Chapter 1616: An Unexpectedly Shocking Development!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
w.a.n.g Chong opened his eyes and mentally noted, I have to find a person to ask. I need to know what happened in there.
However, even if his information was limited, w.a.n.g Chong was not content to just sit around. As he was sitting in the carriage and pondering these matters, he sent out several carrier pigeons.
As he was setting off for the Imperial Palace, several figures watching from the shadows took off.
Rumble!
The carriage suddenly stopped, and the voice of the driver came from outside.
“Your Highness, we’ve arrived at the Imperial Palace.”
Raising his robe and lifting the curtain, w.a.n.g Chong descended from the carriage. The Great Tang Imperial Palace was as vast and grandiose as ever, but on first glance, w.a.n.g Chong sensed an indescribable strangeness.
All the Imperial Army soldiers at the gate have been changed, w.a.n.g Chong noted, a darkness flitting through his eyes.
w.a.n.g Chong had been into the Imperial Palace several times and was very familiar with the Imperial Army soldiers stationed there. Moreover, the Public Order Squad incident had taken place here, and w.a.n.g Chong had been able to take note of the Imperial Army soldiers at the time. But this time, he realized that all of these people had been switched out.
All of these soldiers had young and fresh faces, and they were even wearing a different kind of armor.
Not only that, the auras in their bodies lacked the composure and stability of regular Imperial Army soldiers. It was clear that they had all been newly promoted.
“Who goes there?”
As he was thinking, a voice came from the Imperial Palace gates. The Imperial Palace guards parted to allow a golden-armored officer to come forward.
“Such audacity! You dare to stop the King of Foreign Lands from entering the palace?” The carriage driver spoke up before w.a.n.g Chong could respond.
“Hmph, there is an incident within the palace. For the next seven days, all outside officials are forbidden from entering except for court sessions. King of Foreign Lands, please go back!”
The Imperial Army officer had a cold and aloof expression, and he immediately rooted himself to his spot like a spear, his face steely and righteous.
w.a.n.g Chong’s brow instantly creased in worry.
With his status as King of Foreign Lands, not even the n.o.bles of the palace dared to lightly offend him. If someone hadn’t put him up to it, a meager Imperial Army officer would have never acted so brashly in front of him.
And what was this about seven days?
“What is your name?” w.a.n.g Chong suddenly said.
“From your accent, you’re probably a native of Hebei? The Imperial Army has strict standards when it comes to promotion, and as the southern gate of the Imperial Palace is where the officials enter, the officer in charge must be at least Imperial Martial Tier Four. From your pulses of Stellar Energy, I can see that your Xuanyuan, Lingqiao, and Xuefu acupuncture points are still not full, so you’ve probably just reached Imperial Martial Tier 3, and not even for more than four days. You’re still quite some distance from Tier Four and don’t satisfy the requirements to be the officer in charge of the Imperial Palace gates. Just who in the world selected you?”
w.a.n.g Chong’s eyes turned sharp, and his piercing words immediately made the officer turn pale, panic replacing his initial composure.
He had never imagined that w.a.n.g Chong would possess such a penetrating gaze. Not only had he noticed that he had only been at Imperial Martial Tier 3 for a few days, he also knew the promotion conditions of the Imperial Army like the back of his hand and could see immediately that he did not fit the standard.
The Great Tang’s laws had always been strict. Even Emperor Taizong had chosen to lead by example and not defy his laws, and the Tang Emperors that followed emulated him. Since these were iron laws that were not lightly broken, it meant that for him to be an Imperial Army officer who did not fit the standard was no trifling matter!
More importantly, he himself knew that he was not fit for this position.
If w.a.n.g Chong investigated him, he would be doomed!
The Imperial Army officer broke out in a cold sweat and his heart went cold.
“Impudent!” A harsh cry of rebuke came from within the Imperial Palace, and a middle-aged man wearing a black official’s hat and a white scholarly robe strode out.
“A puny Imperial Army officer like you even dares to stop the carriage of the King of Foreign Lands? What’s going on in that head of yours? Don’t you know that the King of Foreign Lands is a valued subject highly regarded by the Sage Emperor, the Son of Heaven’s disciple?”
“Lord Yang!”
The Imperial Army guards around the officer instantly s.h.i.+vered and lowered their heads.
In the capital, only one man in such scholarly and elegant attire commanded such respect from the Imperial Army: the Chamberlain of Palace Revenues, Yang Zhao.
Yang Zhao had not read many books and was a born gambler, but after becoming an official, he enjoyed posing as an elegant scholar and regarding himself as a civil official. In addition, Yang Zhao was a relative of the imperial household, as his backer was the much-adored Consort Taizhen.
And even without this, the fact that he had been personally made the Chamberlain of Palace Revenues by the Sage Emperor made him a man to fear.
Although Yang Zhao didn’t know martial arts, when it came to numbers, he possessed an astonis.h.i.+ng talent. Upon becoming the Chamberlain of Palace Revenues, he had tidied up the Great Tang’s domestic affairs and revenues. w.a.n.g Chong had even heard that Yang Zhao’s measures had increased the Great Tang’s treasury by twenty percent.
