Yu De, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was utterly dumbfounded. The men the Crown Prince brought were all his personal guards, and they were all acting on the Emperor's orders to oversee this case. Princess Shuangxia was of noble status, yet ordering these men to be executed was a challenge to Emperor Mingxian's authority. Yu De could imagine the turmoil that would ensue in the court tomorrow once this matter was publicized. Princess Shuangxia's good reputation might be completely ruined. How could she be so impulsive?
Baili Cheng also recovered from his initial shock. He never expected anyone to be so bold as to kill his men right in front of him. This was clearly a slap in the face. He said angrily with a stern face, "Grand Aunt, what do you mean by this? This is the Dali Temple prison, not the backyard of the Princess's residence. You just killed these people like that? You should know that they are not servants of the Princess's residence who can be killed at will. They all carry official duties and are royal guards. This is tantamount to indiscriminately killing court officials. Grand Aunt has always been benevolent and kind. I'm afraid this matter will not end well today." As he spoke, he looked at Xuan Yuan Chaohua with a sinister gaze. The two sides were still fighting. If they did not let go, it was clear that Baili Cheng would not give up easily.
Xuan Yuan Chaohua gave a cold laugh, then suddenly raised his hand. His eyes flashed, and the two Crown Prince guards closest to him were suddenly stabbed in the heart with two sharp "swoosh" sounds by Xuan Yuan Chaohua's sword, dying on the spot!
The prison fell into a deathly silence. Even the two sides that had been fighting stopped. After the Crown Prince spoke those words, Xuan Yuan Chao Hua even drew his sword and charged forward, clearly a provocation to the Crown Prince. Yu De felt cold sweat pouring down his forehead. No matter who was here, he couldn't afford to offend them, especially in this tense situation. He was even less able to say anything.
"Xuanyuan Chaohua, how dare you!" Baili Cheng roared in fury, his chest heaving rapidly. "How dare you lead men to kill those protecting me when I, the Crown Prince, am here? Are you trying to assassinate me? How dare you attempt to assassinate the future Crown Prince! No matter who you are, you only have one path: death!"
Ouyang Yue chuckled coldly, then her eyes suddenly reddened, and she cried out, "Grandmother, you've come at just the right time! The Crown Prince... he tried to humiliate me!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Baili Cheng shouted angrily.
Ouyang Yue looked up, a trail of blood flowing down her left cheek. The wound, about the size of four pinpricks, was below her cheekbone. Although the wound wasn't large and wouldn't affect anything, it was quite deep, causing it to bleed continuously. The blood covered half of her face, making it a particularly shocking sight. It was one of the reasons that had previously enraged Princess Shuangxia and Xuanyuan Chaohua. Ouyang Yue's face was filled with grief and indignation: "Whether I, the Princess Consort, have lied or not, the Crown Prince knows best. I will never submit, and you threaten me by threatening to ruin my appearance. I would rather have this face ruined than have anything to do with a despicable and shameless person like you. The Crown Prince is truly ruthless. Didn't you say before that even if I was injured in this prison, you would say that I injured myself?"
Baili Cheng's face turned ashen: "Stop talking nonsense, I'm interrogating you!"
Ouyang Yue's eyes were full of disdain and mockery: "What nonsense are you talking about, Crown Prince? Interrogating me, the Princess Consort? This joint trial by the three judicial departments is an imperial decree issued by the Emperor. You only have the authority to supervise it. What right do you have to interrogate me, the Princess Consort?"
Baili Cheng's eyes turned cold, and he suddenly sneered: "My concubine is exchanging correspondence with you. What she is doing is a major event that will affect the future of the entire Great Zhou Dynasty. As the Crown Prince of Great Zhou, am I not allowed to investigate?"
Ouyang Yue sneered: "Everyone has their own reasons, and the Crown Prince is right no matter what he says, but everyone can see the truth clearly."
Baili Cheng chuckled, "I greatly admire Princess Chen's composure in the face of danger. Rest assured, your evidence is clear. Even if you don't confess now, you'll have to in court. Then you'll only have death as your only option!" Baili Cheng walked out, looking at Xuan Yuan Chaohua and Princess Shuangxia with a gloomy expression. He waved his hand, "Go!" and left with his guards. Princess Shuangxia and Xuan Yuan Chaohua's group immediately gathered in the prison. Yu De hesitated at this moment, and finally withdrew.
