Chapter 1269: The Ruckus Gets Worse!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Whoos.h.!.+ King Qi gave the order, and all his men scattered.
w.a.n.g Chong, however, his eyes squinted, shot a contemplative glance at Li Linfu and King Qi.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the earth rumbled as yet another group arrived on the scene.
“The First Prince has arrived!”
Bzzz! w.a.n.g Chong’s mind trembled as he turned to look. In the distance, he spotted two ma.s.sive dragon banners snapping in the wind, and behind those banners were countless soldiers of the Imperial Army and even the personal guards of the Emperor, the Golden Guards. They were marching in orderly ranks toward the Penal Court. And one could also see a majestic and n.o.ble figure being escorted by these imperial guards.
The First Prince!
w.a.n.g Chong immediately spotted this familiar figure amidst the sea of soldiers.
With the Sage Emperor having withdrawn into the palace, the First Prince was serving as regent and represented the Emperor. But this was the first time w.a.n.g Chong had ever seen the First Prince outside of the Imperial Palace.
In the span of a single day, the small Penal Court had gathered together three influential figures of the court: the Prime Minister, the First Prince, and King Qi. In a flash, w.a.n.g Chong’s heart sank and he immediately had an ill foreboding.
Putting aside King Qi, the Prime Minister and the First Prince had clearly come prepared. As expected, a moment later, w.a.n.g Chong heard the First Prince speak.
“w.a.n.g Chong, you are quite bold to dare to wound Imperial Uncle. Have you become so accustomed to the battlefield that you’re even treating a place like this as one?!”
With his first words, the First Prince looked past King Qi and locked his eyes on w.a.n.g Chong.
The First Prince’s horse leapt out from the soldiers of the Imperial Army and trotted over to the Penal Court.
“Paying respects to the First Prince!”
Everyone began to get off their horses and bow, even Prime Minister Li Linfu.
“Your Highness! You came at just the right time. The King of Foreign Lands forced his way into the Penal Court to seize a prisoner from within, even wounding the guards of the Penal Court in the process. He clearly has no regard for the laws of this country and no respect for what is moral and right! First Prince, please act on behalf of this king!”
King Qi suddenly took on a new face when facing the First Prince, immediately walking up to him and pointing a figure at w.a.n.g Chong, adopting the pose of a victim.
In a flash, all the officials, Prime Minister Li Linfu, and the First Prince all stared at w.a.n.g Chong. The entire Penal Court was silent as an invisible pressure descended.
“b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! These people are working together to make trouble for His Highness!”
Old Eagle and Zhang Que immediately saw what was going on. This was clearly a scheme to deal with w.a.n.g Chong.
The First Prince was regent, Li Linfu was Prime Minister, and King Qi was a King. The power formed by the three joining together would be incredibly difficult to stop.
“Hah.”
w.a.n.g Chong’s robes flapped in the wind. After understanding his foes’ plans, w.a.n.g Chong still remained calm and fearless.
“First Prince and Lord Prime Minister have truly come at just the right time. This king only just arrived, yet Milords arrived so promptly. And Your Highness the First Prince is truly perceptive. This king and King Qi were standing together, but Your Highness was immediately able to determine that this king was at fault and King Qi was unrelated.”
w.a.n.g Chong smiled.
These words immediately caused the trio to grimace.
The First Prince was particularly taken aback. He had originally believed that at this stage, w.a.n.g Chong would concede at least a little ground, but he was unexpectedly as tough and stubborn as ever.
And w.a.n.g Chong had already exposed them.
“Impudent!”
A few moments later, the First Prince felt a surge of rage. It was one thing if w.a.n.g Chong was too proud to join him, but he had actually chosen to side with the Fifth Prince. He simply could not permit this sort of failure to appreciate his kindness.
“w.a.n.g Chong, your meaning is that this prince is unjustly accusing you?”
King Qi used this opportunity to fire off a rebuke. “w.a.n.g Chong, it seems to me that after your victory at Khorasan, you have no regard for anyone else and have forgotten how high the heavens are! His Highness the First Prince is the eldest son and also the regent, the representative for the Sage Emperor when His Majesty is not present! Is this how you speak to the First Prince?”
w.a.n.g Chong’s presence at the Penal Court was a hard fact, and he would find it incredibly difficult to escape responsibility for his crimes.
“Haha, I’m just judging the matter on its own merits, nothing more. And the Penal Court is not some forbidden ground of the Imperial Palace. As a King of the Great Tang, can this king not even approach this trifling place?”
w.a.n.g Chong held his heads behind his back, not yielding one bit to the trio.
“Moreover, King Qi, since you have said to His Highness that I forced myself into the Penal Court to take away a prisoner, let this king ask you, where is that prisoner that I am taking away?”
w.a.n.g Chong swept his eyes over the trio. Li Linfu, the First Prince, and King Qi instantly paled.
According to their plans, w.a.n.g Chong should have been bringing Zhao Qianqiu out of the Penal Court at this time, but for some reason, there were only the two subordinates who frequently appeared with w.a.n.g Chong at his side. There was no sign of Zhao Qianqiu, completely different from what they had predicted.
