“Father, look—my bone is exposed. Thanks to your protection, otherwise, I fear I would not have been able to fulfill my filial duties to you.”
Prince Heng tore open his freshly cleaned wound, revealing torn flesh and blood. Combined with his tearful, snot-filled crying and pitiful plea for the Emperor to uphold justice, it only fueled the Emperor’s rising anger!
“Where is the Crown Prince?”
The Emperor’s fury surged as he ordered, “Go, arrest the Crown Prince and bring him to me!”
The word ‘arrest’ emphasized the Emperor’s rage.
Prince Heng was injured so severely, yet the Crown Prince was not by his side. Instead, he was off chasing the stag king—did he even care about his brother?
Before even ascending the throne, he disregarded his brother’s safety. If he truly were to become emperor…
Not long after, the imperial guards returned, but without the Crown Prince. They knelt directly and pleaded for forgiveness. “Your Majesty, please forgive us!”
“Where is the Crown Prince?”
The Emperor demanded sternly.
The guards hesitated, and the Emperor roared, “Speak!”
“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince said: ‘After I hunt the stag king, I will come to beg for Your Majesty’s forgiveness!'” The guard lowered his head and spoke quickly.
“Good, very good!”
The Emperor’s anger soared. He spurred his horse forward, and the guards led the way. Not far ahead, they saw the Crown Prince’s guards surrounding the hunting grounds. Upon seeing the Emperor, the guards attempted to block his path, saying, “Your Majesty, the stag king and the wild boar are inside. Please take care of your imperial well-being!”
If he were injured, wouldn’t they lose their heads?
The Emperor, holding a long sword, struck down the guard with a single blow, blood splattering on the spot.
“When I personally led the campaign against the Daqing Kingdom, you weren’t even born yet!”
The Emperor raged, “A mere stag king and wild boar are nothing to me!”
The Emperor rode into the hunting grounds. Though he had not yet seen the Crown Prince, he could clearly hear the roar of the wild boar and the cries of the stag.
“Today, this stag king will surely fall to my arrow!”
The Crown Prince’s triumphant voice rang out, “General Li, when the time comes, this wild boar will be my reward to you!”
“Thank you for the reward, Your Highness.”
General Li’s flattering voice followed, “The Crown Prince is mighty. Only someone like you is worthy of hunting the stag king. As the true Son of Heaven, the stag king will surely bow before you!”
“Excellent!”
The Crown Prince said happily, “General Li, your future will surely be boundless!”
“Thanks to the Crown Prince’s favor.” General Li replied, immediately ordering his men to surround the stag king and the wild boar for the Crown Prince to hunt!
From a distance, the Emperor watched the Crown Prince preparing to shoot the stag king, his eyes dark and cold as water.
“Father.”
Prince Lin arrived late after hearing the news.
“Where have you been?” The Emperor looked at his full quiver of arrows, noting that none seemed to have been used.
“I was chasing a red-tailed fox but failed to catch it.”
Prince Lin said somewhat sheepishly, “Elder Brother has truly exhausted himself to hunt the stag king for you.”
“Hmph.”
The Emperor snorted lightly, giving Prince Lin a deep look before raising his head to gaze into the distance. His eyes coldly fixed on the Crown Prince hunting the stag king in the forest, he spurred his horse forward.
Just as the Crown Prince successfully shot the stag king and was celebrating, the injured wild boar suddenly went berserk, breaking through the guards’ encirclement and charging straight toward the Emperor.
“Father, be careful!”
Prince Lin, seeing the enraged wild boar, instinctively looked toward the Emperor. The imperial guards behind the Emperor stepped forward to protect and drive it away. The Emperor raised his long sword and thrust it fiercely toward the center of the wild boar’s forehead.
It missed.
The wild boar struggled fiercely, its strength immense. The horse, startled, reared up. The Emperor, gripping his sword, had no time to let go before being thrown off by the panicked horse.
The boar roared, as if using its last ounce of strength for revenge.
Prince Lin leaped forward, shielding the Emperor with his own body. The boar’s tusks slammed forcefully into Prince Lin’s waist.
