The Elegant Dancing Years By Huo Li (火狸) | BL

Chapter 39 | The Prey

Fire? How could Han Ziqi be this crazy? At present, there were many concubines, princes and princesses in the tent. If he wanted to take his life, why was he doing so many things? Qi Mingyue was puzzled by his behaviour.

Noticing that Qi Xutian's expression remained unchanged, except for the initial surprise upon hearing the explosion, there wasn't even the slightest hint of worry. Qi Mingyue turned to look at An Ruolan in the cell and said lightly, "You knew he was going to do something, but you didn't stop him and even let him go. I wonder what exactly is your plan and where I come in the grand scheme of things? Could it be that I am not qualified enough to know your thoughts?"

Qi Xutian lowered him onto the ground, subsequently, both of them looked at each other.

After a long period of silence, Qi Xutian sighed, "I did know that he was going to break into the dungeon and I also knew that if he failed, he would surely endanger the lives of the princes in the tent. I just let him go without any hindrance."

Letting him go was as good as sacrificing the lives of the concubines and royal princes, and also quite possibly making the courtiers in the tent lose their lives. Qi Mingyue gazed at the indifference in his father's eyes and the cruel smile on his lips and found that as long as he wasn't hurt, his father didn't care at all about what would happen to the rest of the people.

Could it be that Father Emperor actually intended to use Han Ziqi to remove the harem?

Even Qi Mingyue was stunned by this speculation. Qi Xutian saw the look in his eyes and showed an expression of approval, "You really resemble me the most. You have guessed it, haven't you?"

"Why did you do this?" He didn't understand. Although the concubines of the harem often made father unhappy,  frequently did needless things and caused trouble, it wasn't enough for him to have the intent to remove them.

Qi Xutian looked at Han Ji, who was imprisoned next to An Ruolan’s cell, with a contemptuous sneer in his eyes. “Some people think that by murdering you, they will be able to control the harem and let their imperial prince attain the position of Crown Prince. Since that's the case, I will let her see clearly what happens to those who plot for things they don't deserve."

"Han Ji is colluding with An Yang, could it be that there is someone from An Yang in the harem?" If so, it wasn't difficult to imagine why Han Ji, who had never left Cang He, would obey An Yang's orders.

"Concubine Xiao is a person from An Yang, she thinks no one knows about it. She has always handled things cautiously in the harem, however, unfortunately for her, I knew her identity as early as when she entered the palace, that's why I wanted to use her son as bait to lure Jing Huang to show up. If he ended up losing his life in the process, I would have had the right to remove her; wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

It was only later that Father Emperor shifted his attention to him due to his speciality; this was why they were like this today. Qi Mingyue listened to him speak and found no trace of reluctance or compassion in his words, he seemed to have no tenderness for his own flesh and blood. He understood that even if more concubines died, or the princes and princesses lost their lives in the tent outside, Father would not feel moved. 

It seemed that until today, Han Ziqi still hadn't realized that he had unknowingly become a pawn to be manipulated at his Father's mercy. He still thought he was acting according to his own will.

"Father Emperor is truly good at this." Qi Mingyue finally revealed a smile. He didn't think there was anything wrong with Qi Xutian's approach. Naturally, one couldn't be soft-hearted when dealing with the enemy. It didn't matter whether it was a friend or foe, what mattered was to make the best use of what was available.