Chapter 424: The Beginning of Chaos; Assassin Bai Xiaofei!
Translated by: pokka
Editor: Reckeva
No one knew if Qin Lingyan remembered what happened the previous night, but Bai Xiaofei was doomed to be unable to fulfill his promise when he got up the next day. The crown prince sent people to invite him over again, saying that he had something important to discuss. It seemed rather urgent.
Without a choice, Bai Xiaofei tidied up simply and followed the messenger into the palace.
However, after entering the royal grounds, Bai Xiaofei was left to wait for a whole morning in a small room. No one came to lead him anywhere else and they didn’t let him leave.
This lasted until noon when Bai Xiaofei finally saw someone he knew. It was Manager Fan who seemed to be in a disheveled state.
“Lil Brother Bai, you must have waited for a long time, come with me,” said Manager Fan as he took out a handkerchief and wiped his sweat. He looked like he had been doing something that made him extremely tired.
“Manager Fan? Doesn’t the crown prince want to see me? Why is it you?” Bai Xiaofei froze a little. He didn’t follow and asked with a dubious expression instead.
It was impossible not to have any doubt. There was one thing he knew for sure, Gu Heng wouldn’t dare to make him wait for so long unless something happened!
At Bai Xiaofei’s question, Manager Fan’s expression grew cautious. After making sure that no one around him could hear, he moved close to Bai Xiaofei.
“His Majesty’s condition suddenly worsened, so he summoned His Royal Highness into the dragon chamber. While there is already an imperial edict, they were worried that unexpected situations would happen to the succession of the throne. His Highness and His Majesty talked behind closed doors all morning, while His Highness sent people to call you before he was summoned. I don’t know the specific purpose of calling you over, but I can guarantee that it’s a big deal and a good thing for you at that!” Manager Fan whispered with an ingratiating expression.
Once a courtier, forever a courtier. If Bai Xiaofei played a big role in the succession of the throne, his words would become extraordinarily weighty. Therefore, Manager Fan really looked like someone who was looking for a way out by getting on Bai Xiaofei’s good side.
Bai Xiaofei’s eyes, however, grew sharp. He could tell Manager Fan was lying!
If he hadn’t seen what Manager Fan was like when he was afraid of death, he might have been fooled. The present Manager Fan felt exactly the same as when he was held hostage by Bai Xiaofei that day. If the emperor was really near death, it was still not enough to threaten Manager Fan’s life, so he was obviously experiencing something else as well!
“Manager Fan, please wait a moment. I didn’t expect it to be so big before I came; I need to go to the toilet and calm down.” Bai Xiaofei ran out with a look of excitement mixed with worry.
After Bai Xiaofei left, Manager Fan heaved a sigh of relief, but the worry on his face deepened.
“Let’s go, Manager Fan.” It didn’t take long for Bai Xiaofei to return. Following Manager Fan, he walked all the way to the emperor’s bedroom.
Along the way, he noticed more than just one odd detail.
If the crown prince was in a hurry preparing to succeed the throne, why was there no move from the Royal Guards? Why were there so few maids and eunuchs coming and going when the emperor was dying?
There were loopholes everywhere, but Bai Xiaofei acted nothing to debunk it and only followed Manager Fan. Or to be exact, he hadn’t seen enough to come to a conclusion……
“Brother Bai, His Majesty and His Highness are inside. Please enter, I will stand guard outside.” Manager Fan’s face was full of smiles and he looked particularly respectful towards Bai Xiaofei.
“Mhm.” Bai Xiaofei pushed open the doors and entered the room. Inside, there was no eunuch or maid-in-waiting, but a faint scent of blood.
Looking over, Bai Xiaofei saw the emperor leaning against his bed with a dagger in his chest. Seeing how the blood had solidified, he had been dead for at least several hours.
“People come! Someone assassinated His Majesty!!!” Manager Fan’s frightened shouts rang out outside. Soon, the nearest Royal Guards arrived and a commotion could be heard at the door.
However, the only reaction of ‘Bai Xiaofei’ was a smile. In a flash of light, his body completely disappeared from the room. At the same time, Bai Xiaofei stroked Huskie, who he had just summoned back, while a nervous crown prince gulped in anxiety.
“Brother Bai, my father, he……”
At the crown prince’s unsaid question, Bai Xiaofei helplessly shook his head.
“My condolences.”
Two simple words and the crown prince instantly fell backward in shock.
His Royal Consort by his side hurriedly supported him. Bai Xiaofei walked over to check the crown prince’s pulse, and also injected origin energy into his body.
The crown prince wasn’t faking it. The sudden shock and anger obstructed his blood flow……
When the crown prince regained consciousness, his face was full of grief. He sat on the steps quietly, his tears kept streaming down uncontrollably.
“Although it is not very good to say this, now is not the time for you to grieve. Since someone dared to kill the emperor, it means they have prepared all the follow-ups. If you don’t want the throne to fall into the hands of the killer, you should wake up,” Bai Xiaofei said lightly, but there was a hint of sympathy in his voice.
Everyone envied the royals, but was it really envy-worthy for such someone who didn’t even have time to grieve the loss of a loved one? Bai Xiaofei didn’t know about others, but he certainly did not envy this. Compared with so-called powerful statuses, he valued the people around him much more……
“Yes, Brother Bai, you are right, I need to wake up!” Gritting his teeth, the crown prince wiped his tears and stood up. A hint of calm had returned in his bloodshot eyes. “No matter what, I am the crown prince. I am the one who must step up and manage the court after my father. This is something that no one can criticize!”
When the crown prince got up, the happiest person was none other than the Royal Consort beside him. If he successfully inherited the throne, she would become a person who was under only him but above ten thousand……
“That’s right, you have to step up because I have a problem for you to deal with here.” Bai Xiaofei looked helpless with a pained smile on his face.
“What is it?” The crown prince looked nervously at Bai Xiaofei, and his voice was full of concern. It was okay for anyone else to be troubled, but not Bai Xiaofei! At the moment, Bai Xiaofei’s position in his heart was even above the Royal Consort behind him……
“Apparently I am the ‘assassin.’ If I’m not cleared before they spread the news around, then you really have to fight them on your own.”
The crown prince instantly understood.
“It’s nothing difficult. You have always been here with me, therefore you can’t have had any chance to assassinate,” declared the crown prince. This settled Bai Xiaofei’s unease.
It was fortunate that he had discovered it early, otherwise, even the crown prince wouldn’t be able to help him. This alibi for his absence from the crime scene was very crucial……
“Reporting!!!” A guard of the crown prince suddenly shouted outside right after the conversation between the two passed the important part.
Come, it was time for everyone to show their cards!