Part 2
The Second Prince was a banshouren. Taking control of that base—whether to change it, incorporate the banshouren there, or set them free—would be up to him. It was the Emperor’s way of making amends.
But a late atonement… could not wash the blood of the banshouren from the hands of the Emperor and the late Emperor.
Zong Hao remained in the chamber.
Thinking that the Marshal had performed a great service and likely couldn’t be kept in the dark anyway, and more importantly, fearing the bracelet might not hold the Prince and threaten his own life, the Emperor allowed Zong Hao to stay.
The Second Prince had also intended to follow Ning Yunyi out, but Ning Yunyi patted his arm. Only then did he return to Zong Hao’s side reluctantly. The Master wasn’t taking him along—he felt aggrieved.
But he was an obedient renyu. As long as he was good, the Master would surely reward him.
The Prince knelt there, and once everyone else had withdrawn, the Emperor spoke: “Your mother and I were discussing making amends to the Second Brother by giving him that position. But since you heard it, why didn’t you come and ask us yourself?”
The Prince sneered. “Does it make a difference?”
Emperor: “When we mentioned that position, did we say it was the throne? From start to finish, we were speaking only of the position of authority over that base. You have received enough, yet he has nothing. Furthermore, even if I was initially forced to take over the base, you later became increasingly cold-blooded and selfish after coming into contact with that place. Your mother and I didn’t want you to stray further, so we thought to compensate the Second Brother. We intended for him to take over; whether he destroyed it or reorganized the… people there, that would be his freedom. It was more suited to his identity. From beginning to end, we were never biased. If we were, it was toward you. Your mother and I never expected that for the sake of such a position, you would try to kill us. You truly are… our ‘good’ son.”
The Prince’s expression changed. He looked up at the Emperor, and instead of being comforted, his rage only intensified. “Haha, give the base to him? And that’s not favoritism? Don’t you know what someone gains simply by having control over such a place? You were going to place such a hidden threat right beside me? If the Second Brother developed other designs, I wouldn’t even know how I died!”
The Emperor was furious, his chest heaving violently. “You—you ungrateful son! Do you really want the… to go extinct? The Second Brother is not like you; he is one of them. He would never be so selfish. You have gone completely mad, you have no heart, not a shred of conscience left!”
The Prince sneered. “Conscience? If you had a conscience, you wouldn’t have done those things back then… Why don’t you dare say it in front of Zong Hao?”
“Prince!” The Emperor’s face changed.
The Prince looked at Zong Hao, who had moved to protect the Emperor. “A-Hao, you truly are a loyal official. But do you know what this ‘good’ Imperial Father of mine did to your family? Did you know your adoptive sister didn’t actually die on the battlefield back then? Did you know she only died recently? But do you know what she endured all these years? Haha, you have no idea. The late Emperor and my ‘good’ Imperial Father built a base where many banshouren were imprisoned, including your adoptive sister. She was locked up there, and her jingshenli was extracted every few days to supply the imperial private guards. The one who gave the order to capture her was none other than my ‘good’ Imperial Father.”
He wanted to be loyal? Then let him know exactly what the Majesty he served had done.
The Emperor looked at Zong Hao with a panicked expression. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. The order back then was given by the late Emperor… By the time I found out, it was too late.”
Zong Hao’s gaze was heavy as he looked at the guilty Emperor. “Is that so? The late Emperor has been dead for many years. If it wasn’t Your Majesty’s doing, why haven’t you released her all these years? Was it that you didn’t want to, or that you couldn’t bear to lose that powerful jingshenli?”
The Emperor lowered his eyes, filled with guilt and shame. “The order was indeed given by the late Emperor, and it was too late by the time I knew. B-but that child’s jingshenli was continuous; her power cultivated many high-level experts. I didn’t dare let her go. Once she was gone, the secret we had hidden for so many years would be exposed. How would the people view the Imperial Family? Even if the late Emperor and the others… truly did it for the sake of the Interstellar in the beginning… later… it changed.”
He couldn’t even bring himself to give up such a valuable place. To sit securely on the throne, sacrifices had to be made.
Later, he couldn’t control the condemnation of his conscience, so he simply chose “out of sight, out of mind.” After the late Emperor died, he handed the place to the Prince once his son was capable of standing on his own, hoping to keep himself clean.
But who knew… he never expected the seemingly gentle and pure Prince to be even more absolute and ruthless than the late Emperor.
It was only then that the Emperor panicked, but it was too late.
Thus, he thought to make amends by giving the base to the Second Prince, who was also a banshouren. Who knew… before he could make a change, he was nearly killed by the Crown Prince.
The Prince’s goal was to drive a wedge between them. “To put it simply, didn’t Zong Hao’s sister still die at your hands?” Either way, the death order was his; only he knew the truth. By pinning her death on the Emperor, how could Zong Hao remain loyal?
The Emperor frowned. “That child was fine when my accident happened. How could she have died at my hands? Prince, do not speak nonsense. Furthermore, with how you are now, you no longer need to hold the title of Crown Prince…”
The Prince shook his bracelet. “I’m already like this; do you think I still care? Fine, give it all to this Second Brother of yours. Let the world know the Emperor of the Empire is a shifter. How ironic that would be.”
The Emperor said nothing. He only had three sons. The Prince wanted to kill him; he would have to be insane to let him continue to inherit. The Third Prince was a worthless scoundrel, but the Second Prince was a shifter. However, as long as it wasn’t spoken of… perhaps…
Zong Hao saw through the Emperor’s thoughts and punctured his hopes directly. “His Majesty has just woken up and doesn’t know the current state of the palace. After the Crown Prince caused your injuries and coma at the sacrifice, he locked everything down and pinned the crime on the Second Prince. He even tried to kill him. This caused immense trauma to the Second Prince’s spirit. He likely never expected his own brother, whom he treated as family, would try to kill him. After he escaped with heavy injuries, an accident occurred.”
Zong Hao looked at the Prince calmly. “The people you sent likely didn’t have time to tell you. After the trauma, the Second Prince lost all his jingshenli and fell into a state of self-withdrawal. Not only is he blind… but he has also become foolish. So, Your Highness, you can rest easy now. The Second Prince can no longer fight you for this throne. Oh, and of course, you’ve managed to ruin your own position as well.”
Zong Hao’s words made both the Emperor and the Prince change expressions. They whipped their heads toward the Second Prince, who had been standing there silently.
Initially, he had been kneeling, and the Prince had simply thought he was under Zong Hao’s control and didn’t think much of it. Later, when the Prince tried to kill him and Zong Hao saved him and tossed him aside, he had just stood there with his head lowered.
Now, they finally realized something was wrong. From start to finish, the other hadn’t spoken a word… and except for the initial reveal, he had kept his head down the entire time.
The Emperor’s body swayed. No matter what his designs were, he felt pity and guilt for the Second Prince. Hearing this, he felt unwell. “F-foolish? What do you mean?”
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