Leng Sha, Leng Han, and Leng Xue responded instantly, then quickly covered their faces with a black cloth and disappeared in a flash.
At the same time, inside the Crown Prince's residence, the fighting outside had not yet subsided. The guards were escorting Baili Cheng back to the inner courtyard when suddenly something fell from the sky. Baili Cheng, with his sharp eyes, saw it and asked, "What is that?"
The guards nearby glanced at the scene but couldn't figure it out for a moment. They quickly surrounded and protected Baili Cheng, and stepped back, because their original target was the Crown Prince's study, and the place where the thing had fallen was also the study.
Baili Cheng suddenly felt a sense of unease, as if something was getting out of control.
"Bang!"
"Boom! Bang! Thud!"
When the object landed, it suddenly made a loud noise, as if the entire study had exploded.
"Protect the Crown Prince!" the guards cried out, immediately surrounding Baili Cheng. However, their shouts had no effect whatsoever amidst the deafening explosion. These people were not far from the study, and the sound of the explosion caused their eardrums to ache, and for a moment they even lost their hearing.
"Boom! Bang! Thud!"
"Boom! Bang! Thud!"
"Boom! Bang! Thud!"
"..."
The guards, protecting Baili Cheng, had not yet gotten up when, unexpectedly, at the same time, these explosions had already broken out in various parts of the Crown Prince's residence!
"Ah! Help!"
"Ah, there's a fire!"
"The study is on fire!"
"The kitchen is on fire!"
"Oh no! The warehouse is on fire!"
"...Fire!"
In an instant, the entire Crown Prince's residence erupted in chaos. All the guards and servants were awakened by the constant "bang" of the explosions and rushed out, only to find a sea of fire before their eyes. The Crown Prince's study, the master bedroom, the storeroom, the kitchen, and some other courtyards all caught fire at the same time due to the explosions. The entire Crown Prince's residence was thrown into chaos. Some servants were weeping and embracing each other, some were dodging and fleeing for their lives, and some were desperately trying to fetch water to put out the fire. The myriad aspects of life unfolded in slow motion at this moment.
Strangely, despite the explosion and fire, none of the servants in the Crown Prince's residence died.
At this moment, someone burst into laughter: "Baili Cheng, you despicable, shameless, and utterly heartless dog! Today, I, Tie Que, will avenge the more than one hundred people in my family who were brutally murdered by you! Baili Cheng, today I will perish with you!" The voice was extremely shrill and furious, and its loudness was almost comparable to the sound of an explosion. Upon hearing it, all the servants in the Crown Prince's residence were greatly shocked.
Isn't this an accident? It turns out the Crown Prince offended someone, and someone is coming for revenge!
What exactly did the Crown Prince do? He caused the deaths of over a hundred people. Even if they were harmed like this, it would be strange if they didn't come to fight back. What a cruel and vicious heart the Crown Prince has! And most importantly, why should they suffer the consequences of the harm he caused?
The Crown Prince's residence was engulfed in explosions and fires, causing incalculable losses. Many servants from the Lin family had lived there, hoping that if the Crown Prince ascended the throne, they would rise to prominence. The residence held all their wealth, but now, with the fire, their life savings were gone. Some guards who had saved for their wives even cried out, while others gritted their teeth and turned pale. Those who were putting out the fire angrily threw their buckets to the ground, cursing Baili Cheng's ancestors for generations!
However, Baili Cheng had no time to care about the iron coin, nor did he care about the anger of the servants in the Crown Prince's mansion. He was crouching on the ground under protection, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw several people lying on the ground. Their faces were contorted with rage. Some were blown to pieces, while others had large amounts of blood gushing from their chests and blood flowing from their mouths. Baili Cheng was immediately shocked.
"Someone come quick! Put out the fire in the study! Quick!" Baili Cheng jumped up suddenly, completely disregarding Tie Que's cursing and his own safety, and kicked a guard next to him away while shouting.
The guard was taken aback, then shouted urgently, "Quickly, send men to put out the fire! Hurry! Anyone who dares to be a step slow will be killed without mercy!"
The guard also noticed something was wrong. Why didn't any of the people who were originally guarding outside the study escape at the moment of the explosion? They all fell to the ground. Although heavy troops were sent to guard this place before, Baili Cheng encountered highly skilled men in black outside and was locked in a stalemate with them. In fact, at the beginning, their casualties were more severe than the enemy's. The guards in the Crown Prince's residence had to be reinforced twice. One of the two teams of men in the study was used up, and the guard was not as tight as it was at the beginning, not as solid as a city wall.
