Ch 65 “Hate is good enough, it’s good to be hated by you.”
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Capital Street。
Song Shi sat with his eyes closed in the carriage. Suddenly, the carriage came to an abrupt stop, causing him to lurch forward and fall onto the carriage board. As he scrambled to his feet, his heart skipped a beat as he saw the carriage door being pulled open from the outside. Two long swords were pointed at him from the front of the carriage.
During this period of time, he had been hiding in King Huai’s residence every day and dared not go out. He didn’t expect that he couldn’t avoid trouble when he came out for a trip.
“I have something important to tell King Ke!,” shouted Song Shi loudly.
King Ke’s residence.
Xie Chaoyuan looked coldly at the person kneeling before him, asking for forgiveness. “Speak, what else do you want to say?”
“Your Highness, please give me another chance. I am willing to make up for my mistakes. I will tell you everything I know!”
Under Xie Chaoyuan’s icy gaze, Song Shi quickly explained the story of Li Huan going to King Huai’s residence, as well as Xie Chaoqi’s plan.
“What do you want me to do? I will listen to you, Your Highness. I will never have any other thoughts. Please, Your Highness, give me another chance!” pleaded Song Shi.
Xie Chaoyuan sneered. “So, you mean that Li Huan has already stolen the real drawings and given them to the Xirong people, who have taken them to the northwest?”
“…Yes.”
“Those Xirong people have also been captured by you. Where are they now? Are they still in the hands of King Huai or Li Huan?”
“They are with King Huai now. Li Huan showed his loyalty to King Huai by handing them over to him for disposal.” In fact, Li Huan just wanted Xie Chaoqi to take the blame for him, while he watched from behind the scenes.
Xie Chaoyuan narrowed his eyes, his thoughts spinning. He looked back at Song Shi and said, “I can give you another chance.”
Song Shi clenched his fist tightly.
“You go and deliver a message to those Xirong people. For the future of Xirong, when the court of Da Liang wants to interrogate them in the future, say that the blueprints were given to them by the Crown Prince of Da Liang.”
Song Shi was stunned.
Xie Chaoyuan signaled to Wang Rang, and soon someone brought a small bottle and threw it in front of Song Shi. “Take it.”
Song Shi trembled all over and hesitated to reach out.
The sword in the hand of the guard beside him was drawn from its sheath, and he had no choice but to take it. He picked up the bottle and poured the pill inside into his mouth.
Wang Rang reminded him for Xie Chaoyuan, “Come back here for the antidote after you have completed the task. If you have any disloyalty, the poison will activate every three months and you will bleed to death from your seven orifices. Even a deity cannot save you then.”
Song Shi crawled on the ground, covered in cold sweat. “Thank you, Your Highness Xie, for your mercy.”
The next day, Xie Chaoyuan went to the palace to pay his respects to the emperor again. The emperor’s headache had worsened over the past few days and the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital were constantly on duty in the emperor’s bedroom.
Xie Chaoyuan didn’t stay long and only exchanged a few words with the emperor before leaving.
“I don’t know how serious the emperor’s illness is. It’s a pity that Wang Gonggong was sent to guard the imperial tomb, and no one else can get close to the emperor to find out more information,” Wang Rang whispered to Xie Chaoyuan on the way out of the palace.
The eunuch by the emperor’s side had been replaced, and a few days ago, Wang Qing was dismissed for failing to handle his duties well. The emperor suspected that it was Wang Qing who leaked the news of sending the Imperial Guard to arrest the Crown Prince, but there was no evidence. So they simply got rid of him, out of sight, out of mind.
That old eunuch was saved by Xie Chaoyuan’s mother years ago and later rose in rank in front of the emperor. He had always been loyal to Xie Chaoyuan, but Xie Chaoyuan acted recklessly without considering the consequences, and this time not only failed to achieve his goal, but also lost his biggest spy in front of the emperor.
Xie Chaoyuan looked up at the slightly gloomy sky ahead, but said nothing.
Wang Rang lowered his head and didn’t dare to speak out his words of advice. With the way things were going, sooner or later, they would all be implicated, and while it didn’t matter if they died, what about the Prince himself?
As they walked, a small eunuch stopped them and introduced himself as a member of the Eastern Palace, sent by the Crown Prince to invite King Ke to visit the Eastern Palace.
Xie Chaoyuan looked down at him from his carriage and the eunuch had to grit his teeth and repeat himself, “Please come with me to the Eastern Palace, Your Grace.”
Wang Rang asked, “The emperor has ordered the Crown Prince to rest in the Eastern Palace and no one is allowed to enter or leave at will. Is it appropriate for us to go there?”
