The heir of Prince Cheng gave a contemptuous laugh. "That's right. It's my uncle Prince Rui. If he hadn't told me the whole story, I'd still be in the dark and grateful to you."

"But what good does it do you to guess now? Isn't it a little late to figure it out?"

"Take my advice and don't thrash around in your death throes. Write out the edict of abdication now and hand the throne back to me... Otherwise I'll start the killing right here in the Thousand Autumns Palace."

The Xuan Emperor's face was grim. "So that's Prince Rui for you... It seems his paralyzed legs were a sham too?"

The heir of Prince Cheng gave a cold laugh. "How else could he have fooled you?"

"You two have certainly gone to great pains. (TL Note: a Chinese idiom — literally, to spend one's bitter heart to the utmost; to go to enormous trouble over a scheme.)"

"That's enough talk. Hurry up and write the edict of abdication, or don't blame me when I start killing."

The color drained from every face. Everyone was terrified.

The Ninth Princess pulled from her hair the gold hairpin Ning Chen had given her and gripped it tight. "Don't be afraid, Father Emperor. Huai'an will protect you!"

A trace of a smile touched the Xuan Emperor's grim face.

"Father Emperor doesn't need Huai'an to protect him yet. Hide behind Father Emperor."

With that, the Xuan Emperor turned to the heir of Prince Cheng, his face darkening all at once. "You traitor, do you really think you already hold the winning tally in your hand? (TL Note: a Chinese idiom — literally, to hold the winning tally in one's grip; to be certain of victory.) Who can say which would come out on top if your Moon-Shadow Army met the Ning'an Army?"

The heir of Prince Cheng sneered. "The Ning'an Army that Ning Chen trained is brave, I'll grant you. Too bad you sent the Ning'an Army off to Yunzhou to put down the rebellion."

"In fact, I'd like to know myself whether the…