The Phoenix is Back - Chapter 218

Chapter 218 Interlocking
Chang Lu’s face was pale as he knelt on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably. Large drops of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Seeing Chang Lu’s guilty look, the Emperor did not understand anything. He raised his hand and grabbed a bottle of wine and threw it at Chang Lu without thinking. Chang Lu didn’t dare to dodge, he could only forcefully accept it.

“Lord Chang, conspiring to rebel and kill a monarch is a great crime against the nine races. Are you sure you want to fight it alone?” Chu Muzhi said coldly as he stared at Chang Lu’s pale face.

Chang Lu’s face turned pale as he subconsciously glanced at Crown Prince Chu Yanzhi who was standing beside him.

“Bastard, can’t you see that this is a trap? Hurry up and say it!” Chu Yanzhi knitted his eyebrows tightly with a single glance.

Chang Lu shook and suddenly regained his senses.

What? It’s actually a trap? Could it be …

Not the Crown Prince.

“Your Majesty, this lowly subject is wronged. This lowly subject is completely unaware of this matter …”

‘”Sir Chang, did you leave the dungeon of your Martial Temple? You, as the monastery’s monastery secretary, have no idea at all? Is Sir Chang joking with this king?” Chu Muzhi looked at Chang Lu with a mocking smile on his lips.

Chang Lu’s face turned pale and he hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, I really didn’t know … I only knew that Uncle Ping An came to the Dali Temple that day. Later, Li Qingfeng, the Cheng of the Zuo Temple, came to report that a prisoner on death row had died in the dungeon. At that time, I didn’t care …”

Chu Muzhi sneered, “Since you’re dead, then what about the corpse?”

“I … I don’t know …” Chang Lu lowered his head and tears rolled down his face.

“Royal Father, what do you think?” Chu Muzhi turned around and asked the Emperor.

The Emperor smiled coldly. Then, he waved his sleeve and a gloomy voice echoed throughout the hall. “Someone, go to Uncle Ping An’s Mansion and Li’s Mansion immediately!”

“Yes.”

Seeing the guards accept the order, Zi Chen Palace instantly returned to silence.

Tonight, after the assassination of Zi Chen Hall, it rolled like a snowball. First, it took out a monk from the Dali Temple, and now, even Uncle Ping An’s Mansion was involved. Behind them stood the Crown Prince! The people sitting in Zi Chen Palace tonight, unless the concubines and princes are the uncles and uncles of the Emperor, many of them have experienced the rebellion of the Six Kings back then, and they still have lingering fear of the bloody palace change. Tonight, Zi Chen Palace is just like the rebellion back then, and as gamblers, it will be very difficult for them to escape unscathed …

“Hiss” Suddenly, a deep breath came from the silent hall. Xiao Xiwei covered his injured hand and his face turned pale from pain.

Chu Yanzhi frowned. Then, he raised his foot and walked to Xiao Xiwei’s side. He crouched down to support her and said, “What’s wrong? But the wound hurts.”

Xiao Xiwei shook his head, “It doesn’t hurt.” After saying that, her hand that was hidden in her sleeve gently gripped Chu Yanzhi’s palm, and a trace of worry faintly flashed through her pitch-black eyes.

Chu Yan was stunned for a moment before he realized that Xiao Xiwei was worried about him.

A trace of warmth inexplicably appeared in his originally cold heart.

Before he could finish moving, he suddenly noticed that Xiao Xiwei seemed to be writing in his palm. He frowned and unintentionally raised his other hand to cut Xiao Xiwei’s hair to attract the attention of others. In his heart, he felt what Xiao Xiwei was writing in his palm.

Kill.

Kill!

Kill who? Zhu Rubai?

Chu Yanzhi’s eyes flashed with a trace of darkness.

He looked at Xiao Xiwei in disbelief, only to see that her eyes were cold.

Could it be that she also felt that this was a trap set against him? Regardless of whether it was Chang Lu or Zhu Rubai, their goal was to bring him in. However …

Does she really want to help him?

Or was she the most important part of the game?

For a moment, Chu Yanzhi hesitated.

Everyone in Zi Chen Hall had different thoughts, different schemes, and other than himself, he found that he could not find a person he could completely trust.

Even Xiao Xiwei was the same.

Seemingly sensing the distrust in Chu Yanzhi’s eyes, Xiao Xiwei’s hand that was holding Chu Yanzhi suddenly loosened. Her slender eyelashes trembled, and she slowly lowered her eyelashes.

Just as Chu Yanzhi was hesitating, His Highness Prince Zi Chen suddenly sounded a burst of hurried footsteps.

“Your Majesty, Uncle Ping An and the Crown Prince have both arrived.”

Chu Yanzhi turned around and saw Uncle Ping An being pushed in by the personal guards beside the Emperor with a frightened expression. Behind him, Crown Prince Zhu Rubai was brought in by the personal guards.

Even though the corpses that were killed in Zi Chen Palace had been removed, the blood stains on the floor were still there. Uncle Ping An only saw the blood stains on the floor and his entire body fell to the ground. His body trembled like a sieve, “Your Majesty … I wonder what crime my son has committed?”

Originally, it was the New Year’s Eve family banquet. He didn’t want the Imperial Guards to suddenly charge in. Without another word, he dragged away like a cypress. The entire Uncle Ping An Mansion was also guarded by the Imperial Guards.

Just as Uncle Ping An finished speaking, there was a commotion outside the hall. Xiao Xiwei fixed his eyes and saw that Li Qingfeng and his son were also brought in.

