Chapter 59

"Speak! Do you think that by bowing your head to be executed, you can atone for your sins? You owe me an explanation! Think, think hard, think with all your might. If you can't remember anything, I'll put my sword to your neck and force you to think. I'll give you the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. If you can't remember a single clue, I'll cut off your dog's neck with one stroke!" The veins on Prince Jing's forehead were visibly pulsing.

It was more fear than anger that drove him. In the previous confrontation with the Holy Emperor, the Loyal Prince's faction suffered a crushing defeat, losing the Chief Cabinet Minister and the three special service agencies. The losses were severe. This time, he had confidently assured the Loyal Prince that the tribute would be safe. He knew how important this tribute was to the Loyal Prince, so he had dispatched his most elite troops to escort it. Yet, something still went wrong.

As the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly. If the news of the tribute being robbed reached the Loyal Prince's ears, it was hard to predict the extent of his wrath. Prince Jing was extremely anxious.

With a sharp sword at his neck, Wu Tiecheng's mind raced. As a soldier who had faced death countless times, he was not afraid of dying. But dying on the battlefield and dying by Prince Jing's sword were fundamentally different. He did not want to die so miserably. So he desperately tried to recall the details of the robbery.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, like a bolt of lightning piercing through the heavy clouds, and he grasped a certain detail.

"White mist! Long whip!" Wu Tiecheng suddenly opened his eyes: "There's something wrong with the white mist and the long whip!"

"What's wrong with them?" Prince Jing already knew about the white mist and the long whip from the account of the robbery.

"The weather was clear today, with no mist, so the white mist in the pit must have been artificial. I now remember that there was a medicinal smell in the mist, which must have been a mixture of several drugs. An ordinary person wouldn't have the ability to do this. I think at least a mid-level alchemist could have produced such a dense mist." Wu Tiecheng's eyes gleamed with determination: "The black rope moved very fast. Although it took me by surprise and snatched the flag, with my reaction speed, if the person's realm was slightly lower, they wouldn't have been able to succeed in front of me. But this person's movements were very fast, at least as fast as me. I'm at the Second Level of Qi Induction, so I boldly speculate that their realm is at least the Second Level of Qi Induction."

"A mid-level alchemist at the Second Level of Qi Induction!" Two cold rays of light shot from Prince Jing's eyes. He sheathed his sword and said coldly, "Find him. Even if you have to dig up the entire Holy Lion City, you must find this person!"

Wu Tiecheng led the Iron Blood Camp's soldiers to search for the person who had robbed the tribute, while Prince Jing fell into deep thought. He found it hard to imagine how the Loyal Prince would react upon hearing the news, and whether he would blame him and make him look bad.

Despite his anxiety, Prince Jing, Song Xingguang, knew that such a matter couldn't be hidden. He went to the Loyal Prince's mansion and reported the robbery of the tribute truthfully.

To his surprise, the Loyal Prince's expression remained calm, like the surface of an ancient well, showing no signs of distress. He simply said, "If it's lost, it's lost. Go find it."

Prince Jing stared at the Loyal Prince's face in shock, inwardly admiring him. No wonder among all the princes, only the Fifth Prince was the most likely to contend for the throne. Just the composure he displayed in the face of such a crisis was something Prince Jing couldn't match.

The Loyal Prince slowly sipped his tea, then placed the cup on the table, his eyes half-closed, and said calmly, "Seventh Brother, the main reason the tribute was so easily robbed this time is that they obtained accurate information. Have you thought about how such a secret message, that the Snow Mountain Black Mud Stem was hidden in the flagpole, could have been leaked?"

Prince Jing scratched his head and replied, "That's something I've been trying to figure out. The robbers' setup was very clever, clearly well-prepared. Their goal was clearly the flag in Wu Tiecheng's hands, and they didn't touch any of the other valuables. Without precise information, they couldn't have succeeded and escaped unscathed. After all, the Iron Blood Camp isn't a pushover."

"If they could obtain such a secret message, their intelligence capabilities are formidable. Who do you think in the capital has such ability?"

"Fifth Brother, do you mean... it was the Cat Eye Agency?" Prince Jing, inspired, said, "Apart from the Cat Eye Agency among the three special service agencies, what other organization has such strong intelligence capabilities?"

The Loyal Prince's expression remained calm, but a cold light flashed in his eyes, as if he were talking to himself, "Sixth Brother, it seems you can't hold back any longer, so eager to deal with your Fifth Brother."

Prince Jing slammed his hand on the table, angry, "What a scoundrel, I can't stand his smug face."

The Loyal Prince said calmly, "Anyone who has been discriminated against for so long, once they gain power, will be eager to prove themselves."

"A waste is a waste. Just because the Holy Emperor bestowed him the title of Bright King doesn't mean he has the qualifications to be a king. If it's confirmed that he was behind the robbery of the tribute, I will raze his Bright King's mansion to the ground!" Prince Jing clenched his fist, showing his anger.

