Chapter 98: Spicy Pot (Part 24)
Leng Yue drew a silent, sharp breath.
The sun had begun tilting westward, and the slightly damp air felt piercingly cold as it entered her lungs.
She had nearly forgotten—compared to Xiao Zhao Ye currently frozen in fear on the artificial rockery, there existed an even more terrifying figure.
The one who, three years ago when Consort Hui passed away, taught the twelve-or-thirteen-year-old Xiao Zhao Ye to fashion himself into the realm's most filial son. Who instructed Xiao Zhao Ye to relentlessly pursue Zhang Lao Wu—who shared a past with Consort Hui—until every root was eradicated. Who schooled Xiao Zhao Ye in understanding and leveraging the little-known power of the Imperial City Investigation Bureau.
To accomplish all this, this person must possess intimate knowledge of the Late Emperor, Consort Hui, and Xiao Zhao Ye alike, while commanding Xiao Zhao Ye's absolute trust.
Yet even Jing Yi had remarked that the reason Xiao Zhao Ye never aroused the Late Emperor's suspicion was precisely because no one at court maintained close ties with him—not a single soul.
Unless this near-invisible figure was unmasked, the Crown Prince would likely face troubles scarcely less dire than being branded a rebel by the Imperial City Investigation Bureau.
Whether from lying rigidly against the cold stone or not, Xiao Zhao Ye's voice trembled slightly, carrying the distinct tone of someone being bullied by the pair. "What... what do you mean by that?"
Jing Yi's gentle laughter brimmed with such confidence it truly seemed he was taunting him. "I believe you never genuinely desired the throne yourself... No need to glare like that. Had you truly aspired to be emperor from the depths of your heart, shouldn't the deceased have been the Crown Prince? With the Crown Prince gone, succession follows seniority. The eldest prince, Prince Xi, was severely punished by the Late Emperor eight years ago for pushing your mother into water and remains incurably insane. The second prince, disabled since childhood, may handle minor duties but is disqualified from inheritance. The fourth prince, Prince Jing, was meticulously dissected months ago—and even intact, his half-Goryeo bloodline would disqualify him. Next in line would be you. Why would you risk poisoning the Late Emperor and then scramble to retrieve that token yourself?"
Leng Yue nearly smacked her own forehead.
Everyone aware of the Late Emperor's unnatural death would logically speculate about the perpetrator. Those knowing Xiao Zhao Ye orchestrated the murder would naturally assume his motive was usurpation. While all informed parties—herself included—exhausted themselves devising ways to resolve this earth-shattering case, only Jing Yi would think to stand in Xiao Zhao Ye's position and consider whether cleaner methods for seizing the throne existed...
Xiao Zhao Ye appeared equally unprepared for anyone analyzing alternatives on his behalf. He stared dumbfounded at Jing Yi for a long moment, oblivious even to the mucus dripping from his nose.
With startling kindness, Jing Yi used the sleeve of Xiao Zhao Ye's robe draped over the rock to wipe his nose. After folding the soiled fabric neatly, he tucked it beneath Xiao Zhao Ye's stiffened arm, finally jolting the prince back to awareness.
Seeming to decide he'd already breached all decorum, Xiao Zhao Ye turned ashen and audibly sniffed back his mucus, answering with deliberate flatness through his congested voice: "My... my mother."Leng Yue noticed that it wasn't just her—Jing Yi also froze momentarily. After recovering, he seemed to doubt his own hearing and asked in return, "Your mother? Consort Hui told you to compete with the Crown Prince for the throne?"
Xiao Zhao Ye responded with a muffled "Mm," adding, "She had it all planned eight years ago..."
Jing Yi frowned imperceptibly. He could guess that Consort Hui, who barely survived being pulled from the lake, had benefited the most from the covert struggle eight years prior. But for a woman destined to spend the rest of her life confined to the inner palace, Jing Yi had only speculated about her competing for favor—he never dared to imagine this was merely her first step toward seizing ultimate glory.
"Are you saying Consort Hui framed Prince Xi for pushing her into the lake back then?"
Xiao Zhao Ye sniffled again, unbothered by Jing Yi's use of the word "framed," and candidly affirmed, "Mm. Her plan was exactly as you just described—eliminate my eldest brother and the Crown Prince, then dispose of her former lover from before entering the palace... After that, all I needed to do was behave obediently."
"So you've been obedient all along? Following Consort Hui's orders, pretending to be a filial son after her death to conceal your motives while paving your own path?"
Xiao Zhao Ye hesitated before nodding, his slightly pale lips pressing together briefly before he replied with the same candor, "She did tell me to pretend to be filial... but I didn't pretend. I truly didn't want her to die."
Xiao Zhao Ye's words were spoken softly. Even with her Inner Cultivation allowing her to detect most subtle sounds, Leng Yue, standing beneath the artificial hill, could barely hear them—they drifted like a sigh. This sigh mingled with the harsh winter wind, carrying a chill that felt almost painful.
Leng Yue doubted she would ever understand Consort Hui's motives in this lifetime, but she suddenly grasped why Xiao Zhao Ye appeared most natural in mourning clothes.
