Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

Nie Bing nodded and said nothing more.

He waved gently, signaling the carriage to leave.

At this moment, Xiao Yang was sitting on pins and needles in the mansion.

Because Lu Banban, the chief eunuch by the emperor's side, said that the emperor had decreed that Xiao Ce should be brought directly to the palace.

He initially tried to decline, but Lu Banban's attitude was firm.

They said that if they didn't bring the person over, it would be considered disobeying the imperial order.

As he spoke, he pointed to the imperial guards outside the door and told Xiao Yang.

The emperor said that if he did not cooperate, Lu Banban would have to use force.

Xiao Yang then said that he had already sent Xiao Ce away to recuperate.

Lu Banban then asked Xiao Yang to go and bring the person back, and Xiao Yang had no choice but to agree.

By this time, Lu Banban had been waiting here for nearly two hours.

"Second Prince, two hours have passed, why hasn't he returned yet? Did you really not go? Or do you not want to look for him?" Lu Banban's voice gradually lost patience.

"Second Prince, I have already explained the pros and cons of this matter to you. If His Majesty is enraged, it will not benefit you. You are in the right, but if this drags on, you will lose your reason."

Xiao Yang listened to Lu Banban's words: "Eunuch Lu, you're overthinking it. I've already arranged for people to go, but I don't know what problems have arisen."

As he spoke, Xiao Yang pretended to call for help: "Someone! Someone...go and see what's going on? Where is everyone?"

Some of his men bowed and left.

Lu Banban, this grand eunuch, has seen it all.

Watching Xiao Yang perform, she began to have doubts about him.

At first, he thought that what Consort De said was just to exonerate Xiao Xiangqing, but now it seems that it was not unfounded at all.

Xiao Yang's strategy was simply to stall.

A short while later, a young eunuch from the palace came in from outside the door.

Seeing this, Lu Banban said to Xiao Yang, "Second Prince, His Majesty is probably impatient."

Xiao Yang said, "Eunuch Lu, there's nothing I can do. I don't know what went wrong on their journey."

As Lu Banban spoke, she waved to the little eunuch in the palace.

The young eunuch bowed and whispered a few words in Lu Banban's ear.

Lu Banban's expression changed drastically.

"Is this true?"

The young eunuch said to Lu Banban, "It's absolutely true, firsthand news from the imperial prison. His Majesty probably just found out about it himself."

After hearing the little eunuch's words, Lu Banban's face turned ugly, and then she looked at Xiao Yang.

Xiao Yang felt a chill run down his spine under Lu Banban's gaze and said sharply, "Eunuch Lu, why are you staring at me?"

Lu Banban said to Xiao Yang, "Your Highness, there's no need for you to lie anymore. I know everything. The First Prince, Xiao Ce, was not injured at all!"

Xiao Yang asked with a hint of doubt, "What do you mean?"

"The eldest prince, Xiao Ce, infiltrated the imperial prison and assassinated the King of Zhen. He has now been captured!" Lu Banban said.

After hearing this, Xiao Yang felt as if his head was about to explode, and he remained silent.

Lu Banban said to Xiao Yang, "Second Prince, you definitely won't be able to hand over the First Prince today. The First Prince has been captured, there's no doubt about that. You should consider this carefully."

With that, Lu Banban bowed and left.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yang quickly summoned the other Twelve Fiends and told them about Xiao Ce's situation.

Then, let them investigate.

The members of the Twelve Fiends divided the tasks and then sent out Night Owl's apprentice, Bat, to investigate.

The bats arrived quickly and relayed the information to Xiao Yang.

After Xiao Yang finished speaking, Xie Zhi said, "Then let's organize ourselves to rescue the prince."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yang quickly stopped them, saying, "Gentlemen, please calm down! Is it possible that the Prince was deliberately arrested this time?"

The Xie Zhi, upon hearing Xiao Yang's words, asked, "What do you mean?"

Xiao Yang said with a serious expression, "It's very simple. When has our Prince ever done anything without being sure? Everything he does has a deeper meaning... Do you think it's possible that the Prince is carrying out some secret plan? Your going there would only cause him trouble!"

The Xie Zhi was stunned by Xiao Yang's words; indeed, what the Xie Zhi said was very likely.

The bat said, "The news of the King of the Town's death is true! I think the Prince may have been tricked this time as well."

Xiao Yang said, "Don't rush, I'll go into the palace first to see what's going on. If you want to go in, don't do it openly, try to sneak in."

The group said to Xiao Yang, "We'll give you a few hours at most. If you don't have a clear answer by dawn, we'll launch a full-scale attack using our own methods."

Xiao Yang nodded.

As he spoke, Xie Zhi seemed to remember something: "Your Highness, Second Prince, don't rush. Let's find a way to sneak into the Imperial Prison first and see what the Prince has to say before you go to the palace."

Xiao Yang nodded in agreement: "You can agree with that!"

Then the Xie Zhi looked at the bat and said, "Bat, you go ahead."

The bat nodded: "Yes, sir, Uncle-Master Xie Zhi."

...

At this moment, in Consort De's palace, Xiao Dingbang was listening to the words of his eunuchs.

His expression was incredibly happy.

"Xiao Dingshan is dead? And it was Xiao Ce who did it?"

