The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat

Chapter 378: Chapter 380: You’ve Finally Arrived

All the documents related to Zijuan’s case were sent to the Emperor.

After reading them, the Emperor wasn’t particularly surprised.

As soon as he learned the Fourth Prince might be the mastermind, the Emperor had suspected someone was deliberately framing him.

Now, seeing these documents, he thought, ’Just as I expected.’

Along with these files was a handwritten letter from the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

In the letter, the Junior Minister detailed how he had investigated these leads and casually mentioned at the end that the Fifth Prince was now aware of the matter.

This should have been an insignificant remark.

However, the Emperor’s eyelid twitched violently, and a bad premonition instantly struck him.

’With Li Yan’s personality,’ the Emperor thought, ’if he finds out the Fourth Prince was framed, his first impulse will be to confront Prince Dongyang.

’A simple confrontation would be one thing.

’But I’m afraid Li Yan will do something foolish in a fit of rage.’

The Emperor immediately gave an order.

"Send a verbal edict back to the palace. Tell the Fifth Prince to come to Yuqing Mountain! If he doesn’t want to come, have him tied up and brought here!"

He absolutely could not let Li Yan remain in the palace. The Emperor decided to keep the man under his own watch.

One of the Flying Dragon Cavalry Guards galloped back at top speed.

However, he was a step too late.

...

Having learned his lesson from the last two times, Li Yan didn’t just run straight to Li Hao to confront him this time.

Li Yan lay in wait near Xianfei’s residence.

When Xianfei appeared, Li Yan pretended to be passing by coincidentally and went forward to greet her.

Xianfei was accompanied by quite a few attendants.

But none of them were particularly on guard against the Fifth Prince.

So when Li Yan suddenly drew a dagger and pressed the blade to Xianfei’s neck, everyone was stunned.

By the time they reacted, Xianfei was already Li Yan’s hostage.

Xianfei was shocked and enraged. "What are you doing? Let me go!"

The hand Li Yan used to hold the dagger was trembling.

At that moment, he too was nervous and frightened.

He did his best to appear calm.

"I want to see Prince Dongyang."

The crowd hesitated.

Li Yan raised his voice. "If Prince Dongyang doesn’t show up, I’ll kill Xianfei right now!"

Only then did everyone scramble to inform Prince Dongyang.

Xianfei said, "Calm down. Can’t we talk this out? Why must you resort to such extreme measures?"

Li Yan ignored her.

He didn’t speak again until Li Hao arrived, rushing to the scene.

"You’re finally here."

Seeing his mother held hostage, Li Hao’s heart burned with anxiety. He shouted harshly.

"If you have a problem, come at me! Don’t touch my mother!"

Li Yan looked as if he were laughing and crying at the same time.

"At least you still have a mother. But what about me? My mother died protecting me, and I can’t even get justice for her."

Li Hao retorted, "That’s your problem, it has nothing to do with me! Let my mother go!"

Li Yan: "How could it have nothing to do with you?

Didn’t you find that out-of-town merchant who claimed to be Zijuan’s brother?

And that brothel Madam, didn’t your men find her too?

Even the Fourth Prince was thrown in prison because of you.

You did all of this, and you still dare to say it has nothing to do with you?"

Li Hao was extremely agitated. "How many times do I have to say it before you believe me?

Everything I found was real! I didn’t lie to you, and I wasn’t trying to frame Li Ying!"

Li Yan pressed, "If you didn’t lie to us, why are you unwilling to let the Ministry of Justice retry the case?"

Li Hao’s expression changed slightly, and he fell silent.

’Why was he unwilling to have the case retried? There were two reasons.

’On one hand, it’s because of his pride. He doesn’t want people to know the leads he found were all fake.

’On the other hand, he doesn’t want the Fourth Prince to be released.

’Even if the Fourth Prince’s mother is of humble birth, and even if Father is cold toward him, he is still of the Emperor’s bloodline. He still has a claim to the throne.

’If he’s released, it’s tantamount to creating another rival for myself.

’He won’t allow it.’

But these were secrets that could never be spoken aloud.

In Li Yan’s eyes, Li Hao’s silence was a sign of a guilty conscience.

Li Yan grew more agitated. "Say something! Tell me, why won’t you allow a retrial?"

Li Hao’s face was stern, his voice stiff.

"There is no ’why.’ The case is closed. I don’t believe we need to waste any more manpower or resources on a retrial. It’s as simple as that."

How could Li Yan be fooled by such words?

His eyes began to redden, and his voice trembled uncontrollably.

"For the sake of me calling you Second Brother, tell me the truth. Were you Zijuan’s master? Are you connected to my mother’s death?"

Li Hao denied it without hesitation. "No, I’m not! I did nothing!"

Li Yan shook his head. "You’re lying..."

Before he could finish, Xianfei suddenly grabbed his arm and bit down hard!

Li Yan cried out in pain. "AHH!"

Li Hao instantly rushed forward with the greatest speed he’d ever mustered, grabbing Li Yan’s right arm and forcing it outward.

Xianfei took the opportunity to break free and tried to escape, but Li Yan grabbed her by the hair from behind.

Li Yan pulled with extraordinary force.

Xianfei felt as if her scalp was about to be torn off. The pain turned her face deathly pale, and she was forced to stumble back.

Seeing this, Li Hao reached out to save his mother.

Li Yan seized the chance to pull his right hand back, raising the dagger to stab Xianfei in the back.

Li Hao’s expression changed drastically. Without a second thought, he kicked at Li Yan’s chest, intending to send him flying.

Li Yan instinctively raised a hand to block.

As ill luck would have it, Li Hao’s kick landed squarely on the back of Li Yan’s hand.

Li Yan was still holding the dagger.

Its razor-sharp blade followed the momentum and plunged into his own chest.

In an instant, blood sprayed everywhere.

Li Hao and Xianfei, being the closest, were splattered with blood.

Everyone else present was terrified and let out horrified screams.

Li Yan looked down at the dagger embedded in his chest, his eyes widening as if he couldn’t believe it was real.

He slowly released his fingers and collapsed into a pool of his own blood.

...

「Inside the Duke Zhen Country Mansion.」

Hua Manman finished changing and turned to find Si Yun muttering to herself while holding her trousers.

"Why is there no blood?"

Hua Manman couldn’t help but ask, "What are you muttering about?"

Si Yun looked at her. "You haven’t gotten your period this month. By rights, it should have started two days ago."

Hua Manman wasn’t too concerned about such a small matter and said casually.

"Maybe it’ll come in another day or two."

Si Yun’s eyes lit up as a thought struck her, and she suddenly grew excited. "Could it be that you’re pregnant?"

Hua Manman laughed. "You’re overthinking it. That’s impossible."

She had taken a birth control pill; there was no way she could be pregnant.

Seeing how adamantly she spoke, Si Yun figured it must be true and couldn’t help but look disappointed.

As the two of them stepped outside, they saw the sky was heavy with dark clouds, as if a great storm was about to break.