Volume One, Chapter 12: Loyalty

“Not interested.” Li Chengqian was too lazy to waste words on this two-faced steward and merely yawned. “If there’s nothing else, don’t disturb me… I’m resting.”

Tsk…

He still wasn’t quite used to referring to himself as ‘this palace’ and kept instinctively saying ‘I.’ That needed to change, or it would become a problem in the future.

Li Chengqian had already given these men a chance—he let them go and even gave them money. No one lost face. Yet he hadn’t expected that as soon as they left today, they would be bribed to work against him.

Watching Li Chengqian’s retreating figure, the steward lost his strength.

It was over! All was lost!

Without the Crown Prince’s words, no matter where they fled—to the ends of the earth—they would still be hunted.

About an hour later, Fu Shaojing finally returned, panting.

He brought the men back.

Yang Tai, Sizheng Qi, and Li Feiyu had been disguised to look like allies, and the men Fu Shaojing brought along, who were similar in build, stayed at the three’s residence. Thus, the switch went unnoticed.

But Fu Shaojing was also panicked.

If King Wei Li Tai found out, it was doubtful whether Fu’s official position would remain intact—or even his life.

Though these three weren’t Li Tai’s men, Fu’s actions clearly aided Li Chengqian.

He had helped; he couldn’t be found out.

So, the moment he entered, he knelt with a thud before Li Chengqian. “Your Highness, I… I’ve brought the men. Please… spare my life!”

Today’s events meant Li Chengqian held Fu Shaojing’s fate in his hands.

Fu Shaojing was, after all, an official of the Ministry of Justice. Many matters required the Ministry’s involvement. Moreover, Fu was aligned with Li Tai and was left as a spy.

If Li Chengqian wanted to counterattack, he had to rebuild from scratch—there had to be a beginning.

With this thought, Li Chengqian smiled and asked, “Want to live?”

“Yes, yes!” Fu Shaojing’s head struck the ground heavily.

Li Chengqian said, “Tonight, I will send these three back home, but whether they’ll be discovered depends on you. Also, whether you can keep people quiet is up to you.”

Fu Shaojing was no fool. Hearing this was clearly an opportunity. His eyes suddenly gleamed.

He kowtowed repeatedly before speaking, “Your Highness’s mercy shall never be forgotten by Fu Shaojing. I will obey your commands without question henceforth.”

“All right, enough, enough! Stop!” Li Chengqian wasn’t interested in these empty words.

Loyalty?

Did such a man possess loyalty?

If he were loyal, he wouldn’t have brought Yang Tai, Sizheng Qi, and Li Feiyu to him in the first place.

Li Chengqian took a small sip of tea. “From now on, matters concerning the Ministry of Justice are to be reported to me secretly. Have you seen the Emperor’s attitude toward me? He punishes severely but also shows leniency. So if things leak, I can still survive—but you are different.”

Fu Shaojing shuddered all over.

Li Chengqian smiled and asked, “Remember that?”

Fu swallowed hard. “I remember, I remember!”

“Now leave.”

Li Chengqian motioned for Fu Shaojing to leave.

Fu Shaojing was already restless. The Emperor ordered him to uncover the case by evening; he had already wasted an hour. If he didn’t head to the palace now, he wouldn’t make it in time.

So, he scrambled out hastily.

After Fu left, Li Chengqian approached the door of the room where Yang Tai and the others were confined.

“Do you think the Crown Prince will kill us?”

“He’s just a lame man under house arrest. Does he dare to kill us?”

“Tsk! Why panic? We have powerful backing. What can the Crown Prince do?”

Li Chengqian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Powerful backing?

Not King Wei Li Tai.

Then who could it be?

Few truly knew Chengxin.

And whoever made the three men indifferent to this Crown Prince must be someone of great power and influence.

Bang!

As they spoke, Li Chengqian suddenly pushed open the door.

“Uh?”

“Cr-Crown Prince?”

The three, who had been arrogant moments before, all shuddered.

They had just called Li Chengqian a lame man under house arrest.

No matter what, Li Chengqian was the Crown Prince, a royal son. Such disrespect was punishable by death.

But soon their expressions changed.

Though startled when Li Chengqian entered, thinking of his future plight, they calmed.

“Heh! Crown Prince, why didn’t you announce your arrival?”

“Exactly, you scared us.”

“Crown Prince, Chengxin is gone, but no matter—we can serve you instead, heh heh heh…”

The three even prepared to undress and disgust Li Chengqian.

But this Li Chengqian was no longer the old Li Chengqian.

Seeing their insolence, he wore a stern expression and limped inside.

The three, undaunted, mocked him.

“Crown Prince, your leg is inconvenient. How about I make you a wheelchair? My craftsmanship is quite good.”

They didn’t treat Li Chengqian as Crown Prince at all—utter arrogance.

Li Chengqian said nothing and walked straight to his sword, pulling it from its sheath.

A cold gleam flashed.

With a swift motion, he flung the sword past Yang Tai’s ear, embedding it firmly in a wooden post.

As sons of Li Shimin, whether Li Chengqian, Li Yuanchang, or Li Tai, all were masters of martial arts. Even with a lame leg, his sword throw was no less skillful.

The three, once arrogant, turned pale with fear.

Especially since the sword had just whizzed past Yang Tai’s face.

“Tsk…”

Li Chengqian shook his head. “Haven’t practiced swordsmanship for a long time; my skill has declined. Otherwise, this sword would have pierced your throat. No matter, let’s do it again.”

He then moved to pull the sword from the post.

Yang Tai and the others were cowards, like Chengxin—fine as male pets, but no guts for real combat.

After Li Chengqian’s fierce display, the three immediately cowered, collapsing to the floor and kowtowing for mercy.

“Your Highness, spare us! Spare us!”

A faint smile touched Li Chengqian’s lips. Seeing the effect was achieved, he limped to the door, slammed it shut, then pulled out the sword and asked, “Afraid to die?”

The three were so scared they might soil themselves—of course they were afraid.

Li Chengqian limped over and sat down in a grand chair.

Yang Tai’s eyes flicked, and he hurriedly crawled over to massage Li Chengqian’s leg.

Bang!

Li Chengqian kicked him to the ground. “I don’t like men. Don’t disgust me.”

The three were stunned. Wasn’t it said Li Chengqian liked men? When Chengxin was beaten to death, the details of their relations were exposed. What did this mean?

Li Chengqian gently stroked the sword, not raising his head as he asked, “Was it you who exposed Chengxin’s matters? Who is your master? Tell me.”