Chapter 232: The only one you love is yourself

“What did you just say?” Xia Yuqing’s expression froze for a few seconds, her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Ye Shuyan. “The adoptive father of the former empress?”

If what he said was true, that meant…she was the daughter of the former princess of the previous dynasty, and the former princess was the daughter of the former queen, making the former queen the adoptive daughter of Ye Shuyan.

That would mean that Ye Shuyan was…her great-grandfather?! An ancestor from several generations ago! Oh my G.o.d, this joke was taken too far! It was already horrifying enough to think of Ye Shuyan as her uncle with that face, but to reveal such an outdated generation like great-grandfather was just…she is going to be played to death! Really, it will!

“Ye Shuyan, this joke is not funny at all.” Xia Yuqing forced out a dry laugh, with an expression that said “I must be dreaming, I must be dreaming!”

Ye Shuyan seemed to have antic.i.p.ated Xia Yuqing’s reaction and smiled slyly, “You don’t believe me?”

“…” This was too horrifying to be believed!

“Your father can testify. Isn’t that right, Little Tian?” Ye Shuyan turned his head and smiled at Xia Haotian.

Xia Haotian’s face darkened, gritting his teeth, “How many times do I have to say it? Don’t call me Little Tian!”

“Good boy, Little Tian, don’t be willful. This is not the att.i.tude that a younger generation should have towards their elders.” Ye Shuyan completely ignored Xia Haotian’s anger, still maintaining his elegant smile. However, the words he spoke were enough to make anyone break out in a cold sweat.

“…” Ye Shuyan, this kind of att.i.tude is not what an elder should have towards a younger generation! Don’t be willful, are you trying to coax a child?!

Xia Yuqing glanced at her own dad, who had a serious poker face, and shuddered involuntarily. Ge was already so old, why was her dad still being treated like a child? Her poor dad was suffering!

Xia Haotian slumped his face, wanting to ignore Ye Shuyan completely, but he still spoke reluctantly, “When I first met him at the age of twenty, he already looked like this, and decades have pa.s.sed, but his appearance has not changed.”

As soon as Xia Haotian spoke, not only Xia Yuqing and Feng Tingye, but even the people who were originally just planning to watch the show with folded arms next to them all changed their faces.

His appearance, unchanged for decades, could not be explained by any anti-aging techniques. Is this person… a demon or a monster?!

Seeing Xia Yuqing still looking dazed, Ye Shuyan continued to smile and said, “Cui Er can testify for me.”

With a swish, because of Ye Shuyan’s words, everyone’s gaze gathered on Cui Er like searchlights.

Cui Er cleared her throat somewhat awkwardly. “This servant was raised by the master since I was young.”

“I picked Cui Er up and raised her when she was in swaddling clothes.” Ye Shuyan added with a faint smile.

The inner hall fell silent again for a few seconds.

Xia Yuqing suddenly raised her hand tremblingly and said, “Can I ask a question?”

“Hmm?”

“Little Shuyan, how old are you this year?”

Ye Shuyan was taken aback, and under Xia Yuqing’s expectant gaze, he smiled slightly and said, “Guess.”

“…” Guess? Are you kidding me? If I could guess, would I still need to ask you?

“Little Qing Er, it’s not polite to ask an old person’s age.”

“…” So you just let me guess by myself? Old man, please don’t be so proud! And don’t use your cute little boy face to say things that are meant to coax children. Although I might be a child in your eyes… but looking at your cute little boy face, it’s really stressful! Moreover, a previously gentle and lovely cute little boy turned into an ultimate boss with a black belly and a proud att.i.tude, calling herself Little Qing Er, this kind of impact is not something that an ordinary person can handle. It’s already impressive that she hasn’t fainted yet, okay?

Not long ago, he respectfully called her “Your Majesty” and now she suddenly find herself so much shorter than him.

Xia Yuqing looked at Ye Shuyan with a face full of sorrow and silently calculated his true age in her heart. Her great-grandfather’s generation was two generations older than her father, and her father looked to be in his fifties this year. According to the age of having children in ancient times, he would have been at least in his thirties, if not in his forties.

