Chapter 516: When the Map Is Exhausted, the Dagger Appears

In the Hall of Nourishing Heart, the atmosphere suddenly grew tense; Imperial Concubine Cao hated to pounce forward and bite off a piece of Xiao Yin's flesh.

She knew her son well; he was the most timid and cautious.

Since she had followed Crown Prince Xiao Ting to Huangjue Si to pray for the emperor's blessings and dispel illness, how could she possibly leave Huangjue Si halfway?

Moreover, with so many princes watching, he was no fool; at such a crucial occasion, to give others leverage and invite criticism?

Now there is only one possibility: whether it's Xiao Yin or Crown Prince Xiao Ting, they are framing her imperial son.

This time, Imperial Concubine Cao felt as if her whole body had been plunged into icy water, trembling uncontrollably.

She fell to her knees with a thump before Emperor Longqing and burst into tears; this time she cried because she was truly afraid.

Fear of the future made her shiver all over.

Emperor Longqing's face darkened; he was also extremely vexed, and Imperial Concubine Cao's sobs had an especially piercing quality, so he could not help shouting, 'What are you crying for? Come! Send Consort Cao back to the palace!'

Seeing the emperor's dragon countenance furious, Grand Eunuch Wang hastily ordered the palace maids to support the weeping Imperial Concubine Cao and withdraw from the Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Emperor Longqing stared fixedly at Xiao Yin; the curses he wanted to utter rose to his lips but he could not speak them.

He could not yet blame Xiao Yin for this matter; after all, aside from Old Six Xiao Zheng, Xiao Yin had brought all the other princes back to him, and besides, the Crown Prince had already said that from the start of the Huangjue Si sacrifice, Xiao Zheng had disappeared.

He left early; who else could he blame?

Emperor Longqing only felt a pain in his chest; his icy gaze shifted from Xiao Yin to his own son Xiao Ting, and he coldly asked, 'What exactly happened?'

Xiao Ting hurried forward, kowtowing, and said, 'Reporting to Father Emperor, that day I led my brothers in burning incense and worshipping on the sacrifice platform of Huangjue Si, not expecting an earthquake to occur.'

'An earthquake?' Emperor Longqing's pupils flickered.

'It is an earthquake; the altar below contains several hollow caves carved out at some unknown time, resembling man-made objects from a previous dynasty.'

'We fell into that place then; fortunately we only suffered minor injuries, except that the eleventh brother's leg is in bad shape—I have already summoned an imperial physician, so I cannot appear before the emperor now.'

Emperor Longqing only felt that he had truly seen a ghost; Huangjue Si could become an imperial temple precisely because its site selection and construction had taken these objective conditions into account—who would have thought an earthquake would occur?

If Huangjue Si had an earthquake, why was there not the slightest sensation in Jing Cheng?

Emperor Longqing's face was almost as ugly as it could get; he looked at the several young princes who had suffered more or less minor injuries, the eldest being only ten years old, and this time each one lay there, frightened, their faces turning pale.

'Have you seen your sixth brother?'

Those children, though young, had grown up in the treacherous Imperial Harem from infancy, each one's mind as sharp as an adult's.

Seeing that the sixth brother had met with misfortune, only the Crown Prince remained securely in the position of heir apparent; if they were not foolish, they would naturally speak in accordance with the Crown Prince's wishes.

If the Crown Prince said he had not seen the sixth brother, then he had not seen the sixth brother.

The young princes' tender voices rang out one after another.

'In reply to Father Emperor, I have not seen the sixth brother.'

'I also have not seen the sixth brother!'

'Father Emperor, I also have not seen——'

A hint of pride flickered in Xiao Ting's brows and eyes; these younger brothers were no trouble, as long as Xiao Zheng did not exist, all other problems would be readily solved.

Xiao Yin, who had stirred up all this trouble, this time instead curled the corner of his mouth in a sneer.

Whether it was an earthquake or not having seen the sixth brother, it was fine.

Xiao Yin set up a board of pieces before Xiao Ting; his move was made with such ease that it seemed there was not even a shred of brotherly affection left among the imperial family.

