Border Cook

Chapter 682 Must die

Even though there are loud voices against Li Junhao in the entire Jinwei Kingdom now, there are still some warmongers like Li Junhao in the Jinwei Kingdom who are completely loyal to Li Junhao.

If Li Junhao were released at this time, it would be like letting a tiger return to the mountains.

But if Li Junhao is not released, my father's life...

The image of loyalty and filial piety that he had worked so hard to establish throughout the Jinwei Kingdom would be greatly damaged at this moment, which would be very disadvantageous for him to ascend to the throne of leader in the future.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Juncheng gritted his teeth and said, "I promise! As long as you tell me where my father is!"

This answer was obviously within Li Junhao's expectations. He even narrowed his eyes and looked at Li Juncheng with a playful expression, "As expected, those who achieve great things do not care about trivial matters. I underestimated you in the past."

"But since I have already promised you, I will keep my word. Prepare a fast horse for me and send me to the palace gate, and I will tell you the whereabouts of my father."

Li Juncheng stood up and said, "Go prepare the fast horses!"

"Yes!"

The servants followed the order and soon found a tall, chestnut-colored horse.

Li Juncheng followed the agreement and sent Li Junhao to the palace gate and put him on horseback.

"You can speak now." Li Juncheng tightened the horse's reins with his own hands.

"My father's current location is written in the king's bedroom, under the red sandalwood seat where the jade Buddha is enshrined. You will know it at a glance."

Li Junhao's answer made Li Juncheng purse his lips.

The jade Buddha in the bedroom is the most noble Buddha statue in the entire Jinwei Kingdom and is regarded as a lucky object by the people of Jinwei.

It is said that this jade Buddha can only be touched by successive kings. If anyone else touches it privately, it will bring disaster to the Jinwei Kingdom.

Li Junhao said this just to let Li Juncheng go and see it in person, giving him enough time to escape.

"How do I know whether what you said is true or false?" Li Juncheng asked with a frown.

"If you don't believe me, you can just stand here and stalemate with me." Li Junhao disagreed, "But I also want to advise you, the guards guarding my father are my confidants, and the news of your night raid on the palace has already spread, and they will definitely solve all the troubles. If you go later, I don't know if my father can still survive."

"In addition, I also remind you not to let the archers shoot me when I escape. Although the palace is now under your control, I still have my assassins. If I die, they will destroy the clues to my father's whereabouts at the last minute, and you will never see my father again."

"It can even be said that my father died because of you. Do you want to take the blame for killing my father just to take my life?"

Li Juncheng almost bit his lip, and the voice was almost squeezed out from between his teeth, "You are really insidious and cunning enough."

"Compared to you who borrowed soldiers and men from the Great Zhou Kingdom, I feel that I am still a little bit behind." Li Junhao laughed, pulled the reins, and shook off Li Juncheng's hand, "Farewell."

There will be a period later.

When we meet again, I will let you know who is truly qualified to take charge of Jinweiguo.

Li Juncheng pursed his lips tightly and watched Li Junhao ride away on the red date horse.

After a moment, he hurriedly returned to the bedroom and found the jade Buddha that Li Junhao mentioned.

There was indeed a piece of paper under the rosewood seat, and on it was indeed written the location where Li Yanyang was under house arrest.

In the cold palace of the imperial palace.

Li Juncheng did not stop at all and hurriedly took people to look for it.

In a dilapidated house in the cold palace, Li Juncheng indeed found Li Yanyang who was being guarded.

At this time, Li Yanyang was thin and emaciated, and even his mind was a little unclear because he had been imprisoned for a long time, never seeing the sun, and was tied up with chains all day long.

When he saw Li Juncheng, he subconsciously dodged and even screamed. It was not until Li Juncheng repeatedly stated that he was Li Juncheng and soothed him softly that Li Yanyang's condition stabilized a little. He stared at Li Juncheng blankly, and after a long while, he was choked with sobs and couldn't speak.

"Your Majesty, do not worry. I have already ordered people to control all the traitors. Your Majesty is very safe now."

Li Juncheng personally undid all the shackles on Li Yanyang, comforted him, and then helped Li Yanyang walk out.

Seeing that Li Yanyang was so weak that he could not walk, Li Juncheng simply squatted down, let Li Yanyang lie on his back, and personally carried him back to the bedroom.

After arriving at the bedroom, Li Juncheng asked someone to call the imperial physician to come and examine him. He also personally changed his clothes and helped him lie down.

