Chapter 69
Because they had not known in advance whether the evidence Xia Yuanhan had left behind would be in paper form or digital form, Feng Wu had prepared the detector for both possibilities.
The moment it obtained the chip, the detector’s mechanical arm immediately inserted it into the chip slot inside its body.
Feng Wu began decrypting it remotely. He was very familiar with this sort of thing, and his speed was fast as well. It did not take long before the contents of the chip were displayed on the light screen.
“It’s all here,” Feng Wu said.
He and Lin An’an skimmed through it quickly. By the time they finished, neither of them looked very good.
Even though they had already guessed many of the things Xia Yuanhan had done, seeing each crime laid out one by one before their eyes still left them shaken by just how ruthless he was.
Feng Wu closed the light screen and gently took hold of Lin An’an’s hand, which had clenched into a fist at some point.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
Lin An’an closed his eyes. His voice sounded lower than usual. “Mm. I’m fine.”
He took a deep breath, opened his eyes again, and said, “It’s getting late. We should get ready and head to the main hall.”
Feng Wu nodded. He quickly transmitted the contents of the chip to Si Youlin and the others, then guided the detector to return the chip to the safe and restore the room exactly as it had been before.
This was to prevent Xia Yuanhan from suddenly deciding, on a whim, to inspect Xia Jiyuan’s room before they made their move and noticing that someone had tampered with the chip.
Though even if he did discover it, it would not matter too much—they would simply move their original plan forward. Still, Feng Wu did not want the plan disrupted.
After all, their original timing was after the memorial banquet ended. If things happened earlier, Bai Cenrou’s memorial banquet would inevitably be interrupted.
Feng Wu glanced at the silent young man beside him.
That was not a scene he wanted to see, and it was certainly not one Lin An’an wanted either.
Before the memorial banquet officially began, Feng Wu, Lin An’an, and Mo Dexin regrouped and arrived at the main hall together.
The setup of the hall was completely different from Xia Changluo’s birthday banquet last time. All the extravagant, ostentatious decorations had been removed. The overall tone of the hall was dim, though not oppressive.
The moment they entered, Mo Dexin was once again surrounded by people, just as before.
Lin An’an and Feng Wu were more than happy to leave him to it. They found a secluded little corner and acted like they were invisible.
There was still nearly half an hour before the banquet officially started. Feng Wu brought over some pastries and set them on the low table in front of them.
“Mango steamed cake?” Lin An’an froze. “Why would there be—”
He stopped halfway through the sentence, pressed his lips together, and his expression darkened.
Feng Wu asked, “What is it?”
“My mother was allergic to mango. I remember that at every memorial banquet for her in the past, there was never any food made with mango.” Lin An’an lowered his eyes slightly. “But then again, those memorial banquets used to be organized by Big Brother. This time it’s Xia Yuanhan. It’s normal that he doesn’t remember Mother’s mango allergy.”
Feng Wu patted his back. Using the long curtain in front of them as cover, he let Lin An’an lean against him.
Lin An’an rested there for a short while before sitting up again. “I’m okay, Brother Wolf.”
He let out a soft sigh. Looking at the hall full of people chatting and smiling, he murmured, “I wonder whether this memorial banquet is really being held for Mother, or for these people.”
Among all the people present, how many of them actually still remembered that this was supposed to be the late empress’s memorial banquet?
Probably so few that one hand would be enough to count them.
Lin An’an tugged at the corner of his mouth. A trace of mockery flashed through his lowered eyes.
At around ten o’clock, Xia Jiyuan finally appeared at the entrance of the main hall. Behind him came Xia Yuanhan and Xia Changluo, with Uncle Lu supporting Xia Changluo by the arm.
Xia Changluo’s gaze swept once across the hall, as if searching for someone. In the end, however, he seemed not to find what he wanted and could only withdraw his gaze with faint disappointment.
Lin An’an blinked and tapped lightly at the spiritual link between himself and Xia Changluo.
Big Brother, once the memorial banquet is over, you’ll see me. he said. I’m already inside the hall. Very soon now.
Walking beside Xia Yuanhan, Xia Changluo lowered his eyes ever so slightly and replied in his mind, All right. Be careful.
The memorial banquet lasted only five short hours, but to Lin An’an, those five hours dragged on like an eternity.
Second by second, time passed. And when Lin An’an once again looked toward the front of the great hall and saw the clock on the light screen edging close to three in the afternoon, he slowly drew in a breath and exchanged a glance with Feng Wu beside him.
Feng Wu gave him a slight nod, signaling that every preparation had already been put in place.
The memorial banquet was about to end. The afternoon activities had already stopped. At that moment, Xia Jiyuan stood on the raised platform, giving the customary closing remarks for the memorial banquet.
Xia Yuanhan and Xia Changluo stood on either side of him. Xia Yuanhan smiled warmly at the crowd below, looking gentle and elegant.
The enormous light screen behind them played the memory video prepared in advance about Bai Cenrou. In it, Lin An’an even caught sight of photos of himself from when he had been little.
Down below, he blinked once and quickly suppressed the many emotions rising in his chest.
The bell marking three o’clock rang out, and at almost the exact same moment, the video on the light screen finished playing.
But strangely, the screen did not dim the way it usually did after the video ended. Instead, it flickered into static, as though the image had frozen.
With his back to the screen, Xia Yuanhan had not yet noticed anything unusual.
At the same time, standing near the edge of the crowd, Lin An’an made a small movement with his arm and carefully released a virtual camera.
Hidden behind his body, the virtual camera went unnoticed by everyone else.
