The King of Yunnan paused in his clinking of chopsticks as he looked at the armored, menacing soldiers, his face instantly darkening: "Who are you? How dare you trespass on my private domain?"
The leader snapped back to reality, his anxious gaze rapidly scanning the hall, corners, windows, and behind the King of Yunnan, but Apei was nowhere to be seen.
The signal of success has been sent; the King of Yunnan has already rebelled. When he arrived here, the King of Yunnan should have ordered his men to fight them fiercely. He would then use the pretext of rebellion to kill the King of Yunnan and gain merit. But now, the King of Yunnan is leisurely eating, showing no sign of rebellion whatsoever. Apei has also disappeared without a trace...
"Does Lord Dongfang have something to say?" Dongfang Heng put down his chopsticks and looked coldly at Dongfang Yi.
Dongfang Yu'er looked at Shen Lixue with admiration. She was truly prescient. She had said that someone was leading troops to kill the King of Yunnan, and someone had actually come.
Shen Lixue smiled faintly. As expected, it was Dongfang Yi who was behind it all. Once the signal of a successful rebellion was given, he couldn't wait to lead his men to kill the King of Yunnan and make a name for himself.
Dongfang Yi snapped back to reality, cleared his throat, and, not wanting to lose face, declared: "Someone has secretly reported that the King of Yunnan is plotting a rebellion. I have been ordered to search the villa!" Apei was not present and could not testify against the King of Yunnan for the rebellion, but the forged letter of treason they had fabricated was placed by him personally. It was placed very carefully, and no one else knew about it, so it should not have been discovered.
"Do you have the Emperor's verbal order or imperial decree?" The King of Yunnan's gaze was cold and imposing, exuding authority without anger.
"No!" Dongfang Yi's eyes flickered unnaturally. He had been plotting against the Prince of Yunnan without the Emperor's knowledge, so how could the Emperor have given him an oral instruction or imperial edict?
The King of Yunnan's gaze was as cold as ice as he roared, "If you have nothing, get out! My villa is not a place where you Tom, Dick, or Harry can search as you please!"
"Your Majesty, I have received a secret report that a search is necessary for the safety of Qingyan. Please do not make things difficult for me!" Dongfang Yi, unwilling to give up, subtly probed the King of Yunnan.
"Although your surname is Dongfang, you are a son of a concubine in the Holy King's Mansion and cannot represent the Emperor's will. Bring the Emperor's edict or decree, otherwise, there's no point in discussing anything!" The King of Yunnan's voice was cold and arrogant: "I will count to three. If you don't get out by then, I will unleash a massacre..."
"Your Highness, please don't make things difficult for me!" Dongfang Yi's face was terribly gloomy, and he clenched his fists tightly. Being born as an illegitimate son of the Holy King's Mansion was the shame of his life. He hated it most when others called him an illegitimate son, but the Prince of Yunnan kept rubbing salt into his wounds. How hateful, how hateful.
"Two!" The King of Yunnan seemed not to have heard Dongfang Yi's words, his gaze icy as he counted on his own.
"Nangong Jun, I am an official appointed by the Emperor himself! How dare you kill me!" Dongfang Yi roared, his voice trembling slightly, his eyes flashing anxiously.
"Three!" King Qingxi of Yunnan uttered the last number, then suddenly looked up at Dongfang Yi: "I gave you time, but you chose to stay and seek death. Don't blame me!"
With a flick of his wrist, a powerful gust of wind slammed into Dongfang Yi.
Dongfang Yi's gaze darkened, and he quickly dodged. With a loud "bang," his palm struck the wall, creating a large hole in the thick wall, sending dust flying and debris flying everywhere.
"Will you leave, or die?" The Yunnan King's icy question, devoid of any emotion, rang in my ears.
Dongfang Yi was drenched in cold sweat. If that palm strike had landed on him, he would have been dead for sure. The King of Yunnan was furious and stopped him from searching the villa. Those letters should still be there. He couldn't leave the villa empty-handed and give up halfway...
"What happened?" A slightly immature question rang out from outside.
Dongfang Yi's eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Fifth Prince, the King of Yunnan is plotting a rebellion!"