At this time, Li Yanyang was already in tears.

He had a deep relationship with his first wife. There were only the queen and two concubines in his harem, and his two sons were both born to the queen. He loved both children very much.

But even though both the palms and the backs of the hands are made of flesh, there will always be times when it is difficult to keep things evenly balanced, especially since Li Junhao's temperament is very much like when he was young, full of vigor and decisiveness.

Especially in the past few years of war with the Great Zhou Kingdom, Li Junhao has demonstrated his outstanding ability as a general, which has impressed others.

Li Yanyang once listed Li Junhao as the only candidate for the crown prince of Jinwei State.

But some things that happened afterwards made Li Yanyang gradually very disappointed with his eldest son.

From his stubbornness when the war suffered a series of defeats, to his obstinacy in continuing the war at all costs, to later, Li Junhao even put him under house arrest and treated him harshly in order to protest against the peace talks that were beneficial to Jin Weiguo.

In Li Junhao's eyes, there are only two things: the king and the war, without any friendship at all.

On the contrary, it is Li Juncheng here...

When Li Junhao was plotting to usurp the throne, Li Juncheng was thousands of miles away in the Great Zhou Kingdom. The situation was very passive, but he was able to persuade the Great Zhou Kingdom to send people to help him and successfully recaptured the imperial palace.

More importantly, Li Juncheng was not eager to ascend the throne, but tried his best to find his father and rescue him.

One can imagine the status of his father in Li Juncheng's heart.

Li Juncheng's character and nature can be seen from this.

In the past, he had not nurtured his second son enough...

Li Yanyang held Li Juncheng's hand, choking with sobs and speaking in a hoarse voice, "Cheng'er, you've worked hard." "Your Majesty, you are too kind. This is what I, your son, should do." Li Juncheng said with concern, "Your Majesty's health is very poor. Let the imperial physician take a good look at you and treat your father so that he can recover his usual health as soon as possible."

"The Imperial Palace is still in chaos. I was very surprised to come back. All the forces in Kyoto are at a loss as to what to do. I need to calm down all these things first. When my father's health improves, I can come to the court to handle government affairs again."

"In addition, I was able to return safely and rescue my father because of the great help from Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji of the Great Zhou. I also need to settle them down and reward them..."

In addition to this, it is also necessary to eliminate the remnants of Li Junhao's power in the entire capital and even in the court, and cultivate the necessary forces.

In short, he has a lot of things to do.

And now, the most important thing is to hunt down Li Junhao.

When Li Junhao was escaping, Li Juncheng had already ordered people to follow him secretly, and the moment he found Li Yanyang, he ordered people to give a signal and start taking action.

I don’t know what the situation is at this moment…

Li Juncheng walked out of Li Yanyang's bedroom with such questions in mind, and someone came hurriedly, "Second Prince."

"How is it?"

The man looked nervous and ashamed, and knelt on the ground with a plop. "Please forgive me, Second Prince. The people sent behind reported that the first group of people were all killed and lost..."

"Waste!" Li Juncheng was immediately furious.

The troops he sent were all elite, but they failed to take Li Junhao's life. Instead, they were all killed. This only shows that Li Junhao has reliable helpers around him.

Hearing the news, he came and helped him escape.

In this case, leaving Li Junhao behind would be like letting a tiger return to the mountains, which would cause endless troubles.

Li Juncheng gritted his teeth and shouted, "Give orders to close the city gates immediately. No one is allowed to go out. Search the entire city and dig deep to find Li Junhao!"

"Yes……"

"Second Prince." Lu Qiyan interrupted.

"Commander Lu." Li Juncheng's expression immediately softened and he even bowed respectfully.

"This is your Jinwei Kingdom's business. We are the generals of the Great Zhou Kingdom. Logically speaking, we should not get involved in this matter, let alone say too much."

Lu Qiyan said, "It's just that the Second Prince has just rescued the King, and he has already issued a city-wide arrest warrant for Li Junhao. I'm afraid those who have ulterior motives will be ready to act, and the entire Jinwei Kingdom will be in turmoil in the short term, and the people will suffer."

"Commander Lu's intention is..." Li Juncheng was a little puzzled, "to ignore Li Junhao and let him escape?"

"You can ignore it, but you can't let it go." Lu Qiyan said with a smile, "In order to rescue the king, there was constant fighting in the entire palace. There were many accidents and countless casualties, including Li Junhao's assassins. Their names and identities are unknown. The Second Prince is the winner of this fight. The result depends entirely on what the Second Prince says."

