Chapter 42 Vanished into Bubbles

"He's out?!"

"He... he actually came out safe and sound?!"

"How is this possible!" Inside the study of the Prince of Wei's estate, a thin and exquisitely delicate porcelain cup was crushed to pieces right in Li Tai's palm amidst his ferocious roar!

Scalding tea mixed with bright red blood splashed onto the hem of the Prince of Wei's brocade robe, but he remained completely oblivious. His fleshy face instantly distorted with extreme shock and anger, his eyes locked onto the confidant who had come to report the news. "Are you certain?"

"The Crown Prince truly walked out of the Xuanwu Gate safe and sound?!"

"It is the absolute truth, Your Highness!" Kneeling on one knee, the confidant replied with a trembling voice filled with panic, "This subordinate saw it with his own eyes. His Highness the Crown Prince left the Xuanwu Gate on a single horse and has already returned to the Eastern Palace under the escort of the Eastern Palace guards!"

"And at the palace gates... there were no abnormalities whatsoever!"

"No news whatsoever has come out from within the palace either!"

Upon hearing this, Li Tai felt a surge of rebellious blood rush straight to the top of his head, and darkness danced before his eyes in waves.

The thunderous wrath, the deposition, the confinement, or even a cup of poisoned wine that he had anticipated—all of it had vanished like bubbles! The Crown Prince had led troops to force his way into the palace, yet he returned completely unscathed?

This was sheer, unadulterated absurdity!

"Imperial Father... Imperial Father, he..." A massive sense of loss intertwined with the frantic fury of being played surged into the Prince of Wei's heart in an instant.

The impeachment memorials he had meticulously prepared; the court officials he had plotted with;

And the performance of "filial piety" he had painstakingly rehearsed by himself for half the night...

At this very moment, all of it appeared utterly laughable!

Yet instantly, an even more intense unwillingness welled up.

"Good... good... a fine Li Chengqian, a fine Imperial Father!" When Li Tai mentioned the Crown Prince, it was merely with unwillingness; but when he mentioned the Imperial Father, his voice grew extremely hoarse due to extreme resentment.

However, the vicious words that were already about to spill from his lips were forcefully swallowed back down because of this.

This made the Prince of Wei's heart feel as though it were being sliced by knives...

Clearly, he was about to win!

Clearly, the position of the Crown Prince was already within his grasp.

Yet now...

Believing he had lost his most precious opportunity, the Prince of Wei remained silent, a flash of murderous intent finally surfacing in his eyes!

Meanwhile, Du Chuke, whose expression was just as unsightly as the Prince of Wei's, showed a trace of urgency on his face. Yet, seeing the monstrous, demon-like hatred burning in the Prince of Wei's eyes, he could only hesitate and swallow his words... However, the matter on his mind was of the utmost importance; after all, if they delayed, it would be too late.

After much deliberation, Du Chuke gritted his teeth, braced himself, and requested, "Your Highness, since there has been no major reaction from within the palace, should we... perhaps postpone tomorrow's impeachment?"

"After all..." Du Chuke's words had just reached this point—

"In your dreams!" The Prince of Wei abruptly raised his head, casting the fierce light in his eyes directly onto Du Chuke, his gaze burning with a near-obsessive madness. "You think that by making a big issue small and a small issue nothing, you can protect that crippled wretch?"

"The impeachment proceeds as scheduled!" With his eyes glaring with murderous intent, Li Tai continued to issue vicious instructions. "Furthermore, you shall go and convey my decree to them: order them to write into the memorials that 'the Crown Prince's conduct last night was rebellious, unbecoming of the dignity of the heir apparent, and disturbed the peace of the inner palace!'

"Moreover, at tomorrow's morning court session, I shall personally submit a memorial!"

"Since Imperial Father still holds hope for that crippled wretch, I shall lay bare Li Chengqian's faults before all the civil and military officials!" He took a deep breath, struggling to smooth his distorted features as he squeezed out a look of "profound grief." "And then... I shall use fraternal affection to implore Imperial Father... considering it is his first offense, to deal with him leniently and spare his life!"

"I want to let everyone see who the true imperial prince is—one who can sacrifice his own kin for the greater sense of justice while remaining profoundly filial and benevolent!" The Prince of Wei roared as the flesh on his face trembled. In any case, this bitter resentment lodged in his chest today could not be swallowed down no matter what!