So, wasn’t little Shuyan already in his ***? Little Shangshu come back, and the real heavenly child is here! Come and see!

Compared to Xia Yuqing’s madness, Su Wuduan on the other side heard an unusual meaning from Ye Shuyan’s words.

The person in front of him was not his cousin-in-law but the person who picked up his wife and raised her, almost like a father, his future father-in-law?!

Su Wuduan’s eyes lit up slightly, suddenly recalling the att.i.tude of his hidden father-in-law towards him before… uh, it didn’t seem very good. No, he had to seize the opportunity to suck up to him!

Su Wuduan, who had made up his mind, ignored the shocked look of the people around him and flew towards Ye Shuyan, shouting loudly, “Father-in-law, please allow your son-in-law to bow to you. Father-in-law, your son-in-law… waa!”

Everyone watched in amazement as Su Wuduan flew towards Ye Shuyan, but unfortunately, before he could touch a corner of Ye Shuyan’s clothes, he was suddenly pounced on by a small black cat that came out of nowhere, scratching his face like lightning.

“Ah, my handsome face! You d*mn sick cat, how dare you scratch my handsome face? I’ll make you…” Su Wuduan’s face was instantly covered in scratches, and he was so angry that he wanted to grind his teeth and chop up the black cat.

But as soon as he grabbed the cat’s tail, he heard a faint and indifferent question, “What do you want to do?”

Suddenly, Su Wuduan’s body stiffened and he looked up to see Ye Shuyan’s face, with a smile that seemed both mocking and non-mocking. He chuckled dryly and silently withdrew his hand, which had been tightly gripping Little Black’s tail. “Hehe, I didn’t have any ulterior motives. I just thought that my father-in-law’s cat was really elegant and handsome, and it made me want to pay my respects.”

“… ” Senior Brother, can you be any more shameless? Xia Yuqing and the others looked at Su Wuduan’s fawning appearance and silently looked up at the sky. “We don’t know him, we really don’t know him!”

Little Black shook his tail, which had been pressed down, and disdainfully glanced at Su Wuduan before proudly walking back to Ye Shuyan’s feet. He climbed onto Ye Shuyan’s shoulder, looking down on him from a high position with a strong sense of contempt.

Su Wuduan was so angry that he almost bit his silver teeth, but he couldn’t lose his temper.

Ye Shuyan patted Little Black’s head and calmly uttered a sentence, “Unqualified!”

“What?!” Su Wuduan suddenly looked up, looking incredulously at Ye Shuyan.

“Your att.i.tude is frivolous, your words are insincere, and you are too obsequious. You are a cla.s.sic playboy, and most importantly…” Ye Shuyan narrowed his eyes slightly. “Your intelligence is too low. You haven’t even figured out the relations.h.i.+p between me and Cui Er before you made a move. You have a simple mind and well-developed limbs, which will affect the children in the future!”

“Pfft…” Xia Yuqing and Hua Nongying both burst out laughing. Xia Yuqing didn’t mince her words and said, “Now I completely believe what Little Shuyan said earlier. Only someone with rich experience could come up with such insightful remarks.”

“You…” Su Wuduan didn’t even have a chance to retort, as Hua Nongying took the opportunity to mock him. “Senior Brother, you have completely been rejected. Tsk tsk, you have no hope for the future!”

What is meant by being careless in making friends, this is what it means!

Su Wuduan held his chest and looked at Cui Er, calling out pitifully, “Wife…”

Cui Er silently turned her head, pretending not to see. Xia Yuqing, the two,  became more enthusiastic when they saw this.

“Senior Brother, even your wife won’t pay attention to you.”

Xia Yuqing looked at Su Wuduan sympathetically and said with some conscience, “Brother, take care.”

“…”

At that moment, Su Wuduan felt as if his back was full of arrows, and in an instant he transformed into a hedgehog.

After a brief silence, Su Wuduan suddenly let out a cry of surprise, crouching in a corner and crying.

“…”

Feng Tingye looked at Ye Shuyan, who had instantly killed Su Wuduan, and his guard did not diminish in his eyes. “Are you really the adoptive father of the former empress?”

