"Yes, Your Majesty. This time we helped you capture this mysterious man. We've surely made contributions to the Great Liang, haven't we? Are you going to punish those who've rendered meritorious service?"
Hearing this, all the officials in the court were stunned by their audacity. The young emperor had let them go just to draw out the snake from its hole. But in their words, it had become an act of making contributions for themselves.
Minister Li couldn't stand such people. Without hesitation, he sneered, "I wonder how you've grown such thick skins. The emperor had already made all the arrangements. Do you think it was all your doing? Moreover, this so - called mysterious man is from a foreign country. You've already colluded with the enemy."
His words hit the three men right where it hurt. Their faces darkened. But Wang Fugui still insisted on his original statement. "Your Majesty, we really contributed to capturing this man. Are you just going to discard us after using us?"
These words directly painted the young emperor as a heartless man. Probably they were the only ones in the whole world who dared to speak to the young emperor like this.
Fu Lu was enraged. He stepped forward and scolded, "It seems you three have no idea where you went wrong. The emperor hasn't executed you yet, which is already a great fortune for you. Instead of being grateful, you're being so insolent here. It seems you need a lesson."
Wang Fugui didn't recognize his mistake at all. He continued to retort, "I'm just telling the truth. Shouldn't the emperor forgive us for this?"
Ji Heng was almost laughed out of anger by these people. "Let's first talk about what you've done. Tell us from the very beginning how you colluded."
Wang Fugui gritted his teeth. Just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly felt a chill on his neck. When he looked over, he was almost scared to incontinence.
Cui Qizhou was specially permitted to bring his sword to the court. At this moment, when he took action, no one dared to say a word.
The man's voice was impatient. It seemed that if Wang Fugui said something disrespectful again the next moment, his head would roll to the ground. "Say what the emperor asks you to say. If you don't want to die, don't talk nonsense. Otherwise, I can't guarantee where my sword will fall."
Wang Fugui had no choice but to nod and reply softly, "I understand."
After that, Wang Fugui told everything about how they colluded.
When the others heard this, they couldn't help sighing. They never expected there was such a story behind this. They also wondered how this mysterious man had managed to sneak into the Great Liang.
At the same time, they were afraid that without their knowledge, these Western Region people might have already stayed quietly beside them. Everyone in the hall was thinking secretly. When they got back, they must carefully check the people around them.
When the mysterious man heard them finish, he was so angry that he wished he could fight them on the spot. "I never thought you were such cowardly people. I shouldn't have chosen you in the first place."
By this time, the three men didn't think they were wrong at all. "Humph, you're in trouble yourself and still have the nerve to blame us." "Yes, you have no right to blame us."
Seeing that they were about to quarrel, the young emperor said impatiently, "Shut up! Who exactly are you? As long as you tell me your purpose, I'll spare your life."
The mysterious man sneered and didn't take the young emperor seriously. "Even if you kill me or use your tricks, I won't say a single word. You people always think that once you catch someone, you can control everything."
"Even if you're not afraid of death, you must have something you care about, right?"
The young emperor's words made the mysterious man feel cold all over.
He did have something he cared about. If not, the king wouldn't have sent him here.
But thinking of what the king had promised him before he left, he was sure that the people he cared about wouldn't be in danger so easily.
The king had promised that as long as he completed the task, the people he cared about would definitely be safe.
The young emperor must be just trying to threaten him. In fact, he couldn't do anything.
With this thought in mind, he slowly let out a sigh and suppressed his thoughts. "Your Majesty doesn't need to scare me with such words. I'm not easily intimidated. Well, if you have nothing else to say, just do it."
He closed his eyes and waited for death.
But after waiting for a long time, no one made a move, and the emperor didn't say anything either. The hall fell into a deathly silence.
The mysterious man opened his eyes in confusion, not understanding why the young emperor didn't take action. "Is the emperor reluctant to do it?"
Ji Heng raised his eyebrows slightly and then a smile appeared on his face. "I know why you're eager to die, and I also know that you actually do care about someone."
These calm words were beyond the mysterious man's expectation. He looked blank and didn't know what to say for a moment.
He had already prepared to die, but the person who held his life in his hands stopped at the last moment. This unexpected feeling was really bad.
His expression was almost on the verge of collapse. "I've already told you to just do it. As an emperor, why are you so indecisive?"
These words scared everyone so much that they didn't even dare to breathe. It was the first time someone had dared to talk to the young emperor like this.
While secretly admiring the mysterious man's courage, they also thought he was ridiculous.
It wasn't hard for everyone present to guess the consequence of his recklessness. "It's a pity. This is the first time we've seen such a brave man, but he won't live long." "You'd better shut up. The emperor might get angry soon, and then you'll be in trouble too." "You'd better be careful. Can't you see the emperor's face looks strange?"
Although these people tried their best to lower their voices, everyone in the hall could still hear them.
Unexpectedly, the young emperor looked calm and wasn't affected by the people below. "Indecisive? Heh, I just think you're so pitiful that I'm afraid you'll dirty the sword of the Great Liang."
These words made anger flash in the mysterious man's eyes. "What does the emperor mean by this? Do you look down on me? I have extraordinary martial arts skills and I'm a capable general under the Western Region King..."
Before he could finish his words, the man beside him mercilessly interrupted.