Chapter 25

Ah, so that's not what I already knew.

Although Xue Jin'an wasn't good at reading faces, he was still quite intelligent. He immediately noticed something amiss from the sudden blank expressions and silence of the two people.

However, he only paused for a moment, without changing his words, and instead said, "Think carefully about what Xue Jin'an was like in the past, and what I am like now..."

Xue Jin'an didn't actually feel that he was any different from the original owner, or rather, according to his data analysis results, everything he had done so far was in line with the original owner's behavioral logic.

Yes, whether it's stabbing the Fourth Prince or the Fifth Prince, in his eyes it's something the original owner would do. After all, the original owner was the one who directly bit the Fourth Prince and sent him to the Imperial Hospital, and was called a mad dog by the Fourth Prince.

On the first day that Xue Jin'an merged with this body, he encountered the Fourth Prince coming to cause trouble. He watched as the Fourth Prince was so angry at Shunde's "betrayal" that he didn't even dare to jump down from the wall.

How similar this scene is! This morning, the Fifth Prince, who had disappeared for several days, suddenly reappeared and gave him a sword. He also used brochures to lure him to the science and technology exhibition, and sat on the wall the whole time before he agreed.

It's a true classic reborn.

Xue Jin'an felt that his behavior was flawless, but he knew that humans are animals with extremely rich imaginations, especially good at scaring themselves.

He doesn't need to give any striking examples; just saying something ambiguous will make them overthink.

Not to mention, after Consort Zhen's downfall, everyone in the palace tacitly and deliberately made the original owner of the body invisible and marginalized. All they knew was that he was miserable and that any Tom, Dick, or Harry could kick him while he was down. He had no dignity whatsoever as a prince.

Everyone thought that the Seventh Prince must be a weak, incompetent, and pitiful child who could be bullied and manipulated by others. Even Consort Zhen of Yihe Palace couldn't help but have this thought. Even though her son was bitten and sent to the Imperial Hospital, and returned with injuries and was so frightened that he had nightmares, she only thought that the Fourth Prince was cowardly.

Of course, the biggest reason why Consort Zhen had such a deep-rooted idea was that the Fourth Prince was a man who would never back down from a sharp tongue, and whose mouth would remain stubborn even after he died.

The Fourth Prince was truly terrified by Xue Jin'an's betrayal. He fell ill with a high fever upon returning home, and even had nightmares while sleeping. He lost a lot of weight, but he insisted that his wound was hurting and absolutely refused to admit that he was afraid of Xue Jin'an.

In conclusion, people have a soft spot for the Seventh Prince, which doesn't match Xue Jin'an's recent display of decisiveness and ruthlessness.

This thus became a thought-provoking and chilling detail.

As expected, Xue Jin'an saw Li Hechun and the Fifth Prince unconsciously delve deeper into his thoughts, and their expressions and eyes trembled violently for a moment, carrying a hint of horror as if they had seen a ghost.

Xue Jin'an was unusually curious and wanted to connect to them via Bluetooth to see what they were imagining.

With just a thought, Xue Jin'an saw a Bluetooth page pop up in front of him, connecting to devices with the names "Li Hechun" and "Xue Junjue".

Then two dialog boxes pop up simultaneously:

Please pay the fee.

Please enter your password.

Xue Jin'an: "..." So it must be the Fourth Prince's fault for answering the call so quickly; his awareness of security is too poor.

And what if I connect to other people? Xue Jin'an looked at the list of available devices nearby, his fingers itching to click.

Unfortunately, Bluetooth is too power-consuming, and his battery is almost depleted. After the Fifth Prince used the bag to cover up his medicine, Cui Zui handed it to Shou Quan. Without a power bank on him, and with the future uncertain, he still needs to conserve his power.

Xue Jin'an regretfully turned off Bluetooth.

In less than half a minute, Li Hechun and the Fifth Prince had already quickly pulled themselves out of their thoughts.

Li Hechun's chrysanthemum-like smile revealed a hint of helplessness. "Seventh Prince, please don't make such jokes again. I'm easily frightened by them."

The Fifth Prince rolled his eyes. "Who are you trying to scare? How boring."

