You little rascal, you really did hide your abilities well.
Xu Zhong's eyes flickered. There was no telling what he was thinking, but it was clear that he was far from calm. The heir had obviously stunned him too.
Beside him, Huang Yuntao watched his expression and sneered inwardly. Curling his lip, he said, "Hmph, you put on such a calm act, but the heir still gave you a fright."
He had always disliked Xu Zhong, the great general. The man was always so arrogant, as though no one was worthy of his notice, and showed no respect whatsoever for an elder like him.
Serves you right for looking down on the heir. Now that you've seen how formidable he is, you're dumbfounded, aren't you?
Usually, you act as though you have everything planned out. Now you're probably utterly baffled, with a hundred questions in your head. Too bad he's the heir, with a status far above yours, great general or not.
Just then, Xu Zhong suddenly turned and looked straight at him.
Holy shit!
Huang Yuntao's scalp prickled. Had the man realized he was talking about him? Was that why he was looking at him like that?
"What?"
"Tell the heir that the assassins were from the Ran Clan!"
Huang Yuntao wanted to ask more, but Xu Zhong had already left.
"The Ran Clan?"
Watching his retreating figure, the prefect sank into thought.
The Ran Clan had considerable backing. Yet Xu Zhong wanted him to tell the heir about their involvement. He wanted the heir to clash with the Ran Clan.
"Xu Zhong, oh, Xu Zhong, just what are you thinking? Are you hoping to reap the benefits of their conflict, or do you want to test the heir?"
Huang Yuntao pondered. This matter could be serious or trivial, and he had no idea whether the heir could resolve it.
He sighed and could not help murmuring, "Such troubled times. Who knows whether the heir's rise is good or bad? Being the prefect is far too hard."
The Prince of Northern Liang's Residence!
Having returned to the residence early, Lin Yi was leisurely sipping tea. The outcome was already settled, so there was naturally no need for him to worry too much.
Haitang, beside him, was worried sick. With the heir slaughtering so many people, those officials would certainly be unable to sit still.
They had not made trouble earlier, probably because they feared the heir would kill them too. But tomorrow, they certainly would not let the matter rest. Their memorials of impeachment were probably already flying toward the capital.
They had to prepare early, or they would be caught off guard.
At this thought, Haitang could not help saying quietly, "Your Highness, after such a commotion today, those officials will probably come knocking tomorrow. They may even impeach you. Why not ask the prince for instructions?"
Right now, the prince was the only person in Northern Liang City who could keep everything under control. Otherwise, the heir would surely be in serious trouble.
"Hahahaha! There is no need to trouble my father over something so minor!"
Hearing Haitang's words, Lin Yi sneered and said disdainfully, "What's the big deal about killing so few people? Which of them wasn't guilty of countless crimes? I can say that not one of them was innocent. Those officials had better stay away. If they come, I'll ask whether they're accomplices!"
He knew full well that not a single person on the Northern Liang Guard's records was innocent.
Besides, as the heir of Northern Liang and the person temporarily in charge of Northern Liang City, what was wrong with killing a few assassins who threatened stability? These people could do nothing to him. Unless he committed some heinous crime or openly rebelled, even the emperor of Great Ning would not do anything to him.
After all, those three hundred thousand soldiers were no pushovers. Taking him down over some minor issue was clearly unrealistic.
"Uh!"
Haitang was instantly at a loss for words. Put that way, the heir really was right. These people all belonged to intelligence organizations and assassin dens. There truly was not a single good person among them.
In that case, the heir had done a great good deed.
But why did her heart feel like it was racing? Why was she so nervous?
Silly woman!
Seeing the change in her thoughts, Lin Yi could not help laughing. Women were still too hesitant and overcautious.
When it came to making the most of a pretext like this, as long as he had even a shred of justification, who would dare say anything?
With the blade in his hands, those officials could do nothing but protest.
Besides, he was the heir of Northern Liang, after all. Someone had tried to assassinate him. Wouldn't it be abnormal if he did not react?
So not only did he have to kill, he had to kill on a grand scale.
Still, he truly had not done it entirely to vent his anger. He had set his sights on these forces' wealth and resources. By wiping out several forces in one go, he had taken all the resources they had accumulated.
Though he was the heir of Northern Liang, even an heir had no surplus grain.
At that moment, Han Song and Ma Chao finally returned to report.
The heavy smell of blood coming off them could be detected from far away, making several maids frown.
What murderous auras!
How many people had they killed?
Han Song fought to keep his arms from trembling and said gravely, "Your Highness, those forces within Northern Liang City have essentially been eliminated!" It was not fear. He had simply killed until his arms went weak.
"How many did you kill?"
"This time, we wiped out seven gangs, three assassin dens, and the Heavenly Eagle Guard, the Northern Region barbarians' intelligence organization. More than three thousand five hundred people in total."
More than three thousand five hundred!
Lin Yi sneered. He felt not the slightest guilt over their deaths. Instead, fury burned within him.
These people were either assassins or members of enemy intelligence organizations. They had stayed in Northern Liang City with ill intentions. Killing them was no sin; it rid the people of a scourge.
Well killed!
But what concerned him was not that. It was what they had gained this time.
After such a conspicuous bout of slaughter, he would probably have to shoulder a pile of impeachments. If he gained nothing from it, he would be doing himself a disservice.
He looked at Ma Chao and said gravely, "Mengqi, you've taken care of what I asked you to do, haven't you? Since they dared to try to assassinate me, they'll have to cover my medical expenses. I can't have suffered an assassination attempt for nothing!"
"Pfft!"
Han Song and Haitang could not help laughing awkwardly. The heir's talk of medical expenses was simply brilliant. He clearly intended to swallow up all their property.
What a bold move.
"Rest assured, Your Highness. It's done."
Ma Chao thought nothing of it. Before they set out, the heir had instructed him that they could let a few people escape, but not a single bit of money could be left behind. So he had scraped the ground three feet deep and missed nothing.
Otherwise, he would have returned to report long ago.
He took a ledger from inside his robe and said gravely, "Every one of these villains committed all manner of evil, and the wealth in their hands was ill-gotten. So I brought it all back for you, Your Highness. Here is the detailed ledger."
"Mm!"
Lin Yi nodded. He had no concerns on that front. Ma Chao would not embezzle his money, so it should all end up in his hands.
He opened the ledger, and his pupils contracted. This truly was an overnight fortune.