Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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Yun Changrong was restrained on the stone bench, clutching the necklace in his hand, and fear gradually appeared on his numb face.
He felt his head growing heavier and heavier, as if a god were truly hovering above him, watching his every move with sharp and penetrating eyes.
His sinful thoughts, hidden deep within his heart, were seen through by those eyes.
At this moment, he felt as if a layer of skin had been ripped off, experiencing pain, shame, and helplessness.
“Father, you must believe me. This man is a liar; he’s trying to drive a wedge between us. You raised me with your own hands; don’t you know what kind of person I am? How could I possibly have such rebellious thoughts?” Yun Changrong said, his voice choked with emotion.
He turned around, his eyes red-rimmed, looking at his adoptive father with deep sorrow and undisguised filial piety on his face. Whenever he made a mistake, his adoptive father would soften at the sight of this expression.
Qi Wang stared at him with an inscrutable expression, then shook his head and said, “I really don’t know what kind of person you are.”
He walked around from behind Yun Changrong, stood next to Zhuang Li, looked down at him with disdain, and slowly said, “Since the gods are here, let’s ask them.”
Yun Changrong had long believed in this spirit communication game, and upon hearing these words, his sorrowful expression immediately froze on his face.
Qi Wang stared at his adopted son’s flickering eyes and asked in a deep voice, “In your heart, my life is nothing compared to the throne, is that right? For the throne, you would kill me without hesitation?”
Under hypnosis, Yun Changrong was unable to throw away the silver necklace, so he could only watch helplessly as the pendant pointed to “Yes”.
He kept shouting, “No, that’s not true! It’s all fake! Father, this charlatan is framing me! You must investigate his background thoroughly.”
But he knew perfectly well that the answer given by the gods was correct, and that was exactly what he thought. The gods could truly see into his heart and expose his most sordid thoughts to the light of day.
It was precisely because he was aware of this that he was unable to break free from the hypnotic state. The one controlling him was no longer Zhuang Li, but the “god” hovering above his head— his own fear.
Qi Wang completely ignored his adopted son’s explanation and continued to ask, “I raised you, yet you have not felt the slightest bit of gratitude towards me, is that right?”
“No, your son is grateful to you! Your son has always regarded you as his own father!” Yun Changrong shouted impatiently, but the necklace pointed to “yes” after shaking violently.
Qi Wang closed his eyes, seemingly unwilling to face this reality. Zhuang Li immediately grasped his cold fingertips, offering silent comfort.
Qi Wang grasped the young man’s hand in return and asked in a hoarse voice, “You hate me, don’t you?”
Yun Changrong shook his head frantically in denial: “No, no, your son doesn’t hate you at all. Father, how could I hate you?”
Unfortunately, the necklace he was holding in his fingertips pointed to “yes” again.
The small pavilion fell into a deathly silence in an instant, even Yun Changrong’s rapid breathing ceased. He stared blankly at the spirit board, his desperate struggle slowly turning into a resigned dejection.
The divine insight plunged him into despair.
Qi Wang, who had been standing the whole time, finally sat down. He calmly looked at his adopted son and asked, “Why do you hate me? I have never wronged you. Is it because your father died trying to save me?”
Yun Changrong dared not utter a single word. The more vehemently he denied it, the more his father would despise his despicable nature once the gods gave the opposite answer. He finally understood that his futile struggles made him nothing more than a clown in his father’s eyes, and that any fatherly affection would be eroded by these ugly truths.
This time, the necklace pendant surprisingly pointed to “No”.
Qi Wang raised an eyebrow, seemingly somewhat surprised. He assumed his adopted son’s hatred stemmed from the death of his biological father.
As an outsider, Zhuang Li saw things more clearly than him, and sneered, “He hates you not because of your parents, but because of your lack of ambition. If you had fought for the throne with all your might from the beginning, he would be the crown prince now. He hates your incompetence, he hates that you are blocking his way, and he hates even more that you hold his biggest weakness. Since you don’t fight, he will get rid of you and fight for it himself. Only when you are dead will the power of the Qi Wang’s Mansion be at his disposal.”
With each sentence Zhuang Li spoke, Yun Changrong’s face grew paler.
Zhuang Li had completely guessed his thoughts.
Zhuang Li looked at Yun Changrong’s empty head and asked, “God, am I right?”
Yun Changrong looked at the small silver arrow with immense fear, only to find in despair that it indeed pointed to “Yes”.
At this point, Zhuang Li had uncovered Yun Changrong’s most sordid thoughts.
At this point, Qi Wang could no longer harbor even the slightest bit of affection for his adopted son. And he said with utter indifference, “If your hatred stemmed from your birth father, I might hold you in higher regard. But now…”
He shook his head, not finishing his sentence, but his disgust was clearly written on his face.
“Now you think raising him is worse than raising a dog, right?” Zhuang Li retorted sarcastically. He loved to stab people in the heart.
Yun Changrong stared at Zhuang Li with bloodshot eyes, then looked anxiously at his adoptive father.
