Chapter 68

The next day, at the morning court session.

Emperor Yong heard that Sheng Mingcheng and Sheng Xiuran from the Qingguo Mansion had not yet been captured, and he couldn’t help but rage.

“Useless! They’re just two kids. How could they have grown wings and flown away!”

Now there were various rumors circulating in the capital, all believing that Old Fox Sheng Qishan must have left some tricks up his sleeve, such as handing over the list to Sheng Mingcheng to let him plot a way out.

“Increase the manpower! We must capture Sheng Mingcheng and bring him back to me!”

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In the Eastern Suburbs Villa, Sheng Xiuran slowly opened her eyes and saw her brother standing firmly outside the door.

Her heart suddenly tightened, hastily put on her shoes, and walked up to him, only to see Sheng Mingcheng’s eyes full of bloodshot veins, dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept all night.

“Brother!”

Sheng Xiuran called out in distress, but the next moment her stomach growled loudly.

She was too hungry.

Since yesterday morning’s meal, she hadn’t eaten anything.

Sheng Mingcheng slowly turned his head, his voice icy with despair.

“Sister, he won’t come. He deliberately abandoned us here to fend for ourselves.”

“He’s so heartless. Isn’t taking the list enough? Why torture us like this?”

“He knows how much you admire him. Even if he refuses to treat me well, why can’t he treat you well?”

“My sister, who is so beautiful and talented, is there anywhere she doesn’t deserve…”

Upon hearing this, Sheng Xiuran’s heart suddenly ached, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

Sheng Mingcheng tightly grasped Sheng Xiuran’s hand, his eyes red with blood, almost bursting with anger.

“Sister, don’t think about him anymore. He doesn’t care about you at all. Saving you back then, I’m afraid it was also part of his plan!”

“This person is so scheming, even Grandfather was deceived by him. Who knows if Tan Hanchi was also rescued by him? The whole thing was planned by him!”

That night, Sheng Mingcheng had thought a lot.

The Second Prince seemed to have deliberately approached them from the beginning, just to overthrow their Qingguo Mansion and get that crucial list to control the officials above!

Now their livelihood was cut off, with no food, no money, he and his sister couldn’t survive!

Shen Yuanbai had always wanted them siblings dead. Sheng Mingcheng had been miserable for half his life, but now he would rather die than let Shen Yuanbai get away with it!

Sheng Xiuran trembled uncontrollably all over. In fact, she had been tossing and turning all night, turning over the past events in her mind, and had already had a vague feeling.

“Brother, what should we do? What should we do?”

Sheng Mingcheng gently patted Sheng Xiuran’s hand, pretending to be relaxed. “Don’t be afraid, sister. Brother will go find something for you to eat. You wait here.”

Sheng Xiuran couldn’t bear it anymore. She hesitated and nodded, “Brother, then you must come back soon.”

Sheng Mingcheng nodded with a smile, and as he turned to leave, his face was filled with a sinister and hateful expression, almost as if possessed.

Shen Yuanbai, you’d better give us siblings a way out, or I’ll drag you to die with me!

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Just as Sheng Mingcheng left the villa, Qiao Zhongguo received news.

Qiao Tianjing stood up excitedly, “Is everything ready? Have you memorized the lines?”

The black-clothed men respectfully replied, “Yes, Young Master. Everything is ready!”

Qiao Tianjing clapped his hands suddenly, “Good! No matter what, we must make sure Sheng Mingcheng hears those words!”

“Yes!”

After sneaking out of the Eastern Suburbs Villa, Sheng Mingcheng saw the wanted posters posted at the city gate from a distance.

His heart suddenly jumped, knowing that things at the Qingguo Mansion must be bad.

Now to blend into the city, he could only use extreme methods…

Sheng Mingcheng had never been so miserable in his life. He smeared mud on his face and hair, and exchanged clothes with a beggar from the East Temple.

In the past, Sheng Mingcheng would have kicked a beggar as soon as he saw one, but now, in order to save his life, he had to endure the nauseating stench.

He changed clothes while retching in the corner of the East Temple, but the conversation of the beggars caught his attention.

“Wow, it’s really miserable!”

“Isn’t it? I could hear the Qingguo Mansion crying out to the heavens and the earth. Yesterday afternoon, the prince and his wife were dragged away to be executed!”

“If you didn’t see it, when the knife came down, blood sprayed three feet away!”

Upon hearing this, Sheng Mingcheng felt dizzy and almost fell to the ground.

He crawled over to the beggar, trembling, and asked, “Executed? They’ve been executed?”

The beggar kicked him disdainfully, “Get lost!”

“If you’re talking about the Qingguo Mansion, they’ve all been executed! The Emperor personally appointed the Second Prince to oversee it. Even the Qingguo Mansion was raided by the Second Prince’s men!”

“Wow, there were so many chests of gold and silver. I wonder how much the Qingguo Mansion embezzled. Fortunately, the Second Prince enforced justice!”

“Don’t mention it, the Second Prince is really handsome. The prince and his wife knelt before him, begging for mercy, crying their hearts out, but it didn’t affect His Highness’s demeanor at all!”

“Tsk tsk tsk, it looks like the Second Prince is capable of handling things. He’s going to be promoted, isn’t he?”

“Haha, the Qingguo Mansion deserved it. They died well and deserved it!”

These words were actually full of loopholes to the discerning ear. After all, ordinary beggars could barely make ends meet, so how could they understand the affairs of the court?

The Qiao family’s undercover guards disguised as beggars also questioned this, but Qiao Tianjing insisted on it and insisted on saying so.

He was confident that Sheng Mingcheng had already developed hatred towards the Second Prince. He might still want to survive, so he might try to negotiate with the Second Prince.

If they were to meet, the matter of the list might be exposed.

So what needed to be done now was to further incite Sheng Mingcheng, to burn away his rationality and fill him with hatred!

Therefore, the more heroic and triumphant the Second Prince was portrayed, and the more miserable the Qingguo Mansion was depicted, the more it could resonate with Sheng Mingcheng.

This move was called: Attack the heart!

Everything was just as Qiao Tianjing expected. At this moment, Sheng Mingcheng couldn’t distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Just the thought that his parents had been beheaded, and by the Second Prince’s own supervision, drove him completely insane!

Shen Yuanbai, how dare he!

How dare he walk on the blood of the entire Qingguo Mansion to ascend to power!

Even if Sheng Mingcheng died, he wouldn’t let him get away with it!

Thinking of this, Sheng Mingcheng’s eyes turned bloodshot, and he ran out in a daze.

The undercover guard, seeing that a few words had driven Sheng Mingcheng mad, couldn’t help but be amazed.

Young Master, you’re truly amazing…

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In the bustling street, a beggar couldn’t attract much attention, especially one covered in mud and emitting a foul odor. The Jinwu Guards would avoid him when they saw him.

Sheng Mingcheng staggered to the entrance of the Qingguo Mansion.

Looking up, he saw that the majestic plaque had been removed, and two square seals were posted on the main door. There were faint dried black bloodstains on the steps.

Sheng Mingcheng’s heart trembled violently, tears of regret and despair streaming down his face.

Life is like a dream, like smoke. It was too late, everything was too late…

He turned around desolately, and in that direction… was the Dengwen Drum Tower!