Demon Lord Gets Married

Chapter 117 - Your Highness Doesn't Have That Much Face

Teng Yu fabricated seventy percent of the story about their attack, making Yin Xu his savior once again. However, astute individuals could tell that the Third Prince wasn't entirely incapable of defending himself.

Why do you think that? With twenty to thirty assassins attacking, if it had been only Yin Xu with the Third Prince's power, he would have perished long ago.

Would those assassins foolishly target Seventh Young Master Huo before eliminating him? This was clearly impossible.

However, this speculation made everyone present feel somewhat uneasy. If the Third Prince wasn't as useless as he appeared, what was he hiding?

Moreover, to conceal himself for so long without the Emperor realizing it showed how cautious he was. In other words, this was the crime of deceiving the Emperor.

What could the Third Prince be plotting?

Many people immediately offered their answers. As a prince, what else could he be aiming for other than the throne?

No wonder the Third Prince clung to the Huo Family's Seventh Young Master. Perhaps he was eyeing the Huo Family's influence.

“Go down and rest first. In the coming days, stay with Huo Tian in the palace and do not return to the palace until you've recovered,” the Emperor said calmly.

“Understood.” Teng Yu's expression was grim as he secretly observed everyone's reactions, noticing that these court officials were indeed seasoned and could all remain composed.

However, this didn't rule out the possibility that they hadn't grasped the main point.

“Royal Father, I still have some doubts about how Seventh Young Master Huo managed to fend off all those assassins. I think even Marshal Huo wouldn't claim he could escape from twenty to thirty experts.”

Huo Zhengquan's brows twitched, but he showed no expression.

Yin Xu rolled up his sleeves. Just now, the imperial physician had given him more medicine, and although he felt it was unnecessary, he couldn't display this in front of the Emperor.

He glanced at the First Prince and asked coldly, “First Prince, when did the Third Prince ever say that everyone had been chased away by me?”

“Could it be that it wasn't you, but third brother? Haha, that third brother sure is capable!”

“I did kill them, but a few managed to escape in the end. If you don't believe me, you can go into the mountains and see for yourselves.” Yin Xu shrugged and secretly rolled his eyes at the First Prince, making him so angry his face turned black.

“Yes, if Big Brother doesn't believe me, feel free to call General Huang and Envoy Li. They were the ones who cleaned up the scene; I presume the dead wouldn't lie.”

“Oh?” He quickly ordered Lai Jiquan to bring the two of them into the palace. If Teng Yu said anything, he could only believe half of it, but with the other two testifying, there would be no problem.

After all, one was from a Yun Family faction, while the other was from a Huo Family Army faction.

Not just them, but even the guards of Shenlu Mountain should be summoned to the palace to explain how so many assassins infiltrated the forbidden grounds without being detected.

The Emperor grew suspicious. It seemed impossible for such an incident to occur without inside cooperation.

“Even if that's true, the Seventh Young Master's martial arts skills are still impressive. If given the chance, I must test them myself.”

“That would be ideal. My martial arts are meant for killing; if I accidentally harm Your Highness, wouldn't my Huo Family face repeated executions?”

“Seventh Young Master is truly confident!” The First Prince praised gently, though the mockery in his words was clear to all.

“As a descendant of the Huo Family, I dare not boast about other aspects. But in martial arts, I am naturally superior. Why do you question this?” Huo Zhengquan stated expressionlessly on behalf of Yin Xu.

The First Prince's expression changed instantly as he nervously glanced at Huo Zhengquan. He explained, “I do not doubt the Huo Family's martial arts, but Huo Tian's physique is special. The Marshal Huo himself determined he was unsuitable for martial arts, so how did he master them in just 13 years?”

“First Prince, there's no need to be surprised. The martial arts world has many hermit masters, who come and go without a trace, unknown to outsiders. The Huo Family's inheritance technique might not be the best in the world.”

The First Prince was infuriated by these words, feeling a bit embarrassed. If someone else had said it, he would hold a grudge, but with Huo Zhengquan, he couldn't express his anger.