Ye Shuyan smiled faintly and nodded, indifferent. “How can King Ye be willing to believe it?”

Feng Tingye stared at Ye Shuyan’s eyes for a long time before saying, “I’m just curious. Since you are the adoptive father of the former empress, and you were so powerful during the overthrowing of the previous dynasty, why didn’t you lend a hand and help your daughter and son-in-law?”

It must be said that some people are reliable precisely because they can easily hit the nail on the head in certain critical moments.

As soon as Feng Tingye spoke, a few cracks appeared in Ye Shuyan’s usual calm smile, although it was only for an instant, Feng Tingye still caught it.

“King Ye should know the rules of the Yue Clan, we don’t interfere in the conflicts of other countries, otherwise…”

Ye Shuyan had not finished speaking yet when Feng Tingye interrupted him swiftly, “Not getting involved? Does that mean you will stand by and watch someone die?”

“I…” Ye Shuyan’s face turned even paler, and before he could explain himself, Feng Tingye interrupted him again, “So, does that mean that if anything happens to my beloved consort in the future, you will also stand by and watch her die?”

Feng Tingye’s pressing question finally made Ye Shuyan’s smile disappear completely. His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Feng Tingye’s face with a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt. This man was deliberately targeting him! Compared to Su Wuduan, this man was obviously smarter and knew how to take the initiative!

“No, I won’t.”

Feng Tingye’s smile did not change because of Ye Shuyan’s answer. Instead, it became even more profound. “Oh, I’m curious. Why not? You can be ruthless to your righteous daughter, let alone my beloved consort, who has not been with you since childhood and does not have a deep relations.h.i.+p with you. Could it be that you truly care for the younger generation and have a different att.i.tude?”

“… “

Feng Tingye’s aggressive words successfully made the atmosphere in the inner hall tense.

Xia Mingyuan looked at the confrontation between the two with an unprecedentedly serious expression. Others may not know about the Yue Clan, but as a member of the Xia royal family and potentially the heir to the throne, he naturally knew that these people were not ordinary.

However, what surprised him the most was that his little Royal sister’s… ancestor was actually a member of the Yue Clan. Doesn’t that mean that his little imperial sister has Yue Clan blood in her?

But wasn’t the legendary Yue Clan not supposed to get involved in the conflicts of their countries? Then why…

Before Xia Mingyuan could come up with a reason, there was suddenly a loud commotion outside, and faint noises could be heard.

Soon, a powerful and resounding voice came from outside, “Your Majesty, the Imperial n.o.ble Consort and Fourth Prince have been captured and are outside the palace. Please give your orders.”

This sound broke the silence in the inner hall, and many people were surprised that the person was caught so quickly, except for a few who remained calm and only frowned slightly.

Feng Tingye’s last kick left no room for maneuver, and Xia Mingxuan was lucky not to spit blood on the spot. However, even if he didn’t spit blood, his condition at the scene was not good, and with the addition of Shao Zitang’s martial arts, which were originally not low, it was only a matter of time before they were caught. It’s just that they caught them now, which was a bit earlier than they expected.

Xia Haotian raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice, “Bring them in.”

As soon as the words fell, the tightly closed door was pushed in from the outside, with Shao Zitang and Yun Zhongyue walking in front, followed by the Imperial Concubine Roujia, who was escorted by the officials with Xia Mingxuan.

Imperial Concubine Roujia’s luxurious clothes were already in a mess, but she still had a sharp face and shouted, “Let go of Ben Gong, let go of Ben Gong! This Ben Gong is the imperial concubine…the imperial concubine! How dare you, you lowly servants, how dare you treat Ben Gong like this?! How dare you!”

When Xia Yuqing and the others heard her shout, they couldn’t help but be dumbfounded. Who was the one who stood on the side of the Fourth Prince and ran away with him just a while ago? And now, she’s claiming to be the imperial concubine again. Has her brain been squeezed by the door? It seems that there are really a lot of strange people in this world!

Compared with the craziness of Imperial Concubine Roujia, Xia Mingxuan was quite calm. He didn’t say a word from the beginning to the end, but his eyes never left Xia Yuqing since he entered the room.

