Chapter 584 -585: Facing Off

“Are you actually afraid to think about it, Prince, or have you already guessed it but don’t dare to say it?” Gu Antong toyed with the cup in her hand. Cai Hua had said her fate was bitter, but wasn’t she just like the object before her eyes?

“Do you know this is a capital offense?” Rong Ruiyuan asked through gritted teeth.

“Prince, don’t try to scare me. Given my current state, what difference does it make if I die early or late?” Gu Antong no longer displayed her former cautiousness, not even bothering to use honorifics.

Rong Ruiyuan sat down at the table. It wasn’t that he harbored no suspicions. Indeed, even if his other Imperial Brothers had made a move, how could they have done it without leaving a single trace?

“Tell me your thoughts.”

“We wouldn’t dare participate in your imperial family’s affairs, nor would we dare to speak out of turn.”

“Then tell me, what was the meaning behind the letter you wrote?” Rong Ruiyuan flared up in anger.

Little did he know that in Gu Antong’s eyes, this display made him look like a buffoon.

She chuckled softly. “What ulterior motive could I have? I just don’t want to die in ignorance, and I hope the truth will come to light one day.

“I’m afraid many people have already seen through it but simply don’t dare to voice it. My grandfather, for example—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so terrified that he relocated our entire family.”

Gu Antong silently said in her heart, “Grandfather, Father, Mother, Brother, this is the only thing I can do for you. Only by pulling the Gu Family out of this mess and preventing any displaced anger from falling upon you can you find peace.”

“Your grandfather left because he was scared?” Why did Rong Ruiyuan feel this explanation was highly unreliable? If Gu Baijiang were that kind of person, he wouldn’t have intercepted that National Treasury Silver in the first place.

“It can’t be helped; it depends on who the enemy is.” A cold sneer tugged at the corner of Gu Antong’s mouth. “In truth, my grandfather was just a pawn between you and your father, wasn’t he?

“The Emperor needed an excuse to support you, and you needed a scapegoat. Our Gu Family has truly been victimized terribly.”

“Don’t make the Gu Family sound like shining paragons of virtue,” Rong Ruiyuan sneered. “Everyone was just taking what they needed.

“Otherwise, would your grandfather have willingly taken such a massive risk?”

“Exactly. That’s why our Gu Family knows we brought this upon ourselves. We won’t seek revenge against you; we only want to stay far away.

“Besides, in this game played by you and your father, our Gu Family has already lost everything. It will even cost me my life. We have learned our lesson well enough.

“I just feel somewhat resentful. Why did it have to be us?”

Rong Ruiyuan looked at the completely disfigured woman before him. She used to be a fascinating Jieyu Flower. It was somewhat a pity.

If such a brilliant and rational mind could be used for his own purposes, wouldn’t it be far superior to those strategists he kept on his payroll?

“Why do you guess these matters are connected to my Imperial Father?”

Gu Antong looked at him with disdain. “Actually, you’ve harbored your own suspicions for a long time, haven’t you? You just don’t dare to think about it or investigate it.

“You believe whatever the Imperial Physician tells you. The guard sent to investigate the case made a massive show of it for so long, but did they find anything?

“You should know that when the imperial guards investigate a case, they are swift and decisive, preferring to kill the innocent rather than let a single suspect go. But this time, who did they arrest? Who did they execute?

“With such glaring flaws, do you still need me to spell it out for you, Third Prince?”

“But why?” It wasn’t that Rong Ruiyuan hadn’t been suspicious, but he simply lacked a motive.

“Why? To secure his throne, of course.

“Don’t tell me you think the Emperor truly doesn’t know what you all are plotting?

“He is growing older by the day, while you all are coming into your own. As an emperor, how could he not be wary?

“Only if you Princes fight each other fiercely will his position remain completely secure. He can even use this opportunity to eliminate those who harbor disloyal thoughts toward him.”

Rong Ruiyuan fell silent for a moment. “…But my child was also his descendant…”

“A descendant?” Gu Antong retorted. “With so many Princes and princesses in the Imperial Palace, does he really lack descendants?

“What he needs right now is for all of you to fight—preferably to the death.

“You haven’t been idle these past few days either, have you? Are you planning to make a move against the other Princes next?”

Rong Ruiyuan stared in horror at the obese woman before him. Confined to the inner courts, how did she know all this?

“What benefit does this bring my Imperial Father?”

“If you adult Princes make mistakes or fight each other to the death, it conveniently solves his problems.

“By disposing of this pack of wolves that are nearing maturity, the remaining pups can be slowly groomed. The one thing your Imperial Father doesn’t lack is heirs. Good news of pregnancies is always spreading from the palace, isn’t it?”

Rong Ruiyuan remained silent. Just a few days ago, he had heard that another consort in the palace was pregnant. Of course, until the child was born, no one could guarantee a safe delivery.

Even so, he had so many younger brothers and sisters in the palace that sometimes he couldn’t even recognize them all.

He now felt increasingly that Gu Antong’s analysis was spot on. His Imperial Father truly didn’t lack heirs. Without them, there would be even more obedient children growing up in their place.

“Ruthlessness is the hallmark of the imperial family,” Gu Antong said, her eyes filled with sympathy. “You and I are the same—we are both pawns utterly incapable of fighting back.”

“Even if what you say makes sense, why would he drug you?”

Gu Antong blinked. “Speaking of that, I really must thank you, Prince.

“It was you who assumed my grandfather was holding out on you, keeping more than half the Silver for himself instead of handing it over.”

Rong Ruiyuan’s expression grew somewhat awkward. He had indeed held that exact thought when he ordered his people to keep an eye on them, but what did that have to do with this?

“You don’t seriously think the Emperor is completely ignorant of your actions, do you? Who knows how many of his spies are planted right by your side,” Gu Antong said, truly sparing no effort in sowing discord between them today.

Rong Ruiyuan naturally knew that his Imperial Father had spies around him, which was why he was always extraordinarily careful in his daily affairs.

“The amount of Silver disbursed by the National Treasury back then simply doesn’t add up with your grandfather’s income over these past few years.”

“Heh, Prince, you people are truly interesting. You calculate the accounts so clearly, but did you only calculate the income without factoring in the expenses?

“With my grandfather’s capabilities alone, could he have possibly pocketed all that Silver by himself? Didn’t he need to bribe people?

“If you ask me, instead of obsessing over the Gu Family, you’d be better off keeping an eye on those households that facilitated the operation back then. If there were no benefits involved, who among them would have done it?”

It wasn’t that Rong Ruiyuan hadn’t harbored such suspicions, but those very people were still of great use to him.

He couldn’t force them into a corner over this Silver. Otherwise, they might turn around and bite him, or defect to his other brothers, rendering all his efforts over the years completely in vain.

These were matters he couldn’t speak of to outsiders; he could only handle them in secret.

However, he still felt that Gu Baijiang wouldn’t be so honest.

“I don’t care whether you believe it or not, Prince,” Gu Antong said. “Regardless, the Gu Family is already in this state. If you want to keep having people watch us, fine, but considering our family has been ruined on your behalf, could you perhaps let us off the hook?”

“How can you be so sure the Gu Family hasn’t held something back?”

“You can keep sending people to watch us, Prince. If you wish to exterminate us all, then pretend I never said anything. I only fear that, when the time comes, no one will ever dare to pledge their loyalty to you again.”

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