Chapter 205 (1/2)

Chapter 205: Thunderous Rage

The emperor had always been more forgiving to the senior officials. The crimes recorded in the doc.u.ments were atrocious, but not terrible enough for him to take immediate actions. The third prince was, for once, smart enough to recognize the situation. He told the emperor about the a.s.sa.s.sins Sir Shangguan had sent to kill him. The emperor was shocked. With that knowledge in mind, the evidence suddenly seemed a lot more incriminating.

The officials present noticed the way the emperor's expression darkened. Qi Chen would like to say a few words for Sir Shangguan, but he couldn't. He wasn't so ignorant that he would take such a risk. Sir Shangguan might be his right hand man, but he wasn't going to risk himself for an arm.

The emperor threw the doc.u.ments before Sir Shangguan. Sir Shangguan shuddered. He didn't dare to move at all. He stayed on the floor, trembling.

After a long stretch of silence, the emperor had Sir Shangguan arrested and ordered the Court of Judicial Review to conduct an investigation.

A few days later, Sir Shangguan's crimes were proven and announced to the world. Sir Shangguan himself was going to be executed once autumn came. His manor was raided, and his family exiled. That was the end of the Shangguan family.

Jun Huang was having tea with Ji Bo when the news reached her. She let out a sigh of relief hearing that another major supporter of Qi Chen had fallen. The smile at her lips deepened.

”You're better than I gave you credits for,” praised Ji Bo. ”With the Shangguan family out of the picture, we stand a better chance at winning.”

Jun Huang drank some tea and looked up at Ji Bo. ”It's thanks to the gentleman that Sir Shangguan has fallen from grace. Without you, the Shangguan family would still stand.”

Ji Bo waved a hand in denial. ”I wasn't the one who gave the third prince the evidence for Sir Shangguan's crimes. I heard the servants said that it was delivered to the manor.”

Jun Huang paused. ”It wasn't me, either. Does it mean someone else was trying to get rid of the Shangguan family?”

Ji Bo sighed. ”Who knows? However…”

Ji Bo's hesitance unsettled Jun Huang. ”What's on the gentleman's mind?”

”Sir Shangguan has been eliminated, which is good,” said Ji Bo. ”Qi Chen, on the other hand, is someone we have to keep an eye on. He's suffered a great loss this time. The emperor must know that he's close to Sir Shangguan. With Sir Shangguan's arrest, the trust the emperor has for Qi Chen must have been damaged. Qi Chen is going to stir up troubles to distract the emperor.”

Jun Huang had been at Qi Chen's side for some time. What Ji Bo said was no surprise to her. This could either be trivial or serious. They had to be careful. Without saying goodbye to Ji Bo, Jun Huang got to her feet and left for Prince Chen Manor.

With a sigh, Ji Bo continued to drink his tea, waiting for Jun Huang to return with some news.

When Jun Huang arrived at the manor, Qi Chen was, as she expected, discussing this issue with other people. She stayed outside until Qi Chen noticed her. She approached him and cupped her hands in greeting. ”This gentleman believes that this isn't the right time for Your Highness to tell the emperor about the spies from Eastern Wu.”

”Why?” Qi Chen demanded. ”Do you know how Royal Father sees me now? Sir Shangguan is done. Everyone knows he was my supporter. You can't be oblivious to what it means for Royal Father to get rid of him without hesitation. When I entered the palace this morning, Royal Father gave me the cold shoulder. He even implied that I should watch myself. Doesn't that mean – ”

”The emperor has told Your Highness to behave,” Jun Huang said bluntly, turning a blind eye to Qi Chen's murderous gaze. ”Why does Your Highness insist on doing this?”

Her advice won her only scorns from Qi Chen. He gave her a wary look and said, ”I've made up my mind, Feng Baiyu, and I know I'm right. If you dare to say another word to oppose me, I will not go easy on you.”

He walked past Jun Huang and out of the manor. Going to the palace, Jun Huang a.s.sumed. She rubbed at her temple worriedly.

The housekeeper had a decent relations.h.i.+p with Jun Huang. He said rea.s.suringly, ”We know it's unwise to reveal now the fact that there are spies from Eastern Wu in Northern Qi. The court is still unstable from what has happened. If the secret is out of the bag, people will panic. The prince, however, is our master. There's nothing we can say to convince him. The prince is in a bad mood. We can only hope that he'll calm down afterwards.”

He patted Jun Huang on the shoulder and left with a sigh.