AWB Chapter 189 Search of Prince Xuan's Mansion
Chapter 189 Search of Prince Xuan's Mansion
Su Mu accepted the order and left.
This left Prince Xuan feeling anxious and uncertain.
He knew that once Su Mu entered the palace to search, the contents of the secret room would inevitably be discovered, and he had to find a way to stop it.
But if he stops it now, what difference is there between that and admitting that he is not innocent?
Prince Xuan could only watch helplessly as Su Mu and the Imperial Guards disappeared completely outside the Imperial Study.
Unable to leave the palace, he had no other choice but to hope that the people in the Prince's residence could buy him time and destroy the evidence.
He lowered his eyes, glancing out of the corner of his eye at where the King of Qi was.
He wanted to ask the King of Qi for help, but after staring at him for a long time, the King of Qi did not raise his eyes to meet his gaze.
Prince Xuan was slightly taken aback.
What does Third Brother mean by this?
Inside Prince Xuan’s Mansion.
Several advisors began packing their bags after Prince Xuan was urgently summoned to the palace.
Prince Xuan ignored all advice and blindly trusted Prince Qi, which had long since chilled their hearts.
This time, their insistence on sending assassins to break into the Dali Temple's secret prison to kill and silence witnesses is utterly foolish.
None of the advisors knew how they had chosen to serve Prince Xuan in the first place.
Stupid, impulsive, and hot-tempered, yet harboring ambitions but lacking any cunning or strategy, he deserves to be schemed against.
The staff packed their things and sneaked out the back door.
No sooner had they slipped away than Su Mu led the Imperial Guards to Prince Xuan's residence.
Feng Zhu, the personal attendant of Prince Xuan, learned of this from the steward and hurriedly went out to greet him.
Su Mu had already led the Imperial Guards directly into the Prince's Mansion and ordered them to begin searching the front yard.
Feng Zhu's expression changed, and he hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, "Lord Su, the Prince is not in the manor. It is against the rules for you to bring troops in like this."
Su Mu maintained a composed and polite demeanor, but his eyes held a sharp edge. "I am here on His Majesty's orders to search the Prince's residence. Any obstruction will be considered treason."
Feng Zhu was horrified.
Search the mansion?
The prince's situation within the palace must be...
Feng Zhu was extremely anxious, but forced a smile and said, "Since it is the Emperor's order, we should cooperate. Lord Su, please do not hesitate to ask if there is anything we need."
Su Mu seemed to genuinely believe his intentions, and nodded with a smile, "Of course."
Feng Zhu glanced around and said with a hint of pleading, "The items in the Prince's mansion are all valuable. Please ask Lord Su to have them search carefully."
Without any hesitation, Su Mu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't damage the Prince's property. I just want to find some things that shouldn't be there."
Feng Zhu's eyes flashed.
He watched as the Imperial Guards searched everywhere, then subtly retreated to the side. He summoned the steward, keeping a close eye on Su Mu's situation, and whispered instructions:
"Go and ask Mr. Yi and Mr. Zuo to come up with a solution."
Unexpectedly, the butler didn't move. Fengzhu turned her head and saw that the butler was covered in sweat.
Feng Zhu frowned: "What's wrong?"
The butler, filled with fear, stammered:
“I just searched the entire mansion, but I couldn’t find Mr. Yi and Mr. Zuo. After questioning the servants, I learned that just before the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review led his men into the mansion, Mr. Yi and his companions left through the back door with their bundles on their backs.”
They left through the back door carrying their bundles.
These few words convey a lot of information.
Those advisors probably already guessed that the prince's life or death was uncertain after entering the palace, so they abandoned their master and fled for their lives!
These cowardly cowards are useless!
Feng Zhu cursed inwardly, but dared not show any unusual expression on his face.
He lowered his voice, his eyes darkening slightly, and instructed the steward, "Take a few men to the west courtyard and burn it down."
The butler was taken aback. "Burn the west courtyard? Why?"
What was hidden in the secret room in the west courtyard was known only to Prince Xuan and his confidant Feng Zhu; even Prince Xuan's most trusted advisor was unaware of it.
The steward of the Prince's mansion naturally had no idea.