The deaths of these people undoubtedly tell them a message!
They've been tricked! These people's original target wasn't Baili Cheng; their original goal was to burn down and destroy the Crown Prince's residence. What they did just now was clearly a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain!
They fell for their trap!
Baili Cheng's face was ashen, while Tie Que's voice grew louder and louder, laughing wildly, "Bomb! Bomb! Bomb the hell out of him!"
"Bang bang bang!" Several more explosions rang out, followed by screams from the servants of the Crown Prince's residence.
Baili Cheng trembled with rage: "Kill! Kill him for me! Kill him! They all have to die!"
"No! Put out the fire in the study! Put out the fire!" Baili Cheng shouted, his face contorted with rage, as he grabbed one of the guards by the collar.
His evidence, all his evidence is in the study! Damn it!
No, there's still a chance, there's still a chance! Baili Cheng's heart tightened, and he had a vague premonition of something bad, but he still thought with a glimmer of hope that even though those things were in the study, he had secretly hidden them away, so there was still hope even if they were blown up!
"Quickly, put out the fire!" Thinking of this, Baili Cheng roared even louder, his eyes wide open, his facial muscles twitching constantly, his face extremely terrifying!
☆、237, The Frustrated Crown Prince! (Last Day of Annual Meeting Tickets)
Baili Cheng was furious, but the only response he received was a series of explosions. At first, when Baili Cheng ordered the fire to be put out, there might still be room for maneuver. There might still be hope when the servants of the Crown Prince's residence were still focused on putting out the fire. But now, seeing the fire raging, those resentful servants all had their own agendas. Even if they were putting out the fire, they weren't really doing their best. Meanwhile, the red-clad man named Tie Que kept cursing and causing trouble.
Baili Cheng was furious. He jumped around like a monkey in the Crown Prince's residence, squeaking angrily. Unfortunately, he could only watch helplessly as the fire grew bigger and bigger.
"Boom!"
"Your Highness, be careful!"
"Useless thing! Put out the fire! Put out the fire!"
Baili Cheng roared angrily, wishing he could rush forward to put out the fire, but at that moment a deafening roar came from the study, and the entire study was blown to pieces, with fragments and debris flying everywhere.
"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!" Several guards standing in front to protect Baili Cheng were even hit directly by the debris. Although it was just a small piece of broken tile, it pierced a large bloody gash in their necks, and blood gushed out. They fell to the ground with a "clang", and died a gruesome death.
The bodyguards guarding Baili Cheng immediately shielded him and forced him to retreat. Baili Cheng, watching the flames rising from the study, felt a surge of rage rise to his head. He trembled with anger, his lips quivering. The evidence was inside! Not only had he failed to retrieve it, but the entire study had exploded, and there were so many things inside, so many treasured possessions! The Crown Prince's residence was gone in an explosion?! How could this be?!
"Boom boom boom!"
Several more earth-shattering roars echoed from the Crown Prince's residence. The outer walls of the residence were blasted apart, and the entire residence was completely destroyed. Everyone inside and outside the residence was covered in dust and looked extremely disheveled, a far cry from their former noble and domineering appearance.
Baili Cheng was supported by the guards and stood there, his body trembling like a sieve. He wasn't afraid, he was just angry. He was so angry that his blood was flowing backward, and he was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath and died.
"Oh my god, what's going on? Where is the Crown Prince's residence? Where did the Crown Prince's residence go?"
"The Crown Prince's residence is gone, and so is my courtyard."
"My jewelry, my ornaments are all gone, waaaaah!"
"What should I do, Your Highness?"
Just then, cries rang out from the Crown Prince's residence. A group of more than a dozen people rushed out from the women's quarters. They had all been dressed in gold and silver, exuding luxury, but now they were all covered in soot and their clothes were tattered, looking as if they had crawled out of a coal pile. Strangely enough, despite their disheveled appearance, their faces were remarkably clean. In fact, compared to the mess on their clothes and hair, their faces were the only decent thing about them.
As they ran, some of the women lagging behind kept spitting on their relatively clean handkerchiefs, then...wiping them on their dirty faces...
So that's why they only had one clean face after all this commotion. The servants who had witnessed the explosion and fire at the Crown Prince's residence froze, their faces contorted in a strange, almost twitching expression.