That hot gaze made Xia Yuqing want to deliberately ignore it, but she couldn’t. As soon as she turned around, she met Xia Mingxuan’s gaze and was scared back two steps.

Feng Tingye stepped forward and held Xia Yuqing’s hand, pulling her into his arms and blocking Xia Mingxuan’s gaze directly.

Xia Mingxuan’s eyes narrowed, and those bloodshot eyes stared at Xia Yuqing fiercely, almost bleeding.

Unfortunately, he was just a toothless old tiger in Feng Tingye’s eyes at this moment, not worth much of his attention.

Feng Tingye turned his head and glanced at Shao Zitang. “You are very capable. You captured them so quickly.”

Shao Zitang gave him an eye roll and shrugged, with a look of unfinished business. “It’s not us who caught them.”

“Hmm?” Feng Tingye and Xia Yuqing exchanged glances, looking at Shao Zitang with suspicion.

Xia Haotian glanced at the fallen Imperial Concubine Roujia and Xia Mingxuan, who had been tied up and never looked at him, and said coldly, “What else do you have to say?”

Xia Mingxuan finally looked up at Xia Haotian and said expressionlessly, “It’s winner takes all. There’s nothing else to say.”

“Okay, okay… Take them all down to the prison and lock them up with the rebellious Tuoba clan. Three days later… execute them all!” Xia Haotian’s merciless words made Imperial Concubine Roujia stiffen, and the struggling and shouting of her subordinates stopped abruptly. She stared at Xia Haotian in disbelief with her wide beautiful eyes.

After a short silence, Imperial Concubine Roujia seemed to be stimulated by something, struggling hard to break free from the guards holding her, and even using her teeth when she was desperate.

Crazy women are always difficult to deal with. Even these experienced guards were no match for Imperial Concubine Roujia when she suddenly went crazy and bit them, causing them to let go.

Imperial Concubine Roujia took advantage of the situation and rushed forward, crawling and rolling to Xia Haotian’s feet, grabbing his clothes and shouting, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you cannot do this. We have been married for many years, and even if we have no merit, we have worked hard! And as for Xuan Er, he is your own flesh and blood. How can you treat him like this? Father and son killing each other has always been against the ethics of humanity! Even if Xuan Er has done anything wrong, Your Majesty, you cannot…”

As Imperial Concubine Roujia had not finished speaking, her tightly grasped dress hem was pulled back by Xia Haotian.

“You also know that killing between father and son goes against the principles of human relations. Your son, not long ago, had already planned to kill me and take my place. Should I show mercy to someone who has put a knife to my neck? I do not have such a broad and all-encompa.s.sing heart.”

“Your Majesty…” Imperial Concubine Roujia’s crying stopped for a moment, but tears continued to flow uncontrollably, as she tried to appeal to Xia Haotian’s emotions. However, she was interrupted once again.

“Moreover, he was never really my son.”

“!” When Xia Haotian made this statement, everyone in the inner palace was stunned. All eyes were fixed on him, including Xia Mingxuan’s.

Without much surprise, Xia Mingxuan suddenly burst into laughter, “Hahaha… hahaha… you do know after all! You knew from the very beginning! You knew that I was not your son, you knew it all along!”

Imperial Concubine Roujia’s face turned pale as she hurriedly stood up and said, “No, Your Majesty, don’t listen to his nonsense. Xuan Er was deceived into saying such things. He is indeed your son, without a doubt! Your Majesty, please do not believe the words of schemers. They are trying to sow discord between you and your son, Your Majesty…”

“Father-son relations.h.i.+p? Did we ever have such a thing?” Xia Mingxuan looked at Imperial Concubine Roujia mockingly. “Mother, whether this matter is true or false, you know better than I do. You dare to do this, and now you dare not even admit it? Do you really want this man to reveal everything and completely ruin your reputation before you will give up? This is truly your style.”

“Xuan Er, I am your mother, how can you say such things to me?”

“Mother?” Xia Mingxuan seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. “When you betrayed me just now, why didn’t you remember that you were my mother? Why didn’t you remember that I was your son?”