Lin An’an slowly let out a breath and used the account An Zai to start a livestream.
He had not announced this stream in advance. But during the past few days, he had often gone live without warning to take everyone along to watch the construction progress of the transfer station on Shouwang Star. Because of that, many people had been paying especially close attention to his livestream room.
As long as he went live, anyone who had followed his room would receive a notification.
In only a few seconds, more than ten thousand viewers had already poured into the room, and the number was still rising at an astonishing speed.
Ahhh, I actually caught Zai-zai’s livestream!
Rubbing hands excitedly—An Zai didn’t stream yesterday, and today he suddenly goes live. Is he giving us a surprise? [excited heart, trembling hands.jpg]
Wait, where’s Zai-zai? Why are there so many people?
Holy crap, are those onstage His Majesty, the First Prince, and the Second Prince? Am I seeing things?!
I saw them too… Since when did His Majesty and the others go to Shouwang Star? Are they there to inspect the transfer station construction in person? [confused.jpg]
No way. Today is the late empress’s memorial day! They should be holding the memorial banquet in the palace right now…
The palace… no wonder this place looked kind of familiar! Isn’t this the imperial hall?!
Did An Zai also go to the memorial banquet?
So where is Zai-zai? Show yourself so Auntie can get one good look [puppy eyes.jpg]
My focus is a bit off, but… is livestreaming allowed during the late empress’s memorial banquet…?
At the next moment, in full view of every audience member in the livestream room—and everyone present in the hall—the static flickered twice, then suddenly restored itself.
The hall’s virtual sound system was connected to the giant screen, and Xia Yuanhan’s voice rang through the entire hall.
“I, Xia Yuanhan, Third Prince of the Galactic Empire, swear to cooperate with the X Galaxy, and as proof I bind myself with a spiritual contract—”
Xia Yuanhan, who had just been about to step down from the platform, felt his pupils constrict. He abruptly stopped in place and whipped around to stare at the giant screen behind him.
There on the screen, his figure was displayed clearly before everyone. And standing in front of him was none other than Lan Ersite from the X Galaxy—the very one with whom he had signed the spiritual contract.
This was the scene from the day he and Lan Ersite had signed their contract. He and Lan Ersite had each kept a copy of the recording, as proof of the sincerity of their cooperation.
He had no time to think about why this footage had suddenly been exposed. Xia Yuanhan reacted instantly and rushed toward the screen, trying to shut it off.
But he failed. Uncle Lu, who had been supporting Xia Changluo moments ago, suddenly moved. He seized Xia Yuanhan’s arm and said sternly, “Second Prince, excuse me.”
Uncle Lu was not as skilled as Xia Yuanhan in combat, but if all he needed to do was stop him from shutting off the screen, he was more than capable.
While the two of them struggled, Xia Yuanhan did not forget to shout for the guards outside the hall, trying to make them come in, shut off the screen, and help him deal with the troublesome Uncle Lu.
But no one answered him. The guards who should have been stationed outside the hall seemed as if they had all gone deaf at once. They showed no sign at all of hearing the commotion within.
Or perhaps they had heard—but no longer had the spare strength to enter and help.
Inside the hall, chaos exploded. Outside, a smaller battle had broken out as well—and it ended very quickly. The palace guards had grown too comfortable in the safety of the imperial residence. They were no match at all for seasoned soldiers who had spent years fighting on the front lines.
The First Legion soldiers whom Mo Dexin had already arranged in advance soon took control of the entire palace.
Realizing that something was very wrong, Xia Yuanhan panicked completely. Uncle Lu seized the opportunity and forced him to the floor.
“Rebellion! This is rebellion!!!” Xia Yuanhan shouted.
Down below the stage, Yu Jin tried to charge up and help, only to be intercepted by Mo Dexin. Mo Dexin lifted his eyes and flashed him a vicious grin, then swung a fist at him with bone-cracking force.
Others tried to rescue Xia Yuanhan, but by then the First Legion soldiers who had already stormed into the hall had subdued them.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Lin An’an and Feng Wu quickly went up to the platform, helped the now-unattended Xia Changluo down, and handed him over to members of the First Legion.
Xia Changluo clutched at Lin An’an, who was still wearing a disguise. His lips trembled, but no words came out.
Lin An’an smiled faintly at him. “Big Brother, leave the rest to us.”
With that, he turned and walked back onto the stage. He stood with Feng Wu before the restrained Xia Yuanhan.
Behind them, the great screen was still flashing. The details of every one of Xia Yuanhan’s dealings with the X Galaxy—everything from the beginning of their cooperation until now—were being laid out clearly before everyone’s eyes.
Xia Yuanhan had agreed to help the people of X Galaxy deploy Kailuo Stones, and had watched as countless people throughout the galaxy contracted Alpha Syndrome and were exiled to Sin Star.
Xia Yuanhan had used the power provided by the X Galaxy to control his own father, the Emperor of the Empire, turning him into nothing more than a puppet in his hands.
Xia Yuanhan had poisoned his elder brother, the Empire’s First Prince, and because he suspected that his younger brother had discovered his scheme, he had ordered him to be thrown into the poisonous mist forest of Sin Star—
Every one of these acts—just a single one of them, if exposed—would have made Xia Yuanhan the target of universal condemnation.
Lin An’an removed the disguise from his face and looked down at Xia Yuanhan. Though his features still carried traces of youthful softness, his face was full of fury.
He demanded in a sharp voice, “Rebellion? Xia Yuanhan, the one who truly betrayed the Empire—wasn’t it you?!”
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