Chapter 64 Digging Your Own Grave

With his darling wife in his arms and his beloved daughter in his arms, he could smell the delicate fragrance of his daughter's milk and the sweet aroma of his wife's hair. Chao Yinxi felt his heart filled with a sense of fulfillment. Power and wealth, at this moment, could not compare to the heavy warmth in his arms.

"Why don't you rest for a while?" Chao Yinxi lowered his head, and gently rubbed Bai Shiyin's smooth forehead with his thin lips with infinite pity. His voice was low and gentle, "There's still some time before the dinner starts."

Bai Shiyin found a more comfortable position in his arms, like a cat relying on its owner, and rested her cheek on his firm shoulder. Her voice was so soft that it could drip water: "I've rested long enough. I miss the prince and Lin'er in my heart."

Lin'er was the nickname they gave to their daughter.

As soon as these words came out, Chao Yinxi's eyes almost overflowed with smiles, and the curve of his lips raised with a gentleness that was intoxicating. He lowered his eyes to look at his daughter sleeping soundly in his arms, and his voice was full of the pride and satisfaction of being a new father: "Lin'er was very well behaved today, she didn't cry at all."

His slender fingers touched his daughter's tender cheek very lightly, as if he was afraid to disturb a fragile dream.

The sunlight outside the window shines through the carved window lattices, casting mottled light and shadows on the warm carpet, giving the quiet and warm scene in the room a layer of almost holy gold.

A wisp of medicinal fragrance wafted from behind a rosewood screen. Princess Jin leaned against a goose-feather pillow, her fingertips gently stroking the twin lotus flowers embroidered in gold thread on her daughter's swaddling clothes. Chao Yinxi cradled both mother and daughter in his arms, his dark python-patterned cuffs stained with baby's puffs.

"With the prince holding her every day, Lin'er has grown into a little sticky cake." Princess Jin smiled and poked her daughter's chubby cheeks. Suddenly, she heard a deliberately low male voice from the corridor: "Prince."

Bai Shiyin's hand on her husband's lapel suddenly tightened. She remembered this voice clearly - half a month ago, her mother was furious and threw the jade Buddhist beads, and it was this person who reported it from behind the corridor pillar.

In the ink-like night, she caught a glimpse of the bronze plaque of the Ministry of Justice hanging around the man's waist.

"Shiyin, let go." Chao Yinxi placed his daughter in his arms. The silver thread with dark patterns under the brocade quilt hooked the jade pendant on his waist. "It's an urgent report from the Ministry of Works on the river embankment."

Princess Jin gazed at her daughter's sleeping face in her cradle, and the moon-shaped pendant on her earlobe suddenly ache. When the Lantern Festival banquet ended, she clearly saw the attendant heading towards the Ministry of Justice's prison.

Thinking of his mother's words, "How dare you, a fool, interfere in the Eastern Palace", a sweet taste suddenly surged in his throat.

"Your Majesty!"

When Chao Yinxi turned around, he saw his wife staggering to her feet, the collar of her white gown had brown marks from the medicine.

He quickly stepped forward to hold the thin wrist, but felt the green jade bracelet protruding from the wrist bone - this was the one he had put on her personally during her wedding, and now it was so loose that it could turn twice.

"I've got the kitchen simmering some blood swallows." He smiled and kissed his wife on the cheek, his lips scented with the jasmine hair oil from her temples. Turning around, the wide sleeves of his python robe revealed a medicine bowl on the table, the brown liquid swirls across the blue bricks, forming a strange spell.

Bai Shiyin stared at the water mark and suddenly handed her daughter to the wet nurse. As her embroidered shoes stepped on the broken porcelain on the floor, she felt something hard in her sleeve pocket - a secret letter that her mother had quietly slipped in that morning, with a phoenix pattern printed on it in wax.

"...The Crown Princess has recently..."

A few words were brought by the draft, and Bai Shiyin froze behind the vermilion lacquered pillars.

When she was eight months pregnant, she once ran into the Crown Princess in the Imperial Gardens, shedding tears over the twin peonies. What did the East Palace maid say then? "Flower seeds sent by Prince Rui"?

"My lady, be careful not to catch a cold."

Bai Shiyin suddenly woke up at the wet nurse's scream.

She looked at the tips of her embroidered shoes that had emerged from the corridor at some point in time. The hibiscus flowers woven with gold thread were soaked with water from the previous day's rain.

…

There was silence in Luoyunxuan.

Prince Rui, Chao Yinlong, entered with a chill still lingering from him, a lingering gloom between his brows. The pavilion was empty; neither the princess nor the young prince were in sight. Only the occasional subtle crackling of the charcoal fire in the incense burner added to the desolate atmosphere.

