Chapter 1681 - A Fine Bird!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Your Highness, what do the laws of the Great Tang say about how this matter should be handled?”
Wang Chong looked up at the enthroned First Prince.
“Come; arrest Kong Wu! Lord Prime Minister, I leave this matter to you. Lead the Three Departments and rigorously investigate this matter!” the First Prince furiously declared from his throne.
Today had been an utter defeat. He understood that Wang Chong was using this deliberate show of strength as a warning, using the matter of Kong Wu to threaten him. However, once one was on a tiger, it was hard to get off, and in front of the entire court, he was forced to deal with Kong Wu.
Such a crime had unquestionably enraged all the officers in the military. Even the First Prince had to give up on him.
“Your Highness! Save me, save me! King of Foreign Lands, there are no grudges between us, so why does it have to be like this!?”
Kong Wu’s prostrate form was trembling, his face as white as a sheet of paper and his expression panicked. What he had expected to be a happy occasion had turned into his doomsday.
“Come! Take him away!”
The First Prince was growing increasingly impatient. If not for Kong Wu, he would have never been forced into this stage.
The generals standing in the corners of the palace soon came forward, took Kong Wu by the arms, and dragged him away.
The officials were silent as Kong Wu was taken away, and they even chose to avoid looking at Wang Chong. This was particularly true for the Confucian Sect members, whose eyes were fraught with fear.
The King of Foreign Lands was still the King of Foreign Lands. Even if he was alone and without power or authority, he would still be an existence feared by countless people.
On his first day in court, he had impeached the Assistant Minister of the Bureau of Military Personnel who had been in the post for ten-some years. Not even King Qi had ever managed such a feat before.
“Honored officials, are there any other memorials to be submitted?” the First Prince impatiently said.
The officials looked at each other. A tiny number of major officials submitted memorials on rather trivial affairs, but no one else spoke up.
“Since there is no more, the honored officials are dismissed,” the eunuch finally said.
Everyone sighed in relief. They had managed to get through the day, and they were all too ready to get out of this uncomfortable palace.
Suddenly, Eunuch Yin came up from behind the First Prince and announced, “Wait a moment. His Highness has decreed that while the other officials may withdraw, the King of Foreign Lands should remain!
“King of Foreign Lands, His Highness has a matter to discuss with you. Please stay back for a while!”
Buzz!
The hall became so silent that one could hear a pin drop.
Everyone waited with bated breath for the reply.
“This lowly subject receives the decree!”
At the very front, Prime Minister Li Linfu seemed unperturbed. With a wave of his sleeve, he began to walk out of the hall.
“Hmph!”
King Qi coldly snorted, shot a glare at Wang Chong, and then began to stride out.
The other officials surged out like the receding tide, and even the eunuchs and guards seemed to realize something and went out through the side entrances.
Bang!
Almost the moment all the officials had withdrawn, the doors slammed shut, isolating Taihe Palace.
All of the officials felt a stifling air, but without another word, they left.
In Taihe Palace, Wang Chong stood unmoving, a calm and assured look on his face. Even after the doors shut, leaving Wang Chong alone in the dim Taihe Palace with the First Prince and Eunuch Yin, he remained unperturbed.
Whoosh!
His robes rustling, the First Prince slowly rose from the throne, his eyes gleaming with cold light.
An immense energy, sharp and cold, erupted from his body.
A voice shattered the silence. “Wang Chong, it seems you’re determined to oppose this prince!”
The First Prince stood on the raised platform, his expression cold as he spoke in an intimidating tone.
One was the regent of the Great Tang and the other was a King. Sovereign and subject each had their own roles, but the First Prince had clearly lost his patience.
“For what reason does Your Highness say such things? Wang Chong is impartially carrying out his duties. And was it not Your Highness who ordered Kong Wu to be arrested?” Wang Chong indifferently said.
“Hmph, there’s no need to keep that pompous tone. You and this prince both know what’s going on with Kong Wu! You support the Fifth Prince from the shadows, opposing this prince at every turn. This prince knows everything, and it doesn’t matter how much you try to defend yourself.
“This prince had you stay so that I could tell you one thing. King of Foreign Lands, do you know what happens when a chicken egg strikes a stone?”
The First Prince murderously glared at Wang Chong.
Eunuch Yin had taken two steps forward, his energy locking onto Wang Chong.
Taihe Palace was deathly still. Wang Chong gazed at the First Prince, his lips slowly curling into a smile.
“Your Highness, a chicken egg can’t break a stone, but the dripping of water can penetrate through rock.”
Wang Chong’s words caused the First Prince and Eunuch Yin to grimace.
“Only when one is humane can one be without rival. Trying to forcefully obtain some things without regard for method might not necessarily result in anything good. I hope that Your Highness can carefully ponder these words!”