The First Prince and Li Linfu instantly turned to King Qi.
d.a.m.n it!King Qi mentally cursed, instantly speechless.
The First Prince and Li Linfu were waiting for his answer, but he had only just arrived at the Penal Court himself and knew little about the situation.
And if they did not have anything to incriminate w.a.n.g Chong, they could not accuse him of any crime. w.a.n.g Chong was so fearless precisely because he had seen this.
Foul brat, this king won’t forgive you! King Qi silently cursed, but he could only hold his rage in.
“b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Is it also an unjust accusation that you have injured my men?” an ashamed and furious King Qi yelled.
“This king only hoped to take a look around the Penal Court, but they tried in every way to stop me, treating this king like a prisoner, so this king naturally cannot be blamed for his actions. However, this king was the first to make a mistake. Old Eagle, Zhang Que, in a little while, send some gold and silver to the Penal Court to pay for their treatment.”
“b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
King Qi’s nose almost went crooked from his rage at hearing w.a.n.g Chong’s words.
w.a.n.g Chong’s argument was simply impregnable, and he was helpless to do anything about it.
Behind him, the shrewd Li Linfu remained emotionless. The First Prince, however, was finding it difficult to conceal the shock in his eyes. Simpy intruding upon the Penal Court was not enough to a.s.sign any crime to w.a.n.g Chong. Moreover, they had brought many officials to support King Qi for this operation. If they could not pin a crime on w.a.n.g Chong, they would become the laughingstock of the court, which would have an enormous effect on his reputation amongst the officials.
“Moreover, King Qi, I see that your face is bruised and your body is covered in wounds. You’re not going to blame me for doing that to you, right?”
w.a.n.g Chong turned to King Qi and smirked.
Whoos.h.!.+
King Qi’s face instantly swelled in anger. w.a.n.g Chong was clearly jeering him in front of the crowd, but even though King Qi wanted nothing more than to kill w.a.n.g Chong right now, in front of these gathered officials, he could never confirm w.a.n.g Chong’s claim, even if it really could be used against w.a.n.g Chong.
“w.a.n.g Chong, you rarely flatter yourself like this. With just your cultivation, you think that you can deal with this king?” King Qi resentfully spat, his face pale.
Old Eagle and Zhang Que found it hard to repress their laughter. Their King’s move this time had truly been masterful. Someone as proud and conceited as King Qi would never be able to admit such a thing. Even if he had lost a tooth, he would just swallow it down with his blood.
w.a.n.g Chong also couldn’t help but quietly chuckle to himself.
“That’s good then! I had feared that I had actually injured Your Highness with my lack of caution!”
King Qi’s face became as dark as the bottom of a pot, but he could not do a single thing about it.
At this moment, the rumbling of hooves could be heard as another group arrived, coming from a different direction than Li Linfu or the First Prince.
The First Prince, Li Linfu, and King Qi turned their heads in surprise. All their men were here, so it was clearly the men of a different faction who were approaching.
“His Highness King Song has arrived!”
A shout rang through the air, and then everyone spotted an opulent carriage emerging from that crowd of people and heading this way. From the symbol on the carriage and how it was decorated, one could see that it was none other than King Song’s carriage.
A few moments later, another shout rang out.
“Minister of War Zhangchou Jianqiong has arrived!”
These shouts caused the trio to grimace. No one had expected King Song and Zhangchou Jianqiong to arrive at this time.
On the other end, Old Eagle and Zhang Que couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. The three of them had come to the Penal Court completely unprepared. The Penal Court was King Qi’s territory, so the three of them had informed King Song only after they had left.
This had been a decision made to guard against any mishaps, and it now appeared to be a correct one.
With King Song and Zhangchou Jianqiong present, the First Prince and Li Linfu would at least be a little more restrained and would not be able to flagrantly act against w.a.n.g Chong.
A few moments later, King Song and Zhangchou Jianqiong stepped forward.
“Paying respects to Your Highness!”
Both of them began to rush toward the First Prince.
“Imperial Uncle, there is no need for such courtesy!”
The First Prince waved his hand, his expression outwardly calm but his mind silently cursing. With the appearance of these two, the First Prince had no choice except to give up. All three regents were here, so any further conflict would only further the ridicule.
King Song tidied his robes and then strode forward. Only after bowing to the First Prince did he voice his question.
“This king heard in his residence that Your Highness brought the officials to the Penal Court and that even Lord Prime Minister had gone. Did something happen?”
The First Prince appeared natural and at ease atop his stallion, but inwardly, he was somewhat embarra.s.sed.
At this point, Prime Minister Li Linfu finally spoke in that deep and mellow voice of his, his sleeves flapping in the wind. “Heh, Your Highness King Song has misunderstood. His Highness originally had a matter of state to discuss with King Qi, and when he heard that King Qi was at the Penal Court, he decided to come and meet him.”
These words smoothly covered for the First Prince.
“Right, Your Highness, were you not gathering the officials to discuss the matter of the Fu Prefecture? Let us set off now, and King Qi can follow us at his leisure,” Li Linfu said.