Chapter 46

The Cold Palace held those who had offended the emperor but whose crimes did not warrant death.

It was also the destination for concubines who failed in the inner palace struggles; to put it bluntly, it was a prison within the imperial palace.

The surrounding walls here were towering, and on the wall surfaces, mottled moss and vines were intertwined, as if they were telling the vicissitudes of time for this palace.

Li Chen stepped on the bluestone slabs and walked into this area, a memory from the past surfacing in his mind.

At that time, Li Chen was still a cynical imperial prince, spending his days holed up in the palace tinkering with his pile of toys.

In fact, among the imperial princes, the one with the highest talent was not the Second Prince Li Xian, but the Fifth Prince Li Ran.

It was said that when Li Ran was born, there were auspicious phenomena between heaven and earth, and it was rumored in the palace that he was a natural Dao-Fetus Holy Body, a born cultivation genius.

Li Ran had been gifted since childhood; at nine years old, his literary talent surpassed the Crown Prince's, his cultivation talent was ten heads above the Second Prince's, and when the late emperor tested them on military strategy, he left the Third Prince in the dust.

He was simply an all-around genius, possessing abilities beyond the ordinary, a true Son of Heaven.

The late emperor doted on Li Ran to the extreme, bringing him to court every day.

When receiving envoys from other countries, he would also emphatically introduce Li Ran, letting Li Ran show off in front of the foreign envoys.

Even regarding some court government affairs, he would "seek" his opinion, just to test him.

Without a doubt, Li Ran did everything perfectly; everyone knew how much the late emperor liked him.

At that time, Li Ran possessed authority that even the Crown Prince did not have.

Many court officials were speculating that the late emperor might be hinting at something.

Li Ran's mother was also a descendant of a noble family, and at the time, relying on the late emperor's doting on Li Ran, she was at the height of her power, even vaguely showing signs of replacing the Empress Dowager.

As it turned out, one day five years ago, someone secretly reported that Li Ran was having an affair with the late emperor's favorite concubine.

When His Majesty led the Imperial Guard to make the arrest, they indeed found Li Ran and the concubine naked on the bed.

According to information Li Chen obtained from those gossiping women in the inner palace, when the door to that concubine's bedchamber was kicked open, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Third Prince were all on the scene; besides the three of them, there was also the Empress Dowager.

Don't ask Li Chen why he heard about it; he hadn't gone to join the excitement at the time.

Actually, Li Chen could understand why the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Empress Dowager could be on the scene; after all, the three of them were in the imperial capital, and even in the palace.

It was outrageous that the Third Prince could be there; this guy was stationed at the border year-round, and he "happened" to return once and really bumped into such a major event?

It was said that His Majesty was so furious at the time that he executed the concubine on the spot, then had people gouge out Li Ran's eyes, sever his hand and foot tendons, and incidentally castrated him, before locking him in the Cold Palace.

This was the fall of a peerless genius; many people felt that, in the final analysis, it was because he was too sharp-edged.

Li Chen felt it wasn't that simple, nor was it very complicated.

Judging by the power of Li Ran's mother at the time, she certainly must have arranged many protections for him.

But these protections suddenly disappeared during a certain period; wasn't that just someone seizing the opportunity to tamper with things?

Either they were threatened, bribed, or killed.

Li Ran's mother and the Empress Dowager were fighting; whoever lost would meet such an end.

Even if the late emperor guessed that Li Ran had been framed, there were too many people on the scene, and he had to show an attitude.

If there hadn't been so many people on the scene, he could have suppressed the news and investigated slowly.

Perhaps it was due to sudden anger, or perhaps to preserve the dignity of the throne, the late emperor chose such a swift and decisive solution.

The struggles of the inner palace were just that plain and simple.

According to later news, Li Ran's mother washed her face with tears all day long and eventually died of grief.

Did she really die like that?

Who knows.

Anyway, that was how the imperial physician reported it.

Did Li Chen choose to keep a low profile because of this incident? No, his mother had no power, and his health wasn't very good.

Li Chen never intended to be high-profile from the start; he just wanted to be a loafer and come out after reaching the max level.

This incident also solidified this idea of Li Chen's.

Li Ran's wings were not yet fully grown at the time, yet he offended so many people at once; the hope of surviving was very slim.

Don't look at how Li Chen is offending people now, even offending more, yet he hasn't had a single problem.

After walking a distance in the Cold Palace, he arrived at the door of a room.

Just as he arrived here, a sound came from inside the door.

"Who?" The voice was very weak, with a somewhat feminine feeling.

"It's me, Li Chen." Li Chen said casually.

"Number Six? Could it be that you've also been locked in here by His Majesty?"

"No, I'm just passing by."

!

Perhaps Li Ran still didn't know that the late emperor had passed away and that Li Chen was now the emperor.

The eunuchs and palace maids who delivered his meals usually wouldn't tell him these things.

Everyone in the palace knew that there was no good outcome from having contact with people in the Cold Palace.

Just as Li Chen was preparing to test whether Li Ran was the one practicing that evil technique, another sound came from inside.

"Passing by is fine. If I remember correctly, you shouldn't be young anymore. Hurry and ask His Majesty for a fief, leave this place of right and wrong that is the imperial palace,

No, it seems they don't have any hostility toward you. Just see who takes the throne, suck up to him, find a courtyard in the imperial capital to be a prince, and if something happens, you can still ask them for help; that's safer than going to a fief,

Hey, why am I saying so much to you? You should be smarter than me to have lived until now. I've just been talking to people for too long and was rambling a bit. Just don't mention seeing me here after you leave."

I'm afraid the words Li Ran said just now were more than all the words he had said in the past few years combined.

The words were full of bitterness and vicissitudes, especially that somewhat feminine tone, which made it seem even more miserable.

"Then what if I want to be the emperor?"

This one sentence from Li Chen completely stunned Li Ran.

So it turns out, you brat are the one with the greatest ambition.

But Li Ran was thinking at this moment that if Li Chen wanted to be the emperor, it would be of huge benefit to him.

At the very least, Li Chen would help him leave this place of right and wrong, and he could even take revenge.

With his eyes gouged out, his hand and foot tendons severed, and being castrated, the reason he lived until now was the obsession with revenge supporting him.

Normally, with hand and foot tendons severed, one would have already lost the qualifications for cultivation.

But Li Ran's physical talent was exceptionally high; he combined hundreds of techniques and groped his way to an evil technique that could be practiced without relying on meridians.

Even though the cultivation speed was very slow at the beginning, under his constant improvements every day, he was surprised to discover that this complete version of the technique he improved was even more effective without his "little brother."

In a sense, it could be considered a blessing in disguise.

He had originally planned to cultivate for a few more decades before coming out, but who knew that this sentence from Li Chen would make him feel a bit tempted.

If he had Li Chen's help, he might be able to reach the legendary realm faster.

Just now, it was because he had already cultivated to a certain degree that he accidentally leaked a trace while breaking through, which was detected by Li Chen.

Even knowing that Li Chen's sentence was a test, Li Ran still decided to take a gamble.

"Don't blame me for not warning you; there's no turning back on this road."

"Rest assured, you aren't afraid, so what do I have to fear."

Saying this, Li Chen pushed the door and entered.

(End of this chapter)