Chapter 67 - 64: The Collapsing Dear Son, Worthy of Proper Comfort

Chapter 67: Chapter 64: The Collapsing Dear Son, Worthy of Proper Comfort

The Yu Kingdom was not without precedents of dynasties nearly collapsing due to succession struggles.

He dared to play this game because no matter how fiercely the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince fought, it would never affect the foundation of the state.

Because neither of them could ever ascend the throne!

To outsiders, those two were peerless talents, dragons among men.

But in Zhao Huan’s eyes, they were nothing more than pawns to seize the foundations of the great clans!

And not just them!

You!

Me!

In Zhao Huan’s eyes, we are all pawns!"

Zhao Ci: "..."

His eyes were turning red.

His expression was filled with anguish.

Yet, he still managed to say, "I don’t believe you!"

His voice was loud, but it reeked of insecurity.

Gu Xiangzhu sighed inwardly. ’Zhao Ci is more pitiful than I thought.’

In a single day.

He had discovered his mother was an imposter.

And his father, the Emperor, was far from the benevolent figure he had imagined—in fact, he was utterly ruthless.

No one could face such a reality calmly.

She pointed to the stone bed. "This is the altar where your father forcibly took the internal organs of those Princes! I presided over every single organ-swapping ceremony, with Eunuch Li acting as Dharma Protector. If you still don’t believe me, then I can show you this."

With that, she waved her right hand.

All the candles were extinguished.

Instantly, the secret chamber was plunged into darkness.

Gu Xiangzhu condensed a clear light at her fingertip and waved it casually. A few of the countless jade stones embedded in the walls and ceiling began to glow faintly.

Zhao Ci’s heart clenched. He had felt that the Array was familiar when he first arrived—it was basically the one required for the organ-swapping ceremony, but it seemed a bit bloated. Now, seeing these few jade stones, he understood exactly what the bloat was.

’These jade stones aren’t part of the main Array at all.’

’That little vixen left a trick up her sleeve for Old Deng.’

’What are they for?’

The light from the jade stones grew brighter, soon projecting downward and forming a series of images.

Each of these figures was more familiar to Zhao Ci than the last.

Old Deng!

The little vixen!

Eunuch Li!

And the Second Prince, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

’Holy shit!’

’A recording?’

’A holographic recording, no less?’

Zhao Ci was stunned.

Gu Xiangzhu pulled a yellowed booklet from her robes, opened it to the first page, and handed it to Zhao Ci.

Zhao Ci took it and looked, feeling his scalp tingle.

[Organ Donor Name]: Zhao Qi

[Organ Recipient Name]: Zhao Huan

[Recipient Age]: Forty-five years old

[Organ Replaced]: Spleen

[Materials Required]: Blood Earth Essence, Profound Turtle Spleen, Extremely Yin Soil...

[Procedure]: Step 1, dissolve Blood Earth Essence with mercury and apply to the spleen for a quarter of an hour; Step 2...

[Note]: This is the target’s first organ transplant, and the spleen has sustained major trauma. One should...

’This kind of precise and methodical experimental design...’

As a former research grunt, Zhao Ci absolutely loved it. ’I never thought this Demon Sect woman would have so many tricks up her sleeve.’

His expression remained grim.

His gaze returned to the projections.

At this moment, Zhao Huan and Zhao Qi were each lying on a stone bed. Zhao Huan’s eyes were wide open and he was fully conscious, a sharp glint occasionally flashing in them. He clearly did not yet fully trust Gu Xiangzhu.

Zhao Qi, on the other hand, was unconscious. There was no pain on his face; he seemed to be merely in a deep sleep.

Eunuch Li stood guard by Zhao Huan’s side, watching Gu Xiangzhu warily, ready to strike at the first sign of trouble.

Gu Xiangzhu, however, remained calm and composed, preparing the ritual at an unhurried pace. After she applied the Mercury Blood Earth Essence, profound Divine Patterns uncontrollably surfaced over Zhao Huan’s spleen.

Then came Zhao Qi.

The two men’s Divine Patterns were very similar, yet there were some differences.

"Do you see? Are those the Divine Patterns of your Zhao Clan?"

Gu Xiangzhu asked with a faint smile.