As soon as Baili Cheng came out of the prison cell, he said to Yu De, who came out after him, "Keep a close eye on Princess Chen. If she escapes, you will all be beheaded!"
"Yes, Your Highness," Yu De said respectfully, but when he raised his head, his expression was somewhat cold.
Baili Cheng originally wanted to use the opportunity of imprisoning Ouyang Yue to get a confession from her as soon as possible, so that he could have a clearer picture of the evidence against Baili Chen for treason. He knew that although the case was closely related to several letters and the letter Lin Yingying wrote before her death, and he would arrange for his shop to falsify accounts, there was no direct evidence linking it to Baili Chen. Therefore, Ouyang Yue's confession was crucial, otherwise, it was uncertain whether things would turn out differently in the end.
Princess Shuangxia and Xuanyuan Chaohua stormed in, killing many of his men in their rage. That presented an opportunity; if he investigated, the princess's residence would suffer a major blow. Sending assassins to kill the crown prince's guards would be enough to prosecute them for assassination and treason. Unfortunately, Ouyang Yue dared to disregard her reputation and cause a scene. The crown prince hadn't expected anyone to dare break in, and he and Ouyang Yue were in the cell, weapons in hand. The situation was indeed complicated. Investigating this matter would cause trouble for either side; the best solution is for everyone to pretend it never happened.
Forced into this situation, how could Baili Cheng be willing to accept it? He thought for a moment and said to the people around him, "This case should not be delayed any longer. Let's start the interrogation tomorrow. Go and give Ning Baichuan and Mu Liquan some encouragement."
The so-called joint trial by the three ministries—the Court of Judicial Review, the Censor-in-Chief, and the Minister of Justice—was a joint trial. Baili Cheng sneered. Two of the officials in charge of the trial were enemies of Ouyang Yue, which gave Baili Cheng an advantage in his plan.
Inside the prison cell, Princess Shuangxia and Xuanyuan Chaohua rushed towards Ouyang Yue: "Yue'er, what happened? You're so badly injured."
Ouyang Yue smiled and said, "Grandmother, brother, don't worry. It looks serious, but it's not a major injury. Some medicine will do. It won't hurt your face." As she spoke, Princess Shuangxia took out a handkerchief to wipe her face. Xuanyuan Chaohua, who always carried wound medicine with him, naturally handed it over and applied some as well. Although there was inevitably a red spot on her face, it was not a serious injury unless you looked closely.
Princess Shuangxia frowned: "No, there is a box of the best ointment in the princess's residence. You can't have a single scratch on your face. Have someone fetch it now." Ouyang Yue didn't stop her, knowing that it would be useless to stop her.
Princess Shuangxia sighed and said, "What exactly happened? Prince Chen wanted to come to Dali to see you before, but the Crown Prince stopped him. He was worried that we would also like to know the details, so he came to see. How dare the Crown Prince be so bold as to want to use private torture on you?"
Ouyang Yue's eyes narrowed. The Crown Prince was naturally cautious, but a thought struck her. Such an act of disfiguring someone's face was something a man, especially a proud man like the Crown Prince, would disdain. He could afford to wait for her to compromise, but this despicable act of disfiguring her didn't seem like Baili Cheng's style. It seemed more like the actions of a jealous woman. Moreover, this was sudden. When Baili Cheng approached her before, he held forged documents. If he had directly threatened to disfigure her then, she might have blurted it out. That would have been a perfect opportunity to press her advantage. Why wait an entire night? It was only that night that Baili Cheng changed his mind. She believed that no one had proposed disfiguring her before yesterday, which was the reason for Baili Cheng's actions today. So, who could it be?
“Using the law for personal gain? The Crown Prince isn’t stupid. The wound on my face doesn’t count as using the law for personal gain. He can easily say that it was just to scare me. He can find a hundred reasons to exonerate himself. The problem now is that the Crown Prince has forged evidence from who-knows-where, forged my and my husband’s handwriting, wrote down the crime of treason, and discovered 80% of our assets, which will be used as evidence of treason.”
"What!" Princess Shuangxia exclaimed in surprise: "The Crown Prince actually possesses these things. Have you seen them? You should overthrow the Crown Prince."
Ouyang Yue frowned: "The most important thing is that he framed some shops, and there must be false accounts among them that are detrimental to the prince. That's the key point."
Princess Shuangxia and Xuanyuan Chaohua remained silent for a while. After a while, Princess Shuangxia said, "If we take this evidence up, how confident are you in overturning the verdict?"
