Western Chu, the Sea King's Palace!
Two months passed quietly. Although the people in the capital had changed into thinner clothes, on Yangming Mountain where the temperature was low all year round, the servants of the Sea King's Mansion were still wearing winter clothes!
Beside the artificial lake with a faint cold mist, sat Hai Chenxi, who was only wearing a spring robe. He looked calm and indifferent, sitting on the original stone by the lake, with a fishing rod beside him. It was as quiet as night everywhere, and the air was fresh with a hint of coolness, but Hai Chenxi did not show any expression of fear of cold or boredom!
"Prince, you'd better go back to the house! Be careful of the cold air invading your body!" The guard standing behind Hai Chenxi spoke with concern after his master had been sitting here for two hours!
In the Sea King's Palace, everyone knows that Prince Hai is the Sea King's beloved child. If the prince catches a cold, I'm afraid I won't have to be his personal bodyguard anymore!
"Remember not to make loud noises when fishing!" But Hai Chenxi spoke calmly, his eyes fixed on the cold smoke rising from the lake. The boundless lake surface was like a mirror, reflecting the faint sunlight, but it could calm people's overly impetuous hearts and enable them to think about problems calmly!
Seeing that there was a hint of blame in his master's words, the guard immediately shut up and stood quietly behind Hai Chenxi!
At this moment, a burst of urgent yet light footsteps came from far away. The guard immediately pressed the sword at his waist with both hands, and at the same time turned around quickly, but found that the person who came was the housekeeper of the palace. He couldn't help but relax his vigilance a little, turned around slowly, and continued to protect Hai Chenxi behind him!
The steward's face was filled with anxiety, and his expression was full of urgency. Seeing Hai Chenxi sitting by the lake, his heart finally settled down. He walked to Hai Chenxi without slowing down, raised his arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and saluted Hai Chenxi, "Your servant greets the prince! The prince is here, it's so hard for me to find him!"
Hai Chenxi's gaze remained fixed on the lake. His composure was not disturbed by the butler's hasty arrival, nor did he become angry at the butler's interruption. He simply asked calmly, "Why did you come here to look for me, the prince?"
As he spoke, he saw an extremely slight vibration coming from the originally still fishing rod, which made Hai Chenxi focus even more on the thin rope hanging in the lake!
The butler beside him dutifully answered Hai Chenxi's question, "In reply to the Prince, Your Majesty, please go to your room now!"
"Really?" Unexpectedly, all he got was Hai Chenxi's faint question, and his attention was completely focused on the fishing rod that was shaking more and more violently!
The housekeeper knew the status and weight of the prince in the heart of the prince. Although the prince had just instructed him to find Prince Hai and let him go to the room immediately, even if Prince Hai was late for a long time, the prince was afraid that he would not be willing to blame him too much!
Precisely because he saw this clearly, the butler wisely did not urge Cui Hai to sink into the river, but quietly retreated behind him, waiting patiently for this prince who was the most favored by the Sea King to return home happily!
However, Hai Chenxi's late arrival did not make Neptune angry, but it angered Hai Yue who was sitting quietly in the room!
Hai Yue was seen holding the teacup in one hand, gently lifting the lid of the bowl with the other hand and slowly scraping the edge of the bowl, but his gloomy eyes were always staring at the door of the room!
An entire hour had passed since the steward had gone to invite someone, but Hai Chenxi still hadn't shown up. Hai Yue's eyes grew increasingly sinister, and the hostility hidden within them grew even stronger. He slowly took a sip of hot tea, then turned his gaze to Hai Quan, who was quietly practicing his technique behind the table. He spoke softly and respectfully, "Father, this fifth brother is truly difficult to invite. He's kept you waiting for an entire hour!"
Unfortunately, Hai Quan was concentrating on the rice paper in front of him at this time. As he completed the previous word, he gently pulled the rice paper with his left hand, and immediately wrote the second word on the blank rice paper with the pen held tightly in his right hand!
Hai Yue knew that Hai Quan was always quiet when practicing, so he didn't care about Hai Quan's neglect of him at this time. However, he turned his gaze to the outside of the door and saw that there were only two guards standing on both sides of the door. His originally relaxed brows couldn't help but frowned, and the teacup in his hand was placed on the tea table!
