Chapter 61: Good little brother, come on, drink this glass of wine

"Crack!"

A flash of bright lightning suddenly tore across the dark, heavy clouds.

Zhao Guangyi gave a violent start, his entire body stiffening for a fraction of a second.

He was utterly dumbfounded by the sudden and unexpected words uttered by his own elder brother!

A monstrous storm raged instantly within his heart!

What was the meaning of this?!

What on earth was Zhao Kuangyin's intention, his true purpose, in asking him such a question at this moment?!

Why would he suddenly blurt out something like that?

"My lord brother, what are you saying? Your younger brother holds the utmost reverence and affection for you; how could I ever wish for your death? Such a thing—let alone doing it, even entertaining the thought in my heart would be a crime deserving of a thousand deaths!"

Struggling to suppress the surging turmoil within his breast, he forced himself to appear as natural as possible, suffused with a sense of terrified awe.

He was gambling!

He was betting that his stubborn, old-dog of an imperial brother knew nothing at all.

That he was merely probing him with a bluff!

The more critical the juncture, the more he had to keep his composure.

He could not let a single fright cause him to expose everything.

Otherwise, the loss would be catastrophic beyond measure!

"Good! Very good indeed!"

Seeing that, even at this stage, his third brother was still putting up a stubborn front while playing the devoted sibling who wished him nothing but well, Zhao Kuangyin laughed in his extreme rage.

"Since that is the case, you shall drink this cup of wine for me."

Zhao Guangyi's body stiffened.

Let him drink it?

How could he possibly dare to drink it?!

That was Qianji Drug—a poison potent enough to kill a man instantly even in small doses!

Fearing that Zhao Kuangyin might somehow survive, he had poured in a full bottle's worth!

Raising his gaze to meet his eldest brother's emotionless eyes, his heart could not help but tremble.

At the same time, he cursed bitterly in his mind.

This old dog Zhao Kuangyin actually trusted him this little!

Inviting him to a meal, yet remaining on guard against him at every turn!

He had even spied on him slipping the poison!

"My imperial brother, there is a misunderstanding here! A colossal misunderstanding. I noticed that of late, my lord brother has been plagued by excessive worry, toiling day and night over affairs of state. Moreover, you and the Empress have been wed for many years, yet she has borne no son. As your brother, I saw this in my eyes and felt the anxiety in my heart. I specially spent a heavy sum to seek out this remedy. But such matters are awkward to speak of, which is why your younger brother resorted to this clumsy method—to have my lord brother consume it and secretly lend you a helping hand.

Yet I never imagined that good intentions would yield bad results, causing my lord brother to completely misinterpret my actions. This was truly my oversight."

The more Zhao Guangyi spoke, the smoother his words became. By the end, he had concocted this makeshift excuse so thoroughly that even he himself almost believed it.

"You really are so good to me. By that logic, I suppose I must thank you!"

A trace of a smile appeared on Zhao Kuangyin's face.

"My lord brother toils heart and soul for our Great Song and for the Zhao family; isn't it only right for a younger brother to show concern for his senior? I am hardly worthy of your thanks, brother. We are true brothers; speaking of thanks makes us seem far too distant. Besides, over the years, who knows how many times you have aided me, your younger brother? My meager token of care falls far short of even two or three parts of the affection you have shown me."

Zhao Guangyi's expression grew even more natural.

The heart that had been suspended in his throat dropped back down into his belly with the appearance of Zhao Kuangyin's smile.

He had to hand it to himself! He was truly brilliant!

Remaining unruffled in the face of mortal peril, he had managed to invent such a plausible excuse at the very last second!

The crisis was averted now!

Not only that, but he could still watch this old dog Zhao Kuangyin drink the poisoned wine.

The throne would still be his; once this old dog drank the poison shortly, he would surely exact full revenge for the fright he had just suffered!

As he was thinking this, he suddenly felt the world before his eyes go dark, as if a shadow was lunging toward his face.

Subconsciously looking up, he saw the sole of a shoe!

Before he could react in any way, the sole of that shoe had already stamped heavily onto his face!

Accompanied by a wave of intense pain, his entire body uncontrollably toppled backward.

He tumbled directly over a zhang away!

