Chapter 28: Denying It to the Bitter End

This sudden rain had come quickly and left just as quickly.

The drizzle stopped, the dark clouds scattered, and warm sunlight once more shone into Crimson Firmament Manor.

Dozens of Darknet members stood in neat formation outside the doors of the main hall, without making the slightest sound.

At that moment, the wooden doors of the hall were pushed open from within.

Tu stepped out without a speck of dust on her. She lightly twitched her nose, breathing in the earthy fragrance in the air, and the red glow in her eyes faded away.

“Give the letter to Shi,” Tu said, handing the envelope in her hand to one of the Darknet members.

“Yes.”

Tu turned her head and swept a glance through the interior of the hall, then left Crimson Firmament Manor with the other Darknet members.

Inside the hall, corpses lay scattered everywhere, and Jin Huayong, the Manor Lord of Crimson Firmament Manor, was among them...

Elsewhere, after the envelope was delivered into Chu Feng’s hands, Chu Feng immediately turned around with Shi and the others and headed back toward Shuxia City.

Along the way, Su Yanran said, “Young Master, although we have obtained the letter proving that Duanmu Lei colluded with Crimson Firmament Manor to attack merchants from the Great Chu Dynasty, “once this matter is exposed, if the Great Xuan Dynasty sends people to investigate and discovers that there were no merchants from the Great Chu Dynasty at all, they will probably suspect that someone deliberately framed Duanmu Lei.

“In that case, would not everything we have done have been in vain?”

Inside the carriage, Chu Feng smiled faintly. “Who said the merchants from the Great Chu Dynasty were fake?”

If Su Yanran could think of that, how could Chu Feng possibly have failed to think of it?

Before taking action, he had already made arrangements.

Once Chu Feng and the others reentered Shuxia City’s territory, a group dressed as merchants walked up to the carriage.

“This one, Xue Xia, has come under the orders of the Empress of Great Chu and has been waiting here for quite some time. I pay my respects to Your Highness!” said a handsome man, bowing toward the carriage.

The other “merchants” from the Great Chu Dynasty behind him bowed as well.

Su Yanran stared at the scene with a blank expression.

Xue Xia?

Could this man be Xue Xia, the disciple of that Sword Saint of the Great Chu Dynasty and the current holder of eighth place on the Hidden Dragon Ranking?

And the “Empress” he mentioned... could he possibly mean that very one from the Great Chu Dynasty?!

At that moment, Su Yanran’s mind went completely blank. She had never imagined that Chu Feng actually knew the Empress of Great Chu!

Chu Feng leaned out of the carriage and said with a faint smile, “Rise. Shi, hand the goods over to them.”

Shi nodded and handed the goods from the carriage over to Xue Xia and the others.

After making the arrangements, Chu Feng took out an exquisite dagger and passed it to Xue Xia. “Return this to your Empress for me.”

Xue Xia glanced at it, but did not reach out to take it. Instead, he said, “Your Highness, the Empress gave instructions that this item must be returned to her by you personally.”

“If Your Highness has no other business, then we shall depart.”

With that, Xue Xia and the others continued their disguise as merchants from the Great Chu Dynasty and set off for the Capital of the Great Xuan Dynasty with the goods in hand.

Naturally, if one was going to put on a show, one had to carry it through to the end. Only then would no flaws be left behind for others to criticize later.

Chu Feng watched Xue Xia’s departing back and fell slightly into a daze.

She wants me to return it to her in person?

Chu Feng had already been transferred away from the Northern Frontier, so how would he have another chance to meet the Empress of Great Chu? Was he supposed to personally make a trip to the Great Chu Dynasty? That was obviously impossible.

If a prince of an enemy nation appeared within Great Chu’s borders, it would instantly cause a massive uproar.

After thinking about it for quite a while, Chu Feng still could not figure out what that Empress was trying to do. In the end, he simply stopped thinking about it.

Putting the dagger away, Chu Feng glanced at Su Yanran. “Now the identity of those merchants from the Great Chu Dynasty has been firmly established, has it not?”

“Come. Back to Shuxia City!”

