Besides lying down, I also know a little about power struggles

Chapter 177 Only Hate

The sun sets.

The area around the imperial farm was so quiet that it seemed like a wilderness.

Feng Yuyang walked slowly along the bamboo path, leaning on a cane.

The cane hit the stone slabs, making a "thump, thump, thump" sound, which accompanied his light and heavy footsteps, forming a strange rhythm.

He came to a wooden house, stood at the door, listened to the whipping sound coming from inside, and asked the man in black guarding outside: "Still refusing to give in?"

The man in black shook his head.

Feng Yuyang smiled and said, "My twelfth brother is tough both in words and bones."

As he stepped over the threshold, he saw a whip shadow flash in the air, and with a "snap" sound, a streak of blood was left.

The room was not big. There was a man with his hands tied behind his back on the pillar in the middle of the room. It was Feng Twelve.

He had been whipped several times, and his clothes were torn and stained with blood.

The torturer saw Feng Yuyang, put down his hands and bowed: "Your Majesty."

Feng Yuyang waved his hand and asked people to leave.

He walked up to Feng Twelve, glanced at his bloody shoulder, and said with a click of the tongue: "This knife wound is not light, and the wound on your back is probably not healed yet. Twelve, why are you so stubborn?"

Feng Twelve lowered his head slightly and said nothing.

Feng Yuyang pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve: "The other brothers have agreed to nominate me to succeed the crown prince. As long as you write your name on it, I will release you immediately and have someone treat your injuries."

Feng Twelve moved slowly, looking at the ink and bloody fingerprints on the paper, with a hint of sneer on his lips.

"Besides me, there's still one missing, isn't there?"

Feng Yuyang smiled and said, "Yes, there is still one missing, Old Seven. Little Twelve, you have no friendship with him, why are you protecting him? If you hadn't stopped him before, he would have been caught by my people, or - he would have died."

Feng Yuyang's men found the Seventh Prince at the gate of the imperial manor. The imperial guards were no match for the men in black, and the Seventh Prince was nearly pierced through the heart by a sword. It was Feng Twelve who suddenly appeared and rescued the Seventh Prince from the sword.

The seventh prince fled in a hurry, but Feng Twelve was captured due to exhaustion.

Feng Yuyang took out a document, which stated that he would inherit the throne of the crown prince, and asked the captured prince to sign and seal it. The others all did so, except Feng Twelve who refused.

Feng Yuyang detained him here alone and ordered his men to flog him.

Looking at Feng Twelve's body covered with scars, Feng Yuyang looked puzzled.

"What are you insisting on?" he asked. "His Majesty has never been kind to you. Do you still care about the relationship between father and son? Little Twelve, you don't have to lie to me. I can see that you are just like me. You only hate His Majesty, not love him."

Feng Twelve raised his eyes and saw a bead of blood flowing down from his forehead and hanging at the corner of his eye, like cinnabar.

"Your Majesty treats you well." He said slowly.

Feng Yuyang laughed loudly. "Not bad?" He opened his arms. "If it wasn't bad, how could I be in such a state?"

He looked down at his feet and said, "You don't know how much I envy you. I've seen you run and jump since you were little. Even if my father doesn't love you anymore, you can still learn martial arts and go into battle. But what about me? I can only follow behind everyone with a cane, being despised and laughed at. Even the eunuchs and palace maids dare to gossip about me behind my back. Even if I kill one, there's always another."

Feng Twelve said: "No wonder Yuquan Palace keeps changing people. It seems that the Concubine Xian has put a lot of effort into you."

Feng Yuyang smiled and said, "It's a pity that His Majesty can't stand my mother always protecting me. No, he can't stand me hanging around in front of him. My presence always reminds him of what he did."

He paused here subtly and asked, "Do you know what he did?"

"Do not want to know."

Feng Yuyang was stunned for a moment by Feng Twelve's indifference, and then he burst into laughter.

"As expected of you, Little Twelve. You don't care about anything except your own business." He smiled and then changed the subject. "I like your personality, but I hate it even more. Why can you be so contented when you are equally unpopular? Even the two cats you raise are the same as you."

Feng Twelve's eyes moved and he stared at him coldly.

"You killed the cat in the palace."

This is not a question, it is an affirmation.

Feng Yuyang smiled wantonly, "Yeah, you don't think that kid Feng Wuxian has the ability to chop off the head and bones of a cat, do you? He always talks loudly, but when it comes to taking action, he is more timid than anyone else. Otherwise, how could he have been caught by you guys in such a short time when he forced the emperor to abdicate last time?"

"You were the one behind all this," Feng Twelve said, "From the assassination of Prince Ping at Bai Niao Pavilion to the fact that someone was following me all the way south, it was all your scheme."

"Yes," Feng Yuyang nodded slowly, "I wanted to stir up a dispute between the Crown Prince and Prince Ping, and wait for them to lose, then I would reap the benefits, but it's a pity that Prince Ping is not up to the task. His uncle is quite capable, but he is far away in Luozhou and can't control his nephew. But you can't blame me, even if I didn't add fuel to the flames, they would have attacked you and the Crown Prince. The assassination of you in Weichang was Sui Yongdao's idea. When you went south for inspection, Sui Yongdao also sent people to Linshui County to keep an eye on you. I just exposed them in advance."

Feng Twelve lowered his eyes. He had lost too much blood, and his voice was a little weak: "But you still failed."

Feng Yuyang's toes moved in front of him, and the cane made a sharp, short sound on the ground.

"I didn't expect you to notice something was wrong, and I didn't expect the Crown Prince to take another path," Feng Yuyang said, "I noticed something was wrong the day the Crown Princess entered the palace. Only Feng Wuqiong, that idiot, didn't understand. If the Crown Prince really had something wrong, His Majesty would not let the Crown Princess leave the palace again. He would keep her under close watch for the sake of his grandson."

He said coldly: "Feng Wuqiong was indeed defeated that night, but so what? Since no one can deal with the prince, let me do it."

"Qingluan Hongxiao is yours, as is Wuyueshanren," Feng Twelve said, "and Liu Yin from the Dali Temple, and Ji Xiu, the Minister of Rites."

"Qingluan and her gang are just thugs who do things for money. They are not worthy of being my subordinates," Feng Yuyang said proudly. "As for Ji Xiu, he is just a lecher. I don't even bother to recruit him into the gang."

"But you bribed him to bring poisonous spices to the Imperial Temple," Feng Twelve said, "He thought it was just a deal to enrich himself, but he didn't expect someone wanted to use him to harm His Majesty."

Feng Yuyang raised his lips and said, "He is just a backup option. After Hong Xiao disappeared, I knew that I couldn't put my hope on Ji Xiu, so whether he was discovered or not would not affect my plan."

Feng Twelve looked at him and said, "Your plan is to murder His Majesty in the Imperial Temple today? How do you know that he will come to the Imperial Temple?"

Feng Yuyang smiled leisurely: "Because of the Yaotai Banquet."

Feng Twelve's eyes gradually became focused: "What do you mean?"