Under Hai Quan's order, Hai Chenxi pushed him out of Suiyi Garden, not giving anyone else any chance to refuse.
The guests were also in an awkward position. This was originally a matter between the Sea King's Palace and the royal family, but now the Sea King had dragged them all into it, not even giving them a chance to refuse. This was really a headache.
"Dear gentlemen and ladies, please come in." At this time, the butler who had been crying bitterly just now had already stood up. He spoke to all the guests in Suiyi Garden in a cold voice.
Since the Sea King had spoken, the guests naturally could not offend him. They all stood up with grim expressions and followed the butler to the backyard.
"Rui'er... my Rui'er..." But before they stepped into the archway of the backyard, everyone heard a heart-wrenching cry. If this voice wasn't from Princess Qian, whose else could it be?
Hearing the screams of Princess Qian, everyone realized instantly that Hai Rui was probably really dead, otherwise why would Princess Qian cry so painfully?
Everyone's faces suddenly turned ugly, and they looked at each other in confusion for a moment.
Everyone knew in their hearts that things were really getting complicated this time.
One is the current crown prince, and the other is the current sea king.
One is the future crown prince of Western Chu, and the other is an old minister who has made great contributions to the country.
If these two people start a quarrel, I am afraid that the world of Western Chu will be turned upside down.
And they had just followed here foolishly. Now that they are involved in this matter, I am afraid that if they do not express their stance, neither party will let them go.
However, helping the prince is equivalent to offending the King of the Sea. Now that they are in the King of the Sea's Palace, this situation is really worrying.
Helping the Sea King would be equivalent to offending the Crown Prince, and I'm afraid that their relatives and clansmen in the capital will not escape the punishment of Emperor Yugan.
This was truly a dilemma, and everyone's brows furrowed.
Seeing that the Sea King did not speak, everyone also chose to remain silent tacitly, but turned their eyes to Princess Qian.
Hai Rui, who was lively and cute just now, was seen lying in the arms of Princess Qian. The only sounds left in the backyard were the crying of Princess Qian and Princess Hai.
Princess Qian's hairpins were disheveled, her eyes vacant as she clung to the blood-soaked Hai Rui. Her expensive silk dress had already been stained red by Hai Rui's blood. The sight of the little body already dead had brought tears to the eyes of the maids and servants in the Prince of the Sea's mansion, but they dared not cry out loud.
Hai Yue's expression was even more vicious and angry, his eyes were red, and his hands hanging by his sides had already been clenched into fists. If Neptune had not been present, he would have already punched Jiang Haotian.
Hai Chenxi stood behind the Sea King with a gloomy face, watching everything happening in front of him with solemn eyes. Although he did not speak, everyone could feel the sinister aura from him.
Although Aquaman was in a wheelchair, his face was dark, and his usually gentle eyes were now filled with heartache and pain. How could he not be sad that his good grandson was gone?
"What happened? Why did this happen?" Hai Quan's cold eyes instantly shot towards the maid who was standing beside him and trembling. The look in his eyes was as if filled with poison, making people dare not look at him.
"We don't know," the maids replied terrifiedly, not even daring to raise their heads. They were responsible for taking care of the young master, but now they had treated him like this. I'm afraid the prince will not let them go.
Everyone felt the temperature in the courtyard suddenly drop. When they looked at Aquaman again, he was surrounded by a gloomy haze, which made everyone's heart tighten. They knew that Aquaman was angry this time.
"We failed to take good care of the young master, and he has met with misfortune. Someone, take them away." Hai Quan's eyes were filled with gloom, and he spoke in a very low voice. But everyone could feel the anger and grief emanating from him.
"Your Highness, please spare me, Your Highness, please spare me..." Several maidservants went limp and knelt before Hai Quan, kowtowed and begged for mercy. But the one dying now was none other than the King of the Sea's own grandson. How could he let anyone go? How could he let his own grandson die in such an unclear way?
The Sea King was trying his best to control his anger. Seeing that these maids dared to beg for mercy, impatience flashed across his eyes. With a wave of his hand, the guards immediately forcibly escorted the maids out of the yard.
