Chapter 612 - Chapter 612: Elimination

chapter 612: elimination

translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios

yu niaoniao snuggled into xiao juan’s broad and warm arms and fell asleep.

in the darkness, xiao juan raised his hand to her cheek and carefully wiped her tears.

perhaps niaoniao had already forgotten, but xiao juan still remembered that two years ago, on such a night, he had wavered in his actions.

he wanted to imow if what he had done was right.

niaoniao told him without hesitation that he was not wrong.

no matter when or where, it couldn’t be wrong to uphold justice.

and now he had to convince her that she was right.

the truly selfish ones were those who disregarded the laws and distorted the truth for their own desires.

xiao juan got up quietly, put on his clothes, and walked out of the bedroom silently.

there were some things he had to explain to pan dafu.

usually, everyone would be asleep at this time, but tonight was different. the courtyard was still brightly lit.

everyone in the courtyard was silent.

huan’er knelt on the ground, her face pale and trembling.

“i was incompetent and did not take good care of miss yu. please punish me,

your highness.”

shen zhuo sat in a chair. the stove beside him kept emitting warmth. he did not even look at huan’er. he looked down at the silver earring in his hand.

this was the earring that niaoniao had accidentally dropped back then. after he picked it up, he had always carried it with him. every time he thought of niaoniao, he could not help but take it out to take a look.

huan’er kept kowtowing and apologizing. her forehead was bleeding, but the crown prince still did not speak.

she didn’t know what he meant, but she didn’t dare stop. she could only continue to kowtow.

a guard strode in and cupped his fists. “your highness, we’ve found them.”

only then did shen zhuo look away from the silver earring.

he said indifferently, “stand down.”

huan’er retreated with the other maidservants as if she had been pardoned.

after everyone left, the guard continued.

“i followed his highness’s instructions. ever since duke lang and the princess consort left the courtyard, i’ve been secretly following them. i saw them enter the pan residence with my own eyes. they’re in the pan residence now.” shen zhuo narrowed his eyes slightly. “the pan residence?”

the guard explained, “the residence of pan dafu. he was originally a chef in the justice department. i heard that he has a good relationship with the princess consort.”

shen zhuo understood. “i see.”

the guard sized up the crown prince’s expression as he spoke carefully.

“your highness, do you want me to send someone to wipe them out all at once?”

if he attacked now, he would definitely be able to capture all the people from

unexpectedly, shen zhuo rejected his suggestion.

“don’t act rashly for the time being.”

the guard did not understand. “what if duke lang escapes? duke lang is really cunning. if i hadn’t received your instructions long ago and had been secretly monitoring the princess consort, i wouldn’t have been able to discover his whereabouts. if he escapes, it will be difficult to catch him in the future!” shen zhuo had a plan in his heart. he said calmly, “there’s no hurry. let’s wait and see.”

the guard couldn’t help but ask, “what are you waiting for, your highness?” shen zhuo did not answer. instead, he instructed.

“continue to keep an eye on them. i’ll tell you what to do tomorrow morning.”

“yes.”

the guard hurried away.

it was late, but shen zhuo had no intention of going to bed.

he changed his clothes, went out, boarded the carriage, and went straight to the palace.

as soon as shen zhuo walked into the bedroom, a heat wave hit him.

the brazier in the room was burning very brightly. in addition, the doors and windows were closed and the aura was not circulating. the room was filled with the bitter smell of medicine, making people feel very uncomfortable.

shen zhuo only frowned slightly when he entered and returned to normal in the blink of an eye.

he did not even have time to take off his cloak before he hurried into the inner room and saw the sick old emperor in bed.

shen zhuo knelt on one knee by the bed and asked with concern, “father, isn’t your condition getting better?”

wei huai’en helped the old emperor sit up and explained.

“ever since the birthday banquet ended, his majesty’s old illness has relapsed. the imperial physicians have already prescribed medicine, but it hasn’t improved.”

shen zhuo hurriedly asked, “what about the grand duke from before? didn’t they say that he would be fine after eating it?”

wei huai’en still shook his head. “he has already eaten it. it’s still useless.”

shen zhuo was anxious. “how could this be? how could this be?” the old emperor spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse and weak.

“junzhi, where’s prince jia?”

shen zhuo answered truthfully, “as soon as the birthday banquet ended, he left the imperial capital at full speed. he should be on his way back to his fief now.”

the old emperor said, “send someone to intercept him. don’t let him return to his fief alive.”

although he had already given the imperial edict to prince jia, as long as prince jia died, the imperial edict would not count.

as for prince jia’s family, if they dared to cause trouble, they would all die. shen zhuo lowered his head and agreed. “i understand.”

the old emperor panted and continued, “and those old things in the cabinet, find an opportunity to resolve them all. other than me, only the dead can know my secrets.”

shen zhuo replied respectfully, “i’ll do it.”

the old emperor sneered. “i sent someone to the yu family, but i was too late. yu kangtai and his children had already run away. did they think that was all right?”

“although i can’t find yu kangtai for the time being, i know where madam xie and feng lianghan are buried.”

“since they don’t let me have it easy, i won’t let them rest in peace. send a team to bashu and dig out the corpses of madam xie and feng lianghan. i want to burn them to ashes!”

shen zhuo lowered his head even more. “yes.”

the old emperor glanced at him. “are you afraid?”

shen zhuo said nothing.

the old emperor thought he had tacitly agreed and educated him earnestly.

“junzhi, don’t blame me for being ruthless. when you sit in this position in the future, you will understand.”

“if you wanted to achieve great things, you cannot be soft-hearted, let alone leave something in others’ hands. anyone who obstructs us has to be eliminated.’

“leave none alive!”

shen zhuo said seriously, “thank you for your teachings, father. i’ll definitely remember it. i’ll send someone to bashu tomorrow morning. i’ll let everyone remember that anyone who goes against father will not have a good ending!”

the old emperor was gratified. “you’re promising.”

shen zhuo begged sincerely, “the country can’t live without a ruler for a day. i can’t live without father. please recuperate as soon as possible.”

no matter how indignant he was, the old emperor had no choice but to recognize the reality. now, he was no longer able to control the court.

if he wanted political stability, he could only give up his power.

he said slowly, “i’m old. this country will be yours sooner or later. you have to learn to take charge alone. you can make your own decisions about the court in the future. ”

with that, he closed his eyes and looked tired..