“Marquis of Yangzhou City?”
The crowd was stupefied. Officer of the Chi Xie troops and marquis of the fief of Yangzhou…
In Xue Yue, those who had the most power after the imperial family were Imperial Ministers and directly below them was Marquis.
Some Marquis reigned over a village while some others reigned over a city, owning a city was required to be considered as a true marquis.
Even though Yangzhou City wasn’t very big, Duan Wu Ya’s move was of the highest significance, he had made Lin Feng into a true Marquis. He had given Lin Feng incredible power. From that moment, Yangzhou City belonged to Lin Feng.
Every inhabitant of Yangzhou was under Lin Feng’s control and all of their lives belonged to him.
At that moment, a realization flashed through Lin Feng’s eyes, he realized that Duan Wu Ya was honouring his promise. He had hoped that Lin Feng would perform meritorious acts during the war so that he could provide him with a social status. Now that Lin Feng was back in the Imperial City, Duan Wu Ya was granting Lin Feng with a social status and at the same, he was directly implying that Lin Feng was part of his faction.
“Thank you, Your Highness.” said Lin Feng in a low voice. Of course, he wasn’t going to refuse Duan Wu Ya’s offer. There were many strong cultivators in Xue Yue and Lin Feng still wasn’t extremely strong. Receiving such an opportunity was a great chance for him.
“Don’t get too happy yet. My father still has to make the final decision.” said Duan Wu Ya while smiling warmly. Even though he was saying that, the whole crowd knew that everything was already set in stone. The final decision was just part of the process, once the prince announced it, it was confirmed.
If Duan Wu Ya wasn’t sure about what he said, he wouldn’t have said it in front of everyone, if the decision was overturned, he would have lost face.
Lin Feng slightly nodded and remained silent. Duan Wu Ya turned towards Duan Xin Ye and said: “Xin Ye, that guy, Meng Chong, did he really attack you? Was Meng Gu Feng really there, on the gate with him?”
Duan Xin Ye looked at Duan Wu Ya and nodded: “Yes, everybody saw us outside of the Imperial City, Meng Chong gave the troops the orders to kill Lin Feng and me. Besides, Meng Gu Feng didn’t want to allow me entry into the Imperial City.”
“Hm.” Duan Wu Ya slightly nodded and said: “Meng Gu Feng was an officer and he committed a terrible crime, he illegally granted power to Meng Chong, who then used that power to try and kill my little sister. A soldier of the Imperial City, who wants to kill the princess, deserves death.”
When the crowd heard Duan Wu Ya, they were surprised, Meng Gu Feng and Meng Chong had already died, why was Duan Wu Ya still talking about them?
But at the moment, when they were asking themselves questions, Duan Wu Ya looked at Meng Han. The crowd was wondering what was going on.
Meng Han’s heart also started accelerating. He had the impression that something ominous was going to happen. A moment before, he had made Duan Wu Ya lose face by supporting Duan Tian Lang……
“Officer Meng Gu Feng attempted to a.s.sa.s.sinate the princess. Even though he is dead already, his brother Meng Han is still the officer of the Imperial Guards. I think that it is necessary to carry out a full investigation, Meng Han, you are already not an appropriate choice to occupy the function of Officer of the Imperial Guards.”
When Duan Wu Ya finished talking, people’s hearts were racing. The second prince was extremely fierce and hars.h.!.+
Meng Han couldn’t refute his argument.
Meng Han’s heart violently pounded as well. He wanted Duan Wu Ya to die for finding such an excuse to dismiss him.
Meng Han turned around and looked at Duan Tian Lang, who remained silent. Duan Tian Lang was already in a critical situation himself, Duan Wu Ya hadn’t decided what he wanted to do with him, otherwise, he wouldn’t remain so polite. At that moment though, he didn’t want to anger the second prince.
The second prince was fierce, intrepid and tough.
Meng Han saw that Duan Tian Lang remained silent, he then said to Duan Wu Ya: Your Highness, Meng Gu Feng committed crimes but what does that have to do with me? Even though he was my brother, I know nothing about that. How can you blame me and dismiss me from my function as an Officer of the Imperial Guard?”
“Meng Han, I didn’t say that it had something to do with you either but Meng Gu Feng was involved in an a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on the princess of the imperial family. I, as the second prince, must investigate, it is my duty as I don’t understand the whole situation. Wait until we have gathered all of the facts with a thorough investigation and if you are absolutely clean, you will be able to return to your post as an officer of the Imperial Guard.”
