"Please, Your Majesty! This slave wants to save His Highness and bring him back to the palace!" In the Xuantian Palace, Hong Qui and Ying Ran kneeled on the ground and anxiously begged.
"I said, no." Qi Xutian raised his hand, the golden black coloured sleeve cast a shadow as he waved his hand in dismissal. "Leave, you don't need to mention this matter."
Hong Qui's face was anxious and sorrowful, "Why? Why did Your Majesty let His Highness fall into the hands of Fenghua Palace's people?! This slave knows that the other party is asking for something, even if Your Majesty does not want to give it, you can send a shadow guard to go and rescue him!"
"As light blades, we are willing to bring His Highness back!" Ying Ran also knelt on the ground, although the expression on her face was calm, the resoluteness in her words made people know how much determination she had in her heart.
Qi Xutian felt that it was humorous and chuckled, "It seems that you are really very loyal to him, I really did not pick the wrong people."
"Your Majesty wanted us to serve Master well and now both Hong Qui and I regard His Royal Highness as our true Master. His Royal Highness is young and treats others kindly, but this slave knows that His Royal Highness is highly capable and will surely be involved in some things in the future. Even if His Highness is unwilling, people would be jealous of him and harm him; both of us are ready to follow him. We are ready to follow His Highness in the future, we beg Your Majesty!" Ying Ran looked directly at her original Master, the Emperor - who was in control of life and death, was fickle and unpredictable. At this time, he was smiling as he listened to their words. They didn't know what he was thinking.
Qi Xutian leaned back on the dragon chair and looked at the two people who were kneeling on the ground at a distance. "I am very satisfied. MingEr is really a cute child. He can make you both so loyal to him. In the past few years, you both took great care of him, worrying about him. As long as MingEr comes back this time, you will listen to him in the future and don’t have to report everything to me anymore."
"But this time..." Hong Qui and Ying Ran still wanted to go out to save the child. How could he, a young child, come back on his own?! How could His Majesty be so calm even though His Highness fell into the hands of others?!
Qi Xutian said with a smile, "You don't understand my words?" Displeasure was already revealed in his words.
Seeing this, Hong Qui couldn't help but shed tears in anxiety. "Why is Your Majesty so cruel? Your Majesty always showed so much affection and care towards His Highness, was all that fake?"
"You've said too much, do I still need your permission to make decisions?! It seems that you have been waiting on MingEr for too many years. I'll spare you this time, but if you don't leave, I won't be so lenient anymore." Qi Xutian frowned, his anger and grandeur made people fearful and also made both Hong Qui and Ying Ran pale. Of course, they knew that once His Majesty was really angry, in an instant, he could make them regret living in this world.
"This slave obeys." Both of them clenched their teeth and stood up to retreat in anxiety.
Watching the two go out, Qi Xutian walked towards the bookcase and stared at the night pearl embedded in the wall. While looking at the fluorescent pearl's faint light, he got lost in unknown thoughts.
Chief Liu opened the door and walked in, "Your Majesty, the shadow guards have returned."
In the silent Xuantian Palace, his voice rang in the air. The man who was standing next to the bookcase with his back to him still remained unmoved. He seemed to have fallen into his own thoughts and didn't seem to have heard him.
"The shadow guards have also completed the mission and killed most of the people of Fenghua Palace. The rest... Jing Huang and his confidants..." Although the Second Prince was in Jing Huang's hands, His Majesty still ordered; he was still the same and didn't care about anyone.
Chief Liu stood on the side, looked at His Majesty's back, sighed silently, lowered his head, and waited for instructions.
"Liu Yi," the figure finally moved, Qi Xutian turned around, "how many days has he left for now?"
"Your Majesty, it has been seven days since His Highness left the palace."
"Seven days," Qi Xutian walked to the censer and said with a little self-deprecation on his face, "I never thought that I would regret these seven days... I regret it." This was the second time for MingEr.
Chief Liu opened his mouth and finally said, "Liu Yi wanted to remind Your Majesty that your favour for His Royal Highness Mingyue is somewhat..."