Fengzhu said in a low voice, "No need to ask so many questions. Quickly take people to do it. Pour in more tung oil and make it burn faster."
Most of the shady things in the Prince's mansion have been dealt with.
But there wasn't time to deal with the things in the secret room.
Once the secret chamber is discovered, Prince Xuan will have no chance of recovery.
Although the steward was puzzled, he still obeyed and withdrew.
Not far away, Su Mu saw Feng Zhu whispering with the steward of the Prince's Mansion. He didn't hear what the two were saying, but simply looked away without making a sound.
But when Feng Zhu wasn't paying attention, he secretly made a hand gesture to several imperial guards.
He had given these people instructions before they arrived, and they should observe his gestures and actions upon reaching the Prince Xuan's residence.
Seeing this, the imperial guards disappeared into the crowd without leaving a trace.
They quietly followed in the direction the butler had left.
They moved quickly and silently, without attracting anyone's attention.
The Imperial Guards were well-trained and quickly searched from the front yard to the back yard.
The west courtyard is in the backyard. Fengzhu calculated the time, but when the time came and she still hadn't seen the fire in the backyard, she couldn't help but feel anxious.
He had been keeping watch here, but the Imperial Guards had not yet searched the West Courtyard.
What happened over there? Why hasn't the butler taken any action yet?
As the Imperial Guards drew ever closer to the West Courtyard, Feng Zhu felt increasingly uneasy.
Once the contents of the secret chamber in the west courtyard are exposed, the prince will never be able to recover. It is their leverage and their greatest hidden danger.
He could only hope that the butler would set fire to the house and destroy all the evidence.
But why is there still no movement?
"Lord Su." Seeing Su Mu leading his men towards the west courtyard, Feng Zhu stepped forward, concealing his anxiety, and said with a smile, "Lord Su has searched the entire front courtyard. Has Lord Su found anything?"
Su Mu looked at him with a half-smile, "What, do you know there are problems elsewhere?"
Feng Zhu paused, then smiled helplessly, "Lord Su, what are you saying? There's nothing in the Xuan Prince's mansion that shouldn't be there. I just see how tired you are, and that you still won't find anything."
"Really?" Su Mu smiled and looked up in one direction. "What place is that?"
Feng Zhu's heart skipped a beat, and she had a bad feeling. She looked up and saw that the house Su Mu was pointing to was indeed the West Courtyard!
He nearly lost his composure, but quickly covered it up and forced a smile.
"My lord, that's just a place in the Prince's mansion where miscellaneous items are stored. There's nothing to search there."
Su Mu raised an eyebrow slightly. "Since it's a place for miscellaneous items, then it should be investigated even more thoroughly."
"If someone deliberately hides things in the miscellaneous items of the Prince's residence to frame Prince Xuan, I can report the truth to the Emperor."
With that, he strode towards the west courtyard.
Feng Zhu's face turned deathly pale.
Just then, a commotion suddenly came from the west courtyard ahead.
Feng Zhu was overjoyed and quickly looked up at the sky.
The butler must have succeeded...
But his gaze was fixed on the roof.
The roof of the west courtyard was intact, without a trace of fire or smoke.
Fengzhu's heart sank. The noise wasn't from a fire, so what was going on?
Before he could figure it out, he saw several imperial guards escorting the steward and others out of the west courtyard.
The butler's face was filled with terror, and when he saw Fengzhu, his eyes were filled with despair.
Feng Zhu's legs went weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground.
Su Mu had already sent people to secretly monitor his every move!
He had suspected it for a long time!
Su Mu noticed the commotion and turned to look at Feng Zhu.
Like a smiling fox, she asked him with concern, "What's wrong, Guard Feng? Why do you look so pale?"
Feng Zhu's lips moved, but she couldn't speak.
Su Mu chuckled lightly, looking at him with a half-smile, "If you hadn't been so eager to destroy the evidence, I wouldn't have found this place so easily. Guard Feng, you have rendered a great service this time, and I will definitely report this to the Emperor."
Feng Zhu's face was ashen, and he staggered, almost losing his balance.
Watching Su Mu and the Imperial Guards enter the West Courtyard, only two words remained in his mind.
It’s over.