The two clearly did not believe Xue Jin'an's words; their earlier daze was simply due to being stunned by Xue Jin'an's sudden remark.

Xue Jin'an spoke frankly, "The Xue Jin'an of the past is dead."

The fact that he was able to merge smoothly with this body without encountering any resistance already speaks volumes: either the original owner's soul had already departed, leaving the body as just an empty shell; or the original owner lacked the will to survive, voluntarily giving up the body and willingly accepting the fate of being assimilated by the outsider.

Xue Jin'an agreed more with the former, after all, he was a spirit that had lost its physical body. A spirit is the soul of a magical artifact, so he would be more sensitive to this. However, he did not notice any signs of soul assimilation.

"You are dead now, so what are you now? A vengeful ghost from hell? Can you feel the burning sensation in your wrist? Can you feel yourself being purified?" The Fifth Prince pointed at his wrist in a sarcastic tone. "This top-grade Blood Dragon Wood is a tribute from the Southern Yue Kingdom, and it was personally consecrated by the former abbot of Wanfu Temple, who left behind a relic."

Upon hearing this, Xue Jin'an looked down at her wrist and rotated the beaded bracelet. "I don't feel anything."

He felt that the beads had been handled and were very smooth, with a deep and lustrous color. It was something that the original owner had personally taken off and put on by Consort Zhen when she died, and it must have been freshly polished and oiled at that time.

The original work also describes this bracelet, with the beads stained bright red like drops of blood scattered around the original owner's corpse, while the dull, relatively gray bead that he tightly clutched in his palm was like his innocent heart.

Finally, Consort Zhen made a suggestion, which the Emperor agreed to. The "heart of a child" was wrapped in gold and jade, made into a cicada, and buried with its original owner.

"Don't scare people too much; it's childish," said the Fifth Prince, who was quite knowledgeable in this regard.

"Yeah, I learned it from you." Xue Jin'an felt that his skill of "lying through his teeth" had evolved in reverse; no one believed him when he told the truth.

The Fifth Prince felt insulted and was about to retort when he looked up and saw Li Hechun standing quietly to the side. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, and he suddenly calmed down.

"The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits; this is the Imperial Study." Saying anything will only harm you.

The Fifth Prince glanced cryptically at the main hall; his words seemed more like a reminder to himself than a warning to Xue Jin'an.

He reminded himself not to give himself away in front of his father.

—You suddenly started making this joke to change the subject. It turns out you discovered Father's test. You're something else, Seventh Brother.

"And I won't lose either," the Fifth Prince murmured to Xue Jin'an.

Xue Jin'an had no idea what this human was imagining, and blinked blankly, tilting her head.

The Fifth Prince suppressed all his outward emotions. "Eunuch Li, Father is waiting to see us. Let's go."

"Your Highnesses, this way please." Li Hechun moved again and led them into the main hall.

The main hall of the Imperial Study was where the scholars usually chatted, drank tea, and entertained guests. It was a small place, but it was decorated elegantly in every way. Now it was crowded with people.

The emperor, dressed in a crimson dragon robe, and an elderly man in a blue scholar's robe sat at the head of the table, playing chess.

There were eight seats at the lower end, but the princes all stood around without a seat. Even the sixth prince, who had just been frightened and had a cloth wrapped around his neck, only stood a little closer to the princes and had to pour tea and water for the two people playing chess.

The man on the left, dressed in the robes of a prince and holding a jade fan, exuding the air of a chivalrous knight-errant, should be Prince An, Xue Xian. Behind him stands a young man in a python robe, who at first glance appears to be the heir apparent of Prince An. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the color of his python robe is reserved for princes, and he is undoubtedly the only prince currently attending court, namely the eldest prince, Xue Luowen.

Following Prince An, a row of officials in crimson robes sat, the youngest being a third-rank official, likely ministers who had come with the emperor after court.

Looking to the right, the first person in line was none other than Grand Tutor Li, who had a leg ailment. Behind him was Master Cen, who wore a Taoist robe, had white eyebrows and a long beard, and had an air of otherworldly wisdom. There was also another master whom Xue Jin'an had never seen before. Behind Master Cen stood a Taoist boy whom Xue Jin'an had seen once before through the screen. Looking at the boy, who appeared to be seven or eight years old, Xue Jin'an felt that this person looked quite familiar and couldn't help but take a second look.