Ouyang Yue's expression was not good: "At most, it's only 20%, and that's after taking luck into consideration. This Crown Prince has clearly been trying to frame the Prince for a long time, so the evidence he presented is extremely fatal. How easy is it to turn the tables?"
Xuan Yuan Chaohua's face darkened: "Isn't there any other way? Your brother must get you out of here." As he spoke, he paced around the cell. "If all else fails, burn down all the shops he mentioned."
Ouyang Yue shook her head: "This method won't work..." Ouyang Yue was about to refuse when she suddenly paused, and Princess Shuangxia was also stunned. The two of them said at the same time, "This method might actually work!"
Xuanyuan Chaohua squinted his eyes: "So what should we do next?"
Ouyang Yue was silent for a while before saying, "Grandmother, when you leave, go find the Prince and tell him that I am safe and sound here and that he doesn't need to worry. There are more important things for us to do now. The plan is to throw the capital into complete chaos. We need to set it on fire and make it burn fiercely!"
When Yu De entered the cell again, he saw Princess Shuangxia and Ouyang Yue embracing, crying and comforting each other—a scene remarkably similar to… ordinary prisoners reuniting with their loved ones. Upon seeing Yu De enter, Princess Shuangxia and Ouyang Yue gradually calmed down. Princess Shuangxia wiped away her tears, looked up at Yu De, and angrily rebuked him, “Lord Yu, Yue’er is not only the Princess Consort of Chen, but she is also pregnant. To be kept in such a place—if she harms her health and the child, can you bear the responsibility?” This was clearly an outburst of anger, but Yu De dared not say it aloud.
“Yes, Princess Shuangxia is right. However, because the case of Princess Chen is of great importance, I have no choice but to imprison her here. I have previously instructed that this cell has been specially prepared and is a hundred times better than other places,” Yu De said, bowing his head.
Princess Shuangxia snorted coldly: "This is better than other places? Is the Dali Temple so poor that even Lord Yu lives in such a place?"
Yu De was taken aback, his face showing a hint of hesitation, his lips twitching slightly. Wasn't this just being unreasonable? Princess Shuangxia was always known for her exceptional talent and virtue, and for being very reasonable. Why was she acting so unreasonably now? Princess Shuangxia, however, ignored Yu De's thoughts: "Lord Yu, as a subject of the royal family, you should understand what the royal family values most: offspring! Regardless of the truth of this case, if Yue'er's womb is harmed in the end, I will make sure your entire family is buried with you. Do you believe me?"
Yu De's heart skipped a beat, and his face showed great shock: "Then...then what does Elder Gong mean..."
"I will provide you with a fine room in the Dali Temple. You may send a large number of troops to guard it. If Yue'er escapes during this time, I will gladly offer my head to you. How about that?" Princess Shuangxia's face was cold and serious, not at all like she was joking.
With a "plop," Yu De was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and cried out, "I dare not!" He then said repeatedly, "Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will make preparations immediately and will never let Princess Chen suffer any more grievances."
Princess Shuangxia wiped Ouyang Yue's face with a handkerchief: "Lord Yu, you are far more skilled at handling cases than I am. Everything must be based on evidence. Our Great Zhou governs the world with benevolence and filial piety, and the most taboo thing is to use private punishment. This time, Princess Chen was lucky to escape death. If there is a next time, don't blame me for being impolite." Yu De knelt down and said "Yes" repeatedly. Princess Shuangxia snorted coldly and suddenly said, "Lord Yu must be cursing me for causing trouble right now. However, I only have this one granddaughter, so I naturally treat her well. It's just that Princess Chen was imprisoned in the Dali Temple. If she had been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, then I would naturally be in the Ministry of Justice."
Yu De was suddenly stunned. He looked up at Princess Shuangxia's ambiguous smile and felt a chill run down his spine.
Mu Liquan, the Minister of Justice, had a daughter who had a grudge against Ouyang Yue, perhaps even a blood feud. During the beauty pageant in Langya Continent, Mu Cuiwei was crippled in the final competition. Mu Cuiwei insisted that Ouyang Yue was responsible, and although there was no evidence, it was clear that the two were mortal enemies. Mu Liquan had served in the court for many years and knew him well; he was known for his vindictiveness. When the Princess Consort of Chen was brought to the Dali Temple, he had his doubts, but ultimately thought that as the Emperor's man, his position in this matter was impartial, and that handling the case in the Dali Temple would ensure its fairness. But Mu Liquan had no objections at all?
