It was Qin Yunuan who killed his mother, made his beloved sister marry the double-dealer Prince Ray and forced him to play dead and go incognito with the mask. And now, she had driven him into a corner. The hatred would kill him if he did not avenge himself on her and hack her to pieces.
Qin Linfeng took out two poisoned darts hidden in the sleeve and shot at Qin Yunuan right away. Leng Wu and Leng Shuang took actions at once and shielded the darts easily. They did not find that there was another dart in Qin Linfeng’s sleeve until they saw the sinister smile on his face, which showed that he cared little about life or death. Missing the chance, they could do nothing but watch the dart shooting at Qin Yunuan.
However, after a crack, the one who fell down to the ground was Qin Linfeng, the third dart inserted right into his chest, the spot where his heart was.
Outside the hall stood Leng Changxi, who appeared quietly in a set of fluttering white clothes. He was standing sideways, holding a colorful marble with his fingers, which should be the gift for Baochuan that he had made a promise to him before leaving. The marble was the reason why the poisoned dart was rebound back to Qin Linfeng. Now, the yellow marble was jumping on the ground.
Cheng Changxi’s movement was as fast as the mechanical dart in Qin Linfeng’s sleeve.
“Brother!” Qin Yunzhuang cried hard when she saw Qin Linfeng falling down rigidly. She dashed to his dead body regardless of all consequences. Her tears mixed up with the dark blood gushing out of Qin Linfeng’s chest, which made it a mess.
Getting the wink of Sima Ray, Liu Bao stepped forward and pulled Qin Yunzhuang up from Qin Linfeng’s dead body.
“Third Prince’s Wife, you are at the front of His Royal Highness. The one you are holding was the sinner who fooled with His Royal Highness and was to be put to death,” Liu Bao warned Qin Yunzhuang beside her ears in a low voice.
Overwhelmed by distress, Qin Yunzhuang actually threw herself down at Qin Zhi’s feet and begged, “Father, you have to bring fair back to brother! He was plotted by that wicked woman! You have to take revenge for him!” Well, “the wicked woman” that she mentioned should be Qin Yunuan.
Qin Yunuan shook her head. Qin Yunzhuang was too stupid. Did she not know about Qin Zhi? Compared with a dead son, he would definitely choose his remaining reputation.
“Do you have anything else to say, Grand Commandant Qin?” Emperor Zhaoxuan said with a drawl. Obviously, he was displaying his strength.
With a glance at the dead body of his son and his daughter who was holding his leg, Qin Zhi ground his teeth and forced the words, “It was my poor parenting that had led to all this thing. Linfeng deserved to be executed, and I do not have anything to say.”
“Father,” Qin Yunzhuang looked desperate. At this moment, she realized that the one who cared about her most was not her mother or her blinded father. It was her brother, the one who died in front of her. “I hate you, father. I hate you forever!” She then pushed Qin Zhi away with all her force. Qin Zhi stumbled back suddenly and barely stood with the help of the Left Chancellor Shangguan Yuan, who was squinting and laughing grimly at him.
That did not work off Emperor Zhaoxuan’s anger. Seeing the corpse of Qin Linfeng, he ordered, “Drag this cheater’s body to the wilderness. No one shall bury him.”
Qin Zhi shuddered and then calmed down. Only Qin Yunzhuang cried and begged to Emperor Zhaoxuan, “I beg your mercy, father, please! Though my brother cheated you, his prediction of the earthquake was right that he saved many lives. Please don’t do that to him, for he had done something good.”
“I have something to report about the earthquake.” Now, Leng Changxi had stepped into the hall, his pale face being covered by the mask, “Bring all the men we caught at the foot of the hill.”
It did not take long before a dozen of men whose wrists were tied up in series showed up. They all dressed in black with black clothes hanging around their necks, which were used to cover their faces. The two of them still had dynamites around their waists.
Leng Changxi ripped the dynamites down and exposed the niter and sulfur filled in them. Such a bag of dynamite would explode a building with a front and a back yard easily. “That’s why there was an earthquake,” Leng Changxi sneered.
Some people did not understand. So Leng Changxi explained slowly, “That there would be an earthquake was fake news that intended to get us to the palace. Dynamites were set under some key spots of the hill to make a landslide so that we would believe it to be true. It was very easy to complete the deception. They just need to cut down some trees and ruin some houses on our way home, and we would surely believe that there was an earthquake in the Royal City.”
“So there’s no earthquake?” A minister asked boldly.
