About seven or eight days later, the eunuch came to tell Huan Yang that the royal autumn hunt had begun and asked Huan Yang to go. In previous years, the original owner would usually refuse because of his leg, but Huan Yang didn't care about that.
However, this invitation was certainly not well-intentioned. As expected, both the emperor and Song Linan wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of Pan Yang to prevent future troubles, especially since Pan Yang was involved with the Imperial Preceptor.
Are we supposed to wait until he's developed his power base before making a move?
When Pan Yang arrived at the hunting grounds, most of the people had already set off. As in previous years, the person with the most prey would naturally be the first to capture the most game.
Pan Yang was pushed by Nian Pan into the hunting grounds, which was a large forest. Logically speaking, some adults who knew martial arts would also participate, including General Zhao Rui, who had just returned to the capital.
This person can be described as someone who can fight against a hundred enemies single-handedly. He once used nine hundred soldiers to fight against an enemy country's army of several thousand and returned victorious.
"Your Highness is too kind. I am loyal to the country and have no particular allegiance to anyone." Zhao Rui, riding on his horse, looked at Pan Yang, who was sitting in a wheelchair, and found it truly laughable that a crippled crown prince would try to win him over.
Pan Yang sighed: "I thought you would at least think about your own child."
"What child? I don't know what the Crown Prince is talking about." Zhao Rui's eyes flashed with a hint of ferocity.
“Ah, so the mother and child in the suburbs weren’t General Zhao’s wife and daughter. I thought the general was worried about their safety and chose to hide them instead of keeping them with him.” Pan Yang said thoughtfully, “That’s really strange.”
"Is Your Highness threatening me?" Zhao Rui narrowed his eyes, his hand gripping the bow and arrow tightly. "I would never commit treason."
Pan Yang remained remarkably calm: "Treason? What's my surname?"
“The Crown Prince naturally has the surname Song.” Zhao Rui frowned, somewhat confused by Pan Yang’s meaning.
"What is the emperor's surname?" Pan Yang continued to ask.
"Naturally, their surname is also Song."
“Look, you’re calling me Your Highness the Crown Prince again, so how can this be considered treason? It’s a legitimate succession to the throne.”
Pan Yang began to deceive in a serious tone: "And you should know how many monarchs can tolerate the situation where someone's merits overshadow their ruler."
"General Zhao must have accomplished quite a bit, right? How long do you think the emperor can tolerate this?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Rui fell into deep thought. The emperor was now subtly hinting that he should hand over the military seal, and he was probably already being abandoned. However, the crown prince did not have much power at the moment. Although there were rumors that he had changed his mind, it did not mean that the crown prince could smoothly become the emperor.
"I will consider this matter for a few days, and at most five days I will personally inform the Crown Prince of my reply." After saying this, Zhao Rui rode away on his horse.
After Zhao Rui had walked away, Nianpan bent down and whispered, "If Master wants to rebel, he can go to the Grand Preceptor. The Grand Preceptor will definitely help His Highness."
"So you mean I can't become emperor without the Imperial Advisor?" Pan Yang looked at him, his emotions seemingly unchanged, yet it made him feel breathless.
"That's not what I meant, I just felt..." Nianpan didn't continue. He felt that if he said those words, the Crown Prince would definitely let him leave without hesitation.
Suddenly, a flash of light appeared, and an arrow flew straight toward Fan Yang.
The arrow grazed Fan Yang's face, leaving a bloody mark, before finally embedding itself in the tree.
"Master!" Si Yang, who had been hiding in the shadows, suddenly appeared, along with more than a dozen men in black.
"Take your master away!" Si Yang said, rushing towards the man in black.
Nianpan didn't dawdle and quickly pushed her wheelchair away.
However, they were surrounded by men in black again before they got very far. It's worth noting that Si Yang was only one person, so how could he possibly stop them all?
Seeing that there was nowhere to go, Nianpan drew his sword and prepared to fight, knowing that if Pan Yang died, they would certainly not survive either.
As Pan Yang watched the fight, he touched the scratches on his face, his fingertips stained with blood.
Tsk, my face is ruined. Oh no, I'm not the most handsome anymore. I knew Zhou Yang's people were unreliable!
001: "..." Please be serious, host!
"Aren't you guys tired?" Pan Yang suddenly spoke up, and the man in black naturally wouldn't answer such a boring question.
"Ignore me? You're something else, kid! I gave you a chance."
As soon as the words were spoken, the men in black felt a force suppressing them, and they suddenly stopped moving and stood rooted to the spot, unable to move.
"What did you do?" the man in black finally asked.
Although Nianpan was somewhat surprised, she still sheathed her sword and stood behind Pan Yang again.
"Did Song Linan send you?" Pan Yang didn't answer their question but continued to ask.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Tsk, what a hassle." Pan Yang was a little impatient. Wouldn't it be better to just kill the emperor and Song Linan directly?
As soon as he finished speaking, the man in black suddenly stopped breathing and never came to life again.
Nianpan went up to search him and, unsurprisingly, found the token of the Second Prince's guard.
Then everyone stared in shock at the pile of corpses.
Pan Yang asked calmly, "Am I capable of winning the championship with my hunting achievements today?"
The ministers were shocked. What a joke! This is a corpse! Wait, where did all these men in black come from?
Upon seeing the corpses, Song Linan was startled but quickly calmed down: "Brother, what are you joking about? For your safety, let's hand them over to the Dali Temple for investigation."
“I’m safe. We just found this on the assassin.” Pan Yang took out the token.
A sharp-eyed minister suddenly exclaimed, "Isn't this from the Second Prince's residence!"
Song Linan sneered: "It's just a token, it could have been stolen. How can you be sure that I sent someone to assassinate my brother?"
"Then why don't you take stock of your guards? Are some of them missing?" Pan Yang said unhurriedly.
"Why is Your Majesty making things difficult for me?" Song Linan said through gritted teeth.
"Alright." The emperor, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke, rubbing his temples. "This matter will be investigated later. Nan'er is suspected, so she will be temporarily released from the palace. As for Pan'er, her confinement will be lifted."
"Let's just leave it at that. As for these corpses, they don't count as part of the hunt."
Song Linan remained silent; he simply couldn't leave the palace. In a few days, once the storm had passed, everything would be fine.
Pan Yang wasn't angry, after all, he didn't expect Song Linan to do anything, but said: "This hunt doesn't say that corpses can't be counted, and besides, I solved it with my own skills, so why can't I win the championship?"
001: "Damn it!" Is this the key point, host?!
The emperor clearly hadn't expected Ban Yang to react this way. He took a deep breath and said, "How can you, with your crippled body, possibly defeat them? Besides, the cause of their deaths must also be investigated."
“You look down on disabled people!” Pan Yang blurted out.
"Pfft." The ministers beside him couldn't help but chuckle. What kind of logic was His Highness the Crown Prince using?
Seeing the situation, Zhao Rui stepped in to smooth things over: "I was just passing by and helped to resolve it. Since Your Highness is alright, everyone is happy. It doesn't matter who wins the hunt."
When the emperor saw Zhao Rui speak up for Pan Yang, his heart sank. A hint of emotion flashed in his eyes as he looked at Zhao Rui: "Since the general has said so, then let the crown prince win the championship."
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