Looking at the person who was kneeling on the ground, the Emperor laughed coldly, “Since everyone is here, then let’s move! Speak! Who was the person who planned to assassinate Zi Chen Palace this time?”

Unlike Ping An Bo Li Po’s shock, Zhu Rubai and Li Qingfeng’s faces were deathly silent as they leaned on the ground, not daring to move for a long time.

“Your Majesty … Is there any misunderstanding? My son is cowardly by nature. It is absolutely impossible for him to do such a disrespectful thing.” After Uncle Ping An finished speaking, he was shocked and frightened. Then, he turned his head and tugged at the ground with all his might. “Son of a bitch, why don’t you hurry up and say it!”

No matter what, he didn’t believe that Rubai actually had the guts to plot such a great crime of assassinating the emperor, unless …

Zhu Rubai lay on the ground, his entire body trembling, but he couldn’t spit out a single word for a long time.

Seeing this, Chu Mu smiled and walked up to Li Qingfeng. “The Crown Prince refused to say anything. Then, Lord Li?”

Li Qingfeng’s entire body trembled as he hurriedly bowed his head and said, “Your Highness, Xiaoguan … Xiaoguan gave Uncle Ping An the intent to release the prisoner, but Xiaoguan really doesn’t know what Uncle Ping An is planning … Your Majesty is holy, this lowly official is wrongly accused!” Li Qingfeng said as he kowtowed to the emperor on the throne.

“Li Qingfeng, what … what are you saying!” Uncle Ping An pointed at Li Qingfeng, his entire body trembling with anger.

“Alright!” Suddenly, a furious voice sounded from the throne, accompanied by the sound of cups and saucers falling to the ground and shattering.

Uncle Ping An’s entire body trembled as he hurriedly fell down.

“The people from the Punishment Division! Since they don’t speak, then let them speak!” The Emperor’s eyes were gloomy, and the veins on his forehead bulged out. It was obvious that he no longer had the patience.

Uncle Ping An’s face was like a vegetable when he heard that he was going to use the Prudent Punishment Division. He couldn’t help but pull Zhu Rubai, who was paralyzed on the ground, up and slapped him ruthlessly.

With a’pa ‘sound, Zhu Rubai’s entire right face swelled up.

“Nie Ban, you still haven’t said it! You don’t want to die, that’s all. Do you still want to compensate the entire Uncle Ping An Manor?” Uncle Ping An said harshly.

No matter what, this matter will be settled. The only hope is to be frank and lenient …

Perhaps this slap really worked. Zhu Rubai, who was full of chaos, seemed to be sober. He covered his swollen face and cried out, “Father” Then, he told the whole story.

It turned out that just a few days ago, he was surprised to learn that the Qin King was secretly planning to assassinate Princess Yan on New Year’s Eve. He originally wanted to leak this news to the Crown Prince, but he didn’t expect that a counselor next to him had given him another idea-to take this opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

The reason for that was because compared to the charge of assassinating Princess Yan, the charge of assassinating the Emperor was obviously much greater.

Hearing Zhu Rubai say that this assassination was really his doing, Uncle Ping An seemed to be several decades older. His face was purple and blue. He pointed at Zhu Rubai’s hand and trembled. After a while, he heard him say, “Nie Ban!” Scoundrel! Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground.

At this moment, Uncle Ping An spat out a mouthful of blood. Zhu Rubo closed his eyes and sat down on the ground dejectedly. He kept muttering, “I, I’m not planning to assassinate the Emperor. I’m just … I’m just pretending! I’m not really planning to assassinate the Emperor … I’m not really …”

After listening to his father and Zhu Rubai’s words, Li Po faintly felt that someone had set up this trap long ago. Whether it was Crown Prince Zhu Rubai, his father, or even his father’s immediate superior, Chang Lu, they were only pawns in this trap. The person behind the scenes really wanted to deal with was the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. Right now, the most important person who could prove all of this was the counselor. He also needed to find out where Zhu Rubai had heard this news from. Starting from these two points, then both the Li Manor and Uncle Ping’an Manor still have the possibility of turning over. Otherwise, once the charge of plotting against the assassination is settled, then they will all be finished …

Thinking of this, Li Po hurriedly pulled Zhu Rupo over and asked anxiously, “Crown Prince, that counselor? Where is he now?”

Hearing Li Po’s question, Chu Yanzhi’s gaze, which had been silent for a long time, flashed a trace of light.

There was still one thing that wasn’t too stupid, and he immediately thought of the most important thing.

It was obvious that this was coming for him, and he was not sure if there were any last moves, so the only thing he could do was to remain silent and not say anything, in case those people took advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble. Since he couldn’t say it, then he needed someone to speak for him. Originally, he was still worried that Hai Yang wasn’t here, and Uncle Ping An fainted. There was actually no one in the entire Zi Chen Palace to speak for him. He didn’t expect that Li Po would actually come out.

Hearing Li Po’s words, Zhu Rubai raised his eyes and looked at him slowly. Then, his expression collapsed, “No … it’s gone …”

Since he knew that such a thing would happen in Zi Chen Hall tonight, how could he calm his heart down? Therefore, he went to consult the counselor as soon as night fell. He did not want to, but went to the backyard, only to find that the person had disappeared … But even if he wanted to change his mind at that time, it was already too late.

Since the game had been completed, there was naturally no reason for him to stay behind.

Thinking of this, Li Po’s heart went cold, but he still held a trace of hope. “Then where did you hear this news from, Crown Prince?”