novelraw Chapter 414 - 315: Curtain Rises
Chapter 414 - 315: Curtain Rises
After an indeterminable amount of time, within Qianyuan Hall, Rong Jing’s roar finally subsided.
He lifted his bloodshot eyes, tore the Holy Decree in his hand into pieces, and looked at Song Zhi:
"Continue. Tell me everything you’ve found, especially anything concerning the name Zichan."
Song Zhi nodded and began to speak slowly.
It was a long time before Song Zhi finished recounting what he knew.
He had actually only discovered two things: Zhou Xing was connected to Rong Heng, and Su Yi was also Rong Heng’s man.
This merely proved that Prince Xiang had long hidden his power, perhaps to protect himself, or maybe to hide in the shadows and plot harm to Rong Jing, avenging the Xiao Family. In any case, he was certainly not as harmless and incompetent as he appeared on the surface.
Song Zhi could see that Rong Heng hiding his strength was not what made Rong Jing suddenly break down.
Because upon learning about Zhou Xing’s issue, Rong Jing actually tried to convince himself that only those with ambition were worthy of being ennobled.
What truly made Rong Jing lose control was the name "Zishan."
Song Zhi didn’t know what was peculiar about this name, nor did he know how Rong Jing was so sure that the silver-masked hidden guard Zishan at Gu Lan’s side was Prince Xiang. As far as he knew, Rong Heng hadn’t yet come of age and shouldn’t have a courtesy name.
But he had investigated many things about "Zishan" and Gu Lan.
"So Rong Heng was always beside Gu Lan... I warned him, I tolerated them being so-called friends, and even ennobled him because of Gu Lan, but it was not to have him be with another man."
Rong Jing muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and gloomy, dangerous blood-red flickering in his eyes.
Song Zhi’s eyes darkened; he remained silent.
The Emperor had completely calmed down; he curled his bloody-red thin lips and calmly inquired:
"Gu Chengye and Gu Changting... they seem to still be in Wenyuan Pavilion, correct?"
Zhang Fengcai replied, "Yes, these two seem to want to finish handling government affairs before returning to the Marquis Mansion to celebrate Old Madam Gu’s birthday, which they have yet to leave."
The corner of Rong Jing’s lips became increasingly sinister and eerie, his peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly, as he gently ordered:
"Have the palace attendants confine these two in Wenyuan Pavilion, then gather all the Inner Supervision under your command to lie in wait at the Zhou Family’s residence and ensure Zhou Xing is captured when he returns from Dingyuan Marquis Mansion."
Zhang Fengcai trembled all over. Although he did not expect the Emperor to act against Dingyuan Marquis Mansion and Prince Xiang so swiftly, he still complied: "I follow Your Majesty’s orders."
"The Ministry of Justice... since he is the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Justice, confine him in the Ministry. Anyone who dares to rescue him, let the people of the Inner Supervision kill without pardon."
Rong Jing murmured to himself: "Have Fan Hongyan lead a thousand Capital City Guards to level the Crow Building; execute any resistance on the spot."
"Yes, I will immediately inform Lord Fan."
"Song Zhi—" Rong Jing continued.
Song Zhi stepped forward, his eyes icy and sharp: "I am here."
"Mobilize the imperial guard to surround Dingyuan Marquis Mansion and search whether Rong Heng is inside. Do not let anyone out!"
"At your command, Your Majesty," Song Zhi replied, but then asked, "If the household soldiers of Dingyuan Marquis Mansion arrive, or if Prince Xiang resists..."
"Gu Changting and Gu Chengye are in the palace; their household soldiers won’t have time to deploy. If they are wise, they won’t resist. If Rong Heng escapes... I don’t mind seeing a corpse," Rong Jing said blandly.
Song Zhi pressed his lips together, cupped his fist, and left Qianyuan Hall.
As the saying goes, capturing the king first captures the chief. Dingyuan Marquis is still in the Northern Territory; the Emperor can, at most, besiege Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, but Prince Xiang is different... Who let him dare to return to the capital on his own? The Southern Border is fine without him, so it seems there’s no big issue if he dies!
"Also send my decree: Have Fan Hongyan bring Zhou Xing to the palace after capturing him, along with Lu Bingxin and Han Ande. Do not let Ning An get involved in this matter."
Decrees were issued one after another, and shortly after, the vast Qianyuan Hall was left with only Rong Jing alone.
He let out a cruel laugh and said:
"Rong Heng, you forced me to do this."
Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.
In the front yard and main hall there were still many guests; in the backyard, Gu Lan conveyed her suspicions to the arriving You Ying.
You Ying calmed down after his initial shock and, frowning, said:
"Previously, I was ordered to investigate if any survivors from the Xie Family were secretly assisting Xie Yun, but found no clues whatsoever. I thought that perhaps you and the master were mistaken, but it turns out... the one aiding him is the Emperor."
You Ying, being both Hidden Guard and Death Warrior, was not one to question much, so while Gu Lan’s words were startling, he didn’t have many doubts.
He trusts Gu Lan not to make baseless guesses, and besides the lack of evidence, what she said perfectly explained everything that happened with Xie Yun, making the presence or absence of evidence irrelevant.