"Confirmed? Confirmed what? How can you confirm it?" The Loyal Prince looked at him and sneered, "Don't forget, the three special service agencies are now in his hands. It's easy for him to investigate us, but for us to investigate him, it's not that simple."

"What should we do, then? Just swallow this humiliation and watch him strut around?"

"If something can't be confirmed, there's no need to investigate it," the Loyal Prince said meaningfully, "Do I need a reason to deal with someone?"

This statement was full of arrogance, and Prince Jing felt a chill. The Loyal Prince, who appeared kind and benevolent on the surface, was actually very calculating and ruthless. If he didn't have a strong desire and ambition, how could he be so fixated on the throne? In the first direct confrontation with the Holy Emperor, the Loyal Prince lost, but the power base he had built over the years was not fundamentally damaged. This period of restraint was not out of fear or retreat. From Prince Jing's understanding, he was just preparing for a more intense counterattack.

The robbery of the tribute was just a pretext. It gave the Loyal Prince an excuse to act. Whether or not the Cat Eye Agency was behind it, it no longer mattered to the Loyal Prince. If he said it was Song Xinghai's fault, then it was. Whether it was true or not, it didn't matter. As the Loyal Prince said, did he need a reason to deal with someone?

"Fifth Brother, what do you plan to do?"

"A month from now, the Holy Emperor will go to the Autumn Hunting Grounds. According to tradition, Sixth Brother, as the head of the three special service agencies, will go to the hunting ground in advance to investigate. At that time, he won't have many people with him. I don't want to see him come back alive." The Loyal Prince took a sip of tea, looking content, paused, and continued, "You and Ninth Brother go and arrange this. You don't need me to teach you how to do it, right?"

"I understand, Fifth Brother. Just wait for good news." Prince Jing accepted the order and bowed to take his leave.

After he left, the Loyal Prince threw the cup in his hand to the ground, splashing tea everywhere. His face was ashen, and he gritted his teeth, "Sixth Brother, you even dared to rob the medicine for the little princess. I won't let you off!"

Thinking of the powerful family behind the little princess, the Loyal Prince broke out in a cold sweat. The Snow Mountain Black Mud Stem, a rare treasure, was hard to come by, and even the grand palace had very little in stock. If not for a secret agreement with the Angzang King, he wouldn't have received such a national treasure. He had made this request to please the little princess. Only by serving her well and controlling her illness could he gain support from that powerful family when he took action. If that giant were to intervene, he would have a decisive advantage in his confrontation with the Holy Emperor. That's why he took such good care of the little princess, sparing no effort to manage her illness.

The Snow Mountain Black Mud Stem, with its extremely cold and yin properties, was highly effective in suppressing the "poison fire" in the little princess's body. He never expected it to be robbed near the capital. If not for his deep composure, he would have thrown the cup at Prince Jing's face just now.

He was truly intent on killing Song Xinghai.

Although there was no evidence, the Loyal Prince's intuition told him that Song Xinghai was behind it. The Holy Emperor had always been resentful that the tribute from the Angzang Kingdom was sent directly to the Loyal Prince's mansion instead of the palace, considering it a great humiliation. This time, by regaining control of the three special service agencies through Song Xinghai, he would not have missed the opportunity to use them. The secret of the Snow Mountain Black Mud Stem being hidden in the flagpole could only have been discovered by the omnipresent Cat Eye Agency. After learning this, the Holy Emperor had Song Xinghai set up a targeted operation in Langya Town and calmly took the Snow Mountain Black Mud Stem. This was both a warning and a blow to the Loyal Prince.

It was a way of telling him that the tribute belonged to the palace, to the national treasury, and that as a prince, he had no right to receive it on behalf of the Holy Lion Empire. The Loyal Prince had countless reasons to believe that the Snow Mountain Black Mud Stem was in the palace, and that the Holy Emperor might be holding it in his hands right now.

For a schemer like the Loyal Prince, he would analyze every move of his opponent from a political perspective. However, he had no idea that his guess was far from the truth. The person who robbed the tribute was neither the Holy Emperor nor Song Xinghai, but a sixteen-year-old boy who wanted the Snow Mountain Black Mud Stem for alchemy.

If he knew that the tribute, escorted by 360 brave soldiers, was taken by a group of teenagers, he might have lost his composure and thrown the cup at Prince Jing's head. What a joke, calling it the "Iron Blood Camp"; it might as well be called the "Idiot Camp."

The maidservant outside the hall, hearing the sound, rushed in and was terrified to see the broken teacup and spilled tea. She quickly knelt down to clean up.

After she finished, the Loyal Prince said softly, "Go and bring the little princess here..."

"Yes." The maid bowed and was about to leave when the Loyal Prince sighed, "Forget it, I'll go see her myself."

After the Loyal Prince left, the maid let out a sigh of relief. She was very curious about why a person of such high status, second only to the emperor, would be so respectful to a young girl. The little princess was very mysterious, and she didn't know her background.