Chapter 175 Provocation

Chapter 175: Provocation

Cheng Ge seemed to find a morbid kind of calm in this cramped environment.

[Skipping a large section]

He forced himself to stay alert to the sounds outside the cabinet, his gaze unusually steady.

Yun Xunyu was about to make a move, trying to put a stop to this behavior that was only fanning the flames——

Suddenly, his lower leg was kicked from the side, not too hard, but not gently either!

The interior of the cabinet was dark and cramped, with only a few extremely faint rays of light seeping through the gaps in the wooden planks, barely outlining blurry silhouettes.

Yun Xunyu’s eyelids dropped slightly, his cold gaze sliding past Cheng Ge’s sweaty temples to land on Zhou Zhan, who was wedged in across from him.

Even in this dim light, he still clearly met Zhou Zhan's eyes.

Inside them churned a devouring rage, his bloodshot eyes locked onto Cheng Ge, who was pressed against Yun Xunyu.

A barely audible chuckle escaped Yun Xunyu's throat, filled with undisguised contempt.

Instead of backing down under that murderous glare, he deliberately dropped his head even lower.

It was like a mountain pressing into a ravine—a brazen, defiant statement.

[Skipping a large section]

Zhou Mingqi stood in the hall, the weird incense making him inexplicably irritable.

Just as he was about to turn and walk away—

Suddenly, a faint, nearly inaudible sound came from the huge huanghuali rosewood cabinet beside him.

He stopped mid-stride and slowly turned toward the cabinet. The sweet scent in the air seemed even stronger here.

Zhou Mingqi’s face was as dark as a thundercloud, his hands clasped behind his back, standing silently before the cabinet door.

Even his silent stare carried a terrifying, oppressive weight—like a storm about to break.

After a moment of dead silence, accompanied by a faint, teeth-grating creak,

the cabinet door was yanked open, and dim yellow light spilled in like liquid metal, cutting through the viscous darkness within.

Zhou Mingqi looked at the scene laid out before him, his pupils contracted almost imperceptibly, betraying the turbulent undercurrent underneath.

The air seemed to freeze——

Yun Xunyu slowly turned his head around, his gaze meeting the emperor's scrutiny directly.

Within it there was no reverence, only an almost naked frankness.

———skip———

Zhou Mingqi’s fingers, clasped behind his back, turned bloodless white from the strain, the veins on his forehead throbbing faintly.

He suddenly stepped forward, the suffocating confrontation almost reaching its peak.

His gaze was dark and cold, like a glacier frozen for ten thousand years about to shatter.

In the corner, Zhou Zhan, tormented into a daze, let out an extremely weak sound.

Zhou Mingqi's gaze abruptly turned to the corner, quickly scanning the three people tangled together in the corner, his expression darker than ever.

He slowly turned back, his gaze falling once again on Yun Xunyu and Cheng Ge, his expression complex and hard to read——

Outside the hall, Consort Chen, kneeling prostrate on the ground, was tightly digging into her palms, her nails digging so deep they left bloody marks on her flesh.

She strained her ears, nervously trying to catch any sound from inside the hall.

Her heart raced with excitement—if the crown prince pulled such a disgraceful stunt, even if he wasn't deposed, he’d lose the emperor’s favor.

As long as Zhou Zhan, that obstacle, was gone, her Hao'er would surely take the throne in the future.

What did it matter if she lacked the emperor's favor? In the future, she would still be the most honored empress dowager of Great Zhou!

Just then, a shadow fell over her, like a black cloud blotting out the sun.

Consort Chen subconsciously looked up and abruptly met Zhou Mingqi's gloomy face, her heart trembling violently.

"Em... Emperor..."

However, before she could say anything else, Zhou Mingqi’s grim voice rang out.

"Upon my inspection, there are no auspicious signs in the hall. Jiang Qiming, Director of the Imperial Observatory, failed in his observation and spread rumors to deceive the public. He is hereby stripped of all official posts and reduced to commoner status, effective immediately."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qiming was terrified out of his wits, his legs giving way as he collapsed to the ground, shouting: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, have mercy! I..."

He subconsciously looked toward Consort Chen, his eyes filled with pleading and helplessness.

"Think of the omitted parts yourself—the author has no more tricks."