"Where is Commander Wu?" Neptune looked around the courtyard but did not see Commander Wu. His expression became even uglier and he asked the maid in the courtyard in a cold voice.
After Jing Haiquan's reminder, everyone realized that Commander Wu was not in the backyard.
For a moment, countless doubts surged in everyone's hearts. They didn't understand what had just happened in the backyard of the Sea King's Mansion. Why did Hai Rui disappear out of nowhere? Why did Commander Wu, who had always been by Jiang Haotian's side, disappear?
With a "clang...", there was a sound of banging in the room, as if porcelain was broken.
"Ah..." Then, another low growl was heard. After careful listening, it was known to be Jiang Haotian's voice. It sounded as if he was in great pain. Then, there was the sound of tables and chairs being pushed over.
Without the order from the Sea King, the guards of the palace dared not enter the guest room where the crown prince was resting, so they could only stand outside the room with swords in hand.
Everyone's heart was instantly in a knot, wondering what had happened in the wing originally prepared for the Crown Prince? Why did the Sea King's own grandson die in this guesthouse, and what had provoked the Crown Prince to smash the utensils in the wing?
The situation gradually became serious, and the guests all understood the difficulty of this matter. The young men of the aristocracy, though usually arrogant and domineering, had lost all their frivolity after seeing what had happened today, replaced by a solemn expression. The young ladies had never witnessed such a scene before, and their pretty cheeks were flushed white. They pursed their lips tightly and took a step back, not daring to breathe.
Qu Feiqing and Xiahou An'er stood among the crowd, their faces also very heavy. They could only support each other to avoid falling down and losing their composure in front of others.
"Your Highness, when I and others arrived at this courtyard, Commander Wu was no longer there." A guard from the palace stepped forward and reported the matter to Hai Quan in a low voice.
After dealing with the maids, Hai Quan looked at Hai Rui's lifeless body with eyes full of pain. Now, when he heard the guards report that Commander Wu could not be found, his heart suddenly surged with anger. He said to Hai Chenxi in a cold voice, "Chenxi, send the guards to find Lord Wu immediately!"
"Yes, father." Hai Chenxi winked at the guard beside him, and the guard immediately left the yard.
"Your Highness, what if we find Lord Wu? Rui'er can't be brought back to life. Your Highness, Rui'er is the root of the Hai family. The Crown Prince..." Princess Hai slumped on the ground, tightly holding Hai Rui's cold little hand. Upon hearing Hai Quan's order, Princess Hai immediately raised her tear-stained face and shouted sadly to the King of Hai.
Princess Qian, who was standing by, hugged Hai Rui's little body tightly, with her whole face buried in the child's little body. Her shoulders were shaking violently, and her sobbing was heartbreaking, making many young ladies' eyes red.
"Your Highness, this matter needs further investigation. Why did the Crown Prince suddenly become drunk and mad? Why is the young master here? Everything seems strange. Today is your highness's birthday, and almost everyone is gathered in Suiyi Garden. Is it possible that this guest garden was not well guarded and was invaded by thieves, and the young master was accidentally injured?" A young man pondered for a long time before speaking slowly.
Since they cannot offend either party, they can only find out the truth.
As soon as he opened his mouth, he received the approval of most of the guests. They all spoke up, hoping that the truth of the matter could be investigated thoroughly. They wanted to ensure that the young master would not die in vain, and that the crown prince would not be wrongly accused.
"Your Highness, this is indeed very strange. The prince was already drunk, and he was carried into the backyard by the servants of the palace due to exhaustion in front of everyone. I'm afraid it has nothing to do with the death of the young prince!"
"The young master has a wet nurse, a nanny, and maids to serve him, so why did he suddenly come to this guest garden? It is really puzzling. Moreover, the young master is only one year old, how could he know the way from the backyard to the guest garden?"
"I'm afraid Commander Wu has gone to capture the thief. Your Majesty, Princess, Crown Prince, and Crown Princess, please accept my condolences. Perhaps this is all just a misunderstanding."
