BXBX NOVEL Chapter 511: Confrontation
...
It was going to be a sleepless night in the city.
News of the seven star main show in the Seven Star Lane spread like wildfire. However, it didn’t end there. Before the crowd could gather, there was even more explosive news.
A few Southern Region messengers barged into the Seven Star Lane to try and kill Fang Zhengzhi and avenge their fallen Crown Prince.
Then...
The crowd inside the Seven Star Lane was poisoned with White Dew Frost. Before that could wear off, they were knocked unconscious by a poisonous cloud.
How tragic...
Something on this scale had not happened in many years.
There was a huge crowd gathered outside the Seven Star Lane as they watched servants carry out their unconscious masters.
No one knew if these people today should be considered extremely lucky or unlucky...
...
Inside King Duan’s residence...
The food had already been kept away and the Crown Prince had already left. However, he had no intention to go out patrolling.
In fact, he had guessed that something was going to happen in the Seven Star Lane even before Crown Prince Lin Tianrong even showed up at his door.
Many thoughts had raced through his mind.
He had thought of sending people to inform Chi Hou or even Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilization Constabulary. However, he ended up doing neither of those things.
The reason was simple...
He wanted to see why Fang Zhengzhi had the confidence to party so brazenly in the capital. He wanted to see if Fang Zhengzhi could survive without his protection!
He did consider the risks.
But he ignored them all.
"How much could a peasant possibly achieve in a year?" King Duan’s gaze was cold as he looked at the flickering stars in the sky.
Ever since Fang Zhengzhi showed himself in Huai An County, Chi Hou, Old Wen, and Mr. Hua had been advising him to gain the loyalty of Fang Zhengzhi.
However...
Words and actions were completely different concepts.
Most importantly, Chi Hou had told him that Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of submitting to him anytime soon.
He was about to become the most wanted man in the whole empire! Yet, he wasn’t going to pledge loyalty to King Duan! Even so, he wanted King Duan to protect him in the capital?
What a joke!
King Duan didn’t reject the proposal of his advisors, but he had a plan of his own. He wanted Fang Zhengzhi to suffer a little so that Fang Zhengzhi would know that it wasn’t easy to survive in the capital.
This was the perfect opportunity.
"The Left Prime Minister would either torture or kill him." King Duan waited for the news from the Seven Star Lane. He waited for a severely injured Fang Zhengzhi to kneel before him.
Then, he would be able to show his magnanimity and help Fang Zhengzhi to his feet.
After that...
Fang Zhengzhi would become his slave!
He would be Fang Zhengzhi’s master!
"Your Highness, Old Wen and Mr. Hua are back." A cautious voice rang out beside King Duan.
He could tell that King Duan and Crown Prince Lin Tianrong were not very happy about the meal. They didn’t even pick up their chopsticks.
"Mm, let them in." King Duan nodded and stood up from his chair. He tried to look appreciative in preparation for the meeting.
At that moment, two figures appeared in the yard.
Old Wen was dressed in a black and white robe whilst Mr. Hua wore academic robes. They quickened their pace and walked towards King Duan.
"Your Highness!" Old Wen and Mr. Hua greeted King Duan in unison.
"It’s been hard on you both. I never expected to be stymied by the Crown Prince before we left. Aish... is Fang Zhengzhi okay? Is his life in danger?" King Duan asked hypocritically.
"Erm..." Old Wen and Mr. Hua were both stunned to hear this.
They thought that King Duan would have sent someone to find out what was happening at the Seven Star Lane even if he was busy with the Crown Prince.
News of what happened should have spread to him by now.
But now...
It would seem that King Duan didn’t know anything.
King Duan didn’t send anyone to protect Fang Zhengzhi?
This was what both Old Wen and Mr. Hua were thinking but they couldn’t possibly ask King Duan.
King Duan smiled when he saw Old Wen’s and Mr. Hua’s expressions. "The Crown Prince is quite vicious indeed. Where is Fang Zhengzhi now? If he is unable to move, I will visit him personally. I don’t care what the Crown Prince thinks about it! The throne is the most important!"
"..." Old Wen and Mr. Hua looked at each other, unable to find the words to express themselves.
However, Old Wen recovered quickly.
"Your Highness, are you still in the dark about what happened at the Seven Star Lane today?"
"The Crown Prince just left moments ago so I haven’t gotten any news." King Duan easily found an excuse.
"I see..." Old Wen nodded, then replied. "The Crown Prince’s plan failed. Fang Zhengzhi captured all of the assassins sent by the Crown Prince..."
"What?! Fang Zhengzhi captured them all?" King Duan’s expression froze as he exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yes." Old Wen was sure that King Duan had no eyes on the Seven Star Lane tonight when he saw the expression on King Duan’s face.
"How is that possible? Isn’t his cultivation ruined? The Crown Prince would have sent powerful cultivators. He only has Yan Xiu by his side. How did he manage to fend them off?" King Duan was in disbelief.
"It happened like that..." Old Wen shook his head lightly and recounted the events of tonight.
"Poison?"
"The Crown Prince used White Dew Frost? And they were unaffected?"
