Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!

Chapter 1222: Chapter 1222: Crown Prince, Terrifying

Zhang Yang whispered closely into Zhang Ren’s ear, ”Because I am the fifth prince, the legitimate fifth prince. The identity you gave me is the only one that can succeed to the throne. My promises are more useful than yours!”

Wong Ju lowered his voice, ”What’s the situation now?”

Zhou Shuren’s nervousness completely disappeared. He stretched his head to look at the Crown Prince’s position, met the Crown Prince’s eyes, and quickly retracted his neck.

The Crown Prince, ”....”

By this time, he was thoroughly convinced by Lord Zhou!

The Crown Prince felt the time was almost right; everything outside the palace should have been cleared up. He lifted his foot and kicked Prince Qi.

Prince Qi was engrossed in watching the play and lost his balance from the kick, sprawling on the steps. Prince Chu, quick with his hands, grabbed Prince Qi’s sleeve, tearing it with a ripping sound.

Holding a piece of cloth in his hand, Prince Chu said, ”My mistake, don’t look at me. Continue.”

Prince Qi’s face darkened as his soft armor was exposed.

Prince Chu was innocent; he hadn’t expected his luck to be so good, grabbing the sleeve that had been cut by a knife.

The Crown Prince lifted his hand to cover his face. Was he here to crack jokes today? But he couldn’t help wanting to laugh!

If Zhang Yang couldn’t react properly again, he would truly be a fool. His voice sharp, ”You all, you haven’t been poisoned?”

The poison administered was tremendously potent; even the healthiest body couldn’t resist it for so long. They should have succumbed to the poison by now.

Prince Qi slowly stood up, his soft armor even more noticeable, ”Seems like I’m not poisoned?”

Prince Chu coughed, ”Second brother, remove ’seems like,’ be certain.”

Prince Qi glared coldly at Prince Chu, then suddenly kicked him, as he deserved.

Zhang Yang realized everything; frantically, he searched for the eunuch who had previously delivered the message, but he had already disappeared. Zhang Yang’s earlier arrogance switched to immense fear as he stepped backward, ”Today was a trap you set.”

Prince Qi’s sharp retort, ”Do you know how nauseous we felt watching your performance?”

Zhang Yang’s pupils constricted as disdain filled the eyes of Prince Qi and the others. Hatred surged in Zhang Yang. He had clearly won. Looking at the officials seated on the ground, he laughed, ”Ha-ha, I haven’t lost yet. I still have gunpowder and the antidote. If worst comes to worst, I’ll drag everyone down with me.”

At that moment, a foul smell permeated the room, causing everyone to cover their noses and gag from the stench, which was too disgusting.

Zhou Shuren was also disgusted, covering his nose but still able to smell the odor.

Zhang Jinghong, covering his nose, came in carrying a burning porcelain basin.

Zhang Ren understood everything when he saw this scene; Zhang Jinghong hadn’t sided with them.

After the ministers had enough energy to run away, Zhang Jinghong handed the porcelain basin to a eunuch standing behind him. Once the smell dissipated a bit, Zhang Jinghong removed the cloth covering his nose and announced to the ministers, ”The poison has been neutralized.”

Some were still skeptical, having been feeble just moments ago, but now they indeed felt strength returning.

Wong Ju energetically jumped a few times, then upon seeing Zhou Shuren still lazily seated, bit his lip, ”You really haven’t been poisoned.”

Zhou Shuren, ”Mm.”

Wong Ju, ”...”

Naturally, Zhou Shuren hadn’t been poisoned, for Zhang Jinghong had been forced to seek him out. The daily administered poison was real, but Zhou Shuren had pretended to drink it. Even though the Emperor said there was an antidote, he didn’t believe it!

Xiao Qing’s ethereal voice suddenly resounded behind Zhou Shuren, ”Not poisoned, huh?”

Zhou Shuren turned his head, deftly deflecting, ”The Emperor does not allow speech, and I cannot say.”

If the performance was not convincing, would it not lead to suspicion? So, it was better that everyone appeared poisoned.

With a chuckle, Xiao Qing said, ”As I am of old age and have been shocked, I will trouble Lord Zhou with the matters of the Ministry of Revenue.”

