Chapter 222 - 112: Zhao Ci Goes for a Point-Blank Ultimate, Little Auntie Carelessly Loses Her First Kiss

Chapter 222: Chapter 112: Zhao Ci Goes for a Point-Blank Ultimate, Little Auntie Carelessly Loses Her First Kiss

「In the Imperial Study.」

The atmosphere was at an impasse.

Zhao Ci was in a bind. On one hand, he was ecstatic about receiving the Divine Talisman. On the other, he felt nothing but endless scorn for Old Deng.

’That Old Deng... he’s been suspecting me and testing me this whole damn time.’

"You..."

Zhao Huan mused, "You really won’t kill him?"

Zhao Ci nodded. "I want to kill him! But I will not stain my hands with my brother’s blood!"

"Good!"

Zhao Huan was inwardly delighted. He looked at Zhao Yong with growing disappointment. "Did you hear that? The older brother you so revere forced you to stain your hands with blood, while the Imperial Brother you wanted to kill refuses to even draw a blade on you! If I hadn’t tricked this out of you, how long would you have remained so deluded?"

"Huh?"

Zhao Yong’s head snapped up, utterly bewildered. "Tricked?"

"Huh?"

Zhao Ci wore a look of utter shock. "The mastermind behind this... was the Crown Prince?"

Zhao Huan shot Zhao Yong a sharp glare. "You wretched creature, must I say it for you?"

Zhao Yong was completely stunned.

’A trick!’

’That means they don’t have any evidence yet.’

’The Imperial Clan Court hasn’t found any proof of my crimes.’

’And the one who tricked me was my own father.’

’And around us... there isn’t even a single Palace Maid.’

’This means the situation is completely salvageable.’

Though he’d been played, all he felt was relief.

’Father-Emperor is giving me a way to save face!’

’I have to take it!’

His mind cleared completely. "It happened like this. That night, I went to the Tenth Prince’s Mansion to watch Lao Shi spar with some friends. After I left there and had just gotten back to the Ninth Prince’s Mansion, I ran into Shadow..."

And so.

One by one.

Holding nothing back.

He explained his collusion with the Demon Sect in perfect detail.

He included how Shadow had made the introduction, what the old man from the Demon Sect had told him, and the role the Crown Prince had played in it all.

He confessed everything without reservation.

Listening from the side, Zhao Ci became incredibly agitated.

"Outrageous!"

"How disgusting!"

"What kind of bastards are in the Demon Sect?!"

"Father-Emperor! Can’t you issue an order to wipe out the Demon Sect?! Castrate the men and make them eunuchs, and sell the women to the Imperial Music Bureau!"

"Is the Crown Prince out of his mind? Why does he want to kill me?"

Zhao Ci was seething with uncontrollable rage, spouting every foul curse he could think of.

He looked as if he wanted to snatch up the dagger and fight the Demon Sect to the death that very instant.

Inwardly, however, he was puzzled.

’This time, it seems like Old Deng really wants to stir up conflict between me and the Crown Prince.’

’But why?’

At that moment, golden text appeared before him.

[Zhao Huan’s Current Wish: To cultivate Zhao Ci and Zhao Yong, turning them into sharp instruments for me to harvest the interests of the seven great families in the future. Reward for Completion: Comprehension Value +10,000, Dragon-Slaying Blade Forging Blueprint x1.]

Zhao Ci: "..."

’Playing his own sons like this... all just to harvest the interests of the seven great families.’

’Old Deng!’

’You’re truly ruthless!’

’But then again, it’s a damn effective plan!’

’He’s stoking the animosity between me and the Crown Prince.’

’And he’s keeping Zhao Yong around as a tainted witness.’

’This is the prelude to sacrificing the Crown Prince to reap the rewards of the Feng and Zhu families’ investments in the struggle for the throne!’

’Impressive!’

Zhao Huan pondered for a moment before speaking. "Ci, what are your thoughts?"

Zhao Ci’s fury vanished in an instant. He gritted his teeth and said, "Father-Emperor! Can you truly bear to punish Ninth Imperial Brother and the Crown Prince?"

Zhao Huan fell silent. "..."

Zhao Ci lowered his head, his expression downcast. "In that case, I implore you, Father-Emperor, to capture every last member of the Demon Sect. Tie them all up, and if possible... let me be the one to deliver the final blow!"

Zhao Huan: "!"

’This hatred... it must run bone-deep.’

’It seems he truly is unaware of Gu Xiangzhu’s identity as a member of the Demon Sect.’

’His hatred for the Demon Sect is now firmly established. I should have much less to worry about when it comes to Zhao Ci.’

"Sigh."

Zhao Huan sighed and patted him gently on the shoulder. "Ci, you have been wronged."

Zhao Ci opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words, "I have not been wronged."

"To think that a mere competition between mansions would drive you brothers to the point of fratricide."

Zhao Huan seemed to have aged considerably. "The ancestors established the Imperial Clan Court and created the mansion competition system for the stability of the dynasty and to discover young talent. For ages, it has been of great benefit to the realm.

I never imagined that... in my hands, it would become so corrupt.

It is not your fault!

It is mine!

It was I who was arrogant and complacent, thinking that as long as the national treasury was full, I could defeat the four nations of Longyuan and reclaim our ancestral lands.

Yet I never imagined that after eighteen years of stable development, the lives of the common people would not improve in the slightest.

Instead, it has allowed the greed of certain people to swell without limit!

Take a look at these!"

He sat down, his movements unsteady.

He tossed the thick registers from his desk toward them.

They each took a register and began to flip through it.

The register was thick. Just seeing the cover made Zhao Ci’s eyelid twitch.

A Guide to Criminal Cases?

He opened it to find it densely packed with statistics, all concerning cases handled by the Ministry of Justice in recent years.

The Cao Bang.

The Horse Gang.

The Salt Gang.

The Five Poison Sect.

The Corpse-Driving Sect.

The Demon Sect...

These folk organizations were absolute hotbeds of criminal activity, with a shocking number of bloody and brutal cases.

The infamous Demon Sect was only ranked sixth.

Zhao Yong couldn’t help but ask, "Father-Emperor, this is..."

Zhao Huan sounded weary. "And I want you to guess: do you think the great families are lurking in the shadows behind these organizations?"

Zhao Yong: "..."

Zhao Ci’s eyes flashed. Ever since it became clear he wouldn’t be able to leave Lingge to govern his own fief, he had spent his idle time reading all sorts of books and gathering gossip, and he had indeed found more than a few clues.

He had at least heard from Feng Kucha that, aside from the canals under the Court’s strict control, the Cao Bang operated on nearly every waterway. The reason they could control shipping in certain areas was because many Great Demons lurking in the riverbeds had ties to them.

You could try to sail without paying their protection fees, but there was no guarantee you wouldn’t run into... trouble.

Great Yu had no shortage of powerful experts, but there weren’t many who could enter the water to capture and kill a Great Demon.

As for the exact nature of the relationship between the Great Demons and the Cao Bang...