"Somewhat too much?" Qi Xutian didn't take it seriously. "Since there was a play to do, it had to be done well. Otherwise, how could this be so smooth? Now that Fenghua Palace has been destroyed, Jing Fenghua is even less of a problem. It's a pity that Jing Huang was too incompetent and disappointed me. At that time, Jing Fenghua entered the palace and I thought that these people would stir up some wind. Unexpectedly, the game ended so quickly. It was a waste of my expectations and was really boring."
Chief Liu shook his head, "Your Majesty, I meant that since you regret it, haven't you noticed that you are different towards His Highness Mingyue?"
Qi Xutian sighed, then laughed, "I will remind you that he is very special. I naturally can't help my interest in him. It's natural for me to spoil him more and this time he was taken away," he shook his head again as if surprised, "I actually started to miss him."
Chief Liu said nothing. Since seeing His Majesty's endeavours in Jianghu, he had long known that this person was cold-hearted. It may seem that he was just unconventional, but in fact, he was cold, fickle, ruthless and did not put anyone in his eyes. This world, in his view, was just a game, everything and everyone was either an interesting or a boring chess piece. He just didn't expect that His Second Highness was able to make a person like His Majesty feel a little concerned, it was really surprising.
"Then, Your Majesty... should I order people to go..."
"No," Qi Xutian interrupted him. Thinking of that child, he raised his lips, revealing a fascinated expression, "I want to see how MingEr solves this matter. If he disappoints me, I don't have to be mindful of him anymore." Thus, he wouldn't feel sorry for discarding him.
"Then, in Your Majesty's opinion, does His Highness have the ability?"
"MingEr's previous performance has never disappointed me. I really want to know what will happen this time?" Qi Xutian murmured, slowly looked towards the door, "Since you are here, why not come in?"
Chief Liu was not surprised. Just when he questioned, he noticed that someone had arrived at the door. His Majesty must have discovered it, but he wondered who it could be?
"Your Majesty, this minister remembered news we received before. Yesterday, Jing Huang took His Second Highness out of his branch outside the city. They seem to be heading in the direction of Ye Yao City."
"Hm. Since you have said that, then it seems MingEr is also coming back. I am really bored. When MingEr is here, I want to see how he plans on solving this matter."
The door was slowly pushed open, "Thank you, Father Emperor, for your trust. Mingyue brought Palace Master Jing Huang, I wonder if this solution is satisfactory for Father Emperor?" A small figure stepped in, followed by two men one after the other; one was wearing a blood-red robe and the other was wearing a close-fitting white suit and was as pale as a ghost.
These few people were Qi Mingyue and Jing Huang who snuck into the palace, and there was also the ghost-like Wu Yao who had no sense of presence.
"Father is really amazing. Could it be that you knew that the Master of Fenghua Palace would not hurt my life? You let the shadow guards chase them and killed everyone in the way. Most of the people of Fenghua Palace were wounded and killed, even the children weren't spared. Since you knew where I was, why did you sit back and watch?" Qi Mingyue's small face was expressionless with no sign of anger.
Jing Huang heard him and sneered, "Why else? It's because he couldn't bear to part with his bead. In his eyes, you were nothing more than a toy from the beginning. You are not the only prince, he can replace you at any time, isn't that right?"
He continued, "Your Royal Highness, I remember you brought me here to get the bead? Why did you come here and reveal us? Could it be that you want someone to take me down? You must not forget, you have already consumed Ya Qing!" Seeing the two masters Qi Xutian and Liu Yi were standing close by, Jing Huang couldn't help but get nervous. If Qi Mingyue could not get Zuizhu and ended up dead, he would never be able to escape.
"Relax, have faith in me." Qi Mingyue walked in front of Qi Xutian and said, "Father Emperor, if you want to save my life, would you be willing to take out the bead?"
"If I don't want to, then what would MingEr do?" Qi Xutian was very curious.
