He knew that news of his return to Ming Capital had probably already reached the imperial palace.
His imperial brother would never remain indifferent to it.
And that was indeed the case.
Inside the imperial palace.
Xu Tianran sat upon the throne, his expression calm.
After Ma Rulong finished his report below, Xu Tianran waved a hand and dismissed him.
After he left, two more figures emerged from behind the screen.
Before long, only Xu Tianran, Ju Zi, and Zhongli Wu remained in the vast hall.
Ju Zi was no longer the girl who had once followed Xu Tianyao and the others to the tournament.
Now, she had become one of Xu Tianran's most important people.
Zhongli Wu stood to the side, his expression as foul as if his old horse had died.
Both of them had their eyes fixed on the figure seated upon the throne.
After a long while, Xu Tianran finally spoke. The moment he opened his mouth, the anger in his words was unmistakable.
"Is he unwilling to even see me now?"
"Before he left, the entire Empire praised the brotherly affection between us imperial brothers."
"Everyone spoke highly of the bonds within the imperial family."
"But now..."
"After returning, the first thing he did was not come to the palace to see me."
Xu Tianran slowly opened his eyes. There was none of the rage one might have expected in them, only a bone-deep chill.
"How did he find out?"
"That assassination attempt was connected to me?"
This was what puzzled him most. According to the plan, not many people had been involved back then.
Within the entire Empire, there were even fewer who knew of his cooperation with the Holy Spirit Cult.
Xu Tianran did not believe that Xu Tianyao could have directly identified