Chapter 1649 - Li Heng Saves the Day!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Your Highness, you can’t run!” the man who had disguised himself as Gao Lishi suddenly said. “The First Prince has already completely surrounded this place! Just obediently accept your punishment!”
There was a pitying look in his eyes, like he was looking at a frog that had fallen into a trap. Even the renowned War God was nothing before the First Prince.
How could a mere subject oppose the future Crown Prince?
Was this not suicidal?
Sympathy appeared on his face. Even a sage who meticulously pondered everything would eventually make a mistake. The King of Foreign Lands… could not escape!
Wang Chong said nothing, his face twisted into an unsightly grimace.
Hiss! Crack!
The torches burned outside Tianxin Palace, which was now surrounded by several thousand soldiers. The tense air seemed to indicate that tonight would be a restless one.
The First Prince was dressed in his dragon robe, and behind him were Zhu Tong’en and the other Eastern Palace advisors.
The Eastern Palace had almost completely mobilized to deal with Wang Chong, tightly surrounding the area.
“Hmph, I’d like to see how you escape this time!”
The First Prince coldly chuckled, his expression composed. For very long now, Wang Chong had been the greatest threat standing between him and the throne. Moreover, Wang Chong was simply too cautious and shrewd, too difficult to catch.
The First Prince had never been able to do anything to him.
But this time was different. For an important official of the Great Tang, a King, to intrude into the palace in the middle of the night, undoubtedly up to no good, was enough to allow the First Prince to strip him of his nobility and make him an outcast. Even the entire Wang Clan could be destroyed with a single thought.
“Ghost King, you did well this time. This prince will richly reward you!” the First Prince said without turning his head.
It was far too difficult to entrap a shrewd character like Wang Chong. There was probably no one that could do this besides the Ghost King.
“King of Foreign Lands, you’re still not coming out? Must this prince come in and invite you? Or perhaps you think that you still have a chance to escape?”
The First Prince jeered at the palace before him.
There were several thousand torches here that made the place as bright as day. Farther off, there was a great clamor as even more Imperial Army soldiers arrived after ‘hearing the news’. Even if Wang Chong grew wings, he would find it very hard to escape.
Silence!
The torches flickered in the stillness as everyone waited for the man in Tianxin Palace to make his choice.
Creeeeak!
Just when the First Prince and his men were beginning to get impatient, the door slowly opened, and a golden boot emerged.
A youth of eighteen, bereft of his assassination clothes and now wearing a silk robe, walked out, his eyes cold and domineering. It was Wang Chong.
Upon seeing him, the First Prince and his advisors cracked a smile.
This night’s operation could finally be said to have succeeded. Now that he had seen Wang Chong with his own eyes, everything was settled. The dour-faced Wang Chong looked like a fish on the chopping board.
“Wang Chong, you’ve truly disappointed this prince. When this prince first learned the news, I didn’t dare to believe it was you. As an important subject of the court, you dared commit such an egregious crime!”
The First Prince stared at Wang Chong while putting up an expression of distress and disgust.
Everyone stared at the man standing in front of Tianxin Palace.
Wang Chong said nothing as he scanned his surroundings. Seeing the dense crowd and the many torches, he knew that this incident would probably end poorly.
The First Prince had gone to great lengths to lure him here, and he would never let him just escape.
“Wang Chong does not know what Your Highness is talking about,” Wang Chong replied, still remaining extremely calm.
“King of Foreign Lands, at this stage, with so many people watching, you still want to argue in front of this prince?”
The First Prince’s eyes were brimming with derision as he scoffed.
Regardless of what Wang Chong was trying to do, his current actions seemed extremely childish. Did he think that he could escape blame by acting the fool? He was underestimating Li Ying too much if so.
No matter what he said, he couldn’t escape.
“Come and seize the King of Foreign Lands! And inform the Imperial Court and the Prime Minister to immediately enter the palace to discuss this affair. For a mighty King of the Great Tang to so flagrantly break the law, he must have some extremely important matter or secret. Have the Three Departments harshly interrogate him so that all the people behind the curtains can be arrested!”
The First Prince shot a glance brimming with murderous intent at Wang Chong.
Even the most meticulous of sages would make an error, and Wang Chong had offered himself up to the First Prince, so the First Prince would make full use of this opportunity.
