Lai Chenglong and the Marquis of Guangping knelt together before Emperor Jianzhang. The floor of the Supreme Harmony Hall was extremely cold, so cold it made one’s bones ache. Yet both of them knelt ramrod straight, not daring to move even slightly.
After what seemed like an eternity, Emperor Jianzhang finally stirred. He turned his head and said to Eunuch An, “Summon the Grand Prince.”
Lai Chenglong’s heart involuntarily skipped a beat. He didn’t know what Emperor Jianzhang meant by summoning Zhou Weizhao—they were currently dealing with Prince Gong’s planted moles in the capital. Even if Emperor Jianzhang detested Prince Gong, he shouldn’t let Zhou Weizhao get involved in such matters, should he?
Zhou Weizhao arrived very quickly and showed no surprise at seeing the two of them.
Emperor Jianzhang briefly explained the situation to him. “That rebellious son was released through the conspiracy of Imperial Guard Centurion Hongfa and the Marquis of Guangping’s heir. After they let him go, they continued to pass information along the way to facilitate his escape, allowing him to evade repeated assassination attempts and successfully enter Jin Province. As a result, Prince Zhennan and the Vice Minister of Personnel’s whereabouts are now unknown, with no news of their life or death.”
Zhou Weizhao’s expression became grave. “Colluding with the Imperial Guard?”
Emperor Jianzhang let out a cold laugh. “Not just the Imperial Guard. Before your wife’s wedding…” He thought for a moment and used a more appropriate phrase. “The many disasters and troubles your wife has experienced recently are also inseparable from that rebellious son. He’s far away in Jin Province, yet he can still manipulate the situation in the capital. Isn’t that interesting?” He pointed at Lai Chenglong. “You tell the Grand Prince how they managed it.”
Lai Chenglong acknowledged the order and explained how the Wang family had colluded with Han Zhengqing. He glanced at Emperor Jianzhang, his tone extremely serious. “Colluding with border generals and manipulating public opinion in the capital to attack the Grand Princess Consort—I’m afraid the target is you.”
The Marquis of Guangping kept his head lowered and said nothing. He knew that Lai Chenglong’s words were actually quite mild. What did he mean by “targeting the Grand Prince”? This was clearly also targeting Emperor Jianzhang. Prince Gong clearly intended to rebel—there was no question about it.
Emperor Jianzhang asked Zhou Weizhao, “Do you understand?”
Zhou Weizhao shook his head. “Not entirely.”
Lai Chenglong thought to himself, all of this was exposed by your wife. If you don’t understand, who would? This married couple…
Emperor Jianzhang glared at him. “That rebellious son isn’t dead, as you know.”
Emperor Jianzhang had already told him about this matter. Zhou Weizhao nodded. “Haven’t you already announced his death? The Ministry of Rites has even prepared his coffin. It’s being kept at Jing’an Temple by the Imperial Mausoleum for seventy-nine days before burial. Imperial Grandfather, he is already dead. From now on, anyone who appears claiming to be Imperial Uncle should be executed along with their entire clan according to law.”
The Marquis of Guangping’s heart trembled.
But Emperor Jianzhang smiled. After the Crown Prince and Prince Gong incident some time ago, he had once found Zhou Weizhao too clever and felt this wasn’t a blessing for the imperial family. But looking at it now, it truly was a blessing.
“You’re right. From now on, anyone who dares to appear claiming to be Prince Gong shall be executed along with their entire clan according to law.” He was still alive. He was the Emperor. If he said Prince Gong was dead, then he was dead.
Emperor Jianzhang paused, then continued, “Now there are people foolish enough to cause trouble borrowing Prince Gong’s name. I’m entrusting this matter to you to handle. I’ve heard that someone in Jin Province is impersonating Prince Gong. Go on behalf of your deceased imperial uncle and deal with the imposter—kill him!”
