...

Time flies, and it's already the end of June.

The emperor's birthday is at the end of August. Even though there is a Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet in between, the palace has already begun to make intensive preparations for the birthday banquet.

This year is different from previous years; we're definitely going to have a big event.

Because the emperor is sixty-nine years old this year, according to the rules of the Great Yan Dynasty, the moon wanes after it is full and water overflows when it is full, so... it is past nine but not ten.

The emperor will be celebrating his 70th birthday this year.

The princes were all putting in their best efforts to curry favor with the emperor and prepare for the struggle for the position of crown prince, especially the fifth prince, who was the most capable and had the highest popularity.

The emperor seemed to trust and value this son the most, and a few days ago he specially issued an edict entrusting the fifth prince with the preparation of the birthday banquet.

Even though the birthday banquet was still two months away, the palace was decorated in a new style, and everything was different from usual.

After entering the palace, Prince Duan looked left and right, his expression growing increasingly grim.

His elder brother is really in high spirits. The Empress and the Crown Prince have only been dead for three months, and he has already started preparing a birthday banquet, and he is doing it in such a grand manner. It seems that... his elder brother does not feel sad or regretful at all.

Every time he thought about this, Prince Duan felt a chill run down his spine.

The Empress was the wife of the Emperor's elder brother. They had known each other since they were young. It was the Emperor's elder brother who insisted on marrying the woman he loved. Over the years, the two seemed to be very loving. But what happened?

The empress was forced to commit suicide.

And then there's the Crown Prince, the eldest son born to the Empress to her elder brother. He was intelligent and quick-witted from a young age, and as he grew up, he was capable and filial. Who in the court didn't trust him? And who among the people didn't praise him?

As a result... because his elder brother feared that the Crown Prince threatened his position, he ordered the Crown Prince's death on trumped-up charges and exiled the Ninth Prince, born to the Empress, to the border of the dynasty.

That old bastard, he's utterly ruthless when it comes to his throne.

Prince Duan had not seen the emperor for quite some time, because he was afraid that he would be unable to resist cursing the old man, cursing him for being heartless and ungrateful, and cursing him for being unworthy of being a husband and father.

Despite being the emperor's own brother, Prince Duan knew that the emperor had always been very tolerant of him, never getting angry no matter what he said or did. But ever since the emperor killed the crown prince and forced the empress to her death, Prince Duan had realized that the emperor was an extremely ruthless person. He dared not be as presumptuous as before, lest he become the emperor's next target to be eliminated.

"Your Majesty, Prince Duan requests an audience." The eunuch guarding the door immediately went in to report when he saw Prince Duan arrive.

"Let him in," the emperor said without looking up from his work of reviewing memorials.

"Yes," the eunuch replied, and hurriedly went out to welcome Prince Duan in.

When Prince Duan saw the emperor, with his full head of white hair and aged appearance, sitting on the dragon throne reviewing memorials, he couldn't help but curl his lip.

Serves you right!

With the Crown Prince's help, this old man lived a very carefree and comfortable life.

People who have a good life choose to kill their son instead of living it. If you cling to all of this, you'll eventually work yourself to death.

Although Prince Duan was disdainful in his heart, he pretended to be very respectful on the surface: "Your subject greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live ten thousand years."

"This is strange! You actually kneel and kowtow to me!" The emperor looked up at Prince Duan kneeling on the ground, seemingly very surprised.

Prince Duan was speechless upon hearing this.

This old man is willing to kill even his first wife and eldest son, so what is he?

Would he dare not obediently bow?

"Your Majesty, I am filled with trepidation. I was ignorant of the rules in the past, and I am here today to apologize to Your Majesty," said Prince Duan as he kowtowed.

Upon hearing this, the emperor put down his imperial brush and stared at Prince Duan without saying a word.

Unexpectedly, even his own brother, who shared the same mother, had become so distant from him.

From the moment he killed the crown prince and forced the empress to commit suicide, everything changed.

The emperor has felt this deeply these days.

"You came to the palace today just to apologize?" the emperor asked, frowning.

"Your Majesty, I have come to plead for Xiao Jiu."

No sooner had Prince Duan finished speaking than he saw the Emperor grab the pen in his hand and throw it at him.

"Shut up! I have issued an imperial decree that no one is allowed to help Qi Yanchang or plead for him. Otherwise... you will be exiled with him. Do you think life is too peaceful and want to go to Weiyang County with him?" the emperor shouted sternly.

“No.” Prince Duan shook his head: “Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to say this, of all the princes, Xiao Jiu is the most innocent and the most filial. Of course… Xiao Jiu also knows the least. Since being exiled, he has suffered a lot. Now he has been repeatedly poisoned. If this continues… even with Cheng Shuo and the others, he will not be able to hold on.”

The emperor frowned deeply upon hearing this.

Is that brat Qi Yanchang in danger?

Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case!

He not only allowed Qi Chengshuo to lead men to protect Qi Yanchang, but also sent secret guards to protect him long ago.

So far, the secret letters sent by the guards all say that although Qi Yanchang is having a hard time, his life is not in danger.

But from what he heard from that old rascal, Prince Duan, it wasn't like that at all.

"To be honest, Your Majesty, before I sent Chengshuo to Weiyang County, I went to Huangjue Temple to ask him for a bronze mask. I gave the mask to the high monk who told me that the mask could not only ward off evil and disaster, but also help Chengshuo hide his identity and save him a lot of trouble along the way. I never expected that the mask was a ghost mask that was carefully made by a person, and a fierce ghost was hidden inside."

Prince Duan said with a look of grief and indignation, "As soon as Cheng Shuo saw Xiao Jiu, the evil spirit in the bronze mask pounced on Xiao Jiu. If it weren't for the help of a master, Xiao Jiu would have been burned to ashes long ago."

The emperor's expression changed repeatedly upon hearing this.

“If something happens to Xiao Jiu, His Majesty will definitely punish Cheng Shuo, and I will not be able to escape unscathed either. The person behind this plot not only wants Xiao Jiu’s life, but also wants to ruin me and Cheng Shuo.”

"Two months ago, someone murdered a perfectly healthy girl in an extremely cruel way, and even turned her soul into a vengeful ghost, intending to kill Xiao Jiu..."

“A month ago, someone went to the place where Xiao Jiu is now staying to commit murder and arson. If it weren’t for Cheng Shuo and the others, Xiao Jiu would have been in grave danger.”

“Your Majesty, Xiao Jiu has only been in exile for four months and has already faced three life-or-death crises. If Your Majesty truly does not want this son, then entrust him to your care. I will do everything in my power to ensure his safety,” Prince Duan said while kowtowing.

The emperor's face was extremely grim.

It wasn't because Prince Duan wanted to "steal" his son.

It was because Qi Jiu had encountered several life-or-death crises, but no one reported them to him.

Were the bodyguards he sent to protect Qi Jiu bribed?

As an emperor, he could not tolerate anyone bribing those around him.

“Your Majesty, what happened before had nothing to do with Xiao Jiu. If Your Majesty does not want to lose this son, then pardon him and let him return to the capital,” Prince Duan said respectfully.