It was only then did Xuan Tianmo realise that his arm which he stuck into his pants had been caught in a soft whip and the other end of the soft whip was firmly grasped in Xuan Tianming’s hand.

  This was not so bad yet, just as he planned to stick his other hand into his pants, similarly, a tight feeling was also felt on that arm, another whip wrapped around it, and this time, the other end of that whip was held in Feng Yuheng’s hand.

  “What do both of you…… want to do?” Xuan Tianmo was so uncomfortable and he could not speak softly and his face had turned red from having to hold it in. His lower body itched so much that he wanted to die, but helplessly, he could not free any hand to scratch. Without any other choice, he could only try his best to press himself against the door of the jail cell, squirming around to try to ease the itch, scolding loudly at the same time: “Feng Yuheng, you sly person, you must have caused me to become like this, you must have! You threw that woman onto my bed, it must be you!”


  Feng Yuheng nodded, seriously admitting this matter, she told Xuan Tianmo: “That’s right, it’s me, it was me who carried that person from the imperial palace and threw her on your bed. What, you’re upset? Xuan Tianmo, you shouldn’t complain about others, if you wish to do so, then blame yourself. If all of you did not target Zirui, then you would not have ended up in this state today. Coming out to mess around, you will have to return one day. You have done so many evil deeds and will receive retribution one day. And the current retribution, I still think it’s not enough.”


  After she said this, Xuan Tianming no longer held back and reached out to search Xuan Tianmo, quickly pulling out the commanding tally. That was the tally to command the imperial guards in the palace, with such a thing, he could change out all the imperial guards, completely getting rid of old Eighth’s forces in the imperial palace.

  Originally, Xuan Tianmo treated his imperial guard tally as the most important item, but currently, he did not have the capacity to deal with this anymore. His lower body was itching so much that he wanted to die, but both his hands were tightly trapped in the whips of these two family members, he wanted to scratch but could not, so he could only stand there helplessly, breaking down mentally.

  But Feng Yuheng also felt that this was a good way to torture someone, therefore she summoned the wardens and ordered them to bring over the strongest ropes to securely tie Xuan Tianmo up, stripping him at the same time so he could see the disastrous state of his lower body at any time.

  These wardens were spirited when they heard this, guarding the jail, they knew many ways to torture others, today they learned something new from Princess Yu, to the point that they all wanted to ask how this itching condition was obtained, if someone came in here in the future, they could also try to have them itch like this.

  Xuan Tianmo was ineffective in his attempts to resist and his clothes were taken successfully, then ropes were tied around his four limbs and he was tied to a wooden frame in the jail cell. That wooden frame was originally used for interrogation, trying him up there now, his lower body was suspended in mid-air. The itching was still there, but there was no way for him to move around.

  Xuan Tianmo lost all hope and started to shout loudly, but he did not even know what he was shouting. Under that itch, his mental state had started to blur.

  Feng Yuheng and Xuan Tianming watched this coldly, only saying: “Serves you right.” Xuan Tianming said: “I had not thought of what ending to give him, whether it was by chopping off his head or dismemberment, it did not feel like it would be enough to relieve the feelings of hatred, or give comfort to the citizens of Da Shun who died because of him. Right now, it is wife’s method which is good, letting him bear the sins, unable to truly live yet unable to die, this is the best way to appease the hatred.”


  Feng Yuheng nodded, “After this, remember to tell the wardens and ask them to watch him well, he cannot be allowed to die.”


  “Should we stuff something into his mouth? What if he bites his tongue to kill himself?” As these two watched Xuan Tianmo howling loudly, they began to discuss.

  Feng Yuheng said: “There is no such thing as killing oneself by biting off his tongue. By biting off his tongue, he will only be unable to speak, he won’t die. I am a physician, I am very clear about this. In addition, I am around, right! Once he takes one step into the gates of hell, I can pull him back again. Wanting to die, it’s not that easy.”


  When Xuan Tianmo heard the words from these two people, his mental spirit finally started to break down. Going against Xuan Tianming and Feng Yuheng, this was the first time he felt regret.

  Until the two of them left, Xuan Tianmo was still howling in his jail cell. The wardens were also given orders and watched him closely, not daring to let him die. Imperial Concubine Yuan Gui was included as well. An imperial physician was summoned under Feng Yuheng’s instructions to bandage her hand, causing her to wake up, making her face her son opposite to watch the tragic state her son was in. This scene felt cruel and satisfying at the same time……

  The Emperor woke up in the afternoon, when he opened his eyes, Feng Yuheng, Xuan TIanming and Yao Xian were there. Even Zhang Yuan was standing next to the bed, wearing the clothes of a lower ranked Eunuch, looking at him expectantly.

  The Emperor was a little dazed, asking in confusion: “Xiao Yuan Zhi, why are you dressed like this?” Then looking at the others, “Why did all of you come? Where are We? Why are you looking at Us like We are a dead person? And old Yao! Normally you will not come when I ask you to come to the palace, why are you so diligent today, coming here even though I did not ask? Yeah, since you are here, then have a few drinks with Us, it has been a long time since We have drank with you.” He wanted to sit up as he spoke, but with this action, the pain in his lower body flared up, pushing him back into the bed.

