Chapter 1544: Too Naive
Chapter 1544: Too Naive
Yi Chun had always loved his son dearly. How could he not be nervous when he learned that most of the men he had sent were dead?
The messenger was frightened by Yi Chun’s sudden movements and looked toward the emperor. When he saw the emperor nod, he said, “According to what those who escaped said, the lead Bailiff Wang and young master Yi were…”
“Were what?” Yi Chun asked, panicking when he saw the messenger hesitate. “Was he injured? Was it serious? Where is he? Hurry and take me there!”
He had heard a bit about his son’s unsavory record over the past few years, but he had assumed it wasn’t too big a deal. Ordinary people couldn’t really do much about it, and Yi Zhibing had always been quite sharp. He knew who to provoke and who to stay away from. Even if he accidentally offended some people, they would still be lenient out of respect for him. After some proper punishment, he would then be let off. As such, Yi Chun wondered who had punished Yi Zhibing this time.
The messenger was a bit troubled. He secretly broke free from Yi Chun’s grasp, took a step back, and said, “Young master Yi… has been killed.”
“He’s been killed, that’s not too bad, I’ll find some medicine…” Yi Chun muttered absent-mindedly before suddenly realizing what had happened. “What?!”
The entire place immediately became as noisy as a marketplace. Yi Chun’s official rank wasn’t the highest, but it definitely wasn’t low. People normally turned a blind eye to Yi Zhibing’s actions out of respect for Yi Chun, and yet now, Yi Zhibing had been killed by an unknown person.
Even the emperor was a bit surprised. There was actually someone who dared to kill publicly in the capital, and to kill an official, no less! Could it be that the Devil Sect’s people were here to cause trouble again?
Yi Chun felt as if he had been struck by thunder. His entire body fell limp to the ground. The officials next to him quickly rushed over to support him, and only after a while did he recover again. However, he pushed those officials away, looking at the messenger with a murderous gaze and asking, “Who was the killer? Who dares do something so demented?!”
The messenger hesitated for a moment. He looked at the emperor again.
The emperor was stunned, thinking, Don’t tell me it was someone you can’t name? However, out of consideration for Yi Chun’s anger, he couldn’t let his ministers feel abandoned. As such, he waved his hand and said, “Say what you think.”
The messenger then said hesitantly, “From what we know… the killer seems… to be Sir Zu An.”
“Zu An?” several people exclaimed, simultaneously looking at Zu An. None of them had expected it to be him!
“This old one is going to kill you!” Yi Chun roared like a furious lion, pouncing directly at Zu An.
You have successfully trolled Yi Chun for +999 +999 +999…
This youngster’s glib tongue had already left Yi Chun really annoyed, and now, it turned out Zu An had killed his son! How could he still tolerate it?
No longer concerned with the court, charged straight at Zu An, locking onto him with a powerful aura. In his anger, he didn’t hold back at all. He wanted to kill Zu An without giving him any chance to speak.
“Ah!” Bi Linglong cried out as she stood up nervously.
She wanted to save Zu An, but he was unfortunately too far away. Furthermore, even if she had been at his side, there was just too big of a difference in cultivation between her and Yi Chun. She couldn’t save Zu An even if she wanted to. She could only watch as Zu An was caught up in such a terrifying situation, as if he would be blown to pieces at a moment’s notice.
Unexpectedly, however, Zu An didn’t run at all. He stood in place with a calm expression. Soon after, two figures suddenly rushed forth, unleashing palm strikes to intercept Yi Chun.
Yi Chun staggered briefly. When he stabilized himself again, he looked at the two people in front of him and asked, “Sir Jiang, Sir Murong, what is the meaning of this?”
Jiang Boyang also looked at the glaring elder next to him with a bit of surprise. He hadn’t expected Murong Tong to actually step forward to help Zu An too. After all, it was actually Zu An who had caused the string of events that caused Murong Tong to be demoted from the crucial position of Security Officer to his current ‘half-retired’ position of Supervisor of Attendants. The two sides had even erupted into conflicts several times. Out of all the people who wanted Zu An dead, he should have been near the top of the list. Now, however, he had saved Zu An!
Murong Tong said with a sour expression, “There are too many points of suspicion in this case. It will not be too late after we investigate things clearly.”