The Marquis of Guangping’s heart trembled again. Clenching his fists, he finally couldn’t help but begin to shake.
Emperor Jianzhang glanced at him and snorted coldly. “Rise.”
The Marquis of Guangping struggled to his feet and retreated to the side with a bowed posture.
“Your son dared to collude with bandits and harm Prince Gong. His death was deserved. Your marquis manor shall be demoted to a viscount, to be inherited for one generation only.”
The Marquis of Guangping felt his heart finally settle back into his chest. He knew that being pulled to safety by Emperor Jianzhang on impulse in their youth had saved him. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times with resounding thuds.
“If anyone besides you, Lai Chenglong, and Chen Ping learns of this matter, you know what the consequences will be, don’t you?”
The Marquis of Guangping prostrated himself on the ground, nodding like a pecking chicken. “This subject knows, this subject knows…”
Emperor Jianzhang waved his hand to dismiss him, then still kept his face turned toward Zhou Weizhao. “You will handle this matter. I don’t care what methods you use—kill that rebellious son.”
Zhou Weizhao hesitated slightly. “You want me to go to Jin Province?”
Emperor Jianzhang immediately rebuked him. “Nonsense! A son of great wealth does not sit beneath a crumbling hall. What would you go to Jin Province for?! Even Prince Zhennan has temporarily lost contact—what about you? I’m telling you to think of a way, not telling you to go yourself!”
Lai Chenglong kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, unable to help but feel amazed. Up to this point, the development of events was exactly the same as what Song Chuyi had predicted.
Zhou Weizhao reminded Emperor Jianzhang, “Since he has also colluded with Marquis Jinxiang and Vice Minister Wang, now that Vice Minister Wang has been arrested, Marquis Jinxiang will likely become aware. What do you think should be done about Marquis Jinxiang?”
A playful smile appeared at the corner of Emperor Jianzhang’s mouth. “He’s your father’s brother-in-law. I never expected him to be close to that rebellious son. I’d actually like to ask why.”
Zhou Weizhao retreated together with Lai Chenglong. He first asked about the progress over the past month or so. When he heard they wanted to send someone to take over Hongfa’s duties, he shook his head. “You should know your own people well. He seems to have been with you for a long time?”
Starting from when they went to Yangquan, Hongfa had been heavily relied upon by Lai Chenglong. He was a trusted confidant Lai Chenglong had promoted from the rank of centurion in his early days, elevated little by little from a squad leader.
That’s why Lai Chenglong felt extraordinarily angry. He had personally promoted Hongfa, never expecting that Hongfa would ultimately repay him this way. His expression was quite unpleasant. “Yes, for a long time—so long that I never suspected it was him.”
Back when Jia Yingxin and Xu Liang held sway, Hongfa had always followed him with unwavering loyalty. Who could have expected that the person he valued and trusted most would turn out to be that very blade? Even Lai Chenglong found this somewhat difficult to accept. What kind of bewitching potion had Prince Gong fed him that he would betray his trust and be so audacious as to commit such a grave error?
He collected himself and regained his former composure. “Your Highness is right. We cannot send someone to question him. This person has a sense of smell more acute than a dog’s. Once someone is sent to take over his duties, he’ll immediately become aware—”
And Hongfa was key to knowing where Prince Gong was—to pass information to Prince Gong, he must have mastered a specific channel. If he once discovered something was wrong in the capital, then Prince Gong would certainly know as well. It wasn’t that they feared Prince Gong knowing—Prince Gong was already barefoot and unafraid of those wearing shoes. They feared that if Prince Gong learned of the capital’s movements, he would accelerate his pace, or worse, harm Prince Zhennan.
“We need to think of another method.” Lai Chenglong was deep in thought. “Recalling him to the capital is also not possible. If I were in his current position, I would certainly be extremely cautious, savoring every hint of disturbance repeatedly.”
Having spent so much time together, he knew deeply what kind of temperament this trusted confidant of his had.