Zhou Shuren, ”...”

Just then, Qiu Yan approached upon hearing this statement, melancholically speaking, ”I too have been injured. This arm won’t heal for ten days to half a month.”

Zhou Shuren, ”!!”

No, he still wanted to find a reason to rest!

Zhang Yang, seeing the ministers were unharmed, went mad and shouted loudly, ”Kill them.”

Zhang Ren had already reached his father’s side and whispered, ”We can still escape; there’s still a way out.”

Zhang Wuxi’s eyes were fixed on the Dragon Throne, just a little bit more, just a little bit more, and he could touch the Dragon Throne, resentful, ”If we kill Zhang Yang, we still have a chance.”

”No, you don’t have a chance.”

Zhang Wuxi and Zhang Ren turned around and stared, as if seeing a ghost, at the Crown Prince who they hadn’t noticed standing behind them.

The Crown Prince smiled, ”Don’t be agitated, there’s still a surprise.”

The Crown Prince shouted loudly, ”Son begs the Emperor to take control of the situation.”

Prince Qi and Prince Chu yelled immediately after.

The ministers in the great hall were stunned and followed the Crown Prince’s gaze. They saw the screen that had been blocking the view was removed; the screen was dark gold and located in the corner, barely noticed by anyone.

The Emperor, accompanied by Eunuch Liu and others, stepped up gradually and stood before the Dragon Throne, raising his hand to touch it, ”The Dragon Throne you want is still mine.”

This tone sounded as if he despised the enemy for being too weak.

Zhang Wuxi and the others didn’t know whether to vomit blood or could not believe that the Emperor was unharmed.

At that moment, Rong Enqing, wearing armor and covered in blood, came in, ”The traitors in the palace have all been executed.”

What wasn’t clear by now? Everything was under the control of the Emperor; it was all a scheme, and the Emperor was the chess player from beginning to end.

Rong Enqing’s longsword dripped with blood as his gaze fell on Zhang Ren.

Zhang Ren’s throat expelled blood, choking back the flow, ”You weren’t fooled.”

Rong Enqing, ”From the beginning, you weren’t fooled, your appearance was recognized by Great Uncle the moment you showed up.”

Zhang Ren, as confident as he had been in his plans, now was equally incredulous, ”No, it can’t be, my plan was perfect.”

The Crown Prince softly added, ”Perfectly calculated by Zhang Yang.”

This time, Zhang Ren truly vomited blood—a blow to his heart; he fell to the ground.

Zhou Shuren had never believed that severe anger could cause one to vomit blood, a belief which now had changed as he saw Zhang Ren’s face turn ash-white with rage, clearly about to die from it.

Inside the hall, thieves with bows and arrows were all subdued.

Zhou Shuren finally managed to stand up and even shook his official robe, thankfully not stained with blood—it had been a day full of dangers, but the outcome was good.

Seeing his son in a bad state, Zhang Wuxi hurriedly asked, ”Son, what’s wrong?”

The Crown Prince smiled and explained, ”The fatally poisonous one hundred thousand silver notes ended up in Zhang Ren’s hands last, and the fury ignited the poison in his body.”

Zhang Ren’s eyes widened and fresh blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. So, Zhou Shuren wasn’t poisoned, he was unwilling and hoped not to have to pull Zhou Shuren down with him. His eyes sought Zhou Shuren and saw him standing unscathed.

Zhang Yang, seeing the failure, noticed that the bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder did not explode and muttered, ”Why didn’t it explode, why?”

Prince Qi, quite concerned, ”The two batches of gunpowder brought into the capital, the one from Xuzhou was swapped back in Xuzhou, and the other batch in the capital was replaced; the gunpowder in the bamboo tubes was fake.”

The Crown Prince, seeing that Zhang Ren was listening, worried that Zhang Ren might die without hearing the end, added softly, ”Oh, and your lair, the offshore island, has likely been bombarded into a flat ground by now.”

Zhang Ren spat out one last mouthful of blood, fell to the ground, and breathed his last.

The Crown Prince’s tone full of regret, ”He died just like that, huh? I still had important things left to say!”

Zhou Shuren, ”....”

Terrified, truly terrified!