Chapter 191: A Heartless Man Who Abandons Someone After Having His Way?

7-9 am.

After the morning court session, the officials in vermilion and purple robes filed out from the Xuande Gate of the Imperial City.

The crowd appeared chaotic, but in reality, everyone carefully chose their companions according to their factions, and determined their positions based on their rank and official status.

The high-ranking officials in purple robes walked side by side, conversing in low voices.

The fifth-rank officials in vermilion robes lagged half a step behind, neither daring to overstep their bounds nor failing to ensure they could catch the conversations of the big shots.

As for the seventh-rank officials in green, they could only hang their heads and trail along three zhang away.

Walking in the middle of the largest group were high-ranking court officials led by He Danian and Li Qiushi.

To their side and slightly behind was the Prince of Linping, Chen Hong; the group surrounding him was equally substantial, and there were still a steady stream of mid-to-low-level officials stepping forward to pay their respects.

This morning, Your Majesty suddenly appointed Chen Hong as the Governor of the Tianzong Prefecture Yamen. This move carried immense symbolic significance, seemingly indicating that the long-vacant position of Crown Prince was about to be settled.

In stark contrast to the bustling activity around Chen Hong, Prince Anping, Chen Duan, who was once surrounded by throngs of people, now had nothing left but a few die-hard confidants who could no longer change their allegiances, a far cry from his former glory.

After exiting the Xuande Gate, Chen Hong did not board his carriage to return to his estate. Instead, he stood to one side, seemingly waiting for someone.

Chen Duan, who had intentionally fallen behind, had just walked into the corridor of the Xuande Gate. One person was cold and lonely, walking alone through the deep and dark corridor; the other was surrounded by crowds, standing under the scorching sun outside the corridor.

Their respective situations were clearly manifested in this moment.

Chen Duan’s footsteps faltered slightly, then immediately returned to normal, and he walked with a calm expression toward the figure who was clearly waiting for him.

In full view of everyone, he couldn’t exactly turn around and flee back into the Imperial City, could he?

“Brother,” Chen Hong greeted first, cupping his hands, a warm and appropriate smile on his chubby face.

Chen Duan returned the salute, his voice devoid of emotion, “Brother, you are waiting here. May I ask what advice you have for me?”

“I wanted to have a chat with you, Brother.”

Chen Hong stepped forward and grabbed his cousin’s wrist with a slightly aggressive force.

After speaking, his gaze swept to the left and right, and everyone around him bowed their heads and retreated a certain distance.

The two brothers then walked side by side. From behind, it looked like they were holding hands, quite intimate.

“Brother, eighteen years have passed in the blink of an eye. I still remember that in the Plum Month of the 31st year of legitimacy, it was just as sunny as this.”

In the 31st year of legitimacy, the second prince, Prince Feng, was framed by the Crown Prince and committed suicide in the palace.

At that time, Chen Hong was only eight years old.

But now, as he spoke of this sad past, he used the tone of a victor.

Chen Duan naturally understood the meaning behind Chen Hong’s initiative to mention this matter, and proactively showed weakness: “Afterward, Imperial Grandfather investigated the matter thoroughly and ultimately gave Prince Feng justice.”

This meant that in the year Prince Feng passed away, Your Majesty had already obtained evidence of the Crown Prince framing Prince Feng through the West Yamen. By the end of the year, the Crown Prince had died of illness while under house arrest.

It was considered a life for a life.

“Hehehe~”

Because of his obesity, Chen Hong’s smile was completely buried by the thick fat on his face, making it look somewhat sinister, as if he were smiling without mirth, “So what? My father died unjustly after all.”

Chen Duan was silent for a moment. He turned his head slightly to glance behind him, and seeing that they were far away from his entourage and the officials, he lowered his voice and spoke in a pleading tone: “Brother Hong, you and I are brothers after all. In these next few days, I will submit a memorial to go to Kuizhou to take up my fief.”

“Hahaha~”

Chen Hong tilted his head to look at Chen Duan’s submissive appearance, his laughter even more hearty than before, but he said: “If our situations were reversed right now, would you, Brother, let me go to my fief?”

“…”

Chen Duan stared fixedly at Chen Hong, the sorrow and frankness on his face gradually disappearing, replaced once again by coldness.

Chen Hong met his gaze for a few seconds, then laughed again, leaning into Chen Duan’s ear to say: “Brother, since you’ve sat down at the gambling table, there is no way to walk away halfway. Just wait, Brother.”

April 26th.

Ziwei Ward, Sajin Street.

The newly established Nine Gates Patrol Yamen was located here.

The Patrol Inspection Office had over forty public officials and clerks, and five hundred affiliated soldiers. Nominally, it was under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council, but its office was chosen in Ziwei Ward, where the West Yamen and the Princesss Residence were located.

Its special status was self-evident.

It roughly formed a civil and military structure with the West Yamen; the West Yamen monitored the officials, while the Patrol Inspection Office mainly targeted the military.

And the head of the Patrol Inspection Office, who held such power and was only twenty years old, Ding Suian, quickly became famous in Central Heaven, becoming the hottest new political star of the moment.

