Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan!

Chapter 599 Enemies Since Birth

"Do you still remember when you took in Zhao Ming?"

The Second Prince's pupils contracted slightly.

Of course he remembered.

Zhao Ming had followed him for over twenty years.

Back when they were still teenagers, Zhao Ming had once nearly died protecting him during an assassination attempt outside the capital.

Since then, the Second Prince had trusted him completely.

Yu Zidi smiled faintly.

"You always believed he became loyal to you after that incident."

"But the assassins that night…"

He looked directly into the Second Prince's eyes.

"…were arranged by me."

The Second Prince's mind shook violently.

"The wound on Zhao Ming's chest was real."

"The blood was real. The near-death experience was also real."

"But the entire situation itself was planned from the beginning. The risk was real and he could have been killed."

Yu Zidi's expression remained indifferent.

"I needed you to trust him absolutely, so I can't skimp on detail."

The Second Prince's breathing instantly became heavier.

Before he could even process it fully, Yu Zidi continued.

"And Liu Wen."

Yu Zidi merely smiled.

"He truly did sacrifice his family for you."

"But only because I ordered him to."

Yu Zidi clicked his tongue lightly.

"Tsk! Tsk! He really was a loyal dog. To think he would even go that far for my orders."

Despite Liu Wen sacrificing everything for the mission, Yu Zidi treated it as completely natural.

As though such sacrifices were only to be expected from his subordinates.

"But you believed he did all of that out of loyalty toward you."

The Second Prince's body trembled faintly.

"No…"

Yu Zidi continued mercilessly.

Yu Zidi's scheme had gone far deeper than the Second Prince ever realized.

It was not merely a matter of planting his own people beside him.

Over the years, whenever truly loyal retainers appeared around the Second Prince, Yu Zidi would quietly deal with them one way or another.

Some were framed as traitors.

Manipulated evidence would appear against them, gradually causing suspicion to form within the Second Prince's heart.

Eventually, several of those genuinely loyal followers were personally executed by the Second Prince himself.

Others died during dangerous missions and sudden conflicts carefully arranged behind the scenes.

The Second Prince's eyes widened further and further with every revelation.

Each sentence shattered another piece of what he once believed.

Every sacrifice.

Every act of loyalty.

Every emotional moment he treasured, all of it now seemed manipulated by his brother.

By the time Yu Zidi finished speaking, the Second Prince no longer looked angry.

Only shocked.

Utterly shocked.

His eyes stared blankly at Yu Zidi, as though looking at a complete monster.

At this moment, he suddenly realized something terrifying.

Almost every important relationship he thought he personally built had traces of Yu Zidi hidden behind it.

The Second Prince's lips trembled slightly.

"You…"

His voice sounded dry.

"You planned all of this?"

Yu Zidi merely smiled calmly.

The Second Prince's heart grew colder and colder.

He no longer doubted that the First Prince was lying because Yu Zidi even knew details he believed only he himself knew.

The exact places where he first met those people.

The conversations they shared.

The moments their loyalty was "proven."

Yu Zidi knew everything.

It felt as though his entire life had been quietly watched from the shadows.

The Second Prince suddenly raised his head sharply.

Then he stared fixedly at Yu Zidi.

A terrifying thought finally surfaced within his mind.

"…Wait…"

His breathing became unstable.

"Some of those people have been beside me since childhood…"

His voice became increasingly hoarse.

"Don't tell me…"

Even he found the thought unbelievable.

"You started planning this since we were children?"

Yu Zidi's smile deepened meaningfully.

And seeing that expression, the Second Prince's heart sank completely.

Yu Zidi looked at the shocked Second Prince calmly.

Then, a faint smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Oh, Brother."

His voice was gentle.

"Since the moment we were born into the Imperial Family, you should have already understood one thing."

He slowly clasped his hands behind his back.

"We were destined to become enemies."

His eyes carried no guilt whatsoever.

"So what is wrong with preparing early?"

The tone with which he spoke was so natural that it sent chills down the Second Prince's spine.

As though all of this—

The manipulation.

The schemes.

Were merely ordinary and reasonable actions.

Meanwhile, the Second Prince could only stare at him blankly.

At this moment, the person standing before him no longer resembled a human in his eyes.

Only a monster wearing human skin.

No…

A demon.

Even if the Imperial Family constantly competed against one another, back then they were still children.

Naive children!

How could someone begin planning such terrifying schemes from that age?

