"What... What exactly is happening?" Emperor Xia's expression changed, the Phoenix is known as an auspicious Divine Bird, it's known all over the world that it would never attack anyone if Yao Concubine truly descended as a Goddess. Thus, this so-called Goddess claim of Yao Concubine must be false.

"Your Majesty, Yao Concubine impersonated a Goddess, invoking divine wrath, hence, the Divine Bird Phoenix was sent. In my view," Ye Lingyue continued, unperturbed upon seeing Yao Concubine's death, merely casting a fleeting glance at Hong Fang, "there must be yet other hidden reasons for the Phoenix's refusal to leave."

Caught off-guard by the sudden change in events, Hong Fang's plans were completely disrupted, now with a stiff expression on his face.

Seeing Hong Fang's appearance brought sheer delight to Ye Lingyue.

You can't bear it already, Hong Fang? The worse is yet to come. The suffering you inflicted upon my mother and me, I will gradually return it back to you.

As if agreeing with Ye Lingyue's words, right after she finished speaking, the colorful Phoenix perched above the Lan Residence flapped its wings and flew towards a certain direction in Xia Capital.

Ye Lingyue quickly followed, Emperor Xia hesitated before deciding to chase after it with the Imperial Army.

By this time, Lan Yingwu had also changed into his armor.

"Lord Grand Protector, this time you are bound to be disappointed. It turns out the demon is someone else."

After saying this, Lan Yingwu burst into laughter and chased after Emperor Xia, leaving Hong Fang stunned in place for a moment. He did not even glance at Yao Concubine on the ground, and followed Lan Yingwu as well.

He felt uneasy, constantly feeling as though he had fallen into a trap set by Ye Lingyue, unable to extricate himself.

But now that things have reached this point, reversing the situation was impossible.

Emperor Xia and the others followed the Divine Bird Phoenix through most of Xia Capital, until it disappeared in front of a luxurious mansion.

At the gate, two guards looked up and were startled to see the Imperial Army.

"How dare you! This is the Crown Prince's private residence; no commoners are allowed near."

"How come I wasn't aware that the Crown Prince has such a luxurious private residence?" The Imperial Army parted, and Emperor Xia stepped forward.

This mansion looked extremely luxurious, yet Emperor Xia had never heard Crown Prince Hong mention it.

Noble Princess Consort Luo had just had a miscarriage, and yet, as the royal son, the Crown Prince was not accompanying her in the Palace but was indulging himself in this villa, which greatly displeased Emperor Xia.

Outside the villa, Crown Prince Hong's carriage was parked, clearly indicating that Crown Prince Hong was inside.

When the two guards saw Emperor Xia, they exchanged glances, one of them about to loudly signal the inside.

Lan Yingwu rushed forward in one step, grabbed the two guards, and choked their necks.

The Phoenix loitered above the villa, reluctant to disperse, and with a wave of his hand, Emperor Xia commanded the Imperial Army to storm in.

Not long after entering the courtyard, Emperor Xia heard the crying of a child.

That sound, the more he listened, the more disturbing it became.

"How reckless, didn't I say no one is allowed here?" Crown Prince Hong shouted angrily when he heard the door open, but upon seeing who the visitors were, the anger on his face instantly faded away.

What he saw, Emperor Xia burst in with the Imperial Army.

Crown Prince Hong was disheveled, holding a continuously crying child in his arms.

The child's clothes had already been stripped off, lying at the feet of Crown Prince Hong, along with some scattered candles and whips.

What truly enraged Emperor Xia beyond control was that the child's face looked exactly like the Sixth Prince when he was younger.

Regarding Crown Prince Hong's peculiar predilections, Emperor Xia, as a father, had heard about it but always refused to believe it. Today, however, he saw it with his own eyes. Emperor Xia felt a surge of blood rush to his forehead and he kicked Crown Prince Hong.

"Beast!"

"Father, Father, listen to my explanation," Crown Prince Hong tried to explain.

"Your Majesty, we found over a dozen children detained in the other residence, and there were also... several children's corpses in the fish pond of the other residence." Lan Yingwu, leading another group of the Imperial Army, also rushed in.

Lan Yingwu had no idea that this place was actually the Crown Prince's other residence, nor did he expect that Crown Prince Hong would have such a detestable predilection.

These children, all under ten years old, were long-term captives in the other residence for Crown Prince's despicable amusement. Due to the power of the Crown Prince, their parents dared not come forward to make trouble.

If not for Emperor Xia himself coming today, who knows how many innocent children in Xia Capital would have fallen victim to Crown Prince Hong.

"Seize this beast and lock him up in the Heavenly Prison," Emperor Xia trembled with fury. "General Lan, immediately order a decree to the officials, I want the Crown Prince deposed!"

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger, there's something fishy about this, the Crown Prince might have been framed," Hong Fang arrived and saw Crown Prince Hong collapsed on the ground, and quickly knelt to plead for mercy.

"Foul play? Lord Grand Protector, as the teacher of the Crown Prince, you have seen that he abducts children, molests them, and even plots murder. With both the culprit and the stolen goods caught red-handed, what else could be suspicious? Or do you think those children under ten would conspire to frame him!" Lan Yingwu sarcastically said.

In the courtyard, the cries of the children grew even louder.

"Hong Fang, you have failed in your guidance, the Crown Prince is lawless, and you as a role model knew nothing. As of today, remove the title of Grand Protector Hong Fang, and half a year's salary will be fined," Emperor Xia thought of those young children and the rotting corpses retrieved from the pond, he cursed Hong Fang heavily in his anger.

A demon, indeed a demon.

He, the great Daxia, had actually set such a beast like Xia Houhong as the Crown Prince.

Emperor Xia was determined; this time, no matter what, he would deal with Xia Houhong.

Finally it dawned.

When Hong Fang walked out of the Crown Prince's other residence, it felt almost like waking from a dream.

Lifting his head, Hong Fang saw Ye Lingyue standing outside the other residence.

Next to her, nestled a boy who looked very similar to the Sixth Prince.

The boy clung to Ye Lingyue's arm, and upon seeing the stern-faced Hong Fang, immediately retreated into Ye Lingyue's embrace, as if it were the safest haven.

Upon seeing Hong Fang, a hint of mockery flashed in Ye Lingyue's eyes.

"It was indeed you, you framed the Crown Prince, Ye Lingyue, how vicious your heart is!" Hong Fang gritted his teeth to spit out these words.

Hong Fang had painstakingly worked for over a decade to push Xia Houhong onto the throne of the Crown Prince.

Yet all these years of hard work vanished overnight.

Even though Emperor Xia had already ordered to keep the Crown Prince's vile acts under wraps, the scandal of the Crown Prince molesting boys and killing several innocent children was bound to leak out eventually.

"Ha~ Grand Protector... no, rather, 'former' Grand Protector is more accurate. Speaking of viciousness, how could I possibly compare to you, my lord. Four Great Noble Marquis together, falsely accusing a helpless woman, joining hands with Yao Concubine to frame me, alas, it backfired," Ye Lingyue sneered coldly.