Xiao Yin lowered his gaze slowly, recalling how he and Emperor Longqing had played together as children; later, meeting on the battlefield, they each wished the other would die.

Family affection encountering the imperial household amounted to nothing at all.

Emperor Longqing, seeing that he could ask nothing more, drew a breath, fiercely shut his eyes, and in that moment of waving his hand there was a hint of the weary decline of twilight years.

'All of you, retreat!'

Xiao Yin slowly rose, preparing to leave the Hall of Nourishing Heart with his nephews, but Emperor Longqing then said slowly, 'Old Nine, stay!'

Xiao Yin raised his brow, halted his steps, turned, and walked back to Emperor Longqing's presence.

This time, the many princes all withdrew, and the Hall of Nourishing Heart thus appeared quite empty.

Emperor Longqing called out to stop Xiao Yin's departure; this time, leaning on the Dragon Throne, his gaze toward Xiao Yin held a few more shades of a different emotion.

'Old Nine, how long has it been since we two brothers last properly gathered to drink and carouse?'

Xiao Yin stared for a moment, then lifted his eyes to face his emaciated imperial brother; the brotherly affection that had long been worn away actually surfaced with a lingering aftertaste.

He lowered his gaze slowly: 'In earlier years, your younger brother served on the frontier while your elder brother remained in Jing Cheng; each was busy with his own affairs, so we met rarely and parted often.'

Emperor Longqing sighed and laughed: 'Do you still remember how, as a child, you were mischievous to the extreme, got into trouble, feared Father Emperor's punishment, and hid in my quarters, where I often helped you wipe your bottom?'

'Hehe! Your elder brother back then liked a young lady from the Li family but dared not declare his feelings, fearing to arouse Father Emperor's suspicion that, as a prince, you were communicating with outside officials.'

'Anyway, I am a simpleton; that love letter was still delivered by me—I was only five years old then, and I painstakingly climbed over the wall of Official Li's residence.'

Emperor Longqing also laughed aloud, suddenly recalling that woman who had been dead for a long time—the only woman he had ever loved in his life.

Therefore, even though she had died, her son's position as Crown Prince remained unshakable.

Speaking of events from over a decade ago, the relationship between the two brothers had indeed relaxed somewhat; suddenly Emperor Longqing fixed his gaze on Xiao Yin and said slowly, 'Do you hate me, or not?'

Xiao Yin's eyes narrowed slightly; after a long pause he said slowly, 'Your younger brother does not dare!'

At that moment Emperor Longqing said nothing; after a while he waved his hand and said, 'You may withdraw.'

'Yes!' After bowing, Xiao Yin turned and slowly withdrew from the Hall of Nourishing Heart; the instant he left the hall, his expression was utterly solemn, filled with a myriad of killing intent.

Xiao Yin's carriage soon stopped at the main gate of Rui Wangfu; as soon as he stepped down, he saw Gu Jiu Ling personally waiting at the entrance.

From when Emperor Longqing had first summoned him into the palace, to being thrown into jail, then from prison directly escorting people to Huangjue Si, and finally returning to Rui Wangfu.

Gu Jiu Ling looked up at Xiao Yin ascending the steps, then rushed forward and flung herself into his broad embrace.

Xiao Yin tightly held the woman in his arms, while the surrounding servants all lowered their voices and laughed, averting their gazes.

Feeling the woman's tension in his embrace, Xiao Yin raised his hand to knead her soft hair bun and whispered, 'No need to worry, husband has not returned in perfect condition, has he!'

Gu Jiu Ling drew a breath, still struck him hard with a fist and whispered angrily, 'I truly have suffered a loss; I only wanted to cling to a powerful patron, never expecting that this thigh would be covered in thorns, making it so hard to hold!'

Xiao Yin chuckled indulgently: 'No problem, this prince will pull out every thorn.'

He suddenly thought of something and whispered softly: "Jiu Ling, have the children slowly come back; Shang Jing is about to change!"

Gu Jiu Ling's heart gave a jolt, and her brows furrowed.

Now everyone has reached the point where the truth is exposed; future struggles will likely become bloodier.