Chapter Fourteen: You Really Are Such a Sneaky Bastard

“There’s no need to make it sound so serious,” Gao Changwen scoffed.

“Exactly.”

“Even if Gao Changsheng has offended the Crown Prince, and we don’t kill him ourselves—once he leaves Jinyong City, the Crown Prince will never let him go.”

“So why trouble ourselves to act?”

Gao Changfei sneered dismissively, utterly unconcerned.

“You don’t understand!”

The Empress snapped in fury, her anger so fierce it seemed almost tangible.

But she wasn’t angry because Gao Changsheng was capable.

She was furious because her two sons were disappointing.

“Is it the same if Gao Changsheng dies in Jinyong City or in the northern border?”

“All the townsfolk know that Gao Changsheng offended the Crown Prince.”

“If he dies in Jinyong City, it will undoubtedly be by the Crown Prince’s hand.”

“Although His Majesty’s nature would never allow him to strip the Crown Prince of his title for the sake of a mere Gao Changsheng...”

“…it could cause His Majesty to waver in his confidence in the Crown Prince’s position.”

“If the Crown Prince’s title remains unchanged, how do you two expect to become Crown Prince yourselves?”

The Empress bit her lip and growled in rage.

In the Empress’s eyes, Gao Changsheng was nothing more than a pawn to be used.

Her true target was the Crown Prince.

Unfortunately, Gao Changwen and Gao Changfei were utterly useless.

They couldn’t even grasp such a simple truth and expected her—their mother and Empress—to worry on their behalf.

“I understand Your Majesty’s intentions.”

“Rest assured, after we return, we will make arrangements immediately. Gao Changsheng will never leave Jinyong City alive!”

With that, Gao Changwen and Gao Changfei rose to leave.

Their mother, the Empress, was terrifying—on par with the Divine Martial Emperor—enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

Even as her own sons, Gao Changwen and Gao Changfei trembled with fear whenever the Empress lost her temper, wishing they could fly out of the Kunning Palace.

“Your Majesty, the Sixth Prince requests an audience outside!”

Just then, a palace maid entered with the message.

The Sixth Prince, Gao Changsheng?

What is he doing here?

Gao Changwen and Gao Changfei simultaneously looked toward the Empress, both utterly bewildered.

“You two hide in the rear hall.”

“I’m curious myself what the Sixth Prince intends by coming to Kunning Palace.”

The Empress exhaled deeply, a faint smile appearing on her face.

The deep palace was filled with actors skilled in deceit.

Before long, Gao Changsheng entered the bedchamber, led by the palace maid.

Upon seeing the Empress, Gao Changsheng immediately bowed.

“I have come specially to pay my respects to Your Majesty.”

Gao Changsheng’s expression was calm.

The stratagem was effective.

Kunning Palace was a den of dragons and tigers; the woman before him was both fierce dragon and ferocious tiger.

Her terror rivaled even the Crown Prince’s.

One must never underestimate the Empress simply because she was a woman.

“Sixth Prince, you are courteous.”

“I recall you are twenty years old this year.”

“When was the last time you came to pay respects to me?”

The Empress spoke with apparent meaning.

Surprisingly, this question caught Gao Changsheng off guard.

Who would bother to remember the last time they felt uncomfortable enough to visit an old hag’s bedchamber?

“Your Majesty, you must be blaming me,” Gao Changsheng replied.

“When I was young, I was ignorant and lacked filial piety.”

“However, I fear I will have no chance to make up for it.”

“I am headed to the northern border, prepared to die in battle, and came to Kunning Palace only to bid farewell.”

“Please do not blame me for past mistakes.”

Gao Changsheng’s expression was heavy with melancholy.

Ha! Dying in battle.

A royal prince with a comfortable life choosing to go die on the northern border?

Unless Gao Changsheng’s brain had been kicked by a donkey, that would be madness.

“Do you mean to suggest that I am petty and narrow-minded?”

The Empress’s face darkened.

Unlike the Divine Martial Emperor, Gao Changsheng was the Emperor’s son, not hers.

Why should she feel pain for another’s child?

“Your Majesty, how could you say such a thing?”

“It is well known that Your Majesty is a kind mother, like all mothers, willing to do anything for her sons.”

Gao Changsheng smiled faintly.

“What… do you mean?”

The Empress was shrewd; she naturally heard the implication behind Gao Changsheng’s words.

“Anything for her sons.”

That was, of course, referring to Gao Changwen and Gao Changfei.

Yet the Empress’s real anxiety stemmed from the fact that the covert agents arranged by Gao Changwen and Gao Changfei had been discovered by Gao Changsheng.

And Gao Changsheng had come to Kunning Palace to confront her!

“What could I possibly mean?”

“Life is lived for only one purpose: to survive.”

“Like any mortal, I am bound by that too.”

Gao Changsheng smiled bitterly.

At these words, the Empress’s expression grew even graver.

She felt her suspicions were correct.

Gao Changsheng had found proof and come to confront her.

“What exactly do you want to say?”

The Empress asked in a low voice.

Suddenly, Gao Changsheng clasped his fists and bowed deeply.

“To survive, I must rely on Your Majesty.”

“If it weren’t for the Duke of Liang incident, where I was falsely accused and imprisoned by the Crown Prince, nearly sentenced to death…”

“Why would I go willingly to die on the northern border?”

“The Crown Prince wishes me dead, yet I have no means to resist.”

“Besides Your Majesty, I cannot think of anyone else who can save me.”

Gao Changsheng’s tone was sincere.

His words were part truth, part falsehood.

He was indeed falsely imprisoned, but it was not the Crown Prince’s doing.

He was implicated merely because of his close association with Dong Yu.

Otherwise, with the Crown Prince’s ruthlessness, he would never have left the prison alive.

But no matter; once Gao Changsheng suspected the Crown Prince, he could harbor any doubts he wished.

Plainly put: paranoia.

Even if the Crown Prince took a megaphone and swore he meant no harm, it would be no use.

He couldn’t very well cut out his own heart to prove it!

The Empress exhaled quietly, relieved.

So it had only been her scaring herself.

She had worried needlessly all this time!

“Sixth Prince, do not speak recklessly.”

“Falsely accusing the Crown Prince is a grave crime.”

“Moreover, you should report this matter to His Majesty, not come to a secluded palace lady like me.”

“I’m afraid you will be disappointed.”

The Empress shook her head.

If she agreed to anything after hearing a few words from Gao Changsheng, then she would be nothing but a fool.

Who could tell if Gao Changsheng was trying to trap her with his words?

“I am willing to help my two elder brothers overthrow the Crown Prince!”

Gao Changsheng raised his voice deliberately, leaving the Empress no chance to respond.

In an instant, her face turned pale with fright.

This boy was courting death!

If he wanted to die, why shout it out like that? Afraid no one would hear?

“Gao Changsheng, if you want to die, we don’t want to die!”

“You’ve never seen such a foolish idiot. Do you want to get us killed too?!”

Two extremely disreputable voices shouted from the rear hall.

Immediately, Gao Changwen and Gao Changfei stormed out, sleeves rolled up, ready to beat Gao Changsheng.

That was how terrifying his shout was.

“If others hear, so be it. If no one knows my intentions, how can I prove my loyalty to my two elder brothers?”

Gao Changsheng looked innocent.

“You, you… Mother just said you were cunning, but it seems she overestimated you.”

“Number Six, you truly are a schemer!”