There were quite a few women in the Crown Prince's residence, and each of them was very shrewd. Their inner quarters were usually quite chaotic; these women were spineless and subservient in front of the Crown Prince, but arrogant and domineering in front of the servants. Even the most famous dancers and courtesans considered themselves superior to others when they entered the Crown Prince's residence. Although the servants of the Crown Prince's residence looked down on them, they dared not offend or disrespect them. But now, seeing them all dressed up and running to the Crown Prince, crying pitifully with tears streaming down their faces, the servants of the Crown Prince's residence couldn't help but sigh.
No wonder these women were able to enter the Crown Prince's residence; they'd do anything to win his favor. If it were them, they wouldn't have resorted to such disgusting methods to whine and complain to the Crown Prince. No wonder they weren't masters. Sometimes, being a master requires shamelessness, something they simply can't do.
Baili Cheng stared grimly at the study. At this moment, the explosions ceased, and the servants of the Crown Prince's residence began frantically fetching water to extinguish the fire. In a short time, the fire in the Crown Prince's residence subsided, while the study, which Baili Cheng had insisted on, was the first place to be extinguished.
Baili Cheng had already rushed inside. The study was the most severely damaged by the explosion; half of the room had collapsed. Baili Cheng, his face ashen, ran straight to the back and searched for a while before ordering someone to move a collapsed wooden stake that was part of a wall. However, this wall had also been affected. Baili Cheng frantically pounded on it a few times, but the wall didn't react. Baili Cheng cried out in alarm, "Quick, make a hole here!"
Immediately, guards obeyed and began striking the wall with a series of blows. Soon, the wall cracked open, and one of them used his internal force to break it open. Baili Cheng's eyes lit up as he looked inside, and he reached out and pulled out a wooden box. However, before he could be happy for long, a hand suddenly reached out from behind him and snatched the wooden box away with a "whoosh".
Baili Cheng was momentarily stunned, then exclaimed in alarm, "Guards! Kill him! Quickly, bring back the box! Quickly!" Inside was his true evidence. Not only did it contain things that could lead to the deaths of Baili Chen and Ouyang Yue, but it also contained secrets that could not be known to outsiders. It was absolutely forbidden for anyone to know.
"Kill him without mercy! Kill him for me! Whoever catches and kills that scoundrel, I guarantee he'll be promoted two ranks! Hurry!" Baili Cheng said quickly. Upon hearing his words, a group of guards' eyes lit up, and many rushed over.
Baili Cheng gritted his teeth in hatred, wishing he possessed unparalleled martial arts skills to tear that man to pieces. He had been far too careless; this elaborate scheme had rendered him powerless to resist. Even if he had thought of it, he would have followed the plan.
First, he set fire to major shops in the capital, including more than 20% of the shops he mentioned. This directly impacted the accusations against Baili Chen and Ouyang Yue, which naturally made him nervous. However, this was all within his calculations. He knew that if he presented the evidence to Ouyang Yue, she would relay it to Baili Chen and Princess Shuangxia, and they would definitely take action. A passive surrender was out of the question. He would then use the fire in the capital to intensify the accusations against Baili Chen. Even if Emperor Mingxian considered Baili Chen's actions, it would be difficult for him not to kill him. At that moment, Baili Cheng would naturally want to see Baili Chen in a sorry state.
However, Baili Cheng was not stupid; in fact, he was quite shrewd. He realized this was likely a diversionary tactic, so he increased the number of guards in his residence. The chances of Baili Chen's men easily obtaining evidence from the Crown Prince's residence were extremely slim. Therefore, Baili Chen and his group chose to do the opposite, deliberately using a diversionary tactic to overturn his defenses. This forced the Crown Prince's guards to be urgently redeployed, reducing the number of guards inside the residence. Only then did these men begin to cause trouble within the residence. Their original target was the Crown Prince's study, but they had been using an overt plan to conceal their true intentions.
Baili Cheng's evidence was well hidden, and even if they did so, it wouldn't necessarily destroy the evidence. Therefore, they had accurately predicted Baili Cheng's thoughts at this moment.
