bestfiction Chapter 179 The Hypocritical King Qi
Chapter 179 The Hypocritical King Qi
The King of Qi smiled sincerely and gently, waved his hand, and said, "We are brothers, there's no need to be so formal."
“If you’re in trouble, how can your older brother not help you solve it?”
Prince Xuan was deeply moved, and the anger he had felt from waiting for so long completely disappeared.
"Third Brother, if it weren't for you this time, I really wouldn't know what to do. As for the Zhouyi cheating incident, I... I'm really scared."
Prince Qi patted his shoulder gently, "Fifth brother, don't be afraid. Although Li Kangnian has reported this matter to Father, as long as it doesn't involve you, you'll be fine."
"Tell me the whole story in detail first, and see if there's anything I've missed."
Prince Xuan nodded and quickly explained how he had sent people to switch the exam papers.
In fact, Zhou Wang was completely unaware of this matter.
Prince Xuan originally intended to ask Zhou Yizhi's cousin, Zhou Wang, to do this, thinking that since they were family, they would surely be more cautious.
But his advisors warned him that if Zhou Wang were to do it, the matter would be exposed, and others would definitely suspect Zhou Wang.
When the time comes, an investigation will be conducted and the result will be accurate.
Prince Xuan listened to this advice and bribed a scholar named Zhang Gong in the Hanlin Academy. Since Zhang Gong was in charge of copying the candidates' scores, he took the opportunity to switch the exam papers of Zhou Yizhi and Yun Shang.
As King Qi listened to King Xuan's account, his brows furrowed slightly, and a barely perceptible dark glint flashed in his eyes.
His tone remained gentle, "Fifth brother, can that 'Zhang Gong' be trusted? If he gets arrested and implicates you, it will be troublesome."
Xuanwang hurriedly said, "Third Brother, that 'Zhang Gong' is addicted to gambling. I promised him a large sum of money, enough to pay off his gambling debts and still have a surplus. Moreover, I threatened him that if he dares to betray me, I will make sure his whole family loses their lives. He shouldn't dare to betray me."
King Qi nodded slightly, "Even so, we cannot let our guard down."
Upon hearing this, a murderous glint flashed in Prince Xuan's eyes. "In that case, I might as well send someone to kill him!"
“No!” King Qi interrupted. “Li Kangnian is currently investigating the officials in the Hanlin Academy. If Zhang Gong dies now, wouldn’t that be blatantly telling everyone that he is involved in this corruption case? If Li Kangnian investigates upwards from Zhang Gong, it’s hard to guarantee that he won’t find you.”
"What should we do then?" Prince Xuan paced back and forth anxiously. "We can't kill him, but what if he's captured and tortured, and then reveals my identity?"
"Fifth brother, don't be anxious."
"Send someone to keep an eye on him. If there is any disturbance, act accordingly."
"Yes, Third Brother." Prince Xuan understood that Prince Qi meant he would only take action as a last resort.
“However…” he paused, frowning, “I can’t just sit here and wait to die. I have to come up with a plan first, in case Li Kangnian really traces it back to Zhang Gong…”
King Qi paced slowly in the room, and after a moment said, "I will send people to keep an eye on the vicinity of the Hanlin Academy. If Li Kangnian makes any new moves, we will know immediately."
"In addition, have your staff gather evidence against Li Kangnian, just in case."
"Okay, I'll give the order right now."
Prince Xuan's eyes lit up.
As long as we have leverage over Li Kangnian, we're not afraid he'll risk everything.
Prince Xuan had already made a rough plan in mind, and after agreeing, he hurriedly wanted to leave.
"Wait, Fifth Brother," the King of Qi called out to him.
"Also, keep a close eye on the situation with Prince Chen."
Prince Xuan paused, turning back to look at Prince Qi.
The King of Qi's eyes were deep, and a smile appeared on his lips. "Fifth Brother, don't forget that this Yun Shang was invited to Shengjing by our Seventh Brother from afar."
