Free Web NovelChapter 410: Chapter 412: Killing Two Birds with One Stone
Wu Wang was handsomely rewarded by the Emperor for being severely injured while saving his life.
He not only received many rewards of gold, silver, and jewels, but was also promoted to Chief Eunuch.
As such, he and Zuo Ji became the two highest-ranking eunuchs in the Imperial Palace. But he was younger than Zuo Ji, which meant he was destined to go much further in the future.
The timing of this assassination was far too convenient. It not only allowed Wu Wang to win the Emperor’s trust but also disrupted Li Ji’s plans.
Li Ji had originally planned to just pin some crime on Wu Wang.
That was certainly out of the question now.
Wu Wang had just saved the Emperor, making him a man of great merit. If Li Ji were to make a move against him at a time like this, the Emperor would certainly not stand idly by.
The situation had suddenly become tricky.
Li Ji went to the Imperial Palace to visit the Emperor.
"I heard that Your Majesty was the target of an assassination attempt last night. Are you unharmed?"
Thinking of the previous night’s events, the Emperor frowned and said in a grave voice, "I am unharmed. Rest assured."
Li Ji looked relieved and immediately asked, "Have you discovered the assassin’s origins?"
The Emperor replied, "My men discovered that the assassin was originally a Guest retained by the Dongyang Prince Mansion."
Prince Dongyang is obsessed with martial arts. He frequently hosts tournaments and recruits experts from all over the land.
He keeps many Guests with extraordinary martial arts skills in his mansion, and the assassin was one of them.
At this point in the investigation, the conclusion was obvious.
The assassin was most likely sent by Prince Dongyang to assassinate the Emperor.
Even though Prince Dongyang had already fled Shangjing, he hadn’t given up his treacherous ambitions. He had sent someone to infiltrate the Imperial Palace, intending to assassinate the Emperor and throw the realm into chaos.
There seemed to be nothing wrong with this logic.
Furthermore, the evidence was airtight. The assassin was indeed a Guest from the Dongyang Prince Mansion.
Li Ji could find no fault with it.
But he still had his doubts.
He felt the timing of the assassin’s appearance was too much of a coincidence.
Just as he was preparing to deal with Wu Wang, an assassin had suddenly appeared, giving Wu Wang an opportunity to earn merit in front of the Emperor.
Li Ji refused to believe that such a thing could be a coincidence.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t find any evidence to implicate Wu Wang; all of his theories were just speculation.
Li Ji recalled that before he left home, Manman had awkwardly asked him to find out if Hua Zhaorong had been hurt by the assassin the night before.
Li Ji couldn’t be bothered to ask anyone else, so he asked the Emperor directly.
"And Hua Zhaorong, is she well?"
The Emperor frowned at him.
Li Ji explained.
"Your Majesty, please do not misunderstand. I have no designs on Hua Zhaorong.
My Princess Consort is concerned for her safety and specifically asked me to inquire while I was in the palace.
She is pregnant, and I fear that excessive worry might harm her health.
I beg Your Majesty to give me a definite answer, so that I may report back to her."
The Emperor’s brow smoothed, and he chuckled.
"Princess Consort Zhao and Hua Zhaorong truly share a deep sisterly bond.
You may go back and tell her that Hua Zhaorong only suffered a fright. An Imperial Physician has already examined her.
She is perfectly fine now, so tell your wife to rest easy."
Li Ji clasped his hands. "Thank you for the news, Your Majesty. I shall take my leave."
After leaving Hanzhang Hall, Li Ji didn’t go straight out of the palace. Instead, he took a detour to Wu Wang’s quarters.
Wu Wang was recuperating from his injuries. When he saw Prince Zhao arrive, his expression flickered.
He tried to get up to offer a formal greeting, but Li Ji pressed him down with a hand.
"You’re still injured. There’s no need for formalities."
Whether intentionally or not, Li Ji’s hand pressed down right on Wu Wang’s injured shoulder.
