The imperial palace of the Great Ning Dynasty!
Emperor Li Anlan looked at the memorial from Northern Liang, a trace of something strange flashing through his eyes. To think the heir of Northern Liang had such a murderous streak, actually purging Northern Liang City outright.
The ministers below were stunned as well. The supposedly ignorant and incompetent heir of Northern Liang had actually caused such an enormous stir.
He had killed more than three thousand people in one go. This was an outright slaughter.
But none of them spoke immediately. Instead, they silently watched Emperor Li Anlan, waiting to see which way the wind blew.
Someone, however, could not hold back!
"Your Majesty, the heir of Northern Liang has acted with such reckless disregard, plunging the people of Northern Liang into misery. This subject believes he should be arrested and brought to the capital to answer for his crimes!" A middle-aged official stepped forward and spoke furiously.
His clan had also been caught up in this purge. Not only had they lost men, but even their wealth had been taken away. How could he not be furious?
The heir of Northern Liang was far too arrogant. He had to be held accountable.
Hearing his words, a trace of a cold sneer flashed through Li Anlan's eyes. "Minister Zhang, why don't you go, then?" he said softly.
Uh!
Zhang Huisheng was instantly dumbfounded.
He had only wanted to make Lin Yi pay. But if he went to Northern Liang to arrest their heir, he would probably be killed as an assassin himself.
That was the Prince of Northern Liang's only heir. How could anyone possibly be allowed to arrest him and bring him to the capital?
He gave an awkward smile and lowered his head.
"Hmph!"
Li Anlan glanced at him and sneered. "Read this memorial before saying anything else. If you went to Northern Liang and laid a hand on its heir now, the people there would probably tear you apart!"
What?
Zhang Huisheng froze. His people were clearly the ones who had been purged, so why did it sound as though that brat Lin Yi was the one who had been wronged?
This isn't right. We're the victims here.
No longer caring about etiquette, he hurriedly picked up the memorial and began reading. He had barely reached the halfway point before he started stamping his feet.
The gist of the memorial was simple.
The heir of Northern Liang, an honest man, had been walking innocently down the street when assassins suddenly swarmed him from every direction. Though he had ultimately escaped by sheer luck, he had been utterly exhausted in both body and mind, and had even fallen unconscious for three days and three nights.
After he awoke, assassins actually came to his door again, directly enraging the heir.
In his fury, the heir had mobilized the Northern Liang Guard and slaughtered every assassin in Northern Liang City. However, the mastermind behind the assassins had not been found, and he hoped the court would uphold justice.
Bastard!
Zhang Huisheng's face instantly turned green. How had Lin Yi become an innocent, honest man in this account? That fellow was the heir of Northern Liang, the tyrant of Northern Liang City!
What does any assassination have to do with my Zhang Clan? We were just stirring up a little trouble in Northern Liang. How could we possibly have caused something on this scale?
At that moment, his heart sank.
The reason was simple. The emperor would probably target him. After all, if forced to choose between the Prince of Northern Liang and the Zhang Clan, the emperor would choose the former without hesitation.
He could no longer touch this matter, or he would bring disaster upon himself.
He could not help looking at the emperor and saying hoarsely, "Your Majesty, I never expected there to be such an inside story. However, I fear an investigation will still be needed to establish what actually happened."
"Mm. Then I shall leave this matter to you, Minister Zhang. Go and investigate it," Li Anlan said gravely with a nod.
"Your Majesty..."
"This subject obeys!"
Zhang Huisheng's face instantly went white. Your Majesty, aren't you being far too ruthless?
The emperor knew perfectly well about his arrangements in Northern Liang, yet still wanted him to investigate this matter. He would practically be going there to hand over his head.
But under that imposing gaze, he could only steel himself and accept the assignment.
You win!
"Fool!"
Watching his retreating figure, a trace of disdain flashed through Li Anlan's eyes. He sneered. "Everyone else kept quiet, yet you had to jump out. If the Prince of Northern Liang were so easy to deal with, I would have taken him down long ago. Why would I have waited until now?"
He paid someone like Zhang Huisheng no mind at all.
The man was a mouthpiece for others, but he was also far too stupid. Since he dared to stick his neck out, he could hardly blame the emperor for sending him on his way.
This is the Prince of Northern Liang. Do you think his three hundred thousand troops are just for show?
"Lin Rusong!"
Looking at the memorial in his hand, Li Anlan, who had been sneering just moments earlier, could not help laughing.
The memorial he had tossed down had been written by Lin Yi, while the one in his hand was from Lin Rusong, the Prince of Northern Liang.
Judging by the timing of these two memorials, the memorial of impeachment had been sent first, yet Lin Rusong's and Lin Yi's memorials had arrived ahead of it. That alone showed the Prince of Northern Liang's power.
Of course, it also showed that the Prince of Northern Liang was truly anxious. Otherwise, he would not have gone to such lengths to deliver the memorial.
Lin Rusong, oh, Lin Rusong. It seems your only son is your weakness after all!
A Prince of Northern Liang with a weakness is the best kind. But how can I bring this heir of Northern Liang, Lin Yi, under my control?
"Your Majesty, the barbarians of the Northern Region are stirring again. Now is not the time to move against the Prince of Northern Liang."
Chancellor Lu Yafu emerged from the darkness and spoke with a grave expression.
He knew full well that the emperor had been planning all along to weaken the Prince of Northern Liang, and even wanted to abolish Northern Liang as a feudal state.
But Northern Liang was too important. It was the Great Ning Dynasty's shield to the west and north, and nothing could be allowed to go wrong there. If something happened, all of Northern Liang would probably be occupied, and the Great Ning Dynasty would then become the villain.
Li Anlan glanced at him and smiled. "Naturally, I understand that. I am in no hurry, either. I am twenty years younger than Lin Rusong. I can outlast him until he dies."
Looking at the emperor's amiable expression, Lu Yafu sighed. Is that really what His Majesty thinks?
The answer was probably no.
The current emperor was exceedingly forceful. He had usurped his own father's throne and harbored a great deal of murderous intent. How could he calmly wait for the Prince of Northern Liang to die of old age? He would probably employ one tactic after another.
Alas!
Let everything go smoothly. Being chancellor is no easy task!
Watching his retreating figure, a trace of mockery flashed through Li Anlan's eyes. He let out a long sigh and said softly, "The realm belongs to one man. Only then can he be called an emperor!"
That night, at the Prince of Northern Liang's Residence!
Huang Yuntao, the governor of Yongzhou, paid a visit that night, rather surprising Lin Yi.
But once he explained why he had come, Lin Yi was even more surprised. This old man had actually come to tell him who was behind the assassins.
The Ran Clan!
The Ran Clan had quite a background. It was one of the great clans of the Great Ning Dynasty.
Ran Zijin, their man in charge in Northern Liang, also had quite a background. He was a trusted favorite of the emperor, and the two were said to have grown up together. To put it plainly, he had been placed in Northern Liang City to keep watch over Lin Yi's father.
To put it plainly, keeping watch was the most they could do.
But openly trying to assassinate him? They were probably getting ahead of themselves.
And then there was Huang Yuntao. Earlier, he had claimed to know nothing about the assassins, yet now he was suddenly saying they belonged to the Ran Clan. That made things rather delicate.
Huang Yuntao naturally knew of the heir's suspicions and explained, "Your Highness, the grand general asked me to relay this to you. The information should be reliable."