Another two days passed, and Wei Chao’s injuries improved significantly. He could move around and his wounds were healing without any complications.
Wei Chao borrowed Zheng Er for interrogation. Through Zheng Er’s extensive torture methods, the leader of the assassins finally confessed.
Zheng Er walked out of the stifling tent first, leaving the bloody atmosphere behind. Soon, Sun Hua and his men followed, lifting the curtain and exiting the tent. Wei Chao, along with Qi Heng and Qi Shao waited outside. When they saw the group emerging, Wei Chao immediately stood up and went to greet them.
“How did it go? Did he confess?” Wei Chao asked eagerly.
“He did confess, but…” Sun Hua and his men looked a bit pale. They were used to bloodshed on the battlefield, but using such brutal methods of torture was a first for them.
“But what?” Wei Chao furrowed his brow, receiving the record of the interrogation from Sun Hua, which contained every word uttered by the assassin.
“Is the assassin working for the Second Prince?” Qi Shao asked.
Wei Chao widened his eyes in disbelief, “How is that possible? Although the Second Prince and I were not born to the same mother, he was raised by my mother since childhood. We have a close relationship. How could he possibly be involved in this?”
“It’s quite simple, you’ve attracted envy,” Sun Hua’s group didn’t dare to speculate about a prince, but Qi Shao had no such reservations.
Wei Chao wore an incredulous expression, and Qi Shao didn’t let it go, “The Third Prince is quite favored in the palace, right?”
Wei Chao nodded, stating matter-of-factly, “I am the only child between Mother and Father, so naturally, I am different from the others.”
Throughout the history of Wei’s dynasty, they prioritized legitimacy over birth order. Wei Chao knew from the moment he was born that he was different from the other princes. He didn’t have much of a relationship with the other princes and only had a slightly closer bond with the Second Prince, who was raised under the Empress’s care.
“Third Prince, consider this: both you and the Second Prince are children of the Empress,” Qi Shao began, but Wei Chao quickly corrected him, “He was only raised under my mother’s care.”
“He is currently raised under the Empress’s care. But if something were to happen to the Third Prince, wouldn’t he become the Empress’s only child?” Qi Shao smirked. He had seen plenty of cases of jealousy like this in the palace, and he couldn’t understand how Wei Chao, as a prince, could be so naive.
“Although they prioritize legitimacy over birth order, he still has the ‘legitimate’ tag, and wealth can sway people’s hearts. Moreover, it’s a position of power and influence. In the face of all this, how much value does brotherly affection truly hold?” Qi Shao explained.
Wei Chao gripped the record of the interrogation tightly, his lips turning pale. He appeared as if he couldn’t believe it, but deep down, he was already convinced to a great extent.
He had come to Fufeng City based on the advice of his Second Prince brother. Looking back, he realized that his brother had probably been plotting this assassination at the time.
He had believed in the facade of brotherly love, but beneath his brother’s benevolent appearance, there had been a plan to eliminate him.
“But how could my Second Brother suddenly have such power?” Wei Chao noticed something was amiss. “Father has never given him any real authority or positions of power.”
“Your Highness,” Sun Hua suddenly spoke up, casting a cautious glance at Qi Heng and the others. “We’ve found something unusual on that arrow. I kindly request Your Highness to join us in the tent for further discussion.”
“Now that the matter is settled, we shall take our leave,” Qi Heng calmly responded. “The military camp is a sensitive area, and we are outsiders. It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to linger.”
“Young Master Wang, please don’t take offense…” Wei Chao began to explain, assuring that he wasn’t suspicious of them.
Sun Hua interrupted Wei Chao and said firmly, “Today, you have my gratitude. I will have my men escort the three of you safely out.”
He gestured for four soldiers to approach. “Come, escort these three gentlemen safely out.” Sun Hua emphasized the words ‘safely out.’ These four soldiers appeared to be ordinary foot soldiers, but in reality, they were a group of elite warriors under his command.
“Third Prince, we bid farewell,” Qi Heng seemed entirely unfazed by Sun Hua’s guarded tone and casually turned to leave.
Wei Chao felt reluctant, but this was a military setting, and he couldn’t afford to antagonize the soldiers. He could only watch as Qi Heng and the others walked away.
Once the three of them were a distance away, Wei Chao couldn’t help but snort. “General Sun, you better give me a reasonable excuse for this.”
Sun Hua remained composed and made a gesture, saying, “Please, Third Prince, return to the tent and listen to my analysis.”
Wei Chao angrily swept his sleeves and walked into the tent. While he appeared furious, he secretly took a deep breath as he had pulled at his wound while swinging his sleeves too forcefully.
Inside the tent, before Wei Chao could even settle down, Sun Hua spoke in a serious tone.
“That Young Master Wang is definitely not an ordinary merchant’s son. The Third Prince should not have further contact with them.”
“Of course, this Prince knows he’s not an ordinary merchant’s son. Ordinary merchant’s sons couldn’t possibly possess such extraordinary swordsmanship,” Wei Chao retorted, feeling a bit annoyed that he was being underestimated. “General Sun, are you suggesting this Prince has lost his ability to judge people?”
Sun Hua lowered his head. “I dare not, Your Highness.”
“It’s just that their bodyguard is no ordinary individual, and I’m concerned that they might be deliberately getting close to Your Highness—”
“You’re mistaken. If they were intentionally getting close, they wouldn’t expose themselves like this. While they’ve concealed their true identities, their behavior and style leave no room for disguise. If someone wants to deliberately get close to another person, would they engage in actions that raise suspicion like this?” Wei Chao countered.
