The Valued Lady is Truly Dominant

Chapter 972: Chapter 972: The True and False Princes Confront Each Other

Xia Houzhe’s casual remarks sent a shiver through Shang Pu. His face turned from red to blue, then to white, looking utterly embarrassed.

Seeing this, Xia Houzhe curled his lips into a mocking smile and said, ”Look at how shattered you are, as if I’ve touched upon the very thing you can’t bear to face. Well, you’re brothers of the same father, born into nobility, surely you understand the inherent coldness and ruthlessness of the Royal Family.”

”Shut up!”

”You don’t believe me? Admit it, even if you were in that position, you’d never allow another to sleep soundly beneath your own roof.” Xia Houzhe sneered.

Grinding his molars, Shang Pu calmed down and chuckled coldly, ”You’ve reminded me, with this broken body of mine and a fate that’s destined not to last long, why should I struggle? Since that’s the case, why should I continue to let you suppress me at every turn?”

The barefooted one fears no one with shoes, that’s the truth.

What good does it do a dying man to conspire with this madman for this kingdom?

It’s clear at a glance who should be more anxious.

Xia Houzhe watched him sit down to pour tea, completely at ease, not angered, but rather smiled.

”It’s just a matter of the Poisonous Insect. As long as you take your medicine on time, aren’t you still alive? You were supposed to die before twenty-five, and you’re now twenty-six. If we succeed one day, the insect can be drawn out, and you’ll still survive, with your Princess by your side.” Xia Houzhe stated with a faint smile, ”You’ve seen the Princess, haven’t you? Isn’t she extraordinarily beautiful? Her status is noble, her demeanor impeccable, unmatched in her grace, she deserves to be a Princess held high.”

Shang Pu felt utterly humiliated and looked up to stare at him.

”Doesn’t that stir your fighting spirit? Fine then, watch your good Imperial Brother enjoy this great land, surrounded by consorts, with countless children, achieving the praise of an enlightened ruler for the ages. And you, not even allowed entry into the Great Chu Imperial Mausoleum, destined to be buried as a lowly merchant’s son, are you content with that? Why, when you’re both offspring of Emperor Kai Ping, is one so exalted, while the other is reduced to dust? After all the high hopes your father had for you...”

”Stop it!” Shang Pu rebuked softly, ”If it weren’t for your remnants, would I have fallen so far?”

If he hadn’t been swapped and confined on his way to the fief, changed face, how could he be Shang Pu and not Chu Ze?

Those years, he was constantly drugged, monitored, in a daze, brainwashed to believe he was truly a merchant’s son. It was because he kept a shred of clarity and played along that he had the chance to meet and be recognized by Princess Consort Ji.

Yet in the end, it was just a self-directed play he put on for this madman; the man had known all along.

Xia Houzhe coldly laughed, ”You’re right. If it weren’t for the Xia clan, you’d probably be a pile of bones by now. Do you really think these years have been so smooth? Should I enumerate the big and small assassination attempts for you?”

Shang Pu tensed up again.

Xia Houzhe snorted and sat back down.

”What exactly do you want? So many years have passed, you’ve gathered those old subordinates you could gather, even Xuzhou is entirely under control, yet you insist on returning to this capital, accomplishing nothing and losing many spies instead. What are you planning?”

This was something Shang Pu couldn’t understand. It could be ignored when it was trivial, but now that Xia Houzhe had gained influence, he should rise directly, but what about the reality?

The reality is that the moves he makes cause little harm and don’t inflict any real damage to the kingdom, instead they alert the enemy, and he doesn’t understand what the point is.

Shang Pu glanced inadvertently from the corner of his eye to see the other’s face twisted with a bit of frustration and anger, causing a flash in his gaze.