Would You Like to Have A Drink - Chapter 33.1

“You really think… you can hide it from Zhen?”

Zong Luo remained standing still in his spot and did not move, only letting the cup hit his head heavily. Warm tea dripped down his ink-black hair, then shattered to the ground.

He could clearly feel the stinging pain from his forehead; the blood that gradually seeped from the skin wound was thick and warm, and it crawled slowly down his cheeks along the gap between the bridge of his nose and his eyebrows.

Emperor Yuan did not suppress his anger.

When he was truly angry, he definitely wouldn’t seek violent ways like fighting and killing someone like ordinary people, but instead would hold back his anger, like a dormant volcano waiting to erupt.

The more the case was like this, the more his actions meant he was truly angry, and the more frightening it would be.

Finally, he’s reached this step, Zong Luo thought.

I expected it, but I never thought it would be so early.

He didn’t say anything, only wiped with his hem, and knelt straight down.

“This son… begs Father Emperor to forgive his sin.”

Emperor Yuan looked at him condescendingly, then ridiculed, “Forgive?”

“Since you don’t have amnesia, why didn’t you come back? After a year, instead you pretended to be so hypocritical in front of Zhen?”

“You really dare to want Zhen to be a father whose child dies earlier than himself, who can’t even protect a prince well and becomes the laughing stock of the world?!”

The more the emperor spoke, the deeper his voice became and his undisguised anger piled up.

His chest heaved uncontrollably, and every breath was as painful as a knife cut.

But he kept on talking, obviously very angry, with a sharp and fierce tone.

“Zhen doesn’t know—do you ponder about the Crown Prince position as such, or perhaps… you’re averse to the thought of being confined in the Imperial City, being restricted everywhere, and setting an example to the world as the Third Prince. Instead, you want to accept the mantle of the Ghost Valley Master and roam the world?”

Anyone with a discerning eye could hear that Emperor Yuan’s words had no judgment at all, and were purely angry words.

Indeed, Zong Luo’s behavior was too weird; it had no motive at all.

Just like the Fourth Prince’s deduction, if Zong Luo really wanted to be the Crown Prince, then the Battle of Hangu Pass would push his reputation to its peak, and there would be no need for such an extra effort to fake death and escape.

Under such circumstances, Emperor Yuan said he didn’t want to take on the responsibility of the prince, faked his death then escaped, turned around and took over Ghost Valley Master’s mantle, which was understandable. After all, before this, Zong Luo did not show any intention of seizing the crown prince position, and he preferred to lead troops to fight outside rather than stay in the Imperial City.

Hearing this, Zong Luo’s throat rolled, and he suddenly kowtowed deeply.

His voice was filled with just the right amount of pain, “It’s not that this son deliberately concealed it… it’s just that this son… after the Battle of Hangu Pass, he was lucky enough to narrowly escape death and was rescued by the Confucian leader after waking up. Although the memory is intact and his four limbs are healthy, but… unfortunately he lost his eyesight and became a blind person.”

Emperor Yuan was suspicious by nature. Pretending to have amnesia and being blind might fool him for a while, but not for a lifetime. Not to mention that since Zong Luo had now returned to the Imperial City, he would have to restore his status as a prince. In the future, even if he was clever and dexterous, it would be difficult to cover everything without revealing anything.

If it was exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable. Not to mention seizing the crown prince position—it was estimated that he would have to repeat the mistakes of his previous life. No matter how stupid Zong Luo was, he couldn’t let himself do such a stupid thing again.

Ye Linghan knew that he didn’t have amnesia, Yu Beizhou knew he didn’t have amnesia, and Gongsun You also knew he didn’t have amnesia… simply because he didn’t intend to hide it at all.

From the beginning, Zong Luo was preparing for today.

A mixture of truth and falsehood, interweaving truth with fiction, or when someone leaked the information—it was all in his expectation.

“It’s to be blamed on this son’s negligence. Now that the matter has come to this point, although extremely regretful, he was also helpless about it. Only because he can’t rest assured and can’t forget his country’s old soil, he was momentarily confused… and thus lied about having amnesia.”

The prince in white tried his best to maintain his steady voice, “It’s this son who is not filial, and should not have deceived the Father Emperor, but at present… even the Senior Medical Sage is helpless. Such a blind state… he has no face to see the Father Emperor again, let alone set an example to his imperial younger brothers. Even leading the army to defend the country… is no longer possible.”

“Committing the crime of deceiving the Emperor, this son has nothing to say… absolutely no intention of justifying it. If the Father Emperor wants to administer justice, this son absolutely has no complaints, and is at Father Emperor’s disposal.”

His forehead was firmly pressed against the cold ground, the blood oozing from his forehead meandered as his ink-black hair was also scattered on the ground, his palms were sweating, his lips were tightly pressed, and his heart was beating like a drum.