The palace attendant, who had received instructions in advance, stepped forward with her head lowered, her voice extremely low and cautious, "Your Highness, the princess has taken the Crown Prince to Qimengxuan to pay her respects to Concubine Li. Before she left, she left a message saying that lunch would be at Qimengxuan."

"I understand." Chao Yinlong's voice was cold and emotionless. He just waved his hand impatiently and said, "Go away."

The palace maids, as if pardoned, held their breath and filed out. The heavy brocade curtain fell, blocking out every last sound.

He was the only one left in the vast hall. Just now on the palace path, Crown Princess Xia Yujin's cold, distant, and venomous eyes, along with her resolute, heartless words that severed all hope, had been like poisoned ice needles, repeatedly pricking his nerves.

A mixture of violence, unwillingness and humiliation surged in his chest, burning his internal organs.

He swiftly strode to the table, grabbed the still-warm teapot, and without even bothering to pour it into his cup, he guzzled several mouthfuls directly from the spout. The slightly scalding tea slid down his throat, causing a slight burning sensation, but it couldn't extinguish the flames in his heart at all. Instead, it was like pouring boiling oil into a fire.

He slammed the teapot back onto the table with a dull thud, and his knuckles crackled and turned bluish-white from the excessive force.

It was clearly him who met her first! Under the old locust tree in the Imperial College, much earlier than his brother! The clear light in the girl's eyes when she looked back almost instantly captured his heart and soul.

He had even drafted a petition to the Emperor asking for his father's permission to marry him, just waiting for the perfect moment. How could she not understand? How could she?!

Thinking of this, the resentment that had been forcibly suppressed surged up again. Chao Yinlong's eyes were filled with anger, and he slammed his palm on the table, causing the teapot lid to jump up with a "clang"!

"Your Majesty."

Just at this moment, a deliberately low and steady male voice sounded outside the closed door, like a stone thrown into a stagnant pond.

This voice... If Crown Princess Xia Yujin were here, she would definitely recognize it. It was the master with unfathomable aura who drove the carriage for Prince Rui at the gate of the Imperial College that day!

Chao Yinlong's eyebrows arched, the private emotions swirling in his eyes as if instantly blocked and frozen by an invisible gate. He took a slow breath, and when he looked up again, the sinister, almost predatory look had vanished without a trace, leaving only a bottomless pool.

"Lu Yuan," his voice returned to its usual calmness, even carrying a subtle sense of control, "Come in."

The door silently opened and closed. Lu Yuan slipped in like a shadow, and within a few steps, he was beside Chao Yinlong. Without a bow, he leaned forward slightly, leaning in close to his ear, and whispered in a whisper only the two of them could hear: "Your Highness, everything is as you expected. They've indeed sent someone to monitor Qimengxuan. By now, the news should have been delivered."

Upon hearing this, Chao Yinlong's eyebrows rose ever so slightly, and the corners of his thin lips slowly curved into a cold, playful arc. The resentment he had felt for his love affair had long since been replaced by a deeper, colder emotion.

He slowly took a step back and sat back in the armchair beside the table in a leisurely manner. His knuckles tapped lightly on the hard rosewood table top from time to time, making a light "thu thu" sound that was particularly clear in the silent room.

"At this moment," he said slowly, his voice low but with the certainty of someone who understood the situation, "I'm afraid my good third brother...is getting a little restless."

Lu Yuan stood by with his hands lowered, a subtle hint of confusion crossing his face as he heard this. He was a master of martial arts and was deeply loyal to Chao Yinlong, but the treacherous intrigues of the court were ultimately a mystery to someone like him, a wily and cunning man.

He knew his duty well, and even if he had questions, he would never presumptuously ask.

Chao Yinlong clearly trusted this trusted aide immensely. He didn't need him to ask, as he had already addressed his doubts in a calm voice, his tone as if discussing a matter unrelated to him: "Few people know about the past between Jin'er and me. Back then, my third brother was just a fawning henchman beside the Crown Prince. Naturally, he had no way of knowing such intimate details."

He paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, and his tone suddenly turned cold, "That's why he dared to set up that vicious scheme at Prince Duan's Mansion to kill two birds with one stone! He wanted to ruin Jin'er's reputation, and at the same time, he wanted to put the dirty water of the murder of the crown prince on my head!"

Lu Yuan's heart trembled. He had participated in the thrilling assassination attempt at Prince Duan's mansion and was naturally aware of the danger. It turned out that Prince Jin was behind it!

"Now," Chao Yinlong's voice was filled with a hint of cruel mockery, "since he has 'accidentally' learned that I still have feelings for Jin'er..." He deliberately emphasized the word "accidentally", and the sneer on his lips deepened. "Guess what he will think?"

Lu Yuan listened attentively.

