Zhao Yishi looked at the obese man before him, momentarily unable to believe what he’d heard. He could only kneel down, trembling as he said:

“Your son wouldn’t dare. Your son only thought that the Three Great Camps’ warhorses could earlier…”

Slap!

The crisp sound of the slap rang out in the hall. The two little inner servants in the corner shrank back in fright.

The new emperor’s entire face was twisted with rage.

“The Three Great Camps’ warhorses are because of me, the Zheng family’s collapsed wall is because of me, the strange sounds in the late emperor’s spirit hall are because of me, even the bell not ringing is because of me.”

His face showed a madness Zhao Yishi had never seen before.

“Crown Prince, am I unworthy of sitting on this dragon throne? Should I directly abdicate to you?”

“Your Majesty!”

Zhao Yishi felt his chest was suffocated to the extreme. He said sorrowfully and indignantly, “If your son had such intentions, may he be struck by heaven and earth, descend to the eighteenth level of hell after death, never to be reborn.”

“Hell… hahaha…”

The new emperor burst into laughter, the sound crazed and maniacal.

“What hell is there? This mortal realm is hell. Crown Prince, you and I are already people in hell.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Father!”

Zhao Yishi could bear it no longer and shouted: “You are the emperor—you must watch your words!”

The new emperor’s whole body shook violently. The madness gradually receded, replaced by a gloomy, cold face.

He looked at the Crown Prince indifferently. After a long while, he spoke: “When did the Crown Prince learn to shout at me? Go kneel outside and reflect on yourself.”

“Your Majesty.”

Zhao Yishi’s voice was incredibly heavy.

“Your son can kneel for three days and nights without complaint, but the Zheng family matter and the warhorse matter are urgent. Your son begs Your Majesty to calm down and carefully consider what’s more important.”

“Get out!”

The new emperor grabbed the jade cup beside him and hurled it viciously at Zhao Yishi. “I am the Son of Heaven—I don’t need you to teach me!”

…

The separate courtyard.

Shen Chong’s expression was not good.

“Third Master, Young Master Pei, news came from the palace that His Highness’s forehead was struck and bloodied by His Majesty. He’s now being punished to kneel outside the Imperial Study.”

Huairen really did enter the palace.

Pei Xiao glared at Xie Zhifei. “What did I say? How could it be so easy? Now look—he has to suffer again.”

Xie Zhifei ignored him. “Why didn’t His Majesty agree?”

Shen Chong shook his head.

“What other reason could there be? The Son of Heaven, the supreme ruler—he wants face!”

Pei Xiao was truly worried. “Xie Wushi, what do we do now?”

“Wait!”

The three turned their heads to see that at some point, Yan Sanhe had appeared several paces away, her expression very calm.

Shen Chong frowned. “Miss Yan, wait for what?”

“Wait for the opportunity, wait for the result, wait for the impossible to become possible.”

Yan Sanhe said heavily: “I hope he doesn’t retreat. Once he retreats, all previous efforts will be wasted.”

…

The opportunity didn’t come—instead came a torrential downpour.

Under the dripping eaves, palace maids all looked with great sympathy at this handsome Crown Prince.

Since the late emperor’s passing and the new emperor’s ascension, the Crown Prince had been punished to kneel every few days. It was truly pitiful.

In the distance under an umbrella, Empress Zhang wept tears of heartache.

At least there was blood kinship—how could His Majesty torment his own biological son like this?

In the heavy rain, Zhao Yishi knelt motionless.

He suddenly felt immense sympathy for one person—the deposed Crown Prince Zhao Lin.

He wondered, during Zhao Lin’s countless punishments of kneeling, had there been one in such a torrential downpour?

Was his body also very cold, was there also a fire burning in his heart, was there also a phrase in his throat wanting to burst out—

By what right is both thunder and dew the emperor’s grace?

By what right must a subject die if the ruler commands it?

By! What! Right!

…

The rain fell all night long.

The Crown Prince knelt all night long.

The lamps in the separate courtyard’s study also burned all night long.

The next morning, not only did the rain not diminish, it fell even harder, as if it wanted to pierce holes in the sky.

