Many of the commoners in the shoving crowd had been planted there by Yun Shen.
He kept low and soon slipped out of the street.
After he left, Feng Chenyi led the Patrol Camp soldiers in surrounding the entire sacrificial procession.
Then he strode up to Wei Zhao and said, "Your Majesty! I just saw the assassin use the chaos to slip into the sacrificial procession. I request permission to thoroughly search everyone and everything in the procession. We must not let the madman who dared disturb Your Majesty escape!"
Wei Zhao was still shaken by what had just happened.
Even surrounded by a large force of soldiers, he was still afraid.
And the more afraid he was, the angrier he became.
Now, hearing Feng Chenyi's words, he agreed without a second thought. "Search! You must capture that rebel for me! I want him alive or his corpse!"
Zhao Junze, who had followed close behind, heard this and felt his head buzz.
He stepped forward to stop him. "Your Majesty! I clearly saw the assassin slip into the crowd of commoners, not the sacrificial procession! If we stop to search now, we may well let the real assassin get away!"
Feng Chenyi retorted, "Commander Zhao, do you mean to say that His Majesty was wrong to order me to search the sacrificial procession?"
His words made Wei Zhao frown.
No one could say Wei Zhao was wrong.
Now Zhao Junze was pressuring Feng Chenyi, preventing him from conducting the search. That was the same as disregarding Wei Zhao's order.
This naturally displeased Wei Zhao.
His voice grew colder. "Zhao Junze, are you questioning my order?"
Zhao Junze stiffened, and cold sweat soon soaked through his inner robe. He hurriedly said, "I would not dare!"
"Then search!"
This time, Wei Zhao had given an absolute order. Zhao Junze dared not delay and hurried off to carry it out.
Along the way, he exchanged a look with Kou Yuan and immediately took a few trusted men toward the chest holding Zhao Hai.
But Feng Chenyi had already beaten him to it, surrounding the chest containing Zhao Hai, along with all the attendants and sacrificial offerings from the inner palace.
"Out of my way!" Zhao Junze panicked. "Go search somewhere else. This is my responsibility!"
"Commander Zhao, first come, first served." Feng Chenyi refused to give an inch. "Besides, my eldest brother is the Minister of Rites. Apart from the inner palace's affairs, he arranged everything for this sacrificial procession. If I search those people, I would be investigating my own brother, which might raise suspicions that I'm covering for him."
"So it would be best if you searched those people while I search the people from the inner palace whom Noble Consort Shu arranged."
Hearing this, Zhao Junze finally understood, slow as he was.
His eyes turned bloodshot in an instant. He pointed at Feng Chenyi and roared in a low voice:
"You did it on purpose!!!"
He had wondered why the assassin's arrival had been so strange, why Feng Chenyi had suddenly led the Patrol Camp to scatter the Imperial Guard, and why Feng Chenyi had proposed that His Majesty search the sacrificial procession.
It had been a trap from beginning to end!
And there was Zhou Ye, whose martial arts were so formidable, yet he had let the assassin escape!
The Feng Family and the Zhou Family had joined forces long ago without their knowledge!
But even though he had figured everything out,
he had no evidence to prove any of it!
Besides, His Majesty was furious right now, and the only order he had given was to search the sacrificial procession.
Once his son was found hiding in a chest arranged by Noble Consort Shu, nothing the Zhao Family said would carry any weight!
Zhao Junze's eyes nearly split with fury. "You-you're treasonous! Outrageously bold!"
Feng Chenyi gave a rare scoff.
He stepped closer to Zhao Junze and said quietly, "But today, in His Majesty's eyes, it won't be us who are treasonous and outrageously bold. It will be your Zhao Family."
With that, he turned and shouted, "Nan Yu, open the chests and search them!"