IDWBE -Chapter 25 Prince Qing

“Old bastard! He actually dares to tell me to get lost!”

Lin Yi stood there stunned for a while, then shot to his feet in anger.

Consort Wen turned back and looked at Lin Yi with some pity. It was one thing that this child had achieved nothing in either literary or martial pursuits—but she hadn’t expected his mind to be this slow as well.

How did it take him so long to react?

Song Cheng asked, “Your Highness, what should we do now?”

Lin Yi said, “That old bastard—he won’t even give me this little bit of face! We’ll go into the city right now. If they won’t let us in, I’ll just stay there and refuse to leave. Let’s see what he can do!”

He was a penniless pauper now—barefoot people weren’t afraid of those wearing shoes.

Song Cheng obeyed at once, calling everyone to pack up and head toward Qingyuan City’s gate.

Nearly two thousand ragged refugees suddenly appearing outside the gate frightened the gate guards badly.

Before the gate officer could give an order, experienced soldiers had already begun driving away the pedestrians lingering near the gate. Their hands were already on the great doors; at a single command, they would shut them immediately.

The gate officer, Jiang Yi, a man in his thirties, didn’t understand the situation but promptly sent out scouts to investigate.

Three mounted scouts rode in circles around Lin Yi’s group, saying nothing, asking nothing, which annoyed Lin Yi greatly. He said to Song Cheng, “Go ask them what the hell they’re trying to do! If a tiger doesn’t show its might, they’ll think I’m a sick cat!”

He usually didn’t care much about face, but whether others showed respect was another matter. Being treated like a monkey in front of so many people—wasn’t that a slap in the face?

This was intolerable!

Song Cheng acknowledged the order and rode toward the nearest scout.

Seeing Song Cheng riding alongside him, the scout hastily flicked his whip and turned his horse to flee toward the gate.

Song Cheng leapt from his saddle and landed on the other man’s mount. The scout struck backward with his elbow in fright.

Ignoring the blow, Song Cheng grabbed him by the back and, no matter how the man struggled, dragged him straight before Lin Yi.

After throwing the man to the ground, Song Cheng cupped his hands and said, “Your Highness, the man has been brought back.”

At the same time, the guard commander Shen Chu had captured the other two scouts as well.

Lin Yi smiled and said, “Tie them all up. They dared attempt to assassinate me!”

Assassinate?

His subordinates didn’t understand what was going on, but they still acknowledged the order.

The long procession continued slowly toward the city gate.

Jiang Yi hurriedly shouted, “Close the gates! Quickly, close the gates!”

After the heavy gates rumbled shut, he stood atop the wall looking down. He could clearly see the faces of the refugees and shouted, “Stop there! State your names!”

Soldiers on the wall had already nocked arrows.

Supported by Hong Ying, Lin Yi stepped out of the carriage and stood on the carriage frame, pointing at the three scouts and shouting toward the wall:

“Who sent you to assassinate me?”

Jiang Yi froze and exchanged glances with the soldiers beside him.

Assassinate?

What was this nonsense?

He had no idea how to respond.

Lin Yi pointed at the three scouts and declared, “You dared attempt to kill this prince—fortunately, fate protects the virtuous! The assassins have already been captured by me. Are you still going to deny it?”

“May I ask who you are?” Jiang Yi finally seized on the key phrase—“this prince.”

Someone who dared call himself “this prince”…

He had a faint sense of unease.

And how had his three scouts suddenly become assassins?

Lin Yi ignored him and clapped toward the three scouts. “Good! You are indeed men of courage, preferring death to surrender. I greatly admire you! Since you refuse to answer, I won’t force you—forced melons aren’t sweet. Men, keep them under guard. I will certainly find someone to confront them. I am a prince of the current dynasty—how could such a vicious plot be used against me!”

As he performed, he gradually began to believe his own story.

“Your Highness is of priceless worth,” Hong Ying suddenly knelt with a thud. “Even if I must give my life, I will protect Your Highness.”

Seeing tears welling in Hong Ying’s eyes, Lin Yi felt deeply gratified.

At last, a trainee from the Prince He Manor Acting Academy had finally graduated!

“Prince? Royal Highness?” Jiang Yi grew more and more confused.

In Qingyuan City, there was only one person called a prince—the Prince of Qing.

“The Ninth Son of His Majesty, Prince He! Passing through Qingyuan on the way to take up his fief at Sanhe!”

After watching Hong Ying’s performance, Song Cheng’s eyes reddened with envy. Unable to resist, he also stepped forward and shouted indignantly at Jiang Yi: “You are utterly audacious, daring to attempt to assassinate Prince He! Are you plotting rebellion?!”

Lin Yi felt even more gratified. It seemed he truly had many talented people under his command.

“Prince He… rebellion…”

Jiang Yi felt as if struck by lightning.

A man’s reputation was like the shadow of a tree—Prince He’s notoriety was truly widespread.

Song Cheng said coldly, “Do you still intend to argue?”

“Prince He, you must be mistaken. These three are gate guards, not assassins!” Jiang Yi hurriedly said. “Please allow this subordinate to explain—not to argue, but to speak a word. How would I dare to harm Your Highness?”

Song Cheng pointed at the three scouts. “We have witnesses and evidence. What more is there to say? I will immediately report this to the General!”

“A misunderstanding! It’s all a misunderstanding!”

Jiang Yi was sweating profusely. He wasn’t afraid of offending some Prince He—but once the charge of attempting to assassinate a prince and plotting rebellion was placed upon his head… who could bear that?

Lin Yi said calmly, “Do you think a single word—‘misunderstanding’—can explain this?”

Grinding his teeth, Jiang Yi said, “Prince He, please wait. I will immediately report this to the Prefect!”

He had already realized that this Prince He was clearly picking a fight on purpose.

The Prefect of Qingyuan, Liu Boxian, fifty-seven years old, was leisurely tapping the lid of his teacup.

After hearing Jiang Yi’s report, he yawned and said with a smile, “And what has this to do with me?”

“What…?”

Jiang Yi could hardly believe those words had come from the Prefect’s mouth.

You’re the highest official here—if not you, then who?

After speaking, Liu Boxian turned and went into the inner chamber.

“Prefect Liu—”

Jiang Yi hurried after him but was stopped by the advisor, Ma Jie.

“Advisor Ma, what should we do?” Jiang Yi asked anxiously.

Ma Jie smiled. “Lord Jiang, you’re too close to the matter to see clearly. Think about it—rebellion? Our Prefect is only a civil official. The yamen has only constables and household guards. If someone accused him of assassinating a prince and rebelling, who would believe it? Who do you think should be the most anxious right now?”

“The General!” Jiang Yi suddenly understood.

The General commanded troops!

“Why would the General assassinate a prince—what would he gain?”

Ma Jie’s face finally showed impatience, and he snapped, “Why are you still standing here? Go to Prince Qing’s residence and find Prince Qing!”

“Find Prince Qing?”

Jiang Yi clapped his hands together and bowed. “Thank you for the guidance, Advisor Ma!”

With that, he ran out of the prefectural office as fast as he could and rode straight toward Prince Qing’s residence.