Blind and Bereft

Chapter 83 | Ten Thousand Sins

The room went stiff with silence. The moon had reached its peak, full and shining through the sombre of dark clouds. What was meant to be a lively banquet, turned to a room filled with a stench of sweat.

Jingrui's lungs felt pierced as she stood behind the thrones, looking at Prince Zhanying's figure.

Yihuai's palms were clenched around the armrest, trying to stop himself from trembling. "What are you saying, Zhanying? Don't joke around! First Prince Yunyi is dead with no descendants, how can you say this? I don't care if you want to taint my mother's name nor my name, but why must you use such a lie?"

Prince Zhanying tilted his head towards the fierce sky and ignored Yihuai. His grip tightened on the decree. "This decree is an authentic decree written by the olds. The throne was meant to be passed on to Yunyi's descendant, not Yunyin, nor Yunyin's son." He eyed Yihuai.

Yihuai shook his head and fell back onto his throne. "Impossible. Just impossible."

Lingyue's fists clenched to the point red oozed down onto the tabletop. "Bastard Prince. You really do know how to muster up a lie. First Prince Yunyi was chosen as the true heir of the Heavenly throne, yes, and the decree in your hand may have an authentic Heavenly seal. But you cannot just fostured a presumed identity. Who knows where you stole that letter? There is no proof in your empty words. Besides, we all know Yunyi never have an heir throughout his lifetime and till his death."

Prince Zhanying massaged his temple, exasperated, before he shot a gaze up at Yunyin. "Former Heavenly Emperor Yunyin should know well. First Prince Yunyi was never dead." A dangerous fire convulsed in his words.

Yunyin shook like an old man seeing a grim reaper. He ran his hand into his ashen hair and sniffled. "Don't say anymore, don't say anymore, Zhanying."

There was no sign of mercy upon the Prince's sedate face. "You have raised me well, but I won't let your crime be buried. You rebelled against First Prince Yunyi on the day he was meant to take the throne. You trampled him, blinded him, leaving him no place within the Sky Kingdom. But you couldn't catch him, and all these years, you have lived fearing he'd come back to haunt you."

"Stop, please," Yunyin cried. His breathing laboured. "Please just stop."

The more Yunyin cowered in regrets, the more cruelty crept over Prince Zhaying. "Don't worry, father. First Prince Yunyi is now dead. He was the Phantom Lord all these years, and I, as his descendant, will be the one to haunt you instead."

Yihuai glanced at his father's agitated form, and his face turned red. He shot his angry gaze at Prince Zhanying. "Look at what you are doing to father! You are saying this just because you hold the decree, but what proof do you have to say you are a descendant..." Yihuai trailed off, and his anger evaporated when Prince Zhanying pulled up his middle finger.

His face was stoic as he glanced at the serpent ring wrapped around his finger. Against the flickered of lightnings, it glittered like shards of glass in the moonlight.

"Indeed, I do not have proof. You see, I was rushing my plan of rebellion because I feared that the poison—" he cut himself off, and his jaws clenched. Then he cleared his throat and set his jaws to form the right words. "I haven't fully compiled the evidence, but this ring, my mother gave it to me. The one Yunyi married during his years as the Phantom Lord owns this ring. The blood serpent ring is the infamous heirloom artifact. You can trace it back to the past, investigate, and you'd know that every of my word is truth—"

Before Prince Zhanying could finish his sentence, Lingyue broke out into a blaring scream. The beast within her was finally unleashed after fuming in silent for a time. "No matter! The military tally is with me." Lingyue laughed like a maniac and pulled out a dragon tally. "I don't care about what's right or what's wrong. In this world, the right and wrong boundary has never existed from the beginning."