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Grand Preceptor Zhuang narrowed his eyes at An Junw.a.n.g and questioned, "Who told you that?"
An Junw.a.n.g said, "Grandfather doesn"t need to worry about who told me. Grandfather just has to answer me, is it true or not?"
Grand Preceptor Zhuang naturally wouldn"t be led by him, "So you came to steal the decree? No matter what rumors you heard outside, you better keep your mouth shut around me!"
A strong sense of disappointment flashed within An Junw.a.n.g"s eyes, "So grandfather is really colluding with the Yan people! What exactly does grandfather want to do? Rebel?"
Grand Preceptor Zhuang shouted angrily, "Kneel down!"
An Junw.a.n.g refused to kneel, so one guard kicked the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang ordered, "Search him!"
An Junw.a.n.g coldly said, "How dare you! This prince is a Junw.a.n.g conferred by His Majesty himself! Don’t you people want your heads anymore!?"
The guards hesitated for a moment.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang shouted, "Search!"
The guards continued to search An Junw.a.n.g, and no matter how he struggled, it was futile.
But because the decree was not a hard object, they couldn"t find it by simply patting him from head to toe.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang paused and commanded, "Take off his clothes, tear them apart for me!"
An Junw.a.n.g resisted fiercely, but he was pressed to the ground by the two guards, his elbows and knees bleeding.
The two people pulled and tore his clothes off, and by the end, An Junw.a.n.g was almost left with only his underpants.
"Lord, there"s nothing!"
An Junw.a.n.g curled up on the cold ground, trembling.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang kicked him in anger, "Where did you hide the decree?"
"My Lord! My Lord! Something bad happened! There"s a fire in the study!"
Grand Preceptor Zhuang"s pupils contracted. He looked again at An Junw.a.n.g shivering on the ground. He saw An Junw.a.n.g raising the corner of his lips, showing a triumphant smile. Weakly, he said, "Did... Did grandfather antic.i.p.ate this?"
When Grand Preceptor Zhuang rushed to the study, the fire was already out of control.
The steward panicked, "This servant doesn"t know how it started. By the time this servant noticed the fire, it was already too late to control it. But this servant managed to have people grab the seal and doc.u.ments from my Lord’s desk..."
Yes, in such a situation, most people would first grab what they believed Grand Preceptor Zhuang valued, without paying attention to anything else.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang stood before the raging fire, calming himself down to carefully piece together what had happened. He roughly understood what had transpired.
First of all, Zhuang Yuheng had returned with a purpose. He had always placed too much trust in this grandson; even though he had run away from home, Grand Preceptor Zhuang didn"t think he could do anything more outrageous.
Secondly, his grandson realized that he couldn"t carry the decree away, so he hid it in a corner of the study and set it on fire!
When Grand Preceptor Zhuang came out of the tea room, the servant told him that Zhuang Yuheng had come back once. He immediately went to the study to check the scroll painting and found that the decree was missing, immediately suspecting Zhuang Yuheng had stolen it.
Zhuang Yuheng must have started the fire from the corner blocked by the bookshelf.
Zhuang Yuheng, oh Zhuang Yuheng, a few days without seeing you, and you"ve become so capable!
That decree was not only Qin Fengyan"s trump card but also Grand Preceptor Zhuang"s biggest ace in the hole to turn the tables. The late Emperor"s testament was legitimate and authoritative, surpa.s.sing even the current Emperor"s authority!
As long as he presented the testament and proclaimed another imperial prince or other princes as the Emperor, many officials would pledge allegiance. With his years of influence and the support of the Nangong Family of the State of Yan, what couldn"t he achieve!?
But now, this testament had been destroyed by his most cherished grandson!
The fury within Grand Preceptor Zhuang"s heart could burn An Junw.a.n.g a hundred times over!
He angrily came back at the entrance of the residence. An Junw.a.n.g"s clothes had been torn apart, and now he was covered in a guard"s cloak.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang wasn"t someone who acted rashly, but he couldn"t hold back anymore, "Zhuang Yuheng, you"re excellent, very excellent! You no longer want to live, right? Fine! I"ll grant your wish! Take him away! Execute him by beating!"
