“Father, are you alright?”

Several sons immediately asked with concern, though who knew how much of it was sincere?

“I’m fine!”

The Emperor was furious as he looked at his sons.

Look at Li Xiaocheng—before trouble arises, he prepares in advance; when something happens, he thinks of countermeasures; he handles affairs meticulously.

Then look at his own sons.

Useless! Just thinking about them gave him a headache.

Wait… he had another son, didn’t he? Could that one be capable?

The Emperor was deeply disappointed in them.

At that moment, Lin Chenglie entered with a team of guards, escorting two prisoners who were forced to kneel before the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, these two were lurking suspiciously outside the hall. I found them highly suspicious,” Lin Chenglie reported after saluting.

The Emperor, still shaken, sat back down and glanced at the Empress with concern.

Having been with him for many years, the Empress immediately understood his thoughts.

She smiled and shook her head, signaling that she was fine.

The Emperor was reassured, but when he turned his gaze to the men below, his eyes turned cold and piercing, as if he were looking at the dead.

“Investigate! Find out the truth! I want to know who conspired with outsiders to betray our country!”

The Emperor was enraged.

Tonight’s state banquet had nearly led to the fall of Xia Kingdom.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Commander Zhou Lei of the Imperial Guards accepted the order and immediately left to conduct the investigation.

[Wait, something’s wrong! Someone is missing! The Sixth Prince is gone! I didn’t notice earlier in the chaos, but now that things have settled down, I realize I haven’t seen him since the dance performance!]

[Could it be? Is the Sixth Prince launching his coup tonight? But in the storyline, wasn’t that supposed to happen a year later? Why did it happen early? Or… was he actually involved in the state banquet attack in the original timeline, but failed and remained undetected, waiting until next year when Li Xiaocheng was gravely injured before making his move?]

[That makes sense! No wonder the Sixth Prince seemed off today. He was testing the waters! If he succeeded, he could use the excuse that Qi Kingdom poisoned the Emperor to detain their envoy and pressure Qi into supporting his claim to the throne.]

[If he failed, he could just pretend he knew nothing and continue biding his time. That explains why he’s said to be the closest to the throne—he had two plans ready! But what is he doing now? Mobilizing troops?!]

Lin Yuxin scanned the hall, realizing the Sixth Prince was absent. Suddenly, the entire plot became clear to her.

The Emperor also noticed and his face darkened.

“Where is the Sixth Prince? Find him immediately!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The Imperial Guards prepared to leave and search for him. But before they could step out, they were forced back inside!

[Oh wow, this is happening for real?! The Sixth Prince is fast!]

The Sixth Prince stormed in with a battalion of soldiers, surrounding the hall.

The Imperial Guards immediately raised their weapons, preparing to fight.

“Father, I’ve come to rescue you!”

The Sixth Prince stepped forward, smirking as he looked at the Emperor.

“Qi’er, do you really want to do this?”

The Emperor’s gaze was ice-cold as he stared at his rebellious son.

“Father, what are you saying? I am here to rescue you!”

Cheng Lixiang feigned innocence, playing dumb.

“Hmph! Rescue me? Then tell me, is the man kneeling on the ground not from your residence?”

The Emperor pointed at one of the prisoners.

He had a vague impression of this man, having seen him twice before.

Eunuch Liu had also confirmed that this man was frequently seen in the Sixth Prince’s household.

Cheng Lixiang turned to look at the prisoner, and his face immediately paled.

Didn’t he already send this man away? How was he here?

The prisoner remained silent, his head lowered.

The Emperor spoke again.

“Now, what do you have to say? Do you still dare deny your involvement in this conspiracy?”

“Hahaha! So what if it was me? Father, you forced me to do this! I am your son, yet you never cared for me, never valued me! Just because my mother was a lowly servant? Father, you treat outsiders better than you treat me!”

Cheng Lixiang no longer denied it. He pointed at Li Xiaocheng with resentment and shouted at the Emperor.

“And that justifies your treason, your attempt to poison me?”

The Emperor frowned, his voice devoid of emotion, as if Cheng Lixiang’s actions were insignificant to him.

“No, Father, you misunderstand. I never intended to poison you, nor did I collude with foreign enemies. All I did was arrange for a dancer to be present. I wasn’t involved in anything else, so technically, I haven’t committed treason.”

Seeing his father’s indifference, Cheng Lixiang gave up pretending and spilled everything.

“I merely took advantage of the situation. I expected Jun Chenxi to act upon seeing Li Xiaocheng. Rumors say she is madly in love with him.”

“I simply fanned the flames when they made their move. My goal was only to eliminate Li Xiaocheng.”

“But things didn’t go as planned. Li Xiaocheng didn’t attend the tiger-taming event, so I suspected Jun Chenxi had another scheme. As expected, the dancers played their role.”

“While the dancers performed, I merely went to rally reinforcements. Since you were about to be subdued, and a kingdom cannot be without a ruler for even a day, I figured I would take over.”

Cheng Lixiang confessed everything.

“Father, you are now surrounded. As long as you agree to abdicate, I promise no harm will come to anyone here.”

Cheng Lixiang looked at the Emperor eagerly, revealing his final goal.

[So much talking! Isn’t this just about seizing the throne? Are they going to fight or not? It’s already late—I just want to go home and sleep. He won’t succeed anyway, so what’s with all the chatter?]

Hiding in the corner, Lin Yuxin was utterly bored by the Sixth Prince’s long speech and couldn’t help but complain internally.

The Emperor nearly lost his composure at her remark. Did this girl not realize what was happening? He was in the middle of being overthrown, and all she cared about was sleeping?!

The others had various reactions, but the Lin family members were sweating nervously.

Daughter (or Sister), now is really not the time to speak.

Lin Shaoyang quickly tugged Lin Yuxin’s arm, whispering, “Yuxin, help me, I feel dizzy.”

Lin Yuxin immediately snapped out of her thoughts. “What’s wrong, Second Brother?”

“I just feel a little lightheaded. Help support me.”

Lin Shaoyang pretended to be unwell, trying to distract her.

The Emperor, momentarily thrown off by the distraction, found his mood improving slightly. But he had no intention of wasting more time on this useless son.

He discreetly signaled to Li Xiaocheng.

Li Xiaocheng placed his fingers in his mouth and let out a sharp whistle. Immediately, the sounds of battle erupted outside.

“What’s happening? What’s going on?!”

Cheng Lixiang panicked.

One of his soldiers rushed in, reporting in distress, “Your Highness, our forces have been subdued!”

“What?!”

Cheng Lixiang felt a chill run through his body as he stumbled backward.

It was over.