Chapter 508: Bizarre

Chapter 508: Chapter 508: Bizarre

Imperial City, Prince Shou’s Mansion.

With a loud bang, a tea table was smashed violently, cups and teapots shattered across the floor, among the debris lay a copper rod crushed in someone’s hand, and one could faintly make out the Taotie Pattern of the Xuanqing Guard engraved on it.

"Bastard! Pang Ban’s got some nerve!"

Yang Lin felt insulted—someone actually dared to send him a note in a tone of "interrogation."

So the Xuanqing Guard thinks they’re something special? Daring to treat him with such disrespect!? Not giving him, a prince, any regard at all!

"Your Highness, please calm yourself. Pang Ban has always been domineering in the Temple Hall, relying on his profound cultivation and never looking anyone in the eye, and he’s famous for protecting his own. This time, Your Highness meddled in the Qin Family’s affairs, you must have provoked him, so..."

The advisor was cut off by Yang Lin before he finished his sentence. Yang Lin said, "So what if I provoked him? He’s just a dog kept by my father. He dares send me an interrogation note?"

The advisor remained silent. In his heart, he found it hard to empathize with Yang Lin’s anger. Pang Ban is hardly just the royal family’s dog—how could a Profound Sea Realm Cultivator be treated as a dog? Even Your Majesty wouldn’t go that far. Besides, Pang Ban never gives face to anyone but His Majesty, and this is nothing new: wasn’t Prince Shou’s hand-picked talent Wu Changhe played and killed by Pang Ban? Did you ever do anything to Pang Ban about it?

Choosing Prince Shou as his master, the advisor often sighed over it. The key issue was, all the other princes had strategists, except for Prince Shou, which made strategists flock to him, only to discover the pit they’d fallen into. For years, this prince never found a strategist to his liking.

But what could he do? Endure it, that’s all. Though unreliable and often hard to fathom, Prince Shou really treats his strategists well—no one’s ever been punished for speaking their mind in his service. He’s also a patriarch who genuinely listens.

If...he could secure the strategist position under Prince Shou, and wait for him to someday inherit the throne...wouldn’t that be glorious? A meteoric rise, surely?

"What now?" Yang Lin smashed the tea table, then smashed a vase and a potted plant nearby, finally almost smashed a jade pendant before remembering its exorbitant price and quickly pulled his hand back. Settling down, he started contemplating his next move.

Yang Lin knew the Xuanqing Guard’s dog-like temperament all too well! He was angry precisely because he understood it—there was nothing he could do about Pang Ban for now, and really, he didn’t dare tear things open with him. All he could do was mutter in his heart: When I inherit the throne, I’ll make you suffer...

The advisor silently noted that His Highness calmed down faster than usual this time. Upon hearing the question, he replied unhurriedly, "Your Highness, it’s best to give Pang Ban some face."

"Hm?" Yang Lin’s brows knitted tightly. He knew he didn’t dare confront that old dog Pang Ban, but to fold so quickly without protest felt humiliating. Wouldn’t that destroy his royal dignity?

"Your Highness, don’t rush. You must give Pang Ban face, but you must also protect your own. Perhaps we can approach it differently."

"How differently?"

The advisor calmly took out a square sheet of paper from his robe and handed it over. Opening it, Yang Lin found it was a sea arrest warrant, marked in bright red with the word "Dangerous," and the name and portrait belonged to Qin Xiuyuan, who currently lived in his mansion.

"This is from the Local Government Office in Imperial City?! Are they crazy?!" Having just calmed down, Yang Lin’s temper flared anew at the sight of the warrant. He was now acting as a vanguard for the Civil Servant Group—this was a setup, wasn’t it? They sold out their own, and dragged him into the pit as well?

The advisor knew his master wasn’t stupid, just unwilling to think, so he explained proactively: "Today, Your Majesty accepted the note Pang Ban submitted. The Qin Family’s motives were impure—they spread their own news, very likely aiming to hit back at Deputy Thousand Households Shen Hao of the Xuanqing Guard’s Black Banner Battalion in Fengri City. So..."

"So, they’ve been exposed, haven’t they? Hmph, I knew that old lady was unreliable! Scheming, sure, but her hands tremble—can’t be trusted!" Pausing, Yang Lin asked, "Is this Father’s intention?"

"Your Majesty’s intention is for you to cooperate with the Ministry of Justice to find Qin Xiuyuan’s whereabouts," the advisor chose his words carefully.

"Find? Isn’t it just for me to hand him over? What does the Qin Family say? If Qin Xiuyuan leaves here for the Ministry of Justice, he’s really jumping into the fire—he’s dead for sure."

Hmph, these civil servants are really useless. What a golden opportunity, wasted so carelessly—they deserve their own suffering.

The advisor agreed, thinking: See? His Highness understands instantly. As soon as it passes through his mind, everything’s clear.

"I suggest letting Ministry of Justice officials ’run into’ Qin Xiuyuan in the street outside the Prince Mansion, and apprehend him."

"That simple?"

"Your Highness previously agreed to help the Qin Family only by lending a hand when Qin Xiuyuan was in danger. When the Xuanqing Guard came for him, you helped once already. What’s more, Qin Xiuyuan himself disobeyed advice and went out, and was caught by governmental officials—what’s that got to do with you?"

Yang Lin looked at the honest, upright advisor before him and laughed loudly—indeed, you’re more shameless than I am.

With that, left hand passes to right hand—person handed over, and with a pinched nose and closed eyes, it’s as if he paid no heed to Pang Ban’s inquiry note, while the excuse is "by accident" Qin Xiuyuan was caught by Imperial City officials. What does any of this have to do with Prince Shou? Not a damn thing. Even if Qin Xiuyuan ends up in the Ministry of Justice and tries to implicate him, Yang Lin can just ignore him. Who believes a criminal accusing a dignified prince?

"But... the civil servants won’t forget the help I gave them, will they?"

"They won’t, Your Highness. Qin Family’s representative is Bai Changqing, Bai Changqing represents Ye Lansheng’s views. Your stance this time couldn’t be clearer, they understand—and next, you can visit the names previously listed, or send letters, and choose who to bring into your fold."

Recruiting from the Civil Servant Group wasn’t easy; they stuck together tightly, especially the big figures in the Temple Hall. Apart from his own cultivated men, Yang Lin’s influence among them was minimal, so this was a rare opportunity. Otherwise he wouldn’t have risked it. To other princes, this might look like he got lucky.

Piece by piece, the matter was calculated clearly. Prince Shou’s burden was actually light—he didn’t need to bother with the feud between Xuanqing Guard and the Civil Servant Group; he only needed to consider what he could gain from it, and his maneuvering space was far greater than either side’s.

Yet, that very afternoon, as Prince Shou made an excuse to move Qin Xiuyuan elsewhere for safety, an accident occurred, and Yang Lin, listening to music in the rear courtyard, exploded in rage.

"Your Highness, Qin Xiuyuan is dead."