"If you're bored waiting, go out for a walk!" Although Hai Quan was concentrating on practicing calligraphy, he still understood Hai Yue's reaction! Moreover, over the years, the fighting between the heirs in the palace has never stopped. Even if Hai Yue didn't show his dissatisfaction today, he could still feel Hai Yue's anger towards Chen Xi!
"I dare not! It is a great honor for me to be able to accompany my father to practice calligraphy!" Upon hearing this, Hai Yue immediately hid all the expressions on his face, and spoke with only a respectful smile. His voice was extremely respectful, and his filial piety was touching!
But after listening to it, Hai Quan just nodded indifferently, his eyes always fixed on the pen, ink, paper and inkstone in his hands. Hai Yue couldn't help feeling a little frustrated, but he didn't dare to show it on his face!
Sitting up straight again, he took a deep breath, and sat quietly in the room without looking around, waiting for Hai Chenxi's arrival!
"Knock, knock, knock!" Just as Hai Quan finished practicing on five more sheets of rice paper, someone carefully knocked on the door frame!
"Come in!" Hai Quan put the brush on the inkstone and spoke in a deep voice!
"Your Highness, the Prince is here!" The butler immediately walked into the room and reported in a low voice after paying his respects to Hai Quan!
At the same time, Hai Chenxi had already walked over the threshold!
"Your son greets father and prince!" With a slight smile on his face, Hai Chenxi saluted the people in the room with full courtesy!
Hai Yue was furious when he saw Hai Chenxi rushing in without waiting to be informed, but Hai Quan did not blame Hai Chenxi for this. Even though he was angry, he did not speak rashly. He just nodded indifferently when Hai Chenxi greeted him with a sneer!
However, when Hai Quan heard Hai Chenxi's voice, the calm expression on his face finally changed. A faint smile appeared in his eyes, and even his voice became much kinder. "Look at the butler, your face is covered in sweat. Where have you been hiding again?"
He waved Hai Chenxi over and asked him to come closer, so he sat in the seat closest to him. Hai Quan frowned when he saw the thin robe Hai Chenxi was wearing, and said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Why don't you put on an extra robe? The cold air on this mountain is always very strong. Be careful not to get hurt by the cold air!"
"I am a martial artist, but I am not that useless!" Hai Chenxi took the tea offered by the butler, glanced coldly at Hai Yue opposite him, and then spoke with a smile!
This sentence made Hai Quan more satisfied with Hai Chenxi, and he couldn't help but nodded with a faint smile. However, it angered Hai Yue. After seeing Hai Quan's care and love for Hai Chenxi, his hands that were flat on his knees slowly clenched into fists. However, due to Hai Quan's presence at the scene, he could only suppress the anger in his body!
Seeing that Hai Yue was still unconvinced, Hai Chenxi was in a good mood and took a sip of the tea in his hand. Then he asked loudly, "I wonder what important matter my father has called me here today?"
Upon hearing this, Hai Quan's gaze immediately swept towards the butler. He saw that the butler understood and bowed to the three masters in the room, then quickly left the room and closed the door to prevent anyone else from approaching!
Hai Quan didn't speak immediately. He folded the rice paper in front of him and put it aside. After taking a sip of tea, he said, "I'm sure you all know the signal Tian'er sent a few days ago!"
After he finished speaking, a sharp light immediately reflected in Hai Quan's gentle eyes. When he looked at his two sons, there was no longer any indifference in his eyes. A solemn and rigorous aura immediately emanated from his body, making Hai Yue instantly put aside the distracting thoughts in his mind and concentrate on thinking about the deep meaning of his father's question just now!
In contrast, Hai Chenxi remained nonchalant, as if he hadn't noticed the change in Hai Quan's demeanor. He continued to sip his tea and smile, but his eyelids fluttered slightly. After seeing Hai Yue's eager expression, the smile on his lips deepened, and he gave him a chance to speak first, "What do you think, Prince?"
Hearing Hai Chenxi's sudden words, Hai Yue was slightly stunned. He didn't understand when Hai Chenxi became so polite and let him speak first!