Everyone spoke up for Jiang Haotian and Commander Wu, but ultimately, it was all for their own benefit. They hoped Haiquan would consider the overall situation and not antagonize Emperor Yugan over this, as the guests attending the birthday banquet would be the ones to suffer.
However, he didn't expect that his words would immediately cause a backlash from Princess Qian.
Princess Qian staggered to her feet, holding Hai Rui in her arms. She then released her hands, which had been covering Hai Rui's head, allowing everyone to clearly see Hai Rui's bloodied face and head. She glared at the young master who had spoken with surging hatred, angrily saying, "Do we even need to investigate this? What does my one-year-old son know? Look at his head; it's obvious he was thrown to the ground by the Crown Prince and died. My child, my Rui'er, you're so pitiful."
As she spoke, Princess Qian burst into tears again, and the scene was heartbreaking.
However, Princess Qian's words put all the blame on Jiang Haotian. Coupled with the sound of Jiang Haotian smashing utensils coming from the side room just now, even though everyone still had too many doubts in their hearts, they could not protect the prince too much again.
Following Concubine Qian's words, Qu Feiqing and Xiahou An'er looked towards Hai Rui in her arms, but then averted their eyes in an instant. Putting aside the fact that it was indeed Hai Rui in Concubine Qian's arms, the sight of a crack on the back of the child's head, with not only blood but also brain matter flowing out, made them look away in an instant; it was truly unbearable to watch.
Some of the pampered ladies could not bear such a bloody scene. Their faces turned pale, and they bent over, covering their lips and began to retch.
The young man who had spoken first was also completely pale. Born into a wealthy family, they had lived a life of luxury since childhood. Everything that appeared before them was beautiful. When had they ever witnessed such a tragic scene? The young man's face turned ashen, and his eyes averted instantly, not daring to look at Hai Rui again.
"Because the prince needs to rest in this yard, all the servants in the garden have been driven out by Commander Wu. Commander Wu is the only one guarding the prince in the whole yard. My dear gentlemen and ladies, who do you think killed our prince's Rui'er? How deep is the hatred that they have to take it out on a child who can't even speak yet?" At this time, Hai Yue, who had been silent for a long time, spoke in a deep voice.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Hai Yue's face was miserable, with sorrow in his eyes. The pain of losing his beloved son made his eyes red.
He walked up to Princess Qian and tried to reach out and hug Hai Rui...
"No..." Little did she know that Princess Qian suddenly went crazy. She hugged Hai Rui tightly with both hands and started yelling at the pair of hands that wanted to take her son away.
Everyone was startled and turned to look, only to see Princess Qian staggering, shaking her head and retreating in a mess, tears falling from her eyes and hitting Hai Rui's pale face due to blood loss.
"Don't... don't come over..." Princess Qian's face was filled with grief. The pain of losing her son was beyond her endurance. Her eyes were filled with endless hatred as she looked at Hai Yue.
"Someone, take the Crown Prince's Consort away and prepare a mourning hall for the young prince." Hai Quan couldn't bear it any longer, and sadly ordered the maid beside him to take Crown Prince Qian's Consort away, and hurriedly asked someone to prepare a mourning hall for Hai Rui.
Princess Qian tried to struggle, but how could she match the strength of the maids? In a few seconds, Hai Rui was snatched from her arms, and she was forcibly led out of the courtyard...
"Your Highness, you have to do something for Rui'er. The Crown Prince cannot cut off the roots of our palace just because Tian'er sent a scroll. This is really too cruel..." Princess Hai covered her face with a handkerchief and spoke in tears. She stood up staggeringly. Seeing this, the nanny beside her immediately stepped forward to support her. Princess Hai then reluctantly stood up straight.
But tears flowed from between her fingers and dripped onto the hem of her skirt, which was heartbreaking to look at.
"Help the princess go back and rest." After saying this, a layer of mist gradually appeared in Hai Quan's eyes, but he immediately forced it back and he regained his calm expression.
However, this transformation was different from the past. It seemed to carry a touch of ruthlessness and a touch of sinisterness.
