Chapter 51

The cellar was filled with a strong earthy smell, mixed with the odor of decay and mildew, which penetrated his nose. There was a row of narrow ventilation holes on the high wall, and a few weak lights shone through them, casting a few vague spots of light on the dusty ground.

Zhao Fanghua's hands and feet were tied tightly with hemp ropes for so long that he began to feel tingling and numbness.

Zhao Fanghua looked incredulously at Zhao Qinglan, then at the three people across from her. Finally, clinging to a last glimmer of hope, she fixed her gaze on Zhu Shuang and asked in a trembling voice, "Mom, is what he said true?"

Zhu Shuang's response was silence. She avoided Zhao Fanghua's gaze, twisting the corners of her clothes nervously with her hands.

Zhao Qinglan didn't give Zhao Fanghua time to wallow in grief. His voice echoed in the cellar, peeling back the layers of conspiracy from a year ago:

"You bribed Yingluo, Fanghua's maidservant, and somehow learned that I would arrange an assassination on my way back to the capital, so you arranged for someone to take advantage of the situation. However, your foundation was shallow, and you weren't completely sure of a hit. Therefore, you had Yingluo feed the horse a drug that would make it manic. At the same time, you sprinkled a special drug along the way, guiding the out-of-control horse to rush down the cliff along the predetermined path."

Zhao Fanghua felt a chill down his spine when he heard this, and the thrilling experience of falling off the cliff that day came to his mind again.

Zhao Qinglan spoke steadily, continuing, "Your men were already there at the bottom of the cliff to meet us. Taking advantage of the chaos on the mountain, they quickly abducted the unconscious Fanghua and moved her overnight. The most dangerous place is also the safest. Hide her in Qingyuan Town, only a hundred miles from the capital. That way, I'll have an easier time finding her."

He said the last few words lightly, but Zhao Fanghua heard a hint of torment in them?

"So... you've been lying to me all this year?"

Zhao Fanghua was already stuttering when she spoke. Even though the truth was laid out before her, she still found it absurd.

"That care, that concern, that... sense of home, were all of it fake?!" Her voice suddenly rose, filled with tears and anger, "Just to lure him out?!"

It turns out that beneath this veil of tenderness lies such a cold calculation.

She thought to herself with self-mockery that they really thought highly of her, Zhao Fanghua, to the point of spending a whole year to weave such a big net.

It was in vain that she thought she had finally found family and had a home. It turned out that everything was just a trap set up to target Zhao Qinglan with her as bait.

Zhao Jinghui on the opposite side had a look of sarcasm on his face, Chai Kangwen looked impatient, and only Zhu Shuang had a hint of hesitation and apology on his face.

Zhao Qinglan took it all in, and the curve of his lips deepened. Everything was just as he expected.

Zhao Fanghua forced herself to calm down, but questions kept coming to her mind. How could they dare to kidnap Zhao Qinglan? And what about this Chai Xingyuan, no, Zhao Jinghui?

Zhao Fanghua learned the whole story from Zhao Qinglan.

This story has to start from when the late emperor was still a prince.

The emperor at the time had over twenty princes, and the struggle for succession was particularly fierce. The late emperor was the eighteenth-born, born to a humble mother, and was originally the least prominent of the princes.

The Empress Dowager's family, the Xiao family, had originally bet on the powerful eldest prince. After the eldest prince fell, the Xiao family had to take a gamble in order to protect themselves and married their legitimate daughter Xiao Rou to the late emperor, who seemed to have no chance of winning at the time.

As a sign of sincerity, the late emperor immediately dismissed the harem and promised that if he ascended the throne, the crown prince would be from the Xiao family. However, when Xiao Rou, now the Empress Dowager, was pregnant, the late emperor used her unborn child to frame the most threatening Thirteenth Prince, dealing him a fatal blow.

While the late emperor comforted the empress dowager who had lost her beloved son, claiming that there would be more children. Meanwhile, he had already secretly placed a dismissed concubine in a separate courtyard. By then, the concubine was about to give birth, and by the time the Xiao family noticed, the child had already been born, a baby boy.

The Xiao family would not tolerate this threat and immediately launched a hunt for the concubine and her child. However, the child escaped the capital under the desperate protection of the assassins. The assassins used a newborn child from a family surnamed Chai as a substitute, concealing the truth and evading the Xiao family's pursuit.

And that child was Zhao Jinghui.

Zhao Fanghua suddenly understood. No wonder Zhao Qinglan said they were "serving as dogs for the enemy who murdered their son!" She looked at Zhu Shuang with a look filled with pity and confusion. The dead Chai child was her own flesh and blood!

Chai Kangwen, who was usually taciturn, snorted coldly: "It's just a newborn baby. When we join His Majesty in the rebellion, we will have the merit of following the emperor and enjoy endless wealth and glory. By then, we can have as many children as we want."

Unlike Zhu Kangwen's coldness, Zhu Shuang lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking.

Zhao Fanghua quickly asked, "Does mother think so too?"

Zhu Shuang lowered her head and stammered, "I... I know Xingyuan... isn't the right person. Your Majesty has been raising him at my side for twelve years. I... I've long considered him my own son..."

Zhao Fanghua was speechless, but felt it was understandable.

