Isn't he afraid the Third Prince will sell him out?
Of course Ninth Royal Uncle is afraid, so...
The Third Prince will never get the chance. He won't give the Third Prince any opportunity to betray him.
After Ninth Royal Uncle finished negotiating with the Third Prince, he had Dominic Zhai's men guard the Third Prince and escort him into the palace. As for the unconscious Abbess Serenity, Ninth Royal Uncle stepped forward and finished her off with one more sword strike.
Not a single insider can be left alive. Ninth Royal Uncle came to Moonwatch Nunnery today and discovered the Third Prince's hideout purely by accident—everything was Dominic Zhai's achievement.
At most, he just suspected Moonwatch Nunnery and, for safety, called Dominic Zhai over. All the credit goes to Dominic Zhai—Ninth Royal Uncle Dongling gets none at all.
The rose fields are huge; there's no way to dig them all up tonight. But the Third Prince can't wait—at dawn, Dominic Zhai will lead his men to escort the Third Prince back to the city.
Ninth Royal Uncle and Serena Feng have nothing left to do here, so they leave with Dominic Zhai.
Once inside the city, Serena Feng and Dominic Zhai part ways. Dominic steps forward to thank her—after all, it's only because Serena was involved that he picked up such an easy great achievement.
Serena Feng rolls her eyes at him. "I'm only close with you. If I don't give you a chance to earn merit, who else would I give it to?"
Her words were blunt and honest. Dominic Zhai chuckled, "My grandfather says you act with strict method and that I should learn from you. But honestly, I think you have no method at all—you're just blatantly partial to your own people."
"So what if I play favorites? Who in this world doesn't? If someone is truly selfless, what are they doing in officialdom? They should just retire and go farm." Serena Feng yawned. "Enough talking, I'm tired. You'd better hurry to the palace—this is a big merit for you."
She just didn't know if this achievement would be enough to offset her 'crime' of 'killing' Concubine Su. If not, then she'd use the Phoenix Empress Hairpin one more time.
If the Emperor insisted on holding her responsible for Concubine Su's death, she would force him to hand over the Phoenix Empress Hairpin; if he let it go, she'd dedicate the hairpin at Ninth Royal Uncle's mother's memorial tablet. Either way, keeping the hairpin would only bring her trouble in the end.
Ninth Royal Uncle didn't go to the palace with Dominic Zhai, nor did he escort Serena Feng home. Instead, he went straight back to the Ninth Prince Manor. Serena understood he still had aftermath to handle, so she didn't cling and just went home herself.
Men with strong career ambitions are always like this—she was used to it by now.
The moment she stepped through the door, the steward said William Wang Jinling had waited for her all morning and had just left...
Talk about bad timing.
"Did Young Master Wang say what he wanted?"
"Young Master Wang just wanted to see you, Miss. In fact, he came yesterday too. When he heard you'd gone out of town to view flowers with Ninth Royal Uncle, he left, saying to send word when you returned. But you didn't come home all night, so we didn't notify him. This morning he came again, waited until just now, and only left because the Wang family sent for him." The steward, recalling William's worried and disappointed look as he left, couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
Young Master Wang is like a banished immortal—how could their Miss bear to ignore him?
"As long as everything's fine, just send word to Young Master Wang that I've returned safely. If he wants to see me, tell him to come later. I'm exhausted and need sleep." Staying up all night was nothing new, but after last night's ordeal, Serena Feng was truly worn out.
Meanwhile, after Serena Feng collapsed onto her bed, Dominic Zhai delivered the Third Prince to the palace. The Emperor gave Dominic a few casual words of praise, then rushed off, eager to see the Third Prince.
The two brothers hadn't seen each other in over twenty years. This meeting would likely be their last. As the victor, the Emperor was desperate to flaunt his triumph, to trample the Third Prince underfoot and make him kneel and beg for mercy.
But the Emperor's hopes were dashed. After confirming it was really the Third Prince, he said, "Third Brother, I never thought I'd see you again."
The Third Prince barely managed to say 'Elder Brother' before—just as the words left his mouth—there was a sudden twang, and a hidden arrow shot out of nowhere, plunging straight into his throat...
Blood spurted out with a sickening sound...
"Thi—"
The sudden turn of events left the Emperor pale with fright. The palace maids and eunuchs rushed forward in a swarm, shielding him tightly in the center. "Protect His Majesty! Protect His Majesty! Hurry!"
"Ugh..." The Third Prince clutched at his collar, his pupils dilating sharply. He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but only managed a few garbled words no one could understand. By the time the Imperial Guards burst in, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the floor with a thud.
Snap—Ninth Royal Uncle finished writing the last character and broke his pen. "Third Brother, rest in peace. I will definitely fulfill your last wish."
Ninth Royal Uncle would never give the Third Prince a chance to betray him, and he disdained to dirty his own hands on the road. He wanted to give both the Emperor and the Third Prince hope, then take it away. After all, what's more shocking than meeting face to face, with so much to say, only for the other to die before a word can be spoken?
"Emperor, seeing your Third Royal Brother die right in front of you, how does it feel?"
After taking Serena Feng's Phoenix Empress Hairpin, there had to be some price to pay. He'd said his appetite was huge—one Concubine Su was nowhere near enough to quench his anger.
Seeing the Third Prince die right before his eyes, the Emperor broke out in a cold sweat. He suddenly felt surrounded by danger—if that arrow had been aimed at him, he'd be dead now.
The Emperor is the most death-fearing man in the world. He ordered a thorough investigation of the assassin, refusing to let any suspect go. That very night, the Emperor fell ill. With that, he lost all interest in pursuing Concubine Su's death or picking a fight with Serena Feng.
No matter how much the Emperor liked his favorite concubine, her value couldn't compare to his own life and throne. The Third Prince's death made him realize not only his life but his entire kingdom was unstable...
The Emperor's timely illness gave Ninth Royal Uncle plenty of time to recover from his injuries and handle all the Third Prince's unfinished business.
This time, the Third Prince didn't play any tricks. Ninth Royal Uncle's men took the military command token and smoothly took over the hundred thousand troops. As for the Third Prince's trusted officers in the army, Ninth Royal Uncle gave them no chance to surrender—he ordered them all killed.
Although Ninth Royal Uncle never thought the Third Prince had the makings of a true ruler, he had to admit the Third Prince secretly built up quite a following. Many were loyal and talented, but Nolan still refused to keep them.
Followers who are willing to betray—if they could betray the Third Prince today, they could betray him tomorrow. And those who would never betray? What use were they to him? Even if he was short on capable generals, he'd never use anyone who might turn on him.
With Ninth Royal Uncle's men smoothly taking command of the Third Prince's troops, Shandong's internal chaos finally subsided. After a month of negotiation, the peace terms between Tyre City and the Southern Lyn Kingdom were also settled...