and dangerous, yet strangely soothing.

“It’s not worth dirtying your eyes for people like them.”

Almost instinctively, Su Hewan grabbed Shen Jue’s wrist. Her fingertips were icy cold.

She took a deep breath, calming herself, before slowly pulling his hand away. Her gaze was now as sharp and cold as a blade.

“You’re right. It’s not worth getting angry over people like them,” Su Hewan said through clenched teeth, enunciating every word.

“Because the truth will turn all their sacrifices and schemes… into a joke.”

Shen Jue looked at her spirited, battle-ready expression. A trace of amusement flickered in his eyes before it turned into dense killing intent as he looked toward the prison cell.

“Don’t rush. The real show… is still to come.”

Inside the cell, Tuoba Feng fell silent.

He wasn’t dizzy or confused—he had simply accepted his fate completely.

He was a straightforward warrior with a simple mind. He only believed in one principle: the eldest brother was already dead, the third brother was the last hope of the Tuoba family, and Xifan must not fall into chaos.

“Third Brother… remember what you said today.”

Tuoba Feng slumped against the wall, utterly dejected.

“If you break your word… even in the underworld, I won’t let you off.”

“Second Brother, rest assured!” Tuoba Yun cried until his voice was hoarse.

“I swear—”

Just as Tuoba Yun was about to make a vicious oath—

Clap. Clap. Clap.

A crisp, mocking round of applause suddenly echoed through the empty corridor of the imperial prison.

Tuoba Yun’s sobbing stopped abruptly.

Tuoba Feng suddenly opened his eyes and looked up.

At the far end of the dim corridor, a tall figure slowly approached.

Lu Yan walked forward alone, his steps steady.

“What a touching display of brotherly affection and entrusted loyalty.”

Lu Yan stopped in front of the cell door, looking down at the two brothers inside. A deeply mocking smile curved his lips.

“A murderer and a muddle-headed scapegoat. Your performance was so convincing that even this official was almost moved.”

Tuoba Yun’s expression changed. He quickly wiped away his tears, stood up, and blocked Tuoba Feng behind him.

“Lord Lu, what do you mean by this?” he demanded sharply. “My brother and I are merely bidding each other farewell. Is that also against the laws of Great Wei?”

“Farewell?” Lu Yan sneered.

His gaze passed over Tuoba Yun and fell on the wary Tuoba Feng behind him.

“Second Prince, this good brother of yours is asking you to die for Xifan, to die for his throne—and you seem quite willing.”

“But have you ever considered that your so-called sacrifice…”

“…has been nothing but a farce from beginning to end?”