Chapter 2188: Chapter 2188: Is There No Conscience Left?

She couldn’t do much either, being the Empress Dowager. Although she held some power, it was mostly symbolic. When it came to critical matters, things were different. News, after all, was never as well-informed as that of the Central Emperor.

“What about you?”

An Jiuyue nodded at the Empress Dowager, then turned her gaze to the Ninth Prince.

“Uh…”

The Ninth Prince was momentarily stumped by the question.

What could he do? The Yiinn Family only had three people left. The best he could do was dispatch some men to provide protection. Beyond that, there wasn’t much he could do.

After all, the royal families of the Nine Kingdoms all had their eyes on the Yiinn Family. If he acted too boldly, the other eight royal families might misunderstand, thinking he was trying to seize members of the Yiinn Family for himself.

“I just sent some men to stay hidden near Yiinn Family territory, but recently I found out that all of them were killed by people sent by the Emperor of Beikun.”

As for him, well, his Emperor brother was always particularly wary of him. Even though he commanded an army of five hundred thousand, he wasn’t privy to such timely information.

“High Priest, the matters of the Yiinn Family aren’t something I can meddle in just because I want to.” He raised his hand and rubbed his nose.

The Yiinn Family matter involved so many different elements. A slight misstep could drag the entire Central Imperial Country into trouble.

Although he wasn’t afraid of the Central Emperor facing consequences, the innocent common folk didn’t deserve to be implicated.

“Hmm.”

An Jiuyue nodded slowly.

At least he wasn’t like the Central Emperor, that despicable man, who had already acted against the Yiinn Family.

Her gaze shifted sideways, landing once more on the Central Emperor. Hearing his incessant wailing, she frowned slightly. Yuu Rong hadn’t even hit him that hard. As a cultivator, if he couldn’t endure this level of pain, he was truly useless.

“Yuu Rong, that’s enough. His whining is giving me a headache.”

“Alright.”

Yuu Rong responded and stopped attacking the Central Emperor.

He reached out, grabbed the man, and hauled him over to An Jiuyue, tossing him to the ground before her.

“Sister-in-law, what do you plan to do with him?”

“What to do, indeed?”

An Jiuyue raised her hand, touching her chin as her gaze swept over the faces of the Empress Dowager and the Ninth Prince. Noticing their unchanged expressions, both clearly uninterested in sparing the Central Emperor even a glance, she chuckled softly.

“It seems the Empress Dowager and Ninth Prince hold little regard for the Central Emperor, don’t they?” she remarked.

At her words, the Empress Dowager shifted her gaze sideways, casting a glance at her son, the Central Emperor, before closing her eyes.

Once, she had deeply loved this son. But for reasons unknown to her, despite growing up with the same acres, the same water, and the same education, the child she nurtured turned out so different. What could she do?

All her affection for this son had vanished long ago, eroded by one mistake after another. It disappeared completely two years ago, when he squandered fifty thousand soldiers of the Central Imperial Country and ignored her counsel, sending the Minister of State to prison.

As for the Ninth Prince, he felt even less brotherly affection for his Emperor sibling.

Since he could remember, the Central Emperor had been scheming against him daily. He had lost count of how many times his brother had plotted to kill him.

Such an Emperor brother–his life or death had nothing to do with him.

“High Priest, as long as the Central Imperial Country can have a new Emperor who won’t bring disaster to its people, my Emperor brother… you can deal with him as you see fit.” He said.

“Zhong Jin! I am your Emperor brother! Your own blood brother! How can you talk like that? Where’s your conscience?” The Central Emperor, hearing his words, stopped wailing and yelled curses at him.