  When this pain came, his memories became clear. In one go, the Emperor remembered what happened earlier and all the memories returned to their rightful places. He laid on the bed receiving this information, little by little, it was mainly about the happenings related to Imperial Concubine Yuan Gui and the Eighth Prince and the scene of his self-mutilation before he lost consciousness. The more he thought, the more suffocated and depressed he felt, and the more he felt like he should not have lived.

  He looked towards Yao Xian and Feng Yuheng, anger in his eyes, asking loudly: “Why did you not let Us die? Why did you still rescue Us!”


  Yao Xian rolled his eyes, not bothering to respond to this old man, it was Xuan Tianming who spoke: “Because Da Shun still needs to preserve their reputation, because once news spread that the ruler of Da Shun is someone without a root, our nation will also become a laughing stock.” He felt angry inside and did not speak with a good attitude, saying directly: “They were not saving you, but saving this nation.”


  With regards to this Ninth son, when the old Emperor remembered everything, he was filled with guilt. Hearing Xuan Tianming speak like this, he felt even worse. He really wanted to apologise to this son and tell him that he was always number one in his heart. But when he opened his mouth again, he still asked the question he wanted to ask the most: “Your imperial concubine mother, how is she?”


  “Hmph!” Xuan Tianming scoffed and did not respond.

  It was Feng Yuheng who spoke: “Father Emperor, do not worry. We have been protecting Imperial Concubine Mother, nothing is wrong with her.”


  “It’s good that she’s fine.” The old Emperor did not think that Imperial Concubine Yun was no longer in the palace and was only worried that she had been bullied by Imperial Concubine Yuan Gui. Now that he heard that she was alright, he finally felt relieved. But once he felt relieved, he immediately became tense, then sniffed and said: “We no longer have any face to see her, We don’t even have the guts to go to Winter Moon Palace and knock on the door. We have done that kind of thing and let her down, all of you can tell her, she had suffered much grievance being in the palace for so many years, We know that she does not like this life, locking her in Winter Moon Palace for more than twenty years, even a good person would have gone crazy from being locked up like this. If…… if she wants to go out and see the world, then…… let her go! But all of you have to find a dependable person to protect her so she would not be bullied. We cannot make her stay and does not have the face to make her stay. She can hate Us, or not hate Us, but We hope that she does not forget us, that…… that is enough.”


  The old Emperor finished speaking and buried his face into the mattress. He did not want to cry in front of these people, but he could not hold it in and had no choice but to use his hand to cover his face, crying silently.

  No one made a sound and only Zhang Yuan followed the Emperor, wiping away his tears. Finally, after the time it took to burn one incense stick, the Emperor stopped crying, and told them: “All of you can leave! We wish to lie here alone and get some quiet. It’s fine for only Xiao Yuan Zhi to stay and accompany me.” Saying this, he seemed to remember something else, quickly adding on: “With Our body like this, We would not be able to attend morning court, Ming-er, We appoint you as a regent, start the morning court sessions again from tomorrow, attend the morning court sessions and represent me! All matters in the court can be decided by you, there is no need to report to Us.”


  This sentence was equivalent to giving Xuan Tianming the position of crown prince. Regent, regent, in the end, it was wielding the authority of the Emperor in place of the Emperor, this was a large amount of power and no Emperor was willing to give it easily.

  But Xuan Tianming did not want it at all, shaking his head and saying directly to the old Emperor: “This nation, I am not going to be regent.”


  The Emperor did not understand, “You do not want Our Emperor seat?”


  Xuan Tianming told him: “Not everyone wants to sit on that respected and valuable seat, I am someone from the Xuan family, am responsible for this country and am willing to do my best to protect the nation and protect the citizens, but that does not mean I want to sit on that position. I have questioned myself many times these few years and have already done what I could for Da Shun with regards to this, so……please let me off.”


  This was the first time Xuan Tianming clearly expressed his thoughts to the Emperor causing this ruler to understand for the first time that there were really people who did not want the Emperor’s seat. In the past, he only thought that Old Seventh did not want the throne, but unexpectedly, his most favoured ninth son also had the same thoughts.

  Feng Yuheng stood next to Xuan Tianming, holding his hand tightly. She knew, saying this needed a lot of courage, she also knew, saying that he did not want the throne in private and telling the Emperor that he did not want the throne was different in terms of significance. She did not think that he had never wanted the throne since the beginning, at least before he knew her, this person probably still wanted to inherit the throne? Did she influence him?

  Perhaps he felt her thoughts, Xuan Tianming returned the grip of this young girl’s hand, exerting a slight amount of force, letting her feel his determination, then he told the Emperor: “Currently, Old Eighth has been sent to the death row prison, I do not wish for him to have any chance to turn the tables. Without him, it will be the same regardless of who sits on the throne. There are no bad seeds in the Xuan family, all of them are good, you can rest assured and pass this nation to anyone to manage as a regent. As for whether they are made for it, treat it as a test, it will be a fair opportunity.”


  The Emperor closed his eyes, thinking about what Xuan Tianming said over and over again. He felt that he was going to lose this son he loved the most, could it be, that it was because he was favouring Imperial Concubine Yuan Gui the past few months? He could not face Imperial Concubine Yun, so he naturally could not face this son as well!

  The old Emperor sighed deeply and eventually accepted this fact, and as for who would be the regent, he still seriously searched within his heart for an answer……