“Heh, Wang Chong, are you trying to instruct this prince?”
The First Prince shook his head, his mouth twisted into an angry smile.
“I gave you many chances to swear fealty to this prince, but you refused me every time. Wang Chong, this prince admires your talent. In the war of the southwest and the Battle of Talas, you rendered astounding service for the Great Tang. But the sovereign is sovereign and the subject is subject. If you insist on opposing this prince, then even if your talent reaches to the heavens, you can never defeat this prince.
“This prince is the first in line to the throne of the Great Tang, the next Sage Emperor. Do you understand what will happen to you if you oppose me at every turn?” the First Prince coldly said.
The First Prince had dropped most of his courtesy in these words. Wang Chong’s actions had clearly stirred up the First Prince’s killing intent, or else he would have never spoken so bluntly.
“Your Highness, you forget yourself!” Wang Chong coldly said.
“Heh, is that so?”
The First Prince chuckled. He turned around, facing his back to Wang Chong.
“Wang Chong, since you insist on stubbornly supporting the Fifth Prince and opposing this prince, let’s play a game! Let see whether the Crown Prince of the Great Tang will be me or the Fifth Prince!”
Buzz!
Wang Chong’s brow creased in surprise. It seemed as if the First Prince had not come up with these words on the spur of the moment, but had carefully pondered them before today’s meeting.
Wang Chong pensively stared at the proud figure clothed in dragon robes. But he said nothing, knowing well that the First Prince had more to say.
As expected, the First Prince began to speak again.
“Ah, but people don’t die in games. In our game, however… the one who loses will die!! And your entire clan with you!”
The First Prince’s voice was devoid of emotion.
Whoosh!
A sudden breeze blew between the pair, and Taihe Palace was cold and still. The air was fraught with an invisible tension.
Even Wang Chong couldn’t help but slightly grimace.
This was not their first meeting, and even though the First Prince had once been so bold as to block his carriage, he had never imagined a meeting like this.
This was similar to laying the cards on the table. Wang Chong’s multiple attempts to hinder the First Prince had clearly pushed the First Prince to the limit. Moreover, this was the first time the First Prince had brought up the entire Wang Clan.
The First Prince was implying that if he attained the throne, he would make the entire Wang Clan pay the price, not just Wang Chong, and crush it into dust.
“What a pity. The storied Wang Clan will end up being destroyed by your hands…”
The First Prince spoke in a frightening and damning tone.
Before he could finish speaking, he received a crisp and simple reply.
“Okay!”
“!!!”
The First Prince and Eunuch Yin were both startled and turned to look at Wang Chong.
“What did you say?!”
The First Prince turned his body around and stared with furrowed brow at Wang Chong. He had clearly not expected this reply.
“I said ‘okay’!”
Wang Chong’s lips had a gentle smile, and his expression was confident and relaxed, without even a hint of fear. A normal person would have backed down a little in front of the First Prince’s threatening demeanor, but the First Prince was trying this on the wrong person.
More importantly, no one understood more than Wang Chong that the First Prince would never be able to sit on the emperor’s throne. Besides that, his words just now had by themselves completely disqualified him.
Wang Chong looked up and loudly proclaimed, “Since Your Highness’s mind is set, Wang Chong will naturally accompany you to the end. There has to be something on the line in a game, and it’s just a matter of how big or small the wager is. Wang Chong only worries that Your Highness might not be the True Dragon candidate that man has in mind!”
Such words were incredibly treasonous. If the First Prince attained the throne, he could use them to have Wang Chong executed. But at this stage, Wang Chong no longer feared anything.
“Wang Chong has another message for Your Highness. It is not too late to pull on the reins before the horse rides over the precipice. Stubbornly continuing on the crooked path might only end as a dream of yellow millet!”
(TN: The dream of yellow millet refers to a Chinese folk tale. The folk tale goes that as a man is cooking millet, he falls asleep. He dreams that he passes the imperial examinations and quickly rises to the rank of a high official. Afterward, he marries the daughter of a wealthy family, has a son and daughter, and then even reaches the rank of Prime Minister. But he is then accused of crimes that cause him to lose his office, his wife betrays him, his children are killed by bandits, and he loses all his wealth. As he dies on the street, he wakes up. While eighteen years passed in the dream, in reality, only enough time had passed for his millet to finish cooking.)
Wang Chong chuckled and then turned around to leave. Rumble! Pushing the doors open, he walked out.
Behind him, the First Prince and Eunuch Yin nastily scowled, but in the end, these scowls transformed into cold killing intent.
“Wang Chong, you won’t remain smug for long. A fine bird chooses to perch only on a fine tree, but it seems that you are not that kind of bird!”
With one last glance at Wang Chong’s back, the First Prince departed.