Imperial Concubine Ruojia’s face turned ashen as she faced her son’s mocking gaze, almost filled with resentment. She bit her lip and silently tightened the silk handkerchief in her hand.

Feng Tingye and the others understood the situation. No wonder Shao Zitang just said that he didn’t catch the person, it turned out that Imperial Concubine Roujia couldn’t bear to give up her wealth and status, which ended up causing trouble for Xia Mingxuan.

“Father, what exactly is going on?” Xia Mingyuan and the others were also stunned by the sudden turn of events. After finally coming back to their senses, they anxiously asked.

In fact, Xia Mingxuan being the illegitimate child of Imperial Concubine Roujia was not a surprise to Xia Mingyuan and the others. They had already expected it when Feng Tingye mentioned it earlier. However, even after Xia Mingyuan had searched extensively, he still couldn’t find any information about it. Now that it was spoken out by the parties involved, what surprised them the most was that Xia Haotian already knew about it. Why didn’t he let them know the whole story and solve their curiosity?

“Hehehe…” Xia Haotian didn’t answer, instead, Xia Mingxuan laughed softly, glancing at everyone. “You all want to know? Hahaha, there’s nothing to hide at this point. I, Xia Mingxuan, am the illegitimate child born to this woman and my father’s own brother, King Ying. A b*stard!”

“Xuan Er, you…” Imperial Concubine Roujia trembled all over and forgot to cry, turning her head to look at Xia Mingxuan in astonishment.

Xia Mingxuan smiled slightly and sneered, “What’s with the surprise? Didn’t you say it yourself?”

“You…you were outside at that time…” Imperial Concubine Roujia’s face turned pale.

“If I hadn’t been outside at the time, how could I have heard such explosive news?” Xia Mingxuan grinned, his lips forming a shallow curve. Unfortunately, the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Did you really think that child was born because I wanted to have a child? If it weren’t for the special circ.u.mstances at the time, I wouldn’t have borne it at all. That child was unwanted, just like you said. He was a mistake, yes, just like you and me, a mistake! Do you know that every time I see that child, I can’t help but think of the night we made that mistake? Every time I think of it, I feel especially sick, especially wanting to strangle him in his crib, strangle him in his bed!”

At that time, no one knew how lonely he was, standing under the window that was taller than him, listening to those words, how shocking and painful it was! The person who had always been kind and warm to him, his mother the Empress, who had given him all her warmth, was actually constantly thinking about killing him.

Just the thought of that woman’s hidden murderous intentions beneath her gentle surface made him feel inexplicably cold and nauseous.

Because of this, when he was still a child, he couldn’t sleep for several nights in a row, afraid that someone would suddenly reach out and strangle him in his sleep. Fortunately… fortunately, at his most desperate moment, he met her…

However, this matter did not end there. Not long after, he heard another thing…

“Hehe, didn’t you expect this? In order to keep this secret forever hidden, you bribed the servants of King Ying’s Mansion to poison the food of King Ying, but in the end, no one was fooled by your lies, Royal Mother, your good scheming!” Xia Mingxuan laughed loudly.

Imperial Concubine Roujia’s face turned pale, and she couldn’t help but slump back and sit on the ground.

“Big Brother, who is this King Ying?” Xia Yuqing listened to their conversation with some curiosity.

Xia Mingyuan remained silent for a moment, pursed his lips, and said, “King Ying is the son of the Empress Dowager and one of Royal Father’s half-brothers. He was born well, but he is somewhat weak-willed. After Royal Father ascended the throne, he left the palace and built his own mansion. He is low-key and doesn’t seek to compete with the world, but people cannot be judged by their appearance. He actually secretly communicated with the Imperial n.o.ble Consort, and even…”

“So, Royal Father was cuckolded?” Xia Yuqing exclaimed after listening to Xia Mingyuan’s words, attracting everyone’s attention with her loud voice.

Xia Yuqing realized her mistake and covered her mouth as she stepped back, awkwardly laughing and saying, “You guys continue, you guys continue.”

