The Demonic Crown Prince

An hour later, Li Yuan appeared in the imperial court.

Because the eunuch in charge of ceremonies actually came to the city again to deliver an imperial edict, ordering him to go to the court immediately. He said that the interrogation of Wang Dahai had yielded results and was being reported to His Majesty. His Majesty asked him, the party involved and the aggrieved party, to return to the court immediately.

The atmosphere in the imperial court was very solemn.

This matter was so significant that it even involved the Fourth Prince Li Duo and the Fifth Prince Li Yu.

Li Duo was enfeoffed as the Prince of Qi in Lingnan, which was fine, but Li Yu was still in the capital and had been summoned to the palace for a face-to-face confrontation.

However, Wang Dahai did not report in front of the palace that the several assassination attempts also involved the Second Prince Li Jun and the Third Prince Li Feng—in fact, he had already reported this to Emperor Jinglong, but Emperor Jinglong did not agree to him discussing the matter in court.

If Li Yuan were attacked, and all four adult princes were implicated, it would be an absolute joke. Even if Emperor Jinglong were out of his mind, he would never agree to make such a shocking scandal public.

So, as Li Yuan listened to Wang Dahai recount the case, he pondered the matter and roughly understood the inside story—if he wasn't mistaken, the emperor already knew about the situation, but only allowed Wang Dahai to report on the affairs of the fourth and fifth princes, which was also a way to give Li Yuan and the entire court an explanation.

However, there is considerable room for maneuver in how to explain it.

Clearly, both Li Jun and Li Feng were princes favored by Emperor Jinglong. Therefore, if he had no choice but to give Li Yuan an explanation, he could only choose the fourth and fifth princes.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan couldn't help but sneer inwardly. Sure enough, when it really matters, they still show favoritism!

"This is the testimony I obtained from the case I investigated. I request Your Majesty and the Prince of Qin to make a decision."

After Wang Dahai finished his report, he presented the confession with his fingerprint already affixed, then stood aside with his hands in his sleeves.

"Father, I am innocent. Those assassins are clearly framing me, and it's even possible that someone with ulterior motives is trying to use this to frame me. Father, you cannot conclude that I am the mastermind based solely on the confessions of a few assassins!"

Li Yu knelt down on the ground with a thud and cried out his injustice.

"this……"

Emperor Jinglong coughed lightly and looked at Wang Dahai. "Wang Dahai, I also feel that closing a case based solely on confessions is somewhat hasty."

He was starting to regret it. Damn it, he had only wanted to give Li Yuan an explanation and prove his stance to the court officials.

But after investigating, they actually found a bunch of princes involved, which was a huge embarrassment!

Li Yuan lowered his eyes, but his anger only grew stronger. This emperor could mistreat him however he pleased, and he would be heartbroken if any other prince lost a skin, so why was he so disliked by him?

Why is that?

Moreover, this was all on the basis of his resignation as crown prince and his preparation for suppressing the rebellion in Yanbei and even defeating the warriors of the Western Wilderness, which made him an unparalleled achievement. Now, the emperor's attitude has truly chilled his heart!

Wang Dahai coughed lightly. "Your Majesty, this is the testimony I received. The time and place match perfectly. This matter is of great importance, and everything is up to Your Majesty's judgment. This old servant has no right to interfere!"

Emperor Jinglong glared at Wang Dahai with a hint of reproach, but knowing his unwavering loyalty, he took a deep breath, turned to Li Yuan, and smiled slightly. "Yuan'er, what do you think?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Yuan knew that Emperor Jinglong was clearly pleading for the fifth prince in a roundabout way!

"Father, I have something to say to the Fifth Prince!" Li Yuan smiled slightly and stepped forward.

A fierce glint appeared deep in his eyes. "Fine, so you're not just going to betray me and everyone else?"

Today, I'm going to do the opposite and oppose you!

Otherwise, I won't be able to swallow this insult!

"Whether he did it or not, he is a suspect, and you really need to confront him."

Emperor Jinglong coughed lightly, actually reminding Li Yuan that Li Yu was only a suspect and could not be convicted yet, and that he should not go too far.

"No problem." Li Yuan laughed and looked at Li Yu.

Li Yu stood up, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes, but on the surface he still pretended to be very respectful, cupping his hands and saying, "Your Majesty, this matter really was not done by me. Those so-called witnesses are nothing but a frame-up..."

But just as he finished speaking, Li Yuan suddenly grabbed his collar and slapped him four times across the face, leaving Li Yu dizzy and disoriented. Then, he delivered a vicious kick to Li Yu's chest and abdomen.

Li Yu slid more than three ren (a unit of length) across the ground before stopping, his mouth full of blood, his body hunched over like a shrimp, constantly spitting out blood and teeth.

Li Yuan was holding back; otherwise, that one kick would have killed Li Yu!

The court was completely silent; everyone stared in disbelief, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

This once incompetent Crown Prince seems to have become quite irritable and domineering now.

Xu Rui, Liu Yuwen, Wu Yuanshan, and the others lowered their heads and didn't dare to utter a sound, fearing that Li Yuan would turn his attention to them again and give them a good beating, which was not worth it.

Zhao Shanhe, the Privy Councilor, stared intently at Li Yuan.

Prime Minister Zhang Yue, however, closed his eyes to rest, as if he hadn't seen anything.

"What are you doing? Beating a prince in court is a serious crime!"

Emperor Jinglong was filled with shock and anger, and pointed at Li Yuan, shouting angrily.

"It was Father who said that I must confront the Fifth Prince. What, Father, are you feeling sorry for me? Do you want to stop the confrontation?"

Li Yuan looked at Emperor Jinglong and said calmly.

"You just came up and started hitting people without even asking what happened. Is that how you confront someone?"

Emperor Jinglong roared in anger.

"This is part of my confrontation with the Fifth Prince. If possible, please allow me to continue this confrontation with him."

Li Yuan spoke slowly and deliberately.

"You...you must not hit people anymore, it's an insult to civility."

Emperor Jinglong suppressed his anger and snorted.

"My dear fifth brother, shall we continue our confrontation?"

Li Yuan walked up to Li Yu, laughed, and asked.

"Li Yuan, you coward, you dare hit me? Just you wait, you just wait..."

Li Yu, panting, struggled to sit up and cursed through gritted teeth.

"Hit you? What makes you think I hit you?"

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile.

"You, you... all the officials in the court saw it, they are all witnesses..."

Li Yu covered her face and roared angrily.

"Oh? So, if that's the case, what the witness said is enough to prove the facts, right?"

Li Yuan continued to ask.

"Of course!" Li Yu roared without hesitation.

"Just now, Eunuch Wang presented the witness testimonies to the court, accusing you of ordering someone to assassinate me. That is enough to prove the facts. Why don't you admit it?"

Following this line of reasoning—

If you believe that witnesses can prove the facts, then you must have sent someone to assassinate me.

If you believe the witness was just framing you, then I didn't hit you earlier.

Which one will you choose?

Li Yuan squatted down in front of Li Yu and asked with a smile.

Li Yu covered his face, staring at Li Yuan in disbelief. At this moment, his brain was practically fried!