Could it be that Mu Liquan was simply toying with him, intending to pin the blame on him in the end? The Crown Prince is determined to win this case; if he succeeds, he'll offend the Prince Chen's residence, the Princess's residence, and the General's residence; if he fails, he'll offend the Crown Prince. Even if he's the Emperor's man, he'll likely face dire consequences in the end. Did Mu Liquan anticipate all this, which is why he entrusted the matter of seeing Han Ouyang Yue to him? How infuriating! This is a hot potato; anyone who gets stuck with it will be in trouble!
Princess Shuangxia sneered, "Alright, Lord Yu, why don't you hurry up and make the preparations?"
Yu De immediately perked up and instructed his men to prepare a fine room for Ouyang Yue to rest in.
Yu De really put his heart into it. The room was very well furnished. Although it couldn't be described as luxurious as a palace, Yu De was very generous with the furnishings. He didn't seem to care that Ouyang Yue would get angry and smash them. Not only were the jade and antiques of good quality, but the room was also decorated with many flowers. The air was fresh, and the room was surrounded by gauze curtains. He even had two sets of fine silk clothes delivered. The clothes were slightly loose and were obviously meant for pregnant women.
Princess Shuangxia looked at it with satisfaction and nodded slightly to Yu De: "I will trouble you, Lord Yu, to take care of Princess Chen. I will not interfere with the case itself, but if Princess Chen suffers any injustice before the Emperor issues an imperial decree to convict her, I will seek justice from you, Lord Yu."
Yu De wore a wry smile, repeatedly bowing and agreeing, until he escorted Princess Shuangxia and Xuanyuan Chaohua and the others out of the Dali Temple. Only then did Yu De wipe his sweat and sigh. The position of Minister of the Dali Temple was supposed to be in charge of the back door for imperial relatives, directly under the Emperor's command. However, regardless of who these imperial relatives were, some of them were people Yu De couldn't afford to offend if they committed offenses. The reason the Crown Prince had previously prevented Baili Chen from entering was partly due to the Crown Prince's superior status, and partly because of the seniority; Yu De could simply obey orders without consequence.
However, the Crown Prince dared not act arrogantly in front of Princess Shuangxia, a princess who had served three reigns. Even with Princess Shuangxia's intervention, the Crown Prince had to give way, which put Yu De in a difficult position. The Crown Prince had been the one to make the decisions earlier, but he was the one left to clean up the mess and incur resentment. As a high-ranking official, Yu De couldn't help but resent the Crown Prince. If things went wrong, he would offend Princess Shuangxia. Even if Ouyang Yue and Baili Chen were implicated, Princess Shuangxia would certainly not. Being watched by such a person, it was hard to say when he would be killed. This princess was a woman who had been deeply involved in the inner palace and court for three generations; although she was low-key, Yu De had no desire to try her methods.
Although Yu Deming knew that Princess Shuangxia's previous words were somewhat of a deliberate attempt to sow discord among the three colleagues in the Three Departments, he couldn't help but think about it carefully. It was obvious that the Crown Prince and the Minister of Justice, Mu Liquan, had set a trap for him. Would he be the one to take the blame if things went wrong?
Yu De glanced at where Ouyang Yue was, his heart filled with doubt and uncertainty. It seemed he needed to think this matter carefully. Even if he was the emperor's man, it didn't mean the emperor would take care of all his loyal subordinates. He had to be extremely cautious about this matter from now on!
The joint trial by the three judicial departments was originally scheduled for three days later, with the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, Yu De, the Grand Censor, Ning Baichuan, and the Minister of Justice, Mu Liquan, along with the Crown Prince Baili Cheng, who was in charge of the case. Today was the second day since Ouyang Yue was arrested, and there was only one day left until the trial. The people in the Court of Judicial Review were moving around very cautiously. Yu De not only sent people to guard Ouyang Yue's residence but also to protect his safety. The major mansions in the capital were also very tense. This incident involved Ouyang Yue, so the Chen Prince's Mansion, the Princess's Mansion, and the General's Mansion could all be implicated. How could these mansions be completely unrelated to these three mansions? Moreover, given the importance that Emperor Mingxian attached to this case, it was of great significance. If they were implicated, they would probably not fare well. For a time, there was a sense of unease and fear in the capital.
That night, the usually bustling streets were unusually quiet, and even the red-light districts and alleys were noticeably less crowded than usual. Apart from the regular sound of the night watchman's gong, everything was eerily quiet, as if foreshadowing the coming storm.
