The story begins with a power struggle among nine princes, but the protagonist doesn't vie for

"Cao Jin".

"This servant is here."

"Issue my decree," Emperor Xuanxi's voice was filled with deep weariness, "What happened in front of the Qianqing Palace today is strictly forbidden to be divulged. If even a single word is leaked, all those involved, regardless of their status, will be executed without mercy."

On the other side, at the entrance of the Qianqing Palace, although Emperor Xuanxi had already left, the thunderous and furious look on his face and his angry rebuke of "you bunch of rebellious sons" still lingered in their ears. Coupled with the heavy pressure brought by the news that the sixth prince had suddenly fainted and whose life was uncertain, none of the princes who had just experienced the storm dared to leave on their own. They all knelt in front of the Qianqing Palace, waiting for Emperor Xuanxi to deal with them.

The Crown Prince's face was deathly pale, his eyes dark and uncertain. The Prince of Zhi's face was gloomy, his fists clenched, and he exuded a menacing aura that kept strangers at bay.

The other princes, whether they were Prince Cheng, Prince Yong, Prince Heng, Prince Chun, or the eighth and ninth princes, were all like frightened birds. Most of them looked ashen-faced and were still in shock, and none of them had the mind to talk.

Even the princes who were too young to participate in the fight knelt there, not daring to leave easily.

The area in front of the Qianqing Palace was deathly still, like the calm before a storm, with only the deliberate, soft footsteps of the guards in the distance.

In the midst of this suffocating silence, a calm, even somewhat abrupt, voice rang out softly, not loud, but clearly reaching the ears of several princes nearby.

"Tenth Brother," Luo Zhaoheng spoke slowly, his voice calm and even, "Do you believe me now?"

Luo Zhaotang, who was kneeling there in a state of agitation, suddenly turned around upon hearing this, glared at him fiercely, and hissed, "Believe what?! Luo Zhaoheng, stop playing tricks on me!"

Luo Zhaoheng merely raised his chin, gesturing to the other's blood-stained cheek, and slowly said:

"I just said that your forehead was dark and there was a bloody aura around it, which reminded you that you might have a bloody disaster today, and you should be very careful in your actions. But you didn't take it seriously."

Luo Zhaoheng paused, his gaze sweeping over the Crown Prince, Prince Zhi, and the others, before finally settling on Luo Zhaotang's face, his tone tinged with helplessness:

"Look at this, it's all because of you that so many brothers have been dragged into this mess. What are you going to do about it?"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Luo Zhaotang was already in pain, angry, and afraid. Upon hearing this, she was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She trembled with rage and hissed:

"Luo Zhaoheng! Stop spouting nonsense and distorting the truth! What does this have to do with me?!"

He waved one hand excitedly, pointing in the direction of the Crown Prince and Prince Zhi, his voice distorted with anger and pain:

"It was clearly the eldest and second eldest who started the fight! I just happened to be there and got involved..."

Upon hearing this, both the Crown Prince and the Prince of Zhi turned green.

"Luo Zhaotang! You son of a bitch!"

The eldest prince suddenly raised his head, no longer caring about his lack of decorum before the emperor. Veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes were bloodshot, and he stared at Luo Zhaotang with a fierce look that seemed to want to devour him alive!

He pointed a finger at Luo Zhaotang, his finger trembling with extreme anger, his voice forced out through clenched teeth, filled with barely suppressed violence:

"You still have the nerve to say that?! Who was I fighting with the second brother for?! Huh?! It was all because of you, you bastard!"

Not only are you ungrateful, but now you dare to turn around and pin the blame on me and the Crown Prince?!

The eldest prince was a fierce general in the army, known for his violent temper. In his current rage, he completely forgot about his princely dignity and elder brotherly demeanor, and even uttered vulgarities, demonstrating the extent of his fury.

"Luo Zhaotang! You ungrateful wretch! If you weren't kneeling here right now, I'd teach you a lesson about what it means to be an elder brother like a father! What rules are!"

