Mo Junjiu was unwilling as Mo Xiangbin vented on him for no reason. He looked terrified, saying, “I am willing to share your worries, Father.”
“Share my worries?” Mo Xiangbin snorted and glanced over the crowd coldly before asking slowly, “Now the colorful phenix has died. If the other three countries know it, do you think they will let it go at that?”
“As long as we can find the one who poisoned the colorful phenix to take the blame, the other three countries can’t cause you trouble.” Mo Junjiu spoke with certainty, as if he had found the murderer.
Mo Xiangbin raised his brows. “Oh? So do you know who the murderer is?”
Mo Junjiu’s face stiffened, and he couldn’t say a word.
How could he point anybody out as the murderer? He just wanted to find a scapegoat randomly and shift Mo Xiangbin’s attention.
Unexpectedly, Mo Xiangbin really asked Mo Junjiu to tell him who the murderer was.
“I don’t know,” Mo Junjiu answered helplessly.
Mo Xiangbin seemed to have expected and showed no emotion on his face. “In this case, how would you share my worries?”
Mo Junjiu leered at Mo Junyu and Mo Junyang, with resentment flashing in his eyes, but he soon restrained it.
He gritted his teeth and replied, “It’s difficult to find the one who poisoned the colorful phenix, but it’s easy to find somebody to take the responsibility. After all, there are many people who should be responsible for it.”
He said the word “many” casually on purpose, full of meaning.
Mo Junyu certainly knew that Mo Junjiu indicated that he could be the fall guy, so he got angry instantly. “Junjiu, I have no animosity against you and I am your elder brother. Even if you are jealous of me, you don’t need to add insult to my injury at this time, right?”
Mo Junjiu shrugged innocently and expressed, “Junyu, what do you mean? I don’t understand. I just told the truth. After all…”
He prolonged his tone and continued slowly, “The colorful phenix was poisoned in your East Palace and died in King Rui’s mansion. You and Junyang can hardly get away with it, right?”
Gee, it was not enough to drag down Mo Junyu, and he even tried to harm Mo Junyang at the same time.
Hearing Mo Junjiu’s words, even Mo Junhao who always stayed out of the matter thought that the third prince was too eager for quick success and instant benefits and too greedy.
“Junjiu, I am afraid that your words are improper. The colorful phenix had died before it arrived at King Rui’s mansion. How can you blame Junyang?” Mo Junhao interrupted leisurely.
He seemed to speak for Mo Junyang but fixed his eyes on Mo Xiangbin all the time.
Mo Xiangbin showed a satisfied smile after hearing that and nodded approvingly. “Junhao, you are right. I told all of you to come here in order to ask you to help me find the murderer and settle this crisis, not to let you suspect each other and drag down anybody.
“Junjiu, you are not a good talker. Just shut up and stay back!”
His tone was distant.
Mo Junjiu realized that Mo Xiangbin said a lot but didn’t want to blame Mo Junyu and Mo Junyang. However, he was reproached because he stood out.
He was reluctant.
At the moment, the empress Liang Jingxian stepped forward and grabbed Mo Junjiu’s hand, playing the peacemaker gently but above suspicion. “Junjiu was just anxious to share your worries, so he didn’t think that much. Your Majesty, please don’t blame him for the sake of his love for you.”
Mo Xiangbin waved his hand coldly and didn’t want to say more.
Liang Jingxian seemed not to have seen it and forcefully pulled Mo Junjiu to stand at the back.
Mo Junjiu still wanted to explain, but Liang Jingxian goggled at him to warn him silently, “Enough! Don’t you think you have a lot to be suspected?”
He noticed the hidden meaning in Liang Jingxian’s eyes but felt more depressed.
If Liang Jingxian and Liang Yuanming were willing to give him a hand, why would he try a dangerous move at this time? And he didn’t believe that his mother and the others had no idea what he wanted to do.
They just allowed him tacitly.
But now there was something wrong, so they just blamed him.
Unfortunately, nobody would care about Mo Junjiu’s broken heart, and everybody still paid attention to the colorful phenix at the moment.
Mo Junhao pondered for a while and figured out a reliable solution. “Father, although the colorful phenix is dead, nobody knows the news except the people in this room, and they don’t even know that it was poisoned. As long as we don’t tell anybody and you say that you have let it fly after your birthday, nobody would know that it has died, and the other three countries wouldn’t have a chance to make things difficult for you.
“What do you think?”
Mo Xiangbin was stunned as he hadn’t thought of such a solution, but the holy bird was well-known far and near. How could it be easy to keep it as a secret?
He turned to Mo Junyang and asked gently, “Junyang, what do you think about Junhao’s idea?”
He asked naturally, the same way as he asked for Mo Junyang’s opinion many times before.
So Mo Xiangbin had never expected that somebody hiding in the dark had grudge in his fierce eyes after seeing that, but the grudge disappeared soon and nobody had noticed it.
Mo Junyang kept silent all the time like a statue and was unhurried even when Mo Junjiu accused him. He didn’t plan to retort.
Till Mo Xiangbin asked him, he raised his head slowly and scanned the crowd in the Moral Hall.