However, Hai Yue immediately regained his composure. He raised his calm eyes and answered cautiously, "Judging from the color of Tian'er's signal, it's obvious that Qi Jingyuan agrees to join forces with us!"
After he finished speaking, Hai Yue paused, glancing at Hai Chenxi as he turned away. He was slightly puzzled by his actions today! He was also annoyed. He had wanted to listen to Hai Chenxi's opinion first so that he could refute him in front of his father, but he didn't expect that this person would speak before him today!
After hearing Hai Quan's answer, which turned out to be nothing more than a statement of a well-known fact, Hai Chenxi's half-closed eyes flashed with contempt, and then he sneered, "Anyone who is not blind can understand the princess's intention from the color of the signal! Father's time is always precious, so why waste it repeating this matter, my prince?"
Seeing his answer being ridiculed by Hai Chenxi, Hai Yue's face suddenly darkened and his hands clenched. However, he did not refute harshly. Instead, he looked at Hai Chenxi with a faint smile and said slowly, "Fifth brother, you just made father and this prince wait for an entire hour. Who is wasting father's time? Fifth brother, you know it in your heart!"
"This prince naturally knows what's going on, but I'm afraid the prince doesn't!" Unexpectedly, Hai Chenxi used his sharp tongue to instantly confuse right and wrong, and shut Hai Yue up with just one sentence!
Especially since Hai Quan was present in this matter, and when Hai Quan's heart was obviously leaning towards Hai Chenxi, Hai Yue would naturally not openly argue with Hai Chenxi in front of Hai Quan. He just led Hai Chenxi to become more disrespectful to him, so that Hai Quan could see clearly Hai Chenxi's disrespectful face!
"Chen Xi!" And Hai Quan really spoke about this matter!
Hai Chenxi and Hai Yue looked at Hai Quan at the same time. The smile in Hai Chenxi's eyes gradually turned into a thin layer of ice, while Hai Yue's eyes showed a little nervousness, but they both waited for Hai Quan's judgment at the same time!
"How can you talk to your elder brother like that? He just cares about you!" Little did he know that what Hai Quan said was such a meaningless remark!
It seems that he is helping Hai Yue, but in fact he is favoring Hai Chenxi!
Hai Quan had just mentioned 'big brother', not 'prince'. Therefore, even if Hai Chenxi contradicted him, he wouldn't be accused of insubordination! And the following sentence seemed to be comforting Hai Chenxi!
For a moment, Hai Yue felt a surge of anger in his heart, and when he turned to Hai Chenxi, there was a hint of anger in his eyes!
However, after hearing Hai Quan's rebuke, Hai Chenxi raised his teacup towards Hai Yue and said with a smile, "This prince made a slip of the tongue. I offer tea instead of wine to apologize to the prince!"
As he spoke, he looked up and took a sip of hot tea, but a hint of coldness appeared in his expression!
Facing the secret fight between his two sons, Hai Quan knew it in his heart, but pretended to be ignorant on the surface. His sharp eyes took in all the expressions of the two men.
He could still suppress the things in the palace, but it was hard to say what was happening outside the palace. What's more, Qi Jingyuan had always been an ignorant person, making him even more difficult to figure out!
Hai Quan looked at the two sons he admired most among his five sons and expressed his doubts, "Do you think Qi Jingyuan is sincere?"
"Father means that he suspects Qi Jingyuan is using us as a stepping stone?" Seeing Hai Quan express his doubts, Hai Yue suppressed his anger and fell into deep thought!
"Chenxi, what do you think?" Hai Quan didn't hear any constructive response from Hai Yue, so his eyes were all on Hai Chenxi!
Putting down the teacup in his hand, Hai Chenxi said in a deep voice, "Qi Jingyuan is a ruthless man! Shortly after returning to Northern Qi, he killed all the attendants that came with Princess Heshun's dowry. It can be seen that he is very cautious! And it took us so long to receive the exact news from Princess Heshun. To be honest, I really doubt whether this was done by Princess Heshun!"
Compared to Hai Yue's pale question just now, Hai Chenxi's analysis seemed much deeper and he considered things from all angles. This made Hai Quan's face suddenly show a touch of relief, but it stung Hai Yue's eyes!
