Chapter 144 - 142: Beneath the Blood-Red Palace
"Great King!"
"Your Highness!"
The group of civil servants and military officers all widened their eyes, watching this scene of the Fifth Prince being beheaded. For many of them, it was somewhat unacceptable and even unbelievable.
"Rebel, traitor, you will die a painful death!"
Among them, an official completely lost control and cursed at Gu Wenhui.
Gu Wenhui was not one to tolerate such behavior. With a single glance, the armored warriors swung their blades.
Any voice of dissent was immediately extinguished on the spot.
Even those who were previously appreciated by him, with outstanding abilities and talents, were no exception.
He cherished talent and was willing to honor the worthy, but he was also decisive and ruthless.
If one could not be used by him, they were not worthy of living!
After eliminating the voices of opposition with iron-fisted methods, the remaining officials fell silent.
Only then did Gu Wenhui speak satisfied: "I give you only one day to think it over, whether to join me or stand against me."
The officials exchanged glances, still not daring to utter a word.
"Take them away and keep them under strict watch," Gu Wenhui ordered his subordinates.
"Lord Gu, these are all former ministers of the Fifth Prince. Why not kill them all to prevent future trouble?" Lu Zheng frowned and asked in a low voice.
He had instinctively wanted to address him as Brother Gu but quickly realized it was now inappropriate, so he changed his address to Lord.
Gu Wenhui glanced at Lu Zheng and then smiled faintly: "Many of them are wise individuals. Wise people are adept at assessing the situation, and now that the Fifth Prince has lost his power, they know what choice to make.
Killing all these people would provoke a great turmoil, which is something I don’t want to see. Moreover, don’t forget that outside, the imperial army is watching like a tiger, ready to seize this opportunity.
Also, I need these bureaucrats to help me govern this vast land of the Seven Commanderies.
Of course, to be safe, we must also keep a close watch on their families, not allowing any of them to escape unknowingly."
Lu Zheng understood and nodded in agreement.
"Let’s go. The hardest step has been taken. There are still many things to do," Gu Wenhui said, tossing aside a long knife and turning to leave the bloodstained palace.
Meanwhile, that night, in Donglai County City, in the Prince’s Mansion where the Fifth Prince had temporarily resided.
The place was as heavily guarded as ever, with nearly one guard every five steps, firmly holding the walls of the mansion.
There was a multi-layered deployment of the patrol guard of the General Department and soldiers from the army, ensuring nothing could go wrong.
Inside the mansion, Chu Huai was unaware of the shocking changes in Nanyang, his gaze evaluating a group of civilian women who had been captured.
"Young Prince, these were carefully selected door-to-door, all of high beauty. Are you satisfied?" a general asked flatteringly in a respectful tone.
The gathered women shivered, each bowing their head and crying fearfully.
"Let them raise their heads so this Prince can take a good look," Chu Huai said with a lascivious smile, his narrow eyes squinting like a snake, scanning the women.
This was a process he particularly enjoyed in his daily life.
The general gestured, and the soldiers immediately seized the women’s hair, forcing them to lift their heads and show their faces.
Chu Huai’s gaze swept over them, casually pointing at a few women.
The general understood immediately, preparing to lead the remaining women away.
Just then, Xiong Dang Mountain entered and said, "Young Prince, Governor Li requests an audience."
Chu Huai frowned, displeased, "It’s so late. Tell him to come back tomorrow if he has matters to discuss."
"Governor Li said he brings news from Nanyang that needs to be discussed with you personally," Xiong Dang Mountain continued.
Upon hearing this, Chu Huai did not refuse, though he appeared slightly impatient, gesturing for the Governor to be brought in.
Shortly, Li Yan, accompanied by the guards, arrived outside the courtyard where Chu Huai was.
Xiong Dang Mountain stopped him, pointing at the few accompanying personal guards, "Only you may enter, not them."
"You wait here," Li Yan nodded, indifferent, and instructed his personal guards, entering the courtyard with Xiong Dang Mountain.
Li Yan glanced at the captured women, then turned his attention to the Young Prince, respectfully saying,
"I apologize for visiting abruptly and disturbing your leisure, Young Prince, please forgive me."
"As long as you know that, say what you must quickly," Chu Huai replied impatiently.
"Young Prince, this matter is of great importance. Lord Gu personally entrusted it to me to discuss with you alone, without letting others hear," Li Yan said with a bit of difficulty.
"Gu Wenhui?" Chu Huai, though finding it troublesome, complied and asked those in the courtyard to leave.
Xiong Dang Mountain, however, frowned and was unwilling to leave.
"Under the Great King’s orders, I am to protect the Young Prince thoroughly and will not leave his side."
"This..." Li Yan hesitated for a moment.
Chu Huai nodded and said, "Governor Li, there’s no need to overthink. General Xiong is a trusted lieutenant of my father; there’s nothing to avoid."
Seeing this, Li Yan couldn’t say much more.