Human nature is truly contradictory. He both hated his adoptive father and desperately craved his approval and affirmation. He wanted to kill him, yet he also hoped that in his adoptive father’s eyes he would forever remain a filial, honest, and capable son. He no longer understood what he truly wanted.
Qi Wang glanced helplessly at the young man and slowly nodded: “Yes, I regret it. If I had known this would happen, I would not have adopted you in the first place.”
Yun Changrong stared blankly at his father, waves of hatred surging in his heart, but after the waves subsided, all that remained were bubbles of regret.
It was only then that he vaguely realized he was about to lose something.
Qi Wang coldly said, “Issue the announcement that the Crown Qi Wang Wang has died suddenly at this moment. I will personally escort the Crown Prince’s coffin back to the capital for burial. Prepare the carriages and depart immediately.”
The commander of the guards responded loudly, but stood still, only looking at Yun Changrong with a sinister gaze.
While Qi Wang, holding the young scholar’s hand, stood up and walked out of the pavilion without looking back. His tone was calm yet cold: “Take off his golden crown, strip him of his fine clothes, remove his expensive ornaments, give him a set of coarse cloth, and drive him out of the villa. Tomorrow, I will enter the palace and cross his name off the imperial register. The Qi Wang’s mansion has never had a heir. Do you understand?”
“Understood!” the guards replied in unison.
Qi Wang’s icy voice gradually faded into the wind: “I can give you everything, and naturally I can take everything back.”
Upon hearing this, Yun Changrong felt as if all the bones in his body had been removed, and he collapsed onto the stone table, the necklace wrapped around his finger finally falling off with a clatter.
He finally understood that he wouldn’t lose anything; he would lose everything! Without the Qi Wang’s favor, he was nothing. All that wealth, glory, and immense power had never truly belonged to him.
The captain of the guards strode into the pavilion, quickly ripped off Yun Changrong’s golden crown and ornaments, then pinned his hands behind his back to the table, and said with a sneer, “Remember this, your father’s surname is Gong, not Yun. From now on, your name is Gong Changrong. You have never been a member of the royal family!”
Another guard entered the pavilion, tearing at Yun Changrong’s fine clothes as he mocked, “Changrong, Changrong, the Prince hoped you would live a life of glory. It’s all thanks to the Prince that you are where you are today, yet you turn around and try to kill him. You don’t even deserve the name ‘Changrong’!”
These words stirred up shame and anger in Yun Changrong, who wanted to retaliate, but the captain of the guards dislocated the bones in his hands.
The intense pain caused him to scream in agony, but his adoptive father, who had cared for him, loved him, and even given him everything, did not show up at all.
Yun Changrong frantically turned his head to look around, but he didn’t find the figure returning, nor did he receive any message of forgiveness. The last glimmer of hope in his eyes slowly faded away.
A group of guards roughly stripped Yun Changrong naked, dressed him in the hemp clothes of a commoner, and threw him out of the courtyard without even setting his hand bones properly.
The guards brought by Yun Changrong were isolated in another courtyard from beginning to end and had no idea what had happened. It wasn’t until evening, when it was almost dark, that they received the news of the prince’s sudden death. Then, they escorted a coffin, bypassed Luoxia Village at the foot of the mountain, and quietly returned to the capital along another official road.
Inside the swaying carriage, Qi Wang rested his head on the young boy’s lap, one hand on his chest and the other covering his eyes, as if he were in a bad mood.
Zhuang Li bent down and kissed his thin lips, patiently coaxing him, “It’s not worth being sad over someone like that. Your task now is to take care of your health.”
Qi Wang still covered his eyes and did not speak.
Zhuang Li cupped his face in her hands, kissing his thin lips tenderly and softly, whispering, “Stop overthinking. It’s all in the past. You’ve already paid back what you owed him; he was just not satisfied.”
Qi Wang pursed his thin lips and remained silent.
Zhuang Li racked his brains for words of comfort, only to find that his lover’s ears had turned bright red, almost bleeding. This was hardly a reaction of heartbreak; it was clearly an attempt to take advantage of him.
Zhuang Li was so angry that he laughed. He immediately pulled away his lover’s hand that was covering his face, only to see that his lover had a squinting, smiling look on his face, as if he was enjoying himself immensely.
“Wow, even a big dummy like you has a brain now!” Zhuang Li grabbed his lover’s ear.
After being exposed, Qi Wang quickly got up, hugged the young master, and kissed and coaxed him. He even offered his other ear to the young master and whispered ingratiatingly, “Twist it, twist it as hard as you want! I’ll listen to you from now on. I’m a henpecked husband, okay?”
Zhuang Li pinched his ears, but couldn’t bring himself to use force, and finally chuckled helplessly.
The two embraced and exchanged a nearly suffocating kiss, finding solace in each other as they endured what should have been the most difficult and painful day.
….
At the same time, a group of robbers lit sleeping powder, knocking out the Zhuang family. They found a total of several hundred taels of silver in the wardrobe, under the bed, and on the roof beams, wrapped it all casually in one of Zhuang Tian’er’s jackets and skirt set, carried it on their shoulders, and hurriedly disappeared into the night.
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