seek death
When Shangguan Zeyu arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, his elder brother, Shangguan Kangde, was sitting upright in his usual high seat.
Shangguan Zeyu paused only slightly before slowly walking over.
"You still dare to come?" the Emperor said sarcastically.
Shangguan Zeyu: "Didn't my brother send me?"
The Emperor slowly turned his gaze to Shangguan Zeyu, and said with a half-smile, "If I hadn't let you come, would you not have come?"
"nature."
The emperor's cheeks suddenly began to twitch uncontrollably.
Shangguan Zeyu: "I presume that Your Majesty is already aware of what has happened recently. I hope Your Majesty will not put me in a difficult position."
"Difficult situation?" The Emperor couldn't help but sneer. "I've put you in a difficult position? Well, I'm truly sorry!!"
Shangguan Zeyu remained calm and asked, "What exactly does Your Majesty want to say?"
The Emperor stared intently at Shangguan Zeyu, seemingly trying to intimidate him with his fierce gaze, but unfortunately, Shangguan Zeyu remained unmoved.
The Emperor slowly let out a cold laugh: "So the rumors are true! Your father did indeed intend to pass the throne to you back then!"
"It's pointless to talk about the past now."
"How can it be meaningless? It's a fact! I'm just stating the facts openly! You can't accept it?"
Shangguan Zeyu chuckled softly, "What's the big deal? It's just the throne, nothing serious!"
"Hahaha! It's not a big deal? Then why did you still try to seize the throne? Isn't that hypocritical?"
Shangguan Zeyu finally understood his elder brother's meaning, but he was not angry. He calmly said, "I am a person, not a toy! If others want my life, am I supposed to just surrender? Besides, I have not done anything wrong."
"You say you didn't do anything wrong, so you didn't?" the Emperor sneered. "You've been pretending the whole time! Pretending you weren't greedy for power, pretending you were indifferent to fame and fortune, pretending you were unwaveringly loyal, but what was the result? You're a liar! A complete liar!!"
Shangguan Zeyu felt he could no longer continue talking to his elder brother, and said, "I've said what I needed to say. If you have nothing else, I'm leaving!"
"How dare you?" the Emperor suddenly roared angrily. "Even if you don't acknowledge me as the Son of Heaven, you should understand that I am your elder brother. How can you disobey your elder brother?"
Shangguan Zeyu suddenly felt sorry for his elder brother. Even at this point, he was still obsessed with control. He said, "Whatever you think it is, is what it is." Then he turned around and left without looking back.
His elder brother, in a fit of rage, jumped up from his seat and shouted angrily at his back, "Stop right there! How dare you! You've imprisoned the emperor of Great Zhou; you'll be ridiculed and cursed by the world!!"
But Shangguan Zeyu was already fed up with listening to him and didn't want to pay any attention to him. She walked out quickly without turning her head.
Thus ended Emperor Shangguan Kangde's rule over the Great Zhou Dynasty, and also ended his brotherly relationship with Shangguan Zeyu.
Shangguan Zeyu did not visit his mother, but went straight back to the Prince's Mansion.
In the past few days, he sent many of his trusted confidants to look for Jiang Yan, but without exception, none of them found him.
He was very puzzled and confused. He couldn't understand where Jiang Yan would go or hide. Of course, he didn't think Jiang Yan was dead, because in his eyes, Jiang Yan was a person who cherished life very much. Otherwise, she would not have secretly escaped from the palace!
Shangguan Zeyu left Zhang Qin in the palace and put Steward Cui in charge of the Prince's Mansion. He then began to look for Jiang Yan himself. However, to Shangguan Zeyu's utter surprise, there was someone else who was also looking for Jiang Yan.
Steward Cui, acting on Shangguan Zeyu's orders, sent a carriage to the Xiao residence to fetch Xiao Yiqing.
Ever since Xiao Yiqing met Shangguan Zeyu that day, she had been absent-minded and distracted. Her father was so busy with his own life and the lives of other members of the Xiao clan that he had no time to pay attention to her.
She became excited when she heard from the maid that someone from the Prince's mansion had come.
"Really? Are you sure it's a carriage from the Prince Duan's residence?"
“Miss, they said it themselves, that they came to take you back on the orders of the Prince.”
"Your Highness has truly not forgotten me!" Xiao Yiqing exclaimed excitedly, pacing back and forth on the spot.
The maid asked, "Miss, shall we inform the master?"
