Chapter 268 Stirring up trouble and sowing discord

Just as there is a brief calm before a storm.

At this moment, the silence within the Taiji Hall was permeated with an eerie atmosphere.

The seasoned minister, who had seen many storms, sat upright with a solemn expression.

The young vice minister and the physician looked at each other, their hearts pounding in their throats.

Inside the main hall, only the members of the royal family, who had the blood of the Li clan flowing through their veins and considered themselves chosen by heaven, looked at the two long arrows flying towards them with indifference.

“Oh dear…” Prince Pingyang, Li Ying, sighed with a smile, raised his eyebrows and glanced at the hall, then got up and walked to Su Wanying’s side, pulling out the long arrow embedded in the steps.

He noticed the arrowhead was covered with a thin layer of milky white, held it in his hand, and waved it in front of Su Wanying's eyes.

Suddenly, turning to look at Li Yi, who was still focused on eating, she raised her voice a few decibels: "A single drop of blood can kill!"

Extremely quiet.

Consort Shu's face paled, and her gaze unconsciously swept towards the arrow beside her.

The eagle's tail feathers at the tip of the arrow seemed to flash with a shimmering light.

At this moment, Li Jin was facing the Crown Prince's face.

His sinister gaze was pierced by the two long arrows.

Although his expression remained unchanged, the fine beads of sweat on his forehead did not escape Li Jin's notice.

Footsteps echoed from the eaves of the main hall, and several figures flashed past the hall's doors.

Someone shouted that there was an assassin, causing an uproar in the hall.

On the high platform, Li Yi, seated on the dragon throne, chuckled softly and slowly put down his chopsticks.

His icy gaze swept over the faces of the Crown Prince and Prince Jing before he took the handkerchief handed to him by Eunuch Chen and dabbed it on his palms and the backs of his hands.

He said in a deep voice, "Shut up, all of you."

The sounds inside the hall faded away, leaving an eerie silence.

Li Yi sneered and threw the handkerchief in his hand onto the table in front of him: "Assassins," he said. "Have you all seen enough of them in the past month?"

His words were loaded with meaning, each one like a knife: "How did Yan Zhao die? Why did Pei Yide feign illness?" He raised his hand, pointing at Li Jin, "And Prince Jing, standing in the courtyard, a knife came down from the sky."

Li Yi twisted his lips, his smile particularly sarcastic: "In this Chang'an City of the world, in this Taiji Palace of the Great Wei!"

His voice suddenly rose a few decibels, and he raised his hand with great pride: "A few assassins, is that something for you gentlemen to be so alarmed about?"

How could the court officials, who knew that serving the emperor was like walking on thin ice, not hear the murderous intent hidden in Li Yi's words?

Everyone turned pale, placed their hands in front of them, and nodded in silence.

The powerful aura emanating from the emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty sent a chill down everyone's spine.

No one dared to speak, and no one dared to step forward rashly.

At this moment, Li Yi glanced at Su Wanying, who was trembling all over, raised an eyebrow at the Prince of Pingyang, and waved his hand: "You're just looking for trouble, go down."

Then, changing the subject, he pointed at Su Wanying, who was standing in the hall, looking dazed: "Go on."

Su Wanying paused.

"Tell me, who gave you permission to kill?" He paused, staring coldly at Su Wanying. "And who did you kill?"

Outside the hall, the sounds of swords clashing could be faintly heard.

Inside the hall, a bead of cold sweat dripped down Su Wanying's forehead.

She suddenly calmed down and glanced back and forth between Li Jin and the Crown Prince's faces.

At this moment, she sensed a familiar flavor of strategy.

Not only Su Wanying, but the Crown Prince also noticed something unusual.

He lowered his eyes, looking at the food on the table, but was racking his brains to think of a way to break the deadlock.

“I…” Su Wanying clenched her fist and hesitated.

Her lips were dry and her eyes were filled with terror: "I..."

Before he could speak, the Crown Prince stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Father, I have something to say."

Li Yi squinted: "Speak."