He even thought that the Young Master Wang might be the son of some influential figure, lacking experience on his first outing, he had only thought of using the identity of an ordinary merchant’s son without considering how to make his every move seem like that of a real merchant’s son.
Come to think of it, could Young Master Wang still believe he had left no traces of his true self?
Thinking in this manner, Wei Chao even found Young Master Wang slightly endearing, no longer as unapproachable as before.
Sun Hua furrowed his brows, but Wei Chao continued, “Moreover, General Sun, you may not be aware that it was not them who approached me first; it was I who approached them. At that time, neither of us knew each other’s true identities.”
It seemed that Sun Hua couldn’t persuade the Third Prince. He sighed and took out a piece of paper from his sleeve. “We found a lion totem on those assassins.”
“A lion?” Wei Chao took the drawn paper, his expression complex. “Prince Qi venerates the Lion King totem. General Sun, are you suggesting that these assassins are also connected to Northern Qi?”
What he didn’t ask out loud was whether his Second Brother had a connection with people from Northern Qi. He couldn’t bring himself to ask because this was no ordinary assassination attempt. Once confirmed, it would be treason, collaborating with the enemy.
Suddenly, Wei Chao recalled when he had opposed forming an alliance with the Qi country. His Second Brother had approached him and listed numerous benefits of the alliance. Could it be that he had already established contact with Northern Qi’s people back then?
“General, there’s an envoy from the capital.”
Sun Hua and Wei Chao exchanged a glance, and then Sun Hua instructed the messenger, “Please bring him in.”
The messenger went outside and soon a man in simple clothing with a fair complexion walked in.
“By the decree of His Majesty, General Sun is ordered to immediately send an escort to bring the Third Prince back to the palace.”
On the other side, Qi Heng and his two companions had walked to the outskirts of the military camp along with the four soldiers. They stopped, and their carriage happened to be parked there.
Qi Heng and Qi Shao stepped into the carriage, lifting the curtain and entering the compartment.
Zheng Er adjusted the reins, then turned to the four men. “Our carriage is here, you don’t need to accompany us any further.”
“Farewell.”
Zheng Er didn’t say much either. He climbed onto the carriage, holding the reins and giving them a shake. “Let’s go.”
As the carriage moved away, the four soldiers exchanged glances and quickly returned to their tent. Each of them removed their armor and changed into plain peasant attire. Then, they swiftly left the camp and followed from a distance.
“There are people following us from behind.”
Upon hearing this, Qi Shao instinctively wanted to lift the curtain to check, but Qi Heng unleashed a burst of qi that hit Qi Shao’s arm, coldly saying, “Pretend not to notice, and continue back to the inn.”
Once the four men saw their targets return to the inn and not come out again, they felt reassured and went back to report.
“Are you sure you didn’t notice any suspicious behavior from them?” Sun Hua confirmed.
“No, should we continue to monitor them?”
“No need, you may go.” Sun Hua waved his hand. After all, the Third Prince was already on his way to the capital, and those three men couldn’t pose a threat to him now.
The three men returned to their respective rooms. Zheng Er pushed open the door to his room and immediately noticed that the furnishings had been tampered with. He then realized what was happening and swiftly leaped onto the roof. As expected, he found a thumb-sized bamboo tube up there.
He quickly walked to Qi Heng’s door, knocked, and upon receiving a response, he pushed the door open, making sure to close it behind him.
“Master, it’s a message from Qin Yue.”
Qi Heng took the bamboo tube, extracted the letter, and unfolded it to read.
“The letter says that mother has recently ordered Qin Shi to enter the palace to accompany her in three days.” Qi Heng turned the letter into tiny shreds, and Zheng Er furrowed his brow, probing, “Whose idea is this?”
Qi Heng’s expression remained calm, showing no signs of urgency. “It seems that my older brother’s health condition is indeed not too good this time.”
Otherwise, why would he want Qin Shi to enter the palace to prevent him from causing trouble?
“We need to resolve this situation quickly. He’s probably going to summon me back to the capital soon,” Qi Heng concluded.
…
In the Jin Dynasty palace, this was the first time Zhao Jing had entered since she had regained her identity.
She had been infuriated these past few days. She had thought of many ways to deal with Qi Yuyao, but the other party was hiding in the Queen Dowager’s palace, making it impossible for her to return to the Prince’s Mansion. Even if she had great means, she couldn’t use them.
Qin Shi held Zhao Jing’s hand. They had just come out of the Queen Dowager’s palace. The Queen Dowager had only said for her to stay temporarily in the palace but hadn’t mentioned when she could leave. With rumors of the Emperor’s severe illness circulating, she was starting to worry.
After arriving at the palace arranged for them by the Queen Dowager, Qin Shi waited until the palace maids and eunuchs had left before pulling Zhao Jing aside. “I shouldn’t have brought you in if I had known. Now you’re trapped in the palace as well.”
“What do you mean?” Zhao Jing was puzzled.
Qin Shi explained her guess, “The Emperor is gravely ill, and he’s afraid that your father might pose a threat to him. He also knows that your father deeply loves me, so he’s using me as a hostage to threaten your father.”
There was a hint of sadness in Qin Shi’s eyes. She hadn’t expected that, even at this time, she would still be considered a usable tool in his heart.
“Mother, are you really sure that Father still loves you deeply?” Zhao Jing hesitated to ask. She didn’t think that Prince Chen, with his personality, would compromise with Emperor Jin because of Qin Shi.
No, he wasn’t, he didn’t. He had changed.