Wang Chong had gathered countless other powers around him, forming a massive faction. The First Prince wanted not merely to imprison Wang Chong and completely remove this threat, but also seize all of the people in Wang Chong’s faction and the Wang Clan, including Wang Yan, Wang Gen, Wang Mi, and everyone else!
Without the Wang Clan, no one inside or outside the court would be able to threaten him.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Several dozen Imperial Army soldiers rushed up with savage expressions, preparing to seize Wang Chong. But before they could get close, a shout rang through the air.
“Wait a moment! Wang Chong will not resist if Your Highness plans to make an arrest, but Wang Chong would only like to ask: does staying the night at Tianxin Palace also require interrogation from the Three Departments?” Wang Chong said, his expression completely unlike someone who was going to be arrested.
“Hahah, staying the night at Tianxin Palace? Wang Chong, you’re still trying to play tricks at this stage?”
Wang Chong was still trying to act the fool, and the First Prince could only smile in anger.
It seemed like he had overestimated Wang Chong. If Wang Chong thought an excuse like this would suffice, he was truly making a grave error.
“Wang Chong, as a King of the Great Tang, you broke the law, putting on assassination clothes… Hmph, you think that taking them off is any use? So many people are watching and the evidence is firm. You think you can defend yourself against these charges?”
The First Prince had suddenly paused in the middle. The report he had received not too long ago said that Wang Chong had entered the Imperial Palace in black assassination clothes, and this alone was enough to punish Wang Chong. What sort of King was this to engage in such conduct?
But the First Prince had been so delighted to see Wang Chong in his trap and so focused on seizing Wang Chong that he had failed to notice that Wang Chong had already obliterated his assassination clothes and put on a leisure robe.
He was truly taken aback, but if Wang Chong thought that destroying those clothes was enough to get him past this, he was far too naive.
“Come; seize him!” the First Prince coldly ordered. “You can save whatever you have to say for the prison cell!”
The guards lunged at Wang Chong without hesitation.
Wang Chong was on the verge of being taken by the Imperial Army and thrown into prison. At dawn, this incident would trigger a storm that would sweep over the capital and all of the Great Tang.
But at this moment, a completely unexpected voice spoke up.
“First Imperial Brother, wait!”
There was a flurry of footsteps accompanying this clear cry, both of which the First Prince disregarded. But a moment later, when he saw the person leading the group, he paled.
Li Heng!
The First Prince had never imagined that Li Heng would come. Li Heng’s palace was located very far from here, and it was impossible for him to have arrived so quickly. The First Prince sensed that something was wrong, and his eyebrows began to twitch.
Fifth Prince Li Heng was definitely the last on the list of people the First Prince had expected to appear.
Zhu Tong’en and all the other Eastern Palace advisors, including that man standing right behind the First Prince, also grimaced.
“Li Heng, it’s late. Why are you here instead of in your palace?”
The First Prince’s expression chilled as he rudely berated the approaching Li Heng.
It was said that an older brother should be treated as a father, and this was the same amongst the common folk as in the Imperial Palace. As the elder brother, the First Prince had far more authority and status than Li Heng, and this wasn’t even considering that he was the regent.
Li Heng walked up and lightly said, “Imperial Brother, Li Heng pays his respects!” In the past, Li Heng would have backed away in the face of such tough words from the First Prince, but he had changed. His expression was neither humble nor proud, and he appeared completely unmoved by the First Prince’s reprimands.
“Hearing that there was an incident at Tianxin Palace, Li Heng came for the sake of the King of Foreign Lands.”
Li Heng stood with his back straight, getting straight to the point.
“After hearing that the King of Foreign Lands was involved, your imperial brother worried that there might be some misunderstanding. The King of Foreign Lands appeared at the palace entirely on the invitation of your imperial brother. But the two of us were so engrossed in our conversation that we lost track of time and missed the chance to leave the palace. Thus, your imperial brother made up a plan and decided to have the King of Foreign Lands stay the night in Tianxin Palace!”
Buzz!
The mood instantly changed. The First Prince’s men all grimaced, and the figure standing behind the First Prince suddenly lost his initial composure.
It was surprising for the Fifth Prince to make such a timely appearance in the middle of the night, and even more surprising was the Fifth Prince’s claim that this had all been his idea.
Supposedly, the Fifth Prince had decided to let Wang Chong stay the night in the palace. This was completely different from Wang Chong breaking the law and infiltrating the palace in the middle of the night.
