AUBTN -Chapter 34 Prince Ning Demands People Everywhere

Before the words had even finished, a burst of commotion erupted at the East Factory’s main gate downstairs.

A squad of heavily armored personal guards barged in, crashing the doors open with brute force.

Right behind them, Prince Ning strode in with long, furious steps, his face dark as storm clouds.

“Shen Jue!”

Before the man even arrived, his voice had already seized the room.

Inside the private chamber on the second floor, however, Shen Jue acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

“Chief?” Su Hewan glanced at him worriedly.

“It’s nothing. Stay here. Don’t come out,” he replied lazily, completely unconcerned.

He slowly made his way downstairs.

“Well, well—if it isn’t Your Highness.”

The corner of his lips curled into a faint, ambiguous smile.

“What wind blew you down to this gloomy underworld of mine? And with such a temper too.”

Prince Ning stared fixedly at the careless man before him.

That bewitchingly handsome face—almost ghostlike in its beauty—looked especially hateful at this moment.

“Drop the act with me!” Prince Ning snapped as he strode forward.

“Where is Lu Yan?” he demanded sharply.

Shen Jue clicked his tongue lightly.

“Your Highness asks a rather strange question.”

Only then did Shen Jue lift his eyes. They were filled with icy hostility, yet his tone remained light and casual.

“Lu Yan is the Commander of the Jinyiwei, a prisoner of the Court of Judicial Review, and the thorn in Your Highness’s side. And yet you’re asking me where he is? Could it be that Your Highness has grown senile?”

“Shen Jue!” Prince Ning ground his teeth, the veins at his temples bulging.

“The entire capital was under lockdown last night. Only the East Factory’s carriages entered and left that district! Someone saw Lu Yan get onto your carriage!”

“Someone? Which someone? Bring him out so I can have a look,” Shen Jue scoffed.

Trying to bluff him? Prince Ning was getting worse with age.

If he and Lu Yan hadn’t actually taken the secret passage, that bluff might really have worked.

Shen Jue’s sinister pressure surged back at him instantly.

“If that person simply saw wrong, then I’ll have to dig out his eyeballs and soak them in wine.”

Prince Ning was momentarily speechless.

He didn’t have any real witness—he had merely been trying to bluff this eunuch dog.

“Hmph. Other than you, who else in this capital has the ability to spirit someone out of the Court of Judicial Review?” Prince Ning narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Shen Jue’s face, trying to detect even the slightest flaw.

“You two may appear like fire and water on ordinary days, but who knows whether you’ve just been acting in front of me? The principle of when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold—surely Chief Shen understands that.”

Upstairs, Su Hewan, who had been eavesdropping by the wall, lowered her head as her heart raced wildly.

This was a battle of minds.

Prince Ning was probing, applying pressure.

The moment Shen Jue showed the slightest panic—or even a fleeting flicker in his eyes—Prince Ning would strike immediately.

But Shen Jue was a demon who had crawled out from piles of corpses, an Asura who toyed with human hearts as if they were in the palm of his hand.

He had never been afraid of anyone.

Suddenly, Shen Jue burst into loud laughter.

“Hahahaha! Lips gone, teeth grow cold? Acting?”

His eyes turned vicious.

“Your Highness, you really overestimate that idiot Lu Yan. If I ever had the chance to deal with him, I’d personally skin him alive, rip out his tendons, and break apart every bone in his body to boil into soup! Save him? Does he even deserve that?”

By the final words, the killing intent erupting from Shen Jue’s eyes was so real that it sent chills down one’s spine.

It was a hatred buried deep in the bones—something impossible to fake.

Prince Ning stared at Shen Jue for a long while. The suspicion in his eyes finally faded somewhat.

Everyone in the realm knew that the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guard were like fire and water.

Lu Yan had impeached Shen Jue in court more than once, and Shen Jue had also tripped up the Imperial Guard on several occasions.

Such deep grudges could not be resolved overnight.

“Best if that’s the case.”

Prince Ning let out a cold snort.