The eunuch’s voice was even lower. “The Crown Prince said that Your Grace is not an outsider, and I can take you in through a side door without anyone seeing.”
Xie Chaoyuan remained silent for a while before suddenly laughing inexplicably.
“Your Grace…?” Wang Rang asked.
“Let’s go, let him lead the way.”
Inside the Eastern Palace, Xie Chaoling was lying on a couch with his eyes closed, resting. When he heard footsteps, he opened his eyes. Xie Chaoyuan entered, and the servants in the room left and closed the door behind them.
“Little brother is here,” Xie Chaoling sat up and said in a slow voice, “Please sit.”
Xie Chaoyuan looked at him coldly without moving, and Xie Chaoling sighed, “You can sit down. I haven’t been feeling well these past two days and don’t have the energy to argue with you again. I didn’t invite you to the East Palace just to end up not getting along.”
Xie Chaoling coughed twice while speaking, his face looking somewhat pale, and he did seem to be sick.
Xie Chaoyuan remained indifferent. “If the Crown Prince is sick, you should find a doctor. What use is there for me to come?”
Helpless, Xie Chaoling changed his tone, “I have a headache. Please sit down and talk nicely. Don’t cause a scene.”
Finally, Xie Chaoyuan sat down and picked up the teacup.
Xie Chaoling looked at his face and asked, “Have your injuries healed? Did you call the doctor afterwards? Why didn’t you take the medicine that I had sent to you?”
Xie Chaoyuan casually played with the tea, and his lowered brows and eyes were unreadable behind the wisps of smoke.
“Sixth Brother?”
After taking a sip of tea, Xie Chaoyuan finally looked up at him and said, “I thank the Crown Prince for remembering me, I won’t die.”
His tone made Xie Chaoling feel unhappy, especially in the past few days when he had fallen ill due to the weather turning cold. His heart didn’t feel well so he sent someone to call Xie Chaoyuan over, but his attitude now made him feel even more upset.
He had originally wanted to greet him warmly, but now he couldn’t help feeling disheartened.
“Good that you’re fine. I’m just nagging you, little brother.” After finishing his words, Xie Chaoling closed his eyes again, indicating that he was ready to see off his guest.
After a moment of silence, Xie Chaoyuan put down his tea cup and grabbed Xie Chaoling’s hand, forcefully pressing him down onto the bed, with his breath approaching.
Xie Chaoling frowned and opened his eyes, asking, “What are you doing?”
“Did Crown Prince Brother summon me here just to say this?” Xie Chaoyuan sneered and, without waiting for a response, reached out to tear open Xie Chaoling’s shirt.
Xie Chaoling coughed a few times and pushed him away, “Let go of me. You can’t do this in broad daylight.”
He choked on the last few words as Xie Chaoyuan tore off the bandage covering his wound.
Xie Chaoling looked down at the scar on his chest for a long time without moving. Xie Chaoyuan couldn’t see his expression and turned his face away.
“How did you get this?” Xie Chaoyuan asked in a hoarse voice.
“You already know, so don’t bother asking again.”
Xie Chaoling felt uncomfortable and wanted to cover up his wound again, but Xie Chaoyuan pressed his hand down and said through gritted teeth, “Crown Prince Brother not only treats me harshly but also treats himself harshly.”
Xie Chaoling said weakly, “Thanks to you.”
If it weren’t for Xie Chaoyuan’s scheme, he wouldn’t have had to use such a desperate measure to protect himself, and yet he still couldn’t bring himself to harm this little animal.
“Does Crown Prince Brother hate me?” Xie Chaoyuan whispered in his ear.
“What’s the use of hate?” Xie Chaoling closed his eyes and then opened them again.
“Just hating is enough. Being able to be hated by you is also good,” Xie Chaoyuan murmured, his fingers gently brushing over the scar that had already scabbed over.
After he finished speaking, he lowered his head and gave a light kiss where his fingers had touched.
Xie Chaoling’s heart trembled slightly, and he raised his hand to cover his own eyes, hoarsely saying, “Get up.”
Xie Chaoyuan looked up at him, and Xie Chaoling pulled his shirt up, “Take your clothes off too.”
“Crown Prince Brother, this is broad daylight.” Xie Chaoyuan sneered, deliberately repeating what he had said before.
Xie Chaoling pulled him down and began to undress him himself.
The scar on Xie Chaoyuan’s shoulder gradually came into view, even more massive and hideous than the one on Xie Chaoling’s chest, shocking to the eye. Xie Chaoling was stunned, his fingers trembling, afraid to touch it, “Why is it like this?”
On that day, he had been careful not to insert the knife too deeply, so the wound shouldn’t have been like this.