Su Yanran’s heart jolted. From Chu Feng’s tone, she sensed a dense killing intent.

She nodded and drove the carriage toward Shuxia City.

After returning to Shuxia City, Chu Feng had Su Yanran stop the carriage at the city gate, then led Shi and Su Yanran on foot into the city.

The three of them arrived at the Governor’s Manor. Chu Feng stopped and lifted his eyes to the plaque above the main gate bearing the words “Governor’s Manor,” and his gaze turned cold.

“This is the Governor’s Manor. Unauthorized persons are not permitted to linger here. Leave at once!” the two soldiers at the entrance barked in warning.

Chu Feng said nothing. He simply took out a golden token and casually flashed it.

The moment the two soldiers saw the token, they immediately dropped to both knees in terror. “We pay our respects to Your Highness!”

Chu Feng put away the token and led Su Yanran and Shi into the residence.

The moment he stepped inside, Chu Feng saw Duanmu Lei and his adviser Liu Yi hurrying straight toward him.

“Duanmu Lei, Governor of the Shuxia Domain, pays his respects to Your Highness the Seventh Prince!”

“This commoner, Liu Yi, pays his respects to Your Highness the Seventh Prince!” The two men lowered their heads and knelt.

Chu Feng looked down coldly at the two of them on the ground and said nothing.

Time passed bit by bit, and a trace of anger flashed across Duanmu Lei’s face.

“Your Highness, may this official rise?” Duanmu Lei asked cautiously, lifting his head.

“Rise? That will not be necessary. Governor Duanmu, you had better keep kneeling properly,” Chu Feng said mockingly.

At once, Duanmu Lei’s face darkened. He stopped pretending, gave a cold snort, and rose to his feet.

Liu Yi behind him followed suit and stood up as well.

“Your Highness the Seventh Prince, I have shown you courtesy out of respect for your status as a prince.

“But for you to humiliate this official in such a manner—is that not going too far?” Duanmu Lei shouted angrily.

Chu Feng looked straight at Duanmu Lei and said blandly, “Did this Prince permit you to stand?”

Before his words had even fully fallen, a powerful pressure burst forth from Shi like a tidal wave and crashed toward Duanmu Lei and Liu Yi.

Unable to withstand that terrifying pressure, the two men’s knees buckled, and they dropped to the ground in a miserable heap.

Duanmu Lei looked up at Shi behind Chu Feng, terror filling his eyes.

A Grandmaster-realm expert!

This useless prince actually had such an expert by his side? How was that possible?!

“Y-Your Highness, what do you mean by this?”

“I am the governor of an entire domain. If you lay a hand on me, are you not afraid that I will go to the Capital and accuse you?” Duanmu Lei threatened.

“Oh? Are you threatening me?” Chu Feng said with an amused smile as he pulled an envelope from his robes.

“Governor Duanmu, does this envelope look familiar to you?”

The instant Duanmu Lei saw the envelope, his pupils contracted, and a stormy sea rose in his heart.

How did that envelope end up in his hands?!

The moment he thought of the contents of the letter, Duanmu Lei’s heart trembled violently.

The Five Great Dynasties had long ago established a rule that no dynasty was permitted to attack merchants of another dynasty.

Once such a thing was discovered, it was a grave crime.

Not even the backer behind Duanmu Lei, Imperial Prince Kun, would be able to protect him, much less since he had done it behind Imperial Prince Kun’s back.

“Your Highness, I do not understand what you are saying. I have never seen this envelope before, so how could it possibly look familiar to me?” Duanmu Lei argued.

“Is that so? Then is this not your handwriting?” Chu Feng opened the envelope and flicked the letter inside down in front of Duanmu Lei.

Duanmu Lei cast a glance at it. “Your Highness, this letter was not written by this official. Some villain must have imitated this official’s handwriting and written it in order to deliberately frame me.”

Duanmu Lei spoke with complete certainty, his face calm and unflushed.

Inwardly, he had already made up his mind.

As long as he gritted his teeth and refused to admit anything today, then Chu Feng would be unable to do anything to him on the strength of a single letter alone.