Seeing the two men on the pier drawing their swords at each other and fighting like dogs over credit, Sun Chengzong, who was sitting in the armchair, felt his heart sink back down.
These brutes and corrupt officials, seeing the enormous merit and ten thousand taels of silver, indeed started fighting amongst themselves.
Sun Chengzong stood up, straightened his official robe sleeves, and winked at the two senior palace attendants beside him:
"Let's go, gentlemen. Come with me and see what our once mighty Prince Yi looks like now."
Four burly men dressed in naval uniforms (actually elite soldiers under Tuoba Mang ) carried a fine iron cage covered with a thick black cloth down the gangplank and landed heavily in the middle of the pier.
Gu Debai was still holding a knife to Zhou Yanru when he saw Sun Chengzong approaching. He then ripped off the black cloth covering the cage.
"Lord Sun, look! The person is right here!"
Sunlight pierced into the cage.
Inside the iron cage, Gu Moran, dressed in a tattered python robe, leaned against a corner.
His hair was disheveled, half of his face was covered by messy hair, and there were blackened and dried bloodstains on the corners of his mouth and chest. His hands and feet were locked with iron chains as thick as fingers, and his head hung down in front of his chest, with only his chest occasionally rising and falling slightly.
But he was extremely happy inside, as he got to act again and have some fun.
Two senior imperial guards quickly walked to the cage and squatted down.
The old, wrinkled elder on the left stretched out his withered fingers, brushed aside the messy hair on Gu Moran's forehead, carefully examined his brow bone and bridge of his nose, and then pinched his wrist to check his pulse.
"His breath was barely a whisper." The old priest withdrew his hand, turned his head, and nodded to Sun Chengzong.
"Lord Sun, the bone structure and physique are correct, and there is an old sword scar on the back of his hand from when he was at the Imperial University. He is undoubtedly Prince Yi Gu Moran."
"Great! Excellent!"
Sun Chengzong clapped his hands and laughed, all the wrinkles on his face smoothing out.
Before the laughter subsided, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and his smile vanished instantly.
Sun Chengzong flipped his left hand and pulled out a palm-sized pure gold wine pot from the sleeve of his wide crimson official robe, then handed it to Zhou Yanru and Gu Debai.
"The two gentlemen have accomplished such an extraordinary feat,"
Upon my return to the capital, I will certainly report the truth to the Crown Prince.
Sun Chengzong's voice was extremely low, carrying a chilling undertone.
"However, Gu Moran is cunning and treacherous. If he were to be brought back to Chang'an alive, and something went wrong on the way, none of us could bear the consequences."
This pot contains the bestowed "arsenic," Lord Zhou, General Gu, you two, open the cage now.
One person held his head while the other forced him to drink the poisoned wine!
Let him die at the Dengzhou docks, then we can divide the silver in peace!
Zhou Yanru and Gu Debai's expressions changed simultaneously as they looked at the gleaming golden wine pot.
Before they arrived, Gu Moran had already calculated for them in the lower deck: Sun Chengzong, that old fox, was bringing three thousand Capital Garrison to meet them, and he would definitely not be content to just be a porter transporting silver.
Sure enough, the handle and outer wall of the gold wine pot had a very faint bluish sheen.
That's the deadly contact poison " Azure Heavens and Yellow Springs " from the Western Regions!
Sun Chengzong intended for Zhou Yanru and Gu Debai to fetch the wine pot; the moment their hands touched the pot's surface, the poison would take effect and attack their hearts within three breaths.
At that time, Gu Moran die in the cage, and Zhou Yanru and Gu Debai will "commit suicide out of guilt" at the dock.
The credit for suppressing the Japanese pirates and the three million taels of silver on the ship all ended up in Sun Chengzong's pocket!
"What? Aren't you two going to make a move?"
Seeing that the two men hesitated to take the wine jug, Sun Chengzong subtly withdrew his right hand half an inch. The three thousand archers from the Capital Garrison on the high platform immediately lowered their arrows, aiming them at Zhou Yanru and Gu Debai's backs.
"Could it be that the two of you still harbor some past feelings for His Prince Yi?"
The two senior imperial guards also took a half step forward, their withered hands brimming with internal energy, ready to strike and kill at any moment.
Just as Sun Chengzong was about to shout "Release the arrows!",
Click!
