The Crown Prince walked in the middle, with a soldier in front opening the way. Behind him were two injured soldiers, and at the very back was another soldier. Li Chengkuang stealthily crept up and suddenly covered the soldier's mouth with one hand. He forcefully slit his knife across his throat, causing blood to gush out like a fountain. Sensing that the soldier had completely lost the strength to struggle, Li Chengkuang pushed him into the thicket and continued to creep up.
Commandant Guo Yi, Zhao Sishen, had arrived with a large group of soldiers. Eager to render meritorious service, Yang Sixun ordered him to lead the cavalry to guard all the main roads at the foot of the mountain while he personally led the troops up the mountain to search. Yang Fan also brought his own men, brandishing his knife to open a path up the mountain to search.
The Crown Prince had attacked his subordinates and almost killed him, and the Black Tortoise Sect had changed sides because of his words, causing the Crown Prince's army to be defeated. This enmity was already set in stone. If the Crown Prince turned the tables, he would definitely not have a good ending. He naturally understood the simple principle of cutting weeds and eliminating the roots.
Yang Fan continued up the mountain. Just as he was searching, a soldier suddenly called out, "Grand General, there are chopped branches and leaves here."
Yang Fan hurriedly went over to take a look. For a moment, he was unable to determine whether or not it was left behind by other teams searching the mountain. He said, "Follow them and take a look."
The group of people chased into an open area. There were no obvious signs and they had lost track of their target. Just as they were about to find another direction to continue their search, there was suddenly a rustle in the thicket. It seemed that someone or a large beast was approaching. Ren Wei and the other imperial bodyguards immediately raised their knives and were on guard.
The thicket parted and a person came out. He was in a sorry state and held a bloody head in his hand. When he saw Yang Fan and the others, he was first startled. Then, when he saw Yang Fan's appearance, he couldn't help but exclaim with joy, "Grand General Yang, I, Li Chengkuang, have obeyed the imperial edict!"
The person who came out of the thicket was Li Chengkuang. He hurriedly threw away his knife and took two steps forward. Kneeling on the ground, he raised the bloody head high in the air. When Yang Fan saw the head, he couldn't help but be shocked. The head's eyes were wide open, and an expression of grief, indignation, and shock still hung on its face. It was Crown Prince Li Chengkuang.
Yang Fan cried out involuntarily, "Crown Prince?"
Li Chengkuang hurriedly nodded. "Yes, it is the Crown Prince. Great General, I was inspired by the Emperor and resolutely killed a group of traitors. Great General, look, I was injured because of this."
Yang Fan hesitated for a moment, then slowly said: "Get up, this official will bring you to see His Majesty."
Li Chengkuang was wild with joy and quickly stood up. He bowed and said, "Thank you, Great General. I will never forget Great General's kindness …"
Just as Li Chengkuang was flattering him, Ren Wei suddenly raised the saber in his hand. With a flash of cold light, the saber was aimed at Li Chengkuang's neck.
Although Li Chengkuang was unwilling to use the Crown Prince's head as a proof of allegiance to the Emperor, he felt that what Mr. Ding said was very reasonable. First, the Emperor had said in front of everyone, "In any case, let bygones be bygones." The secret that he was the mastermind of the rebellion would not be known by anyone and he would not be regarded as the main culprit, so he could be forgiven.
Second, by killing the Crown Prince today, he had cut off all paths of retreat. If there were still people who wanted to harm the Emperor, they would definitely not recruit him. Other than being Li Xian's dog, he had no other way out. If someone was able to accomplish great things, in order to deny Li Xian, they would have to rehabilitate the Crown Prince. Once the Crown Prince was rehabilitated, he would still have to die. Thus, not only did he have to be the Emperor's dog, he could only be a loyal dog. After all, other people did not know that he had long been a member of the Lu family.
Thus, after he was spared from death, it was very likely that Li Xian would put him in an important position. It was no secret that Li Xian lacked people he could use. Thus, after he killed the Crown Prince, he came with his head and did not have any wariness.
Ren Wei's saber swept out, and Li Chengkuang's head was sliced off. It rolled more than ten feet before falling to the ground with a thud and rolling into the grass. The moment Ren Wei attacked, Yang Fan was also shocked. His hand unconsciously tightened on the hilt of the saber. Only when Li Chengkuang's head fell to the ground did Yang Fan's fingers slowly loosen.
After Ren Wei killed Li Chengkuang, he turned and knelt on one knee towards Yang Fan.
Yang Fan asked in a low voice, "What are you doing?"
Ren Wei said, "Great General, why do you have to give this merit to Li Chengkuang, this vile person?"
Yang Fan's expression did not change. "Oh?"
Ren Wei raised his head, his gaze slightly heated. "Great General, from the Emperor of Ze Tian to the current Emperor, General has always been put in an important position. However, they are not without wariness towards Great General. Right now, there is a chance for you to be viewed as a trusted aide by the Emperor. How can Great General miss it? "
Ren Wei took two steps forward on his knees and then said in a low voice, "In the past year, my Explicit Sect and the Hidden Sect have been fighting openly and covertly. Both sides have suffered great losses. The Hidden Sect's foundation in the martial world is deeper than ours. If the Sect Master wants to suppress the Hidden Sect, he can only grasp more power in the court. This opportunity cannot be missed, and it will not come again! "
Yang Fan looked deeply at him and said in a low voice, "Is this your opinion, or the opinion of my Explicit Sect's elders?"
Ren Wei lowered his head and did not speak. Yang Fan was silent for a moment and then turned to leave.
Ren Wei said urgently, "Great General!"
Seeing that Yang Fan did not even turn back, Ren Wei stood up and chased after him. He then made a gesture to the other guards, indicating for them to pick up Li Chengkuang and the Crown Prince's heads.
