Chapter 658: Don’t Think I’ll Be Grateful to You

With that thought, the Beili Emperor walked toward Sang Zhi.

"Your Majesty, you mustn’t," the young eunuch cried, trying to block his path.

The Beili Emperor shoved the eunuch aside and went straight for Sang Zhi.

The approaching figure reflected in Sang Zhi’s crimson eyes. His aura flared, even more intense than before. Without a moment’s hesitation, he lunged at the Beili Emperor with his dagger.

"Your Majesty!"

Du Zhong dodged an attack from Xiang Minghou and spun around, rushing toward the Beili Emperor.

Sang Zhi’s aura surged with violent power. As his dagger descended, it seemed to carry an invisible force. Du Zhong parried with his longsword, but the dagger’s edge landed squarely on the hilt.

CRACK

A deep crack split across the hilt of Du Zhong’s sword.

Startled, Du Zhong flicked his longsword, sending Sang Zhi’s dagger flying. His gaze lingered for a moment on the damaged hilt before he frowned, his eyes fixed on the staggering Eighth Prince.

Xiang Minghou seized the opening, lunging forward.

"Stop!" Dean Chen seized the opportune moment, placing himself in front of Du Zhong and the Beili Emperor.

Xiang Minghou’s long saber stopped a mere finger’s breadth from Dean Chen’s neck. His eyes blazed with murderous intent. "Move aside."

"Xiang Minghou, come to your senses! Don’t do something you can’t take back." Seeing that he had paused, Dean Chen reached out and gripped the blade of his saber.

Zhan Yi also rushed forward. "Xiang Minghou, don’t be impulsive! Don’t be impulsive!"

"I am perfectly clear-headed. My daughter died a horrible death, and I will make them pay in blood."

"The Emperor has already ordered Consort Yuan’s exile to the frontier. If you want to kill her, you should go to the Ministry of Justice, not storm the Imperial Palace," Zhan Yi said, his mind racing.

"I..."

"Consort Yuan hasn’t left the city yet. She’s at the Ministry of Justice," Zhan Yi said, gripping his arm tightly.

Xiang Minghou’s lips were a thin, tight line. His hand gripped the hilt of his saber so hard that the veins bulged.

"Xiang Minghou, you’ve just returned to the Capital City. You don’t know the full situation with your daughter. What you need to do now is find her body," Dean Chen said.

Xiang Minghou looked up, stunned. "What do you mean, find it? Her body? What happened?"

"Three days ago, an old man took your daughter’s body right off the street."

"Her body... was taken?" Xiang Minghou’s mind went blank.

"We’ve searched for three days to no avail. You need to think carefully about what’s more important," Dean Chen said, his voice heavy with weariness.

Xiang Minghou snapped out of his shock, sheathed his great saber, and turned to leave.

Seeing this, the imperial guards immediately surrounded him.

"Barging into the palace and killing so many of my imperial guards... Xiang Minghou, do you really think you can just walk away?" The Beili Emperor was not so easily fooled.

Xiang Minghou whipped his saber from its sheath. His stance was clear: if he couldn’t leave, he would fight.

"Your Majesty, this is all Consort Yuan’s doing. It’s understandable that Xiang Minghou wants her dead. He just returned to the capital and was unaware that she had already been taken to the Ministry of Justice. I implore Your Majesty to be lenient," Zhan Yi said, doing his utmost to shift all blame to Consort Yuan.

"Your Majesty, you are well aware of the reasons behind the incident at Four-direction Mountain. Xiang Minghou wanting Consort Yuan’s life is nothing more than the reaction of a grieving father." When the Emperor remained silent, Zhan Yi pressed on, determined to redirect the blame.

"Let them go."

Sang Zhi stood protectively in front of Xiang Minghou.

Xiang Minghou stared coldly at the figure before him. ’My daughter is dead because of him.’ "Don’t think I’ll be grateful to you for this," he spat.

"She would have approved."

Sang Zhi rasped out four words.

Xiang Minghou froze, and the bridge of his nose began to sting.

’She would have approved.’ An image surfaced in his mind: his daughter, wheedling and playful, her face as bright as a flower, her sweet voice calling him "Daddy..."

The Beili Emperor ground his molars, on the verge of shattering them.

"Your Majesty, the Eighth Prince is in a very dangerous state right now," Du Zhong said.