Facing the fury of the crowd, Qi Zonghao was in a difficult position, his mind racing for a countermeasure.
To agree would mean losing face completely.
To refuse would not make Dong Chu let the matter go. After all, taking a life warranted a just retribution, and even if it were two lowly Xiao Guan, they were still people of Dong Chu. What’s more, Xiliang was in the wrong, and most importantly, once he returned to his country, he would still not be able to rest easy. His father, the Emperor Xiliang, and the Xiliang citizens would surely look at him with contempt. Could Xiliang’s reputation not even be worth some silver?
The Xiliang messengers couldn’t wait for Qi Zonghao to agree quickly so they could leave this place, but unfortunately, Qi Zonghao was always autocratic and did not take orders from them.
"What’s happened here?"
Just as the stalemate persisted, Long Xuanmo, Yang Mengchen, and a large group of people from Dong Chu, Qing’an, Nanping, and Beiyue walked in.
Seeing the group arrive, the onlookers voluntarily stepped back to make way.
At the sight of three naked male corpses on the ground inside the room, Long Xuanmo immediately embraced Yang Mengchen, shielding her from the indecent scene.
Princess Yashuang and the other women hurriedly turned away, their faces flushing with embarrassment. They hadn’t expected to encounter such a situation; it was utterly shameful.
Seeing Long Xuanmo and Yang Mengchen, the woman, Mother Yi, privately heaved a sigh of relief, crawling to their feet: "Please, Prince, Princess, seek justice for this lowly woman. The Princess Xiliang... now the Prince of Xiliang wants to leave as if nothing happened. Did Chun Hua and Qiu Yue die in vain? Please, Prince, Princess, uphold justice!" After repeating the account of the events and continuously kowtowing, her appearance was pitiable.
Someone nearby muttered remarks about the unclear relationship between the siblings from Xiliang, but the volume was just enough for everyone to hear, lending the already tense silence an eerie atmosphere.
Buried in Long Xuanmo’s embrace, Yang Mengchen’s lips curled into a slight, cold sneer.
If it were not to avoid upsetting her father, they would have immediately exposed Qi Zonghao and his sister’s disgrace in the palace. Daring to plot against her and Wende, of course, would cost them dearly!
Those who arrived later, after a brief shock, all looked at Qi Zonghao and Qi Qiuxin in his arms with scorn and disgust.
Staring intently at Long Xuanmo and Yang Mengchen, Qi Zonghao had an indiscernible expression, his lips pressed tightly into a straight line as rage burned within him.
His original plan involved Prince Jing’s informant in the palace soiling Long Xuanmo’s robe, taking advantage when Long Xuanmo went to change so the Imperial Younger Sister could cling tightly to Long Xuanmo, preferably creating a fact of the matter. For this, he had even provided the Imperial Younger Sister with Xiliang’s most potent aphrodisiac.
Princess Chen was close to Long Xuanmo, and with him having not returned for a while, Princess Chen would definitely go looking for him. He would then follow and kidnap Princess Chen to hide her away.
To his dismay, Princess Chen had not sought out Long Xuanmo, and Long Xuanmo had quickly returned unharmed, foiling his plan.
What he had not expected was for the Imperial Younger Sister to insist on leaving the palace early and to commit such an act in such a place.
Now, people from all five nations knew of the incident, and he had been humiliated before the entire world.
The key issue was how he would face his father and mother’s reprimand upon returning home, and the anger of his citizens. The perfidious and flawless him had lost all face, and he found this utterly unacceptable. The rage and resentment in his heart grew even stronger.
Waving his hand for Mo Yun to find something to cover the three male corpses, Long Xuanmo spoke with an icy tone, "If the Second Prince does not wish to compensate, then take the Princess Xiliang directly to the Judiciary Office and deal with her according to the laws of Dong Chu!"
"Prince Chen, please calm your anger. Our nation is willing to compensate," one of the envoys hastily said.
A princess, even when in error, is still a princess and represents Xiliang. If she is locked up in Dong Chu’s prison to be dealt with by the law, and the news spreads, Xiliang’s reputation would be utterly destroyed.
Qi Zonghao clearly understood what the envoy meant. He gritted his teeth, ordered his guard to give the silver, then looked at Long Xuanmo, but his gaze was actually on Yang Mengchen in Long Xuanmo’s arms: "Now, may this Prince take my Imperial Younger Sister away?"
"You may," Long Xuanmo responded indifferently. "Let’s consider the matter closed with this. Whoever spreads word of this will not be spared!"
In truth, most people were already aware, especially those present, which included people from all walks of life. How could the news possibly be contained? Long Xuanmo was simply stating his stance.
"Thank you, Prince Chen!" Qi Zonghao choked back his rage, forced to express gratitude, and left quickly with Qi Qiuxin in his arms.
The humiliation of this day, he would one day repay twofold.
The Xiliang messengers apologized and followed Qi Zonghao out, also taking the body of the Xiliang guard with them.
Watching the backs of the Xiliang people, Xiahou Muyang and Wu Zhenglie shook their heads in secret.
It was obvious that Qi Qiuxin intended to entrap Prince Chen, but instead ended up being outmaneuvered by him, resulting in a disgraceful downfall. Knowing that Prince Chen’s strategies were renowned worldwide and that he had the extremely smart Princess Chen by his side, was it not foolish to the extreme to think anyone could easily scheme against them!
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