Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Tap! Tap!
In the main hall of the King of Foreign Lands Residence, Wang Chong’s index finger and middle finger were rhythmically tapping. His head was slightly raised as he looked at the ceiling, countless thoughts running through his mind.
Wang Chong had already taken Little Li into his residence and was having experts guard him around the clock. Even so, Wang Chong had still not made much progress.
Eunuch Gao had been injured, and everything was shrouded in a cloud of mystery that prevented Wang Chong from seeing anything.
This was the heart of the empire! What in the world had happened?
Wang Chong lowered his head once more toward the cloud-patterned scarf. Wang Chong had already seen this bloodstain once, but he still found it alarming to behold.
Eunuch Gao would never leave the Sage Emperor, unless he was dead. Just how did the First Prince manage to do it? And if Eunuch Gao isn’t at Taihe Palace, who is the one taking care of the Sage Emperor?
Wang Chong muttered to himself, clouds of worry on his brow.
No one understood more than him what the collapse of the Sage Emperor meant for the empire.
Although the Sage Emperor had failed to appear many times, as long as he sat in Taihe Palace, this world still had one final barrier.
“Milord!”
There was a rush of footsteps from outside, and a few moments later, Xu Keyi walked in, respectfully offering up a letter with both hands.
“Little Li has already marked out all the areas Eunuch Gao normally goes to.”
As Xu Keyi spoke, he placed the letter on the desk.
Wang Chong took the letter and looked it over. On it was written all the places Eunuch Gao had been to. Wang Chong gave a slight nod.
“Make a few copies of this and give them to Yang Zhao, Li Jingzhong, Bian Lingcheng, and Zhao Fengchen in the palace. Have the four of them do their utmost to keep an eye on these places and search the palace. If Eunuch Gao isn’t being restrained and still has freedom, then he will go to these places. But if not…”
A cloud of worry passed across Wang Chong’s face, but he didn’t continue. The information Little Li could provide was extremely limited, and he knew nothing about where Eunuch Gao could be. But from Little Li’s recount, Wang Chong had noticed a certain detail.
Little Li had passed a message to Eunuch Gao in the sweets, and Eunuch Gao had given him back a reply. That he could reply to Little Li meant that he had a brush, ink, and paper with him, which were not things a prisoner would be provided with. But if Eunuch Gao was alive and able to move freely, he would go to protect the Sage Emperor. This was the contradiction Wang Chong was facing. No matter what, he had to clear this matter up.
“In addition…”
Wang Chong once more looked at the scarf, his eyes narrowing.
“Eunuch Gao’s cultivation is something that not even Tongluo Great General Abusi or Anxi Protector-General Gao Xianzhi can compare to. Anyone who could injure him must possess formidable strength. Battles of such experts should have created a large ruckus, and there’s no way that no one in the palace would have heard it. Tell them to investigate this matter. I must know if anything strange happened in the palace over the last few months! Have them report to me on the slightest turmoil!”
There was a wise and perceptive light in Wang Chong’s eyes. Even though the information Little Li had provided was limited, Wang Chong had been able to extract many details. Little Li would have certainly been dumbfounded if he had been listening, because he would have never even thought about the possibilities Wang Chong had proposed.
“Yes!”
Xu Keyi solemnly bowed and left.
Whoosh!
A few moments later, carrier pigeons took flight from the King of Foreign Lands Residence. Yang Zhao, Li Jingzhong, Bian Lingcheng, and Zhao Fengchen had the powers of Consort Taizhen, the Fifth Prince, and the Imperial Army on their side. If such an incident had taken place, these four were capable of finding it.
Time slowly passed. The inner palace seemed calm on the surface, but an undercurrent surged beneath.
The four of them searched all the places Little Li had mentioned, but the results took Wang Chong completely by surprise. It wasn’t that they hadn’t found any trace of Eunuch Gao; Wang Chong had already prepared himself for that. Instead, it was that Yang Zhao, Li Jingzhong, Bian Lingcheng, and Zhao Fengchen had discovered that those places had been swept clean, all the furniture moved out and the room rendered spotless. It was like no one had ever inhabited those places before.
Judging by what the four had learned, this had probably taken place only a few days ago.
