NOVEL NEXT Chapter 598
The murderous intent suddenly stalled, and Emperor Liang put on a display of changing expressions, indulgently saying to the little one who had just woken up in his arms, "Great-grandfather just found a treasure sword, and wants to—"
"Wants to give it to the great-grandfather!"
The Miao King interrupted Emperor Liang, chuckling as he said, "Ah! In-law, how could I be so shameless to accept? But since you sincerely want to give it, not accepting would make me seem distant."
He reached out to take it.
Emperor Liang gripped the sword handle tightly, his eyes filled with hatred for the shameless Miao King.
Treasure Piggy looked up at Emperor Liang: "Are you two fighting?"
Feeling guilty, Emperor Liang let go.
The Miao King got the sword.
Though the old Emperor Liang was annoying, he did have a lot of treasures.
No wonder he specially dug an underground palace to hide them.
The Miao King winked at Emperor Liang, indicating that in light of his 'cooperative behavior,' he would cover up this lie for him.
He tousled the little one's hair: "How could the great-grandfather and great-grandfather be in-laws and fight? Your great-grandfather was asking the great-grandfather for martial arts tips? You know, the great-grandfather's martial arts are number one in the world!"
Emperor Liang clenched his fist.
Once out of the underground palace, the first thing he would do is kill this shameless old thing!
To explain how the two ended up trapped in the underground palace, one must start from a few days ago.
He was in the Imperial Study Room playing cards with Mr. Zi Wu and the Miao King, short of one player, originally they called for Duke Jiang.
Unexpectedly, Consort Jiang came instead.
At first, Emperor Liang disagreed, thinking what place did three men have with a woman here?
"Doesn't Your Majesty want to win back the silver from that night?"
Emperor Liang hesitated for a moment, then agreed.
Subsequently, he lost miserably.
Consort Jiang won against the three men single-handedly, leaving them only in their underpants.
Emperor Liang experienced heartache.
His mind clicked, regaining memory.
A longtime nemesis had become an honored guest at his table, and everyone kept him in the dark.
How could he tolerate this?!
In a fit of rage, he vowed to personally eliminate this scourge!
The two brawled from the Imperial Study Room to the Imperial Garden, and then to the Cold Palace, inadvertently triggering a mechanism.
At that time, to pacify them, Yu Hai that rogue took it upon himself to have the wet nurse bring the little one over.
As a result, even the little one fell into the underground palace.
When he planned to leave, the mechanism had already been destroyed from the outside.
Fortunately, the little one carried some food, and there were some supplies stored in the cellar.
"Wait, don't you know the way out of your own underground palace?"
The Miao King lost patience while searching for an exit.
Emperor Liang said, "The underground palace is not meant to leave."
The Miao King sensed something amiss: "Wait a minute, what did you say? It's not meant to let people out, then why enter in the first place?"
Emperor Liang remained silent.
The Miao King widened his eyes: "It can't be... this is the real Imperial Mausoleum of your Liang Country, right? No way, did your Prince Qin Mansion build the palace on top of a coffin?"
Emperor Liang said blandly: "Entering the palace is just in the Cold Palace, in fact, we are already far from the Imperial Palace."
The Miao King placed his hands on his hips: "Others may have multiple burrows, but could you have just built a fake ancestral grave too? After doing so many guilty deeds, afraid the ancestral tomb would be dug up? Tch, who would dig up someone else's ancestral grave for no reason?"
Emperor Liang looked at him silently.
The Miao King suddenly remembered he had just dug up the Xun Family's ancestral grave, cleared his throat, and fell silent.
He switched topic: "Wait, since we can't get out, why have you been working so hard these past two days?"
Emperor Liang said: "The underground palace can't be exited from within, the only way is to open the tomb gate from outside, where there's a Tomb Guardian."
The Miao King realized: "We were looking for the tomb door all along."
Although they claimed to be looking for the tomb door, Emperor Liang felt uncertain.
This time, it was obvious someone intentionally trapped him and Bai Qi in the underground palace. That person even knew the entrance to the Cold Palace, so must be familiar with the tomb gate as well.
It's possible that the Tomb Guardian had already been killed by that person.
What he could think of, the Miao King could too.
However, in front of the child, he couldn't say disheartening words.
Besides, no matter what, he had to take the little one out.
He was old, half his body buried in the dirt.
He could die here.
The little one couldn't.
Coincidentally, this was also Emperor Liang's thought.
The two were arch-enemies, yet at this moment, their objectives were more aligned than ever.
Which is to ensure the little one leaves the underground palace alive.
As for everything else, they would deal with it once they got out.
-
Crown Prince Mansion.
Chief Steward Yu first loudly announced Prince Jin's orders, then closed the door and whispered to Lu Zhaoyan: "Crown Prince, going to the Ministry of Justice, you're likely facing more danger than safety, you should escape from the Capital City first... wait for His Majesty's return, then..."
Lu Zhaoyan cupped his hands in respect, bowing to Chief Steward Yu.
Chief Steward Yu's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly knelt: "Your Highness! Don't do this!"
Lu Zhaoyan quickly supported him: "Chief Steward Yu, I have a request."
Chief Steward Yu hurriedly said: "Please speak, Crown Prince!"
Lu Zhaoyan asked, "Chief Steward Yu, do you believe I betrayed the Emperor?"
"Ah, if this servant believed that, I wouldn't be here to help Your Highness escape. Your Highness is the Crown Prince, destined to ascend the throne, why would you need to do such a thing? Furthermore, I've served His Majesty for many years and can feel His Majesty has changed. If it were ten years ago, perhaps he would have dethroned the Crown Prince because of the Miao King, but now..."
He smiled, "The Emperor is more compassionate, and I believe even for Miss Zhaozhao and the Imperial Grandson's sake, he wouldn't blame you."
"Moreover, even if His Majesty really deposed you, you wouldn't resort to patricide for the throne. Therefore, I believe in you, Your Highness!"
This was perhaps the most heartfelt conversation Chief Steward Yu had with anyone since entering the Prince Qin Mansion.
He never doubted the Crown Prince.
Even after spending time with the Miao King, he found the Miao King wasn't a bad person.
"Your Highness, rest assured, this servant will do everything within my power for what you entrusted."
Lu Zhaoyan solemnly said: "Then, Chief Steward Yu, please secretly escort the Crown Princess Consort and Prince Ming out of the Imperial City."
"What about you, Your Highness?"
Chief Steward Yu asked in astonishment.
Lu Zhaoyan laughed: "I'm going to the Ministry of Justice."
"But..."
"If I don't go, Chief Steward Yu would be exposed. Chief Steward Yu, my big brother needs you by his side."
Chief Steward Yu dared to look into Lu Zhaoyan's eyes.
He nodded painfully: "This servant understands, I will be the eyes and ears for Your Highness, but Your Highness... will suffer much."
Lu Zhaoyan smiled: "My big brother always overcomes with virtue, he won't treat me badly."
Lu Zhaoyan was taken and detained in the Ministry of Justice's prison.
Prince Jin was not there.
His interrogators were Prince Rui and King Qi.
King Qi sneered as he approached him: "Big brother is benevolent and has always cared for the bond of brothers. To avoid him being too soft-hearted, today, the third brother and I will interrogate you."
Lu Zhaoyan laughed: "Since Lu Zhaohua dared not commit the evil act himself, he lets you two do it. Truly you've raised two fine dogs for him."