How could someone quietly arrange so many pieces over decades without revealing the slightest flaw?

Yet reality was already standing directly before him.

Not only was it possible, Yu Zidi had succeeded completely.

The Second Prince suddenly felt a deep sense of helplessness spread through his heart.

Because he finally realized something horrifying.

Against Yu Zidi…

He had never truly stood a chance from the very beginning.

Every step he took.

Every trusted subordinate.

Every move within the throne struggles.

Perhaps all of it had already been anticipated long ago.

The Second Prince slowly lowered his head.

Then he suddenly laughed bitterly.

"Hahaha…"

Now he finally understood.

Yu Zidi could have killed him long ago if he truly wished to.

With those people planted around him, assassinating him would not have been difficult at all.

But Yu Zidi never did.

And he knew why.

The Eleventh Prince and Thirteenth Princess both possessed enormous influence within the Imperial Court.

Their existence alone prevented Yu Zidi from completely controlling the court.

So Yu Zidi used the Second Prince's own "trusted men" to eliminate them both.

Then afterward, he pushed all the blame directly onto the Second Prince himself.

By doing so, Yu Zidi achieved multiple goals at once.

He removed three major competitors.

Killed two competitors while leaving the Second Prince to bear all the blame.

By doing so, he gained trust and even support from many officials who had previously followed the Eleventh Prince and Thirteenth Princess.

And most importantly, he made himself appear righteous.

A prince who sought justice for his murdered siblings.

A future emperor who punished even his own brother according to the law.

Not only did he avoid suspicion entirely, his prestige within the court even rose further because of it.

Three competitors were removed with a single scheme.

The more the Second Prince understood it, the colder his heart became.

What kind of terrifying calculation was this?

The Second Prince slowly lifted his head once more.

Then he looked at Yu Zidi with complicated eyes.

"…A master scheme indeed."

Even his voice now sounded exhausted.

The Second Prince's expression had already lost most of its previous anger and madness.

What remained now was only exhaustion.

After learning the truth, he finally understood just how thoroughly he had lost.

Against someone like Yu Zidi, perhaps he truly never had any hope from the very beginning.

The Second Prince slowly lowered his gaze toward the jade bottle in his hand.

Then, after several moments of silence, he suddenly spoke again.

"…There's one final thing I want to know."

Yu Zidi looked at him calmly.

"Speak!"

The Second Prince slowly raised his head.

His eyes stared fixedly at Yu Zidi.

"Was it only me?"

His voice was low and hoarse.

"Or did you also place your people beside the others as well?"

The moment those words fell, the prison suddenly became deathly quiet.

Because after hearing everything Yu Zidi had revealed, the Second Prince no longer believed he was some special exception.

With how cautious and calculating Yu Zidi was, how could he possibly limit such preparations to only one brother?

The Second Prince no longer dared underestimate this elder brother of his in the slightest.

Meanwhile, Yu Zidi merely looked at him silently for several moments.

Then a faint smile slowly appeared on his face.

"What do you think?"

The answer was neither confirmation nor denial.

Yet at the same time, it was already the clearest answer possible.

The Second Prince's pupils trembled faintly.

Then he suddenly laughed softly.

A bitter laugh filled with despair.

The Second Prince slowly shook his head.

Then he finally opened the jade bottle quietly.

A faint medicinal smell drifted into the air.

He stared at the poison silently for several moments.

Then he looked toward Yu Zidi one final time.

Hatred still lingered within his eyes.

But beneath it, there was also fear.

Fear toward the terrifying monster standing before him.

Finally, the Second Prince spoke softly.

"Then…"

A cold smile appeared upon his face.

"I wish you also die a bitter death."

Those were his final words.

Then—

Without hesitation—

He raised the jade bottle and drank the poison completely.

The bottle slipped from his hand moments later.

CLINK!

It shattered against the cold prison floor.

Very quickly, black veins began spreading across the Second Prince's neck.

His body trembled violently.

Blood slowly flowed from the corner of his lips.

Yet throughout the entire process, his eyes never left Yu Zidi.

As though trying to carve this man's face into his soul before death.

Finally, his body collapsed heavily onto the cold prison floor.

Silence returned completely.

Yu Zidi merely stood there quietly.

His expression remained calm from beginning to end.

No sadness.

No guilt.

No emotion whatsoever.

After a few moments, he turned around indifferently.

"Announce that the Second Prince consumed poison and have committed suicide."