Luo Zhaotang was startled by the sudden outburst of the eldest prince's anger and shrank back, but then muttered defiantly, "I... what I said is true..."

"Facts my ass!" The Crown Prince next to him couldn't hold back any longer. He was already humiliated by the series of events that had happened today, and his dignity as the Crown Prince had been completely ruined. Now, seeing that one of the instigators dared to implicate him, his old and new grudges surged up in his heart.

He forced himself to kneel upright, his face so dark it seemed to drip water, coldly glaring at Luo Zhaotang. Though his voice wasn't as loud as the eldest prince's, it carried the icy chill and oppressive aura unique to a crown prince.

"Luo Zhaotang, how dare you casually address me as 'eldest brother' or 'second brother'? If we weren't in front of the Emperor right now, I would have made you understand what the dignity of a crown prince is, and what the hierarchy is!"

In my opinion, Father didn't hit you hard enough. If it were me, I would have broken your legs!

"Tenth Prince, look how angry you've made the eldest brother and the crown prince. If I were you, when Father arrives, I would take the initiative to shoulder the responsibility and admit my mistake, so that all the brothers wouldn't suffer with you!" the third prince urged from the side.

"Third Brother's words make sense!" the Fourth Prince said succinctly.

"That makes no sense! Why should I shoulder such a huge responsibility? I can't handle it," Old Ten retorted hastily. If he were to take on this burden, it might even lead to someone's death.

"Tenth Brother, that's not right of you. We're all brothers, you should help when you need to, right? If you really take on this, won't all the brothers remember you for your kindness?" the Third Prince advised.

"Yes, tenth brother, this matter still depends on you!" fifth brother chimed in.

"Tenth brother, thank you in advance," Seventh brother added.

"No, I'm the tenth brother, am I supposed to die? Why should I bear such a big responsibility all by myself? How many lashes will I get?" The eleventh brother thought about the consequences of taking on this responsibility, touched his buttocks, and couldn't help but shiver.

"That's why I say you're so righteous, Tenth Prince! You've been thinking about practicing external martial arts for so long, all for this day, right? Today, I'll give you a chance to test how well you've mastered external martial arts," the Third Prince praised.

"So, all these years of hard work practicing external martial arts was just to take the beatings for you guys? Third brother, you have a terrible conscience!" the tenth brother said through gritted teeth.

"You can't say that, Tenth Prince. Making you take the blame isn't just my idea; it's the sentiment of everyone here. If you don't believe me, ask everyone." The Third Prince was trying to drag everyone down with him and coerce the Tenth Prince together.

"That's right, Tenth Prince, if you take responsibility for this, my eldest brother and I will not hold your offense against us just now. What do you say, eldest brother?" the Crown Prince said first.

The eldest prince nodded and echoed, "The Crown Prince's meaning is my meaning."

"agree"

"agree"

"agree"

……

"No, you've gone too far! You've gone too far!" Old Ten said angrily.

"Eighth Prince, Ninth Prince, what are your opinions?" the Third Prince suddenly asked.

The tenth prince looked at the eighth and ninth princes with hopeful eyes. He had always had a good relationship with these two in the palace. As long as they were willing to stand on his side, he could withstand the pressure.

The Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince exchanged a glance, and finally the Ninth Prince spoke first: "I agree with my Third Brother's opinion."

Seeing this, the Eighth Prince opened his mouth, but finally said helplessly, "Tenth Prince, you...you...you can't do it, just admit it!"

Even the Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince, who were closest to the Tenth Prince, agreed. Naturally, the remaining princes nodded in agreement, and even a few who had just been weaned raised their hands.

This made Lao Shi's teeth ache. Lao Ba and Lao Jiu, on whom he had placed so much hope, had betrayed him. Now he was completely all alone!

At that moment, Lao Shi realized that all that talk about family and friendship was utter bullshit...