Free Web NovelChapter 317: Chapter 318: Silencing
「Inside the Prince Zhao Mansion」
Li Ji and Hua Manman had just finished dinner. They were huddled together, flipping through the new storybooks they had bought.
Just then, Chen Wangbei strode in.
"Reporting to the Prince, all the men we sent out have returned."
Li Ji turned a page of the book in his hand and asked casually.
"Did they find anything?"
Chen Wangbei answered truthfully, "Most of the laborers checked out. We only lost one of them."
Li Ji finally raised his head.
"Who was it?"
Chen Wangbei: "A man named Hong Hui."
Li Ji had an excellent memory. As soon as he heard the name, the image of an earnest, middle-aged man surfaced in his mind.
He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Look into his background. And it would be best if you could find the man himself."
"Understood."
...
The conversation the Fifth Prince, Li Yan, had overheard that night was indeed orchestrated by Hong Hui.
And it was Hong Hui who had secretly pushed Li Yan, causing him to sprain his ankle.
All of this had been arranged by the Fourth Prince, Li Ying.
’His own father, the Emperor, deliberately ignored and neglected him because of his low birth. The civil and military officials looked down on him for the same reason. No one thought he had a future, and certainly no one believed he was qualified to inherit the throne.’
’In that case, he would just have to eliminate the other princes, one by one.’
’When there were no other options left, his father would have no choice but to let him inherit the throne, no matter how much he disliked him.’
’And at that time, he could finally settle all scores and take revenge on those who had wronged him.’
Li Ying looked down at Hong Hui, his gaze deeper than the night.
"You’ve done a good job."
Hong Hui was delighted by the Fourth Prince’s praise. He quickly said, "It’s all thanks to Your Highness’s excellent planning. I was merely following orders."
Li Ying glanced at Liang Yong, who was standing by.
Liang Yong understood, took a stack of silver notes from his sleeve, and handed it over.
"Take this money and leave. Go lay low for a while, and don’t come back to Shangjing for the next few years."
Hong Hui accepted the silver notes with both hands and hastily replied, "I understand. I’ll be sure to go far away and won’t cause any trouble for the Fourth Prince."
Liang Yong smiled. "Good that you understand."
Hong Hui stood up, preparing to leave.
But just then, Li Ying asked, as if it were an afterthought.
"You weren’t followed on your way here, were you?"
Hong Hui replied quickly, "No, not at all! There was someone trying to follow me at first, but I shook them off quickly..."
Liang Yong interrupted him.
"Someone was following you?"
"Yes. Not long after I left the Imperial Ancestral Temple, I noticed someone tailing me. He thought he was well hidden, but I’d already spotted him. It only took a little trick to lose him."
As he said this, a smug expression couldn’t help but appear on Hong Hui’s face.
Liang Yong looked at the Fourth Prince.
Li Ying closed his eyes for a moment.
Liang Yong immediately understood the Fourth Prince’s meaning.
Liang Yong took another piece of paper out of his sleeve and said with a grin.
"I almost forgot to give this to you. It’s a road guide we prepared especially for you. With this, you can go wherever you please."
Hong Hui was overjoyed and showered them with compliments.
"The Fourth Prince is so considerate! It is truly my great fortune to be able to serve Your Highness."
He walked over quickly and reached out to take the road guide.
The moment he took hold of the road guide, Liang Yong flipped his right hand, and a cold glint flashed from his fingertips.
Seeing this, Hong Hui’s heart skipped a beat. He was about to dodge, but it was too late.
Liang Yong’s movements were as fast as a gale, the cold glint at his fingertips slashing through Hong Hui’s throat like lightning.
Blood sprayed out!
Liang Yong sidestepped, neatly avoiding the spray of blood.
Hong Hui didn’t even have time to make a sound before he fell stiffly to the ground, his eyes wide with extreme terror, his expression frozen in disbelief.
It was as if until the moment of his death, he never imagined that he would be killed.
Liang Yong sheathed his dagger and turned to look at the Fourth Prince.
"Your Highness, who do you think sent someone to follow Hong Hui?"
Li Ying looked at the night sky outside the ruined temple.
In the pitch-black night sky, a bright white moon hung high.
"Besides Prince Zhao, who else could it be?"
...
After Chen Wangbei left, Hua Manman pushed aside the storybook in front of her and asked curiously.
"Did you find something?"
Li Ji did not hide it from her and told her his suspicions.
"I suspect the Fifth Prince was set up. The person behind it is likely hiding among the laborers who were building the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
I sent men to tail the laborers, hoping to find out which one of them was the culprit.
I was just testing a theory, but I didn’t expect we’d actually find a lead."
The Royal Guards I sent are masters of martial arts. Anyone who can shake them off is no ordinary person.
That makes Hong Hui, who so easily lost his tail, extremely suspicious.
This also indirectly confirms one thing—
Li Ji’s suspicions were correct.
There was indeed something fishy about the Fifth Prince’s injury.
Hua Manman: "Can we really find that Hong Hui?"
Li Ji: "If the mastermind isn’t careful, we might have a chance of finding him."
But if the mastermind was cautious enough, they likely wouldn’t leave a loose end.
Even if they did find Hong Hui, it would likely be his body.
...
Today, Consort Liu came to the Fifth Prince’s residence as usual.
The bedroom door was still tightly shut.
Li Yan had already locked himself in his room for two whole days, not touching the food left at his door at all.
Consort Liu was heartbroken.
She went to the door and knocked. "Yan’er, no matter how unhappy you are, you have to eat! Please, I’m begging you. Just open the door."
There was no response from inside the room.
Consort Liu called Yan’er several more times and pressed her ear against the door, but still couldn’t hear a single sound.
The unease in her heart grew rapidly.
Yesterday, even though Li Yan hadn’t opened the door, he had at least yelled "get lost" back at her.
But now, there was complete silence.
’Could something have happened to Li Yan?’
Consort Liu could no longer think about anything else. She immediately ordered two guards to break down the door.
When they rushed in, they found Li Yan lying on the ground with his eyes tightly closed.
"Yan’er!" Consort Liu frantically gathered her son into her arms, crying out in helpless panic, "Quick, call the Imperial Physician!"
After the morning court session, the Emperor heard that the Imperial Physician had been summoned for the Fifth Prince again.
But he was busy and couldn’t get away, so he sent Wu Wang to check on the Fifth Prince in his stead.
Wu Wang arrived at the Fifth Prince’s residence, and as soon as he entered, he heard Consort Liu’s crying. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
"Yan’er, if anything happens to you, how am I supposed to go on living?" ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Li Yan was already awake by this time.
The Imperial Physician said he had fainted from hunger. Fortunately, he was found in time, and with his youth and good constitution, he would be fine after some rest and something to eat.
At first, Li Yan refused to eat.
’Rather than drag on this miserable existence in a broken body, it would be better to just die.’
Until Consort Liu threatened him with her own death.
"If you die, I’ll die with you."
Only then did Li Yan have no choice but to open his mouth and eat his first bite of food in two days.
