Cao Dejiang, who had been closely watching Xiao Yan, twitched his eye at the scene.
The Second Prince was dazed from the blow. Though the porcelain pillow was hollow, it was sharp-edged and heavy, nearly costing him half his life as it struck his head.
A long gash opened on his forehead, blood streaming down his face. Dizzy and disoriented, he collapsed to his knees, accidentally pressing his hand into the shattered porcelain fragments. Pain shot through his hand, and his eyes, quickly clouded with blood, could barely make out the world around him.
“F-Father…”
“You still dare call me Father? Why don’t I just call you Father instead?”
Emperor An was truly enraged. He showed no trace of pity or concern for the bloodied Second Prince, instead unleashing a torrent of unrestrained curses.
“Who gave you permission to meddle in the affairs of the inner palace? Did I not decree that no one but the Privy Council was to interfere with the Lu family’s case?”
“You had the audacity to expose a royal scandal in open court! Do you take my words as nothing, or do you think I, your emperor, am an obstacle to your ambitions as the Second Prince? Are you so eager to see me disgraced and mocked by the world, clearing the way for you?!”
The Second Prince, head spinning, still caught the treasonous implications in Emperor An’s words. Propping himself up on his knees, he hurriedly said, “Your son would never dare! I only feared Father was being deceived. I just wanted to ease your burdens…”
Slap!
The stack of documents the Second Prince had presented was flung to the ground, scattering in a mess.
“Ease my burdens?”
Emperor An’s eyes were dark with fury. “Who do you think you are to ease my burdens? Do you really think I’m unaware of your sordid schemes?”
“You’ve been secretly colluding with court officials, and I turned a blind eye, never holding you accountable. But now you dare scheme against me?”
“You clearly knew there were secrets in Prince Cheng’s case and tricked the Fourth Prince into giving you evidence. Yet you held back, conspiring with Cui Lin to deceive your emperor.”
“Xie Pingjia, I underestimated you. You even managed to connect with someone in my inner palace, daring to smuggle a maid from Fengxi Palace out under everyone’s noses, just to wait for today to kick me when I’m down.”
“You want to step on the Lu family to make the world mock me, the emperor, for being blind enough to marry a tarnished woman as my empress? You want everyone to ridicule me for raising Prince Cheng’s bastard for twenty years?!”
The angrier Emperor An became, the harsher his words grew.
The memory of the courtiers’ veiled glances during the morning court, the Second Prince and Cui Lin taking turns to expose the Empress and Prince Cheng’s affair, each revelation a slap to his face, fueled his rage.
The violent impulses he had barely suppressed with elixirs surged again. His eyes blazed with murderous intent, and cursing alone no longer sated his anger.
He rose and stormed toward the Second Prince with heavy steps. Xiao Yan, seeing this, silently shifted his robe aside again, while Emperor An, reaching the prince, delivered a fierce kick to his chest, sending the already bloodied and dizzy Second Prince sprawling.
“Do you want to see me humiliated? Do you want the whole world to know I’ve been a cuckolded fool for twenty years?”
“You’ve torn the face of the entire imperial family and thrown it to the ground for others to trample! I only wish I’d never sired you. When your wretched mother was pregnant with you, I should have ordered her beaten to death with clubs, so I wouldn’t have to deal with an unfilial wretch like you!”
The Second Prince, collapsed on the ground, felt excruciating pain in his chest and forehead, but it paled compared to the venom in Emperor An’s words.
He had all but disowned him as a prince, called his mother vile, and regretted his very existence. The word “unfilial” nearly severed his future prospects.
“Father, please calm your anger…”
The Second Prince scrambled to his knees, trying to clutch Emperor An’s leg.
“Your son has no disloyal intentions and never meant to disgrace you. I… I was only afraid Father was being kept in the dark by the Lu family…”
Tears mixed with blood streamed down his face, making him look utterly pathetic.
“Father trusts the Lu family so much, never doubting them. The Empress deceived you for years. Seeing you still intend to spare the Lu family, still honoring your bond as ruler and subject, I felt it was unjust for you. In a moment of folly, I spoke of the Empress in court.”
At this point, the Second Prince no longer dared think of claiming credit. Emperor An’s words chilled him to the bone, and he finally realized the colossal mistake he’d made in court that morning.
The affair between Empress Lu and Prince Cheng was a royal scandal. His father had been cuckolded for twenty years, raising another man’s son, and he had exposed it in open court…
The Second Prince clung desperately to the hem of Emperor An’s dragon robe, his face pale as he sobbed and pleaded.
“Your son would never dare collude with palace insiders. I stumbled upon Jinzhi by chance. I swear I would never deceive you, Father.”
“I was only afraid you were being deceived, that the Empress had fooled the Privy Council and muddled the imperial bloodline. I acted rashly. I beg you, Father, forgive me…”
The Second Prince would have been better off not mentioning the Privy Council—it was like stabbing Emperor An in the heart.
Emperor An furiously kicked the Second Prince away, yanking his dragon robe free from his grasp.
“Do you think you’re the only capable one in the world? Or that a useless fool like you could outdo the countless elite agents of my Privy Council?”
“Something you could uncover, you think the Privy Council couldn’t?!”
The Second Prince’s face changed drastically, and he couldn’t help but glance at Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan’s expression was cold as he spoke softly, “I told the Second Prince long ago that Your Majesty had decreed no one was to interfere with the Lu family’s case. I also warned him not to investigate things he shouldn’t.”
“I learned of Empress Lu’s involvement on the third day after the Lu family’s imprisonment. I was only missing evidence to fully clarify Prince Cheng’s case.”
“Once I knew, I immediately detained all relevant witnesses in the Privy Council’s secret cells, under strict guard, to prevent any leaks that could tarnish the imperial family’s reputation.”
“The matter of the Empress and her son is a royal scandal. If it spread, it would damage Your Majesty’s dignity. After sorting everything out yesterday, I planned to report it privately to Your Majesty after the morning court and handle the Empress and her son discreetly. But who could have predicted the Second Prince and Minister Cui’s audacity?”
The Second Prince listened to Xiao Yan’s words, seeing the cold indifference and faint disgust on his face. Suddenly, he recalled what Xiao Yan had told him that day as he left the palace.
Xiao Yan had earnestly warned him not to meddle in the Lu family’s affairs or contact their members, lest he invite disaster.
It was him.
It was his greed for the benefits of the Lu family’s downfall, his desire to push others aside and claim the vacancy they left, that made him ignore Xiao Yan’s warning. He had secretly investigated Empress Lu behind Xiao Yan’s back.
Even after learning of the Empress’s affair with Prince Cheng, he went to great lengths to hide it from Xiao Yan, never consulting him, fearing Xiao Yan would steal his credit. He thought he’d uncovered a monumental leverage, reveling in his triumph.
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You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
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