The second prince was completely bewildered by what Li Zhu said. How come he now had to deal with fratricide in addition to treason?
Moreover, Li Zhu's disappointed and frustrated demeanor, coupled with his impassioned emotions, effectively portrayed the Second Prince as the villain...
"Li Zhu, that's enough... No matter what the crime, Father will decide. All I need to do is take you to see Father..."
The second prince planned to resolve the issue directly with force, and didn't intend to waste words with Li Zhu. He felt that he couldn't win an argument with Li Zhu, and if he continued to argue, he might end up being executed by slow slicing!
How could Li Zhu possibly let the Second Prince capture him? The other party clearly had malicious intentions. Even if he escaped unscathed in the end, it would bring him unimaginable consequences, a fatal blow to his reputation among the people and his prestige among the court officials!
"Second son, watch your words. You know I am the Crown Prince. Without an imperial decree, if you dare to lay a finger on me, it would be a crime of treason, and you'd be accused of fratricide..."
Li Zhu remained unmoved. How could a mere second prince, who was still wet behind the ears, possibly frighten him? Moreover, all of this was within his expectations; he just hadn't anticipated that it was the second prince who orchestrated it all!
"Go and tell your father what you have to say..."
The Second Prince was determined to strike first, and he also realized that he couldn't win an argument with Li Zhu!
"Second Prince, you'd better reconsider your words. I'm currently suppressing a rebellion. Your meddling makes me suspicious that you might be in league with them. Besides, I'm the Crown Prince. Even if I kill you, Father won't seek justice for you..."
Li Zhu's words contained warnings and threats. He didn't mind killing the Second Prince directly, but that would make his father, the emperor, even more hostile towards him, which would only accelerate the process of dealing with him and affect his current plan to save himself!
“Li Zhu, you’re accusing Xie Yuanlong of treason and even breaking into the military camp at night without any evidence. Do you think I need to rephrase my statement?”
The Second Prince said coldly, "I'm determined to capture Li Zhu, how could I be easily swayed by Li Zhu!"
"The Jie people slaughtered our Han Chinese people, created turmoil, and even ate our Han Chinese people. The Jie people in front of you are very likely animals who have eaten Han Chinese people. Drinking and having fun with such people and protecting them in their evil deeds in Luoyang, what else is this but treason?"
Li Zhu retorted coldly!
"These are just members of the Jie tribe's merchant caravan. You're just trying to frame Xie Yuanlong. All you've said is just your reasoning and speculation; it doesn't absolve you of the serious crime of trespassing into the Imperial Guard's camp at night..."
The Second Prince had set up such a grand scheme; how could he let Li Zhu leave so easily? He came here today to save face, and if he were to leave in such a humiliating manner, his reputation and prestige would suffer further damage!
"You want evidence? Fine, I'll give you evidence. Today I'm going to teach you a lesson: when you're not 100% certain of defeating your opponent, you're handing them the opportunity to defeat you..."
Li Zhu said with a cold smile, then looked at the late-arriving Marquis!
Before coming, Li Zhu assigned Hou Wang a secret mission. He believed that since the Jie people had rescued Shi Le, they would definitely come to rescue Shi Hu!
However, Shi Hu was imprisoned in the Eastern Palace, which was a completely different level of security from the post station where Shi Le was imprisoned...
When the assassin in black entered the East Palace, he knew that the Jie people had definitely made their move!
He also knew that the Jie people wouldn't be so foolish as to rush in and break into the prison. They would definitely seek help from people within the New Tang Dynasty to divert some of the Eastern Palace's forces before taking action!
The Jie people certainly didn't care about the life or death of the people of the New Tang Dynasty, so the first half of the plan had almost nothing to do with the Jie people; it was all about setting traps for the people of the New Tang Dynasty!
Who knew that Xie Yuanlong, that fool, would actually work for the Jie people, thinking it was a good opportunity to bring down Li Zhu, and even cooperated with the Second Prince, little did he know that he had jumped into a pit he couldn't get out of!
The moment Li Zhu left the Eastern Palace, the Marquis had already hidden Shi Hu. As the top special agent of the new Tang Dynasty, he understood what Li Zhu was going to do, and naturally reported this trivial matter to the Emperor!
This is why the emperor refused to issue an imperial edict for the second prince. The outcome of this matter was already predetermined, and Xie Yuanlong had to be arrested. This was the best breakthrough to bring down the arrogant and fierce general. He was too busy supporting Li Zhu to allow the second prince, Li Ke, to sabotage Li Zhu's actions!
Just as Li Zhu and his men left, a group of masked men stormed into the East Palace dungeon. These men were all armed with curved swords and killed anyone they saw, their ferocity surpassing even that of notorious bandits…
However, most of the people guarding the dungeon had already been transferred, and there weren't many left to begin with...
It wasn't until the masked men stormed deep into the dungeon that they realized something was wrong, but by then the dungeon exit had already been sealed off…
Countless arrows pierced the air, reaping a heavy harvest of the masked men. Then, they ignited the licorice that had been placed in the dungeon beforehand, and the fire quickly spread throughout the entire dungeon. The smoke made it impossible for the masked men inside to breathe.
The final result was that, except for a few top experts who escaped, almost the entire army was wiped out...
Even those who escaped were not unharmed. According to the Marquis's estimate, two or three more people would eventually die from their serious injuries.
After the battle ended, the Marquis immediately came to Xie Yuanlong's place and brought over the corpses of several minor leaders, placing them directly in front of the Jie people!
The Jie people, who had previously acted as if it were none of their business, all changed their expressions drastically upon seeing the corpse. One of them even shouted "Anda!" and rushed over...
"Second Prince, what else do you have to say? You must be very familiar with these corpses, right? They stormed into the Eastern Palace, killing everyone they saw. They clearly intended to slaughter the members of my New Tang royal family. As the Second Prince, how could you have such an ambiguous relationship with these people? I now have reason to suspect that they were acting under your orders. You've become utterly ruthless in your pursuit of the Crown Prince position, not even sparing your own brothers..."
Li Zhu spoke with even more conviction now, since the evidence was irrefutable and there was no need to feign politeness with these people anymore!
"Brother, this is all a misunderstanding. I knew you wouldn't break into the military camp at night without a reason. Xie Yuanlong colluded with the Jie tribe to assassinate you. This is an unforgivable crime. I just came to see if you needed any help..."
The second prince's attitude suddenly took a 180-degree turn, and the speed of his change of expression surprised everyone around him, making them even doubt whether the person in front of them was still the arrogant second prince they knew...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
