It hadn't been long since she last saw him!
The man she had once considered valiant and heroic had become something neither human nor ghost!
The Empress Dowager felt as though a fly had been shoved into her mouth.
And not just any fly, but a large, foul-smelling one.
Upon seeing the Empress Dowager, Zhan Ming had initially wanted to cover his head with something. But now, that thought had completely vanished.
His life was on the line, why bother with modesty!
"Are you that surprised? Empress Dowager, to me, you're no different from any other old woman. There's no need to look as if you've seen a ghost!" Zhan Ming glared furiously at the Empress Dowager, making no attempt to hide his disgust.
The Empress Dowager felt the fly in her throat hadn't quite been swallowed when she heard Zhan Ming's words. Her face immediately turned ashen. "Regent King!"
"You don't come for a trivial matter. Why are you here? Do you want to see if I'm dead? If I'm not dead, do you still want to use me? Empress Dowager, in the past, I indulged your advances because you were young and sensible. Now, I can no longer satisfy you. Get out!" Zhan Ming was provoked by the Empress Dowager's shocked and disgusted expression.
The woman who had always relied on him to wield power in the palace, who had always fawned over and served him, was now disgusted with him?
Did she think he, Zhan Ming, was merely a pawn to be manipulated?
The Empress Dowager's face turned ashen. She had indeed come to see Zhan Ming for a reason, only to be met with his ghastly appearance and then subjected to his verbal abuse.
A fire ignited in her heart.
"Regent King, how can you be so disrespectful?! Haven't you been begging me all these years to be with you? How dare you slander me like this! I am utterly disappointed in you!" The Empress Dowager clenched her fists, gritting her teeth.
As she spoke, her gaze became even more fearful.
Zhan Ming's every step seemed to land on cotton. He swayed, his footing unsteady, as if he might collapse at any moment!
This was the first time she had ever seen the Regent King so weak and pathetic!
Was he truly dying?
Jiang Luoxi had said the Regent King wouldn't live long, and she should make plans. She had come here today to ask the Regent King to do something for her, and perhaps to check on him. She hadn't expected to find him like this!
"Get out! If you dare to anger me again, believe it or not, I will make the entire capital know how you climbed into my bed while the late Emperor was still alive! If you hadn't actively sought me out, I would never have given you a second glance!" Zhan Ming sneered.
He wouldn't be alive much longer anyway.
Why should he care about this old woman!
How dare she be disgusted with him!
Then she couldn't blame him for turning ruthless!
Besides, if he died, he wouldn't want anyone associated with him to live well! If they lived well, wouldn't they soon forget about him!
The Empress Dowager was completely enraged. "Regent King, do you know what you are saying?!"
She stared at his sparse scalp, and the disgust and revulsion welled up inside her, churning like a tempest.
Zhan Ming raised his hand, grabbed the Empress Dowager's chin, and spat.
It landed all over the Empress Dowager's face.
The Empress Dowager didn't react at first.
When she did, she smelled the foul saliva and cried out in anger, "Regent King, you're insane! You're truly insane! I shouldn't have come. I only wanted to see you, but instead, you... you! Never mind if you don't want to see me! Let go of me!"
Zhan Ming's expression was twisted with ferocity, his teeth clenched tightly.
The Empress Dowager then noticed that not only was his hair sparse and his face sallow, but his teeth were also missing!
It was terrifying!
It was utterly disgusting!
"I will make you understand the consequences of angering me now!" Zhan Ming exerted force, intending to crush the Empress Dowager's jaw.
However.
He strained with all his might.
He did indeed clench his teeth fiercely.
But.
As two more teeth loosened,
The startled Empress Dowager pushed Zhan Ming away, "Get away! Get away from me!"
Perhaps it was because she pushed too hard, but Zhan Ming was actually pushed aside.
And he fell straight down!
Bang!
The sound of a heavy fall!
"Ah!"
The Empress Dowager shrieked.
Zhan Ming's eyes widened, staring incredulously at the sky.
The servants nearby were initially stunned. When they came to their senses, they rushed forward to help Zhan Ming up.
However, despite his wide, bulging eyes, Zhan Ming remained motionless. Even when the servants tried to help him, he didn't budge.
The Empress Dowager had just caught her breath and calmed down. She thought that even though Zhan Ming was now ugly and his temper more erratic, he was still her valuable assistant. She couldn't offend him too much for now. If such a useful blade were lost, she wouldn't be able to find another.
Or at least, it would be very difficult to find another.
When she looked at Zhan Ming, who was being helped up by the servants but remained still.
She felt a strange unease.
Why wasn't he even blinking?
At this moment, a servant discovered something was wrong.
"Your Highness?"
He called out.
Zhan Ming didn't respond, his wide eyes unblinking.
The servant gasped, realizing the gravity of the situation. "Your Highness?"
The repeated calls of "Your Highness" made the others realize something was amiss.
They exchanged glances.
One of them, braver than the rest, reached out a hand.
Instantly, he recoiled several steps in fright, falling onto the ground.
"Ah!"
Seeing the expressions on the servants' faces, the Empress Dowager frowned. Suppressing her disgust, she stepped forward and crouched down.
She gently nudged Zhan Ming.
"I was also in the wrong just now. Please don't hold it against me," the Empress Dowager said.
Zhan Ming remained still, his eyes unblinking.
The Empress Dowager's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
A servant, checking for breath, said with a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, Your Highness has no breath!"
No one in the Regent King's mansion could have imagined that the prince they saw as unyielding, whom no one dared to disobey, could have died simply by being pushed lightly!
No one could have conceived it!
Who could have imagined that among countless ways to die, their prince's demise would be from a gentle push, causing him to fall to his death!
And he died with his eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace!
For anyone, such a death would be one of unfulfilled wishes!
...
Yun Shu returned to the General's mansion and was just about to take Xiao Jing and the others to the Night King's mansion.
But before they could leave, a piece of news struck.
"The Regent King is dead!"
Upon hearing the news, Yun Shu raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.
She had seen Zhan Ming today and knew he only had a few days left to live, but she hadn't expected him to die so soon.
As she was pondering this, a large group of soldiers swiftly arrived.
They immediately surrounded the General's mansion.
The one leading them was not some official from the government.
It was the Empress Dowager!
The Empress Dowager's face was filled with malice as she stared at Yun Shu, who was with her three children. "Yun Shu, do you admit your guilt?!"