… …
"Good! Good, good! Si Xun, hang the heads at the Meridian Gate so that all the officials can see them. In three days, take them to King Liang's coffin to pay respects! "
Li Xian saw that the head was indeed his son's and then felt reassured to have it taken away. Li Zhongjun had charged into the palace and killed his mother, scaring him out of his wits. Their relationship as father and son was completely diluted. When he saw his own son's head, he did not feel any compassion. Instead, he fiercely ordered for the head to be hung at the Meridian Gate and then offered to King Liang's coffin.
Li Xian glanced at Yang Fan and said with a smile, "Erlang, you've made a great contribution. How do you want us to reward you?"
Yang Fan cupped his fists and said, "Your Majesty has misunderstood. The Crown Prince … did not die at this humble subject's hands."
Li Xian's eyebrows jumped. "Oh? You didn't kill the Crown Prince? "
Yang Fan said, "No, the one who killed the Crown Prince was the Crown Prince's personal guard, Li Chengkuang. Li Chengkuang killed the Crown Prince in an attempt to absolve himself of his crimes. However, he was acting suspiciously in the forest. When my subordinates were searching the forest, they mistakenly thought that he was trying to ambush this humble subject, so they decisively killed him. Later on, when we saw the Crown Prince's head and found a few of the Crown Prince's personal guards, we found out the truth from one of the dying guards. Only then did we understand what had happened. "
"Ah! So that's how it was … "
Li Xian's expression was a little ugly. He gave Yang Fan a deep look and said, "Even so, your contributions cannot go unnoticed. Moreover, you also saved the Black Tortoise Gate. Oh, you may withdraw first. We will reward you according to your merits. "
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Yang Fan cupped his hands, retreated three steps, and turned to walk out of the hall.
Li Xian looked at his back, his expression gradually darkening. Behind the screen, Empress Wei and Princess An Le walked out. Ever since the Wu family's incident, An Le had been living in the palace for the past few days and hadn't gone back to pay her respects to her father-in-law and husband. The remnants of the Wu family had not been completely purged. She didn't dare to take the risk.
Empress Wei walked to Li Xian's side and followed his gaze to look outside. Li Xian muttered, "The one who killed the Crown Prince was Li Chengkuang, but only the people around him know. If he didn't say, who would know the truth? Such a great merit, but he wasn't moved. Ha! Ha, ha! "
Empress Wei said, "Why did Yang Fan refuse to accept the merit? Was he worried that someone would counterattack one day, or did he not want to follow you with all his heart? "
Li Xian's expression became even darker.
Princess An Le said in a sweet voice, "Father, Mother, you think too much. If Yang Fan had ulterior motives, why would he take the risk to climb the Black Tortoise Gate to escort the emperor? "
Empress Wei said, "Didn't you hear him say that he was also kept in the dark? If he wasn't on good terms with the Dugu clan, Dugu Huizhi wouldn't dare to lightly offend the clan and would have killed him on the spot. "
Princess An Le said, "So what? From escorting Father out of Fang Ling, to supporting Father in the coup d 'état, to charging into the palace to save the emperor and turning the tide, this person's loyalty is indescribable. He's just overly cautious and careful, always thinking of meeting people everywhere, so he isn't willing to walk the same path to the end. "
Li Xian said with a dark face, "Zhen is the Son of Heaven. If he isn't loyal to Zhen, where does he want to meet people everywhere? The Prince of Xiang? Humph! This is the greatest disloyalty! "
Empress Wei reminded, "He has done a great service. Do you want to solidify your reputation of being harsh and merciless?"
Princess An Le giggled and said, "Of course he has to be rewarded for his service. Didn't Father just generously bestow Zhang Jianzhi and the others with titles? Isn't that right, Father? "
Li Xian's anger turned to joy and he said with a smile, "It's still my darling daughter who is quick-witted."
Princess An Le giggled, her eyes rippling. It was hard to tell what she was thinking.
… …
When Xiao Man heard that her husband had returned, she hurriedly came out of the inner residence. She heard from the steward that her husband had summoned Gu Da to his study to discuss matters.
Xiao Man returned to the Flower Hall, sat by the Arhat bed, and sighed softly. A Nu, who was excitedly making clothes for the child on the Arhat bed, glanced at her and said, "Something on your mind?"
Xiao Man shook her head and said, "The court is very busy. It's always worrying about Husband."
A Nu bit off the thread and said, "Don't worry. He's skilled in martial arts and has a large army. What can happen to him?"
Xiao Man said, "That's not necessarily true. What's the use of being skilled in martial arts? I heard that one of his subordinates also participated in the mutiny and even used medicine to numb him, almost taking his life with one strike. This is impossible to guard against. Besides, he has a large army. Li Duozuo, Li Qianli, and Shazha Zhongyi, which one of them doesn't have a large army? It's hard for a jar to break out of the well. The general will inevitably … How can I not worry? "
When A Nu heard this, her beautiful eyebrows also gently furrowed. After a moment of silence, she faintly said, "Men have to work hard outside. What can we women do about it? Can we persuade Husband to give up his official post and live in seclusion to be a carefree farmer? "
Xiao Man said, "Even if you're worried, you have to keep it in your heart. Don't let him see it. It's already very difficult for him. Don't let him worry about the family. "
A Nu gently nodded, "I understand."
In the study, Gu Da's expression changed when he heard Yang Fan's words. He cried out, "What? Sect Master is saying … "
Yang Fan nodded with a gloomy face, "It's better to be safe than sorry. I'm just taking precautions. Just remember it in your heart and don't say it out loud. "
Gu Da hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "This subordinate understands!"
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