"Besides, the reason why those people with ulterior motives in Jinwei Kingdom are still loyal to Li Junhao is because they want his status as a prince, so that he can make a comeback in the future. And those who strongly support him can gain more benefits. But if..."

Lu Qiyan was about to say something but stopped himself. Li Juncheng understood the key point and his eyes suddenly lit up. He stopped the person who was going to pass on the message and changed his words, "Pass it on. Li Junhao, the eldest prince of Jinwei, plotted to usurp the throne and murdered his father and brothers. Now his deeds have been exposed and he committed suicide to apologize. Now his identity has been verified. The palace's Internal Affairs Office and the Ministry of Rites are ordered to prepare for the funeral and announce it to the world."

After tonight, the former eldest prince Li Junhao died.

If someone claims that he is Li Junhao, he is impersonating someone else with the intention of disturbing the people and shaking the country. He is despicable!

Those who have ulterior motives and are dreaming of supporting Li Junhao to gain more benefits should also consider whether what they are doing is worthwhile.

Li Junhao soon became a lost dog. By then, whether he was really dead or not, it would no longer pose much of a threat to the entire country or even the royal family.

It could even be said that this made him feel more desperate than killing him with his own hands.

When Li Juncheng thought of this, he felt extremely happy, and at the same time felt that Lu Qiyan was indeed a very wise man.

From exposing himself during the previous night raid on the palace so that the imperial guards in the palace could be dispersed and it would be easier for them to defeat them one by one, to now announcing the false news to the outside world and easily getting rid of the trouble of Li Junhao, Lu Qiyan did it all effortlessly without much thought.

It was as if all the plans and strategies had already been in his mind, and were natural and there was no need for him to rack his brains like he did and still couldn't think of a way to deal with it.

Li Juncheng suddenly felt that the gap between people could be so huge. At the same time, his admiration for Lu Qiyan increased and turned into worship.

"Thank you Commander Lu for your guidance." Li Juncheng bowed to express his gratitude.

Lu Qiyan smiled and said, "I just said the current situation. As for the rest, it should be attributed to the wisdom of the Second Prince."

Li Juncheng knew that he was trying to avoid suspicion at this time, so he also smiled and said, "Commander Lu and Commander Xia have both been very busy tonight. I just sent people to clean up the Royal Garden adjacent to the Imperial Palace. If Commander Lu and Commander Xia don't mind, take them there to rest first."

The Royal Villa is separated from the Imperial Palace by a wall. It was originally a place used by the royal family for banquets and entertainment. It has pavilions, towers, rivers, ponds, flowers, plants and trees. It is a quiet and elegant place. Usually no one comes in and out. Lu Qiyan and his party live here, which not only does not attract attention, but also allows them to keep an eye on the movements in the Imperial Palace at any time, which is very suitable.

At this time, the sky in the east was already turning pale, the morning light was gleaming, and dawn was about to break.

Since entering the Jin Wei Kingdom, Lu Qiyan and his men have been working day and night, and now they have experienced a fight in the middle of the night and are exhausted. They really need to regroup and rest.

Moreover, Jin Weiguo's condition is still unstable at this time, and they will most likely have to stay here for a while, and leave after everything is stable.

"Thank you, Second Prince." Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji bowed together and followed Li Juncheng to the royal villa.

The Royal Villa is always kept tidy and clean, and can be lived in at any time with just a little arrangement.

Li Juncheng drove out all the palace servants who were serving inside, leaving behind some imperial guards and reliable slaves to guard and serve.

After settling these, Li Juncheng immediately went to work on other things.

Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji breathed a sigh of relief and arranged for their subordinates to take turns patrolling and resting, and then the two of them took a short rest.

The situation was unstable and I didn't dare to relax too much. After eating a few bites of food, I lay down with my clothes on and closed my eyes to rest.

Xia Mingyue went to bed very late at night, but got up quite early in the morning, so that there was a faint layer of blue circles under her eyes.

But this did not affect her high spirits at the moment. After simply drinking a bowl of fermented glutinous rice dumplings and some delicious steamed buns with thin skin and large fillings made in the kitchen, Xia Mingyue packed up and went out.

Her destination was the palace.

The Queen Mother and the Empress gave her a badge, which allowed her to enter the palace at any time if necessary without having to ask for permission in advance.