Duan Wu Ya’s argument sounded quite logical but everybody knew that Meng Han was being relieved of his position as an officer of the Imperial Guard, it would be extremely difficult for him to hold such a high position again. It was actually almost impossible.
“I, Meng Han, am innocent.” said Meng Han coldly. He was standing tall and upright and fixedly staring at Duan Wu Ya.
At that moment, he was still in a position of power, with the Imperial Guards obeying his orders. If the second prince wanted to attack him, it wouldn’t be that easy, however, as time went on, people would come to a.s.sist him.
“Meng Han, how audacious. How does he even have the courage to talk to the second prince that way?”
“It seems like there are some people from above supporting Meng Han.” whispered the people far away in the crowd. Meng Han had immediately contradicted Duan Wu Ya, in front of everybody.
“Hehe.”Duan Wu Ya laughed, his smile hadn’t disappeared.
“Meng Han, what you mean is that I am groundlessly dismissing you from your functions? Do you mean that you will not obey my orders? You, Meng Han, intend to do what, keep your function as an officer by force?”
“How could I, Meng Han, not obey the second prince’s order? It’s just that the function of Officer of the Imperial Guard is very important. Apart from me, n.o.body else can do it. Besides, the Imperial Guards also consider me as their brothers, it is not their wish to see anyone replace me.”
“Is that so?” asked Duan Wu Ya with an evil smile on his face which made Meng Han’s facial expression change.
“Crrr, crr….”
A faint and subtle sound spread in the air. Meng Han was violently shaking and breathing heavily. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Not only was Meng Han’s heart pounding, but the crowd were also on edge from watching this.
Blood was unceasingly flowing from Meng Han’s mouth. He lowered his head and only saw the tip of a silver spear that had pierced through his chest from behind.
The Imperial Guards were like his brothers and didn’t want to see anyone replace him?
His voice was still resonating in people’s minds but the reality was much harsher.
Meng Han moved his body, he wanted to turn around, but the spear was not moving. Suddenly, a deadly energy penetrated his body and destroyed his organs. The crowd was astonished. Blood sprayed out from his mouth and his lifeless body slowly collapsed onto the floor.
After Meng Han collapsed, the high-ranking soldiers who were behind him were absolutely calm. Their expression hadn’t changed whatsoever. They all looked extremely serene and peaceful. There were about thirty guards in this high ranking group, they were all young but their coldness was enough to make other people’s hearts feel a tinge of fear.
“Meng Han’s brother, Meng Gu Feng, attempted to kill the princess, Meng Han refused to admit it and kept contradicting Your Highness over and over again. I, Yu Ji the non-commissioned officer of the Imperial Guards, killed him for his insubordination. Please forgive me for taking action, Your Highness.” Yu Ji was kneeling down and bowing in front of Duan Wu Ya. Behind Yu Ji, the army of Imperial Guards remained motionless, all of them looked calm and serene as if they were not surprised at all, they almost agreed with how the events had played out.
Everybody was astonished by the coldness of that scene.
“Meng Gu Feng had been plotting against my little sister and wanted to kill her. Meng Han hasn’t expressed any regret at all and refused to acknowledge his brother’s crime. Besides, he was extremely rude to me. Even though Yu Ji killed Meng Han and that is a crime, it is still a sign of loyalty and devotion to the imperial family.” Duan Wu Ya was speaking slowly and then continued: “Today, Meng Han died but it is required for the guards to have an officer. Yu Ji, you are, for the time being, promoted to the position of officer of the Imperial Guards.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” said Yu Ji while respectfully bowing and kneeling down. Immediately after, he stood up, at the same time, the high-ranking Imperial Guards behind him also bowed respectfully and shouted in unison: “His Highness is wise and kind, we thank you for our new officer!”
All the ordinary Imperial Guards were stupefied and were just realizing what had happened. They then slowly knelt down and shouted in unison: “His Highness! Thank you for our new officer!”
These extremely loud voices were resonating through the crowd. People’s hearts were violently pounding, they were unable to calm down.
How fierce and powerful. Duan Wu Ya could control the Imperial Guards so easily, his methods were intense.
If the crowd didn’t know that Yu Ji was one of Duan Wu Ya’s factions, all sorts of rumours would be spread.
Lin Feng calmly smiled at Duan Wu Ya but was still feeling a bit cold in his heart. Duan Wu Ya was dangerous, extremely dangerous.