Gu Moran, who had been hanging his head and barely breathing in the cage, suddenly opened his eyes!
The chains on his hands and feet, which weren't even locked, clattered to the ground, and he sprang up from the cage. His right hand slipped through the gap in the iron bars and snatched the pure gold wine jug from Sun Chengzong's hand!
"Lord Sun is so kind, bringing me wine from so far away. There's no need for anyone else to do it for me."
Gu Moran laughed heartily, pulled out the stopper, tilted his head back, and gulped down several large mouthfuls. Right in front of everyone, he drank the entire pot of highly poisonous liquor, which was laced with arsenic and even had the spout smeared with Azure Heavens and Yellow Springs, down to the last drop!
"You... you!"
Sun Chengzong's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He was so frightened that he took three big steps back, pointing at Gu Moran, his throat feeling like it was blocked with phlegm.
"You didn't waste your energy? You... that wine contained arsenic!"
The two senior imperial guards also changed their expressions drastically and were about to leap forward.
Bang!
Gu Moran kicked the two iron railings in front of him, which Zhen Meili had already cut open with a hacksaw.
The thick iron railing snapped and flew out, striking the old eunuch on the left in the chest. The old eunuch coughed up blood and was sent flying backward, knocking over three Capital Garrison swordsmen and shield bearers!
Gu Moran stepped out of the iron cage, flicked his wrist, and the empty golden wine pot in his hand whistled through the air.
It slammed hard into Sun Chengzong's left cheek!
Sun Chengzong screamed in agony as half his face swelled up like a pig's head, and two bloody back teeth flew out with saliva. He fell backward onto the pier.
"Fire arrows! Quickly fire arrows and kill him!"
Sun Chengzong clutched his bloodied cheek, rolling on the ground and roaring.
The three thousand infantrymen of the Capital Garrison on the high platform were stunned by this sudden turn of events.
Upon hearing their commander's order, they all gripped their swords, preparing to release their bowstrings.
"Wait!"
Gu Moran stood at the highest point of the pier, his feet on the broken iron cage. The Pure Yang True Qi at the Peak Second Rank in his dantian roared and circulated, directly enhancing the [Lips and Tongues - Disorderly Mind] skill he had just acquired.
His voice possessed a strange penetrating power, clearly penetrating the ears of every soldier in the Capital Garrison present:
"Brothers of the Capital Garrison!"
If you shoot those arrows, everyone here today will be buried with that old bastard Sun Chengzong!
These words immediately caused an invisible ripple of unease to spread through people's minds.
The Capital Garrison soldiers, who had been drawing their bows taut, felt a buzzing in their heads, and a sense of panic and suspicion rose inexplicably in their hearts. Their fingers, which were gripping the triggers, stopped abruptly.
Gu Moran bent down and picked up the gold wine pot stained with Sun Chengzong's blood from the ground, holding it high:
"Open your eyes wide and look carefully! The outer wall of this wine pot is coated with ' Azure Heavens and Yellow Springs,' a deadly poison from the Western Regions."
Even the slightest touch to the skin and flesh will cause it to rot and rupture through the intestines!
Sun Chengzong had asked Lord Zhou and General Gu to take the wine pot just now so that he could poison them both on the spot.
They double-crossed each other and kept all three million taels of reward money for suppressing the Japanese pirates on the ship!
Sun Chengzong, lying on the ground, was so terrified that he scrambled and crawled behind the Capital Garrison garrison.
"Nonsense! Soldiers, don't listen to this traitor's wicked words!"
"Shoot him dead, and I will reward you with 100,000 taels of silver!"
A reward of 100,000 taels of silver?
Gu Moran scoffed and took a step forward.
" Sun Chengzong, after you poisoned Zhou Yanru and Gu Debai, in order to prevent the news from leaking that you've pocketed three million taels of silver, how many of these three thousand brothers from the Capital Garrison do you plan to leave alive to take back to Chang'an?"
The area around the pier was so quiet that only the sound of waves crashing against the wooden posts could be heard.
The three thousand soldiers of the Capital Garrison looked at each other, their hands gripping the bows and crossbows beginning to tremble.
Soldiers aren't stupid; what does three million taels of silver even mean?
The more people who know the truth, the faster they'll die!