Chapter 1650: An Argument Between Princes! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
”Bastard!”
The First Prince's expression turned cold, and the hands hidden in his sleeves clenched, the veins bulging. If looks could kill, Li Heng would have been a dead man.
”Li Heng, do you know what you're saying?”
The First Prince spoke between clenched teeth, each word seeming to force itself through the cracks.
The First Prince had always remembered the Fifth Prince to be cowardly and shrinking, always falling back and running whenever he ran into a problem. He had even disguised himself and entered Kunwu Training Camp, mixing in with the common folk. His personality had somewhat changed later on, and he had learned how to counterattack, even pushing Third Prince Li Ju into prison.
But in the end, he would usually simply grin and bear it as he was beaten down.
However, this time was different. He actually dared to conflict with him in front of so many people.
”Imperial Brother, Li Heng is only explaining the matter. Was anything I said inappropriate?”
Li Heng raised his head and looked at the First Prince.
”Good! You were very good! Nothing was inappropriate at all!” the First Prince viciously spat. ”Let me ask you this. You said that you summoned the King of Foreign Lands into the palace, but one of you is the King of Foreign Lands while the other is a Prince. Imperial Father has strictly forbidden the Princes of the palace from colluding with important officials of the court and forming factions. Do you not know of this rule? There are many people here, Fifth Brother, so you'd best think very carefully about your answer.”
”Ah, First Imperial Brother, haven't there recently been a lot of assassins in the palace? The Jinyang Palace that I live in has come under many attacks, but these scoundrels are somewhat lacking, so they've never succeeded,” the Fifth Prince replied, staring profoundly at the First Prince.
”Li Heng recalled that the King of Foreign Lands had peerless martial arts, and had a desire to learn a few skills to protect himself, so I invited the King of Foreign Lands to the palace to teach me martial arts. First Imperial Brother, there should be nothing excessive about this, right?”
Li Heng was neither meek nor proud in his reply. In front of the First Prince, he showed neither fear nor submission. On the contrary, he seemed to have an edge in his voice.
The surrounding crowd had long ago paled at the Fifth Prince's words. The Fifth Prince was clearly referring to the assassination incident from before, but the Eastern Palace had also paid a price. Almost all its assassins had been wiped out.
The Fifth Prince's argument was flawless. If it was really as he said, it would be nigh impossible to deal with Wang Chong in the future.
”First Imperial Brother, this matter with the King of Foreign Lands was because of me. Li Heng knows he was wrong, so please, Imperial Brother, punish me!”
Li Heng slowly gave a deep bow and said no more.
All was quiet. No one dared to speak at this time. Who would rashly speak up when two Princes were arguing with each other?
The First Prince stared uncertainly at Li Heng.
Li Heng had changed!
This was completely different from the Li Heng he remembered. In the past, Li Heng would have never said anything like 'please punish me'. If Li Heng hadn't said these words, the First Prince could have used this chance to give Li Heng a harsh lesson, but in asking for punishment, Li Heng had prevented the First Prince from going all-out.
The King of Foreign Lands needed to be dealt with, but Li Heng now seemed like an unprecedented threat!
”Good! Very good!”
The First Prince took in a deep breath and finally calmed down, but the rage in his heart was building.
”All of you are dismissed!” the First Prince suddenly ordered, his tone brooking no objection. This sudden order took everyone aback, but no one dared to defy it.
”Yes!”
A moment later, the vast crowd and the torches began to recede like a tide.
”Fifth Brother, you were asking about your punishment? Follow me!”
With a dour look on his face, the First Prince stomped into Tianxin Palace, not even glancing at Li Heng.
Li Heng's eyes gleamed, but he showed no signs of backing down. After a moment of thought, he followed the First Prince into Tianxin Palace.
Bang!
The doors closed and Tianxin Palace seemed to go dark and silent, like it was in another world. Even though no one knew what the two Princes were saying or doing, all of them felt a sense of tension.
Meanwhile, all the soldiers and Eastern Palace advisors were returning to their posts, following the First Prince's orders.
A stalwart figure had turned and was preparing to leave when Wang Chong called out, confidently striding forward with a smile on his face.
”Senior, since you're here, why are you in such a rush to leave? Why not stay a while? We can have a little chat.”
The stalwart figure paused, and then he slowly turned around. This man had white hair, but his body was like a tenacious pine tree growing from the cliffside. Who else could it be but the Ghost King?
”All of you, withdraw!” the Ghost King suddenly ordered.
He smiled slightly at Wang Chong.
”King of Foreign Lands, it truly is time that we had a good chat.”
……
Within Tianxian Palace, the candles softly burned, but the air remained taut. Now that the doors were closed and no one was present, the veil between the two was torn away, and they got along like fire and water. Never again would there be any warmth in this relationship.