Prince Xuan's Residence
The dungeon
Crack!
The saltwater-soaked whip struck the hideous wounds. Even Ji Tian, for all his endurance, could not help flinching.
"I remember telling you not to target the Crown Prince in Jiangzhou."
Prince Xuan drew back the whip and tugged it taut.
He cast an icy sidelong glance at the man he had beaten to a bloody pulp. "Ji Tian, you've certainly grown bold. You dared defy my orders and act on your own?"
"I... did nothing wrong..."
Ji Tian struggled to lift his eyes. His voice was hoarse but held a trace of resolve. "Master... you're too naive. As long as the Crown Prince lives... His Majesty will never appoint another heir."
"How long will you have to wait... before you can return to Capital City?"
"I truly couldn't bear to see you buried in this little place called Jiangzhou, gradually forgotten by His Majesty. That was why I..."
Crack!
"Still talking back!"
Seeing that he showed no remorse, Prince Xuan lashed him again. "I'm not so incompetent that I need a subordinate making decisions for me!"
His voice brimmed with scorn and anger. "Did you ever consider what Emperor Father would think of me, or how he would punish me, if he learned that something had happened to the Crown Prince here?"
"Being stripped of my title would be the least of it!"
"And what about Little Imperial Uncle? Before leaving the capital, I told him plainly that I would compete fairly with the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince dies here, what will he think of me?"
Even before leaving the capital, he had decided that whether or not he competed for the position of heir, he would never again attempt to take the Crown Prince's life.
Besides, his uncle had feelings for