Shang Dongyang confirmed that there was no danger at that location and rushed to the scene with his guards.

Seeing the long row of dozens of guards, stripped bare, covered with blankets, and unable to be woken up even by splashing cold water, Shang Dongyang felt an even stronger sense of foreboding.

"What happened?" he asked, his heart pounding.

"Your Highness, those thieves stripped them of their clothes, burned them, and then ran away," a captain of the guards leading the group reported.

Those present: ..."

Are these thieves joking around during the Lunar New Year?

Shang Dongyang stared at the two bronze basins next to the head guard, whose bottoms were dented from being tapped, for a long time. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he was immediately startled, breaking out in a cold sweat: "Oh no!"

He was the first to enter the secret cave, hurrying inside.

In the open space in the center of the storage stone chamber.

The drugged guards were piled up like a small mountain, and the doors of the thirty-two storage stone chambers next to them were all open, with only rows of empty wooden shelves inside.

OMG!

Shang Dongyang stumbled, his body swayed violently twice, and he almost fell to the ground.

"What's going on! What's going on! What are you all doing! So many things, so many of you, and not a single one of you noticed anything unusual? Are you all dead?" Shang Dongyang shouted hoarsely, seemingly insane, his eyes red with anger, tears welling up in his eyes.

This is all he has, his entire fortune, prepared for the uprising!

Without these things, he wouldn't be able to support even the most elite troops, let alone his own men.

The Great Zhao Kingdom is powerful and its people are wealthy; they're not stupid.

Without the drive of huge profits;

Who the hell would give up a comfortable life with a wife, kids, and a warm bed, and risk being executed along with their entire family, to rebel and fight against you on an empty stomach?

The guards on duty tonight were also dumbfounded: there was nothing unusual tonight, and no suspicious people had come in!

They carefully checked the waist tags of everyone entering and leaving!

Moreover, with so much stuff, even if all of them worked together, it would take several trips to move it all. How could it have vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye?

This is unbelievable!

"Could it be that Heaven knew the Crown Prince was planning to usurp the throne and rebel, and used supernatural means to warn us?" a timid guard whispered to his best friend, speculating in this way.

The guards nearby were all terrified upon hearing this.

My God! That's terrifying!

Even gods and ghosts have come out to punish the crown prince; how can a rebellion still be staged?

That end.

Overwhelmed with anger and rage, Shang Dongyang vomited several mouthfuls of blood and finally fainted.

Such a bizarre and serious incident caused the Crown Prince to faint from anger. With no one to lead the household, dozens of egregious incidents of guards absconding with valuables occurred in the Eastern Palace within a few hours.

Not only that, but an even more terrifying rumor quietly spread from the Eastern Palace: the Crown Prince is immoral and even Heaven does not tolerate him. It sent down mysterious means to warn everyone in the Eastern Palace, which is why so many people ran away in the middle of the night!

Shang Dongyang woke up at dawn and heard his trusted bodyguard Wang Jian report on the situation. He slammed his fist on the edge of the bed, his neck stiff with rage, and roared, "We must dig three feet into the ground and bring back all these traitors! I will skin them alive and exterminate their entire families!"

After roaring, Shang Dongyang spat out several more mouthfuls of blood and fainted again from anger.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!" Wang Jian called out anxiously.

The imperial physician Liu Yitao, who had been waiting nearby, quickly stepped forward to examine His Highness. He looked constipated and said, "Your Highness is just suffering from a sudden outburst of anger. There's nothing to worry about."