"Ding ding ding"
"The weather is dry and the air is hot; be careful with fire!"
"Ding ding ding"
"The weather is dry and the air is hot; be careful with fire!"
"..."
On the street, a middle-aged man in gray clothes walked alone, striking a night watchman's hammer, looking somewhat timid.
"Damn it, why is this night so eerie and terrifying? It's not some ghost festival, so why do I feel so creepy, like my hair is standing on end?" The night watchman trembled, looking around. He thought to himself, "This damn job! This is the time when I should be enjoying a warm bed with my wife and kids, but I have to be the night watchman. And to make matters worse, the atmosphere is so scary. Is this job really that easy?!"
"Swish swish!"
"Who! Who's there!" Suddenly, the watchman felt a figure "whoosh" past behind him, bringing a gust of evil wind directly to the back of his neck. He immediately felt goosebumps all over his body, screamed and looked around in alarm, his heart growing more and more panicked, gripping the watch hammer tightly in a defensive posture.
"Whoosh!"
"Ah! Who is it? Damn it, whether you're a person or a ghost, don't come out and scare people. There's a reason for every wrong, and a reason for every debt!" The night watchman was so frightened that he was trembling all over.
"Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. Yes, that's right. That demon who killed my whole family back then, today I'll make sure he dies without a burial place! Let's go!" Suddenly, a voice came from nowhere, and the night watchman's heart clenched.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
But just then, right in front of him, several dark shadows suddenly flew past like ghosts. The watchman was so frightened that he opened his mouth wide and stared wide-eyed. After a long, long time, the watchman cried out, "Oh my god! Ghosts!" and dropped everything in his hands, running away as if his life depended on it.
At the same time, several dark shadows silently landed on shops on several streets throughout the capital. Just then, a yellow signal suddenly shot straight up into the sky with a "whoosh"!
The men in black waved their hands simultaneously, and two men rushed over from behind. With a "whoosh," the torches they were holding instantly ignited. "Attack!" The men in black waved their hands, and the two men behind them quickly rushed forward, using their lightness skills to leap up. With two "whoosh" sounds, they threw their torches directly into the backyard and frontyard, hitting the easiest places to ignite.
With a loud "boom," a huge flame shot up into the sky. The man in black sneered, "You didn't pour enough oil. Make more for the next one."
"That's definitely less."
"Next target!"
"yes!"
At the same time, five or six shops on the main streets of the capital were burning simultaneously, and the number of shops being burned by the raging fire was increasing. People and shopkeepers in the surrounding area rushed out and began to shout and curse. In an instant, the once quiet capital was like a dog's tail being stepped on, and it was like a flood bursting out of its dam, and everything was in chaos!
The Capital Garrison was greatly alarmed and immediately dispatched troops to extinguish the fire. At the same time, they also tried to appease the people of the capital and prevent those who took advantage of the fire to loot, kill, or steal. Although the Capital Prefecture was a civil service responsible for maintaining order in the capital, some of its constables were also mobilized. The entire capital was filled with shouts and commotion, and the fires continued to break out. In a short time, more than twenty shops had been emptied, a shocking number, and the losses to these shops were incalculable.
Of these twenty-odd shops, some were ordinary, while others belonged to large families, such as the Lin and Sun families. Roughly speaking, a few of the shops were owned by ordinary merchants, fifteen by the Lin and Sun families, and five by the Ning, Bai, Leng, and Pinglan families. The losses were considerable. The Prefect of Jingzhao, Ma Huai Ren, and the Commander of the Capital Garrison had grim faces. They were both responsible for this incident, but they were unaware that something even bigger was yet to come.
In the Crown Prince's residence, Baili Cheng sat in his study, a cold smile playing on his lips. He sat at his desk, facing a wide-open window from which he could vaguely see the fury raging outside and the incessant commotion: "So the Princess's residence and the Prince Chen's residence have indeed made their move. Seventh brother, you're truly a master of cleverness but utterly foolish. Don't you know I'm waiting for you to fall into my trap? Do you think you can destroy the evidence I've collected so easily?!"
As he spoke, Baili Cheng stood up and said, "Someone come here!"
"Your Highness, I am here!"
