Chapter 314 Inquiry

"Take it down!"

Shen Cong took Shen Xu, who was being pushed towards him by the Imperial Guards, his voice as cold as a knife.

The Imperial Guards swarmed forward and bound Prince Chen tightly.

Shen Cong gently patted Shen Xu, whose face was pale.

"It's alright, don't be afraid."

"Chang Sheng, how are you? Are you hurt?"

The emperor pushed aside Ding Wang, who was blocking his way, and strode over, looking at Shen Xu with a nervous expression.

Shen Xu rushed over and hugged him tightly, his voice trembling and choked with sobs.

"Father."

"Don't be afraid, Father is here."

The emperor patted Shen Xu's back reassuringly, but his gaze went past his son's head and landed on Prince Chen, who was being held down on the ground.

The anger and murderous intent surging in his eyes were almost tangible.

"Throw all those traitors into the Heavenly Prison!"

Prince Chen had already fainted, and Bai San Niang was pale and limp.

Only Li Yao was distraught, sitting dumbfounded on the ground, unable to understand how he had gone from a nobleman's son to a traitor in just a few days.

Right now, even their lives are in danger.

Li Yao's panicked gaze darted around, then suddenly landed on Li Nanke.

His eyes lit up, as if he had grasped at the last straw.

It tried desperately to pounce on him.

"Ke'er, please save your second uncle!"

"Please save my life, for the sake of how much your second uncle loved you when you were little!"

Before Li Yao could even get close to her, Nangong Qiang kicked him away.

Li Nanke looked at him expressionlessly, her voice crisp yet resounding.

"You are the son of a traitor, you have no relation to the Li family, and you are not my second uncle!"

Li Yao fell heavily to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Looking at Li Nanke's calm face, he was almost overwhelmed by despair.

If I had known it would end like this, I would have been better off just being the second young master of the Marquis's mansion.

Why must we fight for the heir apparent? Why must we harm the He family? Why must we harm Li Mu's family?

Li Yao closed his eyes in despair, letting the Imperial Guards drag him away.

The dark alleyway returned to calm.

Ding Wang stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, now that the Crown Prince has been safely rescued, let’s return to the palace.”

The emperor nodded and turned to look at Shen Cong.

“A Cong”.

Shen Cong took a step forward, and suddenly his body trembled as a sharp, bone-chilling pain surged up, and a strong taste of blood rose in his throat.

"Cough... Pfft—!"

He staggered forward a step, spitting out a mouthful of thick blood onto the cold stone slab beneath his feet.

Suddenly, everything spun around him, and darkness engulfed his vision like a tidal wave.

He swayed, then fell straight down onto the cold, dirty bluestone ground!

"Ninth Brother!"

"A-Cong!"

"Uncle Nine!"

"Your Highness!"

A series of exclamations rang in his ears, and Shen Cong's eyelids trembled before he slowly closed his eyes.

The emperor was furious and roared at the imperial guards.

"What are you waiting for? Quickly bring A-Cong into the palace and immediately summon all the imperial physicians to the palace."

"yes!"

The imperial guards hurriedly carried Shen Cong away.

The emperor and Shen Xu followed closely behind and also left.

Only Li Nanke and Nangong Qiang remained in the dark alley.

Li Nanke gazed in the direction of the palace, his brows furrowed slightly.

Shen Cong's health had been improving recently, so why did he suddenly vomit so much blood?

He vomited so much blood, I don't know if he's in danger.

"Girl, let's go back too."

"Nangong Qiang said softly."

Li Nanke nodded, then suddenly remembered something.

"Master Nangong, you must go to the Xuanwang Mansion quickly and find a way to get Mr. Guiliu into the palace."

The imperial physicians at the Imperial Hospital were unfamiliar with the blood curse; it was Master Gui Liu who had a better chance of saving the prince.

Nangong Qiang gave her a deep look.

"Don't worry, young lady. Erfeng just ran in the direction of Prince Xuan's residence. He must be going to find Master Guiliu."

Li Nanke breathed a sigh of relief before leaving the dark alley with Nangong Qiang.

The streets were still chaotic, but almost all the onlookers had left.

The smell of sulfur from the explosion on Imperial Street had not completely dissipated, and Wei Yan's voice could be heard from afar directing the rescue efforts.

"Ke'er".

A shout came from behind.

She turned around and saw Wang Tongyun running towards her like a gust of wind, followed by more than a dozen servants.

"Ke'er, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Wang Tongyun looked her up and down with concern.

Li Nanke shook his head.

"I'm fine, why are you back again?"

Wang Tongyun stuck out her tongue, "I was worried about you and afraid something would happen to you, so I secretly brought some people out."

I'm so glad you're alright.

Li Nanke exchanged a few words with her, and then the two parted ways and went home.

Before they even reached the Marquis's residence, they saw Li Mu and Song Yi rushing out with a group of servants, looking flustered.

"Father, Mother."

Upon hearing the shout, Li Mu suddenly stopped.

She turned around stiffly, saw Li Nanke, and her eyes immediately reddened.

Song Yi rushed over and hugged her tightly.

Tears streamed down my face.

"I heard there was an explosion on Imperial Street. Mother was terrified, afraid something might happen to you."

"Thank goodness you're alright, it's good that you're back safe and sound."

Li Nanke leaned against Song Yi's chest, feeling the warmth of her mother's embrace. Her nose tingled with emotion, and she reached out to hug her arm.

She rubbed gently and whispered, "I'm fine, Mother, let's go home."

"Alright, alright, let's go home. Were you scared? Your mother will calm you down when we get home."

On the other side.

When Shen Cong opened his eyes again, it was already broad daylight outside.

"You're finally awake, that's great."

"Are you thirsty? Do you want some water?"

An excited voice rang in my ears.

Shen Cong turned his head with difficulty and met the emperor's concerned face.

The emperor personally poured a cup of water, then bent down to help him up and handed the water to him.

Shen Cong helped him hold his hand and gave him a glass of water, which relieved his dry and hoarse throat considerably.

Her gaze lingered for a moment on the dark shadows beneath his eyes, and then she parted her lips slightly.

"Your Majesty, have you kept watch over me all night?"

The emperor put the teacup back and nodded.

"You suddenly vomited blood and fell into a coma, I was so worried, of course I had to stay by your side."

Just like when you were sick as a child, didn't I personally stay by your side? Don't you remember?

Shen Cong shook his head and gently tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Of course I haven't forgotten. When I was little, my elder brother not only watched over me, but also fed me medicine."

"What? You're almost thirteen years old, do you still expect me to feed you medicine?"

The emperor joked.

Shen Cong smiled and said, "How could that be? This blood curse on me can't be lifted even with medicine."

The emperor fell silent, his smile fading slightly, before finally speaking after a long while.

His voice was low and hoarse.

When did you find out you were under a blood curse?

Shen Cong lowered his eyes, "I only found out recently, Your Majesty. You knew all along that I was afflicted with a blood curse, didn't you?"

The emperor sighed.

Shen Cong raised his head and looked straight at the emperor, his pale face showing a hint of determination.

"Brother, I want to know what's going on with the blood curse on me. Can you tell me?"

The emperor's beard trembled slightly, and after a moment of silence, he finally spoke.

"Very well, now that you know about the blood curse, I no longer need to deliberately hide it. This matter begins six years ago after the palace coup..."