"First, the Grand Tutor's eldest daughter was assassinated, then she sought help in the palace." The Crown Prince turned and glanced at Li Jin, "and then there was another assassination attempt with a long arrow..."

He hesitated for a moment: "Your subject feels that something is amiss and we should consider this carefully."

In the main hall, Li Yi remained silent for a moment, then leaned forward and asked, "What does the Crown Prince think we should do?"

“Su Wanying has acted improperly before the Emperor and has also slandered the Imperial Concubine. Her crime is doubled, and she should be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for trial,” the Crown Prince said.

“Your subject thinks this is inappropriate.” Li Jin did not get up, but looked at Li Yi, his voice carrying a hint of teasing and mockery, “Although Su Wanying is the eldest daughter of the Grand Tutor, she has no official rank or title, but Consort Shu is a second-rank official.”

He laughed: "Your Highness, you seem to have no regard for the Dali Temple."

“Li Jin, if you don’t speak, no one will think you’re mute,” the Crown Prince said coldly.

But Li Jin, unhurried, poured himself a cup of wine: "Even if I'm mute, murder cases have always been handled by the Six Doors. The Crown Prince just blocked it with a single stroke..." He said calmly, "Could it be that the Crown Prince was involved too?"

After saying that, he ignored the Crown Prince's furious glare and looked at Su Wanying.

“Miss Su, listen to what’s happening outside the palace.” Li Jin poured a cup of wine. “Swords are flashing, and there’s fighting and killing.”

“Even the most elite secret guards of the Great Wei are fighting with such difficulty.” He chuckled. “If you were to step out of this palace today, you would surely be a cold corpse within a day.”

"Li Jin!" The crown prince, feeling slighted, stood up and pointed at him, shouting, "You've gone too far!"

In his eyes, Prince Jing of the Great Wei still sat upright in front, a smile on his face, taking a sip of wine from his cup.

"What do you mean by being presumptuous?" Li Jin laughed. "His Highness the Crown Prince dared to attempt an assassination in public in the main hall. What right do you have to criticize others?"

"you!"

"Does Your Highness not recognize that arrow?" With that, he took out an arrow from behind him; the shaft was stained with blood and blackened.

Li Jin held the long arrow in his hand, his gaze icy as he coldly stared at the Crown Prince's face: "I recognize it. That arrow is from the same group that shot through the heart of the chief coroner, Yan Zhao."

As snow fell heavily, the night sky over the capital was tinged with an eerie purplish-red hue.

Inside the main hall, Li Jin and the Crown Prince were locked in a tense standoff, their swords drawn.

"Does Prince Jing mean that I killed Lord Yan?" The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow.

But Li Jin chuckled, unconcerned: "Whether it's true or not, we'll find out once we arrest the one outside."

The crown prince pursed his lips, staring intently at Li Jin's face.

To everyone's surprise, Li Jin waved his hand and changed the subject: "Oh, not necessarily." He looked at Consort Shu, who was standing on the high platform, her mind blank, and said, "She might become Consort Shu's person, or she might become Su Wanying's person."

Li Jin's thinking has always been very clear.

The Crown Prince's ability to act with impunity in the capital city was largely due to the power of his maternal clan.

“After that first round, there must have been a rift between Consort Shu and the Crown Prince.” At dawn, Song Zhen glanced at Shen Wen by candlelight. “Lord Shen is secretly impersonating the Crown Prince’s bodyguard and chasing after Su Wanying.”

“Don’t kill her, but make her suffer,” he said. “Drive her to the brink of despair, so that she has no choice but to go to the palace to beg for a chance to survive.”

In the darkness, Shen Wen nodded and took the two Lian Shui throwing knives that Song Zhen had put away from his hand.

"Then, in the main hall, it will be necessary for Your Highness to stir up trouble and sow discord." Song Zhen smiled faintly, "to make Su Wanying eager to live, and Consort Shu eager to distance herself from the Crown Prince."

“At that time, Lian Shui will definitely take action again to save his master.” He glanced at everyone. “That will be the only chance. If we capture him, we can point all the evidence directly at the Crown Prince.”

He paused for a moment, then added, "Whether it's life or death, it's all acceptable."