Xie Huai glared at Wenchuzhu, suddenly bursting into laughter with a tone so chillingly cold it felt as though it had been steeped in poison. “Why should this prince tell you? Your father only learned the truth at the very moment I executed him. So if you wish to know, pray for the day when this prince has tortured you enough and decides to kill you!”
Tears streamed down Wenchuzhu’s face as he glared at Xie Huai. “Father was killed by you?”
“Otherwise?” Xie Huai’s eyes were filled with malice. “If he didn’t fall ill, how could this prince usurp power and avenge myself?!”
“So it was you who poisoned Father.” Bitterly biting his lip until it bled with grief and indignation, Wenchuzhu raised his fist and struck at Xie Huai, only to be shoved violently to the ground by Xie Huai, who sneered, “A mere piece of trash, and you still think you can harm this prince in the slightest.”
With that, Xie Huai turned and left.
At the Prince Regent’s Manor, as soon as Xie Huai枭 returned, the steward reported, “Your Highness, the Madam asks that you go to the ancestral hall.”
Xie Huai gave a slight nod. After changing out of his outer garments, he headed to the ancestral hall.
With a soft creak, Xie Huai pushed open the door and caught sight of Madam Wang kneeling before the ancestral tablets at a single glance.
Xie Huai walked over, lifted the hem of his robe, and prepared to kneel on the rush mat when he heard Madam Wang say, “One who commits wrongdoings is not worthy of kneeling on a rush mat.”
Xie Huai looked toward the nail board that the servants had placed before him.
Without the slightest hesitation, he knelt down upon it. His brow merely twitched slightly, showing that this was hardly the first time Xie Huai had knelt on a nail board.
Bright crimson blood soaked through his garments, seeping downward.
Madam Wang stood up, took an iron whip handed to her by a servant, and with a sharp crack, lashed it fiercely across Xie Huai’s back. His flesh tore open, yet Xie Huai did not utter a single groan.
“All these years, why haven’t you killed that Wen brat and taken the throne that rightfully belongs to you?”
Soaked in cold sweat from the agonizing pain, Xie Huai replied, “Mother, calm your anger. The child wishes to make his life a living hell, returning every bit of misfortune he caused us with heavy interest, and only when he is broken and battered will I kill him to vent my hatred.”
Crack! Another whip lash landed across Xie Huai’s body. “Four years have passed, yet this mother has not seen how you have made him live a life worse than death, and you even allowed him to father a little bastard seed.”
“Mother is not by his side, so you cannot feel his torment.” Xie Huai said, “Just a short while ago, this child tortured him once more.”
Madam Wang scrutinized Xie Huai closely. Back then, her own child had been stillborn; seeking revenge, she had stolen this child, and he was merely a tool for vengeance.
“My son, you were carried by this mother in her womb for ten grueling months. Do not let this mother down, and do not let your murdered father rest in peace beyond the nine springs.” Ultimately feeling a twinge of guilt, Madam Wang dared not press too hard. “This mother does not wish to see those rumors come true.”
A bone-chilling coldness surfaced in Xie Huai’s eyes. “Mother, rest assured. Before long, this minister will deal him a crippling blow.”
Wenchuzhu fell ill, gravely ill. He was unable to accompany Yu’er or attend the morning court sessions, confined entirely to his bed day and night.
At night, because of recurrent high fevers that left him unable to sleep, Wenchuzhu propped himself up after a bout of violent coughing, leaning exhaustedly against the head of the bed. “Xiao Linzi, pour a cup of water.”
Xiao Linzi was the eunuch on night duty. The door was pushed open as someone walked inside, approached the table to pour a cup of water, and then walked over to Wenchuzhu’s bedside to hand it to him.
Without even raising his eyes, Wenchuzhu took the teacup and began to drink.
“The Emperor has grown much more haggard!”
Wenchuzhu choked abruptly on a mouthful of water and raised his eyes toward the person standing by the bedside.