Qi Rong slightly raised his eyebrows, a sneer on his face. He had long expected this. Seeing Zhan Feng hesitating to speak, he said in a deep voice,
"Speak your mind. Don't beat around the bush."
Zhan Feng gave a start and immediately said,
"The messenger said that Prime Minister Yun Sheng once spoke up to help Your Highness out of trouble, but it didn't work well. At this moment, Prince Huai and Lin Hai are in the Zhenghe Hall with the Emperor. Your subordinate is worried..."
In Zhan Feng's mind, Prime Minister Yun Sheng had always been a great traitor. Moreover, Yun Sheng's slander had weakened the power of the Luo family and indirectly caused the death of the old Duke Luo. This made Zhan Feng hate Yun Sheng to the core.
He even didn't want his master to waste his efforts on Yun Xi, the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
However, it was really incredible that Prince Huai and Lin Hai were colluding to frame his master in front of the Emperor, while Yun Sheng had spoken up to help. He didn't want to owe Yun Sheng any favors either.
He thought Yun Sheng was just feigning sympathy!
But Prince Huai and Lin Hai were in collusion at this moment, and they were really hard to deal with!
At such a sensitive moment, if the Emperor wavered, his master would be truly walking on thin ice and in great danger!
Hearing this, Qi Rong immediately shifted his black eyes and his gaze fell on the dying man.
"Put him down and tie him up. I'll enter the palace right away!"
It had never been his style to just wait to be slaughtered. A bit of challenge would make things more interesting.
Since those two old foxes were eager to see him stumble, he would fulfill their wish and see who would fall harder!
Just like this, Qi Rong ordered his men to throw the man on the horse's back and then galloped towards the palace. He didn't dismount even when passing through the long palace corridor and only stopped when he reached the Zhenghe Hall where the Emperor held court after the morning session.
Qi Rong threw the horse to the palace servant, grabbed the man's tattered clothes that barely covered his body, and dragged him all the way into the Zhenghe Hall. He threw the man in like a sack.
"Qi Rong, what are you doing?"
Looking at the long trail of blood on the ground and seeing Qi Rong throwing a corpse into the Zhenghe Hall, Prince Huai immediately launched an attack before the Emperor could say a word.
"This is the palace, not a place where you can act recklessly! Do you still have the Emperor in your eyes with such behavior?!"
Facing Prince Huai's outcry, Qi Rong walked leisurely into the hall. His thin lips curved up and he suddenly sneered,
"The Emperor hasn't said a word yet. Why are you so excited, Fifth Brother? Is it because you're flustered after seeing an acquaintance?"
Prince Huai glanced at the man on the ground. His eyes immediately tightened and he flatly denied it.
"What are you talking nonsense about? How could I possibly know him!"
Prince Huai roared angrily, but Qi Rong ignored him. Instead, he slowly saluted the Emperor, seemingly completely unaware that his attitude was overstepping.
The Emperor's face twitched slightly. He stared at Qi Rong gloomily and said,
"Seventh Brother, why did you enter the palace without my summons? And what's that thing on the ground?"
Since he ascended the throne, to avoid repeating the coup, he had set many palace rules. The palace was as impregnable as a fortress. All officials had to dismount from their carriages before entering the palace gate, go through a simple search, and walk through the palace corridor on foot.
However, these rules were like a dead letter to Qi Rong.
The palace servants didn't dare to stop him, and the imperial guards had been whipped by him several times. Although the Emperor was angry, he couldn't easily behead Qi Rong because he still needed him.
As time passed, the Emperor turned a blind eye, and everyone got used to it. Qi Rong, however, became even more unscrupulous.
Now, it was fine that he entered the palace without summons, but he even brazenly brought in a half - dead man!
This instantly made Emperor Qi Hong furious, but he didn't get angry immediately to maintain his dignity as an emperor.
Qi Rong slightly raised his eyebrows and said with a wanton smile,
"Your Majesty, I have something important to discuss with you. Since it couldn't be delayed, I naturally didn't pay attention to those empty formalities. Because I just captured a man yesterday who claimed to be a deputy general from the border!
