Chapter 367 Behind the Anomaly Lay Deeper Schemes

Chapter 367: Behind Every Anomaly Lies a Deeper Scheme

Xiao Lingchuan let out a cold laugh laced with ice and a touch of knowing arrogance.

“Why cling so stubbornly to Daye's kingdom? If you wish, I can send you back to Nanyue and let you inherit the Nanyue throne by right.”

Jiang Tianze was taken aback.

“You’d make me the Nanyue Emperor?” He almost couldn’t believe what he heard, pressing further in disbelief. “You fought hard to take Nanyue’s throne—are you really willing to just give it to me like that?”

“Why not?” Xiao Lingchuan turned, the candlelight etching his cold, angular profile. His dark, unreadable eyes locked onto Jiang Tianze, with no hint of a joke.

“Everyone says I’m ambitious and obsessed with power. But in my eyes, power has always been a means, not an end.”

He looked at Jiang Tianze, each word crisp and sharp as metal on stone.

“You are indeed a descendant of Nanyue—the last surviving bloodline of Hua Liancheng. I despise Hua Liancheng. More than twenty years ago, he forced my mother to marry far away in Daye, where she ultimately died a tragic death in the imperial palace. Now that mother's revenge is done, I have no reason to drag you into this. As long as you promise, upon becoming the Nanyue Emperor, never to covet or invade Daye’s territory, so why shouldn't I give you the throne?”

Jiang Tianze's mind was in turmoil.

Xiao Lingchuan—actually willing to hand over the Nanyue throne to him!

When had this greedy, vicious wolf become so generous?

When something's off, there's always a deeper scheme.

He squinted and asked suspiciously, “Are you sending me back to Nanyue to inherit the throne because you fear I might take Big Sis away, trying to get rid of me?”

Xiao Lingchuan shot him a sidelong glance, a faint, venomous smirk tugging at his lips.

“You’re not completely stupid.”

Jiang Tianze: “…”

Of course!

That man, just to keep A Ning all to himself, would stop at nothing.

He could barely contain his murderous rage, but he knew the time was not yet right.

He took a deep breath, forcing his boiling hatred back down, yet his face put on a defiant 'I don't care anymore' look.

“I won’t go back to Nanyue. I want to stay in Daye!” He jutted his chin out, like a stubborn little beast. “Keep the Nanyue throne for yourself, but promise to share Daye with me!”

Xiao Lingchuan watched him, the disdain in his eyes deepening.

“Since you’re so insistent,” he waved his hand lazily, as if shooing away an annoying fly, “Fine, I'll agree to it.”

“Talk is cheap!” Jiang Tianze pressed on, needing something concrete. “Write it down, Your Highness!”

Xiao Lingchuan hesitated for a split second.

He found it utterly absurd.

For such an absurd promise, he had to write it down in black and white?

Jiang Tianze caught that brief pause, deliberately sneering, “What, having second thoughts, Your Highness?”

“Not at all.” Xiao Lingchuan walked to the table, picked up the ink stick himself, and slowly ground it on the inkstone. “Swapping half of Daye's kingdom for the entire Nanyue—no matter how I look at it, I come out on top.”

He lifted the brush, soaked it thoroughly in ink, and let the tip glide over the rice paper, leaving behind bold, flowing characters.

“I, Xiao Lingchuan, swear: should I one day rule Daye, I shall govern the realm together with Jiang Tianze, dividing the territory, each holding one half. This declaration stands as proof, witnessed by heaven and earth!”

Having written this, he untied from his waist a jet-black private seal engraved with intricate patterns, and without hesitation stamped it firmly in the corner, leaving a vivid vermilion mark.

The entire process flowed smoothly, without a single pause.

Jiang Tianze’s gaze locked onto that sheet of paper, his breath involuntarily caught.

Xiao Lingchuan picked up the document, blew gently on the still-damp ink, then casually handed it over like tossing a coin to a beggar.

Jiang Tianze snatched it, as if receiving a priceless treasure.