He naturally didn’t like Zu An, but his good granddaughter Murong Qinghe always talked about Zu An whenever she visited. The fact that Murong Qinghe liked the Chu clan’s youngest Chu Youzhao was no secret. Meanwhile, Zu An was the Chu clan’s son-in-law, so they could end up becoming family in the future. As such, no matter how much Murong Tong disliked Zu An, he couldn’t just watch as Zu An died right before his eyes.
Jiang Boyang said in agreement, “Indeed. If selfish actions were allowed in the court, we would quickly become a laughingstock.” After all, as the Commandant of Justice, maintaining the dignity of the law was his responsibility to begin with.
Flames practically began to appear in Yi Chun’s eyes. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to others’ advice at all. He charged after yelling, “That little bastard killed my beloved son. Today, I won’t be satisfied unless he dies!”
Just then, Eunuch Wen called out in his shrill voice, “Silence!”
Yi Chun finally stopped. Everyone in the capital knew Eunuch Wen was the emperor’s trusted aide. His words usually represented the emperor’s attitude.
Sure enough, Emperor Zhao Han glowered, saying, “The entire court has become like the markets. This is unacceptable!”
All the subjects present all bowed apologetically and exclaimed. “We fear the emperor!” At the same time, they all looked at Yi Chun with disdain. Didn’t you say you weren’t going to stop no matter who stood in your way? Keep going then, if you have the ability!
Yi Chun didn’t dare to do anything else. He simply kneeled low to the ground and complained tearfully, “Your highness, my son was carrying out official business while under orders this time, and yet he was cruelly killed by this evildoer Zu An! I ask that your highness upholds justice!”
The emperor frowned, but he couldn’t ignore the death of the son of one of his ministers. As such, he looked at the other person involved and asked, “Zu An, did you go to the Sang manor, and were you the one who killed Yi Chun’s son?”
King Qi frowned. Zu An should have been part of the emperor’s faction, so for him to receive protection was to be expected. However, after facing him for so many years, King Qi understood his older brother’s naturally cold demeanor better than anyone else. He knew the emperor already greatly disliked Zu An, and letting his subjects attack Zu An as they wanted had been a reflection of that. But now, he seemed to have changed his mind.
The emperor’s question was full of implied meanings. As long as Zu An denied it flatly, Yi Chun’s revenge would be out of the question. Eventually, if they stalled long enough, the issue would pass.
Bi Linglong looked expectantly at Zu An, thinking, This guy has always been intelligent, so he should be able to pick up on this.
Unexpectedly, however, Zu An nodded and said, “Before I entered the palace, I indeed visited the Sang manor first. I did kill Yi Zhibing.”
The entire court erupted noisily once again. Jiang Boyang and Murong Tong both shook their heads as they returned to their positions. Now, not even the Eastern Palace’s people would be able to do anything.
Yi Chun’s entire body shook as he berated Zu An with curses. If he hadn’t been afraid of the emperor, he would have already attacked Zu An.
You have successfully trolled Yi Chun for +444 +444 +444…
The emperor was speechless. So was Bi Linglong.
King Qi gave Zu An a look of surprise. Why is this kid still so calm?
Killing an official was no different from treason, let alone in the present situation where the victim’s family was still present.
Bi Linglong was very worried. She let go of her reservations and asked, “Sir Zu, what happened at the Sang manor exactly that made you decide to do such a thing?”
Many of those present felt admiration for her. The Crown Princess really is sharp, obtaining a chance for him to defend himself so easily.
Sure enough, Zu An took the opportunity and said, “When I found out that something happened to Sir Sang, I was incredibly worried. When I returned to the capital, I wanted to see how the Sang clan was doing first. However, in the midst of their difficult situation, I encountered Yi Zhibing brazenly attacking young miss Sang and the Sang clan’s daughter-in-law. As such, I took action out of righteous indignation.”
The expressions of the ministers present changed a bit. As fellow members of the court, they had actually heard things about Yi Zhibing’s nature here and there. As such, few of them doubted his story. Still, all of them were old foxes, so they wouldn’t rush in to ‘uphold justice’ or anything in the current situation. That was especially true where doing so could offend another member of the court.
King Qi sneered. He had thought Zu An had some other trump card. Was that it? The young are too naive after all. Too simple.