Chapter 111
The officers rushed over and dragged the distraught Li Deyu away. He stopped struggling and yelling, his entire body limp to the ground as if his bones had been pulled out. He knew he had lost, completely.
Shen Yanzhi stared at the direction where Li Deyu was being dragged away, his eyes dark. He knew this was just the beginning. It was easy to bring down Li Deyu, but it would take a more powerful blow to uproot the tangled tree behind him.
He turned and walked out of the Dali Temple. The morning light was just right, casting a long shadow on him. A new day, a true showdown, had just begun.
The news of Li Deyu's formal detention at the Dali Temple spread like a hurricane, sweeping through the entire upper class of the capital within a single hour. Within the Prince of Wei's mansion, the atmosphere was gloomy and depressing to the extreme.
"Bang!"
A fine Ru kiln celadon teacup was thrown fiercely to the ground, shattering into pieces. Wei Wang Chen Yancong's eyes were bloodshot, his chest was heaving violently, and veins on his forehead bulged, like an enraged trapped beast.
"Useless! A bunch of useless!" He pointed at the staff and stewards kneeling on the ground and cursed loudly, "Li Deyu! My chief strategist! He was killed like this? And that shopkeeper Qian, didn't they say everything was arranged? Why did he still write a confession? Why!"
The people below were silent as a mouse, their heads lowered even lower, fearing that they would be the next to suffer.
"Your Highness, please calm down..." an aide said bravely. "The most important thing right now isn't to find someone responsible, but to find a way to remedy the situation. Mr. Li is in custody, but if Shopkeeper Qian dies, his confession will be the only evidence. Then, we can firmly establish that the Crown Prince framed us, and perhaps there will be a chance for a reversal..."
"Die? How can you let me kill him?" Shen Yancong laughed angrily, "Now he is being watched more closely by the prince's men than by his own eyes. I'm afraid not even a fly can get into the Dali Temple's cell! Do you think the prince is a fool?"
The aide was choked so much that his face turned red and he dared not say anything.
Shen Yancong paced back and forth in his study, his heart filled with shock, anger, and fear. For the first time, he felt that the prince's younger brother, whom he had always regarded as mild and cowardly, had become so strange and terrifying.
The plan he had carefully laid was easily broken by the opponent, who even turned the tables and pushed him to the edge of the cliff.
No, he couldn't just sit there and wait for death! Li Deyu knew too much. If he couldn't hold on in prison and gave himself up, it would be all over. And Shopkeeper Qian, he must die! His death wasn't enough, his family had to disappear too! Only in this way could he deter those who might waver and let them know the consequences of betraying him!
A fierce look surged onto Shen Yancong's face. He stopped, a hint of crazy determination flashing in his eyes.
"Wang Fu." He called in a low voice.
A thin, middle-aged man with sinister eyes walked out from the shadows and bowed, "Master, what are your orders?"
"Take the 'shadow guards' and go and take care of Shopkeeper Qian's family for me." Shen Yancong's voice was cold. "Remember, be quick and clean, and don't leave any traces. Especially his brother-in-law who runs a rice shop in the south of the city, and his seven-year-old son, don't let any of them be spared."
A bloodthirsty gleam flashed in Wang Fu's eyes. He licked his cracked lips and said, "Master, don't worry. Before dark, there will be no more of these people in this world."
"Go ahead." Shen Yancong waved his hand and sat back on the armchair, his face regaining a trace of composure. He just didn't believe that the prince could predict the future and even prevent such a thundering move.
As long as Qian's family members were dead, he didn't believe Qian could still be so stubborn in court. At that time, he could even turn the tables and say that the prince had brutally murdered Qian's family in order to force him to perjure himself. Thinking of this, a sinister smile even appeared at the corner of his mouth.
However, he miscalculated one thing. His opponent was not only Shen Yanzhi, but also Song Qingyuan, who was meticulous and good at perceiving people's hearts.
East Palace, Qingzhi Garden.
Song Qingyuan was having breakfast with Shen Yanzhi. Seeing Shen Yanzhi eating the porridge she prepared, she felt relieved.
"Although Li Deyu has fallen, the King of Wei will definitely strike back." Song Qingyuan put down the silver chopsticks in his hand and said softly, "Even a cornered dog will jump over the wall, let alone the vicious King of Wei. What he wants most right now must be to silence Shopkeeper Qian."
Shen Yanzhi drank the last mouthful of porridge, wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin, and said with approval in his eyes: "Not bad. He doesn't have the courage or ability to deal with Qian Zhanggui in the Dali Temple directly. Therefore, he will definitely start with Qian Zhanggui's family."
"Killing people to silence them, and then putting the blame on us. Killing two birds with one stone, this is his most common trick." Song Qingyuan's analysis coincided with Shen Yanzhi's.
"So, before you went to the Dali Temple, I had already asked Lin Xiaoshu to bring people to invite Manager Qian's family." Shen Yanzhi held her hand and smiled slightly, "My Crown Princess always thinks the same way as me."
Song Qingyuan held him back, feeling at peace. This kind of tacit understanding moved her more than any sweet words.
"Lin Xiaoshu is a smart kid, but he's not very serious sometimes. Is it reliable to give this matter to him?" Song Qingyuan teased him deliberately.
"Don't worry, I sent Qin Feng to follow him." Shen Yanzhi mentioned his capable guard, his tone full of trust, "One is responsible for making jokes, and the other is responsible for arresting people. They complement each other very well."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Xiaoshu ran in like a gust of wind, with a smile of seeking credit on his face, but he also pretended to be frightened.
"Your Highness! Your Majesty! That was a close call! It was such a close call!" He started yelling as soon as he entered the room, patting his chest exaggeratedly.
"Speak human language." Shen Yanzhi glanced at him.
"Yes!" Lin Xiaoshu immediately stood up straight, cleared his throat, and began to speak vividly, "I was ordered to invite Manager Qian's brother-in-law and his family. I had just brought them out of the back door of the rice shop and stuffed them into our carriage, and guess what? The black-hearted killers from the Prince of Wei's Mansion arrived! Just a moment later! If I hadn't been smart and ran fast, you wouldn't be able to see me, a handsome and elegant man..."
“Get to the point.” Shen Yanzhi’s eyebrows twitched.
"The point is, we got the person out safely and are now housed in a secret village outside the city. They're absolutely safe." Lin Xiaoshu added with a playful smile, "Brother Qin Feng stayed behind to cover our retreat and exchanged a few moves with those assassins.
When they realized their men were gone, they didn't bother to fight and quickly retreated. But Brother Qin said that the other party's skills and style were definitely those of the 'shadow guards' raised by the Prince of Wei's palace.
Song Qingyuan and Shen Yanzhi looked at each other and saw understanding in each other's eyes.
"Okay." A cold arc appeared on the corner of Shen Yanzhi's mouth. "Now, we have all the evidence. Didn't he want to kill to silence us? I'll show him what it means to be trapped in one's own trap."
The Prince of Wei's frantic counterattack not only failed to achieve its goal, but instead provided the most direct and irrefutable evidence of guilt. A conspiracy against the Crown Princess had now evolved into a shocking case in which the Prince of Wei hired a killer and intended to slaughter the entire family of witnesses.
"Qingyuan," Shen Yanzhi stood up, his eyes gleaming sharply, "Prepare the sedan chair, we will enter the palace immediately. This great gift should also be presented to the emperor for his review."
The chess game had entered its final stage, no longer a clandestine confrontation but a life-or-death struggle. This time, they were determined to ensure that the almighty King of Wei would have no chance of recovery.
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