Shen Lixue frowned as she watched the young man, dressed in a brocade robe with python patterns, walk slowly into the living room, pushing aside the soldiers.
Using Apei as bait to lure the King of Yunnan into rebellion, and then strangling him, would be to quell the rebellion and achieve great merit. Dongfang Yi was an illegitimate son of the Holy King's Mansion, powerless and without influence. He did not have the ability to devise such a scheme against the King of Yunnan. There must be someone behind him.
Shen Lixue had speculated about the identity of the person behind the scenes and had also suspected the princes, but this fifth prince was the most guileless of all the princes, and his appearance here was truly unexpected.
The Fifth Prince looked at the wall with a large hole punched in it and his lips twitched: "King of Yunnan, what happened here?"
"When I tried to search the villa, he became enraged and refused to let me, even trying to kill me!" Dongfang Yi said with a dark look, preemptively complaining to the Fifth Prince.
"King of Yunnan, is what he said true?" When the Fifth Prince entered the villa, the King of Yunnan's guards and the soldiers of the capital were engaged in a fierce battle. He also suspected that the King of Yunnan was plotting a rebellion.
"If I were plotting a rebellion, I would have killed you all long ago. How could you still be standing here talking to me!" The King of Yunnan looked at the Fifth Prince and secretly reprimanded him.
Seeing the Fifth Prince lower his eyelids in thought, perhaps about to leave, Dongfang Yi narrowed his eyes and coldly reminded him, "Fifth Prince, we outnumber him and have the advantage. He is at a disadvantage. Even if we fight, he can't win, so of course he wouldn't dare to act rashly. If he really hasn't rebelled, we should have the guards search the villa. If everything is fine there, everyone can rest assured!"
The Fifth Prince nodded, finding the suggestion reasonable: "What does the Prince of Yunnan think?"
The King of Yunnan's face instantly turned as black as ink, and his eyes flickered unnaturally, as if he were pondering something.
Dongfang Yi snorted inwardly. Nangong Jun was definitely wondering if he had been tricked. He had to strike first: "The Fifth Prince is the Emperor's own son. Your Highness cannot object to his orders."
Before the King of Yunnan could speak, Dongfang Yi turned around and ordered the guards, "Search the villa thoroughly, and don't overlook any suspicious places!"
"Yes!" The soldiers shouted, scattering instantly and heading in all directions to search the villa inch by inch, quickly and carefully.
The King of Yunnan looked grim and coldly stared at Dongfang Yi.
Dongfang Yi showed no weakness, glaring at the King of Yunnan, waiting for his men to find the evidence so he could see how arrogant the King of Yunnan would be then.
The Fifth Prince, somewhat embarrassed, chuckled and tried to make conversation: "Prince An, Your Highness, are you having your meal..."
Nangong Xiao snapped open his folding fan open, his face and lips pale, and said arrogantly, "The Fifth Prince saw that we were having a meal, not plotting a rebellion, so why did he still order a search of the villa?"
The Fifth Prince blushed with embarrassment: "Well, some people have doubts, haven't they? Searching the villa will dispel their suspicions and clear the name of the Prince and the Heir Apparent, wouldn't that be better!"
Nangong Xiao snorted softly, said nothing more, turned his head arrogantly, picked up his teacup, and took a small sip.
"No evidence was found in the east wing!"
"No evidence was found in the west wing!"
"No evidence was found in the south wing!"
"No evidence was found in the north wing!"
The scattered guards returned, but found no evidence.
Dongfang Yi's expectant gaze instantly turned to utter shock. Nothing? How could there be nothing? "Have you thoroughly searched the study?"
As soon as he finished speaking, seeing everyone looking at him, he gave an awkward smile: "What I mean is, the study is an important place. If there are any important letters, they would definitely be hidden there."
"Reporting to Your Excellency, the study has been thoroughly searched, but no evidence was found!" Nangong Xiao didn't like reading, so the study was just for show. Apart from bookshelves, tables, and chairs, there were hardly any books. The entire room could be seen at a glance, making it easy to search.
Dongfang Yi lowered his eyelids, his heart burning with anxiety. He had clearly put the letter in the hidden compartment, so how could it not be there?