"Surround the Crown Prince's residence completely, don't let anyone in. I'm going to see how chaotic things are in the capital now. This is my seventh brother's last moment of madness." Baili Cheng walked out with a smile, his guards kneeling on the ground behind him. In an instant, a group of people rushed in from both sides of the courtyard, guarding the study, Baili Cheng's bedroom, and other important places in the Crown Prince's residence. Another group followed Baili Cheng to leave, but just as Baili Cheng stepped out of the Crown Prince's residence, the guard beside him shouted, "Your Highness, be careful!"
At this moment, a whooshing sound shot towards Baili Cheng. With a "ding," the guards beside him were also quite skilled in martial arts. They were secret guards trained by the Lin family, specifically to protect Baili Cheng's safety. Baili Cheng sneered: "Trying to kill me? How laughable. It seems I have truly driven my seventh brother to a dead end!"
As one arrow flew, a second and a third followed. Baili Cheng was known for his extraordinary courage, but he remained unfazed despite being targeted. He simply watched coldly as his guards, each a skilled fighter, battled the arrows flying from the sky. However, for the time being, no one managed to injure anyone.
Perhaps because they hadn't found a breakthrough to injure Baili Cheng, a group of about ten men rushed out, brandishing gleaming swords, and charged forward: "Men, send someone to protect the Crown Prince!"
The Crown Prince attempted assassination outside his residence, naturally alarming the guards who rushed to his aid. Baili Cheng sneered, thinking to himself, "Do you think you can get away with this just because you killed me? Putting aside the evidence, do you think I'm so easy to assassinate? How utterly foolish!"
The two sides were instantly locked in a fierce battle when a man dressed in red came running down the street shouting, "Baili Cheng, you heartless bastard, you killed more than a hundred members of my family! Today I will make you pay with your life!"
The man in red had obvious scars on his face, and an ugly "prisoner" character on his cheek. His face was ferocious, and his eyes were filled with madness. He had quiver slung over both shoulders, a sword at his waist, and a bow in his hand with five arrows in a row. With a loud shout, the arrows shot out swiftly through the air.
"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!" Five arrows flew simultaneously, and five of the guards that Baili Cheng had been shielding instantly died.
"Hiss hiss hiss!"
"Ta-da!"
The man in red shot out an arrow, then instantly drew back five more and fired them again. Three arrows struck three more people, who fell to the ground. However, two of them managed to withstand the attack. The man in red was extremely powerful, while the men in black on the other side continued to approach. Guards from the Crown Prince's residence kept coming out to slow the pace, and the fight between the two sides was fierce.
At this moment, one of the men in black shouted, "Tie Que, shoot that scoundrel's head!"
"Give me a hand!" With that, the man in red, named Tie Que, ran two steps, stepped directly on the leg of a man in black, and then leaped onto his shoulder. He raised his bow and looked down, ready to shoot at Baili Cheng's head.
The people in the Crown Prince's residence were alarmed and shouted urgently, "Protect the Crown Prince! Form a human wall!"
Instantly, two rows of guards surrounded Baili Cheng, forming a line below him. Those behind leaped onto the shoulders of those in front, immediately protecting Baili Cheng behind them. Baili Cheng was always protected by ten guards, and they exclaimed in alarm, "Your Highness, this place is not safe to stay any longer. Let's return to the mansion first."
Baili Cheng's expression changed drastically. Over the years, he had seen much and could tell that those who had tried to assassinate him today were highly trained. His seventh brother had truly gone all out, sending these people to assassinate him; it seemed he was starting to use his trump cards. He had never believed that his father only outwardly favored his seventh brother, but now it seemed that his suspicions were correct. His father had been secretly supporting his seventh brother all along. These assassins were no ordinary men; they could fight on par with the secret guards specially trained for him by the Lin family. They were not to be underestimated.
Seventh brother! If you hadn't shown this side of yourself, everything would have been fine, but now, I must kill you! Otherwise, this thorn in my side will make it impossible for me to sit on the throne even if I become emperor!
At this moment, in the Chen Prince's mansion, the windows of the master bedroom were wide open. On the soft couch that Ouyang Yue always liked, Baili Chen sat cross-legged, looking at the flames outside. He held a wine cup in his hand, his face extremely cold. Three people stood beside him: Leng Sha, Leng Han, and Leng Xue, each with their heads bowed and eyes turned to the side, waiting for Baili Chen's orders.
Just then, amidst the raging fire outside, no one noticed that a bright, half-fist-sized, crystalline signal shot into the sky, as big as a cannonball. Baili Chen saw it, his eyes narrowed, and he crushed the wine glass in his hand with a "crack": "Begin!"
"Yes, Master!"