Chapter 361 Shouldn't you have been burned to death?
"Second brother, we're about to be burned to death, and you seem quite happy about it..."
Just as the Second Prince's face was beaming with a smug smile, the Ninth Prince, Xiao Jingchen, and Lord Zhu strolled leisurely out of the fire.
"You, you, you all..." The Second Prince stared in shock as he watched Xiao Jingchen and Lord Zhu emerge unharmed from the fire.
"Second brother, are you very surprised..." Xiao Jingchen smiled happily when he saw the second prince, who looked as if he had seen a ghost.
"Impossible! Shouldn't you have been burned to death in the fire???" He originally thought that as long as Xiao Jingchen and Lord Zhu were burned to death in this house, no one would know his secret.
But now, seeing Xiao Jingchen and Lord Zhu emerge unharmed, he felt as if the sky had fallen once again.
"What, Second Brother, do you think you can burn us down by setting a fire, and incidentally destroy the evidence of your plot to rebel?"
"Second brother, don't worry, I sent those pieces of evidence to Father Emperor in the palace a long time ago."
"The reason we've made such a commotion here is to lure out the person behind this, so we can take them down at once and convince Father that you're the one behind it all."
"Is that right, Father?"
Xiao Jingchen's last words were directed at a dark figure behind the Second Prince.
He was also chilled by the old emperor's indifference and, in order to see the second prince's true colors, he did not send anyone to rescue them from the fire.
If he hadn't been prepared, he probably would have been trapped inside by the fire.
At that point, not only will he fail to overthrow his second elder brother, but he will also be implicated.
"Impossible!" Upon hearing Xiao Jingchen's words, the Second Prince suddenly looked behind him.
When the Second Prince saw that the old emperor's face was even darker than the night in the shadows, he was so frightened that his heart trembled and his soul almost left his body.
"Father, things aren't as you think, please listen to me..."
At this moment, the second prince had lost all reason. Terrified, he crawled forward on his hands and knees, reaching the old emperor and trying to explain something to him…
"Go to hell!"
"I'm not even dead yet, and they're all eyeing the spot where I'm sitting..."
The old emperor knew his son best. Seeing the second prince's cowardly appearance, he knew that the prince wanted to rebel. He was so angry that he jumped up and kicked the second prince in the chest.
"puff!"
The old emperor was probably furious; he kicked the second prince in the chest with all his might.
The second prince was kicked two meters away, and the pain in his chest caused him to vomit blood on the ground.
But the second prince, unwilling to die, endured the pain in his chest and continued crawling towards the emperor.
"Father, it was the Ninth Prince, the Ninth Prince framed me!" Even on his deathbed, the Second Prince still tried to frame Xiao Jingchen and drag him down with him.
Xiao Jingchen didn't speak, but stared intently at the old emperor.
If the old emperor felt that he also had rebellious intentions, then the old emperor should demote him to a commoner and send him far away from the capital...
"Second brother, do you think I'm too old and useless?"
Upon hearing the Second Prince's words, the old emperor looked through the darkness at the calm and composed Xiao Jingchen.
Seeing that Xiao Jingchen showed no panic and instead allowed him to scrutinize him with an indifferent attitude, the old emperor believed that Xiao Jingchen did not care about his position at all.
Then, looking down at the second prince, the old emperor saw a fierce ambition in the prince's eyes, a ruthless determination to die for him. The old emperor no longer hesitated.
"Guards, drag the Second Prince away and confine him to his idle prince's residence for life." After issuing this order, the old emperor's back hunched over even more.
He never imagined that his later years would be no different from the tragic ones experienced by every emperor.
"Father, it's getting late. Let me take you back to the palace first!" Seeing the old emperor's hunched back, Xiao Jingchen softened and stepped forward to support the old emperor's arm, leading him back to the palace.
"Alas!" The old emperor could only sigh helplessly at everything that had happened recently.
"Father, don't think too much, take care of your health..." The old emperor's sigh made Xiao Jingchen feel even worse.
Looking back carefully, he was born into the royal family, but he had the protection of the old emperor, and since he didn't have much time left, he lived a comfortable life.
He didn't have many complaints about the old emperor; on the contrary, he felt quite happy.
Hearing the old emperor's sigh made him feel even worse.
I just wonder, is the emperor's position really that good? He clearly has so many things beyond his control once he's in that position, so why are his brothers fighting tooth and nail for it?
"Ninth Prince, tell me, was it a mistake for me not to appoint a crown prince before?" The old emperor, probably provoked, suddenly asked Xiao Jingchen.
"Father, what are you saying? Father is the ruler of the world, everything Father does is right, how could it be wrong..."
Xiao Jingchen didn't know if the old emperor was testing him or what, but he pretended not to understand.
He doesn't care about this position that requires getting up earlier than the rooster and going to bed later than the dog.
"You're quite the smooth talker." The old emperor knew that asking such a question would put Xiao Jingchen in a difficult position, so he didn't continue the conversation on that topic.
"You're in charge of dealing with the person behind your second brother." The old emperor thought that his foolish second son's idea of rebellion must be related to the person behind him.
"Father, rest assured, I will handle this matter well." Xiao Jingchen knew that the old emperor wanted to take his anger out on the people around the second prince, so he nodded and promised to complete the task.
Throughout history, choosing the wrong side has always come at a price.
After sending the old emperor back to the palace, Xiao Jingchen returned to the Netherworld Palace and, together with Lord Zhu, carried the stolen goods back to the Dali Temple.
Then, following Lord Zhu, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, they went to arrest the officials on the roster overnight.
The night in Beijing is destined to be a sleepless one.
Many officials' homes echoed with cries of injustice, but when Xiao Jingchen presented the evidence, they all fell silent, allowing Xiao Jingchen and the men brought by Lord Zhu to arrest them.
That night, many officials were arrested in their sleep, and even half of the city's guards were wiped out.
Some local officials would send Ji Feng with an arrest warrant to apprehend people.
Lin Luoxi and Xie Hanchuan received news that the Second Prince had been imprisoned for life and took advantage of the chaos to leave the capital.
Xie Hanchuan, who had released his white tiger and was riding a horse, quickly rode off to meet up with the Lin family in the grove.
Along the way, following the marks left by Lin Lingtian, Lin Luoxi and Xie Hanchuan met up with the Lin family at the Lin family's residence in Youzhou at dawn.
"Grandpa, Grandma, Great-Grandpa, Father, Mother, Master... we're back!" Lin Luoxi and Xie Hanchuan's family excitedly greeted the Lin family members who were already having breakfast as soon as they arrived.
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