The four of them reacted very quickly and found the maids and eunuchs who had performed the cleaning. But these servants knew nothing, all of them saying that they had simply been following orders. The four followed the chain of command to find the eunuch who had given the initial order, but they discovered that the eunuch had disappeared. Moreover, the palace’s eunuch register did not contain this man’s name. It was like such a man had never existed in the palace.
After receiving these reports, Wang Chong fell into a long silence.
All the clues had been cut off right in the middle. There was undoubtedly some force in the palace who had noticed his movements and wiped away all evidence.
Wang Chong deeply furrowed his brow.
“Your Highness, it must be the First Prince’s work. I truly can’t think of anyone else besides him who would have a reason to do such a thing.”
Xu Keyi, Cheng Sanyuan, Zhang Que, and Su Shixuan were all present, all of them indignant.
Wang Chong said nothing. First, he shook his head, and then he nodded.
Seeing Wang Chong’s reaction, Su Shixuan cautiously asked, “Your Highness, is there something wrong? Did we say anything incorrect?”
“It wasn’t that you said anything wrong, but I feel like there’s something strange about this incident.”
Wang Chong’s brows were locked together as he sternly spoke.
“The First Prince’s men appeared during our last operation, pursuing Little Li. They would think of ways to clear up the evidence, so I don’t find that strange. But there’s something different about this time.”
Wang Chong fell quiet. While he was thinking, no one dared to carelessly disturb him.
At this time, countless ideas were appearing in Wang Chong’s mind.
This was not Wang Chong’s first clash with the First Prince!
In past incidents, while the First Prince had many advisors assisting him with his plans who were able to cleanly pull off the Jade Consort Xiao incident without leaving any clues, they were not so sharp to this level. He had only just given the order, but the First Prince had already swept away all the clues as if his actions had been predicted.
This had never happened in his previous clashes with the First Prince.
As the saying went, the difference of a hair could result in an error of a thousand li. While others might not have noticed anything from this incident, Wang Chong had noticed a subtle transformation with the First Prince.
I hope I’m overthinking things!
A thought flashed in Wang Chong’s mind, but he quickly rejected the idea.
“Reporting!”
At this moment, a Golden Guard rushed inside.
“Your Highness, there’s news from the Imperial Clan Court! The assassin Asura that Lord Zhao Fengchen captured in the palace was rescued!”
“What?!”
Everyone turned in surprise, and Wang Chong’s brow furrowed even deeper as he stood up from his desk.
“When did these things happen?” Wang Chong solemnly said.
Wang Chong knew that Asura had a firm will and was resistant to torture, so getting any information out of him, particularly when it came to the First Prince, was nigh impossible. Thus, he had not paid him much attention.
But the Imperial Clan Court was no ordinary place, and the inner palace was packed with experts and swarming with Imperial Army soldiers. The Imperial Clan Court itself was heavily guarded, so a rescue was normally impossible.
The Golden Guard kneeled and sternly said, “It was just a few hours ago. The invader was extremely powerful and killed quite a few members of the Imperial Clan Court, and more troops are surging in. In addition, the Imperial Army has also gone over and the entire palace has been locked down.”
There was a stillness in the hall as everyone glanced at each other.
Xu Keyi took a few steps forward and asked, “Your Highness, could it be…”
“Impossible!” Wang Chong immediately said.
Asura had been escorted to the Imperial Clan Court under the watch of the consorts, concubines, and their servants. Even if the Assistant Minister of the Imperial Clan Court was privately working with the First Prince, he would never intervene in this matter. Besides that, many soldiers of the Imperial Clan Court had been killed.
Perhaps such a stir would have been warranted for someone else, but not for Asura.
“Keep a close eye on this situation and report to me on any new developments!”
Wang Chong frowned as he spoke. That idea from before once more emerged in his mind, and he felt even more intensely that something wasn’t right.
“Yes!”
“Senior, you’re brilliant! You really managed to predict the King of Foreign Lands’ moves!”
In the Eastern Palace, an entirely different scene was playing out.
Zhu Tong’en and the other advisors were all looking reverentially at the stalwart elder.
On his throne, the First Prince gave a slight nod. He was finally convinced that this man would be of enormous assistance to him.