"One year to kill me?! What nerve he has!"
Xu Tianran's voice was extremely gloomy. It was as though some dreadful shadow had engulfed his entire being. He no longer looked remotely like a dignified, solemn emperor; instead, he exuded a sinister aura that sent chills down one's spine.
He looked at Jing Hongchen and Kong Deming before him, an exceedingly dark light flickering in his eyes.
"Ming Jiang appeared before you, and you just let him leave?!"
Jing Hongchen and Kong Deming froze, but Xu Tianran's voice became even harsher.
"Ming Jiang appeared before you and declared, right to your faces, that he would kill me within the next year. And you simply let him leave? Kong Deming, Jing Hongchen, are you... still in contact with Ming Jiang?"
Hearing Xu Tianran's words, Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen hurriedly explained themselves.
"Your Majesty, we absolutely have no contact with Ming Jiang! This time, Ming Jiang came to us on his own initiative. And Your Majesty knows Jiang Ming's current strength. Even if Ming Jiang is merely one of Jiang Ming's clones, neither of us is a match for him!"
Jing Hongchen truly had not expected Xu Tianran to focus on that.
Any normal person should have known that, since they had come here to report all this, it was impossible for them to still have unresolved ties with Jiang Ming.
If they really had contact with Jiang Ming, they would not have come to the imperial palace! Wouldn't it have been better to stay out of it?
With Xu Tianran's usual intelligence, he would never have suspected them in this regard.
The reason was simple. Even if Jing Hongchen might raise some doubts, how could Kong Deming, as a member of the Sun Moon Empire's imperial family, possibly side with