Xia Mingyuan sighed inwardly and rubbed his forehead. “Little sister, you really can’t change your impulsive nature no matter where you are or what the occasion is!”

Feng Tingye’s eyes narrowed slightly, and his face showed a hint of understanding. So that’s what happened. No wonder Xia Mingxuan kept saying that he had no substantial blood relations.h.i.+p with Xia Yuqing. It turns out he knew about this all along.

“When did the Emperor find out?” Imperial Concubine Roujia lowered her head and dared not look at Xia Mingxuan’s eyes as she asked in a soft voice.

“When King Ying died,” Xia Haotian answered.

The response was like another fatal blow, and her face, which was hanging down, suddenly lifted up. She looked straight at Xia Haotian’s resolute profile, as if she understood something, and covered her mouth with a smile.

She had gone to great lengths to hide the secret she was willing to kill for, but in the end, she had been exposed because of her scheming. It was truly ridiculous.

Her laughter grew louder and louder, from a low chuckle at first to a boisterous one. “You knew it so early, but you never mentioned it, never thought to blame us for it. You just ignored us with the truth in mind. You never cared about us, never cared about me!”

Xia Yuqing and the others looked at Imperial Concubine Roujia, who was throwing a tantrum on the spot, with a stunned expression. It was really hard to understand the twisted logic of these strange people in this day and age. The world of idiots was really hard to comprehend!

Xia Haotian looked at Imperial Concubine Roujia coldly, his expression unchanged.

Imperial Concubine Roujia laughed enough, tears still hanging in the corners of her eyes. She looked up at Xia Haotian and chuckled, “Your Majesty, aren’t you curious why your subjects betrayed you?”

Xia Haotian remained silent, while Ruojia, the n.o.ble consort, suddenly became agitated: “It’s all because of you, because of you! If it weren’t for you favoring that low-born woman with an unknown background, how could I have been ridiculed by those lowly women in the palace and ended up doing something I regret for the rest of my life?”

Upon hearing Ruojia mention Xia Yuqing’s birth mother, the expressions on the faces of those present, including Xia Haotian, changed slightly.

“At first, I just wanted to make you jealous and care more about me. But I never thought that you only had that low-born woman in your heart and eyes. You never even looked at me with a straight gaze. Later, when I became pregnant, I wanted to get rid of the child, but I never expected that that low-born woman would also have a child…”

“So, to compete for favor, you colluded with n.o.ble Consort Yang, one who gave birth to a child with someone else and pa.s.sed it off as your own flesh and blood, and the other who directly brought in a child from outside to subst.i.tute for her own?”

“…” d*mn it, who is this n.o.ble Consort Yang again? It’s true that the one who gave birth to a child with someone else was the n.o.ble consort, but who is the one who directly brought in someone else’s child? How many secrets are there in this palace!

“No wonder, no wonder!” Xia Yuqing had not yet recovered from this earth-shattering revelation when she heard Xia Mingyuan muttering in a daze next to her.

“What’s wrong, elder brother? What do you mean by ‘no wonder’?”

“n.o.ble Consort Yang…is the mother of the Fifth Prince.”

“!”

As soon as Xia Mingyuan said this, everyone’s faces changed involuntarily, and they instantly understood the meaning behind his words just now.

No wonder… No wonder Xia Haotian ruthlessly hired someone to kill the Fifth Prince, because that was not… his son at all, just a poor child brought in for show. Imperial Concubine Roujia was surprised that Xia Haotian even knew about this, but after a moment of shock, she laughed again: “Yes, it was me. I told her that this was our last chance, as long as we give birth to a son before that s.l.u.t and the child is a prince, the emperor’s favor will surely s.h.i.+ft to us. She believed it, but unfortunately she was useless. She finally had a child after much effort, but it was stillborn. Under desperation, she even dared to have her sister’s child brought into the palace. But in the end, haha, what use was it that both of us had sons? We still couldn’t beat that s.l.u.t’s daughter in the end.”

“… ” The men present all thought that the war between women was terrible!

After Imperial Concubine Roujia finished speaking, she suddenly looked up at Xia Haotian with tears in her eyes and cried out emotionally, “Your Majesty, I love you so much. I can do anything for you, give up anything for you. Why can’t you just look at me properly in this lifetime, only look at me?!”