"What? Everyone in the Seven Star Lane was knocked unconscious by poisonous smoke? What? How is that possible?"
"..."
King Duan’s eyes widened with each passing moment and his expression darkened.
Mr. Hua stood by the side silently during this exchange.
King Duan’s expression was solemn and dark by the time Old Wen finished recounting the events of tonight.
"Why do I feel like something is amiss? It feels as though he knew the Crown Prince’s plan from the start! But this plan couldn’t have possibly been leaked!" King Duan didn’t understand what had happened.
"Mm, it would have been kept secret, so, my guess is..." Old Wen nodded.
"What do you think?"
"I think that there is a 50% chance that the boss of the Seven Star Lane is Fang Zhengzhi!" Old Wen replied.
"Fang Zhengzhi is the boss of the Seven Star Lane? How... how is that possible? He is a peasant! How could he possibly afford it? Furthermore, the Seven Star Lane is in the capital! How could he possibly have been here the whole time?" King Duan was in disbelief.
"I think that it is unlikely too, so I place the chance at 50%."
"What about the other 50%?"
"The Seven Star Lane was opened by the Shadow Sect. The Shadow Sect informed Fang Zhengzhi of the plot against him or told him that someone would poison the drinks." Old Wen replied.
"The Shadow Sect?"
"Your Highness, I’m sure you remember that Chi Hou reminded us that Fang Zhengzhi may have dealings with the Shadow Sect. However, we don’t know how involved Fang Zhengzhi is. All we know is that he had offered himself to the Shadow Sect." Old Wen explained.
"Shadow Sect..."
He knew what it meant to be an offering to the Shadow Sect. They would serve the Shadow Sect in exchange for protection and care.
This was not too different from the mercenaries that King Duan had in his residence. As such, he didn’t think much of it when Chi Hou mentioned it.
Even though some of these offerings were slightly more respected than the mercenaries he had, the respect was not much more.
This was a symbiotic relationship where both parties benefited.
As an offering, they would help the powers perform certain tasks whilst they were rewarded with money, women, or other things they wanted.
They were sort of related, but unrelated at the same time.
"Chi Hou said that Fang Zhengzhi had a few Shadow Sect elites following him when he appeared in the Northern Mountain Village. Fang Zhengzhi must be holding quite a high rank in the Shadow Sect!" Old Wen added when he saw that King Duan remained silent.
"High? How high? I think that Fang Zhengzhi probably did something for the Shadow Sect over the past year." King Duan replied in scorn.
How high ranking could a crippled individual be?
He felt that Fang Zhengzhi probably did something for the Shadow Sect in exchange for protection.
Ordinarily...
There was a limit to this protection.
Once the Shadow Sect felt that they had repaid Fang Zhengzhi for his contributions, the protection would stop.
"Yes, for the Shadow Sect to accompany and protect him all the way from the Northern Mountain Village and tip him off about tonight’s attack, his contributions must have been quite major." Old Wen nodded.
"Mm, let’s not talk about this. Where are those men now? This is a great opportunity for us. If we can get to those men, we can implicate the Crown Prince!" King Duan’s attention was focused on those assassins.
"I estimate that they are nearing the jail now." Old Wen replied.
"The jail? Fang Zhengzhi sent them to jail? Is... is he retarded?" King Duan was stunned.
"No Fang Zhengzhi didn’t do it. It was the Ninth Prince. There were soldiers around the Seven Star Lane so Fang Zhengzhi couldn’t do anything about it." Old Wen explained.
"So it was Ninth Brother. That is consistent with his character." King Duan nodded and he squinted. "I think... the jail will be a messy place tonight!"
"What are you thinking?"
"The Emperor is having a banquet at the Ten Mile Lake. Knowing the Crown Prince, he will never let these assassins live past tonight." King Duan asserted.
"But we don’t have anyone in the Ministry of Law."
"We don’t. But I have the city guards. We just need the city guards to surround the jail and the Crown Prince won’t be able to kill the assassins. He will panic then!"
"Aren’t we effectively confronting the Crown Prince?" Old Wen reminded.
"Yes!"
"Your Highness, do you really think that this is the right time to do such a thing?"
"We may not have another opportunity like this one if we miss it." King Duan clenched his fists and grit his teeth.
"Okay, I’ll go make the necessary arrangements."
"No need for that. You two will not be able to do much there. Virtually the entire Ministry of Law is loyal to the Crown Prince. You will not be able to hold them. I have to make the trip personally!" King Duan’s gaze was icy.
"I understand." Old Wen nodded.
Mr. Hua squinted when he saw this. Then, he bowed to King Duan. "Your Highness, since you are personally making the trip, I will take my leave first!"
"Mm, you can go back and rest if you’re tired." King Duan smiled.
"Thank you, your highness!" Mr. Hua nodded, bowed, then brisked walked out of the yard.
King Duan squinted as he watched Mr. Hua’s silhouette disappear. However, he didn’t say anything as he walked towards the gate.
"Pass my orders on. Activate squads one and two and surround the Ministry of Law. Do not allow anyone to enter before I get there!"
"Yes, sir!" One of the guards at the gate nodded and leapt onto the roof of one of the buildings before disappearing into the distance.