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

Lu Banban paused as she spoke, "Besides, this isn't exactly bad news, is it? Your Majesty, didn't Your Highness express your intention in court to ensure that the King of Zhen's funeral arrangements were settled? This can be considered as fulfilling your wishes."

Xiao Yang thought to himself that he had previously assumed Xiao Ce would care.

If he had known, Xiao Ce wouldn't have cared at all. He had said that unnecessary thing in court, which had even made the emperor resentful.

They think one thing but say another.

As he spoke, he pretended to invite Lu Banban to have tea.

Lu Banban said that there were still a few places to visit, so she wouldn't stay any longer.

Only after watching Lu Banban leave did Xiao Ce emerge from the shadows.

Xiao Yang looked at Xiao Ce with a puzzled expression: "Brother, what's going on?"

Xiao Ce said with a deep gaze, "It seems there's a master by the side of this dog emperor?"

Xiao Yang looked puzzled.

Since Xiao Ce had nothing better to do, he explained to Xiao Yang.

Xiao Dingshan is already dead, so there's no point in doing anything about those corpses.

It would be better to be magnanimous, and the case is still ongoing, as long as the bodies are buried.

No matter what evidence comes out in the future, people won't take it too seriously, since the person is already in the grave.

Convicting Xiao Dingshan would not pose too much of an obstacle.

Xiao Dingbang's goal was to discredit Xiao Dingshan, and now that he's doing this, he'll be praised by most people for his loyalty and righteousness.

Xiao Yang listened to Xiao Ce's analysis and nodded repeatedly.

"Since the dog emperor has this idea, was he testing us in court today?"

Xiao Ce shook his head: "That's not necessarily true. This dog emperor may have received guidance from a master."

Xiao Yang was about to speak.

The butler, Fuyao, listened to the two of them calling the emperor a "dog emperor" repeatedly.

He was on the verge of tears: "Your Highnesses, please go inside and talk. I'm afraid the walls are overheard."

The two nodded and were about to turn and leave.

Just then, a guard ran over from the door: "Steward Fuyao, have you bought anything? There's a caravan outside escorting a box."

Fu Yao paused for a moment, then shook his head: "We didn't buy anything?"

The guard said, "Then I'll send them away. I also felt something was wrong with that thing; there was a bloody smell in the box they were holding."

Before Fuyao could speak, Xiao Ce asked, "Did they specifically request to be sent here?"

"That's right, the镖师 (bodyguard/escort) of the镖队 (bodyguard/escort team) said it is the residence of the Second Prince Xiao Yang."

Xiao Ce looked at Da Lei to the side: "Da Lei, go and check it out."

Da Lei understood and stepped forward.

Fuyao followed.

Xiao Yang, looking curious, wanted to follow, but Xiao Ce stopped him.

"If there are hidden weapons or assassins inside, are you just going to court death?"

After being reprimanded by Xiao Ce, Xiao Yang shrank back and nodded, "Brother, you are right."

After Da Lei left, the caravan members were still there.

Da Lei walked to the box, sniffed it carefully, and then asked the leading bodyguard, "Do you know what it is?"

The镖师 (bodyguard/escort) shook his head: "The person delivering the goods said that the Second Prince's residence bought wild game and instructed us not to open it. In addition, the Second Prince's residence must personally take over the goods."

Da Lei said to the bodyguard, "You should be able to smell the blood, right?"

The bodyguard nodded.

Da Lei continued, "However, it smells of human blood inside."

Da Lei's words startled the bodyguard: "Sir, you're not joking, are you?"

Without saying a word, Da Lei snatched a knife from his waist and pried open the wooden box.

Once the wooden crate was opened, a strong smell of blood wafted out.

The guards around were all elites among the best, and they saw what was inside the wooden box, but they just frowned.

When the butler, Fuyao, saw the contents of the box, he began to vomit violently.

Even the guards were so frightened that they retreated repeatedly, and then began to vomit.

The box contained a box full of body parts, along with several heads with terrified expressions.

Inside the box, a sentence was written in blood.

"Xiao Ce, weren't you looking for them? I'll give them to you! Tell Ma Su, this is the price!"

After seeing the words, Da Lei naturally knew who was in the box.

Those are the family members of Ma Su who went missing.

Da Lei, his face grim, said to the guard beside him, "Go and arrest these people."

The members of the escort team immediately cried out that they were innocent.

Da Lei naturally knew they were innocent.

Da Lei turned around and wanted to report to Xiao Ce.

Then they saw that Xiao Ce had already come out.

Seeing that Da Lei did not stop him, Xiao Ce walked out directly.

Xiao Yang hid behind him, somewhat frightened.

He first saw a box of body parts and several human heads, followed by words on the box.

Xiao Ce's expression was extremely grim.

Clearly, they were provoking him by jumping in his face.

Xiao Yang then started vomiting.

Xiao Ce said coldly, "So you're following me in declaring war? Fine! I accept the challenge!"

Then, Xiao Ce said to Da Lei, "Let's go to the Department of Punishments."

While vomiting, Xiao Yang raised his hand and said, "I...I want to go too..."

Seeing his cowardly appearance, Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and throw up here."

Then he called a few more guards to take the bodyguards and the carriage with them.

He can now walk around so openly because the emperor has spoken up and even allowed him to attend court.

Although we don't know what he's up to.

Take a step, take a look.