Hai Quan glanced coldly at all the guests standing in the garden, his face full of murderous intent. Seeing that everyone was keeping their heads down and silent, he ordered in a cold voice, "Come in, bring the prince out. This prince has something to ask the prince."
"Yes, Your Highness." The guards waiting outside the wing received the order from the Sea King, immediately clasped their fists in response, turned around and entered the wing.
The noise in the side room was even louder. After a while, two guards came out, escorting Jiang Haotian, whose face was flushed.
"Your Highness, the prince is drunk and smashed the decorations in the side room, making the room a mess." As they spoke, the two guards stepped aside very experiencedly, allowing everyone to see the messy side room.
Everyone looked towards the wide-open door of the wing room, only to see that all the ornaments inside had been smashed to pieces, with porcelain fragments all over the floor. Even the precious calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall had been torn up and thrown on the floor. Everyone couldn't help but gasp and turned their gaze to the prince again, feeling that Jiang Haotian was too abnormal today.
"Let me go..." Jiang Haotian kept rolling his eyes, his face flushed, and a strong smell of alcohol emanated from his body. It was obvious that he was addicted to alcohol.
After he shouted this, he broke free from the two guards and rushed towards Hai Quan in the wheelchair...
"Capture the prince!" Hai Chenxi's figure flashed and he instantly stood in front of Hai Quan, giving orders to the guards beside him with a gloomy face.
Four or five guards immediately rushed forward, grabbed Jiang Haotian's out-of-control body, and forced the suddenly crazy Jiang Haotian to kneel in front of Hai Quan.
"Hai Quan, do you want to rebel? You actually made me kneel in front of you, you bastard, don't you want to live?" Jiang Haotian felt uncomfortable all over, as if he was in ice and fire, but his consciousness was extremely clear. Seeing himself being forced to kneel in front of Hai Quan by the guards of the Sea King's Mansion, Jiang Haotian suddenly raised his head and roared at Hai Quan with red eyes.
Then Jiang Haotian was seen struggling to stand up, but he was being held by several guards and could not move at all. He could only stare at Hai Quan with anger in his eyes.
Seeing this, everyone also felt that this move was inappropriate, but Jiang Haotian was in the wrong now. Although Neptune did not speak, his face was gloomy and cold, which made people scared. No one stepped forward to plead for Jiang Haotian.
"Prince, you killed my son and yet you are still so arrogant. If you become the emperor in the future, I'm afraid it will not be a blessing for the people!" Hai Yue approached Jiang Haotian step by step, not giving Jiang Haotian a chance to explain, and spoke directly. The hatred in his tone was clear and everyone could see his anger at Jiang Haotian.
"Hai Yue, you are slandering me. When did I kill Hai Rui?" Jiang Haotian was forced to half-kneel on the ground, murderous intent in his heart. Hearing Hai Yue's words at this time, he was even more furious and wanted to kill Hai Yue immediately.
"Prince, do you understand in your heart that I will never let this matter go? After we find Commander Wu, we will go to the Golden Palace and let all the civil and military officials in the court make the decision for our Hai family!" Hai Yue stopped in front of Jiang Haotian, looking down at him condescendingly, a hint of pride reflected in the depths of his eyes, but his face was still full of pain.
"Take the prince away!" Hai Yue was in control of the development of the situation. He waved his hand and asked the guards to cover Jiang Haotian's mouth, and then took him away.
"Your Highness, we can't find Commander Wu!" At this time, the guard who had just received Hai Chenxi's order stepped into the yard and reported in a low voice.
"Look for him again. I'll find him alive or dead." Hai Quan clenched his fists. His patience was gone from his face. He gritted his teeth and gave the order again.
"Yes." The guard's face tensed. He didn't dare to delay any longer and turned around and left the yard again.
Hai Quan turned his wheelchair and faced all the guests with a heavy expression. He spoke sadly, "Gentlemen and ladies, there was a funeral in the Sea Palace today. However, the matter has not yet been clarified. I ask that you all stay in the Sea Palace for a few more days. This will serve as a witness for this king."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the garden. Everyone's face showed dissatisfaction, and some young masters even shouted, "Why are you detaining us? Is the Sea King's Palace being too overbearing?"