However, Xiong Dang Mountain caught a subtle change in Li Yan’s expression and said suspiciously, "Governor Li seems very reluctant for me to stay."
He appeared to be robust and rough, yet his observation was unexpectedly meticulous.
Li Yan was startled inwardly, but he remained calm on the surface and said, "General Xiong, what do you mean? You are acting on orders, and I’m just following orders too, so what’s the problem?"
Xiong Dang Mountain said no more, but his eyes had changed.
He trusted his martial artist’s intuition; Li Yan’s earlier reaction was problematic, making him inexplicably alert.
Li Yan sighed inwardly, realizing it wasn’t so simple.
He failed to secure time alone with the Young Prince, and with all the delays, he calculated that the time had almost passed.
Therefore, he abandoned his initial plan.
"Governor Li, what did my father report?" Chu Huai became even more impatient upon seeing Li Yan delay getting to the point.
Just then, fierce sounds of fighting came from outside the mansion, the commotion was quite loud, startling Chu Huai.
Beside him, Xiong Dang Mountain instinctively shielded Chu Huai to prevent any mishaps.
"What is happening outside?!" Chu Huai asked urgently.
"It seems someone is attacking at night. Young Prince, please go inside to rest first," Xiong Dang Mountain said solemnly.
"Ah, alright!" Chu Huai couldn’t care about anything else and quickly retreated into the room.
Meanwhile, the personal guards around the courtyard gathered at various points in the inner courtyard, strictly defending and ensuring the Young Prince’s safety.
"You, go outside and find out what’s happening! If the situation is critical, release the smoke bomb to summon the City Defense Army!" After settling Chu Huai, Xiong Dang Mountain dared not leave the inner courtyard himself, only sending his soldiers to investigate.
If indeed there were attackers at night, and these intruders had broken into the Prince’s Mansion, the likelihood was high that they were targeting Young Prince Chu Huai, so he couldn’t recklessly move away from Chu Huai’s side.
"Governor Li, are you aware of the situation outside?" Xiong Dang Mountain suddenly looked at Li Yan, who was still relatively calm in the courtyard, and asked coldly.
He had already suspected that Li Yan, who visited suddenly tonight, was the mastermind behind all this.
"Yes, I know."
"Hmm?!"
Xiong Dang Mountain didn’t expect Li Yan to admit it directly on the spot and was momentarily taken aback.
At this moment, one of his armored warriors suddenly fell in, hitting the ground hard.
While most of the mansion’s guards went outside to intercept the night attackers, the few personal guards brought by Li Yan forcibly barged in, catching everyone off guard.
Li Yan also quickly stepped away, and Xiong Dang Mountain reacted quickly, attempting to seize Li Yan, unwilling to let him escape.
Xiong Dang Mountain was undoubtedly an Extreme Realm martial artist; when he took action, the powerful momentum instantly crushed down, making Li Yan realize he had been too confident just now!
The opponent truly intended to kill him, and at such close distance, he might not withstand Xiong Dang Mountain’s strike.
Fortunately, at the crucial moment, those he brought along weren’t ordinary individuals either.
One personal guard leaped over him, intercepting the swiftly advancing Xiong Dang Mountain with bent arms.
"Hmm!" Xiong Dang Mountain was very surprised that someone could block his punch.
The other side couldn’t possibly be just a personal guard for Li Yan, this mere governor.
Noticing that the opponent seemed to have no hair under the helmet, he said in a deep voice, "Which monk from the Jianghu dares to meddle in government affairs!"
"The Young Prince’s actions have aroused the wrath of Heaven; this humble monk is merely here to act on Heaven’s behalf." Monk Hou Guang chanted a brief Buddhist chant and spoke slowly.
He didn’t plan to continue concealing his identity as someone from the Jianghu.
"Very well! Tonight, you must all die!" Xiong Dang Mountain, enraged, increased the force of his fist, sharply shaking back Monk Hou Guang.
"You are the ones aiding the evildoer; you should be executed tonight!" Another person drew his sword and lunged forward, the sword light grand yet intricate, forcing Xiong Dang Mountain to draw his blade to counter.
"Qilin Sword, Shen Linsheng!" Perhaps the sword skill was too recognizable, Xiong Dang Mountain immediately identified the other’s Jianghu name.
"Hmph!" Shen Linsheng exchanged a few moves with him, then retreated to the side.
Xiong Dang Mountain scanned the other individuals, all possessing long and robust breaths, at least martial artists of level eight strength or above.
Xiong Dang Mountain realized that tonight they came with a scheme, fully prepared!
"Who’s the mastermind behind you all?!"
Xiong Dang Mountain felt that with Li Yan’s status and position, he likely couldn’t enlist these Jianghu experts.
Behind them, there must be someone else orchestrating, directing all this.
As for acting on Heaven’s behalf, eliminating harm for the people, that’s all nonsense, mere slogans.
Those who could mobilize so many Jianghu experts must be driven by enormous benefits!
Someone did not want Young Prince Chu Huai to live past tonight!