Along the way, Xiao Ce also reflected on his own overconfidence.

They underestimated the strength of their opponent.

Although I haven't seen who this person is, it's obvious that they came for him.

Moreover, this person is far more ruthless than Mr. Qianlong and his group.

What frustrated Xiao Ce the most was that he didn't even know the other party's identity.

Upon arriving at the Department of Punishments, the law enforcement officer assumed that Xiao Ce had come to collect the body of the King of Zhen.

He had just received an imperial edict from the emperor.

Xing Shoulu swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He saw the box behind the carriage.

He was the head of the Department of Punishments, and with his exceptional observational skills, he immediately noticed something was amiss.

"King of the Northern Desert...this is..."

Xiao Ce's face was grim as he said, "These are Ma Su's family members... not a single one was left alive..."

Xing Shoulu stepped forward, opened the box, and saw what was inside.

His brows were furrowed.

"King of the Northern Desert, leave it to me. Go and deal with their bodies first."

Xiao Ce nodded.

Immediately afterwards, he called the jailer next to him to carry the box inside.

Xing Shoulu said, "Go and call the best coroner over to properly dispose of the body."

The jailer nodded.

Xiao Ce said to Xing Shoulu, "Go and call Ma Su here."

Xing Shoulu nodded, and then took several bodyguards inside to give statements.

They arrived at a room in the back hall of the Penal Division.

Ma Su was very nervous when he arrived, especially after seeing Xiao Ce.

His legs felt a little weak...

Before Xiao Ce could speak, he collapsed to the ground.

He is a smart man.

Nobody said anything to him.

As if sensing something, he suddenly burst into tears.

Xiao Ce had thought his heart was sealed by steel and concrete, but seeing this tough guy crying like this, he couldn't help but be moved.

After a long while, Ma Su slumped to the ground, his eyes unfocused.

Xiao Ce stepped forward: "Ma Su, I broke my promise. Anything I say is futile; I will avenge your entire family!"

Ma Su slowly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, and said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, this has nothing to do with you! This is my own choice. When I chose to follow you, I was already prepared for this."

Xiao Ce looked at Ma Su and said, "Do you regret it?"

Ma Su shook his head: "If it weren't for you, my mother and I would have been left to rot in the wilderness long ago. I'm so sorry to my wife and children for making them suffer."

Xiao Ce said to Ma Su, "From now on, you'll follow me! You'll be there to help me find out who that person is."

Ma Su nodded emphatically and looked at Xing Shoulu again.

If Xiao Ce had saved him back then, Xing Shoulu would have been his mentor.

“I won’t force you to stay. If you’re willing to stay here, I’ll transfer you to investigate a case, and you’ll lead the team!” Xing Shoulu said.

Ma Su didn't hesitate and said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, I think I should stay. At least I can utilize the resources of the Department of Punishments here. Lord Xing has treated me well, so I still want to stay here."

Xiao Ce nodded without saying a word and patted Ma Su: "I owe you my life. If you need any help, you can come to me. I will also send people to investigate! But you have to be careful yourself, I'm afraid they might still try to harm you."

Ma Su's face was fierce, and his teeth were clenched so tightly they were making a grinding sound.

"I was worried they wouldn't come!"

Ma Su recovered faster than Xiao Ce had imagined.

Xiao Ce didn't waste any words. Before leaving, he left Ma Su a silver note, instructing him to give his family a proper burial.

Ma Su did not refuse, after all, this was the last thing he could do for them.

...

Before Xiao Ce left.

Xing Shoulu then followed.

Xiao Ce looked at Xing Shoulu as if he had something to say: "Lord Xing, is there anything you want to say?"

Xing Shoulu nodded: "Your Highness, you must be careful. Your enemy is not simple."

"Have you made any discoveries?"

Xing Shoulu looked around, his face serious: "That's right. When we interrogated those three assassins, we didn't get to know the original owner of this body. However, those three assassins accepted the mission through the 'Blood Nether Pavilion'."

"Blood Nether Pavilion? What the hell is that organization?" Xiao Ce asked.

Xing Shoulu said, "We're not entirely sure what kind of organization it is. All we know is that in the history of Xiao Kingdom, several emperors, as well as many important officials and famous generals, have been assassinated by assassins sent by them."

Xiao Ce had seen those three stupid assassins; their strength was no match for the Twelve Fiends.

"So impressive? Those three idiot assassins are no match for them..."

Xing Shoulu said, "Your Highness, that's under the condition that you are on guard. The power of the Blood Nether Pavilion lies in the fact that it has existed for so long, and no one knows what kind of organization they are. Moreover, what makes them terrifying is that once a mission is issued, unless they cancel it, they will send wave after wave of assassins to kill you!"

Before Xiao Ce could speak, Da Lei's gaze sharpened: "Then I will make sure they never return."

Xing Shoulu said, "I know you have this ability, but it's easy to dodge a spear in the open but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. Moreover, those who know about the Blood Nether Pavilion and can issue missions through this organization must have very complicated backgrounds."

Xiao Ce nodded, showing no fear, but rather a hint of excitement, his eyes sharp: "Lord Xing, I know what you mean! However, I am the kind of person who grows stronger when facing stronger opponents. Besides, no matter how powerful they are, they dare not show their faces; they are nothing more than rats hiding in the gutter, not worthy of being on the surface! I am not afraid of them!"