AUBTN -Chapter 44 The Late Emperor’s Edict

At this moment, the real Lu Yan was sneaking along the back wall of the Royal Ancestral Temple with the other three, moving like thieves in the night.

Just as Su Hewan had predicted, most of the guards here had been withdrawn. Only a few scattered soldiers remained, nodding off in their posts.

“Move.”

Shen Jue gave a low command, his figure darting forward like a ghost.

A few muffled groans sounded. Before the guards could even see who had attacked them, they had already collapsed limply to the ground.

“Go!”

The four of them filed in one after another and headed straight for the main hall.

Inside the ancestral temple hall, cold gusts of wind swept through. Hundreds of imperial ancestral tablets were arranged in tiered rows. Under the dim, ever-burning lamps, they looked solemn and dignified—yet also carried an eerie chill that made one’s scalp tingle.

“Wow… why is it so cold in here?” Yu Qing shrank her neck and clutched tightly at Lu Yan’s sleeve.

“With so many spirit tablets… could there be ghosts? Dear ancestors, we’re here to save your family’s empire. Please don’t scare me—I’m more timid than the tip of a needle…”

【If there really is a ghost, I’ll push him out to block the bad luck!】

Lu Yan’s body stiffened. The hand he had raised to comfort her froze mid-air, and his face darkened like the bottom of a pot.

This heartless little brat!

“Stop talking nonsense and hurry,” Su Hewan said, ignoring the commotion behind her as she strode to the offering platform. Her gaze quickly swept across the tablets.

“The tablet of Emperor Xiao Yan, the founding emperor…”

Murmuring the name, her eyes finally locked onto the massive gold-lacquered tablet placed at the very top.

“This is it.”

She turned to Shen Jue and Lu Yan.

“According to historical records, Emperor Xiao Taizu deeply believed in feng shui and mechanical traps. There must be something hidden behind this tablet.”

“How do we open it?” Shen Jue stepped forward, his sharp gaze inspecting the offering platform that appeared to be a single seamless piece.

Su Hewan took a deep breath. In her mind appeared the diagrams of ancient mechanisms she had once studied in museums.

“Left Azure Dragon, right White Tiger, front Vermilion Bird, back Black Tortoise,” she muttered, her fingers feeling along the carvings of the platform.

“Taizu favored martial prowess. His favorite weapon in life was the spear… here it is!”

Her finger stopped on an inconspicuous wooden Pixiu carving on the right side of the platform.

“But this mechanism is a dual-linked system. The Qilin’s eye on the left and the Pixiu’s tongue on the right must be pressed at the same time. Even the slightest delay will trigger crossbow bolts.” Fine beads of sweat appeared on Su Hewan’s forehead as she looked at Shen Jue.

“Overseer, we’ll have to coordinate.”

Shen Jue glanced at her.

“Alright.”

The two of them took positions on either side of the platform.

“Three… two… one—press!”

At Su Hewan’s command, they both pressed down at the same moment.

Click—rumble…

The sound of mechanisms turning echoed through the hall.

The enormous tablet of the founding emperor slowly slid backward, revealing a dark hidden compartment in the wall behind it.

Everyone’s hearts rose to their throats.

Was this the Tiger Tally Military Register, the object said to command fifty thousand elite soldiers?

With trembling hands, Su Hewan reached toward the hidden compartment.

Her fingertips touched something.

Her heart suddenly sank.

What she pulled out was not the tiger tally that symbolized military authority, but a bright yellow brocade box.

“What is this…?”

Lu Yan rushed over impatiently.

“Where’s the tiger tally? Why is it a box?”

Su Hewan didn’t answer. She opened the brocade box.

Inside lay a scroll of bright yellow silk. The edges of the scroll were slightly darkened, as if they had once been soaked by some kind of liquid.

“It’s not the tiger tally…” Su Hewan’s voice was a little hoarse as she slowly unfurled the scroll.