"His grades were almost stolen. Given our seventh brother's strong sense of justice, wouldn't he stand up for him?"
Prince Xuan gritted his teeth and said, "He has always been against me. I think this time it was because he was backed up by Yun Shang. Otherwise, how would a poor scholar have the guts to barge into the Hanlin Academy!"
The King of Qi's lips curled slightly.
He did not remind Prince Xuan that the incident of storming the Hanlin Academy had nothing to do with Prince Chen.
Surprisingly, Yun Shang's wife is the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Anguo's family.
Lady Anguo and Li Kangnian, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, are related. If the eldest daughter of the Duke's family leads a group of people into the Hanlin Academy, the officials inside will certainly not stop her.
"Third Brother," Prince Xuan asked somewhat nervously, "Do you think Seventh Brother might have already guessed it was me?"
The King of Qi smiled slightly. "Whether he guessed it or not is not important. What's important is that we can't let him find any fault with us. When you go back, tell your men to be more restrained and not to act rashly again."
"Okay, Third Brother, I understand."
Prince Xuan hurriedly left the Qi Prince's residence and returned to his own residence to arrange various matters.
As King Qi watched King Xuan's departing figure, the gentleness in his eyes vanished, replaced by a sinister look.
If Prince Xuan wields this knife well, he can really make Li Yuanhe suffer a lot.
His suggestion to Prince Xuan to manipulate the cheating case this time wasn't for the sake of Yun Shang, a mere advisor...
Inside the study of Prince Chen's residence.
“Your Highness, according to our men, Prince Xuan has just left Prince Qi’s residence,” Mingwei said.
Prince Chen didn't even raise his head, continuing to review documents with his vermilion brush, and said indifferently, "Prince Xuan is impulsive but also timid and afraid of trouble. With this cheating case, he must be as anxious as an ant on a hot pan."
Mingwei nodded and lowered his voice, "Your Highness, is Young Master Yun's method truly feasible?"
Prince Chen paused slightly in his hand, a smile playing on his lips. "I believe him."
"Li Mubai has used Li Yao as a knife for so many years. I also want to see how he will react when he is stabbed in the back by the knife he has trained."
……
As night deepened, the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion was brightly lit and bustling with activity.
Zhang Gong was a gambler and a womanizer. He didn't need to spend his meager monthly salary, so he was always very stingy when he came to Zuixianglou to have fun.
The madam looked down on his stinginess, but she couldn't turn away the customers, especially since Zhang Gong had a quick temper. If even a few words displeased him, he would cause a scene at Zuixianglou.
Tonight, the madam saw Zhang Gong swaying into the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion from afar and hurriedly called over the girls he usually patronized.
"Furong, Master Zhang is here. Go and serve him quickly."
With her fair face and rosy cheeks, she was quite beautiful, and her figure was especially supple and alluring. Hearing the madam's call, she swayed her hips and came over.
She glanced sideways at Zhang Gong, who was looking around at the door, and said coquettishly, "Mother, I'm not feeling well tonight, can I not go and serve Master Zhang?"
The madam's smile vanished.
Just as she was about to speak, a voice came from behind Furong, "Mom, let me go."
The madam and Furong looked over at the same time and saw a beautiful woman with a cool and aloof demeanor standing behind Furong.
The madam was astonished, "A moon lute?"
Furong was also quite surprised.
Yueqin had only been at Zuixianglou for less than a month, and was still a virgin.
The madam frowned, shook her head in objection, and whispered, "No, you can't let that stingy slut, Master Zhang, ruin your innocent body."
"Stingy?" Yueqin raised her eyes slightly, pointing her slender finger at Zhang Gong at the door. "But isn't what Master Zhang is holding a gold leaf?"
The madam and Furong both looked over and saw that Zhang Gong was holding a handful of gold leaves. Upon seeing this, the girls around him all gathered around with smiles on their faces.