“Alright, it's good that Huo Tian is capable. He's our new commander in chief. For our safety, the more powerful, the better!”

The emperor dismissed the old officials in the imperial study, keeping Huo Zhengquan behind, “Yunxi should have lunch at the palace. I remember you like the crystal elbow made by Chef Yang the most. Try it and see if the taste has changed.”

Huo Zhengquan bowed and clasped his hands, “I dare not disobey!”

Huang Hongda and Commander Lin escorted Teng Yu and Yin Xu into the capital city today, then waited outside the palace gates the entire time, awaiting the Emperor's summons, standing upright at the entrance.

Thus, not long after Lai Jiquan left, he brought the two of them into the royal study.

Neither of them held high positions and were rarely summoned by the emperor. Ever since they entered the imperial study, they kept their heads lowered, not daring to look up.

“Your humble servant greets the emperor. May your majesty live for tens of thousands of years!”

“You may rise, but tell us more about the events of the past few days. Why was it that when I asked you to stay behind to look for someone, Third Prince and Seventh Young Master Huo still encountered an assassin?”

Regiment Commander Huang had seen many faces and shouldn't have been too nervous. However, the thought of failing to find the two Lords in time made him anxious, fearing Huang Hongda's accusations that might cost him his position.

“To report to the emperor, this lowly subordinate and General Huang also entered the mountains to search for them. However, due to time constraints, I only managed to search the surrounding area once and could not find any trace of the two Masters.”

Huang Hongda was neither stupid nor sinister, so at this time he didn't even think of shirking his responsibilities. Instead, he sincerely replied, “Reporting to the Emperor, I was negligent, thinking that Third Prince might have left Shenlu Mountain, so I didn't consider it deeply enough.”

“Alright, let's discuss this later. Explain everything you saw at that time.”

“Yes, Third Prince and Seventh Young Master returned injured. Following their directions, I found the bodies of thirty-two men in black and the weapons that harmed the two masters. These people had their faces covered, so I didn't make any private decisions and had the scene surrounded.”

“Thirty-two?” The emperor's expression turned strange. He raised his voice and asked, “Are you certain?”

Huang Hongda was also at a loss for words; he understood what surprised the emperor. To be honest, when he saw the corpses strewn about, he too was rendered speechless.

You must understand that at the time, only the Third Prince and Seventh Young Master were present. For just the two of them to kill over thirty people, who were also assassins lying in ambush, was astounding.

If not for his respect for their professional ethics, he would have assumed these assassins were ordinary people. Otherwise, how could more than 30 people be killed so easily?

The emperor gazed deeply at his third son. His heart was in turmoil, reluctant to admit he had made a mistake.

It had taken him many years or even more than a decade to realize this error. When had Teng Yu started practicing martial arts, and why had he hidden it?

The Emperor had to consider this matter with the most suspicious mind.

“Send the bodies to the Ministry of Justice and order them to identify these people as soon as possible! Then, capture all the guards of Shenlu Mountain and interrogate them one by one. We must find out how those assassins entered the mountain!”

As the orders were issued, the emperor was in a foul mood. He glared at Teng Yu and said, “As for you, leaving without permission, you will be confined to the palace for a month!”

Teng Yu sighed quietly, “Father, I am a victim. You are too heartless. You nearly lost your son.”

“Do you still have the nerve to say that? If you hadn't wandered around, how would you have encountered those people?”

Teng Yu retorted bluntly, “If I hadn't encountered them, how would you know someone was secretly trying to take your life?”

“Things are not certain yet. How do you know they were here for me?”

“Is there really a need to investigate? Could they have been here for me? This prince does not have that much influence!”

“You … You'd have me die of anger, wouldn't you?” At that moment, even the emperor had to wonder if Teng Yu knew about the cause of Empress Liu's death. If Teng Yu had hidden his strength to seek revenge, he had to be cautious.

Teng Yu sneered, “Such a grand accusation, this son cannot bear it. You better take care of your health and live a hundred years!”

“Humph!” The emperor's expression showed he felt he was overthinking things.