By the faint candlelight, they finally saw the writing on it clearly.

The handwriting was messy and frantic, as if the writer had penned it while in extreme pain and great haste.

“This is… the Late Emperor’s edict!”

Su Hewan suddenly looked up, shock filling her eyes.

“What?”

The other three immediately changed expressions.

Su Hewan quickly scanned the contents. The more she read, the more her heart pounded.

“It’s not a military tally—but it’s enough to take Prince Ning’s life.”

She slammed the scroll onto the table.

Clearly, they had all seen what was written on it!

This was a blood edict written by the Late Emperor before his death. It clearly stated that Prince Ning, in his bid for the throne years ago, had colluded with foreign enemies, framed loyal officials, and even the Late Emperor’s own death had been the result of poison administered by Prince Ning!

Shen Jue’s already pale face instantly turned deathly white as he stared fixedly at the blood edict.

Looking at him, Su Hewan suddenly understood.

【So that’s how it was… So the truth from back then was actually like this! The Shen family had been loyal and heroic, yet in the end they all became sacrifices for Prince Ning’s seizure of power!】

Su Hewan’s inner thoughts made Shen Jue’s face grow even paler.

“Director…” Su Hewan instinctively reached out, wanting to stop him.

“There’s more than that.” Forcing herself to calm down, Su Hewan pointed to the end of the blood edict.

“It also bears the Late Emperor’s private seal, and… a secret order left for the new emperor: If Prince Ning shows any sign of rebellion, anyone who sees this edict may execute him.”

“With this, Prince Ning’s so-called regency loses all legitimacy!” Lu Yan said coldly.

“But…”

Yu Qing timidly raised her hand, breaking the charged atmosphere.

“Big bosses, this thing may be powerful, but it can’t magically produce soldiers. Right now we’re still four commanders without an army. If Prince Ning’s troops realize what’s happening and come back to attack, can this piece of cloth block arrows?”

A bucket of cold water had been poured over them.

The hall fell into deathly silence.

Without the tiger tally, there were no troops. Without troops, this blood edict was merely a death warrant.

Once exposed, Prince Ning would spare no effort to grind them into dust.

“No.”

Shen Jue suddenly spoke.

He slowly raised his head, his eyes dark and sinister.

His hand brushed over the blood edict.

“Who said we don’t have soldiers?”

A bloodthirsty smile curved at the corner of Shen Jue’s lips as he turned to look at Lu Yan.

The moment he finished speaking, under the uncertain gazes of the other three, he strode quickly to the offering table.

His fingers picked up a still-burning red candle.

“What are you doing? Destroying the evidence?” Lu Yan’s pupils shrank as he instinctively stepped forward to stop him.

“That’s the only proof we have!”

“Shut up. Watch.”

Without even turning his head, Shen Jue spread the bright yellow imperial edict flat.

Holding the candle in his other hand, he carefully brought the scorching flame close to the back of the edict.

“Hey, hey, hey! Lord Director, please don’t let your hand shake!” Yu Qing’s eyes widened like copper bells.

“If it shakes once, our whole story ends here! This is real silk—it’s highly flammable!”

【Brother, you’re literally playing with fire here! I know costume dramas always have tricks like this, but watching it in person is still terrifying, okay?!】

Lu Yan frowned deeply, staring at Shen Jue’s movements.

Then, a miracle happened.

As the candle heated it, the scroll—which had previously shown nothing but decorative patterns on the back—slowly revealed lines of dark red characters.

The writing appeared startling against the bright yellow background.

“If Prince Ning rebels, whoever sees this edict shall be regarded as if I myself have arrived. They may use this edict to command the three armies and carry out punishment in Heaven’s name!”

Even Su Hewan couldn’t help holding her breath as she read the words aloud one by one, her voice trembling with excitement.

“Carry out punishment in Heaven’s name… With these four words, Lord Lu will no longer be a traitor—he will be a hero executing the emperor’s command to suppress rebellion!”