Duan Tian Lang looked glum, he then coldly said: “The Imperial City is a holy place in Xue Yue, is it normal for an army to enter it by force without permission? Is it normal to kill an officer and his son when entering the city? If that is not being a traitor, then what is?”
“The Princess and I rushed back to the Imperial City, then some soldiers attempted to a.s.sa.s.sinate us, besides, they were all Xue Yue soldiers. They knew that the princess was there, but they still tried to kill us. I want to ask you, Duan Tian Lang, doesn’t the whole army now follow your commands?”
“Nonsense, how could they be my soldiers?” quickly refuted Duan Tian Lang angrily.
“Well then, the most amusing part is that even if they were not your soldiers, my role is to protect the princess and I ordered the Chi Xie cavalry to protect her and accompany the princess to the Imperial City. However, Duan Tian Lang, you call me a traitor and want to kill me. You also called these soldiers rebel forces. If I understand your argument, you’re clearly saying that we are a rebel army and deserve to die, because we protected the princess against countless squads of Xue Yue soldiers that you claim were not under your control, is that right?” Lin Feng’s words made Duan Tian Lang’s face sink. Lin Feng had only said a few words, but he had exposed Duan Tian Lang. Lin Feng’s last words had been so eloquent that they cornered Duan Tian Lang.
“Of course, protecting the princess is not a crime, but Officer Meng Gu Feng and Meng Chong’s deaths, how do you explain them? Things are not as simple as you would have others believe.” said Duan Tian Lang looking evil.
“I was outside of the Imperial City, Meng Chong knew that the princess was amongst us but still gave the Xue Yue soldiers the order to fire arrows at us, including the princess. Duan Tian Lang, I, Lin Feng, want to ask you, was killing him the right thing to do?”
Duan Tian Lang narrowed his eyes and said: “Yes, he deserved to die.”
“Well then, I will ask you something else. Meng Chong’s father, Officer Meng Gu Feng let his son give the order to kill the princess and then committed another offense by preventing the princess from entering the Imperial City, was killing him the right thing to do?” Lin Feng’s voice was cold and sharp.
“It was the right thing to do.” said Duan Tian Lang agreeing with Lin Feng.
“Duan Tian Lang, you’re saying it yourself, they deserved to die, so now I want to ask you, what crime have I committed? Am I a traitor because I came into the Imperial City with soldiers who were protecting the princess?” said Lin Feng coldly while staring at Duan Tian Lang. Lin Feng had prevented the Chi Xie soldiers from attacking because he had a plan. A few tens of thousands soldiers was a miniscule amount, if they had attacked, they would have immediately been considered as a rebel army and would have been wiped out.
“Hmph, you protected the princess, that is indeed a meritorious act, but a moment before, you killed some soldiers which belonged the enforcement troops and rescued the criminal Liu Cang Lan, isn’t that a crime?”
“Of course that is not a crime.” said Lin Feng while staring at Duan Tian Lang and then continued: “General Liu Cang Lan went to war and fought against Mo Yue for our country, Xue Yue, but you abandoned him, you’re a deserter who accused him of your own crimes. How could I not save him?”
A deserter.
Duan Tian Lang had a hideous expression on his face. Lin Feng was, once again, humiliating him in front of everyone.
“Duan Tian Lang, no need to hurry and justify yourself. I have been answering so many questions, however you have your own crimes to account for.” said Lin Feng with a smile yet not a smile on his face. He then continued:
“Duan Tian Lan, the Chi Xie cavalry and I were protecting the princess, why can’t you distinguish good from bad? Why do you say that we have committed crimes? Why did you hurry to accuse us of various crimes? Why are you trying at every possible occasion to sentence me to death? Besides, when I came here, why did you try and hurry the execution of Liu Cang Lan? Also, when the princess and I came back to the city, we were attacked by several squads of Xue Yue soldiers, as far as I know, you command those soldiers, are you not the one who ordered them to kill me and the princess?” Lin Feng’s questions made the crowd astonished. It seemed like that entire story wasn’t as simple as they had thought.
“All your questions are attempting to harm my reputation, I will refrain from answering them.” said Duan Tian Lang coldly. He didn’t care, what could Lin Feng do anyway?
“You have the right not to care but I want to ask you something, has General Liu Cang Lan committed any crime?”
Duan Tian Lang was furious and really wanted to kill Lin Feng, as far as Liu Cang Lan, everybody knew about him, nothing could be kept secret.
“Liu Cang Lan sowed disorder amongst the troops, making us lose a battle against Mo Yue, leading to the death of hundreds of thousands of troops and he didn’t protect the princess who was kidnapped, are all these crimes enough for him to be sentenced to death?!”
“This is your version of events, the person who committed all of these crimes was it not actually you?” said Lin Feng while smiling indifferently. Immediately after, he pointed at Duan Wu Ya and said: “The second prince is here as a witness, I hope that you would not dare to lie in the face of our second prince.”
