The day before the ancestral worship.
Xiao Zhiyi had already arranged for numerous experts to lie in ambush around the ancestral temple, awaiting Xiao Yan's arrival.
Xiao Zhiyi selected a few of his most formidable subordinates and also hired two professional assassins from outside, just in case.
Xiao Zhihong's side was unaware of the Crown Prince's whereabouts, so they remained quiet and made no moves.
Meanwhile, the Emperor was also dispatching people to rush to this location. Su Fan had informed him that it would be in the afternoon today, still quite some time before Xiao Yan would appear.
Su Fan was also in the vicinity, but he had hidden himself far away, concealed on a hillside not far from the ancestral temple. From here, he could observe everything happening at the temple and decide on a course of action when the time was right.
Dozens of assassins were hidden around the ancestral temple, and Xiao Zhiyi himself was also concealed nearby. He wanted to witness the Crown Prince's death with his own eyes, otherwise, he wouldn't feel at ease.
The Crown Prince's disappearing and reappearing act had happened more than once. This time, he wanted to ensure there were no mistakes.
Around noon, Xiao Yan finally appeared.
Xiao Yan arrived at the ancestral temple alone, burning incense to pay respects to his ancestors.
Xiao Zhiyi waited patiently, not rushing to attack the Crown Prince. He wanted to see if this was a trap set by the Crown Prince.
After Xiao Yan normally completed his ancestral worship, he made no move to linger and prepared to leave directly.
Xiao Zhiyi frowned.
Xiao Zhiyi's immediate departure indicated it wasn't a trap. If it were, he wouldn't leave so quickly; he would wait for the bait to be hooked.
Xiao Zhiyi felt he couldn't wait any longer. If he delayed further, he would miss this opportunity.
"Attack!"
Xiao Zhiyi quietly commanded his subordinates.
Upon receiving Xiao Zhiyi's order, over a dozen assassins leaped from the shadows, surrounding Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan's face immediately showed a look of horror.
"Who are you?"
Xiao Yan appeared to be terrified, completely caught off guard.
"The ones who will kill you!"
Without hesitation, the dozen assassins lunged at Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan hastily defended himself.
Xiao Yan's strength was considerable; he managed to hold his own for several rounds against the encirclement of the assassins.
"Xiao Zhiyi! Come out!"
Xiao Yan shouted into the surroundings.
While Xiao Yan was distracted, a blade struck his shoulder, and blood splattered out.
"Xiao Zhiyi! You coward! Always hiding in the shadows! The crime of fratricide, and you still want to be Crown Prince!"
Xiao Yan continued to shout into the surroundings while fending off the attacks.
*Slish!*
Xiao Yan's chest was struck again.
Blood sprayed out, and Xiao Yan's face turned pale.
Su Fan, observing everything, felt a pang of worry but restrained himself for the moment, not wanting Xiao Yan's plan to be wasted.
Chen Fang, also hidden, felt the same as Su Fan, wanting to rush forward to rescue Xiao Yan but not wanting to jeopardize Xiao Yan's plan.
Xiao Yan, enduring the pain, forced himself to stand and confront the dozen assassins. He was at the end of his strength, finding it difficult even to stand.
*Slish!*
An assassin behind Xiao Yan thrust a sword towards his chest. Xiao Yan sensed it and narrowly avoided a vital spot; the blade pierced his shoulder.
Xiao Yan could no longer hold on and collapsed to his knees, too weak to force himself to stand.
"Xiao Zhiyi! You cowardly skulker!"
Xiao Yan continued to curse Xiao Zhiyi.
Xiao Zhiyi, hidden in the shadows, had a grim expression. Seeing that Xiao Yan had lost all ability to resist, he could no longer restrain himself and emerged from his hiding place!
"Coward? The victor becomes king, the loser has no right to criticize me!"
Xiao Zhiyi said coldly, looking at the defenseless Xiao Yan.
