Chapter 31: Chu Jingshan Falls from Power

Chu Xiong’s gaze was deep and unreadable as he looked at Chu Jingshan, who was kneeling in the center of the hall with a panicked expression. No one knew what he was thinking.

As Chu Jingshan read the letters in his hand, the more he read, the more horrified he became. Beads of cold sweat, each as large as a soybean, burst from his brow as though they were free.

Even in his dreams, Chu Jingshan had never imagined that Duanmu Lei would be foolish enough to leave behind such a liability.

These letters contained the correspondence that he and Duanmu Lei had exchanged over the years.

They recorded in detail all the secret, unspeakable things Duanmu Lei had done for him in violation of the iron laws of the Great Xuan Dynasty.

Among all those deeds, the massacre of Lin Village barely counted as a major matter.

Just the single charge that Duanmu Lei had secretly bribed the governors of several domains in Yuezhou at Chu Jingshan’s command was enough to reduce all his years of painstaking effort to nothing...

Chu Jingshan did not even dare imagine how miserable his end would be if he admitted that everything in those letters was true.

“Your Majesty, these letters must have been forged by someone on purpose to frame this son!”

“This son has been wronged!” Chu Jingshan cried out in grievance, his face full of sincerity.

“Silence!” Chu Aotian roared, his eyes wide and his brows raised in fury.

The officials in the hall all trembled and lowered their heads, not daring to provoke the imperial wrath at such a time.

“I will naturally send people to verify the truth of this matter!”

“As for you, before the matter is fully investigated, stay obediently within your residence.” Chu Aotian gave a cold snort, then shifted his gaze to a middle-aged man.

“Marquis Zhuming, hear my order. I am sending you to the Shuxia Domain of Yuezhou to investigate the matters mentioned in these letters.”

Marquis Zhuming stepped forward with an indifferent expression and cupped his hands. “Yes!”

He strode over to Chu Jingshan, took the letters from him, and then left without another word.

After this incident, Chu Aotian had lost all interest. He swept his cold gaze across the princes below, then rose and departed.

Only after Chu Aotian left did the officials finally dare to breathe again. Still shaken, they withdrew one after another.

As some of them left, they cast complicated looks at Chu Jingshan, then shook their heads and sighed.

What had happened at the birthday banquet would not take long to spread through the Capital.

To begin with, Chu Jingshan’s power had already lagged behind that of the other princes.

Now that something like this had happened, no matter how the matter developed afterward, Chu Jingshan would suffer a devastating blow. He was all but out of the running for the throne.

“I warned you long ago not to use trash.”

“Now that things have come to this, you brought it on yourself!”

“I will handle Mother’s matter.” Chu Jingyun stared at Chu Jingshan and spoke coldly.

With that, he turned and strode past him, quickly leaving the palace.

Still kneeling on the ground, Chu Jingshan’s face twisted viciously, and the hands hidden within his sleeves clenched tightly.

A long while later, Chu Jingshan rose to his feet, cast an unwilling glance at the Dragon Throne that symbolized supreme authority, and left the hall.

Nearby, after seeing that everyone had gone, Chu Qiao and Chu Xiong also stood and left the hall.

The two of them stood outside the hall, gazing into the distance, their thoughts surging.

A cool night breeze swept over them and brushed across their faces.

“Chu Jingshan probably has no chance of turning things around this time. Second Brother, you did well,” Chu Qiao suddenly said.

Chu Xiong raised a brow. “Eldest Brother, what do you mean by that? Are you suspecting that I was the one secretly manipulating today’s events?”

“Wasn’t it you?” Chu Qiao asked in return.

“Eldest Brother, I admit that I used the Lin Village tragedy to deal with Chu Jingshan, but I’m not stupid.”

“My goal was only the Primordial Yang Sect. I never intended to drive him to his death... On the contrary, I suspect that tonight’s work was your doing.” Chu Xiong shrugged.

“It wasn’t me.” Chu Qiao shook his head decisively.

“......” The two fell silent.

After a long while, Chu Xiong said in amazement, “If it wasn’t you, then it could only have been our seventh brother.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Who would have thought that the seventh brother who did not even dare make a sound when he was bullied in the Capital back then would change so much after five years?”

“Doesn’t he know that doing this will force Chu Jingshan onto a dead-end road?”

“Our seventh brother was always a smart man. Perhaps he simply isn’t afraid of Chu Jingshan’s retaliation,” Chu Qiao said with a faint smile.

“Forget it. Let’s stop making wild guesses. A huge upheaval is probably about to occur in Yuezhou. We should sever our ties as quickly as possible, lest the blood splashes onto us when the time comes.”

After saying that, Chu Qiao hurried off.

Chu Xiong watched Chu Qiao’s departing figure, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

“Hoo...” Chu Xiong let out a heavy breath.

“Chu Jingshan has only just fallen, and now another Chu Feng has appeared. What a headache,” Chu Xiong lamented gloomily. Then he did not linger any longer and quickly left the palace.

This night was destined to be a sleepless one.

There were not only Chu Jingshan’s people in Yuezhou, but also men under the Crown Prince and the Second Prince.

Neither of them dared gamble on how many people the Duanmu Lei affair might implicate. They could only quickly cut ties with their forces in Yuezhou, lest Marquis Zhuming trace the matter back to them.

.........

Inside Chu Jingshan’s residence, the moment he returned, he locked himself in the study and ordered that no one was to enter.

Roars of rage, accompanied by the crashing of smashed objects, continuously rang out from inside the study.

Outside the study, Gu Feng leaned against a tree with an ancient sword in his arms, his expression utterly unchanged.

Ever since he had escaped after fighting Lin Yu last time, Gu Feng’s strength had improved considerably. He could step into the Innate Realm at any moment.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, the commotion in the study finally died down.

“Come in!”

Gu Feng pushed open the door to the study and walked in. The moment he looked up, his gaze met a pair of bloodshot eyes filled with madness.

Gu Feng frowned. He had never seen Chu Jingshan this enraged before.

“Are you all right?” Gu Feng asked.

At those words, Chu Jingshan slumped into the chair, looking somewhat desolate.

“Heh, I won’t die, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep my title as the Five-Pearl Imperial Prince.” Chu Jingshan gave a bleak smile.

“What exactly happened?” Gu Feng looked at Chu Jingshan, whose face was lifeless and completely devoid of fighting spirit.

Chu Jingshan did not hide anything and told him everything that had happened at the birthday banquet from beginning to end.

After hearing it, Gu Feng pondered for a moment, then summoned a trusted aide.

He sent the man to Yuezhou to deal with the incriminating traces those matters had left behind.

Whatever could be cleaned up would be cleaned up, all to minimize Chu Jingshan’s losses as much as possible.

“Gu Feng, there’s no need to busy yourself. This time, Marquis Zhuming is going personally.”

“He was originally a disciple of the Primordial Yang Sect. Now that his sect has been destroyed, he has long since grown dissatisfied with me.”

“There’s no escaping this for me this time,” Chu Jingshan said in a deep voice.

“You’ve suffered such a huge loss, and you’re just going to let it go?”

“Let it go? Of course I won’t let it go!”

“Only Chu Feng’s death can extinguish the fury in my heart!” Chu Jingshan said in a sinister tone brimming with killing intent.