Zong Zhao had always been a man of few words. After exchanging only a few sentences with the Crown Prince, he left, leaving the latter utterly bewildered. Fortunately, there was still Zong Jincheng, who chattered away nonstop, spilling every piece of information he had.
At one point, the Crown Prince listened as the little rascal exclaimed passionately, "Your Highness, you’d never guess who the biggest villain by your side is! After all the trust you placed in him, after all the faith I had in him—he secretly poisoned you, nearly killing you!"
The Crown Prince’s heart jolted.
Finally, the crucial revelation.
When Zong Zhao said he had misplaced his trust, was he referring to the same person Jincheng mentioned?
The little demon continued indignantly, "That despicable Huaishui, full of schemes, had been lurking by Your Highness’s side, poisoning you for over a decade! How vile! If Father hadn’t executed him right in front of me and the Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace, we’d never have suspected him!"
The Crown Prince understood now.
The one who had been by his side since childhood, who grew up with him, who served him faithfully—the very person he trusted most.
No wonder he could never uncover the culprit.
Huaishui had been a personal guard gifted to him by the Emperor, always seemingly loyal. But ever since Luo Shu’s death, the Crown Prince’s health had begun deteriorating from poison—such a suspicious timing… Could it be that Luo Jingfeng, driven by Luo Shu’s death, had secretly bribed Huaishui to harm him? New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novèlfire.net
The Crown Prince couldn’t fathom it. He had treated Huaishui well, and Huaishui had no family or connections. How could Luo Jingfeng have swayed him?
Zong Jincheng was still muttering, "Hmph, all those who harm Your Highness are scoundrels! And those princes who bullied you before—every one of them is rotten! Luo Jingfeng even showed me a list of their names, and I memorized them all!"
The Crown Prince’s heart tightened.
Why would Luo Jingfeng show Jincheng a record of the princes who had mistreated him? Was he trying to plant seeds of vengeance in the boy’s heart, slowly molding him into someone like the Luo family?
The thought filled the Crown Prince with worry. Jincheng was already bound to the Luo family by blood, and Luo Jingfeng doted on him out of love for his kin. Given enough time, Jincheng might truly be swayed by familial affection.
Helplessness gnawed at him.
But anxiety was futile—he couldn’t move, couldn’t communicate with the outside world. He could only rely on Jincheng and Zong Zhao now.
With Zong Zhao around, such a thing would never happen.
After venting his frustrations, the little demon switched to boasting about his academic progress: "Qin Ye took first place in the autumn exams again, while I only ranked tenth in the capital. But even though it’s just a humble second-rank, it’s still an achievement! Besides, poetry is my weak point. When the spring exams focus solely on policy essays, I’ll definitely take the top spot—after all, I’m the only one who’s ever beaten Qin Ye before, hmph!"
The Crown Prince recalled that Jincheng had once outperformed Qin Ye in policy debates.
But by the timeline, that was long ago. Qin Ye’s foundation was far more solid, and who knew how much he had improved since then?
If he could speak, he’d warn Jincheng not to be overconfident. Anyone who could consistently rank first in the autumn exams was no ordinary talent—underestimating Qin Ye would lead to a crushing defeat.
The little demon, however, was already making grand declarations: "Just wait and see, Your Highness! In one month and twenty-two days, I’ll be entering the examination hall for the metropolitan exams. Haha, I can already picture how glorious it’ll be when I take first place! I’ll hire two troupes of lion dancers to parade me from one end of the capital to the other, so the whole city knows—Zong Jincheng, the genius among geniuses—is destined to trample every prodigy in the land underfoot!"
The Crown Prince: "…"
Even if he could speak, he’d be speechless.
This child… truly had no shortage of confidence.
The little rascal rambled on endlessly until Zong Zhao finally marched in and dragged him out. "Enough for today. Don’t disturb His Highness’s rest."
Jincheng’s protests grew fainter as he was hauled away, but his indignant shouts still echoed from afar: "Father, what’s the big idea? I wasn’t done talking to His Highness! You’re just jealous because I had more to say than you! You’re the one who’s boring, and now you’re making His Highness lonely without me! Aah—Mother, look at Father…"
Even after leaving the Eastern Palace, the little troublemaker kept wailing.
"Father, you’re so tyrannical! You don’t love me, you don’t care about His Highness’s feelings, and you ruined our precious bonding time!" He turned to Xu Wan, pleading, "Mother, do something about Father! He’s gone too far—he won’t even let me stay with His Highness a little longer."
The family mediator, Xu Wan: "…"
This was a tough case. Both father and son were dear to her—siding with either would offend the other.
Zong Zhao rubbed his temples, his head throbbing from the noise. Finally, he snapped, "Do you want to come back next time or not?"
Zong Jincheng instantly cowered.
He clapped both hands over his mouth, miming absolute silence.
The little demon’s big eyes blinked rapidly before he quickly switched to fawning: "Father is the best! You’ll still let me see His Highness, unlike others who don’t even get a chance to meet him, let alone chat for so long!"
Xu Wan burst out laughing.
This kid’s mood swings were unreal. One moment he was berating his father, the next he was showering him with praise. Truly a little devil—flexible when it suited him.
Zong Zhao remained expressionless, utterly unmoved by the flattery, but at least his ears were spared further torment. Otherwise, the boy’s endless chatter would’ve worn them out.
On the way back, Zong Jincheng mumbled to himself, "The time with His Highness was too short. Next time, I’ll organize my thoughts beforehand and prioritize what to say. Heehee, today I talked to His Highness for so long—so happy! Even if His Highness couldn’t hear me with his ears, his body heard me! I don’t care, His Highness definitely heard me! Woohoo!"
The little demon managed to console himself effortlessly.
Xu Wan could only shake her head in amusement. Who ever heard of someone’s body "hearing" when their ears couldn’t? The Crown Prince’s body wasn’t a recording device.
Yet when they returned to their courtyard, Zong Zhao dropped a bombshell:
"His Highness has regained his hearing."
"Ah???" Xu Wan was stunned. "Did Jincheng actually stumble onto the truth?"
Given how excited and smug the boy was, who knew how many more outrageous things he’d blab to the Crown Prince next time?
And now… His Highness could hear every word.
"That’s why I dragged him out. The kid’s too noisy," Zong Zhao muttered, utterly baffled. "How does he even have so much to say? Half an hour straight, and he still wasn’t done. Is this where all his study efforts go?"