"Heh! The victor becomes king? True, but to seize the position of Crown Prince, you would commit fratricide. Are you, a heartless and unrighteous person, fit to be called a king?"
Xiao Yan sneered.
Blood flowed continuously from his body. He didn't know how much longer he could last, only hoping his father would arrive soon.
"Heartless and unrighteous? Emperors have always been heartless. Only I am fit to be Emperor. You are all too indecisive. Father is in such good health, when will you wait to become Emperor? After I deal with you today, once I become Crown Prince, the next will be the Emperor!"
Xiao Zhiyi's face contorted into a manic smile, making no attempt to hide his ambition.
Xiao Yan was shocked by Xiao Zhiyi's wild declaration.
He had always thought Xiao Zhiyi was merely unscrupulous in his pursuit of the Crown Prince's position, but he never imagined his ambition extended to the throne itself.
"Killing your brother, killing your father, you truly stop at nothing."
Xiao Yan said in a deep voice.
"Thank you for your praise, Imperial Brother. As I said, the victor becomes king. No one will know of today's events. History books will only record that Crown Prince Xiao Zhiyi of the Tianlong Dynasty, while worshipping his ancestors, accidentally fell into a valley, his remains lost. His younger brother, in search of his remains, braved wind and rain for over half a month at the foot of the mountain, with no success. What do you think of such a record? Future generations will only see me as a benevolent ruler who was loyal and righteous. Killing my brother, killing my father? Those are merely rumors among the populace."
Xiao Zhiyi said to Xiao Yan with an evil grin.
Xiao Yan fell silent.
"Have you ever considered that this might be a trap?"
Xiao Yan said to Xiao Zhiyi.
Xiao Zhiyi froze, his gaze nervously sweeping the surroundings. However, there was nothing there.
Xiao Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Trying to scare me? You won't live much longer in your current state. Using your own life as bait? I must commend you, hahaha."
Xiao Zhiyi couldn't help but burst into mocking laughter.
"After fighting for so many years, you still don't understand me at all. Anything I am willing to do, I will stake everything on, including my life."
Xiao Yan said to Xiao Zhiyi in a deep voice.
Xiao Zhiyi suddenly had a bad premonition.
"Quick! Kill him!"
Xiao Zhiyi hurriedly commanded his subordinates.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
A sharp voice rang out from behind. Xiao Zhiyi's body trembled violently.
One of the assassins, fiercely loyal to Xiao Zhiyi, had already raised his sword and was thrusting it towards Xiao Yan's chest.
*Clang!*
A flash of sword light streaked past. The assassin froze in place, clutching his neck in disbelief as blood continuously spurted from between his fingers.
Chen Fang had arrived in time, blocking the fatal blow for Xiao Yan.
Su Fan also descended from the mountain and hurried towards them.
Emperor Xiao Yuan descended from his carriage with a dark expression, his gaze chillingly fixed on Xiao Zhiyi.
"Father!"
Xiao Zhiyi's heart trembled, and he immediately knelt before Xiao Yuan.
"I saw my Imperial Brother in danger and came specifically to rescue him."
Xiao Zhiyi quickly concocted an excuse to conceal his fratricidal intentions.
Xiao Yuan's face was grim as he coldly looked at Xiao Zhiyi.
"Do you take me for a blind man?"
Xiao Yuan said angrily, looking at Xiao Zhiyi kneeling on the ground.
"Imperial Physician, go and examine the Crown Prince's condition."
Xiao Yuan's emotions were complex. His son intended to kill the Crown Prince, which he found difficult to accept.
"If Qian'er is unharmed, you might live to see another day. If he dies, you will be buried with your Imperial Brother."
Xiao Yuan's icy voice filled Xiao Zhiyi with dread, and he trembled as he knelt to the side.
"Your Majesty, I have a healing elixir here, it might save the Crown Prince!"
Su Fan arrived at this moment, attempting to rush forward but was stopped by the Imperial Guards. Although Su Fan was also an Imperial Guard, they did not recognize him.