Ordinarily, he carried an air of dignified elegance and gentle nonchalance, but this demeanor had been crafted since childhood according to others' wishes—like dressing a corpse in burial garments, where every detail is decided by someone else. No matter how well-intentioned the costuming or how pleasing the result, it ultimately carried the lifeless stiffness of compulsion.
Xiao Zhao Ye offered a smile tinged with this very lifelessness. "She had already set half of it in motion. If I didn't continue, I'd eventually meet a bad end..." He paused, as if recalling something, the smile fading slightly yet softening. "I found a way to proceed, though not her way. Even if I fail, at least I can account for myself to her in the afterlife."
Jing Yi fell silent. Xiao Zhao Ye gazed at him with that faint, gentle smile, his softly contoured eyes glistening with unshed tears. "You've been a monk and studied Buddhist teachings. Tell me... someone like me, who has killed an emperor—surely in the next life I won't be reborn into an imperial family again?"
Xiao Zhao Ye spoke these words with a smile, his tone light, yet Leng Yue heard only profound bitterness. For a moment, her heart ached with sorrow for this man who had poisoned his own father.
After a long silence, Jing Yi finally revealed a rather compassionate smile. "You didn't kill the Late Emperor just for the sake of your next life, did you?"Xiao Zhaoye seemed not to have expected Jing Yi to pose such a question under these circumstances, freezing so completely that even the glistening tears in his eyes stilled.
Leng Yue was also caught off guard by Jing Yi’s ill-timed inquiry, and the faint trace of sympathy she had felt for Xiao Zhaoye instantly vanished.
Seeing Xiao Zhaoye’s stunned expression, Jing Yi smiled even more benevolently and softly asked another question that was utterly out of place. "Do you know why my father was so willing to let me work at the Dali Temple?"
Xiao Zhaoye was taken aback once more.
Not only Xiao Zhaoye—even Leng Yue couldn’t answer that question.
Given Jing Yi’s background as the Crown Prince’s study companion and Old Master Jing’s status in the court, there were indeed many more promising official positions available to him in the capital. She only knew that Old Master Jing had been persuaded by Prince An, but what Prince An had said to him back then, she had no idea.
Jing Yi didn’t seem to expect Xiao Zhaoye to answer. After posing the question, he continued on his own, "My father said that Prince An quietly told him that there’s too much capriciousness in my nature. If I don’t engage more with the law, one day I’d end up ruining myself." After saying this, Jing Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and added with a faint, meaningful smile, "I think that 'one day' Prince An mentioned must be today."
Noting that Xiao Zhaoye was still frozen in shock, Jing Yi sighed and shook his head. "With a mind like yours, even if you genuinely wanted to compete with the Crown Prince, it’d be futile... What you said earlier was indeed quite touching, but those were also the words Consort Hui entrusted to you on her deathbed, weren’t they? When dealing with our Jing family, force doesn’t work—appealing to emotions is the most effective approach. I’ll bet you a plate of braised pork knuckle from the Sparrow Nest Brothel that when I go back to settle accounts with Uncle Qi, he’ll try the same tactic on me."
"I suppose next you’ll tell me what you would have done if you hadn’t been born into the imperial family, and keep talking until I feel compelled to give you a fresh start..." Jing Yi leaned forward, his face filling Xiao Zhaoye’s vision, his smile chillingly faint. "If today I were to follow my whims and let you escape, what kind of chaos do you think you’d unleash upon the capital tomorrow?"
Leng Yue was certain that her expression at that moment was no better than Xiao Zhaoye’s.
If she had been alone facing Xiao Zhaoye today instead of Jing Yi, she couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t have been swayed by his words—that she might have truly let him go, as Jing Yi said, and precipitated an irreversible disaster...
Jing Yi seemed completely unaware of the heaviness in both their hearts. He tugged on the other clean sleeve of Xiao Zhaoye’s robe and wiped his nose again, like an older brother exasperated with a misbehaving younger sibling. "Look at you... Since you’ve already killed him, why not just admit openly that you resented him for paying you little attention since childhood? Admit that you were unwilling to accept the Crown Prince and wanted to compete with him—to make him fall squarely into your hands, to get back at him for always trying to tease you when you were young. Wouldn’t that be simpler?"
As he spoke, Jing Yi flicked Xiao Zhaoye’s forehead with a sharp snap. Caught off guard, Xiao Zhaoye shuddered, his body sliding from leaning against the rock to hanging limply over it, utterly immobilized."Alright," Jing Yi rose to his feet contentedly, brushing off the snowflakes clinging to his robes as he breathed a relieved sigh. "Now that I know the one who led you astray is no longer in this world, I can rest easy. I keep my word—those things you took from me shall remain with you. May you find your own fortune."
With these words, Jing Yi leaped gracefully, landing as lightly and silently as a snowflake beside Leng Yue. He took her ice-cold hand and strode forward without pause. Leng Yue followed in a daze for two steps before suddenly snapping back to awareness. She tugged at Jing Yi's hand and whispered urgently to the figure marching ahead, "We should still tie him up. What if he targets the Jing family..."
Jing Yi didn't turn back or break stride, raising his voice in a reply that seemed deliberately meant for Xiao Zhao Ye still dangling from the rock.
"Do you think the Crown Prince's head is like his—just perched on his neck to make him look taller?"
"..."
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