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Chapter 597: For the Child
Chapter 597: For the Child
The air suddenly grew tense, and the Liang Emperor put on his regal facade, speaking fondly to the little one who had just woken up in his arms: "Grandfather just found a precious sword and was thinking—"
"Thinking of giving it to Grandpa!"
The Miao King interrupted the Liang Emperor, chuckling, "Oh, dear in-law, how can I accept this? But since you're so sincere, it would be rude of me to refuse."
He reached out to take the sword.
The Liang Emperor clung to the hilt, his eyes shooting daggers at the shameless Miao King.
Bao Bao tilted her head to look up at the Liang Emperor, "Are you two fighting?"
The Liang Emperor felt a pang of guilt and let go of the sword.
The Miao King took the sword.
Although the Liang Emperor was a detestable old man, he had no shortage of treasures.
No wonder he had a special underground palace built to store them.
The Miao King winked at the Liang Emperor, indicating that he would help him cover up this lie, given his cooperation.
He ruffled the little one's hair, "Grandpa and Grandfather are in-laws, why would they fight? Grandfather was just seeking Grandpa's advice on martial arts. You know, Grandpa is the best martial artist in the world!"
The Liang Emperor clenched his fists.
Once they were out of the underground palace, his first act would be to kill this shameless old man!
To understand why the two were trapped in the underground palace, we need to go back a few days.
He was playing a game of cards with Mr. Ziwu and the Miao King in the imperial study. They were short one player, and originally, they had summoned Duke Jiang.
But it was Empress Jiang who showed up.
The Liang Emperor was initially reluctant, wondering what a woman was doing among three men.
"Do you, Your Majesty, not want to win back the money you lost that night?"
The Liang Emperor hesitated but agreed.
Then, he lost terribly.
Empress Jiang, on her own, won so much from the three men that they were left with nothing but their undergarments.
The Liang Emperor was in agony.
Suddenly, his memory returned.
His longtime nemesis was now a guest in his palace, and everyone had kept it a secret from him.
How could he bear this?
In a fit of anger and humiliation, he vowed to personally eliminate this menace!
They fought from the imperial study to the imperial garden, and then from the imperial garden to the Cold Palace, accidentally triggering a hidden mechanism.
To stop them, Eunuch Yu, that wretched servant, had the wet nurse bring the little one over.
As a result, the little one also fell into the underground palace.
By the time he wanted to leave, the mechanism had been destroyed from the outside.
Fortunately, the little one had some food, and the underground chamber also had some stored provisions.
"Wait, you don't know the way out of your own underground palace?"
The Miao King was losing his patience.
The Liang Emperor replied, "The underground palace was never meant for leaving."
The Miao King sensed something was off, "Wait, what? If you can't leave, why did you come in?"
The Liang Emperor remained silent.
The Miao King's eyes widened, "You don't mean... this is actually the true imperial tomb of the Liang Dynasty? You built your palace on top of a tomb?"
The Liang Emperor said coolly, "The entrance is in the Cold Palace, but in fact, we are far from the palace."
The Miao King placed his hands on his hips, "A clever fox has three dens, but you even built a fake ancestral tomb. Why? Do you have so many guilty consciences that you fear someone will dig up your ancestors? Pfft, who would bother to do that?"
The Liang Emperor looked at him speechlessly.
The Miao King suddenly remembered that he had dug up the Xun family's ancestral tomb and cleared his throat, falling silent.
He changed the subject, "That doesn't make sense. If we can't leave, why have you been fussing around these past two days?"
The Liang Emperor explained, "The underground palace cannot be exited from the inside. The only way out is to have someone open the tomb's gate from the outside. There is a tomb keeper for that."
The Miao King realized, "So, we're looking for the tomb's gate."
Though he said they were looking for the gate, the Liang Emperor was not entirely confident.
It was clear someone had deliberately trapped him and Bai Qi in the underground palace. This person knew the entrance in the Cold Palace and likely knew the location of the tomb's gate as well.
They might have already killed the tomb keeper.
What he could think of, the Miao King had also considered.
But he couldn’t say such disheartening words in front of the child.
Moreover, no matter what, he had to take the little one out of there.
He was old, with one foot in the grave.
He could die here.
The little one couldn’t.
Coincidentally, this was also what the Liang Emperor had in mind.
They were sworn enemies, yet at this moment, their goals had never been more aligned.
They had to get the little one out of the underground palace alive.
The rest could be dealt with once they were outside.
—
Crown Prince’s Mansion.
Eunuch Yu first loudly read out Prince Jin’s orders, then closed the door and quietly said to Lu Zhaoyan, “Your Highness, this trip to the Ministry of Justice will likely end in disaster. You should escape the capital first… When His Majesty returns, you can…”
Lu Zhaoyan bowed, making a gesture of respect to Eunuch Yu.
Eunuch Yu’s face turned ashen, and he hurriedly knelt down. “Your Highness! No, you can’t!”
Lu Zhaoyan quickly supported him. “Eunuch Yu, I have a favor to ask.”
Eunuch Yu hurriedly replied, “Your Highness, please speak!”
Lu Zhaoyan asked, “Eunuch Yu, do you think I murdered my father, the Emperor?”
“Sigh, if I thought so, I wouldn’t be helping you escape. You are the Crown Prince, and your ascension to the throne is imminent. Why would you do such a thing? Besides, I’ve been with His Majesty for many years and can sense that he has changed. If it were the His Majesty of ten years ago, he might have indeed deposed you because of the Miao King. But now…”
He smiled. “His Majesty is more human, and more considerate. I believe that even for the sake of Miss Zhao and Huang Changsun, His Majesty won’t blame you.”
“Even if His Majesty really did depose you, you wouldn’t kill your father for the throne. So, I trust you, Your Highness!”
This was probably the most sincere conversation Eunuch Yu had ever had since entering the Crown Prince’s Mansion.
He had never doubted the Crown Prince.
Even after spending some time with the Miao King, he found that the Miao King was not a bad person.
“Your Highness, you can rest assured. Whatever you ask me to do, I will do my best.”
Lu Zhaoyan said seriously, “Then I will trouble you to secretly escort the Crown Princess and the Miao King out of the capital.”
“What about you, Your Highness?”
Eunuch Yu asked, surprised.
Lu Zhaoyan smiled. “I’m going to the Ministry of Justice.”
“But…”
“If I don’t go, Eunuch Yu will be exposed. Eunuch Yu, my brother needs you.”
Eunuch Yu boldly looked into Lu Zhaoyan’s eyes.
He nodded painfully. “I understand. I will be your eyes and ears. But, Your Highness… you will suffer a lot.”
Lu Zhaoyan smiled. “My brother has always been a man of virtue. He won’t do anything to me.”
Lu Zhaoyan was taken to the Ministry of Justice’s prison.
Prince Jin was not there.
Rui King and Qi King came to interrogate him.
Qi King walked up to him with a cold smile. “Our elder brother is kind and always values family ties. To avoid his leniency, today, my third brother and I will be interrogating you.”
Lu Zhaoyan laughed. “The things Lu Zhaohua dares not do, you two are willing to do. Truly, you are two fine dogs.”
(End of Chapter)
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