Chapter 661: Can It Still Be Like This?

Tuan Tuan shouted, "Ninth Brother? Chen Hao?"

Chen Hao shook his head, lowered his eyes, as if nothing mattered.

Tuan Tuan stamped his foot anxiously, "Speak!"

Chen Hao finally said slowly, "I don't know where he is either."

Xiao Er crouched, "Miss, come up! We must leave quickly! Brother Lu, take him!"

Tuan Tuan climbed onto Xiao Er's back, and Lu Qi yanked Chen Hao up.

The four sprinted toward the outside of the Heavenly Prison.

In less than half an hour, the group returned to a secret room in the Guoshi Residence.

Feng Zhou, upon seeing Chen Hao, sprang up, "It's you!"

His face flushed red, he rushed a few steps to Chen Hao, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and demanded, "Why did you try to harm me? If it weren't for the Alliance Leader and Xiao Feifei, I'd be dead already!"

"Ninth Prince even risked his life to intercede for you, how could you be so heartless?"

Chen Hao trembled all over.

Tuan Tuan hurriedly said, "Feng Zhou, let him go!"

"What letter? Chen Hao isn't a bad person, how could he have harmed you?"

Feng Zhou shoved him aside, glared at Xiao Ningyuan, "Young Master, we can't stay here!"

"He already knows; how could his father not know?"

Xiao Ningyuan was also stunned: "……"

Eunuch Cheng asked, "Where is the Ninth Prince? Little Princess, didn't you go to rescue the Ninth Prince?"

Chu Yuan, who had just dispelled the Formation and entered, looked at the crowded room and said, "Everyone sit down and speak slowly."

Only then did everyone sit down.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi recounted the events of the night.

The others glanced at Chen Hao and fell silent.

Only Tuan Tuan asked, "Big Brother, what is the letter Feng Zhou mentioned?"

Xiao Ningyuan sighed and explained that Feng Zhou was injured by the Smelting Furnace because of the letter Chen Hao delivered.

Tuan Tuan frowned, "That letter definitely wasn't written by Chen Hao!"

Feng Zhou snorted, "Little Alliance Leader, how do you know?"

Tuan Tuan glared at him, "Chen Hao is a good person! He wouldn't hurt anyone!"

Feng Zhou snorted again, "And what about tonight's incident?"

"You clearly went to rescue the Ninth Prince, yet you brought him here."

"Who knows if it was a trap set by Chen Wang, sending him as a spy to report our movements to him?"

Xiao Er's gaze sharpened; the possibility wasn't impossible.

Lu Qi was already thinking that if we can't stay here, we must go to the Fortune Tea House of Tianji Pavilion.

Eunuch Cheng wore a cold expression.

Xiao Ningyuan frowned, staring at Chen Hao, "How did you end up in the Heavenly Prison?"

Chen Hao lifted his gaze, scanned everyone's faces, saw the doubt and anger in their eyes, and lowered his head without a word.

Tuan Tuan, holding Xiao Feifei, walked up to him, "Chen Hao, I know that letter wasn't written by you; you never intended to harm Ninth Brother and Feng Zhou, right?"

Chen Hao remained silent.

Tuan Tuan placed Xiao Feifei in his arms, "This is my Xiao Feifei; it saved Feng Zhou! Pretty, huh?"

Xiao Feifei whined and chirped in Chen Hao's embrace.

Chen Hao glanced at the little fox in his arms, then at Tuan Tuan, "Do you really still trust me?"

Tuan Tuan smiled sweetly, "Of course! You're Ninth Brother's friend!"

"Even though your father isn't great, you're still good!"

"But what's the story with that letter? How did you end up in the Heavenly Prison? What did Ninth Brother go to find you for? Speak quickly!"

Chen Hao looked at Tuan Tuan's clear big eyes, felt a sudden pang, and tears welled up.

Tuan Tuan gently patted his hand, "Tell me, okay?"

Chen Hao didn't look up, said slowly, "After receiving the Ninth Prince's letter, I indeed wrote a reply, but it was only four characters: 'Awaiting good news.'"

"I don't understand why it turned into two letters, one of which was for Feng Zhou, and it nearly cost him his life."

"When the Ninth Prince came to see me that day, I was startled and just wanted to ask why he was here."

"I didn't expect that upon meeting, he would question me about why I wrote those two letters."

"Why did the letter to him talk about old feelings, while the one to Feng Zhou urged him to return to the capital?"

"I was about to explain to him when a crowd burst in from outside and seized him."

"I'll never forget his expression as he left this life."

"He shouted at me, saying my motives were sinister, that he was blinded and actually believed me."

Tuan Tuan asked softly, "Then how did you end up in the Heavenly Prison?"

Chen Hao said, "After the Ninth Prince was taken away, I set out that night to find my father, asking where he had taken the Ninth Prince."

"I spoke harshly then, and after a few words we argued; he was very angry."

"Then he ordered my confinement in the Heavenly Prison."

"Ah?" Tuan Tuan's eyes widened, "You're not his biological child, are you!"

Feng Zhou, drinking water, started coughing "cackle‑cackle‑cackle."

Xiao Ningyuan and Chu Yuan both raised a hand to their foreheads.

Eunuch Cheng turned his head.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi strained to hold back their laughter, their shoulders shaking nonstop.

"Er," Chen Hao choked, "yes, right?"

Tuan Tuan couldn't figure it out: "That's strange—who would lock their own son in a big prison!"

Chen Hao shook his head: "I wasn't by his side since I was young; he… never felt close to me."

Tuan Tuan sighed: "Your dad is really terrible!"

She patted Chen Hao's arm: "My Master said not to worry about blood ties; where there is someone who truly treats you well, that is your home."

"If he doesn't want you, then you don't need him either—wouldn't that be fine?"

Chen Hao stared dumbfounded—could it really be like that?

Chu Yuan shook his head: "Tuan Tuan, where did you even find such a Master!"

He looked at Chen Hao: "Since it wasn't you who did it, once you see the Ninth Prince, just make things clear with him."

He thought of himself and Wu Luo: "Don't burden yourself with everything, or you'll carry it through life in vain."

Chen Hao raised his head to look at Chu Yuan, his heart stirred, and he nodded.

Tuan Tuan grabbed Chen Hao's hand: "Chen Hao really isn't a bad person! I trust him!"

"The bad one is the person who wrote the letter! Feng Zhou, find him and blow him up too!"

Feng Zhou scratched the back of his head and gave an embarrassed smile.

Xiao Ningyuan sighed: "But where is the Ninth Prince?"

"Zhou Jinhua still pointed to Tuan Tuan saving his marquis manor—there's no way he intentionally deceived."

"It seems only Chen Wang and Prince Qing know the Ninth Prince's whereabouts; no one else has said anything."

Chu Yuan stood up: "Since the Ninth Prince is the bait used to lure Tuan Tuan out, and the heavenly prison was broken into again tonight, they must have made some move these past days."

"No need to think about it—we're all tired, let's sleep first and discuss tomorrow."

Tuan Tuan pulled Chen Hao up from the chair: "Come on! This place is great—I'll take you to look around!"

Xiao Ningyuan smiled: "Alright, get a good night's sleep!"

The next day, the little Daoist priest came running in, stumbling: "No, not good!"

"They're going to publicly whip the Ninth Prince!"