12dz Chapter 136 Evil God
Chapter 136 Evil God
The relentless barrage of information has left the court officials exhausted.
The Crown Prince, the Third Prince, and the Eldest Princess now stand like three legs on the main hall, their three auras clashing, resembling a battle between a dragon and a phoenix.
"The most urgent task now is to find His Majesty!" The neutral advisor pointed out the key point.
"The Imperial Guards, the Inner Guards, and the Golden Guards have all been sent out to search, but there is still no news." Another neutral civil official spoke up quietly.
"But now both princes are suspected of patricide, regicide, and assassination of their elder sister. What should we do?"
The ministers discussed the matter at length, and it was almost dawn.
At this time, General Zhao You of the Golden Guard and Commander He Xiu of the Inner Guard were each leading their troops to search outside the hunting grounds.
Gao Zhan then led the Imperial Guards to search the hunting grounds.
The area within a ten-mile radius of the hunting grounds is a crucial search zone, naturally requiring even more manpower.
It was already dawn. Bai Yu had been guarding the tree by the mountain stream all night, constantly on guard against wild animals coming to gnaw on the emperor's corpse. He had many wounds on his body, left from fighting wolves during the night. They were all superficial injuries, which he deliberately left to make his story of risking his life to protect the emperor more convincing.
As he watched the sky begin to lighten, he realized it was about time. He jumped down from the tree branch, hoisted the emperor's body onto his shoulder, and carried it as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, his eyes completely calm.
He took a deep breath and plunged into the mountain spring along with the corpse.
The situation in the imperial court became chaotic due to Nie Qing's vehement denial.
Li Guangqi accused Li Cen and Li Yun of conspiring to murder their father and emperor, falsely accuse the crown prince, and plot to seize power.
Li Cen, relying on secret messages from undercover agents, plotted to frame the Crown Prince for treason.
Li Yun was utterly speechless, unable to offer any explanation, and had to rely on the Prime Minister to fight this verbal battle on his behalf.
Lu He looked at the sky outside, which was beginning to lighten, and suddenly reached out and tugged at Li Cen's sleeve.
Li Cen turned around, their eyes met, and she immediately understood that the final act was about to begin. The two of them watched silently as Grand Tutor Gao and Chao Ying fought like dogs.
Li Guangqi also noticed the two exchanging glances. His intuition told him that things were not so simple, and that Li Cen and Lu He must have a backup plan!
Not long after, an order came that the General of the Golden Guard had returned. The court officials were once again surprised. This General of the Golden Guard had been secretly dispatched by the emperor and was rarely seen. Many people had never even seen his face and only knew that his name was Liao Chen and that he was a fierce and ruthless man.
This General of the Golden Guard was a graduate of the Elite Military Academy, appointed by the Emperor. Only the Elite Military Academy's special communication methods could find him; even secret sentries could not locate him.
As the order was given, everyone looked outside and felt a gust of wind and snow blow in from outside the hall. The air suddenly turned cold, as if a layer of ice had followed his steps and connected with him.
This is the aura of a demon.
Liao Chen was nine feet tall with a cold and stern appearance. His armor could not hide his burly physique, and the giant sword on his back also demonstrated his superb martial arts skills. He carried a human head in his hand and swaggered in.
Bloodstains were everywhere on the ground, dripping onto the floor of the main hall.
Entering the hall, Liao Chen looked around, raised his hand and threw the head with a thud. The head was thrown heavily at everyone's feet, rolling all the way to Li Guangqi's feet.
No matter how cold-blooded Li Guangqi was, having executed people before, this was the first time he had ever seen a human head, and he was still somewhat frightened. He took several steps back and almost fell down on the steps, while Nie Qing also screamed and covered her eyes.
Lu He hadn't expected Liao Chen to throw the dead man's head onto the main hall so violently. Although she was also very scared, she instinctively reached out and covered Li Cen's eyes.
To Lu He, who is thirty years old, Li Cen, who is eighteen, is still a young girl. Even if she is feeling uncomfortable, she still wants to protect her from seeing such a physically uncomfortable scene.
The blood-stained head was unrecognizable, and no one dared to approach for a closer look. Only three sentries calmly observed the scene; without orders, they would not move.
"This is Zhao You, the Grand General of the Golden Guard." Liao Chen clicked his tongue. "Zhao You failed to guard the hunting grounds yesterday; he neglected his duty and deserves to be executed!"
Li Cen's eyes were still covered by Lu He. She reached out and gently pressed on the back of Lu He's hand, applying a little pressure to indicate that she shouldn't worry. Then she raised her hands and removed Lu He's hands, looking at the head on the ground with composure, and said calmly, "Examine!"
The three sentries then stepped forward to examine the head, nodded, and reported that it was indeed Zhao You.
Everyone admired the princess's royal majesty, but only Li Cen knew that the hand she held in Lu He's hand was trembling slightly. How could she not be afraid of a bloody head? But the moment Lu He covered her eyes, she suddenly felt confident and courageous.
“I heard that Zhao You was absent from his post during yesterday’s hunting grounds patrol, only sending two lieutenant generals. Since the two lieutenant generals have already been punished, I will only pursue Zhao You.” Liao Chen said, clapping his hands. Several Imperial Guards solemnly carried in a corpse covered with a white sheet. “His Majesty has passed away!” He then lifted the white sheet. Everyone approached and saw that it was indeed the Emperor.
"How could this be! Your Majesty... Didn't someone say yesterday that they saw the Imperial Envoy, Lord Bai, rescue Your Majesty? Could it be that Bai Yu..." Upon seeing the Emperor's body, the Prime Minister was immediately consumed by anxiety. If the Crown Prince could not be convicted immediately, then the succession of the heir apparent and the Third Prince would truly be hopeless!
"Lord Bai was seriously injured and unconscious, but he protected His Majesty with merit. Even in the mountains and rivers, when he was on the verge of death, he held tightly to protect His Majesty!"
As Liao Chen spoke, he suddenly raised his eyebrows, his face turned fierce, and he stared straight at Li Guangqi, making Li Guangqi feel uneasy.
"His Majesty is clutching a jade pendant tightly in his hand!" Liao Chen stepped forward, pried open the emperor's tightly clenched hand, and took out the jade pendant: "I have just met with Lord He and Lord Gao, and let them see that I have jade in my hand. The Emperor's body was escorted back by our Imperial Guards, and this jade must be taken out in the court. Your Highness, can you guess why?"
Li Guangqi stood there, heartbroken. Just now, after Liao Chen lifted the white cloth, he vaguely saw something in his father's hand. After taking a closer look, his heart sank. It was his personal jade pendant.
He didn't even realize when he lost the jade pendant!
No, it was at that time, when Li Cen was holding him back to talk, that he actually... was pretending to talk to him, his real intention was to steal his jade pendant!
What about the things Li Cen said to him? How much of it was true and how much was false?
With this personal jade pendant in the hands of the dead emperor, Li Guangqi was utterly unable to defend himself, and his fate was sealed...
One thing after another, link after link, all were waiting for him to fall into, countless traps waiting for him to step into, all gathered into a net, biting him down little by little. Li Cen! You really are a master strategist!
Li Guangqi understood; Li Cen was determined to send him to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices today. A look of despair crossed his eyes, but he suddenly raised them again: "Li Cen… were the things you told me before true or false?"
"It's true," Li Cen replied decisively.
"Fine," Li Guangqi chuckled self-deprecatingly. "At least I've avenged my mother... Anyway, for someone like me, living is just a painful experience... It's just... I might not have the chance to see that person again..."