The Mad King's Heir

Li Zimo was outraged. These imbeciles dared to lay a hand on him. Did they not want their lives anymore? "Let go of me," he said through gritted teeth, but the imperial guards didn’t let go. It was only after the commander waved his hand that they released him.

He roughly straightened his clothes and said, "I will have your heads, all of you. You dare touch an imperial prince." By that, he was referring to himself.

"Imperial uncle, they are just doing their jobs," came a voice that he hated so much. His lips twitched, and he pointed at the culprit.

"You...Tell me, was it worth it? Huh?" he said, his voice low, but the rage laced in it was undeniable. "Was it worth giving that bitch that seat? Now look at you. I hope she kills you because if she doesn’t, I will finish you off myself."

Li Jun met his gaze and snorted. "I will be waiting then, uncle." After he said that, Luca led him towards the imperial court. The imperial guards escorted them, leaving Li Zimo with no chance to retaliate. He hated him. He hated that brat with every fiber of his being. He sided with an outsider instead of his family, just like his father. How could they have both been so fucking stupid?

Li Zimo knew that this bitch had to have an ulterior motive, otherwise why would she go through all this trouble? That ulterior motive was Blue Sapphire. She wanted to use them to restrain his rebellion. He couldn’t let them form an alliance. Otherwise, it would make his plans ten times more difficult to achieve.

The best way to solve this was to finish the job Xiu Ying started. All he had to do was kill Li Jun and blame it all on her. That psycho Draco would take care of her, and while she was too busy dealing with him, he would swoop in and take over. Thinking of this, Li Zimo smiled before walking towards the imperial court.

Meanwhile, Yu Wen watched as Li Jun walked in. He was just as before, but something about him seemed off. They finished chaining him to the floor, and Xiu Ying looked at the general, saying, "You may begin the hearing."

Just then, the live broadcast was turned on, taking everyone by surprise. Yu Wen met Xiu Ying’s gaze, and he instantly understood her meaning. She was broadcasting this to the entirety of Aurelia for one reason. And that was to pressure Draco. Since the man hadn’t made his appearance yet, he needed a little encouragement.

StarNet was immediately set ablaze. Comments were flying through the screen as Yu Wen read out the crimes. Somewhere questioning why, a General had to adjudicate the hearing while others questioned their urgency.

Why were they so eager to nail Li Jun to the cross when it had only been a day? But these questions were drowned out by celebratory comments. They were excited to usher in a new era.

Yu Wen looked at the last crime on the floating screen, and his eyes narrowed slightly. Xiu Ying had added the crime of assaulting a member of the imperial family. He glanced at Li Yu, and Li Yu met his gaze.

This was unlike her. She would have lowered her head in shame by now, but today she met his gaze head-on with some smugness that he would have missed if he didn’t know her too well.

He read the last crime. As soon as he was done, he looked at Li Jun, but the man didn’t even look at him, making his chest ache. Unwillingly, he asked, "How does the defendant plead?"

Li Jun finally met his gaze. Yu Wen’s gut tingled, warning him that something was off, but before he could pinpoint the cause, Li Jun chuckled softly. The officials who were looking at him with hatred in their eyes were enraged. Even in this moment, he was making a mockery of them.

"What is so funny, Li Jun?" asked Xiu Ying, but he didn’t answer.

In fact, he laughed even louder, becoming more crazed just like his father. He laughed to the point of tears, the sound haunting everyone who heard it. After laughing to his heart’s content, he wiped the tears with the back of his hand and said,

"You all hate me... You despise me, blame me for what my father did. But have you ever asked yourselves why he killed all those people? His methods were cruel, yes, but have you ever wondered what they did to deserve it?" His gaze turned to Yu Wen, and Yu Wen’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

The officials were outraged. They began yelling and cursing him to death. Li Jun casually rubbed his ear, irritated by their noise. He tilted his head in annoyance and clicked his tongue before saying, "I would love to reopen each and every one of those cases and investigate them one by one."

"I wonder what sort of scandalous secrets will be exposed. If any of them committed treasonous acts, your families’ entire wealth will be confiscated and your legacies destroyed. As for your family members, I wonder if they would be able to survive exile?"

Li Jun knew that buried with those officials were extensive networks of corruption and treason. His father’s way of handling things was cruel, and he was a lunatic. But there was a method to his madness. Things weren’t as simple as they seemed.

Suddenly, the man who had attacked him the day he got arrested pulled out his gun, and before anyone could react, he pulled the trigger, yelling, "Die you, evil bastard!!" Yu Wen froze but only for a second. He rushed over to stop him, but he was too far away.

The gun flared with a blinding surge, and the beam struck Li Jun. Yu Wen, who had his hand stretched out to grab him, saw Li Jun’s lips curl before his body was instantly dissolved into vapor, leaving nothing but silence and the sounds of horror. He stopped his ears ringing, and his entire body went numb. He thought, ’I must be dreaming. This is not real.’

Bang!

A shot rang through the chaotic screams, and Yu Wen snapped back to reality. Lord Commander Luca had shot the gun out of the assailant’s hands before they could turn it on themselves.