With Baili Chen and his men on the verge of capture, he had to secure this crucial evidence. At this moment, Baili Cheng might not even have valued his own life as much. So, even if he suspected it might be a scheme by Baili Chen, he would prioritize ensuring the evidence's safety. Moreover, at this moment, Baili Cheng wasn't thinking about Baili Chen's scheme; his sole focus was securing the evidence. Meanwhile, Baili Chen's men had already infiltrated the guards protecting Baili Cheng amidst the chaos. In this situation, they had no time to distinguish friend from foe. Someone snatched the item from behind them. Baili Cheng's face flushed crimson and then purple, a riot of colors, like a palette of hues. He was beyond furious, so angry he wanted to grind his teeth to dust!
"Your Highness..."
Just then, the women from the backyard rushed over to Baili Cheng, crying and complaining. Baili Cheng remained silent for a long time with a cold face. One of the women, dressed in red, walked slowly towards Baili Cheng with a strangely protruding belly: "Your Highness, I'm terrified! Who is this ignorant fool who dares to cause trouble in the Crown Prince's residence? Your Highness will definitely have these people torn to pieces, and see if they still dare to be so arrogant."
"Lady Zhang really knows how to read people's hearts, but her mouth is really sharp. I wonder who was crying the loudest just now? At that time, you were thinking of our Crown Prince, weren't you?" A slightly sarcastic female voice rang out from the side.
The beautiful woman, supporting her flat stomach, sneered: "I was just concerned about the Crown Prince, but you didn't even shed a tear. Do you consider this Crown Prince's residence your own home? Your own home has been destroyed like this, and you didn't even shed a tear. How cold-hearted are you? Is your heart made of flesh and blood?"
"you!"
"Enough! Shut up, all of you!" Baili Cheng was in a real bind, his anger simmering with nowhere to go. He roared, and the women in the Crown Prince's residence were too scared to utter a sound, their lips pressed tightly together, afraid of saying anything that would make Baili Cheng even angrier.
Baili Cheng's face was ashen, so dark and almost inhuman that it was hard to describe his expression. He paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, his face full of frustration and anger, which silenced everyone around him.
The beautiful woman touched her belly, a sudden thought forming in her mind. She was different from these women without official titles. Lin Yingying had been the most favored woman in the household, and the first to bear the Crown Prince's child. Unfortunately, she was sickly and died at such an opportune time. This woman, on the other hand, happened to be pregnant. The Crown Prince had promised her that if she could give birth to a son, he wouldn't mind bestowing a title upon her in the future. Most importantly, he wanted this child to be Emperor Mingxian's first grandson, increasing his chances of seizing the throne. Currently, she was the most advantageous woman in the household. Now that the Crown Prince was so distressed, she could comfort him, and also save face in front of these vile women, giving them a good scolding.
Thinking of this, Lady Zhang smiled and slowly walked towards Baili Cheng: "Your Highness, don't be sad. With your wisdom and martial prowess, you can solve any problem. How could anything be difficult for you?"
Baili Cheng's expression indeed improved slightly, causing a flicker of jealousy to cross the faces of the women who dared not speak. This, however, only made Zhang Meiren happier. She stretched out her hand, blackened from the perfume, and wrapped it around the Crown Prince's arm, even rubbing her ample breasts against Baili Cheng's arm in a highly seductive manner, which ignited hatred in the eyes of the other women. Zhang Meiren, still holding Baili Cheng's arm, took two steps forward, surveying the women with an air of pride. She was about to speak when she suddenly widened her eyes and flew forward violently, screaming in terror, but it was too late.
With a loud "bang," Zhang Meiren suddenly collapsed to the ground, her eyes wide open, her mouth agape, her face frozen in a daze for a long time. Everyone was stunned. Just then, Zhang Meiren suddenly screamed, "Ah! Ah! My stomach, my stomach!"
Everyone glanced around and immediately saw blood slowly seeping from Zhang Meiren's body. Given her pregnancy, it was easy to imagine what her condition was like. Someone in the crowd sneered and withdrew his foot, doing so without anyone noticing.
Baili Cheng was shocked and said urgently, "Quickly, go find the imperial physician, go quickly!"
Baili Cheng felt a chill run down his spine. He had just been tricked by Baili Chen, and even his evidence had been taken away. His cooperation with Fenyan had come at a price; he had personally killed Lin Yingying and her unborn child. Compared to this beauty, he had feelings for Lin Yingying much deeper. He had gone so far as to kill Lin Yingying because of Fenyan's demands. If this beauty hadn't become pregnant at this opportune time, Baili Cheng might not have even remembered that such a woman existed in his household. But this was Baili Cheng's biggest bargaining chip after killing Baili Chen. Emperor Mingxian's first grandson naturally had to be born by him.
