"Brother Du, you jest."
Zhang Yu's voice was calm, with a hint of casualness.
"I, Zhang Yu, am no bloodthirsty man, nor do I intend to make an enemy of the entire Wei Kingdom royal family. I'm here to serve my time and cultivate my Dao. I never wanted to cause trouble."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Xiao Yun, who knelt on the ground with a deathly pale face. His tone turned cold:
"As for why I took control of this grand formation... it was only because certain people were throwing their weight around and bullying others, trying to break all four of my limbs and send me to Brother Du to vent his anger.
"I had no choice but to borrow the power of this formation to defend myself."
"Send you to me to vent my anger?"
Du Jun raised an eyebrow, surprised to learn he was involved.
So he pressed, "Young friend, what do you mean by that?"
Zhang Yu didn't answer directly. Instead, his gaze shifted to Xiao Sheng, who was craning his neck, looking guilty and uneasy. The corner of Zhang Yu's mouth curled into a meaningful smile:
"As for what exactly happened, Brother Du, and everyone from the royal family, why don't you ask... the Heir of Prince Jing, Xiao Sheng? He saw everything from beginning to end."
"Xiao Sheng?"
As soon as Zhang Yu finished speaking, everyone's gaze snapped toward the Heir of Prince Jing, Xiao Sheng, as if drawn by a spotlight!
"Whoosh!"
Xiao Sheng felt countless gazes like tangible swords piercing him all at once. His whole body stiffened, his scalp tingled, and cold sweat broke out in an instant.
"I... I..."
Xiao Sheng opened his mouth, his tongue tied in knots. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Before, to curry favor with Zhang Yu and protect himself, he had helped Zhang Yu conceal quite a few things. He'd even gone along with the act, claiming Du Jun had come to visit because they were "in cahoots."
Now he had to tell the truth in front of so many powerful members of the royal family—especially the Old Ancestor and the emperor?
He'd be lucky if they didn't skin him alive.
"Xiao Sheng."
Prince Jing, Xiao Jingfeng, darkened his expression and barked, "What exactly happened?"
"Speak."
Xiao Xuan's voice also came through the light screen from the main hall of the Imperial Clan Affairs Office, carrying an unquestionable authority.
The two sharp reprimands made Xiao Sheng shudder. He nearly fell to the ground.
"It... it was the Heir of Prince Rui, Xiao Yun."
Xiao Sheng steeled himself, deciding to clear his own name first and dump all the blame on Xiao Yun. "He was the one who came looking for trouble first."
Pointing at Xiao Yun on the ground, he poured out the whole story in one breath.
Though frightened, Xiao Sheng spoke clearly enough. He gave a rough account of what had happened, emphasizing Xiao Yun's arrogance and Zhang Yu's "forced self-defense."
"What?"
Hearing this, Prince Jing, Xiao Jingfeng, looked even more displeased. His gaze toward Xiao Yun brimmed with exasperation and disgust.
That idiot! It was bad enough that he usually threw his weight around. He'd actually picked a fight with a Calamity Star like Zhang Yu, dragging the entire royal family into such a passive and awkward position.
In the main hall of the Imperial Clan Affairs Office, everyone was also in an uproar after hearing Xiao Sheng's account.
"So Xiao Yun was the one who caused all this?"
"That good-for-nothing! He can't get anything done, but he can sure ruin everything!"
Everyone's attention shifted from Zhang Yu to Xiao Yun, still kneeling on the ground.
More than half the anger and hostility they'd felt toward Zhang Yu now turned into irritation and reproach toward Xiao Yun.
Even Xiao Yun's own father, Prince Rui, now wished he could personally kill the troublemaker.
Although Zhang Yu had humiliated the Imperial Grandson by making him kneel, there had been a reason for it. Xiao Yun had provoked him first and struck first!
Anywhere you looked at it, this counted as "self-defense"!
Even if the royal family wanted to pursue the matter, they had no leg to stand on.
And was it worth going head-to-head over a good-for-nothing playboy like Xiao Yun with a powerful, unfathomable figure who controlled the Heavenly Prison grand formation?
Although Xiao Yun was being pressed face-down on the ground by the formation's power and couldn't move, he could still hear.
He heard Xiao Sheng's accusations, the people around him talking, and, most of all, the fury of the royal elders who should have been on his side.
His heart sank to the bottom of the abyss. A terror and chill unlike anything he'd ever felt swept over him.
He had thought that since he'd been humiliated, the royal family would spare no effort to avenge him.
But now, to his horror, everything was unfolding in a way he'd never expected.
Zhang Yu's strength and mystery had filled the royal family with fear and wariness.
And he, Xiao Yun—the "victim"—had somehow become the culprit who'd "caused trouble" and "brought disaster upon the royal family"!
Most of all, through the corner of his eye, he saw that Du Jun, the president whom even the emperor treated with utmost respect, was calling Zhang Yu his brother.
Xiao Yun's heart went completely cold.
He realized he might have... kicked an iron plate—one the entire royal family wouldn't dare kick lightly!
Watching everyone turn their accusations toward Xiao Yun and seeing the royal family's leaders subtly change their attitudes, Zhang Yu said expressionlessly, "I have no intention of dragging anyone else into this. Xiao Yun was arrogant and domineering, so I sentenced him to kneel outside my cell for three days."
Hearing that Zhang Yu had only sentenced Xiao Yun to kneel for three days and hadn't made any more outrageous demands, Prince Rui and Xiao Yun, sprawled on the ground, both breathed a sigh of relief.
Kneeling was humiliating, but it was better than being dead.
However, the royal family's Old Ancestor, Xiao Xuan, still hadn't fully relaxed his brow.
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