Part 3
Zong Hao lightly patted the Second Prince’s shoulder.
The Second Prince, who had been crying silently, finally looked up. He stared vacantly ahead with a piteous expression. He was even more terrified because he couldn’t see and could no longer smell the Master’s scent. Tears fell as he pouted and remained silent.
Seeing such an expression on an adult face felt exceptionally eerie.
The Emperor’s vision went dark. Although the Second Prince was weak and had a cold personality, he had never cried like this, especially in front of so many people. The Second Prince used to be such a proud person, yet now… he had become a fool?
Finally unable to endure it, the Emperor pointed at the Prince before fainting. “Lock him in the highest-level prison! Strip him of his titles as Crown Prince and Prince! No one is permitted to release him!”
With that, he fell unconscious. For a moment, the chamber fell into a deathly silence.
The Prince stared fixedly at the Second Prince. Suddenly, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter. After laughing, his face stiffened as he stared at the other. Foolish? Haha, he was traumatized into self-withdrawal and became a fool? How is that possible? Where is there any such thing as family affection in the imperial house? It must be an act; he didn’t believe it.
However, the Second Prince didn’t even look at him. Crying until he felt uncomfortable, he finally couldn’t resist tugging on Zong Hao’s sleeve. “Master, I want Master! Waaa!” Liar!
The Prince’s body swayed as he stared at the Second Prince. Suddenly, he chuckled lowly. So everything he had done was just a joke in the other’s eyes?
From beginning to end, the Second Prince never intended to fight him for the position. Was it really as his father said—that he had ruined his own position?
Because of such a major event in the palace, the noble guests were temporarily barred from leaving. They had to notify their families one by one and stay in various palace halls.
Ning Yunyi and his elder brother also stayed, residing in a place not far from the Emperor’s palace.
From the moment the Prince tried to harm the Emperor, Patriarch Hermann’s heart had been in his throat. He felt his family was surely doomed. Fortunately, they hadn’t participated in the plot to harm the Emperor; otherwise…
He turned to look at Yousi, who was sitting there drinking one tube of nutrient solution after another. He ground his teeth in anger. “How can you not be worried at all?”
“Is worrying useful?” Yousi opened another tube, turning his grief and indignation into an appetite. A bright path had been laid out before him—as long as he could become Mr. Bai’s person, he would have endless delicacies to eat. Now, everything was ruined. Couldn’t he at least drink a few more tubes to vent his frustration?
Patriarch Hermann was disappointed in him. “That Mr. Bai seems to have a good relationship with Marshal Zong, and you have that kind of relationship with Mr. Bai. Ask Mr. Bai to beg the Marshal to let our Hermann family go. We really didn’t participate!”
Yousi’s mouth twitched. “What ‘kind of relationship’? How do we have that kind of relationship?”
The Patriarch gave him a “you’re still lying to me” look. They were engaged and had reportedly gone on a date. Previously, Yousi had frequently run to the Ning house. Could the Patriarch believe that they hadn’t “cooked the rice”? “Don’t hide it anymore. Do you think I’ll mock you? This is a major matter for the family. We didn’t participate in the Prince’s plot, but the fiancé is from our family. If His Majesty takes his anger out on us…”
Yousi laughed in anger. “What do you want me to do?”
The Patriarch nudged his shoulder. “Go and whisper some pillow talk in Mr. Bai’s ear. Speak up for our family. We are law-abiding people and truly had no intention of harming His Majesty.”
Before Yousi could speak, a voice rang out nearby: “Pillow talk? Why don’t the Patriarch tell me first—how do you plan to whisper pillow talk in Mr. Bai’s ear?”
Yousi and the Patriarch whipped their heads around. The Patriarch nearly jumped out of his skin. He stood up rapidly. “N-not what the Marshal thinks! We were just… we are innocent! The marriage was promised by the Prince; we are absolutely clean and never harmed the Emperor.”
Zong Hao knew that, of course, but thinking of the “cooked the rice” and “pillow talk” he had just overheard, he felt a throbbing pain in his temples. Even nonsense should have a limit. Why were they speaking of things that weren’t even real?