“Yes, there is no earthquake.” Leng Changxi stared at Sima Ray during this time. “Besides, Guo Shidong, or we may say Qin Linfeng, must have some connection with the people in the imperial palace. Or else, he would not know about His Royal Highness so well. Not only do they want to crack down the Seventh Prince, but they also want your Royal Highness and all the ministers to believe that Guo Shidong is a master that could tell the future so that they would do more things.”
Emperor Zhaoxuan was so angry that his strike on the armrest made the decoration on the throne shake. “I was actually fooled by this trick? Check it out! I need to know who it was that played a part in the vile actions with the gaslighting Grand Young Master Qin.”
Right at this time, Qin Yunzhuang got agitated, “Father, please, please let my brother off! He is dead now. Please leave him a whole body.” She could not stand that her beloved brother’s corpse was to be thrown away in the wilderness.
“Liu Bao, drag her away.” Sima Ray ordered in a sharp and impatient tone, “She shall never get out of the courtyard without my permission,” and then he asked Emperor Zhaoxuan for pardon, “It was my fault that I did not keep an eye on my wife, I beg your pardon, father.”
Qin Yunzhuang was dragged away by Liu Bao and several eunuchs, and the dead body of Qin Linfeng was taken away by some servants while the blood on the ground being cleaned. When all this finished, Qin Yunuan looked at the Seventh Prince Sima Qiu, who was kneeling all the time without saying anything. He looked calm, but the fingerprint on his face still remind everyone of what he had gone through.
“I heard that the so-called Master Guo was your advisor?” Emperor Zhaoxuan said coldly.
With a quiver, Sima Ray kneeled at once and answered in an earnest way, “Father, please listen to me! I did appreciate the skill of Guo Shidong, but I had no idea of who he really was. Nor did I know about his vicious intention.”
“Humph, you said you didn’t know, but many among the men in black that I’ve caught are disciples of your personal servant Liu Bao.” While speaking, Leng Changxi pointed at some of these people casually, “This one, this one, and the one next to the last, do you know them, Eunuch Liu?”
For Sima Ray, Liu Bao was quite a help that he had assisted him to do many secret evil things, but now….
Sima Ray cast a cold glance at Liu Bao suddenly.
“Third…” Before he finished, he was kicked to the ground by Sima Ray who was trampling on his chest that he could barely say anything for the pain.
“I’ve never wronged you. And how could you betray your own patron and collude with other people to fool father? I have no reason to leave you.” Sima Ray got so exasperated that he even drew the sword of a nearby armed servant to behead Liu Bao.
“Calm down, Prince Ray.” Leng Changxi took hold of Sima Ray’s arm all of a sudden. They stared at each other eye to eye, one being angry and the other being sharp and calm. “Things have not been sorted out. Wouldn’t you be too rash to behead him?”
Sima Ray’s eyesight froze, but then he spoke up, “Not only did this flunky cheated on me, but he also ruined the birthday banquet of grandma. I’m afraid that he’s too unbridled.”
Seeing the knitted eyebrows of Emperor Zhaoxuan, Empress Chen tried to comfort him with a tender voice, “Your Majesty, Ray just chose the wrong man and was cheated by him. But he intended to find the capable person for you. He meant to bring blessings to Qi and your sovereignty.”
“Humph, sovereignty,” Imperial Concubine Yun sneered, “Now, Prince Ray had made a mess of the sovereignty.”
“Shut up.” That was the first time that Emperor Zhaoxuan talked so tough to Imperial Concubine Yun. She shouldn’t have added fuel to the flames as the matter had gotten into such a mess.
“Bring them away,” Leng Changxi threw off Sima Ray’s arm very hard. After Liu Bao, whose hands were still on the chest, was dragged off by Leng Wu and the other two subordinates, he cupped his hands to Emperor Zhaoxuan and then said, “Please rest your heart, your Majesty. I will continue the investigation strictly and not let any manipulator off.”
Sima Ray’s heart strained. But he felt a little reassured when he saw Liu Bao who was suffering from the great pain. He was confident of his strike that Liu Bao would have no chance to speak before being questioned by Leng Changxi. That was him, one who was extremely cruel and merciless that would leave no room for others.
Undoubtedly, the Seventh Prince Sima Qiu became the most innocent people in this mess. As he was quiet during this time, Emperor Zhaoxuan felt more guilty towards this son that he had not seen for years.
Sima Qiu was taken back for recovery, and other guests all went back to their places to take a rest before returning to the Royal City. Leng Changxi was not as exhausted as before. Thanks to the sharp eyes of Sun Miaoyang, the two silver needles did not cause much harm to him. The show that was put on by Qin Yunuan was to lower the guard of their enemies.
“I don’t understand,” Maner suddenly asked Qin Yunuan on their way back.