Xie Chaoyuan quickly re-bandaged the wound, pulled down his clothes, and said lightly, “It festered and rotted when I went back, so I had to cut out some flesh.”
Xie Chaoling clenched his fists tightly.
Xie Chaoyuan looked at him with a smile that wasn’t a smile and asked, “Do you regret it, brother?”
Xie Chaoling’s hands were still tugging at Xie Chaoyuan’s clothes. He bent down for a while, and his forehead rested on Xie Chaoyuan’s chest, staying silent for a long time.
When he finally looked up, his calm eyes had turned slightly red. He glared at Xie Chaoyuan and gritted his teeth, “It’s all because of your doing that it’s come to this.”
Xie Chaoyuan shrugged, unfazed. “It was my doing.”
But he would do it again if he had the chance. He would stop at nothing to get Xie Chaoling completely. Xie Chaoyuan sneered. “So what if I die? Crown Prince Brother wouldn’t want me to die. As long as I get what I want, I’ll treasure my life for Crown Prince Brother.”
They could never see eye to eye on this matter. Xie Chaoling was feeling deflated and didn’t want to argue with Xie Chaoyuan anymore today, so he stayed silent.
Xie Chaoyuan reached out and brushed his face before touching his forehead again. “Are you really sick? This is the first time I’ve seen Crown Prince Brother so fragile. Tsk.”
His tone sounded like he was mocking him, but his gaze was dangerous. He leaned in closer to Xie Chaoling and whispered, “Crown Prince Brother isn’t listening again.”
Their gazes met, and as Xie Chaoling lifted his head slightly, Xie Chaoyuan lightly touched his lips.
As Xie Chaoling slowly nibbled on his lips, Xie Chaoyuan kept staring at his trembling eyelashes.
With his lips still pressed against Xie Chaoyuan’s, Xie Chaoling let out a sigh. “Little brother, give me some face.”
Xie Chaoyuan chuckled and gently rubbed his earlobe before pulling him into his arms.
Before leaving, Xie Chaoyuan reminded Xie Chaoling, “Take good care of yourself and don’t worry about anything outside.”
As he got up, Xie Chaoling grabbed his hand again and looked up at him. “Stop doing bad things, behave yourself. Consider it my request.”
Xie Chaoyuan’s gaze slightly hardened, then he smiled. “Sure.”
It was already evening when Xie Chaoyuan left the Eastern Palace. As he climbed back onto his sedan chair, Xie Chaoyi called out to him and came over to greet him.
“I thought I was mistaken earlier, but it really is Sixth Brother. Didn’t you leave the palace earlier from Royal Father’s place? Why are you still here?”
Xie Chaoyi spoke and his gaze fell on the side door of the Eastern Palace, his tone sounding somewhat meaningful.
Xie Chaoyuan couldn’t be bothered to deal with him. This kid was still too inexperienced to want to act like he was on the same level as him.
Xie Chaoyi took another step forward, blocking his carriage, and with a smirk on his lips, he asked in a low voice, “That letter, did you send someone to deliver it to me, Sixth Brother?”
In the end, the plan to steal the chicken and losing the rice failed*. The Crown Prince escaped easily, and the Zhao family’s influence in Dongshan Ying was completely eradicated. Xie Chaoyi couldn’t accept it. Today, he saw Xie Chaoyuan appearing near the Eastern Palace again, so he came to find him.
* to come away empty-handed and suffer a loss as well
He was quite clever and guessed that the letter could only have been stolen by someone close to the Crown Prince, and that person was most likely Xie Chaoyuan.
Now, facing Xie Chaoyuan, he couldn’t accept being outsmarted. He even suspected that the whole thing was a setup between Xie Chaoyuan and Xie Chaoling, to lure him into a trap.
Xie Chaoyuan sneered, “Letter? What letter? Did the Crown Prince write to the commander of Dongshan Ying and was it stolen by Seventh Brother? I didn’t notice that. Seventh Brother is so young, yet so capable. I’m really impressed.”
Xie Chaoyi’s face darkened, “Sixth Brother, do you think you can hide behind everyone’s back forever? How long can the Crown Prince protect you?”
Xie Chaoyuan was completely uninterested in listening to this nonsense and raised his hand to signal for his men to leave.
After leaving, he asked Wang Rang, “How is Xie Chaorong doing lately?”
“He’s only just been able to get out of bed recently, but the poison he was given has affected him irreversibly. He’s completely disabled now.”
Xie Chaoyuan clicked his tongue and thought for a moment before giving an order, “Send some messages to him, let him know that it was Empress Dowager Zhao and the Zhao family who abandoned him and chose Xie Chaoyi, and they even tried to pave the way for him with poison. There’s a cause and effect for everything, and if I were him, I would climb out of bed and demand justice.”
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