"Your Highness!"
Eunuch Tan rushed over, gasping for air. "Terrible news! Lord Xu An, Deputy Minister of Works, has died in the Heavenly Prison!"
"What did you say?"
Yang Xiu nearly thought he'd misheard.
Beside him, Xu Yanci's expression froze. Even the mockery on his face stopped mid-way.
"Just now, Lord Xu An, Deputy Minister of Works, was found poisoned to death in the Heavenly Prison," Eunuch Tan repeated.
Yang Xiu swallowed hard. His throat was dry. "Who would dare commit such a reckless and outrageous crime?"
"It must be Splendid Radiance Hall. It had to be them!" Xu Yanci's eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at Yang Cheng. "Not long ago, Crown Prince, you told my father yourself that he'd die within three days! Such boldness! Splendid Radiance Hall is too bold! You dared to poison my father! The aristocratic clans of the realm will never let you get away with this!"
"That's right." Yang Xiu perked up. Xu An's death might not be a bad thing for him.
With Xu An gone, the fury of the aristocratic clans would surely fall on Splendid Radiance Hall. Let's see how they deal with that.
He forced himself to stay calm. "Crown Prince Brother, how could Splendid Radiance Hall do such a thing? If the royal family can just poison ministers at will, who in the world would dare serve the court in the future?"
"Sixth Prince," Eunuch Tan said awkwardly, "this matter has nothing to do with Splendid Radiance Hall or Her Majesty the Empress."
"How would you know that?" Yang Xiu frowned. "With Splendid Radiance Hall's methods, of course they could cover things up cleanly. But in matters like this, you can't just look at the evidence. You have to ask—who benefited most?"
"Sixth Prince, the one who poisoned Lord Xu… was Madam Xu."
At that, Eunuch Tan couldn't help sneaking a glance at Xu Yanci.
"Madam Xu? Which Madam Xu?" Yang Xiu was confused.
"Lady Xu Yun," said Eunuch Tan. "Your second aunt, Crown Prince. Wife of Lord Xu An. Mother of Xu Yanci."
Yang Xiu and Xu Yanci both froze.
Then Yang Xiu exploded with anger. He gave Eunuch Tan a hard kick. "You damned old dog, how dare you joke with me!"
Eunuch Tan put on a pitiful face. "Your Highness, I wouldn't dare joke with you."
"Why are you still standing here, Eunuch Tan? The Noble Consort is waiting on your report," a palace maid called out as she approached.
"I'll go at once," Eunuch Tan said. "Sixth Prince, forgive me for leaving now. If you still want to punish me, wait until I report back to Her Ladyship."
He quickly followed the maid and left.
"I don't believe it!" Xu Yanci's eyes were red. "Sixth Prince, I'm going to the Heavenly Prison. I won't believe it unless I see it with my own eyes!"
"Fine, I'll go with you," said Yang Xiu.
"Xu Yanci, didn't you say earlier that I was just throwing a useless tantrum?" Yang Cheng said calmly. "Looks like maybe I was powerless against your father… but even the heavens couldn't stand him. They took him out themselves."
Xu Yanci stumbled slightly, then stormed off even faster.
"Tangtang, let's keep playing," Yang Cheng said with a smile.
"Okay!" Tang Xingyu didn't care about the drama at all.
Xu Yanci and Yang Xiu quickly arrived at the Heavenly Prison.
When Xu Yanci saw Xu An's corpse, it hit him like a bolt of lightning.
Yun Guanqing was there too.
So was the Minister of Justice, personally overseeing the investigation.
Yun Guanqing was the prime suspect in the poisoning.
But she had made all the necessary arrangements before coming.
The final conclusion: Xu An had once forced himself on one of Yun Guanqing's maids. That maid held a grudge and secretly laced the food and wine with poison. Yun Guanqing had no knowledge of it and was used by the maid.
Xu Yanci stood to the side, listening to the verdict. He looked completely lost.
He knew that maid well. She had been trying to seduce Xu An for a long time and finally succeeded just last month. There was no "assault." No "force."
So...
Xu Yanci stared at Yun Guanqing in disbelief.
But he said nothing.
The Minister of Justice had no proof to charge Yun Guanqing, and logically, she had no motive. Xu An's death only harmed her—it brought no benefit.
So Yun Guanqing was released and sent home.