In the heavy rain, Qin Qi, the head eunuch of the Ceremonial Directorate, hurried with an umbrella to Consort Gu’s sleeping quarters. Seeing the palace gates tightly closed, he pounded on them forcefully.

Moments later, a palace servant opened the door.

Qin Qi pushed the person aside and headed straight for the inner hall.

The eunuch guarding outside saw from afar that it was Qin Qi coming and hurried through the rain to greet him. “Eunuch Qin, so early in the morning…”

“Quick, go notify His Majesty. A secret letter has arrived from the north—there’s a situation.”

Hearing this, the eunuch turned and ran…

…

At the same time, the door of the separate courtyard was also being pounded.

Moments later, Xie Zhifei, who had just fallen asleep, was yanked from his bed.

He opened his eyes, bleary and confused. “Bu Liu, why have you come?”

Bu Liu looked like he’d been fished from water. “Third Master, this is terrible. A secret report came from northern scouts—the Tatars are making moves in secret!”

In an instant, Xie Zhifei froze completely.

If the Tatars were making moves, that meant…

“Third Master, when can the Zheng family case be resolved? When can the warhorses recover? This damn… it’s extremely urgent!”

Xie Zhifei threw back the covers. “I’ll go ask Yan Sanhe.”

Too late to put on outer clothing, shuffling in his shoes, he headed out. Reaching the door and seeing Bu Liu still standing there, he shouted:

“What are you standing there for? Come with me!”

This shout was earth-shattering, startling everyone awake.

The study lamp had just gone out not long ago—it lit up again. Even the injured Ding Yi and Huang Qi hurried over.

After hearing Xie Zhifei’s words, Yan Sanhe looked at the torrential rain outside the window. After a long while, she said softly:

“Since the opportunity has come, the result won’t be far behind.”

“My goddess great-aunt!”

Young Master Pei looked deeply worried. “What kind of opportunity is this? If the Tatars attack, what will our Hua Kingdom use to fight them?”

“Announce the Zheng family matter to the realm!”

Yan Sanhe gave a cold laugh. “Perhaps the warhorses will recover halfway!”

Xie Zhifei’s expression changed. “Is that true, Yan Sanhe?”

Yan Sanhe looked at Xie Zhifei’s worried expression and finally revealed her trump card. “It’s my intuition and guess.”

“Yan Sanhe, intuition can’t be eaten as food.”

Pei Xiao wanted to die. “This is such a huge matter—there’s no room for jokes.”

Yan Sanhe took a deep breath. “Generally speaking, my intuition is quite accurate.”

“Bang!”

The rosewood desk shook several times.

Before the desk, Bu Liu’s entire face looked like a plague god’s, exceptionally angry.

“Can someone tell me what exactly happened with the Zheng family case? Who’s the culprit? Why would announcing it to the realm make the warhorses better?”

“It’s a long story, but there’s no time to tell you now.”

Xie Zhifei’s gaze turned to Zhu Qing. “Go tell Shen Chong—tell him I said that as long as His Majesty announces the Zheng family case to the realm, the warhorses will at least recover halfway.”

“Master!”

Zhu Qing’s peripheral vision swept over Yan Sanhe, his voice trembling. “These words can’t be spoken carelessly. What if it’s wrong?”

“If it’s wrong, put it on my head!”

The veins on Xie Zhifei’s forehead bulged. “I’ll take full responsibility.”

—

Zhu Qing said nothing more and turned to leave.

Xie Zhifei walked before Bu Liu and pressed down hard with his large hand.

“Bu Liu, don’t ask anything now. I’ll explain everything to you in detail later. Just help me do one thing.”

Bu Liu was still completely confused. “Do what?”

“Immediately submit a memorial to the emperor in your name as General Bu, exaggerating the harm that would result if there’s unrest in the Northern Territories.”

Xie Zhifei gritted his teeth. “I must apply pressure on the emperor to make him agree to announce the Zheng family case to the realm and support the Crown Prince.”

Apply pressure on the emperor?

Bu Liu’s eyes widened in shock.

—