Married To The Cruel Crown Prince

Wang Hao, after sending Wu Qinyang to Changying, came to the barracks where he met Huo Jin. He bowed upon seeing General Wang and stood up.

"General Wang, I checked the secret route last night. Unfortunately, it is closed," Huo Jin informed Wang Hao, who was shocked to hear it.

"The route is closed! That's impossible. Does it mean that Empress Dowager knows about the secret routes in the Palace?" Wang Hao frowned and rested his fingers on the table in front of him.

"I searched the other routes too, but only this one is closed. I cannot enter her manor," Huo Jin stated.

"When did she close this route?" Wang Hao muttered.

"It might be a possibility that the Former Empress did it. Tan Gengxin might have helped her," Huo Jin asserted. Wang Hao agreed with his opinion.

"Huo Jin, the Empress has found out about the Emperor's condition. Rumors have spread in the capital. It seems to be the work of Empress Dowager," Wang Hao deduced.

"Why does General Wang think this?" Huo Jin queried him.

"Because she will benefit from spreading the rumors. If the Emperor doesn't wake up soon, then she declares that she will rule the Empire. She exposed the truth to the people so that they would demand the Emperor on the throne. Empress Dowager had turned smarter in recent times," Wang Hao explained to Huo Jin, who was also amazed to see this.

"How is the Empress?"

"Her Majesty is fine, but I don't know what's going on in her mind. Miss Wu Qinyang has been sent to Changying to find out about the truth," Wang Hao informed Huo Jin.

"Who?" Huo Jin had never heard this name before.

"Miss Wu is a skilled spy. She is the adopted daughter of the Governor of the Wu province," Wang Hao briefed him about Wu Qinyang. "She is the one, who told us that Governor Mingze betrayed the Emperor in Changying," he pronounced.

"General Wang, what's the reaction of the Fourth Prince on this matter? I don't think he would trust his mother after he let him eat the poison." Huo Jin was worried about Nianzu, who used to respect his mother more than anything.

"Indeed, the Fourth Prince is furious. He asked me to arrest his mother as he is sure that his mother poisoned the Empress. I had never seen him this miserable, not even the time when he decided to leave Luoyang," Wang Hao affirmed, recalling the face of the Fourth Prince.

"Huo Jin, Lord Wushi, whom Empress Dowager represented as the trader of Changying is suspicious. The Third Prince has decided to interrogate him. We need to make him speak the truth," Wang Hao told him. Huo Jin nodded his head.

"General Wang, I was thinking of going to Changying. I can go if General Wang allows me. Maybe I will be of His Majesty's help in Changying," Huo Jin suggested about going to the place where Sheng Li was.

"Your chest injury will open. It can be fatal for you in the long term. So, in my opinion, stay back. Let Miss Wu handle it," Wang Hao advised him. Huo Jin did not argue with him and nodded his head.

"Come with me," he said and the two went to prison where Lord Wushi was put.

~~~~~

Sheng Li, Jian Guozhi, and Xiao Zhan followed the assassin where he was supposed to meet the messenger to inform him if he succeeded in his work or not.

They hid behind the bushes and also the soldiers were deployed for safety purposes.

Soon, the messenger appeared, who had ordered the assassin to kill Sheng Li. He had a bamboo hat over his head while a deep scar could be seen on his left hand.

"Did you complete the work?"

"Yes," the assassin replied what Sheng Li had instructed him to say.

The mysterious man slowly pulled out the dagger from his sash, ready to kill the assassin when a speeding arrow passed through him and hit his right hand. "Ahhh," the man cried and wavered.

The assassin quickly stepped back, taking his guard in as he realized that he was going to be murdered. Jian Guozhi came out of the bushes and brought his hand down.

Xiao Zhan ran from the other side with the few soldiers, who surrounded the messenger. "Get on your knees," Xiao Zhan told him, who got on his knees and lifted his hands above his head. He was wincing in pain as his hand continued to bleed.

Sheng Li stood in front of him. "Who sent you?" He was straightforward in his interrogation.

"Answer His Majesty if you don't want to be dead," Jian Guozhi said with a stern expression.

"From Luoyang," the messenger replied and joined his hands. "I beg His Majesty to forgive me. I did what I was told," he said while pleading with him.

"Who ordered you? I want the name," Sheng Li affirmed.

"The trusted person of Empress Dowager," he answered.

Sheng Li smiled as he finally got the answer that he wanted to hear. Looking at Xiao Zhan, he said, "Tie him up. We are leaving for Luoyang."

"What about him, Your Majesty?" Jian Guozhi asked, looking at the assassin.

"Let him go," Sheng Li said. The assassin immediately got on his knees and thanked Sheng Li for sparing his life. He had never thought that Sheng Li would actually let him go.

"I would suggest His Majesty not to trust an assassin," Jian Guozhi whispered in Sheng Li's ear.

"I am trusting him because of his child, Brother Jian," Sheng Li said. "Maybe, in the future, he will be useful to me," he opined. Sheng Li gazed at Xiao Zhan, who took out a pouch from his pocket and handed it to Sheng Li.

Sheng Li got on his knees and handed the pouch to the man, who burst into tears. He had worked all his life taking the lives of people around him for money, but no one ever understood him. He always got cursed for his evil work.

"Your Majesty, I can never forget your kindness to me. Please forgive me for doing such a grave crime," the man sincerely apologized.

"You shall leave before I change my mind," Sheng Li said, patting his back. He rose to his feet and continued, "leave this work. There are better ways to earn money."

The man thanked Sheng Li once more before disappearing from their sight.

"Empress Dowager, be ready to get punished," Sheng Li muttered and clenched his fists.

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