Chapter 1135: Chapter 1126: Family Matters (11)

Marquis Dongxiang was struggling to suppress his anger.

He was merely the Deputy General of the Flying Tiger Army; the Heir of Duke Xian was the Great General.

What Duke Chong caused was the death of his own brother, the son whom the Old Duke Chong was most proud of.

This was both a matter of the state and the family.

For the sake of power, Duke Chong did not hesitate to inflict grievous harm on the Old Duke Chong.

How to deal with Duke Chong, Marquis Dongxiang listened to the Old Duke Chong.

Duke Chong was as revolting to look at as his face after he had altered his appearance.

Yet Duke Chong didn’t have the slightest notion that he had done anything wrong.

Had the Old Duke Chong showed the same favoritism and trust towards him as to the late Heir of Duke Xian, he would never have killed his own brother out of jealousy.

The persistent questioning made the veins on the Old Duke Chong’s forehead throb angrily.

Everyone in the room worried that the Old Duke Chong would be so infuriated that he might cough up blood right then and there.

Nobody knew how many times Duke Chong was struck; he collapsed to the floor, curling into a ball.

The Old Duke Chong drew a sword from an officer’s waist beside him, intending to slay Duke Chong with it.

Duke Chong looked at him and said, "Go ahead, kill me."

"Just kill me as you please."

"With the Eldest Prince buried with me, it’s no loss for me."

The sword of the Old Duke Chong stopped at Duke Chong’s forehead because of what he said.

Marquis Yangnan snatched the sword from the Old Duke Chong, looked at Duke Chong, and coldly asked, "Where is the Eldest Prince?!"

Duke Chong smiled.

The Eldest Prince was his amulet.

Would he reveal where the Eldest Prince was?

"Kill me," Duke Chong said, lifting his neck.

"Kill me, and the Eldest Prince’s head will be delivered to you," Duke Chong laughed.

The sight made everyone’s teeth itch with hatred, wishing they could stab him.

No one knew if the Eldest Prince was truly in his hands.

No one dared to take that risk.

What if it was true?

Prince NanAn, the Heir of Marquis Beining, and the Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo stood together.

They were all astounded by Duke Chong’s desire to live.

So unwilling to die, yet doing everything that leads to death.

His face had been battered beyond recognition, yet he still wished to live.

Dying early might bring him early relief.

Think of Duke Nanliang, who, even as a captive, was killed by a clever scheme from Marquis Dongxiang, and Nanliang begged Daqi to recover his body.

Nanliang was in opposition to Daqi, so his wish to eliminate the late Heir of Duke Xian was understandable and known to all.

But Duke Chong was the late Heir of Duke Xian’s brother; his betrayal and fratricide were a hundred times more detestable than Duke Nanliang’s.

To not kill him would not appease public anger!

But for the sake of the greater good, they could only bear it for the moment.

Marquis Jibei persuaded the Old Duke Chong that Duke Chong should be taken away and closely guarded.

As Duke Chong was dragged out, the Old Duke Chong staggered backward from exhaustion.

Su Chong supported him, "Grandfather...".

The Old Duke Chong struggled to raise his hand, about to say he was alright, but a mouthful of blood he couldn’t suppress sprayed out.

The Old Duke Chong fainted.

The room descended into chaos.

The Old Duke Chong had been bedridden for a long time; although the poison was now cleared, his body had long weakened and was least capable of enduring stress, yet Duke Chong enraged him nearly to death.

Seeing the Old Duke Chong’s pale face, everyone felt anxious for him.

The military doctor came over to diagnose the Old Duke Chong’s pulse, prescribing calming medicine, admonishing him to rest peacefully, and avoiding emotional disturbances.

At last, the military doctor himself sighed.

How could one possibly avoid anger and emotional upheaval?

Not directly suffering a stroke was due to the continuous consumption of calming medicine these days.

Even with similarly unfilial, ambitious descendants, Prince Zhenbei was much luckier.

He knew of it when the unfilial grandson was already caught and had not caused irredeemable errors.

The Old Duke Chong endured nearly twenty years of the pain of losing a son.

This time would be even more painful than before.

The Old Duke Chong’s fainting occurred, and the military doctor did not administer needles to wake him; sleeping like this was better.

Duke Chong was confined below, not to take his life, but neither would he be spared lightly.

The whip soaked in saline drew blood with every blow.

Duke Chong gritted his teeth, his forehead twitching with each hit.

Were it not for the concern about the Eldest Prince, Marquis Dongxiang would wish for the Flying Tiger Army to whip him to death.

The city gates were tightly closed, and no news went out.

It was not until the afternoon of the third day that news of the Eldest Prince arrived.

With the news came a bundle.

Inside the bundle was a brocade robe and a jade pendant.

The brocade robe and jade pendant; Marquis Dongxiang and the others did not recognize them, but the palace attendants serving the Eldest Prince did.

This was the brocade robe worn, and the jade pendant worn on the waist, on the day the Eldest Prince went missing.

Suspecting the Eldest Prince might have been captured by Duke Chong and Prince Qi, the Emperor sent palace attendants from the Eldest Prince’s quarters to assist.

After all, others were not as familiar with the Eldest Prince, and in case identification was needed, it had to be done by those familiar.

The brocade robe and jade pendant could confirm the Eldest Prince was indeed in Duke Chong’s men’s hands.

Duke Chong and Prince Qi’s plan was to use the Eldest Prince as leverage for their escape, but Marquis Dongxiang and others besieged the city in three ways, completely preventing any entrance.

Having captured the Eldest Prince with great difficulty, they would be rescued at the gates, and without Duke Chong and Prince Qi’s blame, they would die of anger themselves.

Reluctantly, they pulled an empty box to create the illusion that the Eldest Prince had been taken into the city.

Because the box was empty, their hearts were unsettled, only finding assurance when entering the city, which was why the followers did not notice.

The plan, despite changes, with the Eldest Prince’s disappearance confirmed, across Daqi, few dared to lay hands on him. Without the Second Prince competing, others only hastily obsequious to the Eldest Prince. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

And precisely because of this, the Eldest Prince dropped his guard, allowing them to succeed.

News of the Eldest Prince’s disappearance would eventually reach Marquis Dongxiang and his people.

To disguise the Second Prince as the Eldest Prince was not difficult.

If the plan failed, the Second Prince could still infiltrate the enemy camp to kill Marquis Dongxiang.

The Eldest Prince was better off not inside the city than inside it.

Though the plan was perfect, no one thought it would be jeopardized in the end; Prince Qi was shot dead by Marquis Dongxiang, and the Second Prince’s life was also in peril.

Beneath the Eldest Prince’s jade pendant was a note.

It stated that if Duke Chong was not released by noon the next day, they would send Xiang Shang’s head of the Eldest Prince to them.

Duke Chong was ruthless, killing his brother and usurping his father; for years, he often had nightmares, having raised a group of Death Warriors who obeyed him absolutely.

Marquis Dongxiang detested being threatened, but he couldn’t ignore the Eldest Prince’s fate.

The next day, Duke Chong was hauled over.

His body was covered in lash marks, yet this did not quell anyone’s anger.

Prince NanAn and the others regretted.

Previously, all had suggested to Chu Shun to learn to use the parasite, but abandoned it due to daily feeding nuisances.

Chu Shun did not come.

If only they had fed Duke Chong the Gu Worm, even if he escaped to the ends of the earth, there would be no escape from death.

In front of the government office, the officers helped Duke Chong onto the horse’s back.

His exit from the city became a problem.

The people escorting him out were doomed to die!