Chapter 169: Darkness Under the Lamp
“Your Majesty… Your Majesty! This old servant is guilty; please punish me!”
Eunuch Mei stammered.
He had already received the news.
The paintings and calligraphy sold at the auction yesterday were the collections of Emperor Xia over the years.
According to the intel, Qin Bei had sold off all the paintings and calligraphy, leaving only the most special piece unsold.
After confirming the news, Eunuch Mei’s face turned deathly pale.
Qin Bei was digging his own grave!
Emperor Xia had entrusted him with the key, which indicated absolute trust.
Yet he had used it to curry favor with Prince Bei, even if it was voluntary.
But he still did it.
If Emperor Xia didn’t know, then fine, let it be.
But now, thanks to Qin Bei, it was impossible not to know.
“Get up.”
Emperor Xia glanced at the crowd below, waved his hand lightly, his tone laced with helplessness.
“I know this is not your fault; if you want to blame someone, blame my rebellious son who dared to set a trap for me! And dared to threaten the palace staff! It’s utterly unforgivable!”
Emperor Xia was furious.
Indeed, he valued Qin Bei for his talent in cultivation and combat, but above all, he appreciated that reckless spirit.
It was this disruptive energy that led Emperor Xia to believe Qin Bei would be a suitable crown prince, capable of breaking the deadlock.
But valuing him doesn’t mean wanting him to cause chaos in the palace; he wanted him to stir things up in the Great Xia and the Cangzhou Continent.
At least that way, he wouldn’t be the only one with a headache—his enemies would share in the misery.
But now Qin Bei was just causing a ruckus in the palace… No wonder Emperor Xia understood why the late emperor disliked the noisy princes.
…….
At this moment, the shadow scout made an appearance in the palace.
“Your Majesty, here are the whereabouts and activities of Prince Bei yesterday, but…”
The shadow scout hesitated.
“But what? I asked you to capture him, not to report on his whereabouts!”
“Yes, but we can’t find Prince Bei.”
“What?”
Emperor Xia looked bewildered. What does it mean not to be able to find someone?
“Prince Bei returned to the palace after purchasing items at the auction house and Falling Phoenix Tower yesterday. The shadow guards were stationed outside; Prince Bei didn’t leave at all that day. But when we tried to capture him just now, we found no trace of him at all in the entire palace.”
“The princess said Prince Bei left early in the morning, but we don’t know what he was up to.”
The shadow scout reported truthfully.
Upon reviewing what had been purchased, Emperor Xia’s expression soured further.
This rebellious son was simply provoking him openly!
He repurchased everything the Ministry of Revenue had seized, and this time, it was even more extravagant.
He spent more spirit stones, but there was nothing for cultivation.
Hey! This rebellious son! If I say don’t do something, he’ll do it regardless!
And what left Emperor Xia speechless was that Qin Bei had put all the remaining spirit stones into the First Bank.
It was clear that his rebellious son dared to act recklessly but was still quite meticulous.
Once bitten, twice shy—he wouldn’t fall for the same trick again.
Emperor Xia even suspected that if he ordered the Ministry of Revenue to seize all of Qin Bei’s newly bought items from the Prince Bei’s Manor, Qin Bei would definitely have a countermeasure.
He couldn’t believe that someone who had been persecuted once wouldn’t leave a backup plan.
At the very least, sending the remaining eighty million spirit stones to the First Bank indicated he was definitely leaving a lifeline.
Thus, even though he was aware Qin Bei was rebelling against him, Emperor Xia didn’t plan to let the Ministry of Revenue raid the mansion again.
Lest Qin Bei had some tricks up his sleeve that could lead to even more chaos.
If Qin Bei knew what Emperor Xia was thinking, he would definitely call him cunning!
Because Qin Bei had already prepared for another round of plundering by the Ministry of Revenue.
But this time was different; as long as the Ministry of Revenue dared to come, he’d dare to stir things up.
After all, he still had two uses left for the gold medal of exoneration in his hand.
Who’s afraid of whom!
Unfortunately, this train of thought never came to fruition.
“If you can’t even find a mere Golden Core cultivator, what good are you shadow scouts?”
Emperor Xia, in a fit of anger, tossed the report in front of the shadow scout.
“Your Majesty, I suspect Prince Bei is somewhere within the palace.”
The shadow scout hurriedly shared his theory.
If there’s a place in Great Xia where someone could hide without the shadow scouts knowing, it would only be the palace.
Other places would have been spotted by the shadow scouts immediately.
Just like that young master from the Langya Pavilion.
Even though Langya Pavilion’s intel is formidable in the cultivation world and quite hidden, the moment he entered the capital, the shadows were already notified.
This is the shadow scouts’ absolute dominance in the capital of Great Xia.
Emperor Xia narrowed his eyes, observing the people below.
Taking a deep breath, he calmed his agitation.
Upon reflection, he understood the shadow scouts’ strength too well.
Since they hadn’t noticed anything, it was very likely that Qin Bei was still in the palace.
But why didn’t he perceive anything?
The only explanation was that Qin Bei wasn’t in the palace.
“Stop pondering! He’s not in the palace; go search outside the capital! Tomorrow is when the Imperial Mausoleum Trial begins; running around at this time is nonsense!”
This was what had Emperor Xia most furious.
For the sake of creating a ruckus, Qin Bei had actually dismissed the more critical Imperial Mausoleum Trial.
If Qin Bei didn’t return by the time the Imperial Mausoleum Trial commenced tomorrow and missed this opportunity, Emperor Xia would definitely have him grounded!
The Imperial Mausoleum Trial isn’t something that can simply be started whenever you want, and entry time is limited.
Once missed, one would have to wait for another three years.
Qin Bei simply couldn’t afford to waste three years!
Unless this rebellious son wanted to emulate his negligent royal uncle and live a carefree, lazy life.
But even if Qin Bei had such thoughts, Emperor Xia would never let that happen.
Emperor Xia had already made plans; if Qin Bei didn’t show up tomorrow, he would use his own cultivation to delay the start time for the Imperial Mausoleum Trial.
This time, Qin Bei must enter the Imperial Mausoleum Trial.
And the bare minimum requirement was to master the “Void Sutra.”
If he couldn’t even achieve that, Emperor Xia already had plans on how to settle the score with Qin Bei afterward.
……
Emperor Xia’s anger was palpable.
As the sharpest blade in Emperor Xia’s hand, the shadow guards.
This time, all members were mobilized.
For no reason other than to locate a single prince.
Overnight, rumors swept the capital.
This commotion left all cultivators in the capital stunned.
It had been years since such a scene had appeared.
As for external sects, they had never witnessed anything like it.
But after one night, the shadow guards had done their utmost, scouring all cities surrounding the capital.
And they systematically checked every possible location where Qin Bei might be.
Even Falling Phoenix Tower cooperated with the search.
Yet still turned up empty-handed.
At that very moment, within the small realm of Emperor Xia’s study in the palace,
Qin Bei was happily gorging on meat and gulping down wine.
“Hmph! You want to play with me? You’re still too naïve! I’m well-versed in all thirty-six strategies!”
Though Qin Bei was clueless about what was happening outside, he could infer that things weren’t peaceful.
But what did that have to do with him, Qin?
Go find Prince Bei if you like!
……
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