Such a self-serving grandson, better to be rid of him!
"Grandfather!"
Zhuang Yuexi suddenly rushed over and threw herself onto An Junw.a.n.g, turning to her grandfather, "Grandfather, don"t hit brother!"
Grand Preceptor Zhuang"s anger flared, "Are you going against me too?"
Zhuang Yuexi crawled to him and hugged his leg, "Grandfather! Don"t be angry with brother! Brother didn"t mean it! Please forgive him, grandfather!"
Grand Preceptor Zhuang kicked Zhuang Yuexi away, "Deal with him quickly!"
Two guards restrained An Junw.a.n.g.
"Let go of my brother!" Zhuang Yuexi rushed over again, biting one of the guards" wrists.
"What are you dawdling there for?" Grand Preceptor Zhuang snapped at Zhuang Yuexi"s servant girls.
The servant girls hurried forward and pulled Zhuang Yuexi away.
Zhuang Yuexi struggled desperately, tears streaming down her face, "Grandfather! Grandfather! Brother is your grandson! You can"t kill him! If you want to punish someone, punish me instead! Grandfather! Please hit me! Don"t hit brother! Please... please..."
Grand Preceptor Zhuang ignored his granddaughter"s pleas, ordered someone to gag her, and had her dragged away.
He looked at An Junw.a.n.g icily, "Execute the sentence!"
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Suddenly, there was a violent knocking on the door.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang frowned, "Who is it?"
"Open the door! Ministry of Justice investigation! Violators will be arrested and jailed!"
With a stern face, Grand Preceptor Zhuang instructed one of the guards to open the door.
a.s.sistant Minister Li calmly entered, holding a warrant from the Ministry of Justice. He glanced at An Junw.a.n.g, who hadn"t been taken away yet, and then officially bowed to Grand Preceptor Zhuang, handing over the doc.u.ment, "Grand Preceptor Zhuang, your grandson Zhuang Yuheng is suspected in a murder case. I"ve been ordered to apprehend the suspect Zhuang Yuheng and bring him to justice. I hope Grand Preceptor Zhuang won"t obstruct the investigation."
…...
An Junw.a.n.g was shackled and taken onto the prisoner"s cart.
Halfway through the journey, a.s.sistant Minister Li ordered An Junw.a.n.g to be released.
An Junw.a.n.g boarded a horse carriage waiting in the alley for a while, unsurprisingly seeing Xiao Heng.
"You really are..."
An Junw.a.n.g wanted to say, you really are a daring one, even using the name of the Ministry of Justice.
But as the words formed, he thought about how this guy could even forge imperial decree, so what else wouldn"t he dare to do?
An Junw.a.n.g raised an eyebrow, "I could"ve gotten out on my own without your help!"
"No need to thank me." Xiao Heng said flatly.
"Humph." An Junw.a.n.g turned his face away.
The two returned to Bishui Alley. When An Junw.a.n.g changed into a new outfit and came out, Princess Xinyang also arrived.
It was An Junw.a.n.g"s first time seeing her come over. He was unaware of Xiao Heng"s true ident.i.ty, so he was quite surprised by her sudden visit.
He didn"t know, and he didn"t dare to ask.
"Where"s the imperial decree? Did it really burn?" Princess Xinyang asked.
The three sat in Xiao Heng"s study.
"No, I brought it out." An Junw.a.n.g said, placing a blank decree on the table.
Princess Xinyang picked up the decree, delicately feeling its texture and patterns, "Truly the decree of the late Emperor, the paper and silk are different from the ones today, it’s especially smooth. It"s said to be made from a special type of silk bamboo, with a faint scent of bamboo. How did you manage to bring it out? Weren"t you searched?"
An Junw.a.n.g scratched his head, saying, "I was searched, but... they didn"t expect me to sew the decree there."
Princess Xinyang brought the decree to her nose, savoring its scent with closed eyes, "Where?"
"In my underpants."
Clatter.
The decree slipped from Princess Xinyang"s hand!Raz P."s Thoughts
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