223: Want freedom

Julian was a little surprised by Xin Jin’s reply; after all, having gone through so much, he still somewhat blamed his father, but Xin Jin didn’t blame him.

Suddenly, he thought of another aspect: Xin Jin seemed to have only said he didn’t blame him, so who would he blame?

Julian continued to press.

“Then, facing everything you’ve endured, who do you blame?”

Xin Jin glanced at Julian, feeling that Julian was now a bit overly suspicious, immediately distrusting any of his brothers, suspecting they coveted his throne.

Although he was somewhat annoyed by Julian’s persistent questioning, putting himself in Julian’s shoes, he might also be suspicious of his other brothers.

Moreover, most of the royal princes were dead, leaving only him as a threat to Julian, so Xin Jin still spoke.

“I don’t blame anyone, but I feel that I have already repaid my life to the Empire, so now this life of mine belongs to me. I want to live my own life from now on.”

Julian didn’t understand Xin Jin’s meaning and didn’t want to dwell on it. He also realized that Xin Jin was a victim, so he directly offered him a solution.

“The Sixth Prince isn’t dead either; I saved him. I can announce to the outside world that both you and the Sixth Prince were rescued by me from the Second Prince, and because we feared the Second Prince would still try to harm you, you hid in Duke Ferguson’s territory.

Now that Theodore is dead and the truth has been covered up, I won’t reveal that you fled to the Tianlong Republic, so you can still return to the Empire to be—”

Xin Jin, hearing this, hastily interrupted Julian.

“I don’t think my fleeing to the Tianlong Republic is a shameful thing. Also, I don’t want to be the Fifth Prince. Just consider me dead.”

Julian’s eyes widened in shock at these words.

His sapphire-blue eyes met Xin Jin’s deep brown eyes, trying to confirm if what Xin Jin said was sincere, or if he was just trying to make Julian lower his guard.

Xin Jin’s gaze didn’t waver, looking steadily at Julian.

“Do you know that our Luo Lan Empire and the Tianlong Republic are actually in a state of competition? At the same time, many people in the Empire are very hostile towards them.

The nobles would rather you, the Fifth Prince, be dead than admit that a prince accepted the protection of the Tianlong Republic. This would make them feel that the Empire’s prestige is damaged.

So, even if you were to return later, they wouldn’t acknowledge you because you fled to the Tianlong Republic.”

Xin Jin gave a sarcastic laugh.

“First Prince, is such an Empire really good? Facing such an Empire, I’d rather not be an Imperial citizen!”

It could be said that their ideologies were already different. Julian still held standard aristocratic beliefs, thinking status was very important, while Xin Jin no longer considered himself a noble, preferring to do what he liked and believing freedom was more important.

The conversation had reached a stalemate.

Two minutes later, Xin Jin sighed.

“I’ll say it one last time: I don’t want to be the Fifth Prince anymore, and I won’t say I’m the Fifth Prince in the future. Just assume I was killed by the Second Prince.”

Hearing Xin Jin reiterate that he wouldn’t be the Fifth Prince, Julian finally believed that what he said was true; he genuinely didn’t want to be the Fifth Prince, didn’t want to be a noble.

He stared fixedly at Xin Jin for a moment, then finally said, “Alright, since you’ve made this decision, don’t go back on it. I won’t tell anyone that you’re still alive.”

“Thank you, First Prince.”

After expressing his gratitude, Xin Jin took his leave, leaving Julian alone.

Julian was deep in thought.

He hadn’t expected such a free-spirited person to emerge from the royal family.

Suddenly, he felt a little envious of Xin Jin, but to give up everything he was about to possess, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

However, everyone has the life they want to live. The life he wanted to live would be created by himself. Julian’s eyes gleamed as he walked out of the room where they had just talked… Meanwhile, Wu Zijin also thought a lot on his way back to his room, feeling a great weight lifted from his heart.

From then on, the sky was high for birds to fly, and the sea was wide for fish to leap.

He, the Fifth Prince, was already in an unloved position. His mother died giving birth to him, and his father merely gave him a name before abandoning him to be raised by a maid. He was brought up by maids since childhood.

Later, he was assassinated, and he fled with the maid. Now the maid was married and had a happy family. He had nothing to miss in the Luo Lan Empire.

Previously, he only worried that if the Second Prince became king and discovered he was still alive, the Second Prince would send people to hunt him down. Now that the Second Prince was dead, he could rest easy.

And judging by the First Prince’s attitude, he wouldn’t be forced to stay. He could act freely afterward and do what he liked.

Wu Zijin returned to the cold morgue where he had been staying, but he no longer felt cold at all; instead, he felt very warm.

At the same time, he announced to everyone the news that the Second Prince had been killed and the crisis was over.

The teachers and Students cheered in unison, no longer feeling cold, their hearts burning with excitement.

Xu Bai walked over to Wu Zijin and patted his shoulder.

Wu Zijin also patted Xu Bai’s shoulder.

Everything was understood without words.

Everyone could now return to their lodgings for a good night’s sleep, but before leaving, they needed to pack up their belongings here… On the other side.

The palace was not peaceful.

“Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough.”

King Brutus III coughed incessantly.

Although there were physicians nearby, they were helpless regarding his current condition.

The King’s condition had always required rest and waiting for death to arrive. He had been too deeply poisoned before, and even though the poison was now neutralized, his body was failing.

However, the events of the past two days had made it impossible for the King to rest.

First, his queen had another lover, then his son might not be his son, and today, that son who wasn’t his rebelled with an army, only to be cut down by another of his sons.

The recent events had frequently triggered the King’s strained nerves, so his health deteriorated even further.

Since the First Prince left this morning, he had been coughing constantly.

Suddenly, the attendants and physicians nearby widened their eyes.

Blood!

Large gushes of blood flowed from the King’s mouth, and then the King fainted.

The physician lifted the King’s eyelids and checked, then listened to his heartbeat, sensing something was wrong.

“Immediately summon the First Prince and the Queen.”

He instructed the guards nearby, but at this moment, he dared not say exactly how the King was. However, the attendants could tell from the physician’s trembling hands that the King was likely in a bad state.