As soon as they got home, Xu Yanci exploded.
He locked eyes with Yun Guanqing. "Mother, why?"
"What do you mean, 'why'?"
Yun Guanqing's eyes flickered with a trace of complexity, then turned cold.
She used to adore Xu Yanci—how much she loved and took pride in him couldn't be put into words.
But now she knew he wasn't her son. He was the son of the woman who had murdered her child.
"Father—he was killed by you." Xu Yanci spoke slowly, word by word. "Mother, you can fool others, but not me. What I don't understand is why you'd do it."
His face was full of pain.
Yun Guanqing hadn't just killed Xu An—she turned him into a public joke even after death.
Now, news had likely spread across the capital: Xu An was poisoned because he assaulted and abused a maid from his own household.
Yun Guanqing replied coldly, "Your father kept a mistress outside and had a child with her. That child is the same age as you. According to what I learned, your father doted on him greatly."
"I couldn't allow anyone to threaten your position."
Xu Yanci's heart stirred.
He never imagined his mother could commit such a ruthless act… and all for his sake.
That realization filled him with both guilt and sorrow, which made his pain even worse.
He blamed himself. In the end, it was because of him that his mother killed his father.
"Mother, you're being foolish. A bastard son—how could he possibly threaten me?" Xu Yanci said.
"Sometimes," Yun Guanqing said coldly, "the insects crawling in the sewers have more tricks than you expect."
"Who knows what that child might do in the future to replace you? I had to kill the threat before it grew."
She had to strangle the risk while it was still in the cradle.
That left Xu Yanci with nothing to say.
He could only suffer in silence.
Yun Guanqing, however, felt no regret. No remorse.
And so, this storm that had exploded because of Xu An… ended in farce.
All the great aristocratic clans had been thoroughly humiliated.
They had opposed Emperor Qian Yuan's decision to execute Xu An so fiercely—yet in the end, Xu An had destroyed himself.
His true character was finally exposed: despicable and shameless.
This was the man they had supported?
How would the world view these clans now?
"Hahahaha."
Emperor Qian Yuan, on the other hand, was in a great mood.
Without realizing it, the day of the Three-Year Banquet had arrived.
That day, the palace was locked down with heavy security. Even the Capital Guard was deployed.
At the Imperial Supreme Hall, nobles, officials, and major sect leaders arrived in a steady stream.
"From the Extreme North Ice Palace, congratulations to the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince of Great Zhou. We offer a ten-thousand-year snow lotus and a thousand-year snow lotus."
"From the Bian'an Divine Sect of Great Zhao, congratulations to the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince of Great Zhou. We offer one Great Divine Pill of the Other Shore and one Lesser Divine Pill."
"From the Jade Zither Pavilion of Wutong Island, congratulations to the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince of Great Zhou. We offer nine volumes of peerless zither scores and nine volumes of rare zither music."
…
One by one, each major power presented their gifts and gave their blessings.
Any one of these treasures could cause a bloodbath if word spread outside.
However, the gifts given to Yang Cheng and Yang Xiu were clearly not equal.
Even though the gifts to Yang Xiu were individually valuable, when compared side by side, they were all clearly a tier lower than what Yang Cheng received.
Yang Xiu's eyes turned red with envy and hate.
Yang Cheng remained calm and indifferent.
Everything from his previous life had flipped upside down in this one.
He remembered clearly—in his last life, every gift he received was inferior to Yang Xiu's.
Even his treatment was worse than Yang Xiu's.
Back then, he was a martial arts failure. The powers of the world thought he was worthless and gave him pathetic, meager gifts.
Now, all eyes from the major sects and factions were fixed on Yang Cheng.
In everyone's mind, a single word echoed: xiantong—immortal child.
Many girls couldn't hide the fondness in their gaze.
Yang Xiu was handsome too, but compared to Yang Cheng, he fell short.
With Yang Cheng present, everyone instinctively overlooked Yang Xiu.
"Your Highness, Crown Prince of Great Zhou."
Just then, a young man stepped forward. "I heard your zither skills are exceptional. Would I be fortunate enough to spar with you?"
The speaker was a disciple of the Jade Zither Pavilion.
He was Lu Yun's senior brother. In terms of zither mastery, he ranked between Lu Yun and the pavilion's top senior sister.