"I am just cordially inviting all of you gentlemen and ladies to stay for a while. You cannot leave until you find Lord Wu. If you harbor any resentment, you can only blame Lord Wu!" After saying that, Hai Quan pushed the wheel himself and slowly left the yard.
"Come here, take all the young men and young ladies back to their rooms to rest." At this time, the butler stood up and gave the order.
But these young masters and young ladies were spoiled children, and many of them had already turned around and left the Sea King's Palace without being ordered by a housekeeper.
"The steward of the Sea King's Palace also wants to order us around? Why don't you look in the mirror and see what your status is?" Everyone was irritated, and the young men and women who were proud of their noble and elegant status walked out in groups.
Unexpectedly, the butler clapped his hands three times towards the door, and suddenly hundreds of black-clad guards rushed into the door of Suiyi Garden, each holding a knife in their hands and surrounding all the guests.
Everyone only heard the butler speak solemnly, "Everyone has witnessed with your own eyes the tragic misfortune suffered by our young master. Why don't we wait until we have built the mourning hall for him and burn some incense for him?"
"Hmph? Burning incense? Then let's be sincere! What's your intention in threatening us with knives and swords? Are you taking advantage of us because our status is inferior to that of the Sea Prince's Mansion?" Wu Qinqin spoke coldly. With the support of the Duke of Han and the Prince Chen, she naturally looked down upon the Sea Prince's Mansion. Furthermore, Hai Chenxi's frequent rivalry with Jiang Muchen further displeased Wu Qinqin's people in the Sea Prince's Mansion.
"Why are you so angry, Madam Yuan? How could the Sea King's Mansion neglect you? I have already ordered people to prepare the side rooms and all the necessary living utensils. I just ask you to stay for a few days. Why are you so confrontational?" The butler's expression did not change, but there was a hint of toughness in his tone.
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw hundreds of black-clad guards drawing their swords at the same time. The swords reflected a cold light in the sunlight, which instantly made people feel an indelible chill in their hearts.
"You dog slave, how dare you order me around? Let's go!" Wu Qinqin believed that the Sea King's Mansion wouldn't dare do anything to her, and now she was drawing her sword just to intimidate them. She pulled over a young lady she was on good terms with, and the two of them walked out of the garden first.
"Puff..." But before the two of them even stepped out of the yard, the young lady next to Wu Qinqin had already fallen in a pool of blood...
"Ah..." Suddenly, screams and sounds of terror rang out in the garden...
"If anyone still wants to step out of this courtyard, this prince will definitely see him off." Hai Chenxi threw the long sword in his hand to the black-clothed guard, glanced coldly at everyone in the garden, and then turned and left the guest house.
Looking at the scene in front of her, Wu Qinqin's eyes rolled back and her body suddenly fell to the ground.
Hai Chenxi's way of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys immediately calmed down the guests who originally wanted to rush out of the Sea Palace, and no one dared to offend Hai Chenxi anymore.
Upon seeing this, the housekeeper immediately ordered his men to escort everyone into their respective rooms.
When Qu Feiqing and others saw this situation, they immediately thought to themselves that something was wrong. They were afraid that everyone had been fooled by the Sea King today. This was not a birthday banquet at all, but a Hongmen Banquet.
Now Jiang Haotian has killed the young master of the Sea King's Palace, and all the young men and women from the major aristocratic families in the capital are in the hands of the Sea King. He is threatening the emperor to control the princes!
Aquaman is planning a rebellion!
However, Hai Quan was really cruel to use a child's life in exchange for an excuse to rebel.
"Sister Qu..." Xiahou An'er withdrew her gaze from Hai Chenxi with a pale face and called her Qu Feiqing softly.
Qu Feiqing's face was equally as pale as paper, but she remained calm. She silently hoped that the guards Meng'er had assigned to them would realize that the situation was becoming increasingly serious.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com