The Prodigal Son

The prince has been killed!

These five short words were like a bolt from the blue for Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan's composure was easily shattered at this moment, and she visibly panicked.

He was killed?

How could my father, who commanded 100,000 troops, have been killed?

Could it be that Zhao Luan sent out those two grandmasters who obeyed him?

Ninghuang!

Zhao Po!

impossible!

My father commands 100,000 troops, and is surrounded by a group of experts and Cao Yuan, a hidden master.

Even if Zhao Luan sent these two grandmasters to assassinate her father under heavy guard, it would be impossible!

Even grandmasters can run out of strength and can be killed!

Faced with an overwhelming numerical advantage, even a grandmaster is powerless!

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Zhao Yan clenched her fists, her eyes fixed on Lu Cheng: "You must be lying to me! You're lying to me!"

"Your Highness!"

Lu Cheng roared in a low voice, filled with grief and indignation, "It's not me lying to you, it's the Empress Dowager and the others lying to you!"

"Don't you understand yet? The Empress Dowager and His Majesty never fell out; it was all an act!"

"They went to great lengths just to eliminate the prince with minimal losses!"

sad!

ridiculous!

Even now, Zhao Yan still believes that the Empress Dowager is on his side!

But what he didn't know was that he was largely responsible for the prince's luring and killing!

He was too confident and trusted the Empress Dowager too much!

It was his blind self-confidence that misled the Prince of Chengyang, making him also believe that the Empress Dowager and Zhao Luan had turned against each other!

Lu Cheng's words pierced Zhao Yan's heart like a steel needle.

Were we scammed?

How could someone as intelligent as myself be deceived?

Lu Si's mother clearly miscarried!

The Empress Dowager was so angry she vomited blood!

Is this all an act?

Zhao Yan's mind was in complete chaos; all his confidence and pride were shattered in that moment.

However, Zhao Yan still couldn't quite believe Lu Cheng's words. She gripped the cell door tightly with both hands and roared hysterically, "My father clearly commanded an army of 100,000! How could he have been killed?"

Lu Cheng's face was filled with despair as he said sorrowfully, "The prince was lured into coming to Ningzhou to pay respects to his ancestors with only a small number of men, and they were ambushed and killed!"

Ambush!

Those two simple words completely shattered Zhao Yan's defenses.

Zhao Yan's body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

Lu Yong, who was in the opposite cell, also collapsed to the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably, his face deathly pale.

Finished!

It's completely over!

Zhao Yan and his men relied on the Prince of Chengyang and his 100,000-strong army.

Once they lose this greatest asset, no one can save them!

"Who came up with this vicious plan?"

Zhao Yan struggled to raise her head, her eyes fixed on Qin Yu. "Let me die knowing why!"

"It was Lü Si's idea."

A wicked smile crept across Qin Yu's lips. "When you're in the afterlife, curse Lü Si if you want!"

However, Zhao Yan did not believe Qin Yu's words at all.

"It's you! It must be you, you traitor!"

At this moment, Zhao Yan completely lost her composure and dropped all pretense, roaring hysterically.

"No! You and your son are the traitors!"

Qin Yu shook his head and smiled, "Later history books will only record that the Prince of Chengyang and his son plotted treason, intending to sow discord between the Empress Dowager and His Majesty. The Empress Dowager saw through your scheme and ultimately succeeded in killing the traitor, the Prince of Chengyang..."

Murder and kill!

Hearing the fate Qin Yu had arranged for them, Zhao Luan completely broke down, angrily cursing, "You despicable scoundrel! You deserve to die a horrible death! You'll be struck by lightning!"

Qin Yu shrugged, a broad smile on his face, and said, "I've already been struck by lightning! Haven't you heard?"

"you……"

Zhao Yan choked, then roared with a ferocious expression, "The bow is put away when the birds are all gone, the dog is cooked when the rabbit is dead! My fate today is your fate tomorrow!"

Thanks for reminding me!

Qin Yu smiled dismissively. "Do you know why you lost so badly?"

"have no idea!"

Zhao Yan clenched his fists tightly, roaring with resentment, "In terms of talent and family background, how am I, Zhao Yan, inferior to you? Why am I the one who lost?"

His words sounded like a question to Qin Yu, but also like a self-examination.

Lost!

He clearly had the upper hand, so why did he lose so inexplicably?

How could he possibly accept this!

Qin Yu's lips curled into a smile. "Because you're too confident! Or rather, you take yourself too seriously! I, on the other hand, always stay grounded and have never taken myself too seriously!"

Hearing Qin Yu's words, Zhao Yan was stunned.

Suddenly, he seemed to understand why he had suffered such a crushing defeat!

Yes!

He takes himself too seriously, and he takes his father too seriously too!

He naively believed that with his father holding a large army and guarding the strategic location of Yinzhou, Zhao Luan would not dare to make any rash moves.

But he forgot that Zhao Luan could solve the problem at its root.

He firmly believed that the Empress Dowager could not relinquish power and that she needed to leverage their influence, so she had to stand on their side.

Little did they know, the Empress Dowager and Zhao Luan were actually mother and daughter!

And they are just outsiders!

He overestimated their importance and underestimated the Empress Dowager's charisma.

While they are scheming against others, others are scheming against them in the same way!

"Now that you mention it, we certainly didn't lose unjustly!"

Zhao Yan's face showed a deep self-mockery, yet she glared at Qin Yu with hatred: "However, you may not necessarily win! Qin Yu, I'll go scout ahead in the netherworld first, and I'll be waiting for you there!"

Once the rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked; once the birds are gone, the bow is put away!

This is an eternal truth!

This is simply human nature!

When her father was alive, Zhao Luan was suspicious of him!

Now that her father is dead, Zhao Luan should start to be suspicious of the Qin family!

Qin Yu is now a loyal dog under Zhao Luan!

But he believed that there is no such thing as a harmonious relationship between ruler and subject that lasts forever!

The Qin family will follow in their footsteps sooner or later!

"Then you can wait patiently!"

Qin Yu shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm a pretty decent person! I'll burn extra paper money for you later!"

After saying that, Qin Yu walked away.

Seeing Qin Yu about to leave, Lu Yong suddenly seemed to wake from a dream, scrambled to his feet, knelt on the ground, and pleaded tearfully, "Qin Yu, I know I was wrong! Please, plead for me before His Majesty. From now on, I will follow your lead without question..."

Hearing Lu Yong's words, the other three people quickly got up, knelt down, and kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.

"Write a confession later! I'll forward it to His Majesty and see if he'll forgive you!"

Qin Yu gave a curt reply and escorted Lu Cheng and the others away.

Okay, let them each write a confession!

It's time for me to prove myself!

Although he doesn't care about his reputation, it's not good to be called "the scoundrel Qin Yu" all the time!

Zhao Yan glared hatefully at Qin Yu's retreating figure until it disappeared from sight. Then, with a look of utter disgust, she turned to Lu Yong and the others, saying, "Don't be naive! Even if Qin Yu lets you go, Zhao Luan won't! You'll all be buried with me!"

Lu Yong and the others were already terrified.

Upon hearing Zhao Yan's words, Lu Yong could no longer contain himself and roared in grief and rage, "Zhao Yan, I'll fuck your mother! You're the one who ruined us!"

"It was your father who tried to curry favor with me! He's the one who harmed you!"

Zhao Yan closed her eyes in despair. "So, you should go and sleep with his mother, who is also your grandmother..."