amaotonovel Chapter 384 The Former Prince
Chapter 384 The Former Prince
Emperor Jing'an's face suddenly darkened, and he asked in a low voice, "Have you caught them?"
Eunuch Liu said, "He's been caught and taken back to the capital. He's locked in a dark room, awaiting your judgment."
The Emperor of Northern Qi raised his hand, signaling Eunuch Liu to step back.
"Emperor Jing'an arranged for a minister to go on a mission to Northern Qi, and secretly took my son away, forcing me to separate from my son Yi'er. I did not pursue the matter because he was Yi Zhen's elder brother and Yi'er's maternal uncle."
The Northern Qi Emperor sneered, "My magnanimity has only emboldened Emperor Jing'an to take advantage of this and now he wants to bring my imperial concubine back to the Great Zhou."
He stood up, his tall figure exuding an imposing aura, and looked down at Prince Yu: "Yizhen is my imperial concubine. Anyone who wants to touch her will have to ask my million-strong army for permission."
Having said that, the Emperor of Northern Qi turned and left.
Prince Yu remained calm, showing no sign of anger or embarrassment at being humiliated by the Northern Qi emperor.
After being stripped of his power, he was confined to his residence to recuperate from his injuries. He was only released when his wedding date was approaching.
Prince Yu knew very well that Emperor Jing'an was concerned about Zhao Yi and hoped that Zhao Yi would bring Yi Zhen's remains back to the Great Zhou.
Therefore, he volunteered to come to Northern Qi to welcome the bride, intending to bring Yi Zhen's remains back to Great Zhou, fulfill Emperor Jing'an's wish, and return to the court.
Those words were merely a test of the Northern Qi emperor's attitude.
It seems that bringing Yizhen back to the Great Zhou will not be an easy task.
King Qi was uneasy. When he saw Eunuch Liu come in to report the news, his father took the opportunity to leave his seat in a huff. King Qi was then filled with anxiety, worried that something had happened at the State Temple.
He glanced at Zhao Yi beside him, only to see Zhao Yi's brows furrowed and his expression grave. It was unclear whether Zhao Yi was worried about the trouble at Guosi Temple or burdened by Prince Yu's words.
After thinking for a moment, the King of Qi suddenly stood up and chased after the Emperor of Northern Qi.
The Northern Qi emperor left the Taiqing Palace and went straight to the dark room.
Just as Prince Yu proposed to bring Yi Zhen back to the Great Zhou in the Taiqing Hall, someone broke into the Zen temple and attempted to steal Yi Zhen's remains.
He almost suspected that Prince Yu was behind it.
The next moment, he denied it.
Prince Yu had only recently arrived in Northern Qi; his influence couldn't extend that far.
After ruling out Prince Yu, the Northern Qi emperor suspected Zhao Yi was behind it. After all, Zhao Yi was loyal to the Great Zhou, and it was possible that he would obey Emperor Jing'an's order to send Yi Zhen's remains back to the Great Zhou.
But... is Zhao Yi willing to give up his title as a prince of Northern Qi and return to Great Zhou to be a prince without real power?
While pondering, the Emperor of Northern Qi entered the dark room.
The darkroom was filled with torture instruments and reeked of blood.
The Northern Qi emperor frowned and looked at the man bound to the rack. He saw that the man had shaved his head and was dressed in a monk's robe, behaving like a monk.
Upon seeing the Emperor of Northern Qi arrive, the guard reported, "Your Majesty, he drugged a monk who was guarding the monastery and took his place. He then released a cat into the monastery to distract the other two monks from catching it, and then stole the remains of the Imperial Concubine. If the monk hadn't woken up, he would have succeeded."
The Northern Qi emperor asked, "Is it just him? No accomplices?"
The guard whispered, "The accomplice who was supposed to be there to meet us has escaped."
The Emperor of Northern Qi angrily rebuked, "A bunch of useless trash."
The guards knelt on the ground.
The Northern Qi emperor looked at the criminal with a sinister gaze: "Who ordered you to steal the remains of the Imperial Concubine?"
To prevent the criminal from committing suicide, the guards removed his jaw.
Faced with the Northern Qi emperor's interrogation, he lowered his head and showed no reaction whatsoever.
The Northern Qi emperor gave his secret guard a wink.
The guards selected the instruments of torture and pulled out one of the criminal's fingernails.
"Ah—" the criminal screamed.
Looking at the criminal's pained expression, the Emperor of Northern Qi put his hands behind his back and said, "If you confess the truth, I will release you. Otherwise, I will make you wish you were dead."
As the Northern Qi emperor finished speaking, the guards pulled out another fingernail from the criminal.
The criminal was in excruciating pain, his temples bulging with veins and covered in cold sweat.
"I'm giving you one last chance." The Northern Qi Emperor asked, "Who ordered you to go?"
The moment the pliers clamped onto his fingernails, the criminal could no longer resist, uttering incoherent words: "I...I confess..." He endured the pain in his fingers, his voice trembling: "Chang...Chang Yuan..."
"Changyuan?" Upon hearing the name of the former crown prince, the Northern Qi emperor's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly grabbed the criminal by the neck: "Where is he?"
The late emperor massacred the royal family of the previous dynasty, and when the headcount was taken, the young crown prince was the only one not among them.
They have been investigating the remnants of the previous dynasty because they are worried that the former crown prince might restore the country.