“Father?” Xiao Yiqing suddenly stopped, her expression uneasy. She couldn’t help but recall what her father had told her not long ago: “Daughter, that Shangguan Zeyu doesn’t love you at all! You’ll only suffer if you go back to the Prince’s Mansion, so you might as well stay in the Xiao Mansion! All my savings over the years are hidden in the mansion, enough for you to live on for several lifetimes!!”
Her father doesn't want her to return to the palace. If she tells him this now, he will be very angry and will do everything in his power to stop her.
How could she not return to the Prince's mansion?
That palace was her home! Her beloved man was there! She wanted to go back, to see him every day, and to talk to him!
"No, help me pack, I'm leaving right away!"
Xiao Yiqing's mood was not as good as before when she returned to the Prince's Mansion, but she was still just as happy, excited and thrilled as when she first married into the mansion.
Moreover, her arrogance was even greater than usual, because she felt that since she was pregnant with Shangguan Zeyu's child, she was already the unshakable mistress of the Prince's Mansion!
Therefore, she was truly lawless in the Prince's mansion, doing whatever she wanted and showing no regard for anyone.
Steward Cui was already respected by Shangguan Zeyu in the Prince's Mansion. After saving Shangguan Zeyu's life, he gained even more respect and was regarded by Shangguan Zeyu as the most important and respected person. However, Xiao Yiqing used Steward Cui as a warning to others.
Xiao Yiqing questioned, and there was only one reason for punishing Steward Cui: Steward Cui had not told her the truth about where Shangguan Zeyu had gone.
Although Xiao Yiqing already had a good idea of what was going on, she wanted to know it from Butler Cui, and she wanted the Cui family to give her a definite answer.
Chunhua went back to the Prince's Mansion with her. Seeing her like this, she endured the risk of being beaten and scolded by her and told her that everyone in the Prince's Mansion respected Steward Cui. She also said that Shangguan Zeyu treated Steward Cui as family. She told her not to scold or humiliate Steward Cui, but she wouldn't listen. She even scolded Chunhua for siding with outsiders and told Chunhua not to serve her anymore.
Xiao Yiqing was foolish. If she had listened to even a word Chunhua said, she wouldn't have been so hated after Shangguan Zeyu returned to the palace.
Upon hearing about the appalling things Xiao Yiqing had done to Steward Cui, Shangguan Zeyu was furious and rushed back to the Prince's Mansion without stopping.
On the day Shangguan Zeyu returned to the Prince's Mansion, Xiao Yiqing was bullying Steward Cui the most.
She made Butler Cui kneel in the courtyard wearing only a thin undershirt. The ground in the courtyard was covered with frost from the previous night, and it was still snowing continuously from light snow to moderate snow, and then to heavy snow.
The snowflakes, like flour, dyed Butler Cui's entire body white, as if he were made of ice.
Xiao Yiqing, on the other hand, was wearing a thick mink coat, with three stoves placed beside her. The flames on the stoves were as high as an adult's palm, and she was also holding a hand warmer in her arms, making her look particularly warm.
She was languid, casually crossing her legs and leaning back in a chair covered with a thick white blanket. Her feet were clad in thick white leather boots, and her right foot, which was raised, swung lazily back and forth.
She also wore a long white fur hat, adorned with colorful jewels, which made her look even more noble.
Her hands were painted with bright red nail polish. She would point at Butler Cui with her right index finger and curse him, then point at him with her left index finger and curse him, which was completely incongruous with her gentle and virtuous appearance.
She only asked one question: Where did Shangguan Zeyu go?
But no matter how many times she asked, how many times she scolded Butler Cui, or how many times she slapped him, Butler Cui didn't say a word from beginning to end.
Xiao Yiqing was helpless against Steward Cui. Seeing Steward Cui's upright and incorruptible appearance, she was so angry that she threw the hand warmer in her hand at Steward Cui, which almost hit Steward Cui on the head.
Butler Cui remained unmoved, showing no fear whatsoever.
"Are you even listening to me? Have you lost your mind? Don't you know I'm your master and you're a servant? I'll ask you one more time, where exactly did the Prince go?"
"......"
"You won't talk? Are you sure you won't talk?" Xiao Yiqing laughed angrily. "Fine, if you won't talk, then I'll cut your tongue out!" As she spoke, Xiao Yiqing's expression turned sinister.
As she stood up, preparing to walk towards Butler Cui, Shangguan Zeyu, who had been standing to the side for a long time, unable to contain himself any longer and shouted, "What do you want to do?!"
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