Chapter 324 Killing

When Zhao Jiu took the Marquis of Qiyang to report to Prince An, he threw the nearly insane Marquis of Qiyang to the ground, then knelt on one knee awaiting punishment. Tonight's operation, which resulted in the murderer's suicide, was his mistake.

Prince An's expression was naturally unpleasant. He glanced at the trembling Marquis of Qiyang with a stern face and said to Zhao Jiu, "Twenty strokes of the military rod, and a month's salary as punishment."

"Yes." Zhao Jiu didn't complain at all. Although twenty strokes of the military rod would keep him in bed for half a month, he would still be punished for not doing things well.

Prince An waved for Zhao Jiu to leave, then sat down and looked at Marquis Qiyang. Marquis Qiyang flinched, then knelt down tremblingly, "Greetings...Greetings, Your Highness Prince An."

"Tell me about it," said Prince An.

For a moment, Marquis Qiyang looked bewildered; he didn't know what to say, or rather, where to begin. But seeing Prince An's grim face, his mind cleared instantly, and he immediately recounted the events of the day.

He recounted in detail everything from the moment he learned that the head of the Yan family, a wealthy merchant family, was going to take a second wife, to Zhu Weiyu's disappearance, to Zhang Fengtian, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, finding him, to his attempt to catch Ding Shaojie in adultery and force him to write a memorial, and finally to Ding Shaojie coming to find him.

After listening to the story, Prince An sorted out the whole matter and then asked, "Were you and Zhang Fengtian already close friends before?"

"No." Marquis Qiyang lowered his head, making it impossible to see his expression. However, Prince An could sense that his emotions were off when he spoke of Zhang Fengtian.

"Don't want to talk about it?"

Prince An's calm voice rang out, but Marquis Qiyang felt as if a knife was hanging over his head. He looked up at Prince An and saw that his face was expressionless, but his eyes were sharp and deep. Marquis Qiyang immediately looked away, clenched his fists, hesitated for a moment, and then said:

"Many years ago, my father borrowed money at exorbitant interest rates and couldn't repay it. The lender was Zhang Fengtian. I...I went to Zhang Fengtian, and he proposed..." The Marquis of Qiyang seemed hesitant to continue.

Prince An impatiently tapped his finger on the table. Marquis Qiyang's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately said, "Zhang Fengtian said he has taken a fancy to my wife and wants to spend the night with her..."

At this point, Marquis Qiyang's face was flushed red. Although he was a reckless and unscrupulous man who didn't care about his reputation, he still found it difficult to talk about sending his lawfully wedded wife to another man's bed.

But he had to continue, so he said, "Zhang Fengtian also said that he would arrange a job for my family afterward, so I agreed."

"Was your eldest son's job arranged by Zhang Fengtian?" Prince An asked.

"yes."

Prince An chuckled. The position held by the eldest son of the Marquis of Qiyang, though only a ninth-rank post, held considerable potential. If he performed well, and with the title of the Marquis of Qiyang's family, he might one day rise to prominence. However, the eldest son of the Marquis of Qiyang was a good-for-nothing, having accomplished nothing after so many years.

"Who is behind Zhang Fengtian?" Prince An asked.

"yes...."

At that moment, a commotion broke out outside. Prince An ignored it, staring at Marquis Qiyang and urging him to continue. However, Marquis Qiyang looked outside in a panic and fear, remaining silent. Prince An narrowed his eyes, summoned the Imperial Guards standing guard outside, and asked, "What happened?"

The Imperial Guard glanced at the Marquis of Qiyang kneeling on the ground and said, "The Marquis of Qiyang's heir is causing trouble outside the gate."

These words darkened Prince An's face. Seeing this, the Imperial Guard added, "The person has been taken into custody."

Prince An stared at him with a cold gaze, and the Imperial Guard lowered his head, not daring to speak. It wasn't that they were incompetent, but rather that the heir of the Marquis of Qiyang had barged into the Prince's residence and started shouting. No matter how quickly the guards at the gate moved, their voices had already reached inside.

Prince An remained silent for a moment with a stern face, then waved for the Imperial Guard to leave. He turned to Marquis Qiyang and said, "Are you afraid that the people behind you will harm your family?"

Marquis Qiyang lowered his head and remained silent. Prince An sneered, "What can that man do to you? Kill your whole family?"

Marquis Qiyang remained silent with his head down, but cold sweat dripped down his forehead from his tension and fear. Just then, Prince An spoke again: "Do you know how the Emperor will deal with you if you don't reveal who's behind this?"

Marquis Qiyang looked up at Prince An, his eyes pleading, but he remained silent. He still didn't understand what effect that memorial had had, or why the Emperor, the Duke of Chu, and Prince An had reacted so strongly.

“Let me tell you, if you don’t reveal who’s behind you, not only will your Qiyang Marquis’s mansion be stripped of its title, but your entire family will be exiled.” Prince An looked at the Qiyang Marquis and continued indifferently, “Although you are not smart, you should know the principle that when the ruler commands a subject to die, the subject must die.”

Having said that, Prince An picked up his cup and drank his tea, ignoring Marquis Qiyang and giving him time to think. Marquis Qiyang knelt on the ground, his mind racing, weighing his options. Although he didn't know much about the person behind it all, the fact that Zhang Fengtian was dead, and that he himself had almost been killed, showed that the person was ruthless.

While the current emperor has repeatedly consolidated power from the powerful clans, his methods are not ruthless. Or rather, the current emperor is not a bloodthirsty person. But as Prince An said, "When the emperor commands a subject to die, the subject must die."

For a moment, he didn't know what to do.

Just then, the voice of a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard came from outside, "Your Highness, what should be done with the heir of the Marquis of Qiyang?"

"kill."

Prince An put down his teacup, his voice as calm as if he were remarking on the fine weather. Marquis Qiyang knew that Prince An was not trying to scare him.

"No, I'll talk, I'll talk," Marquis Qiyang hurriedly said.

Prince An didn't even glance at him, and instead told the Imperial Guard who came to report, "Kill."

"yes."

The Imperial Guards turned and strode away. Marquis Qiyang knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Prince An, "Your Highness, I will tell you everything. Please, please release my son."

Prince An looked at him indifferently, remaining silent. Marquis Qiyang truly realized how terrifying the prince who now commanded the Embroidered Uniform Guard was. He crawled to Prince An's side, reaching out to grab his robe, but a single glance from Prince An made him pull his hand back.

"It's the Prime Minister." Marquis Qiyang prostrated himself on the ground and wept bitterly. He never imagined that what he thought was an opportunity for the Qiyang Marquis's family to take off would turn into an abyss of no return.

When Prince An heard the word "Prime Minister," his expression remained unchanged; he had long suspected that the Prime Minister harbored rebellious intentions.

"Do you have any evidence?" Prince An asked.

Marquis Qiyang raised his head, tears streaming down his face, and shook his head. "It was Zhang Fengtian who always contacted me, and Zhang Fengtian never even mentioned the title of Prime Minister to me."

"Ha!" Prince An sneered, "So you're willing to risk your life for them?"

Marquis Qiyang shook his head. "I still don't know why that memorial caused such a great stir."

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