Chapter 218 - His First Strike

The next day, the Emperor's Study

Emperor Zhong sat hind his table, head bent over the detailed report of the activities of the Crown Prince's office which was presented to him by Lu Yaozhu who stood a few steps opposite him on the other side of the table. He clenched his fist and sighed, these documents looked worse than he thought. He glanced up at Lu Yaozhu and his guards before looking down at the document and pushing it aside.

"Are you positive that no one has connected the dots between them?" Emperor Zhong asked his expression cold as they come. 

"Yes, your Majesty. I have been holding it off so far"

"Good, Ling'er made a big mistake this time, if I don't handle this it could get messy. Thanks for bringing this up to me, you may leave".

Lu Yaozhu bowed, "I will take my leave first your highness".

"mmm," Emperor Zhong replied watching him leave. He waited for a few minutes before calling his secretary inside.

The next day everyone in the capital was shocked by the news of the Crown Prince's suspension from official duty and court. The news was met with mixed reactions from officials and the commoners alike especially since Lu Yaozhu was placed in charge of the ministry of justice and department that was previously under the Crown Prince's control. 

No one was more surprised than Zhongshan Ling, his facial expressions went from shock to betrayal and disappointment before finally settling in anger as the appointment was announced. He glared at Lu Yaozhu who stood at the centre of the room. The ridiculing laughter and jabs made by his royal brothers replayed in his mind throughout his journey back home. He held in his anger until he returned to his study, he pulled the dagger from his table and threw it at Fu Lang who didn't even dodge the hit but instead shut his eyes.

The knife missed him by the hair and stuck into the wall behind him. Fu Lang fell on his knees immediately and cried out, "Your Highness, I was wrong. Please forgive this incompetent servant for not handling this properly."

"How was the last found, there must be a spy among us. Find out who that is and get rid of him"

"Get rid of him", Fu Lang shared a worried gaze with his cousin, Fu Hong. "Your highness killing the spy might not be a good idea, his majesty and the other princes are watching you like hawks. Doing that might draw unnecessary attention to you. They might use it against you".

"It is a little too late for the concern, father Emperor and those hyenas disguised as brothers have already made a move against me. Since they already know about my less than honourable past why bother pretending otherwise. The innocent act won't work anymore, they already know what I am capable of why pretend otherwise. Get rid of him" Zhongshan Ling balled both hands on his laps into fists, frowning and glaring at Fu Lang.

"Yes, Your Highness" Fu Lang replied, he glanced at his cousin before leaving the room.

Zhongshan Ling wheeled himself to the open window overlooking the small garden beside his Pavillion. "Fu Hong, what are the odds that Lu Yaozhu wasn't the one that dumbed the body at that intersection".

Fu Hong was quiet for some seconds before finally answering, "the odds are very low your highness, I looked into Prince Wu and discovered that the night the body was dumped. He met with the victims to try to convince them to change their stories. He already had his team looking into each of the victims, plus the Lu Family invested a lot into your highness. He has no reason to betray you".

"But he did betray me, name one Crown Prince in the history of northern Wei that ever lost control of the three offices of justice. He might not have dumped the body but he still betrayed my trust and for that, he must pay. Oh and Fu Hong, about the body. You claim that Yaozhu has no reason to betray me but we both know that is not true, isn't he father Emperor's beloved long lost Crown Prince.

"All the moves Imperial father has made so far was to help him get settled. He must be holding onto the hope that he can reinstate Yaozhu as the Crown Prince. These days Father Emperor looks at him the same way mother Empress does. He has never looked at me this way, Can you believe that they had breakfast a few times. Father Emperor has never had a meal alone with me by choice, the few time he did. It was on Imperial Mother's request. Tell me Fu Hong how do you think that makes me feel? No, Lu Yaozhu must pay for this embarrassment".

****************

The main courtyard, the Crown Princess Pavillion.

"Young miss, his highness is back!" Daiyu said to her mistress lay silently on her side on the recliner. She checked before speaking to ensure that she didn't wake her mistress and as expected her young mistress was still awake. Xia Ying rose to a seating position and sighed, she glanced at her maid and stretched out her hand. Daiyu held her hand and helped her up without any delay. She led her mistress to the dressing table and helped her freshen up.

Xia Ying glanced at the maids standing head bowed to the ground behind Daiyu and said, "Go get a jar of watermelon juice and a tray of light snacks."

"Yes, Mistress," they chorused and retreated. 

When it was only her and her maid Xia Ying pursed her lips, "this suspension was the best option for his highness, as expected, Prince Wu did a good job".

Daiyu looked around before replying, "mistress, I just heard from our eyes there. His highest didn't take the news well, he threw a dagger at one of his guards".

"What? How foolish of him. It seems that His highness is not as smart as I thought he was. Hopefully, he will get around. In the meantime, I will bring him these tasty snacks to help him calm down. He will think clearly once he has relaxed".

"Mistress has his highness in her heart," Daiyu said cheerfully.

Some minutes later Xia Ying arrived at the Crown Prince's study with Daiyu. There wasn't any servant close by to announce her, most of the servants made themselves scarce as soon as they noticed the Crown Prince's bad mood. The Crown Prince's temper got a lot more explosive ever since his accident. The servant was forced to adjust to his mood by avoiding him.

Xia Ying instructed her maid to wait outside while she walked into the Crown Prince pavilion to deliver the snacks. She was at the door when the heard the words, 

"You claim that Yaozhu has no reason to betray me but we both know that is not true, isn't he father Emperor's beloved long lost Crown Prince_"

Her hand that held the tray up shock as she heard that but she quickly steadied her hold to hear the rest of the Crown Prince's statement. Xia Yong waited for the Crown Prince to give Fu Hong his instructions before waiting to go in.. When she went, Xia Ying acted as natural as she could to prevent Zhongshan Ling from getting suspicious.