Zhao Ci nodded. Although he was far from reaching that level himself, it wasn’t difficult for him to understand the basics.

Gu Xiangzhu continued, explaining to herself as much as to him, "Your Zhao Clan sub-cultivates the Earth Divine Treasure. At its peak, this practice is enough to condense an Earth Grade Divine Pattern. With enough luck, a Celestial Grade Divine Pattern isn’t impossible. The Innate Divine Techniques awakened through this method can borrow the power of the earth’s ley lines to bolster army formations, which is why the Zhao Clan produces so many fierce generals."

The Dian Nan Yang Clan, the Xiangxi Tan Clan, and the Ba Shu Zhuge are also skilled in cultivating the Earth Divine Treasure.

Zhao Qi’s mother was from the Ba Shu Zhuge, so he naturally learned much of the Zhuge Clan’s essence. The Zhuge are adept at using the earth to create arrays to trap and kill enemy forces.

Therefore, the Earth Element Divine Pattern he cultivated was not the orthodox version of either clan, but a hybrid that combined their strengths. It was nearly the most perfect Earth Element Divine Pattern I have seen in recent years.

But... now it belongs to Zhao Huan."

Zhao Ci: "..."

He had heard Zhao Qi’s story. Back when he, the Crown Prince, and the Fourth Prince were all granted their own mansions, Zhao Qi didn’t start a business or investigate cases. He immediately rushed to the border, accumulating merits purely through military achievements. He once used the power of his own Prince’s Mansion to trap and annihilate a thousand-strong cavalry troop of Longyuan Barbarians who had come south to plunder.

He was a truly top-tier badass.

But now... he just lies around his Prince’s Mansion day after day, drinking himself into a stupor, a complete and utter wreck.

Zhao Ci swallowed hard and continued watching the scene in the projection. The organ-swapping ceremony looked bizarre and terrifying, like a ritual to some Evil God, but thankfully, there were no particularly gory scenes.

After a series of complicated steps, the Divine Pattern on Zhao Qi’s spleen was completely stripped away. It merged into Zhao Huan’s spleen, along with a ball of earthy-yellow essence.

At this point, only the final steps of the organ-swapping ceremony remained.

And it was from this moment that Zhao Qi was completely crippled.

After everything was over, the projection flickered and went out for a moment.

When it reappeared, it was a new organ-swapping ceremony.

This time, it was the Third Prince.

Zhao Ci’s face paled, his expression dazed. Beads of nervous sweat broke out on his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to keep watching.

Another ceremony passed.

He was just standing there, doing nothing, yet he felt utterly exhausted, to the point he could barely stay on his feet.

Another one ended.

He propped himself up with his hands on his knees, his face as white as a sheet, his back soaked with sweat.

Yet another concluded.

He was now sitting on the ground, his eyes vacant, but he continued to stare numbly at the images before him.

The fifth, the sixth...

Just as the final ceremony was about to be shown.

"Stop!"

"I’m not watching!"

"Turn those images off!"

"Turn them off!"

"I told you to turn them off!"

Zhao Ci’s voice was utterly shrill as he roared at Gu Xiangzhu like a beast caught in a trap.

Gu Xiangzhu knew she had achieved her goal, so she dispersed the projections.

She then slowly knelt down, patted his shoulder gently, and spoke in a soft but bewitching voice, "You don’t have to be so despairing. Not everyone in this palace has abandoned you."

Although I am not your mother, I did watch you grow up.

We are by no means enemies. I have never harmed you, and while you may be wary of me, you have never harmed me either.

In some ways, our interests are even aligned.

You... are not all alone."

Her words seemed to be the final straw that broke Zhao Ci.

"Waaaah..."

Zhao Ci threw himself into her arms and began to wail his heart out.

’This woman...’

’She’s so bouncy!’

He used to hate drama queens the most.

But now, he had become the very thing he hated.

’Acting really is useful!’

He had reached a point where even he couldn’t tell what was real anymore.

After such a heart-wrenching performance, it seemed he couldn’t pull himself out of it.

’Mainly because this Demon Sect woman is just so... accommodating. How could anyone pull away?’

Gu Xiangzhu: "???"