CHAPTER 679: CHAPTER 561

Then, Emperor Liang looked at his three dear sons.

"My eldest son, you seem just a bit too impatient."

Prince Jin’s face turned pale, and he gravely said, "Father! I acted recklessly, I implore you to punish me! But my filial devotion to you is as clear as day, without any transgression!"

Under Emperor Liang’s sharp gaze, Prince Rui and King Qi lowered their heads, not daring to breathe loudly.

Emperor Liang said, "You should be grateful to be my sons. Go back to the Prince’s Mansion and reflect. Without my decree, you’re not allowed to step out of the mansion!"

Is this... a house arrest?

The three simultaneously looked towards Lu Zhaoyan.

The Crown Prince ascended smoothly, taking over the Emperor’s Personal Guard, while they fell from the clouds to the abyss.

After all their hard work, they ended up making a wedding dress for the Crown Prince Mansion.

How hateful!

Lu Zhaoyan said to Emperor Liang, "Father, let me accompany my second and third brothers."

Emperor Liang turned and entered the Imperial Study Room.

Lu Zhaoyan descended the steps, giving the three a slight smile: "Second brother, third brother, let’s go."

This dismissive tone made the three turn red with anger.

The once disregarded second brother not only turned the tables but also arrogantly placed himself above them.

It was their fault for misjudging and guarding against the wrong person!

Prince Jin flung his sleeves and left.

King Qi coldly said, "Second brother, no need to see us off. After all, we know each other well, no need for pretenses."

Lu Zhaoyan smiled at Prince Rui, "Third brother? Do you also not need me to see you off?"

"Farewell,"

Prince Rui said perfunctorily and rushed out without looking back.

King Qi snorted coldly and also left.

Lu Zhaoyan sighed, "In the future, don’t trust your own people too much."

Prince Jin furrowed his brows, did not linger, and headed to Consort Hu’s chamber.

Consort Hu was greatly frightened and still unconscious.

Prince Jin inquired with her personal female official.

The official recounted everything that happened in the pavilion without any omission.

Upon reflecting on Lu Zhaoyan’s "reminder", several people came to a bold conjecture.

Prince Rui said, "Elder brother, could it really be the Empress?"

The news of Father being under house arrest was told to them by the Empress. The assassin was caught in the Empress’s Kunning Palace, and at that time, both the Empress and Consort Hu were in the pavilion, so why was the assassin taking the Consort?

"The Empress has defected to the Crown Prince Mansion, joined with Lu Zhaoyan, and set a trap for us!"

Prince Rui clenched his fist, "That’s the most logical explanation."

He sneered, "Thinking about it, Lu Zhaoyan has no one backing him. In the future, he’ll surely need the support of the Empress’s family. If elder brother ascends the throne, the Hu family benefits the most, and the Empress gains little."

King Qi gritted his teeth, "Too outrageous! We trusted her so much, yet she betrayed us!"

Prince Jin looked at the unconscious Consort Hu, his eyes darkening.

-

News within the Imperial Palace spreads quickly.

The Empress had just reached the gates of Kunning Palace when she heard the report from the palace attendants.

Her expression changed.

Princess Consort Chen, supported by Qing’er, strolled up slowly.

She hadn’t gone far earlier.

She casually said, "It seems this move of the chess game, the Empress has again played it wrong."

The Empress’s chest heaved slightly, years of the matriarchal dignity suppressed the panic rising in her heart.

She glared at Princess Consort Chen, then turned and entered Kunning Palace.

-

Emperor Liang looked at a corpse with a pierced head in the Imperial Study Room, an unconscious old eunuch, a beaten-up brother-in-law, a nonchalant one-eyed in-law, and the seemingly docile yet cunning eldest grandson, and then moved his gaze away expressionlessly.

He looked at Meng Qianqian beside the Miao King, "Are you my grandaughter-in-law?"

Duke Jiang said, "What grandaughter-in-law? She’s the Phoenix Girl! Your eldest grandson hasn’t even married her yet!"

Emperor Liang told Lu Yuan, "Then stop staring at her!"

Lu Yuan gazed at the sky.

Emperor Liang rubbed the back of his head: "Why does my head hurt so much?"

The Miao King discreetly kicked the stick under the table.

Lu Yuan looked at him speechlessly.

The Miao King muttered, "What are you looking at? I only hit him once! You have no idea how hard it was to hold him down!"

Lu Yuan said, "But you can’t beat someone until they’re senseless."

The Miao King glared at him, "It was the unbinding of the Gu! It was supposed to take three days gradually, but today’s emergency destroyed his Heart-devouring Gu all of a sudden, and it had long become one with him. It’s light that he didn’t become a complete fool."

Lu Yuan: "Why didn’t you say so earlier?"

The Miao King: "Well, you weren’t here. I was going to tell you."

Lu Yuan further asked, "When will he recover?"

The Miao King glanced at Emperor Liang, "Can’t say for others, but for him, maybe a day or two."

Damn, really don’t want this guy to be so strong!

Normally, losing memory suddenly makes a person panic, but Emperor Liang remarkably managed to see through the trick.

Indeed, upon discovering that Emperor Liang didn’t remember who he was, the Miao King immediately bluffed, "You’re my brother."

Emperor Liang merely glanced at him and said, "You’re lying, I am..."

A slip of the tongue made him realize his own identity.

The Miao King shook his leg.

Annoying, isn’t it!

Meng Qianqian, holding a brocade box, stepped forward and presented it with her hands, "Your Majesty, this is the Gu worm taken from your right wrist."

Emperor Liang looked at his right wrist wrapped in bandages, and with two fingers lifted the Heart-devouring Gu, a familiar sensation arose.

He placed the dead Gu worm back into the box, "What Gu is this?"

Meng Qianqian closed the brocade box, "Heart-devouring Gu, originally used to treat those with deranged minds, later was used by those with ill intentions as a means to manipulate minds."

Emperor Liang asked, "Have I done anything to you?"

Meng Qianqian paused, not expecting Emperor Liang to ask such a question.

She smiled slightly, "Your Majesty resisted the control of the Heart-devouring Gu and did not harm those you cared about."

Emperor Liang still showed no excess emotion.

Seeing he didn’t speak, Meng Qianqian gently asked, "Is Your Majesty worried about not recovering memory? It’s just the aftermath of unbinding the Gu, Your Majesty will remember everything."

What Emperor Liang cared about wasn’t that: "Who administered the Gu on me?"

Meng Qianqian replied deliberately, "Pavilion Master of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, Gongsun Yanming."

Emperor Liang asked dubiously, "Sounds like someone from earthly society, how did he manage such a thing?"

Meng Qianqian hadn’t figured out how to answer this question.

After all, they hadn’t expected the unbinding to have such a strong aftermath, causing Emperor Liang to forget his past experiences.

The Miao King impolitely snorted, "Because you’re blind and made him the State Preceptor!"

Duke Jiang drew a sharp breath, from now on, Master Liu is his sworn brother!

Meng Qianqian immediately stood in front of the Miao King, "Your Majesty, you’ve just unbound the Gu, perhaps it’s better to rest for the night and wait for your memory to recover by morning."

"No need, to distinguish loyalty from treachery doesn’t require those things."

Emperor Liang said sternly, "Summon Gongsun Yanming!"