Baili Cheng was ruthless in achieving his goals, but when everything fell apart, he suddenly regretted it. He had agreed to Fenyan's demands; how much would he lose? If he failed to kill Baili Chen this time, his losses would far exceed what Fenyan could ever imagine.
Lady Zhang cried out in pain, and Baili Cheng immediately summoned the head nanny of the Crown Prince's residence to take care of her. However, she wasn't a doctor, and seeing Lady Zhang's pale face from the pain, her clothes soaked with blood, and knowing that the Crown Prince's residence was in such a state that it was impossible to tell which house was safe or habitable, Lady Zhang collapsed on the cold floor, shivering from the cold. Actually, from the moment Lady Zhang started bleeding, she knew she had miscarried. However, collapsing in such freezing weather meant that a miscarried woman especially needed rest and care. If things didn't go well, Lady Zhang might never be able to have children again. But at this moment, the old nanny dared not say a word.
Soon, a group of imperial physicians arrived from the Imperial Hospital, accompanied by guards personally dispatched by the Emperor to protect Baili Cheng's safety. The bombing of the Crown Prince's residence had caused such a commotion that almost everyone in the capital knew about it. Emperor Mingxian naturally had to send people to protect him; otherwise, the Crown Prince of Great Zhou being killed in his own residence would be a laughingstock. Given the commotion, the imperial physicians naturally came to help. However, upon arriving at the Crown Prince's residence, they found that apart from those who had died in the fighting, there were basically no injured people—or rather, only Consort Zhang, writhing on the ground in pain.
Under Baili Cheng's urgent request, several imperial physicians took her pulse and delivered bad news: the child had been lost. This beauty was too weak and needed to rest, otherwise she would never be able to conceive again.
Baili Cheng stood frozen in place, his face ashen. After a moment of silence, he suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter: "Hahahaha! Good! Good! My child is gone, gone, hahahaha!" He suddenly thought of the deceased Lin Yingying. Was this retribution? He had killed his own child with his own hands, just because he knew someone else could bear him another child. But now that child was gone too. Was this a slap in the face? This was clearly a slap in his face, hahahaha!
Baili Cheng was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath and fell backward with wide eyes.
"Your Highness!" Everyone exclaimed in shock, quickly supporting Baili Cheng. A royal physician immediately stepped forward to take his pulse, letting out a long sigh of relief: "The Crown Prince has simply fainted from a moment of anger. Let's find him a place to rest." However, looking around the Crown Prince's residence, the physician couldn't help but grumble to himself. The dignified Crown Prince's residence was now so poor that there wasn't even a place for anyone to live. It was truly...
"Ah, the woodshed wasn't blown up. Quick, go to the woodshed!"
"The woodshed?" a royal physician exclaimed, then immediately realized his lapse in composure and remained silent. The others quickly escorted the Crown Prince to the woodshed. Since Baili Cheng was unconscious, it was not appropriate for him to move, so he had to stay at the Crown Prince's residence. Afterwards, some items needed for daily use were urgently brought to the Crown Prince's residence from the palace.
Baili Cheng slept for two days, so the case of Ouyang Yue, which he was specially appointed to supervise by Emperor Mingxian, naturally had to be postponed. When Baili Cheng woke up two days later, he learned that the guards had not retrieved his important evidence, so he immediately stormed into the palace to find Emperor Mingxian.
In the imperial study, Baili Cheng burst into tears, sobbing out his pent-up frustration. He concluded, "Father, I was ordered by Your Majesty to oversee this matter. Just as the case was beginning to show promise, it was suddenly subjected to malicious retaliation. All the shops I investigated were burned down, and someone even dared to bomb the Crown Prince's residence! They have no respect for Your Majesty or for me! Such audacity is rare in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty. And how could it be such a coincidence that the Crown Prince's residence was targeted after I investigated this case? This is clearly an attempt to destroy evidence, a threat to prevent me from continuing the investigation. My seventh brother is guilty, Father!"
Baili Cheng rushed into the palace, deliberately making himself look disheveled. Now he was crying so pitifully that Emperor Mingxian was speechless. He said, "Your Highness, you can rest assured. I will investigate this matter thoroughly. If the Seventh Prince continues to act recklessly, I will not let him off the hook."