"He'll definitely come to his senses!" Chao Yinlong rapped his knuckles on the table, making a crisp "thump" sound, like the slamming of a gavel. "He'll understand how foolish that sinister scheme, which he thought was flawless, was! How self-destructive!"

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze like an icy blade, piercing the void. He seemed to see the panic-stricken face of Prince Jin at that moment. "He has personally engraved his wolfish ambition—his naked desire for the throne and his murderous intent—right before Jin'er and me!"

The word "Jin'er" came out of his mouth with an extremely complex and strange tone that was a mixture of old feelings and cold exploitation.

At this point, Chao Yinlong's eyes faltered for a moment. After the turmoil at Prince Duan's mansion, had Jin'er dared to condone his third brother's intimacy with the young grandson, Chao Yunye? Was she unfathomably cunning, possessing the fortitude to plot in secret? Or had she, deep down, harbored suspicions that Chao Yinlong had indeed played a role in the events of that day?

The thought, like a venomous snake, bit at the tip of his heart, bringing a sharp sting, but he immediately forced it down. How could anyone who achieved great things be confined to the whims of their children? So what if there were doubts? The chess piece would eventually fall into its proper place.

Seeing Prince Rui openly share such secrets, Lu Yuan felt a surge of honor and excitement, his loyalty ignited even more. He mustered up the courage to ask the question that had been lingering on his mind for a long time: "Your Highness, does His Highness the Prince of Jin truly have ambitions?" He was referring to the supreme chair.

"Heh..." Chao Yinlong chuckled softly, as if he had just heard a hilarious joke. He looked up at Lu Yuan, his gaze condescending and filled with a subtle pity. "Lu Yuan, Lu Yuan, you're very clever."

He shook his head slightly, and his tone became distant and cold, as if he was telling an eternal truth.

"Throughout history, how many brothers and sisters have been buried beneath the throne? Which descendant of the dragon and phoenix hasn't dreamed of the feeling of ascending to heaven, overlooking all living things?" His voice was low, but every word struck like a hammer, hammering at the heart. "Especially now, with the throne of the Crown Prince hanging vacant and the heir apparent waiting. Just one step away, and everything would be turned upside down, a true difference of heaven and earth! Enormous power, supreme honor... I ask myself, what prince could truly remain indifferent?"

He shifted the subject, his gaze darting toward the towering outline of the palace walls outside the window, his tone becoming vague. "Look at Uncle Duan—" Lu Yuan followed his gaze, only to see the cold window frame. "You only see him at the pinnacle of his position, rich and powerful, enjoying every possible luxury. But how could you possibly know how he's lived these past few decades, treading on thin ice, trembling in fear under the Emperor's watchful eye?"

Chao Yinlong lowered his voice even lower, carrying a chilling tone that saw through the world. "In his entire family, from top to bottom, has anyone ever truly set foot outside this imperial city? Being under the emperor's feet may seem like honor and favor, but in reality, it's nothing more than a golden cage confined to a prison!"

At this point, Chao Yinlong reached out and picked up the empty teacup on the table, which still held the warmth of his palm, with two fingers. His movements were slow, with a deliberate sense of ritual. Then, with a slight flip of his wrist—

"despair."

There was a crisp and somewhat harsh sound.

The finest official kiln white porcelain teacup was placed steadily, with the mouth facing downwards, on the mirror-like rosewood table.

In the dim light, the delicate glaze at the bottom of the cup looks like a silent and eerie eye, staring blankly upwards.

Chao Yinlong's gaze fell on the upside-down cup, and an extremely complex and indistinguishable light flashed across his deep eyes, with fear, mockery, and perhaps a subtle trace of grief?

"It is said..." His voice was as soft as a whisper, carrying the dust of distant history, "When Grandfather Emperor was alive, he seemed to favor Uncle Prince Duan." He paused, a cold smile forming at the corner of his mouth. "What a pity. After all, Father's methods are superior."

His fingertips unconsciously stroked the smooth bottom of the upside-down cup, and the cold touch seemed to penetrate his heart.

"And the Emperor's uncle loves his children dearly, never wanting them to suffer even the slightest injustice." Chao Yinlong's voice tinged with a playful sigh. "For years, he's been picking and choosing, weighing all the options for the Crown Prince's consort. Now, Crown Prince Chao Yunheng is already eighteen, right? And he still hasn't settled on a marriage."

His gaze once again turned to the upside-down teacup, as if he could see through it the many undercurrents beneath the seemingly glorious surface of Prince Duan's Mansion.

"I just hope..." Chao Yinlong's voice suddenly turned cold, like a drop of ice, carrying with it a thinly veiled warning, "I hope my uncle doesn't make any mistakes at this critical moment."

His slender fingers tapped lightly twice on the bottom of the upside-down cup, making a soft "knock, knock" sound, as if tapping on the drumbeat of fate.