“Overseer Shen, let me make this clear. Lu Yan is a court-declared criminal. Anyone who dares to hide or protect him will be treated as an accomplice—and the punishment will be the extermination of nine clans!”

“The Eastern Depot had better be clean. Otherwise, don’t blame this prince for showing no old sentiments and flattening even your Overseer’s Office!”

Shen Jue returned to his usual infuriatingly lazy tone. “Your Highness, take care on your way out. I won’t see you off. The tea’s getting cold—bad luck.”

Prince Ning’s face turned iron-green. He shot Shen Jue a vicious glare, then flicked his sleeve and strode away.

Only after confirming that Prince Ning and his men had completely left the Eastern Depot did the tense atmosphere finally ease a little.

Su Hewan let out a long breath and hurried downstairs, seeing that Shen Jue had already sat down.

“That was close,” she said in a low voice.

Shen Jue, however, looked completely unconcerned. He took a sip of tea, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes. “Old fox. Without evidence, what can he do to me?”

“Where will he go next?” Su Hewan asked.

Shen Jue set down the teacup, his fingers lightly tapping the table.

“Lu Yan escaped. If he can’t catch him, he’ll naturally find somewhere to vent his anger—and squeeze out some profit while he’s at it.”

Looking out the window at the endless rows of rooftops, Shen Jue curled his lips into a cold smile.

“That stubborn old man from the Lu family is going to have a bad day today.”

Prime Minister’s Residence, Study

Unlike the eerie chill of the Eastern Depot, the Prime Minister’s residence carried a stale, decaying heaviness.

Prime Minister Lu Zhixing sat upright in a grand chair, holding a scroll in his hand. Yet the page had not been turned for quite some time.

Bang!

The study door was shoved open roughly.

Prince Ning didn’t even bother with basic courtesy. He barged straight in, followed by a squad of murderous guards with drawn sabers, instantly surrounding the study so tightly that not even water could leak through.

“Prime Minister Lu seems to be in high spirits.”

Prince Ning spoke with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Your son has caused chaos outside and become a wanted criminal, yet you still have the leisure to sit here reading?”

Lu Zhixing slowly raised his head and stood, cupping his hands in greeting. “This old minister greets Your Highness.”

Prince Ning waved his hand and advanced step by step.

“Where is Lu Yan? Hand him over!”

“Your Highness must be joking.”

Lu Zhixing remained completely composed.

“That unfilial son was already expelled from the family three years ago when he insisted on joining the Imperial Guard. His name was long since erased from the Lu family genealogy. Whether he lives or dies, whether he meets fortune or disaster—what does it have to do with the Lu family?”

“So this is Prime Minister Lu’s excuse?”

Prince Ning sneered, danger flashing in his eyes. “Cutting ties? Easy words! Blood is thicker than water—even if the bones break, the tendons remain connected! Now he has committed a grave crime! By law, nine clans should be executed! Do the hundreds of people in the Lu family intend to be buried with him?”

At those words, the steward standing outside the door trembled violently, nearly dropping to his knees.

But Lu Zhixing suddenly straightened his back.

“Your Highness!”

His eyes widened in anger as he shouted sternly.

“I have spent my life studying the teachings of the sages and conducting myself with integrity! If that unfilial son truly committed treasonous crimes, I would be the first to uphold righteousness and personally beat that unworthy son to death!”

“But where he is now, this minister truly does not know! If Your Highness does not believe me, you may search the residence! Even if you turn this Prime Minister’s manor upside down, I will bear no complaint!”

“As for exterminating nine clans…” Lu Zhixing let out a bitter laugh and stepped forward, meeting Prince Ning’s gaze directly.

“When one is determined to accuse, there will never be a lack of charges. If Your Highness wishes to use this opportunity to eliminate political opponents, that is Your Highness’s method. But the Lu family has been loyal and righteous for generations—we will not suffer such a baseless calamity! Since that unfilial son is no longer a member of the Lu family, his crimes must be borne by him alone!”

Prince Ning stared at Lu Zhixing for a long time.