Sunlight streamed into the wine cellar, revealing everything behind the wooden door, but it also showed Zhao Huan and everyone behind him that the most tragic place in the entire mansion was actually here.

Zhao Huan didn't see Zhao Yan and Zhao Cheng, but only the pile of corpses at his feet and the piles of corpses on both sides like mounds of earth. In the middle of the corpses, Zhao Yi was squatting in a horse stance, half-bent over, holding a broken knife with several cuts across his chest.

Blood flowed like a river at his feet, and blood dripped from his face, body, and knife.

But he was just a child.

Zhao Huan then understood why Zhao Yan couldn't speak.

If you want to get in or out, there's only one way: Zhao Yi.

If Zhao Yi doesn't allow it, then no one can get past him.

"Zhao... Zhao Yi..." Zhao Huan murmured, tears glistening in her eyes.

Zhao Yi then looked up at Zhao Huan.

There was a bloody scar on his face.

"The eldest young master and the third young master are alright..."

After saying this, Zhao could no longer hold on and collapsed forward.

Zhao Huan quickly hugged Zhao Yi, and only then did she see Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yan behind Zhao Yi.

They were all in tears.

"Good boy...good boy..." Zhao Huan stroked Zhao Yi's hair and said in a deep voice, "I will definitely kill the person who made you like this!"

After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, Zhao Yi slowly opened his eyes and saw the familiar room.

He was lying in his bed.

He tried to get up, but found that his whole body was in pain and his legs were wrapped up and he couldn't move.

"Zhao Yi, you're awake! I'll go call the master and young master!"

A girl's voice came from beside him. Zhao looked at the girl and exclaimed in surprise, "Chunqin, what are you doing in my room?"

Chunqin said, "These past few days, the eldest young master and the third young master have been taking turns looking after you. They really couldn't hold on any longer, so the master asked me to take care of you."

Zhao Yi asked doubtfully, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Seven days!" Chunqin ran outside and said, "The doctor said you have to stay in bed for a month. Don't move around too much. I'm going to call the master!"

A while later, Zhao Huan and his son arrived one after another.

Zhao Yi wasn't too worried about his own situation, but instead asked Zhao Huan about what had happened in the palace.

This incident was indeed initiated jointly by Wu Zhijian and Chen Xi; Minister Tu He did not participate.

However, Wu Zhijian tricked Chen Xi by not getting the Imperial Guards to cooperate with him.

Chen Xi's goal was to force Zhao Huan to abdicate, while Wu Zhijian's goal was simply to take the opportunity to eliminate Zhao Huan.

As a result, neither of them achieved their goal.

Yuan Zhe pulled through this time as well. Although the official explanation was that his illness had accumulated over time, it was actually due to excessive consumption of elixirs. The imperial physicians explained the truth to the high-ranking officials, who then made the matter of choosing an heir apparent their top priority, pressuring Yuan Zhe daily to decide on the foundation of the nation.

In retrospect, Wu Zhijian absolved himself of all responsibility and even preemptively cooperated with Yuan Zhe to eliminate Chen Xi's faction.

Although Zhao Huan lost one enemy as a result, Wu Zhijian, who was unharmed, was still his biggest concern.

However, precisely because of the significant impact of this incident, Yuan Zhe became wary of Wu Zhijian, and Wu Zhijian also became much more restrained. Zhao Huan then took the opportunity to cultivate his network of connections, not only befriending Tu He but also secretly helping some of his fellow civil and military officials. Among them, Er Zhuhua and Li Shou were the most prominent, maintaining good relationships with Zhao Huan.

"You can all leave now. I'd like to talk to Zhao Yi for a bit longer."

After Zhao Huan dismissed everyone, Yang Taozhi walked to Zhao Yi's bedside and said, "I will no longer treat you like a little kid. You're a man."

Zhao Yi grinned and said, "Don't forget our competition."

"We'll talk about it after you've recovered from your injury, but one thing at a time. Even if you're healed, you're still no match for me." Yang Taozhi smiled, a rare occurrence, and followed the others away.

Only Zhao Huan and Zhao Yi remained in the room.

“Taozhi is right, your martial arts are not as good as hers,” Zhao Huan said.

Zhao Yi asked doubtfully, "Is she that amazing?"

Zhao Huan said, "You know the cultivation levels of martial artists. Tao Zhi's current cultivation level is already that of a top expert."

Zhao Yi was stunned, and exclaimed in surprise, "She's so young..."

Zhao Huan smiled and said, "Talent is very important in the path of martial arts. Moreover, Tao Zhi has experienced battles that were even more brutal than yours."

Zhao Yidao said, "Then I must compete with her even more. Only by knowing why the strong are strong can I improve faster."

Zhao Huan nodded and said, "Very good, so you should listen to the doctor and rest properly."

"I understand." Zhao Yi looked out the window and said, "Don't let Chunqin take care of me anymore. I'm not used to being waited on."

Zhao Huan grasped Zhao Yi's hand and said, "I found Taozhi, which is quite a good fate. Because she remembers her surname, I didn't change it for her, but just took her in as my goddaughter. Zhao Yi, our fate is also very rare. You saved the lives of my two sons. You are worthy of being their elder brother. From now on, you will be my godson."

"No way!" Zhao Yi said immediately.

Zhao Huan was puzzled and asked, "Why did you refuse so decisively?"

Zhao Yidao said, "You helped me get out of my old life and gave my family back. I am already very grateful. If you had said this when I was going back to your manor, I might have agreed, but now... I can't agree to it."

"What's the reason?"

"Because Zhao Cheng is the eldest son of the Zhao family."

Zhao Yi said seriously, "Don't think that I survived this time by luck and protected the two young masters. It wasn't all my doing. It was because the eldest young master chose a good place and reminded me not to leave the wine cellar that I was able to hold on until you came back."

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!