Farm Girl's Manor

Other potential suspects with both motive and means were one by one ruled out, leaving King Heng with no choice but to turn his suspicious gaze toward the one person he had always overlooked—the one who could barely walk, who he had never wanted to acknowledge as the Crown Prince, yet who still felt like a fishbone stuck in his throat—his Second Imperial Brother, Chu Heng!

Years ago, the Lin Imperial Concubine, in collusion with the Lin Family, poisoned the Pure Empress, who was close to giving birth. Although all blame was shifted onto a palace concubine of no renown, resulting in her execution and the extermination of her entire family to close the case, the shocking affair was rife with doubts. Everyone knew there was more to it, yet no one dared to investigate further because Emperor Huian himself had verified the case and personally ordered the execution of the palace concubine and her family.

King Heng had only pieced together the hints after he was crowned at eighteen and realized that his own mother and her family were the true culprits behind the Pure Empress’s death. He didn’t know how Chu Heng had come to learn the truth, nor how long he had been preparing for his revenge, but he did know that Chu Heng’s reprisal had just begun; today, it was impossible for him to leave the Savage Beast Forest unscathed.

Thinking about how he had been outmaneuvered, used, and caught in such a plight, King Heng gave a wry smile, his eyes brimming with deep resentment. He was no match for Chu Heng, no match for a cripple—he had lost completely, utterly!

Xiao Ruiyuan remained fully on guard, fighting off the savage beasts that leapt at him, turning a deaf ear to King Heng’s taunts.

If one said that there hadn’t been doubts in his mind from the start, it would be impossible. However, recalling the past, he preferred to believe that his cousin wouldn’t use him as bait in his revenge against King Heng. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have left him in the dark earlier. With his assistance, the scheme would have been more perfect, but his cousin was unwilling—not only did he not want the Emperor’s wrath to come down on him, but he also set a trap to round up all the princes who had once plotted against him, eradicating the threats for him completely. freewёbnoνel.com

Previously, when he led the Sixteenth prince and others on a hunt, his cousin specifically warned him not to venture deep into the mountains. Otherwise, given his nature, he would surely lead them to where the beasts roamed, teaching those princes never to seek archery instruction from him again.

He had never expected to still fall into King Heng’s trap, only to inadvertently step into the trap set by his cousin!

Xiao Ruiyuan didn’t deign to explain to King Heng, but his gaze said it all, throwing the frustrated king, whose efforts to sow discord had failed, off balance: "All these years, you fought tooth and nail for him, solidified his position as Crown Prince, shielded him against all open and covert attacks. But how did he treat you in return? If he truly regarded you as family, as a brother, why would he watch you being attacked by savage beasts without doing anything? Look, the flute’s sound is still there, the beasts keep coming, and reinforcements are still nowhere in sight. He wants to kill everyone here, including myself and you!"

Xiao Ruiyuan cast a mysterious glance at King Heng, no longer willing to listen to his endless attempts to drive a wedge between them, and coldly spat out four words that completely shut him up: "So what if he does!"

So what if he does!

King Heng silently repeated the phrase, his mind reeling with a surge of jealousy toward Chu Heng that he had never experienced before!

Once, he had envied Chu Heng for being ranked above all other princes as the Crown Prince, envied his father’s favoritism toward him, even envied the fact that he could sleep in every day without having to rise early for studies and martial practice... Now, he envied Chu Heng for having a cousin who wholeheartedly supported him, a cousin willing to entrust his life and fortunes to him, closer than a sibling. These things he could never have in a lifetime, yet a cripple, inferior in every way, had them effortlessly; how could he not be consumed by jealousy...