novelFabrication
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Chapter 514: Fabrication
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Even though the ministers were rather humiliated and embarrassed, they did not panic.
They leaped into the air and landed on the ground.
However, the Left Assistant Minister's wife wasn't able to react in time. She was quite pretty and she was often pampered by her husband. She had never been attacked in a carriage before.
She was thrown to the ground and her dress was cut by the flying pieces of wood. There were countless wounds on her body.
The crowd and guards saw this.
"Wow!"
They all squinted and used their hands to cover their eyes in an attempt to show some respect.
However, their gasps were heard soon after.
Because...
There were eight other figures lying on the ground who attracted even more attention than the wife of the Left Assistant Minister.
These men wore heavy rattan armor and they looked extremely shocked when they landed on the floor.
King Duan's eyes brightened when he saw them.
He didn't even need to take a second look to know that these men were the Southern Region messengers captured on this night.
The crowd was in disbelief when they saw the eight Southern Region messengers appear.
"They were really hiding in the carriages?"
"These criminals were being hidden in these carriages? They were being broken out?"
"This... this is going to be interesting!"
The crowd understood what was happening instantly. After all, news of tonight's events at the Seven Star Lane had spread like wildfire.
The attempted assassination of Fang Zhengzhi and the subsequent incarceration of the perpetrators on advice from the Ninth Prince was known to everyone. They also knew that the Southern Region messengers had been escorted to the jail by soldiers.
And now...
The eight of them had appeared in the carriages of the two assistant ministers and Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping. Even an idiot would know what was happening!
He was breaking them out!
Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was rather embarrassed, but that was not the most important thing right now. He paled when he saw the eight Southern Region messengers.
He couldn't figure out why the eight of them would shake inside the carriages when they were about to leave. Their movements had given King Duan reason to attack.
"What was happening?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was confused.
He knew the identities of these eight men. It was precisely because he knew who they were that caused him to be this surprised. Even if they had been stabbed inside the carriages, they should be able to remain still.
But that was all not important right now. These men had already jumped out of the carriage. He needed to solve the immediate problem.
He needed to have a reason! He had to find something reasonable!
Many reasons flew through the mind of Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.
However, he rejected most of them without a second thought.
Because...
There was no way he could find an explanation for this.
However, this did not cause Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping to panic. As a Left Prime Minister, he had seen much in his decades in the court.
He had to remain calm.
"I never expected that you would attack me! Good, very good! I will definitely report this to the Emperor! You better prepare an explanation!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping raged.
"What's wrong? Are you not planning to explain what is happening here?" King Duan's eyes glittered as he looked at the eight shocked Southern Region messengers.
"Is there a need for an explanation? What's wrong with two assistant ministers removing these criminals for trial?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping looked at the two ministers.
When they heard this, they looked at each other, straightened their robes, then walked over.
"Yes, after we found out what happened, we began to gather the facts and we are about to bring these suspects to the Seven Star Lane to gather evidence. This was a secret mission, thus we didn't report it to you. We hope that you will forgive us. However, could you please give us an explanation as to why you are obstructing us from collecting evidence?" The Left Assistant Minister chimed in.
As the assistant minister, he knew the rules much better than Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and could find a reasonable excuse.
"Minister, you do have a quick mind and a glib tongue. They were just sent to jail and you want to send them to the Seven Star Lane already?" King Duan tightened the grip on his sword.
"King Duan, are you questioning our processes? If you are, you may bring it up to the Emperor!" The Left Assistant Minister couldn't back down now.
Furthermore, he still had his ways of explaining his actions to the Emperor.
After all, they had their own ways of handling special cases. In times like this, sometimes a covert operation was required.
He could then throw the ball into King Duan's court and blame him for obstructing justice.
Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping smirked when he heard this.
The crowd looked at each other in confusion when they heard what was happening.
It was back to a stalemate once again.
However...
At that very moment, one of the Southern Region messengers lunged at Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and grabbed onto his thigh.
"Prime Minister, save me! Our plan for tonight has already been exposed! We don't want to die, please save us!" The Southern Region messenger pleaded.
"Boom!"
This change of events shocked everyone present.
Even the two assistant ministers' eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets when they heard this. They never expected that the Southern Region messengers would say such a thing.
The blood drained from Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping's face.
How was this possible?
Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping glared at the Southern Region messenger hugging his thigh in disbelief.
These men were mercenaries!
Mercenaries?!
These were people who would never reveal who they were working for under any circumstances! So what was this all about?
Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was in disbelief.
Complete and utter disbelief.
Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was not alone. Even King Duan was surprised. Why would they find someone so inept?
Did they betray their master?
Furthermore, they had no reason to do so! They had the upper hand, but they decided to betray Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.
What was happening?
King Duan simply couldn't understand what was happening.
Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping grit his teeth in shock. Then, his body shuddered even whilst he tried to calm himself down.
"What are you talking about? I don't know any of you!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping bellowed as he glared at the messenger.
"Prime Minister, how can you leave us in the lurch? You told us to use killing Fang Zhengzhi as an excuse to kill Yan Xiu! You told us that nothing would go wrong! Now that something has gone wrong, you have to save us!" The Southern Region messenger pleaded, ignoring the glare.
"What... what nonsense are you spouting?!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping paled.
He had lost control of the situation. This was a setup. He had walked right into a trap. He had never told them to kill Yan Xiu!
What was happening?
Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping couldn't understand why things would take a turn for the worse all of a sudden.
He had cultivated these men for many years. They would never betray him!
Left Prime Minister glared at the Southern Region messengers.
Then, he noticed a smirk on that messenger's face. This man was out to get him!
He understood everything at that moment.
Fang Zhengzhi!
That was the only explanation that Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping could think of. After all, these men were captured from the Seven Star Lane! He had suspected that it could be a trap.
He had only dismissed that thought after he found out that the Ninth prince was the one who insisted that they were sent here. Furthermore, these men were escorted here by soldiers and not city guards.
But now...
He realized that this was a trap that he had walked into. Furthermore, this was a trap from which he couldn't escape.
Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping felt a chill down his back.
He thought about what would have happened if the Crown Prince had come instead of him. Would they have said that the Crown Prince sent them to assassinate Yan Xiu?
If this accusation was assumed to be true...
How would Yan Qianli react?
"Fang Zhengzhi... good on you. What a vicious plan!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping had always thought that he was the one in the dark.
He never realized that Fang Zhengzhi had been playing him all along.
When did he do it?
How could he swap the men without anyone noticing?
Oh yes!
When the doors were locked!
It was a stroke of genius! If the doors to the Seven Star Lane weren't locked, he couldn't carry out his plan! And Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping's men had done it for him!
Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping felt a chill as he looked up into the sky. He had sacrificed much to get to the position he held today.
But now...
It was all about to be destroyed...
He was bitter.
He was extremely bitter!
"No, I still have a chance of coming back from this. I have to capture them and interrogate them! I will definitely be able to tie this back to Fang Zhengzhi!" His eyes glittered with excitement, "How dare you malign a rank one official! Men, arrest these b*stards!"
"Prime Minister... you... you betrayed us!" The Southern Region messenger rolled away from the Left Prime Minister.
"Arrest them!"
"Charge, arrest the eight of them!"
The two assistant ministers reacted and gave the command to their guards.
There was no reply.
The guards had already charged.
"Kill!"
"Don't let them run!"
The guards raised their weapons.
The hate in the eyes of the eight Southern Region messengers was clear.
"Prime Minister, you are vicious indeed!"
"I never thought that you would betray us after so many years of loyal service. We will fight this out!"
"Kill!"
The eight Southern Region messengers began fighting their way out.
One of the city guards standing beside King Duan turned to look at him for orders.
"Your Highness, what do we do now?" The city guard asked softly.
"There is an old strategy that was once adopted by the great Han Xin. It is known as "Confuse the enemy with your actions and hide your true motives". Do you know what I mean?" King Duan smirked icily.
"Yes, sir!" The city guard's eyes glittered as he called the other guards over."Protect the ministers and arrest the criminals!"
"Yes!" The city guards responded in unison.
The raised their weapons and began to fan out. They surrounded the ministers as well as their guards.
They pushed the eight Southern Region messengers to the side.
The expressions of the ministers changed when they saw this. As the Left Prime Minister, Yu Yiping was not weak.
However...
He couldn't possibly attack city guards.
"Go away! I don't need your protection!"
"Go away!" The two assistant ministers were equally flustered. They couldn't do anything as long as they were being surrounded by city guards!
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