"He earnestly tried to persuade me to rebel. He even took out a letter that he said was written by General Luo Yuan and asked me to rebel with him... Your Majesty, do you think I could not come and report such a heinous thing to you!"
Hearing this, the Emperor instantly narrowed his cold eyes. He stared at Qi Rong sharply and said,
"So how did you handle it, Seventh Brother? Why didn't you report it to me earlier?
"I've heard that you've been in frequent contact with the border recently. It seems that you have some hidden secrets!"
The Emperor Qi Hong's tone rose slightly, and a chilling aura emanated from his body. However, Qi Rong remained calm, showing no trace of panic or guilt.
Qi Rong swept his black eyes over Prince Huai and Lin Hai. His cold lips curled up mockingly and he said,
"Your Majesty, yesterday when I heard his identity, I immediately arrested him and threw him into jail, forcing him to tell the truth. However, this man seemed to be instigated by someone and was very defiant. Last night, I ordered my men to strip him naked and hang him upside down on a tree in front of the Prince Xian's Mansion. Guess what?"
Qi Rong lowered his eyes and sneered, as if he was telling a joke.
"Not long after, Fifth Brother and Lord Lin rushed to the Prince Xian's Mansion in a hurry to arrest people. They even framed me for colluding with the border to rebel! Haha, don't you think they're stupid?
"I've been in the capital for more than a decade, and the Luo family never thought of me. If it weren't for your kindness, Your Majesty, I would still be a convict. How could I have today's glory? Did the Luo family only think of rebelling after the death of the old Duke Luo? What were they doing a few years ago? They were in a complete mess. How could they achieve anything!"
Qi Rong's words were full of sarcasm and each word was astonishing. Although they were harsh, he had made his point clear:
Not only did he hold a grudge against the Luo family for not helping him back then, so he couldn't possibly collude with them; the Luo family was now in a complete mess and simply didn't have the ability to rebel!
People weren't stupid. Who would do such a stupid thing as hitting a stone with an egg and seeking their own destruction?
So, the identity of that deputy general from the border who tried to persuade him to rebel was even more suspicious!
As soon as Qi Rong said this, the Emperor's expression tightened slightly and he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
"Your Majesty, if you don't believe what I said, you can interrogate him on the spot. He still has a breath left. I have plenty of ways to make him tell the truth!"
Qi Rong said with a smile on his face, full of confidence.
However, Prince Huai and Lin Hai were greatly shocked. Prince Huai couldn't help but blurt out,
"Qi Rong, didn't you say that this man's tongue had been cut off by you? How can you make him speak?"
Qi Rong was tall and looked down at Prince Huai arrogantly, as if looking at a fool,
"Fifth Brother, you're too naive. You actually believed such a casual remark?"
"You!"
Prince Huai was at a loss for words and immediately flew into a rage.
Last night, they wanted to take the man away, but Qi Rong said that the man had no tongue and was useless, so they gave up taking him away. They didn't expect that Qi Rong would dare to play a trick right under their noses!
Lin Hai frowned and said in a deep voice,
"Prince Xian, we went to your mansion to arrest people yesterday because we got some intelligence. You knew about it but didn't report it and even detained the man privately. If it's not because you're guilty, how else can you explain it?
"After being tortured all night, who knows whether what this man says is true or false? Will it mislead the Emperor!"
Lin Hai's words were incisive and thought - provoking. Qi Rong stared at him intently with his cold eyes.
"Lord Lin, if I hadn't kept this man yesterday, how could I have seen this wonderful show you've put on today? Who is really going to mislead the Emperor, this man or Fifth Brother and you?"
Suddenly thinking of something, Qi Rong slightly curled his lips and smiled wickedly.
"Maybe you're also being misled, Lord Lin!"
Qi Rong's smile made Lin Hai feel creepy. Hearing Qi Rong's words, Lin Hai's eyebrows almost knitted into a knot. He looked at Prince Huai uneasily.