"Ah—Father, it hurts—ah—"
Empress Lu had lived a life of privilege since childhood. Aside from the pain of childbirth, she had never suffered much hardship. At home, she had been cherished by her parents and elder brothers; after entering the palace, she had become the Empress, second only to the Emperor, and borne brilliant princes. It could be said that she had spent her entire life honored and fawned over.
How had she ever endured such agony? The pain made her curl up at once, yet the hand hanging at her side was already boneless, showing just how little mercy Wen Xu had shown.
Wen Xu had already released the hand around Empress Lu's throat. There was no need to keep holding her. He had not intended to kill anyone tonight, and he had yet to meet His Highness the Crown Prince. It was still too early.
"It hurts, doesn't it? When I fell from the cliff, it hurt ten times, a hundred times more than this. What is this compared to that? Don't you agree, Your Majesty?"
Empress Lu had not expected this boy to be so fierce that he would snap her finger the moment they disagreed. She was in such pain that she could barely utter a word. Yet despite her miserable cries, not a single person outside had come in. Only then did she realize that she had truly underestimated this young man.
This boy was far more difficult to deal with than the old Imperial Preceptor's prophecy had foretold.
"Why must you do this? She is your mother, after all!" Old Master Lu's words inevitably carried a hint of rebuke.
But Wen Xu only wanted to laugh. "Is that so? I merely heard that the ten fingers are linked to the heart, so I wanted