For a ma.s.sive empire like the Great Tang, twenty percent was astounding.
Not only that, as Chamberlain of Palace Revenues, Yang Zhao also controlled the salaries of the consorts, maids, eunuchs, and the Imperial Army. Although the Imperial Household Department was not under his jurisdiction, all of its managers pa.s.sionately followed his lead.
Even w.a.n.g Chong had to admire Yang Zhao’s ability.
Given that the salaries of all these people were under his control, it was no wonder that Yang Zhao could move so freely through the palace, even these newly-recruited Imperial Army soldiers showing him deep respect.
w.a.n.g Chong spotted Yang Zhao and raised an eyebrow. He recalled that, after becoming an official, Yang Zhao liked to carry around a fan and would usually be all smiles. But today, Yang Zhao was uncharacteristically grim and harsh.
w.a.n.g Chong’s heart seemed to thump in foreboding.
“Did you say that all outside officials are forbidden from entering the palace for the next seven days due to a matter in the palace? The King of Foreign Lands is a guest of Consort Taizhen! Can even he not come in?”
Yang Zhao coldly flipped over his palm, revealing a golden token with a five-clawed dragon upon it.
Every dynasty placed enormous emphasis on propriety and etiquette. Each level and status had specific appearances and laws that they could not exceed. Not even someone as arrogant as King Qi dared to use the image of anything more than a three-clawed dragon, and while the First Prince was the first in line, he only dared to use a four-clawed dragon. Thus, it could easily be imagined how lofty the status was of those who dared to use five-clawed dragons in the Imperial Palace.
“Don’t tell me that you don’t even recognize this?”
Yang Zhao was in no mood to be nice to this Imperial Army officer. He was w.a.n.g Chong’s sworn brother, and anyone who dared to make trouble for w.a.n.g Chong would be making trouble for him. Yang Zhao and Consort Taizhen would never permit this.
“The Sage Emperor said before that as long as Consort Taizhen wants to see a guest, no one is to hinder them, and those who defy this will be executed! What? You want to defy the order?” Yang Zhao coldly said.
“This subordinate would not dare!”
The Imperial Army officer backed away along with his soldiers.
In front of w.a.n.g Chong, he had already been shaking and sweating, yet he had found it difficult to defy the orders of his superiors. But now that Yang Zhao had appeared and revealed the five-clawed golden dragon token, he had the perfect excuse to stand aside.
“Hmph, what are you standing in front of the gate for? Get out of here!” Yang Zhao coldly ordered.
The Imperial Army soldiers standing at the gate s.h.i.+vered and hastily moved even farther away.
Someone with the five-clawed dragon token could kill first and explain themselves later. They did not dare to defy him.
“Worthy brother, let us go!”
Only now did Yang Zhao warmly smile and walk toward w.a.n.g Chong.
“Mm!”
w.a.n.g Chong smiled, boarded his carriage, and went through the gates with Yang Zhao.
No one noticed that as soon as the carriage was through the gates, it became quiet and somber.
The two sworn brothers sat side by side. w.a.n.g Chong was the first to break the silence.
“Elder Brother, what happened in the palace? Why was the Fifth Prince seized by the Imperial Clan Court?”
“You don’t know?” Yang Zhao got straight to the point, gravely reporting, “Jade Consort Xiao committed suicide.”
“What?!”
w.a.n.g Chong shuddered in shock, his eyes flying open as he stared at Yang Zhao. Yang Zhao seemed to know what w.a.n.g Chong was asking and sternly nodded.
Buzz!
w.a.n.g Chong felt his heart immediately drop.
Although Yang Zhao hadn’t said it directly, w.a.n.g Chong already knew that Jade Consort Xiao was the consort the Fifth Prince was alleged to have had an affair with.
“How could it be like this?”
w.a.n.g Chong muttered to himself, all of his calm lost.
Jade Consort Xiao was a critical individual for this case, and w.a.n.g Chong had come to the palace precisely to see her. As long as he could find out the truth, he could easily resolve the danger the Fifth Prince was in.
But w.a.n.g Chong had never imagined that Jade Consort Xiao would already be dead.
It was completely unexpected!
After being tempered in the fierce battles of both the political realm and the military realm, w.a.n.g Chong was keenly aware that Jade Consort Xiao’s death meant that there were no witnesses, and even if the Fifth Prince had been framed, no one could prove his innocence!
w.a.n.g Chong felt his heart grow heavy.
“You now understand why the mood in the palace is so strange, right? The death of a consort is no minor matter. Everyone in the palace, including the other palace consorts, is watching this event, and that’s not even considering that a Prince is involved,” Yang Zhao gravely said.
He was a born gambler, and as long as the world wasn’t collapsing, there was little in the world that could upset him. Thus, he had always been smiling and carefree, but even he could sense that the mood in the palace had taken a turn for the bizarre.