Ning Chen was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Zong Sibo. I had him wrong all along. What he's really after has to be revenge, taken in full!"

Feng Qizheng looked completely lost and blurted, "Revenge for what? Revenge on who?"

Ning Chen said slowly, "Years ago, Zong Sibo was framed by the former Left Chancellor and some others and banished from the capital. On the road, he ran into assassins. His whole family was killed, and only he was left, living a life worse than death.

When Zong Sibo came back to court, the first thing he did was track down the assassins who had killed his family. He keeps them like dogs, whips them every day, and makes them live like animals."

The others still didn't get it.

Lei An said, "But the former Left Chancellor died a long time ago, didn't he?"

Ning Chen nodded. "That's right. The Left Chancellor is dead, and so is the Empress... But the De Emperor is still alive. Back then, those three were thick as thieves.

When Zong Sibo was banished, the De Emperor was still crown prince, and he must have fanned the flames!"

Feng Qizheng and the others were stunned!

Yuan Long said, "My lord prince, so you mean Zong Sibo wants to kill the De Emperor and take the throne?"

Ning Chen shook his head. "No. The throne isn't what he wants. He wants to bury the whole Great Xuan... Sometimes revenge doesn't have to mean killing. Destroy what matters most to a man and make him live a life worse than death—that's the best revenge there is.

To the De Emperor, what matters most is the throne, the Great Xuan itself. Zong Sibo wants the Great Xuan destroyed.

I always thought Zong Sibo was after power, but I missed the most important thing. His whole family is dead, and at his age, he's not likely to have any more children... So what good would all the power in the world do him?"

Feng Qizheng and the others listened, open-mouthed.

Lei An muttered, "No wonder he wanted…