He scrutinized the paper repeatedly, checking every single word, especially that bright red private stamp.

This was Xiao Lingchuan’s personal seal—to see it was to see the man himself.

With this, combined with his identity as the Nanyue Crown Prince, he now had solid proof of Xiao Lingchuan's treason!

“Your Highness, I accept this document. I trust you'll honor your word!”

He carefully folded the document and tucked it close to his chest, barely able to hold back his excitement, then turned and hurriedly left.

Xiao Lingchuan stood still, watching his overjoyed back vanish beyond the door.

The moment the door closed, every expression on his face—the disdain, the mockery—melted away, leaving only an icy, ruthless stare.

“Ling Wu,” he said suddenly, his voice low and icy.

A shadowy figure materialized noiselessly behind him, kneeling on one knee. “Your Highness.”

“For the next few days, secretly tail Jiang Tianze,” Xiao Lingchuan’s voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. “See what he's really plotting. I think he's up to something.”

“Understood, Your Highness!” Ling Wu took the order and slipped back into the shadows.

Xiao Lingchuan slowly walked to the window, pushed it open, and the night wind blew in, cold and biting.

He knew full well that Jiang Tianze was not a man obsessed with power.

His gaze at A Ning was infatuated, stubborn, with a crazed urge to destroy everything.

For A Ning’s sake, he would stop at nothing.

And precisely for that reason, today's behavior seemed especially fishy.

Handing over the easy Nanyue throne for some vague 'half the kingdom'?

And insisting on a written document?

Behind every anomaly, there must be a deeper scheme.

A cold, icy smile finally curled at the corner of Xiao Lingchuan’s lips.

He would wait and see just what trick this little wolf cub was trying to pull.

That document was a bait he had willingly cast.

Now let's see if the fish is dumb enough to bite.

The night was as dark as ink, spilled across every rooftop in Nanshuo City.

Ling Wu hovered silently on an old locust tree outside Jiang Tianze's courtyard.

She hid every trace of her presence, but her eyes, like those of a hawk, were locked onto the activity inside the courtyard.

Sure enough, just as the prince had predicted.

Just past midnight, a light still shone in Jiang Tianze's room, but several patrolling guards in the courtyard fell one after another, silently, as if they’d gone boneless, collapsing limply to the ground.

Then, a faint wisp of smoke with a cloying fragrance drifted out through the crack in Jiang Tianze's door, and soon the entire courtyard fell into deathly silence.

After a moment, the door creaked open.

Jiang Tianze, dressed in a snug black outfit, cautiously poked his head out and looked around.

After confirming that everyone was 'sound asleep,' he, like a sly fox, vaulted over the high wall in a few quick leaps and disappeared into the deep night.

Ling Wu followed at a leisurely pace.

Jiang Tianze's martial skills were good, but still inferior to hers.

She saw him use the same trick, blowing thin needles laced with knockout drug toward the necks of the city gate guards.

Those soldiers didn't even have time to let out a muffled grunt before their heads drooped, as if they had just dozed off.

He kept heading north.

Ling Wu's heart sank.

This direction led to the capital of Daye.

In the capital, the only one who was now an enemy to the prince was the emperor on the dragon throne.

She did not hesitate. Taking a carrier pigeon from inside her robe, she tied the written secret letter to its leg and launched it into the air. The white pigeon flapped its wings and instantly vanished into the pitch-black night.

In the study, candlelight flickered.

Xiao Lingchuan held the letter between his fingertips. The handwriting was hurried — unmistakably Ling Wu's.

"Heading north, toward the capital."

He suddenly let out a low chuckle, echoing in the empty room, carrying a cold, mocking tone that was hard to put into words.

'No wonder,' he thought. 'No wonder he insisted on that absurd deed.'

Xiao Lingchuan's gaze darkened, a cold curve lifting the corner of his lips, as the thought struck him instantly. 'So he intended to hand over the leverage against me to that person. In that case, don't blame me for striking first and cutting off his retreat!'