Therefore, even if the effect was greatly diminished, even if it provoked the wrath of the Imperial Father, he would settle for the next best thing and strip that crippled wretch of a layer of skin!

Ideally... he could strip away that crown symbolizing the Crown Prince along with it!

"Humph!"

With a vicious slam of his palm, the Prince of Wei shattered the very last remaining exquisite porcelain cup into powder as well!

Coincidentally.

Inside a secret chamber within the Mansion of the Duke of Chen, located in the direction of Vermilion Bird Avenue,

the crisp sound of shattering porcelain was also echoing at this very moment...

Hou Junji, who had sat in desolate silence for the entire night, had sunken eye sockets.

As he dispatched Hou Jiu once more to gather information, he reviewed everything that had happened since his return from the kingdom of Gaochang, sorting through it piece by piece. For he had already sensed that he seemed to be pushed from behind by an invisible pair of hands...

Especially on that day when His Majesty pardoned him, seemingly granting him renewed freedom.

Yet somehow, he always felt as though he were no longer the master of his own destiny...

Especially today's incident involving the Crown Prince losing control, which made this feeling in his heart all the more intense.

Unable to figure it out no matter how hard he tried, he finally lost complete control of himself in a frenzy of anxiety, using a sword to hack every single object within his line of sight inside the secret chamber into tiny splinters!

"Grand Marshal...!" Hou Jiu returned for the third time, appearing exceptionally calm on this occasion.

"This subordinate risked a narrow escape with his nine deaths, personally sneaking into the Profound Armor Guards to gather intelligence from my old comrades."

"Well, is there any news from within the palace?" Hou Junji finally calmed down, turning around while dragging his sword, his voice dry and hoarse with an incredulous trance.

"After the Crown Prince left the palace, everything inside returned completely to normal," Hou Jiu said, cupping his fists before adding, "Only, my old comrades said that their commander was summoned by His Majesty to the Sweet Dew Pavilion. Rumor has it he might have received a reprimand; when he returned, his expression was panicked and unsightly, yet he kept his lips tightly sealed and refused to speak with anyone..."

"Everything is as usual, and he merely reprimanded Jing Junhong?" Hou Junji muttered repeatedly, pacing anxiously inside the narrow secret chamber. "How can this be? His Majesty... what on earth is His Majesty's intention?"

The more he thought about it, the more his heart pounded with fright.

The Crown Prince forced his way into the palace—an act tantamount to treason—and His Majesty was simply letting him off so lightly?

Furthermore, there was no explanation afterward, and the palace remained dead silent, as if the peaceful world had never experienced a thing...

Yet Hou Junji acutely sensed that beneath this calm following the storm, something even more terrifying was likely concealed...

It was just that he was merely aware of it, yet utterly incapable of guessing what would happen next, remaining entirely without a clue...

"Crown Prince... just what kind of good fortune have you stumbled upon?" Hou Junji's gaze was complex, filled with relief, yet carrying an unspeakable disappointment and unwillingness. He had originally thought last night was the opportunity when the Crown Prince would be driven to desperation and forced to take a reckless risk, and he had even prepared his "fallback plan."

Now it appeared the Crown Prince had escaped disaster yet again, though certainly not by his own ability! This made his urge to coerce the Crown Prince even more urgent and intense.

As Hou Junji paced back and forth in the secret chamber, his boots crunching loudly over the layer of debris, his thoughts were spinning rapidly...

"No!" Suddenly, however, he stopped dead in his tracks. "At least not now, absolutely not now!"

Hou Junji stood rigidly in place, his eyes flashing with the wariness of a cornered beast.

He would wait and continue to observe for a while longer, until this "palace storm"—whose dispersal time remained unknown—completely subsided, and all factions along with His Majesty lowered their guard...

Only then would he suddenly raise troops to revolt and coerce the Crown Prince...

Yet, he must also prepare himself at any moment for mutual destruction!

After all, his Achilles' heel was already held in the grip of others, and it could detonate at any given second!

Hou Junji's eyes flickered between light and shadow. Having been tormented for the entire night, he clearly already had a settled plan in his mind at this moment...