allonlinenovel Chapter 148 The handle
Chapter 148 The handle
Prince Chen's heart sank to the bottom. He ordered the coachman to speed up the whole way, and the carriage was so fast that he could hardly sit still.
After a long two quarters of an hour, the carriage finally stopped outside the Jade Pavilion.
Without pausing for a moment, Prince Chen lifted the curtain and stepped off the carriage. He was anxious and looked up, only to unexpectedly see a figure he thought he would never see.
Prince Chen was both surprised and delighted. "Yun Shang, are you alright?!"
Yun Shang stepped out of the Jade Treasure Pavilion and saw that Prince Chen's forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat. Her cold gaze softened a little.
He bowed and said, "Your Highness."
Prince Chen subconsciously looked at his hand and asked urgently in a low voice, "Did he make things difficult for you?"
Yun Shang shook his head, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, I'm fine."
Prince Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he noticed the bloodstains on Yun Shang's neck, and his eyes suddenly turned cold.
He glanced inside the Jade Treasure Pavilion, said nothing more, and told Mingwei, "Let's go back to the manor first."
Before getting into the carriage, Yun Shang looked up at the second floor of the Jade Treasure Pavilion, a faint hint of sarcasm playing on his lips.
The carriage slowly drove away from the Jade Treasure Pavilion, and a short while later, the group of people walked out of the Jade Treasure Pavilion.
The leader was dressed in a noble purple robe, but his face was extremely pale and unpleasant. Upon closer inspection, one could see that his lips were white and his eyes still held lingering anger and fear.
……
Inside the carriage, Prince Chen asked Yun Shang what had happened at the Jade Pavilion.
Yun Shang lowered his eyes slightly and said succinctly, "When the Prince of Xuan failed to coerce me, he switched to bribing me. When I refused, he became angry and attacked me."
Prince Chen frowned.
He had some understanding of Prince Xuan's temperament.
Xuan Wangyi acts impulsively and never considers the consequences before doing things. He had already taken action, yet Yun Shang only suffered minor injuries, which he found unbelievable.
He wanted to ask more questions, but seeing the weariness in Yun Shang's eyes, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.
He said, "I will take you to the clinic first. Although it is only a superficial injury, you should not be careless."
Yun Shang nodded, "Thank you, Your Highness."
After watching Yun Shang enter Jishengtang, Prince Chen slowly lowered the carriage curtain, his expression turning solemn. He instructed Mingwei, "Go and investigate what happened inside Feibaolou."
Mingwei wanted to ask why the prince didn't ask Young Master Yun himself, but then he thought about it again.
Since Young Master Yun hasn't brought it up, he must not want to talk about it.
Since the prince is so concerned about Young Master Yun, he certainly won't make things difficult for him.
Mingwei couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
His prince truly loves talent.
Prince Qi's Mansion.
After hearing his subordinates' report, the King of Qi lost his grip on his brush and ruined the calligraphy he had just written.
His expression turned cold, and he slammed the pen he was holding onto the table.
"waste."
The guard kneeling at the lower end felt a pang of sympathy and lowered his head even further.
King Qi took a large gulp of tea to suppress his anger before saying in a deep voice, "Given Li Yao's character, once he made a move, he couldn't have just lightly injured him. What happened afterward, and why didn't Li Yao retaliate?"
The guard said tremblingly, "There are too many people and too many eyes inside the Jade Pavilion. We can't get too close and don't know what's going on inside."
"All that was known was that a furious shout suddenly rang out from the private room by Prince Xuan, and then Yun Shang emerged from inside unharmed."
“A furious roar…” King Qi narrowed his eyes, “For Li Yao to lose his composure like this, Yun Shang must have said something.”
……
"How could a mere country bumpkin know such private matters of mine?!"
As soon as Prince Xuan returned to his residence, he smashed a room full of valuable ornaments!
The guards and servants were terrified and dared not step forward.
With a loud crash, Prince Xuan swept the last vase off the display cabinet, his forehead veins bulging and his expression ferocious.
"This man must not be allowed to live!" he roared angrily. "I will send men to kill him!"
A guard stepped forward, timidly whispering, "Your Highness, but he said earlier that he has something on Your Highness... If he dies, and that matter is exposed, Your Highness might..."
Prince Xuan gritted his teeth, "So you mean, he's just a mere country bumpkin threatening me with his weakness, and I can't do anything to him?!"
The guard hurriedly shook his head. "What I mean is that we must first obtain the evidence he has. Then he will be fish on the chopping block, at the prince's mercy."
Upon hearing this, Prince Xuan gradually calmed down.
He waved for the others to leave, leaving only the guard who had spoken earlier, Wang Zhenling.
He stared at Wang Zhenling with a sinister look in his eyes, and said, word by word, "Have the guards keep a close eye on him and make sure to take back what he has!"
Wang Zhenling quickly replied, "Yes, Your Highness, I will certainly not disappoint you."
The mastermind behind the Jade Treasure Pavilion is Prince Chen. It would be easy for Prince Chen to find out what is happening inside the Jade Treasure Pavilion.
He became the third person, after Prince Xuan and Yun Shang, to know what had happened in the Emperor's No. 2 private room.
Inside the study, Prince Chen sat at his desk for a long time before finally speaking: "I never imagined that the top scholar of the previous year would die at the hands of Prince Xuan."
The previous year's top scorer in the imperial examination, Liu Su, was found drowned in the pond of Qionglin Academy the night before he was to be appointed to an official position.
Qionglin Academy was a residence specially bestowed by Emperors Wenjing and the top three scholars before they were granted official positions, which was an extremely high honor.
Emperor Wenjing valued these talented men who were weak and powerless, and sent the imperial guards to protect them. However, Liu Su drowned in the pond before the banquet for bestowing official titles.
When Emperor Wenjing learned of this, he was furious and ordered a thorough investigation. Unfortunately, a heavy rain fell that day, washing away all the suspicious traces.
The people from the Dali Temple found nothing, and in the end, the case could only be closed as Liu Su accidentally falling into the water.
Three years have passed since the case, and even if Emperor Wenjing knew the truth, he would not punish Prince Xuan severely.
However, at this critical juncture, if this matter is exposed, Emperor Wenjing will inevitably despise Prince Xuan.
Emperor Wenjing's dislike was far more severe than any punishment.
Mingwei asked in surprise, "Your Highness, how does Young Master Yun know such a secret matter?"
Prince Chen handed him Liu Su's case file from the table.
Mingwei glanced at it and exclaimed in realization, "Liu Su and Young Master Yun are from the same hometown!"
Prince Chen's gaze deepened. "Liu Su was also a talented man, but he was ruined by Li Yao. What a pity..."
Liu Su has already died because of Li Yao, and this time, he is trying to harm Yun Shang right under my nose!
"Your Highness, Prince Xuan has been causing us trouble lately. Why not use this opportunity to teach him a lesson?"
Prince Chen shook his head without hesitation, "No, if we expose this now, we will be pushing Yun Shang into the eye of the storm. He is my most important pawn, and I cannot afford to lose him."
Mingwei understood, and then, as if remembering something, added, "By the way, Your Highness, today Madam Yun went to the Duke of Anguo's residence alone and happened to run into the Duke's second son, Yu Qinghuai, at the gate. As soon as Yu Qinghuai saw Madam Yun, he called her 'Sister'..."
Prince Chen looked up in surprise, "What?"