Qi Mingyue lifted his small face and sighed softly, "Then I will lose the bet and die." He was prepared to gamble with his own life and blackmail Qi Xutian to take out the bead.
"You are helping outsiders blackmail me, is this the solution MingEr thought of?" Qi Xutian raised his eyebrows, there were no signs of anger. He seemed to find the situation quite intriguing.
"Since Father Emperor doesn't care about my life and death, then why should I protect Zuizhu for you?" Qi Mingyue's words made Jing Huang understand that since the child found that Qi Xutian was not sincere to him, he wanted revenge. It seemed that his temper was very fierce. If Qi Mingyue really got the bead for him, he could take the little prince with them when he left. He could be used as a hostage, he wasn't afraid of the child not cooperating. The guards in the palace wouldn't dare to fight against the prince. Even if Qi Xutian was unwilling to give up, he would not kill his son in public. Thinking of this he suddenly felt a lot more relieved, "Your Royal Highness knows where the bead is, it's better to directly take me there. We don't have to spend time here, Wu Yao can stall for us for a while. "
Qi Mingyue turned to look at him, his face innocent, "But I don't know." Then he shrugged his shoulders and looked helpless.
Jing Huang was immediately filled with murderous intent, "You lied to me before! It seems that Your Highness is deliberately looking for death!"
"Don't worry," Qi Mingyue appeased him, walked back to Qi Xutian and looked at him with interest. "I have never disappointed Father, this time, I naturally won't either. Although the play arranged by Father is interesting, it is also troublesome without Father's cooperation."
After listening to his words, Qi Xutian smiled and said to Chief Liu, "You go to the repository to fetch the bead." Chief Liu went to carry out the order. The room had both father and son remaining along with Jing Huang and it seemed as if there was no one named Wu Yao present.
The palace was silent and bleak. No one spoke. Qi Xutian just looked at Qi Mingyue. He saw Qi Mingyue walk over to the man dressed in white and lean against him, "I'm tired."
This young child's body was too useless and easily got tired. Since he found that Wu Yao would not react much to anything, he used him as a pillow from time to time. Wu Yao would not complain anyway.
Jing Huang was used to it, but Qi Xutian narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a somewhat dangerous look. Unexpectedly, he stepped down from the dragon chair, picked up Qi Mingyue who had been leaning against Wu Yao and then sat back again.
Qi Mingyue opened his eyes and the two stared at each other for a while, then he quietly leaned in Qi Xutian's arms and stopped talking.
Jing Huang waited on the side. He was about to get the bead and couldn't help feeling overjoyed. He didn't have the look of calmness that Qi Mingyue saw at first. When the figure of Chief Liu appeared in front of the door, he lost his cool and happily stepped forward to take the bead. Unexpectedly, Chief Liu's figure flickered and walked straight towards Qi Xutian. "Your Majesty, the bead has been taken." A square wooden box was held in his hand.
Qi Mingyue opened his eyes, lifted his head from Qi Xutian's arms, and stopped the figure of Jing Huang who was about to pounce from doing anything. "Don't worry, Palace Master, let me see it first."
Jing Huang frowned, "Your Royal Highness hasn't even seen it yet?" Then he was relieved, "No matter what, since His Royal Highness guided me here, it doesn't matter that you haven't seen it before. As long as Zuizhu is here, you can look at it for a bit, then give it to me." He was feeling complacent as he spoke. He felt glad that he made him eat Ya Qing earlier. Finally, Zhizhu would fall into his own hands.
Qi Mingyue ignored his response and took the box from Chief Liu's hands. When he opened it, he saw a small, red, bean-shaped bead inside that was bright crimson in colour and shimmered under the light. It also emitted a pleasant fragrance. "Turns out this is Zuizhu." With a sigh of admiration, he closed the box, jumped down from Qi Xutian's arms, and walked towards Jing Huang.