Xia Yuqing listened to Imperial Concubine Roujia’s cries and couldn’t help but furrow her eyebrows. Xia Haotian, on the other hand, laughed coldly and spoke even more explosively, “The death of King Ying, Yun Er’s many instances of poisoning in childhood and her weak body forcing her to be sent out of the palace, as well as the drowning incident shortly after Qing Er’s marriage to the Ye Kingdom and the horse-riding accident that Xi Er had outside the city three years ago, you love me? Do you love me to the extent that you hate all of my children and want to use the power of the Tuoba clan to manipulate me in the palm of your hand for the rest of your life? Is that what you call love?”

“!” So it turns out that the drowning incident that brought her here and caused the Second Royal Brother to time-travel was not a coincidence. The Third Princess also mentioned that she was weak and had to be sent to a martial artist to train when she was young. It turns out that all of this was not by chance, but…

Xia Mingyuan and the others were also shocked. They had no idea that Imperial Concubine Roujia had done so many outrageous things behind their backs. They didn’t even have a clue! They didn’t know whether to say they were too stupid or that this woman was too scheming!

Not only Xia Mingyuan, even Xia Mingxuan, who was closest to Imperial Concubine Roujia, was shocked by this truth. He didn’t expect that the gentle and virtuous mother in the eyes of outsiders had done so many unexpected things. Indeed… this woman was a beautiful yet poisonous snake, ready to bite anyone at any time!

Feng Tingye didn’t have any special reaction, just silently holding Xia Yuqing’s hand, a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes and disappeared.

Imperial Concubine Roujia’s face couldn’t be any uglier, her mouth opened and closed a few times, and in the end, she could only ask a meaningless question, “Did you know all along?”

Xia Haotian coldly snorted without expression, “If I didn’t even know about these things, I would have died countless times already.”

“Since you knew all along, why didn’t you punish me? Is it fun for you to watch me struggle for your sake?”

“…” Here we go again, the brain of this idiot is really abnormal!

Imperial Concubine Roujia’s questioning only made Xia Haotian laugh, “You’re still talking about this. Tuoba Yafeng, if love really makes you so crazy, how pitiful is the person you love?”

“I… am not…”

“From beginning to end, you only love yourself! For your own glory, wealth, fame and power, you didn’t hesitate to kill King Ying, plot against my children, and use your own son. You only love yourself!”

“No!”

Imperial Concubine Roujia collapsed, holding her head and shouting loudly. Xia Haotian, however, was no longer interested in appreciating her ugliness, and waved his hand, “Take them away.”

“No!” Imperial Concubine Roujia heard Xia Haotian’s ruthless words and once again fell to the ground at his feet, trembling and shouting, “Don’t, I don’t want to die. Your Majesty, I have followed you for so many years, you cannot have no feelings for me. Spare me this time, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong. I didn’t know anything about today’s events. It was all Little Xuan’s own decision and had nothing to do with me. Really! You have to believe me, believe me!”

Xia Mingxuan listened to Imperial Concubine Roujia, the n.o.ble consort, and silently turned his face away. This was the second time this woman had betrayed him for herself. Xia Haotian was right, the person she loved the most was herself!

“If you don’t know at all, why did you obstruct the Imperial Guard from taking those a.s.sa.s.sins down to investigate?”

The n.o.ble consort Imperial Concubine Roujia was speechless. Xia Haotian sighed, “Yafeng, don’t make me look down on you even in death.”

Imperial Concubine Roujia trembled all over, her hands holding onto Xia Haotian’s thighs tightening slightly as she muttered, “Is the Emperor really so heartless?”

Xia Haotian remained silent, but Imperial Concubine Roujia burst into a low, crazy laughter, “Even if I die, I won’t let you people live easily.”

“What?” Xia Haotian didn’t have time to ponder the meaning behind Imperial Concubine Roujia’s words before she suddenly got up and grabbed a phoenix hairpin from her head, pouncing towards the person closest to him.

“Niang Niang, be careful!”