This sudden and unexpected turn of events utterly shattered all of Zhao Guangyi's pleasant fantasies and malicious plots.

Half-reclining on the ground, feeling the burning pain on his face and the coppery taste of blood in his mouth, he was utterly dumbfounded!

What was happening?!

Clearly, Zhao Kuangyin had just smiled at him and the crisis had been resolved. Why, all of a sudden, had he struck him, and with such vicious force?!

He was his own flesh and blood brother!

The kind connected by bonds thicker than water!

And yet he had beaten him?

How many years had it been since he was last struck?!

Where did this old dog Zhao Kuangyin get the audacity to treat him like this?!

"My lord brother! My lord brother, I was wrong, brother! Even if it was for my brother's own good, I should have minded my methods. I shouldn't have secretly slipped the substance into the wine and tried to make you drink it. Brother, your younger brother was wrong, brother!"

His reaction was not slow; after taking the kick, he scrambled back up immediately.

Disregarding his buzzing, aching head, he dropped instantly to his knees to beg for forgiveness.

Even at this juncture, he still stubbornly refused to admit the truth.

He even harbored a glimmer of wishful thinking, believing that this beast Zhao Kuangyin had suddenly subjected him to such a heavy beating not because he had discovered the matter of the Qianji Drug, but because his previous behavior had indeed touched upon a grave taboo.

That was why he had angered him.

Surely, he could never have guessed that he would slip him Qianji Drug!

At this moment, Zhao Kuangyin was already gripping a jade axe, striding up to stand before him.

Hearing the words spilling from Zhao Guangyi's mouth, his anger flared even higher.

When would this stop? Even now, he was still harping on about being true brothers, still insisting it was a tonic meant for him?

Lifting his right foot, he sent a fierce kick into the kneeling Zhao Guangyi, rolling him over like a tumbling gourd.

A cry of agony escaped Zhao Guangyi's lips as he felt as though his entire frame was falling apart.

"Imperial Brother! Imperial brother! Stop hitting me! Another blow and you'll beat me to death! Your... your younger brother truly knows his wrong..."

He pleaded repeatedly for mercy.

Accustomed to a life of ease and luxury, when had he ever endured any real hardship?

His father and his elder brother were fierce generals who had slaughtered their way across battlefields.

Yet he had never once set foot on a battlefield.

From this single point alone, the vast disparity between them was glaringly obvious.

"Beat you to death? Today I am going to beat you to death, you beast! It would be a blessing if you died!

You should have died long ago!

How did I fail to realize until now that you are such a living beast?

How did the King of Hell manage to give you a human skin?

You dared to plot against me, your own eldest brother, feeding me poison!

You've truly grown quite capable, haven't you?

Your conscience has been eaten by dogs!"

Cursing furiously, Zhao Kuangyin landed two more vicious kicks in succession.

The disappointment, rage, and bone-chilling betrayal pent up in his heart all converted into sheer momentum at that moment.

The consecutive kicks wrung continuous wails of agony from Zhao Guangyi.

Yet, even amid his screams of pain, he was still flatly denying the deed: "Brother, you've misunderstood me! A complete misunderstanding! There's no poison in there, only a tonic, which I spent a heavy fortune to obtain. Brother, how could your younger brother ever harbor such thoughts toward my eldest brother or wish to harm you? Imperial Brother is the finest imperial brother in this world, and I am a human being, not a beast—how could I ever commit such a dog-eat-dog atrocity?"

Zhao Guangyi clung desperately to his denial, still trying to play the emotional card.

Noticing that Zhao Kuangyin stopped kicking him upon hearing this, Zhao Guangyi felt a flicker of secret joy.

It seemed this hurdle would be overcome after all.

Once this was past, he would surely repay this old dog Zhao Kuangyin handsomely in the future!

Just as he was thinking this, he felt a tightness at the back of his collar. Zhao Kuangyin grabbed him by the scruff of his neck with one hand—as if lifting the nape of a dog—and dragged him toward the table like a dead hound.

"Very well, since this is no poison, but a tonic, you shall drink it for me instead!"

With those words, he set the jade axe aside, pinned Zhao Guangyi's neck down with one hand, and picked up the cup containing the better part of the wine with the other, intending to force it down Zhao Guangyi's throat...