When Qi Mingyue opened the box, Jing Huang concluded that this was really the bead he wanted by virtue of its colour and aroma. Seeing it in front of him, he quickly reached for it, took the box, opened it, and immediately closed its lid again. He looked at the little figure in front of him, "Thank you for your help, Your Highness. For the next three months, Wu Yao will listen to you until your poison is relieved." Then, a cunning look appeared his eyes and he said with a smile, "Unfortunately, Wu Yao is my most powerful attendant. I think it would be inconvenient for him to be left here for such a long time. It would be better for Your Highness to leave with me. Wu Yao would still listen to your orders." After his words finished, he attacked Qi Mingyue, it was already too late for others to respond and Jing Huang caught him.
Qi Mingyue looked at Qi Xutian whose face had changed colour, "Don't worry, Father." He smiled at Jing Huang, making the other man feel doubtful.
Jing Huang's vision blurred and his mind blanked with dizziness for a moment. Concentrating on his mind, he thought he was too excited. He quickly tried to calm down, but his drowsiness increased instead of decreasing. He was about to fall down and tightly grasped Qi Mingyue in front of him. Jing Huang finally felt that something was wrong and his face turned ferocious, "Your Highness can't be trusted, get ready to die!"
"You better worry about yourself." Qi Mingyue no longer hid the cold smile in his eyes, and said to the person on his side, "Wu Yao, Ruoshui."
Wu Yao threw the dagger over, Jing Huang saw this and was stunned. He shouted, "You stupid thing, don't do it!" Then he remembered he had ordered him to obey Qi Mingyue. In accordance with Wu Yao's temperament, as the order was not lifted, Wu Yao would not care about him even if he was facing difficulties.
So he quickly opened his mouth and shouted: "I order you not to listen to his orders, take him down quickly!"
The strange thing was that Wu Yao didn't move. He slowly said, "It hasn't been three months." It seems that he chose to listen and follow the previous command, and didn't plan on caring about Jing Huang's life and death.
Jing Huang's face changed, he tried to support his swaying figure. At this time, he felt that his body was weak and he almost fell. He gritted his teeth and barely managed to speak, "You drugged me!" He reached to wring Qi Mingyue's neck.
Qi Mingyue was caught in front of his chest, and this time, he couldn't avoid it. However, he wasn't in a hurry, his wrist moved gracefully, it was as if water had fluttered past Jing Huang's neck like a moonlight dance. There was a trace of mockery and contempt in Qi Mingyue's eyes as he smiled scornfully and looked at the blood spewing out of his neck and easily jumped off him. He raised his eyebrows and said lightly: "Why should Palace Master be worried? It's just a drug."
Jing Huang covered the wound on his neck and made a gurgling gasp. His eyes widened as he fell to the ground in disbelief, "You... when..." His intermittent words were mixed with strange groaning, he couldn't understand. Their diet was the same along the way, how he was drugged?
Qi Mingyue was standing in the pool of blood, the blood dripped down his hand and he felt satisfied with Ruoshui and returned it to its sheath. After studying the wound caused by it, he could make better use of it while taking its weight, length, and the depth of cut into account and the result made him very pleased. While wiping the blood that splashed on his face, he showed a gentle smile, "Do you remember that when I was under house arrest at your base, I often took a nap? You must have thought that since I was a prince, my body must be delicate. What you don't know is that I was testing a drug, and it is a slow-acting drug. Wu Yao has been drugged by me, so both of us have long adapted to it. Only you are susceptible to it and had an attack. Now that it has been explained so clearly, is Palace Master satisfied?"
Jing Huang's eyes were wide and they remained open even after death. The scarlet clothes of his figure that were akin to blood merged with the colour of the pool of blood. Qi Mingyue looked at his body and sighed, "I said so much, but unfortunately, it seems that the Palace Master didn't manage to listen to it all."
Raising his head, he looked at Wu Yao and asked, "Do you want to leave or follow me?"
"You." Wu Yao stepped over the blood on the floor and came to him.
"Well, you will protect me in the dark." After saying this, he handed over Ruoshui to him, "It will belong to you in the future."
"Yes." Wu Yao took it. His figure flickered and disappeared somewhere in the palace.
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