Chapter 29: A Conversation (Please Support with Monthly and Recommendation Votes)

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“Cousin, you have certainly given me quite a surprise today!” The First Prince held a cup of wine as well, seated beside Wang Yu. As he passed by, he cast an inadvertent glance at Ling Donglai behind Wang Yu.

Compared with the other prince, however, the First Prince was considerably more restrained. At least he had not acted overly familiar by throwing an arm around Wang Yu’s shoulders.

“A surprise? Let us hope that is all it is.” Wang Yu lifted his wine cup lightly, thinking to himself. He had originally intended to sound out the First Prince today, but the man was clearly no simple figure. His probing had yielded little.

“Five years ago, I happened to acquire something that helped Mr. Ling recover from his injuries. That is why he agreed to remain at my side and protect me.” Wang Yu slowly drained the fine wine in his cup, speaking as though lost in reminiscence.

The First Prince had approached him for no other reason than to win him over—or perhaps to learn more about Ling Donglai. Wang Yu therefore chose to tell him a few things he wished to know. In any case, none of it was exactly a secret.

Of course, given the First Prince’s disposition, he would believe only part of what Wang Yu had said at most—or perhaps none of it. After all, the explanation was far too simple.

“Brother Wang, then your luck is truly extraordinary! You are not even as handsome as I am, so how is it that I never get such good fortune?” Before the First Prince could speak, Zhao Kuangwei was already sighing in admiration.

Yet the exaggerated expression on his face made it obvious that he did not take Wang Yu’s words seriously. How could a Celestial be so easy to encounter? And how could one happen to find an injured Celestial who would then heal him? More importantly, judging from the Celestial’s current conduct, it was plain that Ling Donglai was taking Wang Yu as his master.

“Your Highness...” One of the men beside Huangfu Mingzhao stepped forward, apparently intending to say something. But he had barely begun when the Crown Prince subtly shook his head, signaling him to withdraw.

The appearance of a Celestial today had thrown Huangfu Mingzhao’s thoughts into disarray, and some of his previous plans would have to be altered. For the moment, he first needed to calm himself and carefully sort through his thoughts, deciding what he should do next.

“Greetings, Your Highness.” At some point, Wang Yu had also wandered over to the Crown Prince, Huangfu Mingzhao.

As for the First Prince, he had arranged this poetry gathering with a purpose in mind and naturally could not remain beside Wang Yu indefinitely. He had already gone below to exchange pleasantries with the talented scholars who had come from across the realm.

As for Zhao Kuangwei, he was simply too troublesome. Wang Yu had no choice but to offer him Ling Donglai as a diversion, sending him off to pester Ling Donglai with one question after another.

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Ling Donglai’s state of mind was far calmer than Wang Yu’s. Zhao Kuangwei had been circling around him for quite some time, yet Ling Donglai acted as though he could not see him, continuing to rest with his eyes closed.

“What brings you here, Cousin?” Suppressing the thoughts in his heart, the Crown Prince forced a faint smile.

“Your Highness, that smile of yours is not nearly as sincere as the First Prince’s.” Wang Yu gestured slightly for the guards beside the Crown Prince to make way, then sat down beside him just as Zhao Kuangwei had earlier. He leisurely poured himself a cup of wine and teased him as he did so.

Naturally, Wang Yu’s words were not without basis. In the art of social grace and deft diplomacy, the Crown Prince was indeed inferior to the First Prince.

“Your Highness, may I ask whether you know the three enshrined experts of the Hall of Offerings—Chen Zishu, Chen Zili, and Chen Ziyi?” Without waiting to see how the Crown Prince would react to his previous remark, Wang Yu continued with a smile. At the same time, he produced the three insignias of the Hall of Offerings.

“The Hall of Offerings is not under my control. Naturally, I do not know the three experts you mentioned. But why do you possess these three insignias?” The Crown Prince picked up the three tokens and examined them slowly, his thoughts impossible to read. Only afterward did he speak.

“It was like this. I have no idea what terrible offense I committed, but on my way to the capital, I was ambushed.” Wang Yu seemed to sink into his memories, speaking with lingering apprehension.

“You are not acting that convincingly, Cousin.” The Crown Prince glanced at Wang Yu’s slightly exaggerated expression and replied neither warmly nor coldly. He then resumed his solemn demeanor. “Could it be that you think I was behind it?”

The Crown Prince knew very well that Wang Yu had first asked about the three enshrined experts surnamed Chen and produced the Hall of Offerings insignias, only to mention immediately afterward that he had been attacked. The assailants had clearly been those three Chen family experts from the Hall of Offerings.

The only person who could command the enshrined experts of the Hall of Offerings—and who had a motive to have Wang Yu killed—seemed to be him.

“Anyone capable of mobilizing both the Hall of Offerings and the Imperial Guard would narrow the possibilities considerably,” Wang Yu said, appearing somewhat thoughtful.

“There was also the Imperial Guard?” This time, the Crown Prince seemed genuinely startled. Yet in the blink of an eye, he had regained his composure.

“Not only that. There was also an unknown half-step Great Grandmaster and an unidentified late-stage Grandmaster.” Wang Yu gazed at Crown Prince Huangfu Mingzhao with a smile that was not quite a smile.

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“So you used Mr. Ling to sound me out?” After a brief moment of thought, the Crown Prince turned his head and looked expressionlessly at Wang Yu.

The Crown Prince was not merely a figurehead. Aside from the fact that his mother was the current Empress, he possessed considerable ability of his own. In a matter of moments, he had already inferred Wang Yu’s intentions after what had happened outside Clear Breeze Garden.

The attackers had deployed such an overwhelming force and still suffered total defeat. The person behind the ambush would naturally have some suspicions about the power supporting Wang Yu. It was perfectly reasonable for Wang Yu to use that point to test those under suspicion.

Of course, as the target of this probing, the Crown Prince felt a measure of anger as well. No matter how one looked at it, he was the sovereign while Wang Yu was merely a subject. How could he not be angered by a subject testing his ruler?

What enraged the Crown Prince even more, however, was the true mastermind behind the plot. Once Wang Yu died, he would be the prime suspect. As for what would happen afterward, the Crown Prince needed no guesswork to know that countless pieces of evidence would be produced to prove that he had been responsible.

By then, he would be unable to clear his name even if he leaped into the Yellow River.

For the sake of a woman, he would have killed the son of a founding hero and a powerful general. When that time came, even as Crown Prince, he would have to provide an explanation.

Though his status as the Emperor’s son meant that death was probably out of the question, his position as Crown Prince would likely be impossible to preserve. The heir to the throne had been murdered; the four frontier commanders would certainly not stand idly by.

As for the person behind it all, the Crown Prince did not need to guess. He knew it had to be one of his brothers. As it happened, one of those brothers was present here today. Thus, the Crown Prince could not help casting a deep look at the First Prince, who was below, conversing cheerfully with the gathered scholars.

As Wang Yu watched the Crown Prince sink into thought, he too was contemplating many matters. He had naturally not approached the Crown Prince for this conversation without reason.