The imperial guards tried to rush over to protect the Emperor, but assassins descended from nowhere, blocking their path.
“Father,” the injured Prince Lin remained in front of the Emperor, ready to fight the boar to the death.
“Your Highness.”
A woman’s voice rang out. Shen Lingshu, riding her horse, charged directly at the boar, sending it flying. She then tumbled to the ground beside the Emperor and Prince Lin. Seeing the wound on Prince Lin’s waist bleeding profusely, her eyes welled up with tears. “Your Highness.”
Prince Lin was utterly shocked to see Shen Lingshu with reddened eyes.
Suddenly, a glint of cold steel flashed as an assassin charged toward him. Prince Lin immediately shielded the Emperor behind him.
“I’ll handle it.”
Shen Lingshu grabbed a pouch of chili powder from her bag and hurled it at the assassin’s face, then fearfully ducked behind Prince Lin.
The chili powder struck the assassin’s face. Even though the assassin was masked, his eyes couldn’t withstand the assault.
In the moment the assassin was stunned, Prince Lin drew his sword and thrust forward.
“There’s another one here.”
Shen Lingshu’s chili powder flew like a sandbag, hitting its target with precision. Prince Lin followed up with his sword, and the two of them coordinated seamlessly.
The Emperor watched the scene with admiration. This concubine of his second son was impressive.
“Father, I have arrived late to your rescue.”
The Crown Prince’s voice echoed as he arrived with General Li and guards. He immediately ordered, “General Li, capture all these assassins.”
“Yes.”
General Li acknowledged the command. As they moved to surround the assassins, the attackers intensified their assault.
“Watch out!”
Shen Lingshu spotted an assassin attempting to ambush Prince Lin from the side. With no more chili powder left, she threw herself toward Prince Lin.
Rip
The sound of a dagger tearing through fabric echoed. Amidst the scent of blood, Prince Lin caught a whiff of sweet jasmine fragrance. With one hand, he grasped Shen Lingshu’s waist, and with a swift kick, sent the assassin crashing to the ground.
“Your Majesty, forgive our tardiness in coming to your aid.”
The Emperor’s personal guards finally swarmed around him, encircling him and the others. Seeing their hopes dashed, the assassins immediately began to retreat.
“Capture them all.”
The Emperor angrily commanded. The retreating assassins were surrounded by the guards. Realizing their failure, the assassins turned back and gave the Crown Prince a deep, meaningful look before biting down on poison and dying together.
“Crown Prince.”
The Emperor’s cold voice rang out. “Why were those assassins looking at you?”
“Father.”
The Crown Prince shuddered and immediately knelt. “They must have been trying to frame me. How would I dare to assassinate you, Father? I am innocent!”
“…”
The Emperor remained silent. When the guards searched the assassins and found jade tokens bearing the Crown Prince’s emblem, the Emperor’s face darkened. He hurled the tokens at the Crown Prince. “Guards, seize the Crown Prince and return to camp.”
Furious, the Emperor turned, mounted his horse, and rode away.
“Father, I am innocent!”
The Crown Prince staggered a step, crying out loudly. The Emperor’s armed guards stood before him. The Crown Prince’s face darkened. “I will walk on my own!”
“Elder Brother, not only did you refuse to save your younger brother, but how could you also attempt to assassinate Father?” Prince Heng, his wounds bandaged, approached, his eyes filled with gleeful mockery.
“Hmph, these assassins, were they not sent by Third Brother?”
The Crown Prince looked at the assassins lying dead on the ground and snorted coldly, saying, “Whether I sent them or not can be easily determined with an investigation. Don’t think you can pin this crime on me just because of a lost jade pendant of mine!”
The Crown Prince gave General Li a meaningful glance, and General Li quietly slipped away—he had to go summon reinforcements for the Crown Prince.
“Elder Brother, don’t talk nonsense. I have no great ambitions; I just enjoy making money.” Prince Heng grinned, revealing a pair of prominent front teeth, thinking: Father truly favors the Crown Prince too much. Even such a treasonous act hasn’t led to his removal?