In Another World, Everyone Want to Kill Me!-Chapter 338: The Masked Truth

That day, the Beirong Imperial Palace was yet again the stage for a farce.

After these recent upheavals, the number of princes in Beirong had already dwindled.

Rong Tieshan had no desire to involve himself in politics, and in truth, most of the power had already fallen into Rong Zishen’s hands.

However, now that Shang Qinghua had returned, he had managed to wrest control of the Pixiu Hall from Rong Qinglei’s subordinates.

It was a massive undertaking and one of the reasons he had not visited Yue Mingxuan during these past days.

The Pixiu Hall’s resources were vast and difficult to assume control over.

Shang Qinghua had been entirely occupied with its affairs, leaving Yue Mingxuan somewhat neglected. Yet, as soon as he saw Yue Mingxuan again, he naturally received from him the news concerning Keshun Sanfeng.

Shang Qinghua had entrusted the jade pendant, which had accompanied him since birth, to someone he trusted implicitly and then had made three replicas.

Of these replicas, one was almost identical to the original jade pendant he carried with only the tiniest difference.

The other two bore only a faint resemblance just enough that one could tell they were copies, but far from perfect imitations.

Thanks to his exceptional lightness skills, he could easily place one of the replicas into Consort Keshun’s room, along with a note: "Meet me at the northeast corner of the Imperial Garden at midnight tomorrow."

Of course, Consort Keshun had no idea that almost at the same time, the emperor himself also received an identical note.

Soon enough, midnight arrived the next day.

Yue Mingxuan whose never one to miss a good show naturally insisted on coming along to watch.

He was resolute and Shang Qinghua had no choice but to allow it.

He had always been indulgent toward Yue Mingxuan and this request was no exception, so he agreed without hesitation.

The one who suffered, however, was the emperor of Beirong.

This time, he could not openly eavesdrop on their conversation but had to hide and listen alongside Yue Mingxuan.

The places where Yue Mingxuan and the emperor concealed themselves were not the same, for Yue Mingxuan feared that the shrewd emperor might recognize him.

"Long time no see, Consort Keshun," Shang Qinghua greeted smoothly.

"Shang Qinghua?" Though Consort Keshun had spent most of her life within the confines of the harem, she still recognized the former hostage of Xieshang.

By now, it was common knowledge that Shang Qinghua had become the emperor of Xieshang. She could not help but speak, her tone tinged with surprise: "Why are you here?"

"I’ve appeared here, naturally, because of what you did twenty years ago," Shang Qinghua said with a faint, teasing smile. "It was you who swapped me and Rong Zishen back then, wasn’t it?"

"What are you talking about? I don’t understand!"

"Why did Rong Zishen lose Empress Suyin’s personal token the moment he was born? Why do neither his appearance nor his temperament bear a single resemblance to the current emperor? Why are your eyes so strikingly similar to Rong Zishen’s?"

Hearing this, the emperor of Beirong was utterly shocked.

If circumstances had allowed, he might have leapt up right then and given Consort Keshun a few harsh slaps just to get a proper answer. Yet, he chose to exercise temporary restraint, biting back his immediate impulse.

"You... you are the Empress Suyin’s biological son from back then?" Consort Keshun had always assumed that Shang Qinghua had died long ago.

When he had suddenly disappeared all those years ago, she had believed that Keshun Sanfeng had taken him away to be dealt with.

"That’s right. It’s me," Shang Qinghua replied with a smile. "Now, at last, you can understand what it was that I gave you. I’m guessing Rong Zishen may not even be the emperor’s child, is that right?"

Consort Keshun’s eyes darkened slightly, her expression tinged with unease. Still, she managed to say, "Do not go too far with your accusations!"

"Rong Zishen is your child, isn’t he? His birth time being so close to mine, surely that’s no coincidence. When you orchestrated the swap, you had a meticulous plan in place, didn’t you?" Shang Qinghua pressed on relentlessly, leaving no room for evasion.

"Hand over that jade pendant, or I will kill you," Consort Keshun warned sharply.

She snapped her fingers and a masked man appeared behind her.

Yue Mingxuan who is watching quietly immediately suspected that the man must be Keshun Sanfeng.

Consort Keshun, still in shock, sank weakly into Keshun Sanfeng’s arms.

Had the emperor not been controlling his anger with great effort, he might have rushed out then and there and consigning Consort Keshun to the cold palace without hesitation.

"That jade pendant is with me right now. But it is proof of my identity, I would never hand it over so easily," Shang Qinghua raised an eyebrow, his expression almost mocking, as if to say, Are you all idiots?

He knew that a direct confrontation with Keshun Sanfeng would be futile.

His primary objective tonight was not to fight but to remove Keshun Sanfeng’s mask, to uncover the question lingering in Yue Mingxuan’s mind.

He also needed to know, once and for all, whose child Rong Zishen really was.

Only then could he properly explain everything to the emperor of Beirong.

Otherwise, the whole affair would look like a covert assassination attempt, leaving the emperor’s efforts wasted.

Most importantly, that emperor was his own biological father.

Thinking of this, Shang Qinghua could not help but feel a trace of helplessness.

"Old man... you’ve really been made a fool of," he muttered inwardly.

He had originally thought that Rong Zishen was simply the son of Concubine Keshun and the emperor, but now he realized that Rong Zishen was not the emperor’s child at all.

Even Shang Qinghua found it somewhat absurd.

Still, the one who had been deceived was his father.

As a son, he felt obligated to uncover the truth for him.

Just whose child Rong Zishen really was, this was something worth investigating.