Consort De, standing to the side, asked with a fascinating expression, "Are you sure?"

The eunuch bowed and reported, "Your Majesty, it is absolutely certain. The prison doctor has examined the body of the Prince of Zhen and confirmed that he is deceased. The specific cause of death is still under investigation. Lord Xing Shoulu has already gone there. The First Prince went there with an assassin, who was captured on the spot after committing the murder!"

Xiao Dingbang listened with a very interesting expression on his face, pacing back and forth on the spot: "Good...good...good...that good-for-nothing Xiao Ce killed Xiao Dingshan. For me, it's killing two birds with one stone, saving a lot of trouble."

Consort De asked Xiao Dingbang, "Your Majesty, does that mean Xiao Yang was lying before, and what Xiang Qing said was true? The real victim is Xiang Qing!"

Xiao Dingbang nodded: "Don't worry, Xiao Ce has been arrested by Xing Shoulu, right? You can settle all the old and new scores then. He's doomed anyway!"

Consort De nodded, and seeing that Xiao Dingbang was in a good mood, she continued, "Your Majesty, I have also heard some rumors about Xiao Ce. Why don't we have Lord Xing investigate them together?"

Xiao Dingbang nodded: "Oh, go ahead!"

"I've heard that Xiao Ce was the one who fought the wars in the four prefectures of Mobei, while Xiao Yang was just a puppet!" Consort De said, while listening to Xiao Dingbang's words.

Xiao Dingbang laughed and said, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Consort De, I know you are a little jealous of my favoritism towards the Second Prince, but I have already seen through what really happened!"

"It's obvious that the second prince ordered Xiao Ce to kill Xiao Dingshan in order to steal the credit from the eighth prince! It's that simple! In any case, as long as Xiao Dingshan, this thorn in my side, is eliminated, it's all good!"

As they were talking, Lu Banban rushed over in a hurry.

"Your Majesty, are you aware of the news that the King of Zhen has died?"

Xiao Dingbang nodded to Lu Banban: "That's right, I understand. You probably haven't seen Xiao Ce yet."

Lu Banban nodded: "Your Majesty, no, and the Second Prince is clearly intentionally protecting him..."

"Consort De, look. I guessed right, didn't I? I knew it was that rascal Xiao Yang who instigated it. You think that good-for-nothing Xiao Ce instigated Xiao Yang? That's a pipe dream. You don't know Xiao Yang. That troublemaker of his, who bullied Xiao Ce since childhood, how could he possibly be instigated by Xiao Ce!" Xiao Dingbang said happily.

Just then, a few more eunuchs arrived, saying that several senior officials were requesting an audience.

Xiao Dingbang said to Consort De, "Alright, Xiao Dingshan is dead. I'm afraid many old fogies will come looking for me now."

"As for the fight between the two brothers, regardless of who hit whom, that's it! Let Xiao Ce take full responsibility. I will go and tell Consort Hui, and you should also tell Xiang Qing that this matter ends here! There must be no next time!"

Consort De nodded and said to Xiao Dingbang, "Yes, Your Majesty."

After watching the emperor leave, Consort De called over a eunuch beside her and whispered a few words to him.

The eunuch hurriedly left Consort De's palace.

...

At this time, Xiao Ce and Da Lei were separated and imprisoned in two different cells.

Xiao Ce stood at the prison cell door, watching the body of the King of Zhen being carried out in front of him.

He witnessed Xiao Dingshan's complete death!

He thought someone would come to interrogate him soon.

But no!

After he was locked up, apart from a few people guarding the door, no one came to see him.

He also wondered who had killed the King of the Town.

Just then, a thud was heard outside the cell.

Looking up, I saw that all the prison guards who had been standing at the door had been knocked down.

Then a jailer came over.

Xiao Ce recognized him at a glance as Bat, Night Cat's eldest disciple.

"Your Highness, are you alright? I've come to get you!"

Xiao Ce watched the bat unlocking the lock and waved his hand, saying, "No need to unlock it."

The bat looked somewhat surprised: "Your Highness, aren't you leaving?"

Xiao Ce shook his head and said, "This isn't how you leave! Now that you're here, isn't the news spreading like wildfire outside?"

The bat nodded and said to Xiao Ce, "That's right, Your Highness. Rumors are circulating that you killed the King of Zhen. We originally intended to launch a full-scale attack, but then the Second Prince said that you deliberately allowed yourself to be captured..."

Hearing this, Xiao Ce gave a bitter smile: "He really is blindly worshipful..."

The bat listened and asked, "Your Highness, didn't you get captured on purpose?"

Xiao Ce nodded: "That's right, it really wasn't intentional... But it doesn't matter anymore. It's good that you're here. From now on, listen carefully to everything I say..."

As he spoke, the bat approached Xiao Ce.

Xiao Ce then began to give instructions in a low voice, and then said to the bat, "Do you understand?"

The bat nodded.

Just to be on the safe side, Xiao Ce had the bat repeat it.

After listening to the bat's retelling, Xiao Ce nodded: "Very good! Let's go quickly."

The bat nodded: "These pills were given to you by my Uncle Lu Shu. The instructions for their use are written on them, so that you may need them in case of emergency."