Chapter 39 Secret Hatred
The door of the warm room in the Qianqing Palace was tightly closed, isolating the life and death struggle inside and also blocking the view of people outside.
The second prince Liu Cong paced back and forth outside the door like a trapped beast, his eyes bloodshot and veins bulging on his forehead.
He tried to rush in several times, but was stopped by the imperial guards with expressionless but extremely firm hands.
"Get out of the way! Let me in!" Liu Cong growled, his voice hoarse.
"Your Highness, please forgive me! His Majesty has decreed that no one is allowed to enter without permission!"
The commander of the guards bowed, his tone respectful but without room for maneuver.
Liu Cong clenched his fists tightly, his nails had already pierced his palms, and blood dripped through his fingers onto the smooth gold bricks, creating a small patch of glaring red.
He couldn't hear any sound inside, nor could he see Cui Xiao's condition. This unknown torment was more torturous than any torture!
My father had clearly brought Ah Xiao in so anxiously, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Ah Xiao just now was clearly filled with unprecedented heartache, but why… why didn’t he immediately deal with that beast Liu Xuan?!
Why keep him out?!
Could it be that... the emperor was also deceived by the rumors about the real and fake princes, and felt that Xiao's status was too low and it didn't matter if he was beaten to death?
Could it be that in my father's heart, a tyrannical and incorrigible eldest prince is more important?!
This thought made Liu Cong feel like his heart was being cut by a knife. A cold hatred wrapped around his heart like a poisonous vine and grew wildly!
He hated Liu Jue's cruelty and tyranny! He hated his father's indecision! And even more, he hated his own incompetence! He watched helplessly as his beloved was tortured, yet he couldn't even get close!
"Liu Jue..."
Liu Cong squeezed out the name from between his teeth, his voice as cold as the wind from hell.
The image of Cui Xiao being beaten to a bloody mess flashed through his mind, and a violent murderous intent instantly overwhelmed all his rationality! The eldest prince's rank and the royal dignity, in his mind at this moment, were not even one ten-thousandth of the pain Cui Xiao had endured!
He secretly swore that he, Liu Cong, would remember this blood debt!
No matter what the cost, no matter how long it takes, he will make Liu Jue pay for his crime with blood! He will personally... kill him!
No, killing him would be too easy! He wanted to make Liu Jue suffer a fate worse than death! He wanted him to experience all the pain in the world! He wanted to take back what he had done to Xiao a thousandfold!
Liu Cong's eyes became deep and cold, like a poisoned pond, filled with deep hatred and a determination to perish together with his enemies.
He no longer tried to rush through the door, but stared at the tightly closed palace door, as if he wanted to burn through it and see the figure inside that made him worried.
At the same time, inside Gyeongbokgung Palace.
The eldest prince Liu Jue was leaning smugly on the couch, enjoying the grapes peeled by the palace maid.
He had no idea that he had caused such a huge disaster.
"Humph! Father, after all, still cares about the father-son relationship! Look at how anxious and angry that old man was, but in the end, he still didn't do anything to me."
Liu Xuan spat out a grape seed, with a look of smugness and foolish relief on his face.
"That little bastard deserves to be beaten to death! Dare to go against me? This is what happens!"
The old eunuch who was his confidant was now pale and his back was soaked with cold sweat.
He had witnessed with his own eyes the unusual and almost collapsed look in the Emperor's eyes when he looked at Cui Xiao!
Especially when His Majesty leaned over to check Cui Xiao's lower back, he was stiff and out of control for a moment... The old eunuch had lived in the palace for most of his life, and his ability to read people's expressions had already been perfected.
He knew something was seriously wrong! Something truly terrible! Cui Xiao's identity was definitely not simple! It was very likely...it was connected to the deepest secrets of the royal family!
"Your Majesty... Your Highness..."
The old eunuch's voice trembled, and he approached cautiously, lowering his voice.
"This servant... This servant feels... things are not going well..."
Liu Jue glanced at him with dissatisfaction
"What's wrong? Father didn't punish me! That means he approved of my actions!
That little bastard is dead, but would the Emperor punish me for the sake of a fake prince and a lowly person?
"Your Highness! Be careful with your words!"
The old eunuch was so frightened that he almost covered his mouth.
"I've seen Your Majesty... I've seen Your Majesty treat Cui Xiao... in a special way! That look... I've never seen Your Majesty treat anyone like that... like that..."
He couldn't find the right words to describe the heartache and panic he felt when he lost control.
"And...and His Majesty seemed to...see something on Cui Xiao...and then his whole person...changed!"
"What did you see?"
Liu Jue didn't care and sneered
"Can you even see dragon patterns on his body? What a joke!"
The old eunuch stamped his feet anxiously, but he dared not speak out his guess, so he could only remind
"Your Highness! It's better to be safe than sorry! I have a feeling... a storm is coming! You... you should quickly go and apologize to His Majesty? Perhaps... perhaps there is still room for maneuver?"
He was regretting it so much at this moment, hating himself for not stopping his master at that time, and hating Jia Ren who came up with the bad idea even more!
Liu Jue waved his hands impatiently as if he had heard a huge joke.
"Get out of here! Stop spouting alarmist rhetoric! I think you've been frightened by your father! Get out!"
The old eunuch was completely disappointed when he saw Liu Jue's ignorant look on his face.
He knew that his master was beyond saving. He dared not say anything more and could only hunch his back and retreat worriedly, thinking about how to leave himself a way out.
Liu Jue was completely unaware of the impending disaster and was still feeling complacent about having "escaped". He had even begun to plan how to find another opportunity to suppress his third brother Liu Chang after Cui Xiao died.
He had no idea that the emperor in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, on the verge of despair and rage, had already carved his name on the list of those to be killed.
Outside the door, a pair of eyes filled with deep hatred were staring at the direction of Gyeongbokgung Palace, brewing a storm that could drag him into hell.
In the warm room of the Qianqing Palace, the imperial doctors were still fighting a silent battle with death.
Emperor Liu Chen stood beside the couch like a stone sculpture, staring at Cui Xiao's pale face without blinking, praying repeatedly in his heart for that slim miracle.
Outside the door, Liu Cong's murderous intent had become tangible.
And Liu Xuan in Gyeongbokgung Palace was still foolishly celebrating what he thought was his "victory".
The noose of fate is slowly tightening.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
