Chapter 402
Chapter 402: The Retired Emperor’s Official Appearance
At this time, the magistrate sat on a soft sedan up in the mountain and was analyzing the situation in front of him.
The suspect had already been caught.
The murderer who had final contact with the deceased was most likely Young Master Hei.
As for how the second student died, he did not care at all.
As long as any random person took all the blame, he could close the case!
Although Young Master Hei was quite difficult to deal with due to his status, there was no other way, it was Young Master Hei’s fault for passing by Green Dragon Lake in the first place. Though he was only following the Prince’s orders, whoever that had been to Green Dragon Lake must be executed secretly…
He was brought up and supported by the Prince, compared to the Hei family, he feared to upset the Prince more.
As the magistrate was deep in thought, his carriage abruptly stopped.
“What is going on!” the magistrate impatiently shouted as he looked outside of his carriage.
A servant carefully brought in a token.
The token was not big, it fitted perfectly in his palm and its surface was not really eye-catching, but on it was written four words. When the magistrate read them he was shocked and almost fainted in the carriage, “The Retired Emperor… the Retired Emperor is making his official appearance…”
The magistrate’s first thought was that the Retired Emperor might have found out that he had carried out the Prince’s orders, and was now on his way to personally execute him!
The servant had never seen him turn so anxious before. His domineering face was gone, replaced by a deathly white shade.
The magistrate opened the letter with trembling hands, his face seeped of color.
It was from the Third Prince!
After reading the letter, his whole body turned stiff, as if the heat from his body had dissipated into thin air, making him almost fall to the ground!
No, he could not proceed further!
The Prince!
Only the Prince could save him now!
The magistrate suddenly pushed open the curtains and hurriedly ordered, “Turn around, turn around! Don’t head to the academy, please spread the word to release Master Hei immediately!”
“Don’t head to the academy? But you just found an important lead in the case…” The coroner sitting next to him did not know what was going on.
The magistrate gritted his teeth. “Why are we prioritizing the case? My life is in danger. Turn the carriage around and head to Murong Residence!”
Pitter-patter, raindrops landed on a banana leaf.
In the Murong Residence, Emperor Murong sat next to Yushu Lanzhi who was dressed in white.
The magistrate was drenched from the rain. When he saw the man, he was taken aback, but then he presented the token in his hand, “Master, do you recognize this?”
The man looked at the token but did not speak, he just smiled a little and his eyes sparkled with meaning.
Emperor Murong could no longer stand it, there were fear and evil on his face that could not be concealed. “This token belongs to the Third Prince!”
“Yes, I went to the White Academy to handle the case. It seemed that I have offended him. I have arrested people who shouldn’t have been arrested. With the means of His Highness, he will soon know that I have no permission from the Emperor to do so. He might even find out that the Prince had privately given orders to the officers and men of the cadres! Prince, you must save this lowly magistrate! I beg of you, my Prince!”
After confirming that it was the Third Prince, the magistrate had turned even more panicky.
“You can rest assured that this Prince will naturally protect you.” Emperor Murong reached out and patted the shoulder of the magistrate. “Also, the Fifth Prince also did not forget your good deeds.”
The magistrate rubbed the sweat that dotted his forehead and smiled with relief. He knew that the ‘gifts’ that he offered to his superiors in order to win their favors for so many years did not go to waste after all.
The Fifth Prince was different from the Third Prince. Although he was younger, he knew how to partner with the magistrates. He held onto a belief whereby, ‘You scratch my back, and I will scratch yours’.
If everyone was as arrogant and highly as the Third Prince, how could relationships be formed with one another?
So, in the beginning, when Emperor Murong provoked him intentionally, he made up his mind to stand by the side of the Fifth Prince.
“Then this humble magistrate gives his many thanks to the Prince.” The magistrate bowed down until his forehead was touching the floor.
Emperor Murong helped him up and said, “You should go back and wait for my order, don’t be too alarmed.”
“Yes.” The magistrate respectfully retreated.
Emperor Murong watched his back as the magistrate went off, his mouth curving into a smile.
Who cared if the Third Prince had remarkable talents?
If the Third Prince did not have any support from the royals, even if he had amazing martial arts and talents, he would have no say in the situation of this magistrate!
The rules passed down by the ancestors were supposed to be obeyed. The Third Prince and his people were delusional, they did not know their own limits!
However, nowadays, his overweening attitude was becoming worse.
He had to force the Master to think of an idea for him.
As the magistrate had mentioned, if anyone found out that it was him who was using the military force of the Capital, he would face the risk of decapitation!
“Master, what do you think I should do?”
The man gently turned the cup in his palm and took a sip, then inadvertently said, “Since the Prince has already prepared all this while, why not take this opportunity to finish the task?”
Emperor Murong was stunned as he looked at the man, his eyes filled with incredulity, “Ma… Master, do you mean…”
“What I meant is not important, the key is to see how the Prince thinks.” The man lowered his voice as a sinister breeze blew past their ears. “If the Third Prince was gone, the Prince and His Highness would be safe and sound. What do you think, Emperor?”
Upon hearing this, Emperor Murong understood fully. Master was giving him permission to get rid of the Third Prince. This was his golden opportunity!
Emperor Murong shuddered, and the tea in his hands was almost spilled.
The man held his hands in a timely manner and grinned, “Prince, why are you panicking? There are several people who know of the matter regarding the Third Prince and the academy, but no one knows that it was you who sent in the troops. Even if they knew, you could always defend yourself by saying you did so to solve the case. As long as it is done neatly, not only can the Empress come out of the Cold Palace, the person who would inherit the throne would be the Fifth Prince…”
“Master has rightly said so!” Emperor Murong did not wait for the man to finish, he opened his mouth to speak, “To accomplish such a feat, one must strike first!”
If it was not for the Third Prince, his own blood brother would not have been caught, his sister would not have been thrown into the Cold Palace.
As long as the Third Prince lived another day, his nephew would never inherit the throne.
Now all that was left was to bring him down!
As long as he did it neatly, no one would find out about it!
However, no one was able to triumph over the Third Prince’s martial art, so how he was going to bring this champion down, he had no clue.
The man drank the tea, determined to help him, “Every year the army will organize an army drill. If we held it at the foot of the mountain, no one would suspect why the Prince would choose to hold the event in Green Dragon Mountain. When the time comes, you would only have to cut off the White Academy’s contact from the outside world, cooperate with the magistrate and have the army encircle and annihilate the White Academy. Is it not easy to kill the Third Prince?”
Right! No matter how powerful the Third Prince was, how could he win over tens of thousands of armored horsemen?
In addition, by instructing the magistrate to poison the water well, was this not a piece of cake?
When Emperor Murong thought about it, he finally made up his mind. If he wanted to carry out his plan, he must stick to it so that there was no way out for the Third Prince!