“It was me.” admitted Duan Tian Lang as he forced the words from his mouth.
“Hehe, how shameless, what a shameless dog, but on the other hand, I am not surprised.” said Lin Feng while smiling. His tone was humiliating Duan Tian Lang.
“I just want to ask, you, Duan Tian Lang, you say that the princess was kidnapped, where was she kidnapped exactly? Was she in one of Liu Cang Lan’s tents at that moment or was she in one of your tents?”
Lin Feng smiled and said: “The princess is here before us, I hope that you would not be planning to tell any lies.”
Duan Tian Lang was blankly staring at Lin Feng. His mouth was about to move but then Duan Wu Ya spoke: “Uncle, for the sake of justice, please reply to Lin Feng’s questions. I will be fair.”
The situation was awkward for Duan Tian Lang, he said in a low voice: “She was in one of the tents from my campsite.”
When the crowd heard Duan Tian Lang, they burst into an uproar, surprisingly, it really was exactly as Lin Feng was explaining.
“Since those are the facts, there is something that I don’t really understand, if the princess was kidnapped in one of your tents, why would Liu Cang Lan have to bear the responsibility for it? How has he committed a crime? Besides, you still have the face to order Liu Cang Lan’s execution. I would like to hear your explanation.” Lin Feng was speaking extremely loudly so that everybody could clearly hear what he was saying.
“Please explain.” Shouted all of the Chi Xie soldiers who were encircling the Death Sentence Stage. Duan Tian Lang’s facial expression was utterly hideous.
At that moment, if Lin Feng and Duan Xin Ye hadn’t returned, Liu Cang Lan would have already been executed. The entire situation had changed.
“Liu Cang Lan is a general, he didn’t properly ensure the security of the campsite giving the Mo Yue troops an opportunity to kidnap the princess, of course that it is a crime.” said Duan Tian Lang trying to pa.s.s the blame again, but obviously, his argument couldn’t persuade anyone in the crowd any longer.
“So that’s the reason.” said Lin Feng while smiling. “Well, I was there too, and at the moment when I tried to chase the kidnappers, your troops obstructed my path and said that I plotted against the princess. You were the one who always wanted me dead, immediately after the princess was kidnapped, you were already there to execute me, but did not see the kidnappers, how did you manage to do that?”
When Lin Feng said that, everybody looked at Duan Tian Lang expecting a prompt answer.
Everybody wanted to know what really happened on the battlefield that had led to the death of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Duan Tian Lang remained silent.
“Since Duan Tian Lang remains silent, I will say what happened myself, Duan Tian Lang, you wanted to make it appear as if I was the culprit and sacrificed the princess in order to settle a personal grudge with me. When Liu Cang Lan saw that you were trying to kill me unjustly, he brought his army to stop you and then you ordered your soldiers to attack his. Clearly this was the act of a n.o.ble war hero… Besides, once disorder had been sown amongst the army, the Mo Yue army attacked and they killed hundreds of thousands from the army.” Lin Feng’s voice was calm and solemn. While looking at Duan Tian Lang, he said: “Duan Tian Lang, is what I am saying the truth or not?”
The hearts of the people in the crowd were pounding. Surprisingly, Duan Tian Lang was the person who caused so many deaths and Liu Can Lan was to be executed for Duan Tian Lang’s crimes.
“Nonsense!” furiously shouted Duan Tian Lang.
Lin Feng was smiling and then continued: “I am not done talking. Duan Tian Lang, there is no need for you to try and cover up the truth any longer.”
“After the chaos, and after hundreds of thousands of soldiers had been killed, the Xue Yue army returned to Duan Ren City, there was evidence that the person who kidnapped the princess was working for Mo Yue, besides, at the moment when the princess had been kidnapped, it was soldiers under your command that blocked my path and let the kidnappers escape, they were traitors, and yet again they were surprisingly under your command. I can say that there isn’t a single person within the army who doesn’t know about these acts of treason. What explanation can you provide?”
So that’s how it happened, the person who kidnapped the princess was from Mo Yue and Duan Tian Lang was the one giving the orders. Besides, he was using every opportunity to kill Lin Feng.
That news was shocking.
“After that, Liu Cang Lan and I fought against the enemy, organized an ambush in Duan Ren City and set it on fire. At that moment, you, Duan Tian Lang, had already deserted to the Imperial City. Everyone knows what happened after. You changed the entire story and gave Xue Yue a false version of events in which Liu Cang Lan was responsible for your crimes, then you had done your best to execute Liu Cang Lan. Besides, the princess and I were missing and a.s.sumed dead, so we could not testify to your crimes. The problem is that if either of us returned alive, you would have been in trouble so you ordered several squads of soldiers to kill us on the way.” When Lin Feng finished talking, the entire crowd was drowned into silence. The crowd was now having doubts, maybe, Duan Tian Lang was really the mastermind behind this entire plot.