But she had no time to feel sorry for the baby who was killed right after birth. After all, she was the one imprisoned. Although she knew that Zhao Qinglan must have a backup plan, she didn't know why he hadn't moved. Instead, she was tied up and felt like her blood circulation was cut off.

But then again, we've only just reached this point, and we've already started calling him Your Majesty?

She couldn't help but look around this simple cellar. The walls were mottled and cluttered. It really didn't look like a place where big things could be accomplished.

Zhao Fanghua couldn't help but ask, "No, big brother, you have no connections, no money, and no power. Even if you kill Zhao Qinglan, you'll just be labeled a traitor. How can you possibly become emperor? Is it just because you're the descendant of the previous emperor, which no one can prove? Even if you could prove it, you have nothing now. What's the point? Isn't it just playing Nine Clans Candy Crush with everyone?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qinglan glanced sideways at Zhao Fanghua, his gaze now more approving. Although he didn't know what the "Candy Crush" game was, he could probably guess what it meant, so he gently corrected her, "According to the law, treason is punishable by extermination of three generations of the clan. However, I don't want to implicate too many people, so the entire clan of the principal offender will be executed."

"Oh." Zhao Fanghua turned to look at Zhao Qinglan, "Then you are quite kind."

"Of course." Zhao Qinglan's lips curled slightly. "I'm not a tyrant. I hate killing innocent people."

…

…

"Shut up!" Zhao Jinghui finally lost his patience and interrupted their conversation harshly. The mask of forced composure on his face completely shattered, revealing the brutality underneath.

Zhao Fanghua tutted and continued muttering to Zhao Qinglan, "It's true that people still need to read more. Look at him, his cultivation isn't as good as yours. You're a prisoner, but you still have that cheerful smile on your face. I tell you, he was just trying to imitate you, but unfortunately he didn't learn the essence of your smiling tiger."

Zhao Qinglan raised his eyebrows. She seemed to be scolding him, and he had evidence.

Because of Zhao Fanghua's jokes, the originally tense atmosphere in the cellar suddenly became much more cheerful.

Zhao Jinghui was furious when he saw that the two men didn't care about him at all.

He pulled out a knife from somewhere and put it to Zhao Qinglan's neck, saying viciously, "Where is the jade seal?"

…

…

Zhao Fanghua was startled by this sudden action, but then tilted her head and leaned closer to Zhao Qinglan. "He doesn't think he can ascend the throne just by taking the imperial seal, does he? Isn't that used for stamping?"

Zhao Qinglan nodded in agreement, his tone serious, "Possibly. Perhaps he thought that with the imperial seal, all the civil and military officials would kowtow and bow down in obeisance."

Zhao Fanghua finally couldn't help asking, "Didn't the assassins who rescued you let you study for a few more years? At least find someone knowledgeable to teach you how a dynasty works and how to govern the world? At the very least, you can read the history books and know that rebellion isn't the way to go. You..."

Zhao Fanghua looked around the cellar again and said, "It feels like playing house."

Zhao Qinglan couldn't help laughing at the side.

Zhao Fanghua glared at him, "You're still laughing! You're just a bunch of idiots! I, the dignified eldest princess, was kidnapped right under your nose, and you still have the nerve to laugh!"

Zhao Qinglan submissively suppressed her smile and apologized softly, her tone still tinged with indulgence: "Yes, yes, it's my fault. I was negligent and frightened Sister."

"That's enough!!!" Zhao Jinghui finally couldn't help himself. "Don't think you can delay time like this. The only way into the town has been blocked. My people have confirmed that you are the only one here. Don't even think about waiting for reinforcements!"

Zhao Qinglan remained calm, even letting out a soft sigh, her tone tinged with regret. "Actually... playing house like this with Sister is quite fun..."

"What?" Zhao Jinghui was stunned, not understanding these nonsensical words.

In a flash, Zhao Qinglan suddenly pushed forward with his shoulder, shaking the knife that Zhao Jinghui had placed across his neck. Taking advantage of the numbness in Zhao Jinghui's hand, he slipped a small knife from his sleeve and neatly cut the rope that bound him. In just a breath, the knife that had just fallen from Zhao Jinghui's hand was firmly grasped by Zhao Qinglan in his backhand and placed across Zhao Jinghui's neck.

The situation is reversed!

Zhao Fanghua was stunned!

If Zhao Jinghui didn't lie, did Zhao Qinglan really come alone?

How dare he!

If I fail...

Chai Kangwen, standing by, was so frightened that his soul had almost left his body. He fell to his knees, kowtowed, and wept bitterly: "Your Majesty, please spare my life, Your Majesty, please spare my life. I was forced into this! I was forced into this! This traitor forced me into this!"

Zhao Fanghua was dumbfounded by the speed at which his expression changed. He was truly adaptable.

Zhu Shuang watched the dramatic scene and sighed, her tone complicated. "Having taken this step, I should have been prepared for failure. But thankfully, he just said he wouldn't implicate innocent people."

Zhao Fanghua hesitated for a moment, then looked at Zhao Qinglan and opened her mouth: "That..."

"No," Zhao Qinglan flatly rejected her. His tone slowed, yet his voice remained unwavering: "They shouldn't have lied to you."