Wu Wang flinched in pain, his body trembling slightly. The bandaged wound instantly tore open, and fresh blood began to slowly seep through the gauze.
Li Ji quickly withdrew his hand, saying in surprise,
"So it was your shoulder you injured. I didn’t know. I’m so sorry for accidentally pressing on your wound."
Wu Wang gritted his teeth against the pain. "It’s nothing, just a minor injury. Your Highness needn’t worry."
In his heart, however, he was viciously cursing Prince Zhao.
Just then, a little eunuch ran in with a bowl of medicinal soup. He was startled to see Prince Zhao in the room and hastily fell to his knees in greeting.
When he got back to his feet, he saw that the wound on Wu Wang’s shoulder had torn open and cried out in alarm.
"I’ll go fetch a physician for you at once!"
Eunuchs were not qualified to be treated by an Imperial Physician. Even one of Wu Wang’s high status could only summon a lesser physician.
The little eunuch scrambled out to find a physician.
Li Ji leaned down, stared into Wu Wang’s eyes, and asked slowly,
"Was that assassin really a Guest from the Dongyang Prince Mansion?"
Wu Wang looked bewildered. "What?"
He was instantly on guard. ’Why would Prince Zhao suddenly ask about this? Does he still suspect me?’
Li Ji continued as if to himself, "I suspect the mastermind behind that assassin wasn’t Prince Dongyang, but someone else."
Wu Wang replied, "I don’t understand what Your Highness is saying."
He was surprised by Prince Zhao’s astuteness, but he didn’t panic.
Even if Prince Zhao was suspicious, it was useless. The assassin was, in fact, a Guest retained by the Dongyang Prince Mansion.
However, before becoming a Guest at the Dongyang Prince Mansion, the man had once worked for Wu Wang.
Now that the man was dead, no one would be able to uncover his true past.
Li Ji said, "Don’t you want to know who I suspect the most right now? It’s the Fourth Prince."
Wu Wang looked astonished. "What does this have to do with the Fourth Prince?"
His internal alarm bells were ringing even louder. ’I absolutely cannot let Prince Zhao drag the Fourth Prince into this.’
Just as he was racking his brain for how to respond to Prince Zhao’s probing, the prince suddenly stood up straight and said out of nowhere,
"Forget it. There’s no point in telling you any of this."
He dropped the matter, just like that.
This took Wu Wang by surprise. He thought Prince Zhao would continue his probing.
Just then, the little eunuch rushed back in, leading the physician.
The physician began to inspect Wu Wang’s wound. Seeing that it had indeed torn open, he immediately opened his medical kit and started treating it.
While they were busy, Li Ji turned and left without a word.
Even though Wu Wang had said nothing, Li Ji had already used his Mind Reading Technique to learn everything he was thinking.
As he suspected, the previous night’s assassin really had been arranged by Wu Wang.
Wu Wang must have known he had aroused Prince Zhao’s suspicions, so he deliberately orchestrated this self-injury ploy. He had not only won the Emperor’s trust and rewards but had also conveniently pinned the blame on Prince Dongyang.
Killing two birds with one stone. Truly impressive.
As for the person hiding behind Wu Wang, it was, in all likelihood, the Fourth Prince, Li Ying.
This much was clear from how desperately Wu Wang tried to protect the Fourth Prince.
He had no idea how the two of them had formed a connection. To think they could conspire right under the Emperor’s nose.
Li Ji left the Imperial Palace and rode his horse back to the Prince Mansion.
He only learned after entering that Elder Zhong’an and the He Family had come.
The two of them heard that Manman was pregnant and had come especially to visit her.
His attitude toward his father- and mother-in-law was suitably proper. He invited them to stay for a meal and told them about Hua Zhaorong’s situation.
"I just returned from the palace. The Saint told me himself that Hua Zhaorong is perfectly fine."
