Chapter 1574: Reactions from All Sides! (1/2)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

All the foreign dignitaries were calling out in rough Tang language, and their faces were flushed with intoxication.

”Everyone is too polite. This prince is merely a temporary regent. Without Imperial Father's approval, this prince cannot be considered the heir apparent yet!”

The First Prince placed one hand behind his back while the other raised a cup to the royalty and emissaries down below.

”For the First Prince to inherit the throne is only right and proper!”

”If anyone dares to oppose the First Prince, I, Wanyan Meiyue, will be the first to challenge them!”

”Our Arabia is willing to be the first to support the First Prince!”

”As long as the First Prince is here, the Western Turks will never go to war with the Great Tang!”

The riotous crowd, their faces red, called out their praises for the First Prince, to which the First Prince slightly raised his head and smiled. Spoken words could not be trusted, and despite what these foreign dignitaries said, there was no telling what they were really thinking.

But sincere or not, this praise was enough for Li Ying.

Flap flap!

A golden eagle suddenly flew in through the skylight in the ceiling. An armored Golden Guard with a stern expression glanced at the bird, paled, and quickly strode over to the First Prince.

”Your Highness, there's a problem!” the Golden Guard softly whispered.

The First Prince also seemed to grimace for a moment as he looked at the Golden Guard, but a moment later, he had regained his confident composure. It was so fast that one would feel like it had all been an illusion.

”Guests, please enjoy yourselves! I still have matters to attend to and must leave first!”

The First Prince waved his hand and then cast a glance at a silver-haired eunuch at his side. The eunuch immediately understood and began to confidently walk forward.

……

Once he was out of the Pavilion of Petal and Sepal, the First Prince's face turned dark.

”What's going on?”

The mood in this room was completely different from the mood in the pavilion.

The King of Foreign Lands who had been missing for more than a month had suddenly reappeared and returned to the capital, exactly when the First Prince wanted to see him the least.

”We don't know the exact details, but it's confirmed that the King of Foreign Lands has returned. Moreover, after his return, the gates of the Wang Family Residence have been under heavy guard, and not even the old grannies who go out to buy food have come out. Our men haven't been able to gather very much information.”

The Golden Guard lowered his head, his expression extremely respectful.

”Nothing but trash!”

The First Prince stared at the Golden Guard, his expression cold and sinister, but the Golden Guard did not dare to retort, only pressing his head lower.

There was no need to explain what sort of person the King of Foreign Lands was!

The capital with him present and the capital without him were two completely different places. This man was a core member of the army. One could see his influence merely from how his absence of a little more than a month had allowed the First Prince and Li Junxian to take over the court and push out the pro-war faction.

But if Wang Chong were to appear at this time and issue a rallying cry, quite a few people would answer the call.

All this would create a massive headache for the First Prince.

In this matter, the guard had definitely failed at his duty.

The First Prince ignored the man, and while he tried his best to keep a calm expression on his face, a hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes. That man's ability, intelligence, and military strategies were one in a million, and if there had been a possibility, the First Prince would have recruited him for his own side.

Alas, that man was determined to be his foe. It was one thing to not help him, but he had also chosen to aid the Fifth Prince, Li Heng, and become his direct foe!

There was nothing left to talk about between them!

The First Prince rubbed his forehead and suddenly asked, ”Have you investigated his whereabouts?”

”No, the Wang Clan still hasn't made an announcement. And the King of Foreign Lands… given his strength, if he wanted to hide himself, we would probably find it very hard to keep track of him,” the Golden Guard hesitantly said.

After a few moments of silence, the First Prince coldly snorted and then broke into a smile.

”Relax. The capital is only so large. He'll have to come out at some point. And now that he's appeared, we're not the ones who need to worry about him… Has there been any movement from Li Junxian?”

”They should already know of this matter,” the Golden Guard sternly said.

Wang Chong and Li Junxian were the representatives of their respective sides in the militarist-Confucian conflict, one the Advisor-in-Waiting and the other the Secretariat Advisor, one pro-war and the other pro-peace. And while Wang Chong was gone, the Confucian Sect had passed the proposal the King of Foreign Lands had so vehemently rejected, disbanding the prefectural armies. Even this Golden Guard had to admit that the Confucian Sect had every reason to be worried.