The last seat was occupied by Chu Wenjing. Since the morning court session in which he requested a reinvestigation of the Consort Zhen case, he had been temporarily suspended from his duties by the emperor and had been resting at home without attending court. Therefore, he was dressed in a blue scholar's robe and blended into the right-hand group, which was surprisingly harmonious.

The princes' companions had nowhere to stand and were crammed together with the guards, eunuchs, and palace maids.

Xue Jin'an spotted the young eunuch who had come in to report after hearing their words.

"Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince have arrived." Li Hechun stepped forward lightly and quickly to wait beside the emperor, and even took over the work of the Sixth Prince, receiving a grateful look from the latter.

Xue Jin'an and the Fifth Prince walked to the center together, but before they could even lift their robes, the Emperor stopped them.

He was focused on the chessboard and didn't look up, only casually waving his hand, "No need to kneel, sit down."

Li Hechun gave a signal, and immediately a eunuch brought over two stools and placed them in the middle.

Strangely enough, of all the princes present, only the two of them sat down. However, their sitting down was as if they were standing, drawing all eyes to them with scrutinizing gazes, making them feel like they were being pricked by needles.

The emperor told them to sit down, but he didn't say a word. His mind seemed to be focused on the chessboard. In the quiet room, the occasional crisp sound of a piece being placed was like a drumbeat on the heart.

Tap, tap, tap... It affects the frequency of your heartbeat without you even realizing it.

Even someone as emotionally insensitive as Xue Jin'an felt the overwhelming pressure, let alone the Fifth Prince.

He pursed his lips, his face was pale, and his temples were soaked with sweat. His hands, which were resting on his knees, were clenched tightly, clearly indicating that he was very restless.

The emperor suddenly spoke up at that moment, "Have you examined both corpses?"

He picked up his teacup, the lid tapping lightly against the rim, and asked in a calm tone, "Is there anything you want to say?"

"It's all my fault." The Fifth Prince knelt down smoothly, and everyone sitting down except for the one playing chess at the head of the table stood up abruptly to avoid this grand gesture, including Prince An.

The emperor didn't even raise his head, as if he hadn't heard the sudden commotion at all, only uttering a cryptic "Oh?"

The Fifth Prince immediately recounted the whole story.

Throughout this time, Xue Jin'an remained unmoved and sat calmly, leaving everyone looking at each other in bewilderment.

The crowd secretly glanced at him, thinking with great surprise: This Seventh Prince is truly courageous. He shows no fear in the face of His Majesty's imperial might, which is much better than many court officials.

Soon, they will find out that the Seventh Prince is even bolder than they thought, not only remaining unmoved by the Emperor's might but also daring to directly choke the Emperor to death.

Because the emperor did not respond to the fifth prince's statement, but suddenly looked up at Xue Jin'an, "And you, don't you have anything to say?"

Xue Jin'an reviewed the Fifth Prince's words and nodded, saying, "That's very comprehensive. I have nothing to add."

emperor:"……"

Silence spread through the hall, making the already stagnant atmosphere even more deathly still, making it difficult to breathe.

The eunuchs and palace maids were the first to give in and kneel down, desperately wanting to shout at him: "Seventh Prince, say something, Seventh Prince!"

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, Xue Jin'an pondered for a moment before speaking, "If I had to add something, there is one thing I can say: they lost track of that assassin."

While the Fifth Prince was giving his statement, Xue Jin'an glanced at the live stream, seemingly pointing to something. He mentally constructed a map of the palace and calculated the assassin's escape routes, flipping through each one.

Finally, in a corner of the laundry department's live stream where no one was paying attention, Lu Bingzhu, holding a blood-stained guard's uniform and looking pale, was spotted.

Xue Jin'an then looked at the Imperial Guards who were running around like headless flies in the live broadcast room and shared with their master, "The Imperial Guards are completely clueless."

"So it wasn't a fixed match, they were just genuinely bad," he commented ruthlessly.

The guards also wanted to kneel down before the Seventh Prince.