Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot-Chapter 341 - 318: Father-Son Contest

Fifteen minutes later, Lu Yuan’s hands and feet were tightly bound with ropes.

He gritted his teeth: "Is this really necessary?"

Chen Long abruptly tightened the hemp rope around Lu Yuan’s wrists: "First of all, I don’t know Luo San; secondly, even if I did know him, I wouldn’t know that he’s the Prime Minister’s biological son. So—"

He pulled tighter again, causing Lu Yuan to suck in a sharp breath. freewebnσvel.cѳm

He declared confidently, "Tying you up is perfectly reasonable!"

Bai Yuwei stared in stunned silence.

Are you really okay treating Lu Yuan like this? Aren’t you afraid my grandfather will burst in and kill you?

Tan’er dramatically wailed, "The Grand Commander is so pitiful! Fight him! Fight him!"

Meng Qianqian chuckled awkwardly and stepped in to stop Chen Long as he attempted to tighten the rope a third time: "That’s enough... Luo San is a master of disguise, and his martial arts aren’t as strong as yours. If you go any further, his cover will be blown."

Chen Long replied flatly, "Fine, we’ll leave it as it is for now."

Lu Yuan ground his teeth: "What do you mean ’leave it as it is’? Chen Long, mark my words—I’ll settle this score with you sooner or later!"

Chen Long scoffed mockingly.

Lu Yuan forced himself to endure the humiliation of being stuffed into the sack and said icily, "Meng Xiaojiu, you’re not allowed to look!"

"You talk too much!"

Chen Long shoved a sack over someone.

Lu Yuan, subjected to binding and sack humiliation in front of the woman he admired, cried out, "Chen Long—this isn’t over between us—"

Chen Long swung the sack and cheerfully strode out of the Governor Mansion.

Bai Yuwei asked dazedly, "He just left... Are we sure this will be okay?"

Tan’er stomped her feet in frustration and said, "Yeah, yeah, and there wasn’t even a fight!"

Carrying Lu Yuan over his shoulder, Chen Long dashed across rooftops, collided with pedestrians and carriages, and made a grand entrance at the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

"Foster father, the person’s here."

Chen Long tossed the sack onto the floor of the study.

Prime Minister Xun sat on the Grandmaster chair, with Xun Qi, Shangguan Ling, and a hidden guard in his thirties standing beside him.

As the sack was torn open, Lu Yuan immediately doubled over, gagging furiously toward Chen Long.

Chen Long bounced backward, retreating behind Shangguan Ling.

Shangguan Ling: "???"

No one knew what Lu Yuan had endured inside the sack. Despite wearing Lu Yuan’s face, not a single person recognized him.

Xun Qi raised an oil lamp, shining it in Lu Yuan’s face. He parted the hair on Lu Yuan’s forehead and gasped in shock: "Lu Yuan?"

"What?" Shangguan Ling hurriedly leaned in for a closer look and shuddered, "It really is the Grand Commander! What’s going on? Is this a resurrection? Wait—if he’s Lu Yuan, then who’s the corpse in the sarcophagus?"

Prime Minister Xun’s gaze fell on Lu Yuan’s face, unreadable.

Lu Yuan curled the corner of his lips and looked straight at him: "Foster father, we meet again. I’m not dead—does that disappoint you? Chen Long is one of the Twelve Guards’ elite fighters, but for some reason, his sword missed its mark by an inch. Was it your command to spare me?"

"You may leave."

Prime Minister Xun addressed Chen Long.

Chen Long left the room without looking back.

Xun Qi wasn’t surprised by Chen Long’s attitude. He understood that Chen Long was different from the other foster sons, not truly loyal to the foster father but instead forced into submission by leverage.

But it was absolutely a type of leverage that ensured Chen Long dared never betray him.

Prime Minister Xun shot the hidden guard a look.

The hidden guard moved to pull Lu Yuan’s clothing.

Lu Yuan planted a palm against the guard and shoved him aside.

That palm seemed forceful but was easily suppressed. The hidden guard twisted Lu Yuan’s arms behind his back and tore off his upper garment, revealing blood-stained bandages.

