47Chapter 47: Chess Game Battle, Clown
AI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
The Prince of Wu lay on the ground, his face blank as he looked at Liu Qi, who had suddenly transformed into a terrifying figure before him.
He dared to strike?
He actually dared to strike?
Could it be… was he not afraid that the King of Wu would use this as an excuse to rebel?
In reality, this was something the King of Wu and the Prince of Wu had already discussed; in their original plan, the Prince of Wu had not intended to utter those accusatory words; he had only planned to retract his move and then provoke the Crown Prince.
But… how did it inexplicably come to this point?
A hint of regret flickered in the Prince of Wu's eyes, but… it was too late for regret now; there was no medicine for regret in this world.
The Prince of Wu on the ground struggled to crawl away, bloodstains splattering the floor, a gruesome sight, yet the Inner Attendants and palace maids in the Eastern Palace seemed to be blind at this moment.
Everyone stood there with their heads bowed.
They were all deaf, all mute.
They could not speak, see, or hear.
The distant light slowly shone on the Prince of Wu's body; he struggled to raise his head, wanting to look at the sun in the sky, but he ultimately could not see it; everything fell into silent oblivion.
Finally, he lost all his strength.
Liu Qi stood there, rubbing his face, contorting it into an expression of sadness, fear, and anger intertwined, and then he rushed to Weiyang Palace in a panic.
At this moment, after Liu Qi left, the palace maids and Inner Attendants seemed to finally react, some crying, some fearing, some tidying things up.
Before long, the Prince of Wu was dragged back to his original position, as if he had been directly smashed to death by a chessboard, and there were still some scattered fragments of a vase on the ground.
The entire Eastern Palace was in a mess.
.....
In Weiyang Palace,
The King of Wu was talking to Liu Heng, or more accurately, playing tai chi; they looked at each other, one saying the harvest this year was good, the other saying his fiefdom suffered a natural disaster.
It was nothing more than repetitive talk.
"Thump, thump, thump—"
A rapid series of footsteps sounded; Liu Qi, stained with blood, walked in agitatedly, his face showing fear and anger: "Father Emperor! Father Emperor!"
When Liu Qi arrived at Weiyang Palace and saw Liu Heng, the first thing he did was fall to his knees with a "thump."
The sound was so loud that even the King of Wu, who was watching the show, felt a pang in his knees.
What did this kid do? How could he be so reckless?
However, what Liu Qi said next plunged the King of Wu into silence.
"Father Emperor!"
Liu Qi's voice was filled with sorrow, anger, and grievance.
"Father Emperor, the Prince of Wu spoke presumptuously, insulting Emperor Gaozu; your son was unable to stop him, and in anger… in anger, lost my reason and knocked him unconscious with a chessboard."
Liu Qi knelt on the ground, feigning ignorance, his face filled with sorrow.
"Please punish your son, Father Emperor!"
Knocked unconscious?
The King of Wu suddenly stood up, but before he could say anything, he heard footsteps outside, and then several figures rushed over.
Seeing the appearance of those figures, a bad premonition arose in the King of Wu's heart.
Sure enough, his premonition came true.
He heard those attendants say: "Your Majesty! The Prince… the Prince is dead!"
These words struck the King of Wu like a bolt from the blue; he even swayed unsteadily, his face blank as he looked at the soldiers in the distance.
Yet, at this moment, Liu Heng still pretended to be very concerned: "King of Wu? King of Wu? Are you alright?"
But the King of Wu clearly saw… saw the fleeting smile in Liu Heng's eyes!
In an instant… the King of Wu was consumed by rage, losing his reason.
.....
After the King of Wu was escorted out of the palace, Liu Heng looked at Liu Qi and smiled, saying, "You did well this time."
Liu Qi merely lowered his head and whispered, "Father Emperor, if we do this, will the King of Wu…?"
Liu Heng merely chuckled; he looked at Liu Qi and said, "Don't worry; just wait and see; tomorrow at the imperial court, the King of Wu will even ask for punishment himself."
He narrowed his eyes, smiling faintly: "The King of Wu is not a fool."
"Although he is very satisfied with this son, he is the eldest son born to him and the King of Wu's consort; this eldest son blocks the path of his younger son, so he will definitely let this child die."
"Otherwise, why would he bring the Prince this time?"
Liu Heng looked at Liu Qi earnestly and said, "You must distinguish right from wrong and not be deceived by slight illusions!"
....
The next day, morning.
Morning court.
Early in the morning, all the ministers were whispering about something; firstly, they were discussing what happened in the palace yesterday—since the incident occurred, it was impossible to hide it from everyone, especially since neither the Emperor nor the King of Wu had any intention of concealing it.
They brazenly sent out the King of Wu and the Prince of Wu's bodies.
Of course, these two were not the center of their discussion—the focus of their discussion was the person who had been sitting in the very front, eyes closed in contemplation, since early morning.
Guandu Marquis, Chen Lang.
Chen Lang's actual power was naturally not as great as Chen Yun's, who was the head of the Chen clan, plus Marquis Wen, Lang Zhong Ling, and Feng Chang, but even Chen Yun had to listen to him!
After all, Chen Lang was Chen Yun's father.
Moreover…
The ministers feared Chen Lang not just because of Chen Lang, but more so because through Chen Lang, they saw that truly powerful figure who had dominated the imperial court for a lifetime—Chen Xi.
Guandu Marquis, Chen Xi.
Once upon a time, just the name Chen Xi could make everyone in the world tremble in fear and dare not speak; although Chen Xi had passed away many years ago, the deterrent power he left behind had not diminished much.
People still feared Chen Xi.
This was also the King of Wu's first reaction after coming to court; he looked at the Guandu Marquis, who sat there upright, eyes closed in contemplation, already qualified to act his age, and his heart involuntarily trembled.
Chen Xi back then… he was not a good person.
Which of these princes hadn't been targeted by Chen Xi?
How could he not be afraid when he saw a face so similar to Chen Xi's now?
However, that fear was fleeting.
The morning court proceeded as usual.
As Liu Heng had predicted, the King of Wu submitted a memorial directly admitting guilt, saying that he had not taught his child well, which led to his child offending Emperor Gaozu, and so the Prince had already paid the price.
And he pleaded with the Emperor not to blame the Crown Prince.
But… what neither the King of Wu nor the Emperor expected was that at this moment, someone raised an objection.
"Your Majesty! Your subject believes that what the King of Wu said is biased!"
"The Crown Prince committed a great crime; how can he not be punished?"