Master of Strange Dao

A matter has spiraled, pulling in various parties.

Even now, the Crown Prince's fall could potentially be implicated.

After a lengthy secret discussion with Emperor Zhen, Lei Li's incarnation quietly left the imperial palace.

Emperor Zhen sat there, closed his eyes, and a hint of grief crossed his face.

Though Dazhen Country was not highly centralized in power, the Royal Family had fairly harmonious relations internally.

He had been quite satisfied with the Crown Prince, both his abilities and his character.

Yet, before this, the Crown Prince had suddenly fallen.

At that time, Emperor Zhen felt something was amiss and immediately suppressed the disturbance to the nation's fortune, preventing outsiders from catching wind of the news.

He knew why King Xiang had staged a rebellion, and King Xiang himself was aware as well.

So, no matter how severe the battle, King Xiang would not have killed the Crown Prince, leaving himself no way out.

This year, since King Huai died and left behind a vast expanse of arable land and pastures, accommodating a large number of civilians who couldn't survive otherwise, Emperor Zhen and King Xiang began tacitly trying to deescalate the war.

As they had hoped, the intensity of the war diminished, without any more large-scale conflicts.

By now, Emperor Zhen's reason had practically convinced him that the Crown Prince's fall might have been unrelated to King Xiang.

King Xiang also understood that Emperor Zhen might truly believe that the Crown Prince wasn't killed by him.

Their wordless communication had already been completed.

Now, after hearing what Lei Li had to say, Emperor Zhen thoroughly trusted his own rational judgment and felt it was time.

It was time to have a personal conversation with King Xiang.

Emperor Zhen came to the ancestral hall, gazed at the rows of spiritual tablets, and stood alone for a long time.

After a while, he walked to the back of the ancestral hall, where there was another hall—the Life Temple.

The people on the tablets there were all from the Imperial Family line, all those who were eligible to be included in the family register and held titles.

Among them was King Xiang.

Emperor Zhen personally lit a special incense stick and inserted it into the incense burner.

The Exotic Beasts on either side of the burner suddenly came to life, continually exhaling wisps of smoke that gathered above the burner and transformed into a mass.

After some time, that mass of smoke changed shape, becoming a middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man looked at Emperor Zhen, fell silent for a moment, and gave a slight bow.

"Your Majesty."

"You still refuse to call me 'Second Uncle'?"

King Xiang fell silent again and bowed once more.

"I've seen Second Uncle."

"It has been quite a while since we last met, hasn't it?"

"Two thousand and eighty years."

"There's a question that I want you to answer personally."

"Second Uncle wants to ask if I killed the Crown Prince, right?"

"Yes, did you kill the Crown Prince?"

"If I say I didn't, and I know about the Crown Prince's fall perhaps even later than you, would you believe me, Second Uncle?"

"Before, I didn't want to believe, didn't dare to believe, and didn't wish to believe, but now, my reason tells me that I should."

"You didn't summon me here just to say this, did you, Second Uncle?"

"I want to ask if someone told you there's a way to save your father."

King Xiang's expression shifted slightly, and he nodded firmly.

"Indeed, someone did tell me that, and I also want to save my father, but I never thought about killing the Crown Prince. It wasn't me who killed him."

At this point, King Xiang's expression became complicated.

"When the Crown Prince was young, knowing full well our strained relationship, he still dared to visit me alone, to see his cousin.

His heart was set on Dazhen's well-being, determined to reconcile you and me.

Even after surviving two assassination attempts, he firmly stated that it had nothing to do with his cousin.

I watched him grow up; no matter how great my grievances were against you, I could never bring myself to harm him.

Even though I had already started my revolt, he was willing to come to the frontline himself, to talk to me personally."

"But if I tell you, I don't even know how the Crown Prince died, I still haven't figured it out to this day, would you believe me?

My Second Uncle, my Emperor Zhen."

Emperor Zhen felt a surge of sorrow within, overwhelmed with grief.

None of this was ever mentioned by the Crown Prince, who only volunteered himself at the time; Emperor Zhen had thought the Crown Prince understood the bigger picture.

He didn't realize that the Crown Prince only wanted to persuade King Xiang to avoid an armed conflict.

Moments later, Emperor Zhen opened his eyes.

"You have your grievances against me, and rightfully so.

But now, there are some things I need you to be aware of.

I don't care what you think or whether you were involved in these matters.

But I want you to cooperate and find the person who harmed the Crown Prince.

Now that the Crown Prince is gone, your succession to the throne is only fair and justifiable.

As long as you can put the Crown Prince to rest, I can issue a decree right now and appoint you as the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing these words, King Xiang was slightly moved and snorted with dismissive disdain.

"Second Uncle, you are now Emperor Zhen, and your emotional decisions are just inviting ridicule.

Besides, who would covet being named Crown Prince by you? If I wanted it, I would take it myself."

With that, King Xiang briefly paused and left a parting remark.

"Everything I've done has nothing to do with you; I just don't want my cousin to die in vain!"

As the words fell, King Xiang's figure turned into wisps of smoke and dissipated.

Emperor Zhen stared blankly at the spreading smoke, then at the Crown Prince's spiritual tablet still placed in the Life Temple, silent for a long time.

After a long period, he gently took down the Crown Prince's tablet, caressing it as if touching the Crown Prince's head.

He carried the tablet to the main hall, and after a moment of hesitation, placed it there.

Then, he took out the Imperial Jade Seal, releasing its suppression.

At that moment, the fortunes of Dazhen Country shook.

In the Bell Tower of the Ancestral Temple, the mourning bell, which had been silent for a long time, rang on its own, its deep toll spreading throughout the lands of Dazhen Country.