"What brings you here?" Jing Xunchao asked as he watched Teng Liu hurry in.
"My men just got the news that the eldest princess is trying to kill you. That's why I came." As he spoke, he glanced at the people on the ground. "Looks like you've already taken care of them. Then I'm not needed. I'll take my leave."
With that, he was about to leave, but Jing Xunchao called him back. "Since you're here, stay and help out. Dispose of these people."
"Do you really have the nerve to order me around?" He was the prince of the Kingdom of Karlsh, yet they kept ordering him around. How could they?
"Why wouldn't I? This is your mansion. Do you expect us to clean up instead of you?" Jing Xunchao rolled his eyes at Teng Liu and pulled Mu Fengqie into another room.
Teng Liu gritted his teeth as he looked at the mess in the room. Suddenly, he noticed something strange about the people on the ground. After stripping off their clothes, he found the unique marks on their bodies.
"This is really a stroke of luck. It seems the eldest princess has really bitten off more than she can chew this time. Jing Xunchao and the other one are really something." Teng Liu happily had the people carried away.
Teng Liu tidied up a bit, then took a sharp knife and cut his arm deeply. After a hasty bandage, he waited for dawn to go to the palace.
The eldest princess waited all night but the people she sent out didn't return. She couldn't help but feel anxious, having a premonition that something bad was about to happen.
"Have the people I sent out not returned yet?" the eldest princess asked.
"Your Highness, they haven't come back yet. Maybe that young master is a master, and they need more time," the maid beside the eldest princess replied. She had full confidence in the secret guards around the eldest princess because they had never failed a mission.
The fact that they didn't return on time this time was probably because that young master was a tough nut to crack. Such things had happened before, so there was no need to worry.
The next day, the court of the Kingdom of Karlsh was in an uproar because Teng Liu came to the court with an injured arm.
Although he rarely attended court, the people under his grandfather were still there. They were all on his side. So when they saw their master in such a state, they were outraged.
They immediately demanded that the emperor conduct a thorough investigation.
"Son, do you know who those people are?" the old emperor squinted his eyes, a hint of suspicion flashing through them. He couldn't rule out the possibility that this was a play staged by Teng Liu himself.
"Father, last night I was about to go to sleep as usual. Who would have thought that a group of black - clothed men suddenly broke in. Without saying a word, they attacked me. Fortunately, I had the shadow guards you gave me. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to see you today, Father."
Teng Liu knelt in the main hall and told his story vividly. He even reddened his eyes. If Mu Fengqie had seen this performance of Teng Liu, he would definitely have exclaimed in admiration. This was even better than the movie stars in modern times. Truly, there were talented people emerging from generation to generation.
The old emperor looked at Teng Liu kneeling below and rubbed his temples with a headache. "Tell me, what did you find?"
"Last night, the shadow guards checked those people and found... found that they were all the people of the eldest princess." Teng Liu hesitated for a moment but still said it. Although he didn't want to see infighting among the royal family, some people just kept offering themselves up. If he didn't take advantage of this opportunity, he would be sorry for the people sent by the eldest princess.
"Presumptuous! Teng Liu, do you know what you're saying?" the old emperor said, looking at Teng Liu disapprovingly.
"Father, every word I say is true. If you don't believe me, you can call the shadow guards beside me to ask." Teng Liu said confidently.
The old emperor looked at Teng Liu for a long time before ordering someone to call the shadow guards beside Teng Liu.
"What happened last night? Tell the truth, or you'll lose your head," the emperor's authority was immediately palpable as he stared intently at the shadow guards below.
"Your Majesty, a group of black - clothed men broke in last night. By the time we arrived, the prince was already injured. After we took care of the assassins, we found that those people were from the royal family, and they had the unique mark of the eldest princess on them."
The shadow guards spoke in a matter - of - fact manner, not blushing at all for lying. These shadow guards had long been on Teng Liu's side, so they would say whatever their master told them to.
"Your Majesty, the eldest princess is really too presumptuous. She openly tried to harm the royal heir. Please convict the eldest princess," someone said.
Once one person stood up, a group of people followed. Now that someone on Teng Liu's side had taken the lead, those who had long been dissatisfied with the eldest princess also stood up.
The old emperor took a deep breath as he looked at the requests from all the court officials. Then he said, "I can't just listen to your side of the story, son. We still need to confront the eldest princess."
Teng Liu didn't say anything. Anyway, the final result would be the same. He was determined to take a bite out of the eldest princess today!
When the eldest princess received the summons, her eyelid twitched. She knew something bad was going to happen today. Fortunately, the favor she had received over the years wasn't for nothing. She quickly composed herself and followed the eunuch into the palace.
"Your humble daughter pays respects to Father. May Father live a long and prosperous life," the eldest princess said gracefully in her court clothes as she bowed to the old emperor without showing the slightest hint of panic.
"Get up, daughter. Your younger brother says you tried to harm him last night. Is this true?" the old emperor said, looking at the eldest princess with approval.
The eldest princess's heart skipped a beat, but she showed no sign of it on her face. She just frowned and said, "Why does my younger brother slander me? I've always kept a distance from you. Where does the accusation of murder come from?"
"Sister, are you still going to deny it at this point?" Teng Liu looked at the eldest princess with an injured expression, as if the eldest princess had committed a heinous crime.
"Sister, I know I'm not as good as you. Because of my mother's situation, you all look down on me from the bottom of your hearts. I'm just a vulgar person full of the stench of money. It's only natural that you don't like me. I don't care because I know Father loves me."
"However, I never thought that you would hate me so much that you can't even tolerate my existence. If that's the case, you should have just said so earlier. I would definitely leave and not let you see me. I wouldn't have bothered you. Why do you have to try to kill your younger brother?"
It had to be said that Teng Liu's acting skills were truly impeccable. He portrayed the eldest princess as a vicious sister who hated her younger brother and was willing to kill him. And after stepping on the eldest princess, he also praised the emperor.