Chapter 606

The guards stationed at the city gate were stunned at first.

The Prince An’s father-in-law?

“Then the person in the carriage must be Princess Consort of An?” The guard swallowed nervously.

“If she’s Lord Li’s daughter, then she is Princess Consort of An. After all, Lord Li has only one daughter.” The guard looked at the man as though he were an idiot.

Honestly, couldn’t he do even a little digging before speaking? What kind of person was Prince An?

How could he possibly be plotting a rebellion?

Xu Heming’s face darkened. He had never imagined that one day he would be mistaken for a traitor.

He was even more dissatisfied with the emperor’s actions.

He had risked his life working for him, and now the emperor actually wanted to arrest him!

Clearly, the emperor thought his position beneath him was secure and wanted to get rid of the man who had helped him attain it.

What a fine emperor he was!

Zhu Jingchen was reviewing memorials, yet he could not stop sneezing.

“Your Majesty, should I summon the imperial physician?” Eunuch Liu asked worriedly from the side.

“No need. Someone must be cursing me,” Zhu Jingchen said irritably.

Eunuch Liu was stunned. Who could be so reckless as to curse the emperor?

He even began secretly guessing who the fool might be.

“Has Prince An returned to the capital?” Zhu Jingchen did not suspect anyone else. His suspicions were directed solely at Xu Heming.

“Your Majesty, Prince An should still be on his way back to the capital,” Eunuch Liu replied with a smile.

“That boy is probably cursing me right now.” Zhu Jingchen felt certain that he had guessed correctly.

“Have someone wait outside the city later. If Xu Heming finds out that I’ve surrounded Prince An’s residence, he’ll surely come demanding an explanation.” Zhu Jingchen spoke as he continued reviewing the memorials.

“Rest assured, Your Majesty. This old servant will send people to wait outside the city at once,” Eunuch Liu said hurriedly.

“Mm. Have them go early and wait there. Don’t let that boy tear down my palace.” At the thought that Zhang Yanchu had already sent those things to Mount Wangxian, Zhu Jingchen could barely contain his excitement.

At last, was he finally going to hold his head high?

Just imagining the day when the Qinling Kingdom and that Blue Bay Kingdom would be forced to submit to him filled Zhu Jingchen with exhilaration.

Li Tianyou first took Li Zhiwei back to the Li residence.

“Go find out what major incident has taken place in the capital.” Li Tianyou’s face was grim as he spoke to Zhou Tong.

He could not understand how rumors of Xu Heming plotting a rebellion had suddenly spread.

The court even intended to have him imprisoned.

Most importantly, they had not arrested Li Tianyou.

Though he had not been an official for long, Li Tianyou could still tell that something was wrong.

He ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‍also did not believe that Xu Heming would be foolish enough to rebel.

“Master, what are we going to do?” Lady Yao was beginning to lose her composure as well. She had originally thought that once they returned to the capital, their daughter would receive better treatment. Instead, the moment they arrived, her son-in-law had been arrested.

“Stay here and look after Zhiwei. I’m going to the palace.” After much thought, Li Tianyou decided that he had to plead with the emperor himself.

Perhaps the emperor would spare Xu Heming for the sake of the considerable amount of money he had previously donated. If that was not enough, Li Tianyou would simply donate more.

In any case, he could not allow anything to happen to his son-in-law.

“Master!” Lady Yao was frightened by his words.

Xu Heming had been arrested, and Li Tianyou was going to the palace at a time like this. Wasn’t that just walking into a trap?

No matter what, she did not want to see anything happen to Li Tianyou again.

“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.” Li Tianyou patted Lady Yao. He was saying those words both to her and to himself.

“Master, why don’t we leave?” Lady Yao pleaded, her eyes red.

People said that the capital was prosperous, but she had no interest at all in living with her life constantly hanging by a thread.

Life in Li’an County had been much more peaceful.

“My lady, under Heaven, all land belongs to the emperor. Where could we go? Besides, the innocent have nothing to fear. You and I both know what kind of person Prince An is. There must be some misunderstanding. Stay here and take good care of Zhiwei. Wait for me to return.” Li Tianyou thought that once this matter was settled, he would resign and take Lady Yao back to Li’an County.

The splendor of the capital truly did not seem suited to them.

Li Tianyou’s appearance gave Zhu Jingchen quite a shock.

“When did Beloved Minister Li return to the capital?” Zhu Jingchen quickly set down his brush and asked.

“Your Majesty, this minister only returned today.” Li Tianyou found the emperor’s reaction rather strange. Why did he look like this upon seeing him?

Shocked? Delighted?

“Your Majesty, this minister has a request to make!” Seeing that Zhu Jingchen was not angry, Li Tianyou hurriedly knelt and said.

“Beloved Minister Li, if you have something to say, speak freely. There’s no need to be so formal.” Zhu Jingchen did not understand what major matter had made Li Tianyou so anxious.

Then he remembered that Li Tianyou had found the son he had been separated from for many years. Could it be that he wanted the emperor to grant his son an official position?

He had heard that the Young Master of the Li family was originally a capable businessman. Their Lan Nuo Kingdom was in dire need of such talent.

After all, who would ever complain about having too much money?

His treasury certainly would not mind having another contributor.

With that thought, Zhu Jingchen cleared his throat, preparing to say that he would appoint Li Tingzhou to an official post.

“Your Majesty, Prince An is certainly not disloyal. How could he possibly be plotting a rebellion? There must be some misunderstanding!”

Li Tianyou’s words left Zhu Jingchen frozen.

Xu Heming was plotting a rebellion?

When had that happened?

“This minister begs Your Majesty to show mercy!”

Seeing that Zhu Jingchen did not speak, Li Tianyou lowered his head to the floor.

He looked fully prepared to remain there until Zhu Jingchen agreed to his request.

“Lord Li, rise first.” Zhu Jingchen coughed lightly.

He remembered now. That troublesome boy, Xu Qingshi, was always trying to sneak out.

Unable to think of any other solution, Zhu Jingchen had come up with an excuse and ordered the guards to surround Prince An’s residence.

Perhaps that was what had caused Li Tianyou to misunderstand.

“Lord Li, rest assured. I only ordered the residence to be protected so that Qingshi wouldn’t run off again,” Zhu Jingchen explained.

“Then when will Prince An be released from prison?” Li Tianyou thought that since this was merely a misunderstanding, surely they could release him at once.

“What prison?”

This time, it was Zhu Jingchen’s turn to be dumbfounded. He had never ordered anyone to imprison Xu Heming.

“Liu Xi!” Zhu Jingchen shot Eunuch Liu an angry, questioning look. Hadn’t he ordered him to wait for them outside the city?

Was this how he had carried out the order?

Had he waited for them all the way to the prison?

Besides, who had been bold enough to detain Xu Heming without authorization?

“Your Majesty, please calm down. This old servant will have Prince An released at once.” Cold sweat covered Eunuch Liu’s forehead as he cursed inwardly. Which blasted fool had dared arrest even Prince An?

“Your Majesty, you didn’t order Prince An’s arrest?” Li Tianyou was now the one left dumbfounded. He had no idea what was going on.

“Why would I order Prince An’s arrest? Prince An is my right-hand man!” Zhu Jingchen answered without hesitation.

At that moment, Zhu Jingchen thought, No wonder Xu Heming had been cursing him under his breath.

The Ministry of Justice Prison

“Prince An, long time no see!”

A man gazed at Xu Heming inside the prison with a smug expression, his eyes filled with arrogance.