Yousi felt the Marshal was definitely glaring at him. Even through the mask, he could feel the killing intent. He stood up straight instantly. “Not only did we not harm the Emperor, it has nothing to do with Mr. Bai. We are clean, the rice isn’t cooked, and there’s no pillow talk.”
The Patriarch grew anxious. How can you drop the ball at such a critical moment, child?
Yousi stepped on the Patriarch’s foot: Shut up right now. If you keep talking, you’re going to lose your son.
Yousi had finally figured it out. The man before him… was a half-rival.
The reason he was only a “half-rival” was that Yousi liked Mr. Bai for the food, not the person.
Zong Hao looked at Patriarch Hermann coldly. “Come with me. His Majesty is awake and wishes to see you.”
The Patriarch breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly followed with his head down, being cautious. Whether the Hermann family could remain one of the three major families now depended entirely on the Emperor’s word.
Zong Hao didn’t look at Yousi as he strode out. Ichi gave Yousi a strange look before glancing at his own Marshal. Tsk tsk. And he says he has nothing to do with Mr. Bai? The scent of jealousy is practically reaching the heavens.
However, this Young Master had quite the courage to try and snatch food from a tiger’s mouth. Truly commendable.
Better eat more good things now, lest he won’t get a hot meal later.
Zong Hao had Ichi take the Patriarch to see the Emperor while he went to find Ning Yunyi.
The Second Prince had been sobbing for a long time because he hadn’t seen Ning Yunyi. He needed Ning Yunyi to see him and offer some comfort to prevent him from exposing that Ning Yunyi was the “Master” he spoke of.
The Emperor already knew that a high-level expert had given the energy stone and saved him, and that this expert was also the one who saved the Second Prince. If the Second Prince called Ning Yunyi “Master” in public, the Emperor would inevitably be suspicious.
So, while the Emperor called Patriarch Hermann over, Zong Hao had mentioned the events of the evening. The Emperor was bound to find out eventually, and as expected, after learning the truth, he summoned Ning Yunyi to the chamber.
Zong Hao took Ning Yunyi and his elder brother to the chamber. On the way, Ning Yunyi whispered, “Can the Second Prince be taken out of the palace?”
Zong Hao nodded. “It shouldn’t be a problem. As long as the Second Prince cooperates and doesn’t want to stay in the palace, I’ll take him back to the Zong estate first and bring him to the Ning house later.”
Ning Yunyi nodded. “As long as there isn’t a scene.” After all, the Second Prince wasn’t thinking clearly and couldn’t be treated like a normal person.
Zong Hao: “His Majesty is awake. He should let you leave before dawn. He mentioned the base to me; I’ll have to stay behind later to discuss it. When it’s time to leave, you all just go ahead.”
Ning Yunyi frowned. “Are you sure you’ll be fine? The Prince wasn’t a good person, and this one… isn’t much better. Better to be careful.”
It was just that the Prince was even worse, so they needed the Emperor to suppress him. Now that the Prince was imprisoned, it remained to be seen how much conscience and guilt the Emperor had for the banshouren.
If he truly intended to open the base, then there was still hope for him. Otherwise… Ning Yunyi wouldn’t mind letting the Emperor “lie flat” permanently.
He wasn’t a true Interstellar person and didn’t follow the code of loyalty to the monarch. In his eyes, there were only good people and bad people.
When the three arrived at the chamber, the Second Prince was sitting on a small stool near the Emperor. The latter was taking kebabs out of a food box and tearing off pieces to feed him.
Likely because of the delicious food, the Second Prince had lowered his guard against this familiar-looking Emperor. He opened his mouth and had stopped crying, eating obediently.
The Emperor was happy to feed him, and the Second Prince was happy to eat, though the Emperor’s eyes turned red again as he fed his son.
Patriarch Hermann stood to the side with a forced smile. After a while, he couldn’t even manage that. The Emperor was so sad; should he continue to smile or not? If he didn’t smile, would it look like he was being disrespectful or dissatisfied? But if he did smile, would it make the Emperor think he was mocking the Second Prince? It was just too difficult.
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