jdhmnovel Chapter 235 The Real Murderer Behind the Scenes
Chapter 235 The Real Murderer Behind the Scenes
However, just as the sword was about to touch the Prince of Dongping, the Prince of Dongping shifted his body slightly, and suddenly a group of black figures appeared in his place, with hoarse roars coming from their half-arched mouths.
The secret guard's sword pierced one of the black shadows, and a fishy smell spread instantly. Dark green sticky liquid sprayed out, splashing on the wall and on the secret guard.
The prince scolded, "What are you still standing there for? Kill him now."
However, what he waited for was not the Prince of Dongping being killed by the secret guards, but a miserable cry of "Ah".
The sword in the secret guard's hand had already fallen to the ground. He covered his arm in pain, and his arm was corroded at a speed visible to the naked eye. In a blink of an eye, only a dry bone was left.
"Your Highness, save me, save me!"
The secret guard reached out to the prince for help, but as soon as he finished speaking, his whole body turned into a pool of pus and fell to the ground, as if everything he had just seen was an illusion.
The prince watched this scene in horror, his eyes following the dark shadows that were surrounding him. "Who... who are you?"
The Prince of Dongping clapped his hands gently, and those dark shadows slowly approached the prince like ghosts obeying the call.
The prince's heart was beating like a drum, and fear made him step back involuntarily until his back was pressed against the cold corner of the wall.
The shadows remained motionless, silently surrounding him. The prince's mental defenses began to collapse, and his voice trembled with despair. "What do you want?"
A faint smile appeared on the corner of the Prince of Dongping's mouth, and he clapped his hands again. A figure walked out from the darkness and stood beside him.
The prince's eyes widened as big as copper bells. He pointed at the man, but his voice was stuck in his throat, "You...you are the imperial physician who killed my father!"
The imperial physician who had been imprisoned in the dungeon now stood before the crown prince, safe and sound. He smiled faintly, his tone tinged with flattery, "Thank you, Prince. Oh no, it was the Prince Regent who promoted me. I will be loyal and serve you wholeheartedly."
The Prince of Dongping nodded with satisfaction and praised, "You have done an excellent job this time. Not only have you brought down the Second Prince and the Queen, but you have also made the Crown Prince bear an unjust accusation. You have eliminated two of my greatest worries."
It was not until this moment that the prince finally understood that the mastermind behind all this was actually the Prince of Dongping, not the Queen and the Second Prince as he had suspected.
"So this was all your plot. You're making us kill each other!" The prince roared in rage. He finally understood why the imperial physician who brought arsenic into the palace had escaped the death penalty. The real mastermind was right before his eyes.
Although the prince had seen through everything, he was powerless to change the situation. He was surrounded by the Prince of Dongping's men, and his voice could not be heard outside the house.
"Haha, it seems that you are not too stupid. Since you already know the truth, shouldn't you be more self-aware and end your own life?" The voice of the Prince of Dongping was cold and sarcastic.
"I really trusted you wrongly." The prince's teeth were chattering. He was in a desperate situation and unable to resist. He could only stare at the Prince of Dongping with eyes full of hatred, trying to vent his inner anger and unwillingness.
Prince Dongping rolled his eyes. "It's just a collaboration. I'm just asking if I helped you avenge your mother's murder."
"You..." The prince glared angrily. He must have been reciting a long Three Character Classic in his mind, but he said weakly, "How can I survive?"
Seeing this, the Prince of Dongping sneered, "Alive? So you can find a chance to expose me? Your Highness, I'm afraid you will never have this chance again."
After saying this, he turned to the imperial physician and ordered, "Give him the rest of your medicine."
The imperial physician nodded respectfully, stepped forward, roughly pinched the prince's chin, and forced arsenic into his mouth.
The prince struggled, but to no avail. The arsenic quickly dissolved and flowed into his body. Soon, blood gushed out of his mouth, staining his clothes red.
"you……"
Before the prince could finish his words, he fell to the ground and died. In his final moments, the cold command of the Prince of Dongping seemed to still echo in his ears.
"The Second Prince's followers poisoned the First Prince with arsenic. Immediately seal the palace gates and thoroughly investigate the remaining members of the Second Prince's faction."
"Yes, sir!" The men responded in unison, their voices echoing in the secret room.
Seeing the crown prince fall, the eyes of the Prince of Dongping were as cold as frost, without any ripples. He calmly ordered: "Clean it up."
"Yes." The imperial physician retreated respectfully, lowered his head, and did not dare to look at him any longer.
The Prince of Dongping raised his hand slightly, and those dark shadows retreated quietly as if swallowed by the night.
He looked up at the sky outside the door, his eyes deep, and whispered to himself: "Everything has just begun."
On that day, a dilapidated carriage quietly drove out of the palace gate and headed straight for the mass grave.
The driver was a young eunuch from the palace. He looked around nervously, clasped his hands together, and muttered to himself.
When he arrived at the destination, he hurriedly pushed the body out of the car and drove away without looking back.
The corpse that was pushed down was the prince who was poisoned.
It is a pity that the prince, who was once second only to the emperor and above everyone else, is now lying among the dead.
Just a quarter of an hour later, another carriage arrived. Yan Wanwan got off and walked straight towards the prince's body.
A green light emanated from her hand and gently fell upon the prince. In the blink of an eye, the prince's eyelids trembled slightly, and he miraculously woke up.
"County Lady Yan..." A trace of joy flashed in the prince's eyes, "Thank you for saving my life. I..."
He paused and laughed at himself, "Now, I am no longer the prince."
Yan Wanwan ignored his sentimentality and calmly reminded him, "Your Highness, it is not advisable to stay here for long. Your new identity has been arranged."
The prince nodded and quickly followed her into the carriage, leaving this dead place.
Half an hour later, they arrived at Yan Wanwan's manor in Jingzhao.
The prince changed into a coarse linen robe, and beside him was a carriage and a bundle filled with dry food and silver prepared for him by Yan Wanwan.
The prince bowed deeply to her again, his tone sincere and grateful: "County Lady Yan, I have no way to repay you for your kindness."
Yan Wanwan's expression was indifferent. She raised her hand slightly to indicate that the Crown Prince did not need to be polite. Her tone was calm but carried a hint of unquestionable firmness: "Your Highness, please put aside your words of gratitude for now. You are no longer the Crown Prince of the past, but an ordinary person who has hidden his identity. The road ahead is for you to walk on your own."
The prince nodded, a complicated look flashing in his eyes.
He looked down at his coarse linen clothes, then at the carriage and bundle beside him, and said with a wry smile, "Yes, from now on, I am just an ordinary person. However, County Master Yan, there is still one thing I don't understand - why did you save me?"
Yan Wanwan's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at him in silence.
The prince laughed at himself, "County Lady Yan, green mountains and clear waters, we will meet again if we are destined to."
Looking at his receding back, Yan Wanwan said to herself: Saving you is not entirely out of kindness, it is just to leave a glimmer of hope for this world.