FID – Chapter 886

Chapter 886: Want to Challenge Me? You’re Still Too Naive

“Ah!” Consort Liu clutched her head and screamed as she crouched down. “It wasn’t me! I didn’t kill them! When my people got to Baicao Valley, they were already dead!”

“You think I’d believe that?”

“It wasn’t me! I swear! If I’m lying, may I be struck by lightning!” She caught a glimpse of the cold blade flashing toward her again and screamed once more. “I did want to take down Baicao Valley, but someone beat me to it!”

“Who?”

“I don’t know! When my people arrived, they saw subordinates of the late emperor already there. As soon as those men left, mine pulled out right after. I didn’t kill them!”

As death loomed near, Consort Liu blurted everything out in a frantic rush, almost incoherent, terrified that if she delayed even a second, the blade hanging at her throat would come down.

“Back then, Xue Wanrong seduced the late emperor. I only wanted to teach her a lesson, that’s why I considered taking action against Baicao Valley. But that massacre, that had nothing to do with me! You’re killing me without knowing the full truth. Clearly, someone manipulated you!”

She paused mid-sentence, stunned, and suddenly looked up. “Was it you who killed Prince Yan and his son?!—”

Before her eyes, the room was empty.

Only a single oil lamp remained, its flame flickering unsteadily.

Gong Ling had somehow disappeared without a sound.

She collapsed to the floor in a heap, gasping for breath. Her face was deathly pale. Still shaken from her brush with death, her eyes gradually filled with intense hatred.

As she slowly regained her composure, she realized something was terribly wrong.

This was the imperial palace. Even if Gong Ling was supremely skilled, it shouldn’t have been possible for him to sneak in as if no one were guarding the place.

And yet, despite all the yelling and screaming she had just done inside the hall, there hadn’t been the slightest response from outside.

—Gong Ling was let in by someone!

And the reason he was let in…she suddenly grasped something. Her fingers clenched tightly, face twisted in fury. “Feng Qingbai!”

The King’s Manor, study.

A shadowy figure flashed in through the window, sword in hand, slashing toward the man seated at the desk. But the sword was effortlessly caught between two fingers.

“Impressive skills,” came a lazy, indifferent voice.

The man in black tore the mask from his face and pulled off his nightclothes, tossing them in front of Feng Qingbai. Slouching into a chair, he said bluntly, “She confessed. I’m sure she wasn’t lying. It wasn’t her. Her people were a step too late. In the end, we still couldn’t dig out the real killer.”

After a pause, Xue Qinglian gave him a sidelong glance. “I’m just saying, if you want to dig pits, go ahead, but do you have to drag me into your dirty work? I’ve got a lot on my plate, you know.”

“I’m trying to find the one who destroyed your Baicao Valley. Do you think that has nothing to do with you?”

“…” Xue Qinglian rubbed his nose, knowing he was in the wrong. Then he added, “But can you at least not make me act like some delicate little flower? Look at my arm, man—I’ve got goosebumps all over!”

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeve and leaned over to show Feng Qingbai.

“You can leave now,” the man leaned back slightly, avoiding his arm, and replied calmly.

“Tch!” With a scoff, Xue Qinglian retracted his arm, got up, and headed out through the front door. He didn’t forget to toss out a sarcastic line: “Use and discard, heartless and irresponsible.”

Feng Qingbai propped his chin on one hand, gazing into the distant, dark night, deep in thought.

To lure Consort Liu into a trap, he had orchestrated the incident at the Prince Yan Manor. After letting the rumors ferment for a few days, he deliberately had them spread to her ears, stirring her hatred and panic, destabilizing her mentally.

When a person’s mind is in chaos, it’s much easier for them to fall into a trap.

Then, he had Xue Qinglian impersonate Honglian and attempt an assassination during her moment of vulnerability, forcing her to reveal the truth.

The reason for all this was to confirm the old eunuch’s suspicion; whether someone from the imperial harem had truly targeted Baicao Valley back then. 

And the reason Consort Liu was singled out was simple: after the late emperor’s death, only three consorts remained in the palace. Aside from Liu, the other two didn’t have the power to pull off such a thing.

The result of the test was conclusive, but the trail for further investigation had gone cold.

Feng Qingbai rubbed his brow and let out a silent sigh.

“Master, should we take care of those two?” Wei Zi appeared and asked in a low voice.

Feng Qingbai paused in silence. “Let them go back.”

“Yes.”

“As for Consort Liu, from now on, I don’t want to hear her voice again, nor do I want to see her running around.”

“What do you mean, Master?” 

“Let her keep her life. That’s enough.” Feng Qingbai stood up and walked slowly outside.

He was no longer the reckless and fearless King of Nanling he used to be. Now, he had a wife and children.

While eliminating his enemies, he also wanted to accumulate some blessings for his family.

Even if, deep down, he still didn’t believe in gods or buddhas.

In the master bedroom, Liu Yusheng had just finished feeding the two little ones. In just under half a month, the babies had already grown noticeably—about half the size more than when they were born.

By now, feeding no longer tired them to the point of instantly falling asleep. If they were still awake afterward, Liu Yusheng would let them play by her side for a while.

As a result, the frequency of them falling asleep after feeding was decreasing.

Because they wanted to stay close to their mother.

Feng Qingbai entered the room, took off his shoes, and lay down on the bed—right beside Xiao Badou. 

The tiny one immediately kicked a foot out and used that momentum to scoot his small body upward, eventually wriggling his way up to Feng Qingbai’s head.

The tiny foot lifted high again, ready to stomp down, but Feng Qingbai reached out in time to grab it and lifted the baby up in one motion.

Upside down again, Xiao Maodou looked utterly defeated by life. His tiny paws hung limply, and his small body swayed back and forth in the man’s hand.

“Stop messing with him like that. He just ate, he’ll spit up again,” Liu Yusheng scolded him.

“He won’t. He wouldn’t bear to spit up.”

Xiao Badou, “…”

From the bed, another tiny foot suddenly kicked toward Feng Qingbai’s face.

He caught the little foot again—but this time, the treatment was very different.

Feng Qingbai sighed softly, then actually pressed his face against his daughter’s little foot, letting her stomp and play on his face. The baby girl giggled with her mouth wide open, babbling happily.

Xiao Badou again, “…”

When he was finally put down, he refused to move at all.

After some playtime, the two babies were carried to the next room. Just then, Xiao Badou’s diaper was wet. Grandma Liu, feeling impulsive, told Feng Qingbai to change the diaper himself.

In her words—‘Men have to learn how to take care of babies too.’

Otherwise, once these old folks leave after a while, wouldn’t everything have to rely on the servants? Then the kids wouldn’t be close to their parents anymore.

Taking the diaper handed over by the old lady, Feng Qingbai bent down to pull off Xiao Badou’s wet diaper, catching a flicker of light in the baby’s eyes.

Raising an eyebrow, he sneered coldly, first placing a clean diaper over the wet one before carefully removing the soaked part.

Then, he wrapped the little girl with a diaper before turning to clean Xiao Baidou’s bottom.

Although his movements were awkward and clumsy, he didn’t miss a single step.

Only Xiao Badou, feeling defeated, had all the spark vanish from his eyes.

After the diaper was changed, Feng Qingbai looked down at his son from above and said, “I never fall twice in the same place. You want to compete with me? You’re still too inexperienced.”

Xiao Badou, “…”

The entire Liu family: “?”

What on earth happened between this father and son?