novelraw Chapter 1302: Wishful Thinking About Making Her the Scapegoat
Chapter 1302: Wishful Thinking About Making Her the Scapegoat
"If I’m not mistaken, Han Yan must possess the Beast Taming Technique, secretly colluding with those Chaotic Beasts. Outwardly, she serves as an envoy to Shangyue, but secretly, she harbors malicious intent, aiming to attack our Shangyue City with the Alien Beast Power to destabilize the Royal Family’s foundation.Only because this City Lord uncovered her plot, she was forced to act prematurely. Later, seeing her conspiracy exposed, she pretended to save lives to earn a good reputation for herself, thereby deceiving the Emperor’s trust, planning to strike again when the opportunity arose," Wu Ziyue said with a cold sneer.
Everyone was dumbfounded after hearing Wu Ziyue’s words, not knowing how he thought of so many twists and turns.
Han Yan originally thought she had some cunning and strategy, but facing Wu Ziyue, she felt somewhat inferior. Repaying kindness with enmity was one thing, but to concoct such an elaborate story, it must be said, Wu Ziyue was indeed a talent.
Perhaps others didn’t understand why Wu Ziyue would repay kindness with enmity, but Han Yan could think of a reason or two.
As a City Lord, when the Exotic Beasts first attacked the city, he turned a blind eye and missed the opportunity to strike, resulting in the tragic death of thousands of citizens. Later, he ignored advice and recklessly fought outside the city. If not for Han Yan’s timely intervention, Dingbian City would definitely have been destroyed by Chaos, and the million citizens within would have met certain death.
Even though he held power in Dingbian City, such a major incident was bound to be reported to the central court. Not even as the only son of the Shoulder-to-shoulder King could he escape punishment. Presumably, the Wu Family wouldn’t be a single line of descent, and he didn’t know how many collateral branches were secretly coveting the throne, surely not passing up this golden opportunity. Han Yan was no stranger to the open and covert struggles within wealthy families. For the sake of climbing to power, fratricide was not uncommon, let alone hitting someone when they’re down.
Wu Ziyue was eager to protect himself, so of course he needed a scapegoat, and she, undoubtedly, was the best choice. The Exotic Beasts in Dingbian were already strange, and the Divine Beast Contract she used to repel the Chaotic Beasts was indeed unbelievable to outsiders. Considering his claims, there seemed to be some connection.
Of course, whether there’s a connection or not didn’t matter. As long as he arrested her and brought her to the City Lord’s Mansion, he had countless ways to force her submission, or simply kill her, branding it suicide by guilt. With the Shoulder-to-shoulder King’s power in Shangyue, there would be no evidence after her death, so who could do anything to him?
Additionally, once she was out of the picture, the Cold Sky Sword and that Profound Sun Phoenix Feather Grass would naturally fall into his hands, fulfilling his long-cherished wish—a beneficial outcome.
Such deep scheming, such ruthless methods! Understanding this, even Han Yan couldn’t help but sigh again, though her disgust for Wu Ziyue deepened.
"Han Yan, isn’t this City Lord right? Such a nice conspiracy, such calculations, but alas, you encountered this City Lord!" Wu Ziyue said with a smile, seeing everyone silent. It was obvious he was proud of the plan he thought of in a moment of inspiration.
"Just looking for a scapegoat, yet coming up with such a grandiose reason, worthy of a Princely Heir of the Shoulder-to-shoulder King, my respect," Han Yan mockingly laughed.
The surrounding people all gave Wu Ziyue strange looks; earlier, having heard Wu Ziyue’s words, they were somewhat predisposed to believe him. The more they thought about it, the more the Exotic Beasts attacking the city seemed too strange, and Han Yan’s chant-like mysterious spell was indeed odd, making them somewhat suspicious of his claims.
However, upon hearing Han Yan’s words, they suddenly realized that Wu Ziyue was clearly trying to shirk responsibility, deliberately confusing the public and slinging mud at Han Yan.
"Han Yan, even now you dare to quibble? Seize them and bring them back to the City Lord’s Mansion for strict interrogation!" Wu Ziyue, being exposed by Han Yan, was furious.
The Black-armored Guards hesitated for a moment but still moved toward Han Yan. Though their duty required obedience to Wu Ziyue’s orders, their actions were noticeably sluggish, with several leading officers even giving Han Yan secretive looks, gesturing for her to hastily flee.
Han Yan felt a bit moved, even though Wu Ziyue’s character was despicable, those around him weren’t all sycophants; the majority had clear distinctions of right and wrong.
"Stop!" At this moment, an elderly City Guard general stepped up, blocking in front of Han Yan.
The elder who previously spoke up for Doctor Sun also stepped forward, standing at his side.
"What are you doing? Are you trying to collude with outside enemies and betray Shangyue?" Wu Ziyue shouted sternly.
"Lord Mu is the An Yun envoy, and this mission to Shangyue is of grave importance. As the City Guard commander, it’s my duty to ensure she safely reaches the Capital," the old general said righteously.
"She saved the lives of the city’s citizens, saved the lives of my Geng Clan, and even saved my own life. As long as I’m here, no one will dare trouble her," the elder stated emphatically.
As his words fell, hundreds of survivors of the disaster gathered, encircling Han Yan’s group in protection.
Han Yan guessed correctly, this elder was indeed the Clan Leader of the prestigious Geng Family in Dingbian City. More than half of these citizens were Geng Family members and Death Soldiers. Even those not from the Geng Family, grateful for Han Yan’s life-saving grace, naturally wouldn’t stand idly by.
Simultaneously, those City Guard Soldiers also gathered, joining the citizens in layers of protection around Han Yan’s group.
"Audacious, audacious, are you trying to rebel?" Wu Ziyue’s face changed dramatically.
As the only son of the Shoulder-to-shoulder King, Wu Ziyue was naturally arrogant and unruly since childhood, not even putting the likes of Zhu Xiuqing, a Royal Family member, in his eyes. After being appointed City Lord of Dingbian City, he acted even more recklessly, but he had never encountered such a situation before.
The old general and the Geng Family Master ignored him, merely casting disdainful glances his way. Were it not for the Shoulder-to-shoulder King’s power, they wouldn’t even have bothered with someone like Wu Ziyue. Now with things out in the open, they had nothing more to fear.
"Daring to collude with outside enemies and betray Shangyue, kill them, kill them all!" Enraged by their disdainful glances, Wu Ziyue shouted furiously, losing all composure.
As a City Lord, being publicly opposed by both his City Guard and city clans, what credibility could he have if this spread? How could he command respect or have any qualification to inherit the throne?
The old general and the Geng Family Master sighed inwardly. As a City Lord, Wu Ziyue issued such an order without fearing a civil uprising? This Princely Heir of the palace was indeed an incompetent fool to the core.
However, the Black-armored Guards knew their limits. Though their hands were on their sword hilts, none dared to act.
"So, even you don’t listen to my orders, fine, fine, if you won’t act, I’ll do it myself!" Wu Ziyue, seeing even his Black-armored Guards disobeying, was so enraged that he lost all reason, drawing his longsword and charging at the old general.
"Swipe!" The surrounding City Guard soldiers simultaneously drew their longswords.