His eyes were indifferent even with no force, but nobody knew why the people under his eyes felt shivers down their spines, and they avoided his gaze without previous arrangement.
When Mo Junyang looked at him, Mo Junhao felt nervous, as if his life and death were in the hands of the other man, and then he felt disappointed.
He and Mo Junyang always had disagreements and belonged to different factions, so perhaps Mo Junyang wouldn’t agree with him this time.
Beyond Mo Junhao’s expectation, Mo Junyang then replied impassively, “We can try the fourth prince’s solution.”
Even Mo Junhao opened his mouth wide in astonishment, let alone others. He looked at Mo Junyang with his wide eyes, as if seeing a ghost.
Only Mo Xiangbin nodded with satisfaction. “Since Junyang said that, let’s just do it. All of you, keep your mouths shut about what happened today. If I know that it is revealed, don’t blame me when I am heartless.”
Seeing that Mo Xiangbin planned to minimize the problem, Mo Junjiu became more reluctant. Regardless of Liang Jingxian’s stopping him, he suddenly inquired, “Lady Qingxue has also known it. What should we do?”
He was not stupid and just mumbled, but his voice was loud enough to make everybody present hear clearly.
Mo Junyang was the first one to react, but his reaction was slight. He just glanced at Mo Junjiu, who trembled for no reason and couldn’t say what he was about to say to make things worse.
His glance was too horrible.
Mo Junjiu thought of the Qin family’s extinction somehow.
But his question was to the point. Shi Qingxue also knew that the colorful phenix was poisoned. No matter if she knew that it had died, it was great hidden trouble.
Mo Junhao spoke for Shi Qingxue first unexpectedly. He patted his chest and guaranteed, “Qingxue knows about the seriousness of the matter. Even if she knows it, she wouldn’t tell anybody. Father, if you are still worried, now I can go to Duke Shi’s mansion to tell her. Then it would be no problem.”
After speaking, Mo Junhao seemed to glance at Mo Junyang unintentionally, with provocation which couldn’t be concealed in his eyes.
He was not blind and had found that after Shi Qingxue recovered, she kept away from Mo Junyang unexpectedly. Although he was surprised, he cared about the result more.
Now that Mo Junyang gave him a chance to steal his girlfriend, Mo Junhao would be an idiot if he didn’t take it, and he had a feeling somehow that Mo Junyang would have no objection this time.
When all people turned to Mo Junyang subconsciously, he seemed not to have heard Mo Junhao’s words. He lowered his head and his lips curled up. Judging from the side of his face, he looked distant and strangers couldn’t get close to him.
But he didn’t say anything.
Mo Xiangbin was in doubt, but he didn’t ask. Instead, he just nodded at Mo Junhao indifferently. “I’ll leave it to you.”
Mo Junhao asked, “How should we deal with the colorful phenix’s dead body?”
A lean camel is bigger than a horse. The poisoned colorful phenix was still a treasure.
Mo Junhao couldn’t help but get excited.
He had figured out this idea and it satisfied Mo Xiangbin. So his father might let him handle the colorful phenix’s dead body.
“Try to keep it a secret. Don’t tell anybody. Since the colorful phenix has been sent to King Rui’s mansion, I believe that Junyang can arrange for its body.” Mo Xiangbin said a few words casually and ruined Mo Junhao’s fantasy.
Mo Junhao was so furious.
Why was he told to do the most tiring job? But Mo Junyang got the colorful phenix while he didn’t need to do anything.
Even a mere cold dead body was enough to make Mo Junhao so jealous that his heart distorted.
But he was good at pretending, and a smile was always on his face. He talked to Mo Junyang, “Junyang, thanks for dealing with it.”
Mo Junyang glimpsed at him lazily, and with a sneer, he responded meaningfully, “You are welcome. Your Highness, you are the most tired…”
Mo Junyang stopped at a point, but Mo Junhao thought that Mo Junyang laughed at him secretly as he did something in vain.
He got more furious as he was thinking. Then he almost couldn’t restrain his anger.
Mo Xiangbin waved his hand wearily and wanted to drive all of them away. “Okay, I am exhausted today. If there is nothing else, all of you can leave now.”
Then he saluted Ling Ruiyin and stated indifferently but retained his majesty, “Mother, you are tired today, too. Go back to rest earlier.”
“…Okay.” Ling Ruiyin intended to justify Mo Junyu, but from beginning to end, Mo Xiangbin didn’t give her a chance to speak.
Ling Ruiyin could do nothing but let the maids help her go back to the Empress Dowager’s residence.
When she walked to the door, Mo Xiangbin suddenly declared, “Crown Prince, stay.”
Everybody on the spot was stunned, and even Mo Junyu looked at Mo Xiangbin in disbelief.
It was because of nothing but Mo Xiangbin calling him “crown prince”.
Didn’t Mo Xiangbin have a plan to depose the crown prince?
All people had this thought in mind, but they had no chance to think, as all of them were asked to leave the Moral Hall.
The Moral Hall’s gate was closed, and what Mo Xiangbin would discuss with Mo Junyu remained a mystery.