The hidden guard drew a dagger and sliced down, splitting the bandages apart. A bloody wound emerged before everyone’s eyes.

The hidden guard said, "The wound isn’t deep; it’s not fatal."

Lu Yuan chuckled coldly: "Looks like Chen Long isn’t as loyal to the foster father as he seems."

Xun Qi frowned.

What’s really going on?

Prime Minister Xun gave the hidden guard another look.

The hidden guard understood and reached for Lu Yuan’s cheek, decisively ripping away a human skin mask.

Xun Qi and Shangguan Ling were both stunned.

Xun Qi stared fixedly at the slightly duller face and frowned: "Luo San?"

Shangguan Ling asked curiously, "He’s Luo San?"

Shangguan Ling had only recently heard of Luo San, who was always elusive. The two had never crossed paths before.

Xun Qi laughed with a mix of frustration and amusement: "So it’s you, no wonder it looked so familiar—even your voice is identical. I couldn’t tell either."

He turned to Prime Minister Xun and said, "As expected, nothing escapes foster father’s notice!"

Lu Yuan was disguising himself with two human skin masks. The outer mask showed his own face, while beneath it was Luo San’s. If Prime Minister Xun demanded yet another removal, he’d really have no options left.

This second human skin mask was different from ordinary disguises; outsiders wouldn’t know its intricacies and couldn’t easily remove it. But with the Prime Minister’s Mansion teeming with skilled experts, if Prime Minister Xun truly suspected him, there were ways to strip his mask.

He was gambling.

If he won, he’d infiltrate the Prime Minister’s inner circle.

If he lost—

No, he couldn’t lose.

Prime Minister Xun eyed Lu Yuan without blinking.

At this moment, Lu Yuan wasn’t himself—he was Luo San.

He was Luo San, who countless times had longed to call him "father." He was Luo San, who during countless sleepless nights hated him for abandoning him and his mother. He was Luo San, who had promised his dying mother never to hold hatred toward him in this lifetime.

He had done everything to prove he was more capable than Xun Yu.

But after meeting the Miao King, he realized that true family required no effort to pursue, nor tireless proof of oneself.

Good or bad, in the minds of family, you were precious blood and kin.

Xun Qi smiled faintly: "I should have guessed it was you when they captured you—come on, get up."

Xun Qi reached out to help Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan avoided his hand with a sneer: "If you guessed it was me being captured, not a single person came to rescue me."

Xun Qi laughed: "Isn’t that why Chen Long brought you back here? With foster father’s intelligence, he must have suspected it was you; that’s why he made such arrangements!"

Lu Yuan once again looked toward Prime Minister Xun: "Oh really? In his mind, does he even acknowledge someone like me?"

Xun Qi’s expression darkened: "Luo San, watch your tone when addressing Lord!"

Lu Yuan laughed coldly: "Lord? You all treat him as foster father, as your lord, but he’s never seen any of you as his own—Lu Yuan was right. Whether it’s me, or Lu Yuan, or even all of you foster sons, we’re all just reflections of Xun Yu!"

"What does the Princely Heir have to do with this?" Xun Qi asked perplexedly, "Luo San, did you take the wrong medicine?"

Xun Qi couldn’t understand, because he was merely a foster son who never hoped to contend with Xun Yu.

But standing in Luo San’s shoes, he was Prime Minister Xun’s biological son.

He envied Xun Yu to the point of insanity!

Lu Yuan was skilled at manipulating hearts. With a few words, he sowed doubt between the Prime Minister and his biological son—logical and flawless.

Yes, this was the way!

Lu Yuan closed his eyes, his jealousy surging endlessly within: "I won’t fight for you anymore. Kill me or torture me—all up to you!"

Xun Qi exclaimed in astonishment: "Luo San, are you crazy?"

There’s no good outcome for betraying foster father!

The hidden guard drew his long sword, its cold edge pressing against Luo San’s neck.

With just one word from the Prime Minister, his head would roll.

Prime Minister Xun absentmindedly rotated the jade ring on his left hand, his gaze profound.

Lu Yuan silently clenched his fists.

Winning or losing—it all came down to this moment!