No less than Cai Xukun back in the day.

“Boss, secret report.”

At the end of the 1-3 pm period, Chest Hair walked quickly into the second hall of the Patrol Inspection Office. While handing over the official document, he added the source of the secret report, “From the Winged Tiger Army’s personal guard battalion.”

“Hmm.”

Ding Suian, behind the large desk, put down the work at hand and unfolded the secret report: Last night at 9-11 pm, Prince Anping secretly met with the Winged Tiger Army Commander Lu Zihong, and they talked in secret until 11 pm-1 am.

Ding Suian placed the secret report aside and took a roster out of the drawer. Thanks to the intelligence gathered for him by the Shadow Division of the West Yamen and Lin Hansu, the roster contained detailed and clear resumes of mid-to-high-ranking officers in the eight imperial guards.

Lu Zihong had come from the Crown Prince’s estate in his early years, and he and Chen Duan could be considered to have some connection.

But intelligence also showed that for many years, Chen Duan had not had any overly close contact with Lu Zihong.

Ding Suian leaned back, resting against the wide armchair, and began to ponder. Ever since the Prince of Linping, Chen Hong, was appointed as the Governor of the Tianzong Prefecture Yamen, he had begun taking actions against Chen Duan without stopping for a moment.

Ten days ago, over a hundred commoners from the counties around Central Heaven jointly presented a blood petition, accusing the local gentry and ninth-rank founding marquis, the Cui clan, of ‘forcibly seizing farmland and beating commoners to death’ for many years.

Coincidentally, the Cui clan was the maternal family of the Prince Anping’s wife.

The Cui clan hurriedly submitted a memorial to defend themselves, but after the memorial was submitted to the palace, Your Majesty never gave a response.

After waiting quietly for two days, Chen Hong publicly stated that the Tianzong Prefecture Yamen “must seek justice for the commoners.”

Although he did not immediately arrest the members of the Cui clan, he protected the hundred or so victims, waiting for the Imperial will in the name of an investigation.

Chen Duan definitely knew this was aimed at him, but he never said a word throughout the whole process.

But one wave had not settled before another rose.

Three days ago, the manager of the famous’Shengbao Zhai’ antique shop in Central Heaven was sued by his peers, who claimed that in order to monopolize the sale of southern pearls, he had brazenly beaten the only son of a competitor to death the year before last.

This time, the Tianzong Prefecture Yamen acted swiftly and decisively, taking the manager of Shengbao Zhai into custody that very day and throwing him into prison.

The two cases seemed completely unrelated, but the upper echelons of Great Wu all knew that Shengbao Zhai was a property of Prince Anpings Estate.

The so-called manager was nothing more than a servant of the Prince’s estate.

Chen Hong was pressing step by step, and his intention to target his cousin was not even masked, as if he had obtained some secret permission from someone.

Chen Duan’s pressure increased sharply.

As a bystander, Ding Suian was happy to see it happen.

For one thing, after the Wanan Gate incident, he and Chen Duan had already formed a grudge.

Secondly, the old cases that Chen Hong dug up were not necessarily fake.

In the past, the relatives and servants of Prince Anpings Estate, relying on Chen Duan’s status as the ‘quasi-Crown Prince’, doing things that disregarded human life was not surprising at all.

Although Chen Hong’s motives were impure, Ding Suian was very happy to see the arrogant imperial relatives and servants get taught a lesson.

But… Chen Duan suddenly met with Lu Zihong in secret; he had to pay attention to that.

Just as he was thinking, Chest Hair, who had just walked out of the second hall, suddenly turned back, his expression strange: “Boss, there is someone outside who wants to see you.”

“Who?”

“The State Religion’s Sect Leader, Headmaster Xu of the Law Academy.”

“…”

Since seeing her more than twenty days ago, Xu Jiuxi had sent Shu Yao to Suimian Street three times, inviting him to the Law Academy.

Ding Suian had been making excuses to push it off. He didn’t expect that she would come directly to the Patrol Inspection Office.

“Just say I went out on official business and am not here.”

“Yes.”

Chest Hair turned to leave.

But after only a dozen breaths, he heard him shouting: “Hey! Hey! Sect Leader Xu, why are you breaking in! My Lord is really not here, if you break in again, I won’t be polite!”

Before the words fell, Chest Hair was like a kite with a broken string, flying backward and falling into the courtyard outside the second hall.

Subsequently, Xu Jiuxi, dressed in red, walked in unhurriedly.

“Clang~”

“Clang~”

Seeing this woman take action, the sound of the Patrol Inspection Office’s soldiers surrounding the area drawing their swords rang out in unison.

Xu Jiuxi’s eyes were contemptuous, she swept them lightly, and then looked into the depths of the second hall, sighing sorrowfully, “Suian, last month when you asked me to accompany you to enjoy the moon outside the city, you hugged me and called me ‘good sister’, but now you are avoiding me. Do you really want to be that heartless man who abandons someone after having his way?”

“…”

Who the hell had ‘his way’ with you?