Chapter 114 - 95: Prince Qi’s Downfall, Dad is Awesome!!

Chapter 114: Chapter 95: Prince Qi’s Downfall, Dad is Awesome!!

"Heh." Seeing Bai Ziqing place his piece, Emperor Jianhong merely shook his head and chuckled. Without a word, he reached out and made his own move.

THUD!!

Just as he finished, a loud noise echoed. At the doorway, a eunuch had thrown a tightly bound figure onto the floor.

"Your Majesty, the person you requested." The eunuch waited respectfully for Emperor Jianhong to speak. With that, he gently flipped the bound man over, revealing an old face. It was none other than the outcast of the Profound Array Department, Qi Xianlin! However, the resigned numbness etched across his aged face was extremely jarring.

"Mm." Emperor Jianhong kept his eyes fixed on the chessboard, not even sparing a glance at the door.

Bai Ziqing, however, subconsciously looked over. When his gaze landed on Qi Xianlin’s face, he blanked for a moment. A thoughtful look emerged in his eyes, though it was unclear what he was pondering.

Emperor Jianhong’s gaze, seemingly unintentionally, happened to fall upon Bai Ziqing’s face. He waited for a brief moment, but Bai Ziqing still didn’t turn back. He urged faintly, "Keep playing."

Bai Ziqing acted as if he had just awakened from a dream. He hurriedly turned his head back to the chessboard, picked up a white piece from the bowl, and placed it down with a CLACK. Yet, even after making his move, he cast another fleeting glance at the man by the door out of the corner of his eye.

As Emperor Jianhong placed his next piece, he casually asked, "Do you know him?"

"Uh... No, I don’t." Bai Ziqing didn’t dare to look again and quickly stared at the board. Only after a long while did he hesitantly place a piece.

He lost this game incredibly fast. In the past, he could hold his ground against Emperor Jianhong for the time it took an incense stick to burn. But in this game, it took less than half that time for his pieces to be entirely surrounded and wiped out.

"Heh," Emperor Jianhong chuckled softly upon seeing his move. "Your chess skills have deteriorated significantly."

"It is Your Majesty’s skills that have deepened. I am far outmatched." Bai Ziqing offered a string of bitter smiles.

"Mm." Emperor Jianhong’s face was completely devoid of emotion as he fell silent for a long time. Then, he waved his hand impatiently. "I am tired."

"Then I shall take my leave." Bai Ziqing respectfully bowed to Emperor Jianhong. He then slowly backed out of the room.

Once Bai Ziqing disappeared from the Imperial Study, Emperor Jianhong could no longer conceal the chilling glint in his eyes.

BOOM!!!

A sudden clap of spring thunder erupted. The wind outside the window grew increasingly fierce. In the gloomy sky, blinding flashes of lightning flickered on the horizon, vanishing as quickly as they appeared. They illuminated Emperor Jianhong’s gaze, which was as bottomless as an abyss, sending a shiver down one’s spine.

Leaving the Imperial Palace, Bai Ziqing only let out a slow sigh of relief when he saw no one around. This was his first time putting on an act in front of Emperor Jianhong. His heart, which had been in his throat, now pounded violently. Not daring to look back, he rode his horse all the way toward the Imperial City Department.

"If His Majesty asks you, absolutely do not say you know him directly. You must handle your attitude perfectly." Zeng Anmin’s words echoed in his ears, stirring a trace of worry in his heart.

He wondered if his performance just now had been too subtle, causing His Majesty to miss it. A sense of anxiety over his success began to swell. However, at this point, he had already done everything he could.

The grand spectacle began the following day.

During the morning court session, everything initially started peacefully. Everyone was quietly listening to their colleagues report their work in the hall. Just as the court session was about to conclude, a figure stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I impeach the Imperial City North Governor, Prince Qi, for framing loyal officials, colluding with the Demon Race, perverting the law for bribes, and allowing his son to commit murder..." He slowly delivered a sweeping speech of nearly a thousand words.

This person was Wang Lang, an Imperial Censor of the Inspectorate. He was known as a notorious firebrand in the court. With a steady gaze, he stood in the grand hall, his voice neither too fast nor too slow, reaching everyone’s ears.

With Wang Lang’s sudden outburst, any minister with a modicum of status in the court blanked in shock. Soon after, looks of absolute disbelief erupted in their eyes. Although this Wang Lang loved to fiercely criticize others, he would never step forward like this without concrete evidence in hand. But he had terrible relations within the court. Even if he wanted to collect evidence of a high-ranking minister’s crimes, no one would be willing to help him.

So where did he get this hard evidence? Zeng Shilin? No! It was His Majesty!!!

The Chief Cabinet Minister of the Great Saint Dynasty, Li Zhen, cast a sidelong glance at Zeng Shilin. He met the old man’s eyes among the crowd of officials. Their eyes met, locking for only a split second before darting away. But in that brief instant, tens of thousands of unspoken messages were conveyed.

Zeng Shilin’s face bore no expression whatsoever. He merely looked calmly at Wang Lang standing before the assembly. Two words surfaced in his mind: it was settled.

Even an Immortal couldn’t save Prince Qi now!

"My beloved subject Wang, do you have evidence?" Emperor Jianhong looked calmly at Wang Lang.

"The evidence is irrefutable!"

Prince Qi had not attended the morning court session today. The Imperial City Department had many cases that required his attention daily. At this moment, he was lounging in his office, legs propped up on the desk, looking perfectly content.

"How is that fellow Bai Ziqing progressing with the case?" His voice was soft, and his eyes were half-closed, as if he were hovering between sleep and wakefulness.

The Attendant standing nearby didn’t dare to neglect him, answering respectfully in a low voice, "Replying to Your Highness, there are still no leads."

"Hah!" Prince Qi chuckled softly, a cold intent creeping over his dark-complexioned face. His arm, which was thicker than an average man’s waist, casually picked up the teacup from the desk. After taking a sip, he frowned. "Pah! Where did this tea come from?!"

"Your Highness, please forgive me!" The Attendant shuddered violently and dropped to his knees with a THUD, trembling as he spoke. "This was sent by the Crown Prince..."

"Mm." Hearing this, Prince Qi ceased his anger and slowly looked up out the window. "He has been wronged."

Wang Qianzhi had been stripped of his position as the Crown Prince’s Tutor by His Majesty and sentenced to a three-month house arrest. At this thought, the treacherous and cunning face of Zeng Shilin surfaced in his mind.

His expression turned freezing cold. "Sooner or later, I will wipe out all of my enemies!"