"What fifth brother just said does not rule out this possibility! It's just that Tian'er has been keeping in touch with us for the past two or three months. I think that although Qi Jingyuan is bold, he won't ignore the agreement between the two countries and kill Tian'er immediately! Besides, only Tian'er can use that signal. Father, I think that signal must have been sent by Tian'er!" As he spoke, Hai Yue's gaze instantly shot towards Hai Chenxi. In contrast to his previous tolerance for him, his eyes were full of fierceness!
“Prince, don’t forget, those thousands of followers can all be killed. Now, there is only Princess Heshun left in Northern Qi, and Qi Jingyuan is not a man who sympathizes with women. If the princess can’t stand the torture and betrays our Haiwang Mansion, if we trust her wrongly, then the Haiwang Mansion will be in an irretrievable situation, and your father’s efforts over the years will be wasted because of his daughter!” Hai Chenxi looked directly at Hai Yue, accepting the obvious hatred from Hai Yue, and the arc of his mouth gradually widened!
"Father, you love Tian'er the most! Tian'er knows how good you are! How could she betray you? What's more, she is a girl, left alone to marry in Northern Qi. She is already very pitiful, without even a caring person to serve her. But now, your fifth brother wants to put the blame on Tian'er. Father, I feel sorry for Tian'er!" As soon as Hai Chenxi finished speaking, Hai Yue stood up suddenly and accused Hai Chenxi indignantly, "Besides, although Tian'er and your fifth brother are not born of the same mother, she is your fifth brother's sister after all, your biological daughter. Not only do you have no sympathy for her, but you even throw dirty water on her. What are you thinking?"
After he finished speaking, Hai Yue stared at Hai Chenxi with his eyes, as if he wanted to tear him apart! What a Hai Chenxi, actually using this incident to imply that Tian'er was a traitor, such a cruel mind, such a vicious plot! If he had left earlier, I'm afraid his conspiracy would have succeeded long ago, and Tian'er's sacrifice would have been in vain!
Seeing Hai Yue's excitement, Hai Chenxi just shrugged and said lightly, "Why are you so angry, Prince? This prince is just discussing the matter! Since my father has doubts in his heart, we, as his sons, naturally have to share his worries. I am just analyzing this matter from a different perspective! After all, the princess is far away in Northern Qi now. All we can know is through the signal sent. As for the person who sent the signal, we really know nothing! It is normal for this prince to have such a guess! What's more, my prince also knows that this is related to my father's life's work. How can we let go of any omissions because of family affection?"
'Pah pah pah'!
A round of applause echoed in the room filled with arguments. The two brothers, who were originally immersed in the quarrel, looked at Hai Wang at the same time. Hai Quan was smiling, looking at Hai Chenxi with admiration in his eyes. He then warned Hai Yue, "Yue'er, this is indeed an oversight on your part! Chenxi is obviously thinking further than you think! Although Tian'er is my daughter, she is now trapped in Northern Qi. We really don't know her situation, and we can't rule out any possibility! It's better to be cautious in everything. Don't lose your composure and judgment because of family ties!"
Hai Yue's heart sank at the blatant partiality. He bowed and saluted Hai Quan, "Your son will follow your father's instructions!"
At this time, Hai Quan's gaze had already turned to Hai Chenxi. He saw that his most beloved youngest son, after embarrassing Hai Yue, was sitting there idly drinking tea as if nothing had happened, and did not continue the serious topic just now!
This made Hai Quan sigh in his heart. It seemed that in Chenxi's heart, revenge for his mother was far in the first place. As long as it was something that could embarrass the queen and her son, Hai Chenxi would do it without reservation!
But when it comes to other things, Hai Chenxi clearly has the ability and means, but he doesn't seem to be that enthusiastic. It seems that apart from revenge for Concubine Qin, nothing can arouse Hai Chenxi's fighting desire!
Hiding his worry and anxiety, Hai Quan raised his right hand, motioning Hai Yue to sit down, and then continued, "We'll have to observe Tian'er's situation for a while before making a final decision! I believe you've all seen the recent changes in the court. What are your thoughts?"
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