MLIAM Chapter 14
by VolareChapter 14: No Mercy. I want you to die when I want you to die, and you will die when I want you to die…
Instantly, many disguised guards emerged from the ship, swarming towards Wei Yan and Yu Shuli.
The people on the ship were all nobles. Seeing the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister in a dispute, although they were terrified, they weren’t completely helpless. After all, this was under the Emperor’s watch, and things couldn’t get too out of hand.
Some who recognized Wei Yan and the Crown Prince even wanted to step forward and mediate.
Wei Yan remained unmoved, and instead smiled: “Your Highness, if you attack me today and I don’t die, then tomorrow in court, the one credited with the disaster relief efforts will be the Third Prince, not you.”
A Crown Prince who commits violence while drunk and whose personal conduct is flawed would definitely not be approved by the cabinet.
After all, the head of the cabinet was Wei Yan, standing right before him.
Zhao Yong was intoxicated, unable to weigh the pros and cons. He couldn’t listen to anything and only thought about how Wei Yan dared to challenge the imperial power and hit him. He was determined to kill him.
“You, a mere Prime Minister, dare to threaten me, a Crown Prince?!” Zhao Yong roared, shaking off the officials who were trying to restrain him: “Do you think I’m afraid of you?”
The guards surrounded the entire area, leaving only Wei Yan, Yu Shuli, the Crown Prince, and others inside.
“Now you are nothing more than a turtle in a jar. I want you to die when I want you to die, and you will die when I want you to die!”
The officials’ faces turned deathly pale, and they quickly cried out, “Your Highness!” pulling at the Crown Prince, still trying to persuade him.
When did the Crown Prince ever dare to directly confront Wei Yan before? Even the Emperor had to treat Wei Yan with courtesy, let alone a Crown Prince whose position was still insecure.
Zhao Yong used to constantly curry favor with Wei Yan, showering him with gifts and trying to get close to him, but Wei Yan always remained aloof, neither joining his party nor explicitly refusing.
This had once given Zhao Yong hope, and coupled with the events of a few years prior, he also had some leverage over Wei Yan. Therefore, he had always respected Wei Yan even more than his own father, Emperor Zhao Wu.
But today, after drinking and receiving two slaps from Wei Yan, the sickly Prime Minister, Zhao Yong felt both shame and anger in his heart. He didn’t want to endure it any longer.
Several officials huddled in the corner, holding their heads, thinking that it was truly over.
No matter who won, it was over.
If Wei Yan died, the Emperor would lose his right-hand man, and upon investigating today’s events, he would only become endlessly wary of the Crown Prince.
The Imperial family had no such thing as familial affection; only anger at their authority being challenged. After all, Wei Yan was the Emperor’s man. A Crown Prince who dared to kill even the Emperor’s confidant – who could guarantee he wouldn’t commit regicide in the future?
After thoroughly investigating the origin of the conflict between the two, they would only be disgusted by the Crown Prince.
And a Crown Prince who fought over a man would no longer have the chance to inherit the throne.
Then, not only would the Crown Prince be deposed, but the reckless Third Prince and the Second Prince, far away in the southern border, would reap the benefits.
But if Wei Yan had been prepared when he boarded the ship and survived by chance, then the Crown Prince’s situation would be even more difficult. Having offended Wei Yan, the Crown Prince Party would never be able to raise their heads again, given Wei Yan’s nature and methods.
With the Crown Prince overthrown, none of the officials present would have a good outcome.
One of the officials understood the cause and effect and braced himself to step forward and grab the Crown Prince.
“Get out of my way!”
Zhao Yong revealed a fierce expression, drew the guard’s sword, and with a turn of his head, brought the sword down, severing the official’s wrist.
The official screamed. His bloody hand fell at Zhao Yong’s feet, and he kicked it away.
The place that should have been elegant and leisurely was suddenly stained with blood, and the entire cabin plunged into chaos, filled with screams.
The nobles who had originally wanted to come and mediate were frightened by this scene and shouted a few times. The women covered their children’s faces and hurriedly fled to their respective cabins, leaving only a few brave, unafraid-of-death people watching the commotion.
What was originally thought to be a drunken squabble had finally escalated to bloodshed at this moment.
“How is it? Who else dares to stop me?”
Zhao Yong narrowed his eyes and looked at Yu Shuli, only to see that his gaze was fixed on Wei Yan, not even a sliver of attention given to him. The anger that had cooled down slightly after seeing blood was instantly rekindled.
“Do it! Today, Wei Yan, no mercy.”
With these words, the guards who had been eyeing Yu Shuli and Wei Yan for a long time finally drew their swords.
Several officials didn’t dare to dissuade him any further, and even seeing Zhao Yong’s bloodshot eyes and strange smile, they only felt fear.
But who dared to provoke Wei Yan? They were afraid they wouldn’t even know how they died.
The Crown Prince’s actions were undoubtedly like pulling a tiger’s whiskers.
The night wind was terribly cold, but everyone seemed unaware. Dark clouds shrouded the sky, and the high-hanging crescent moon was buried in layers, not even a sliver of light could escape.
It was about to turn upside down…
The guards gave a low shout, launching a large-scale attack on Wei Yan. Yu Shuli snatched a knife and used the back of it to strike the people in front of him fiercely, easily defeating them and standing in front of Wei Yan.
“Your Highness, it was you who started this without rhyme or reason today, so don’t blame your subject for not being polite.”
The Crown Prince slowly approached, holding the blood-stained sword, and a cruel malice surged like a tide.
Suddenly, he lunged forward, his hands reaching out like eagle claws, and threw a packet of powder at Yu Shuli.
Yu Shuli reacted quickly, swiftly closed his breath, and retreated, raising his hand, a gust of wind scattered the powder.
The Crown Prince’s pupils shifted.
He had known that Yu Shuli’s martial arts were extraordinary, but he hadn’t expected him to be this strong.
But it didn’t matter, now that Yu Shuli had been forced away from Wei Yan’s side and was held up by the guards, this was his chance to kill Wei Yan.
The Crown Prince’s eyes darkened, and he stepped forward, slashing towards the isolated Wei Yan: “Wei Yan, don’t think that just because Father Emperor favors you, I’m afraid of you. If you die in the Thousand Willow River today, tomorrow there will just be one more body that accidentally drowned.”
“As for Prince An…” Zhao Yong glanced at Yu Shuli: “Wei Yan, do you think you can protect him for a while, and protect him for life? Once you die, I can do whatever I want to him! It will save you from always ruining my plans!”
Yu Shuli’s face completely darkened. He violently pushed back the ten or so guards in front of him, leaning forward to block Wei Yan, finally drawing his sword: “Crown Prince, do you know what you’re doing?”
“No need for you to remind me, I know it very well! Later in bed, I’ll let you see how powerful I am!” Zhao Yong shouted.
The crowd watching the show seemed to have heard something extraordinary and quickly covered their ears.
Hearing such secrets was not their intention.
Yu Shuli thought: So that’s how it is.
The Crown Prince secretly harbored such thoughts about him.
Yu Shuli’s eyes widened, his heart trembling, and he felt a wave of disgust and chill.
Wei Yan’s face completely darkened, and he looked at Zhao Yong as if he were looking at a dead man.
“Your Highness, be careful with your words, haven’t you had enough of being slapped?”
Of course, Zhao Yong remembered the slap.
Not even the Emperor had slapped his face.
What right did Wei Yan have? A mere lackey.
Zhao Yong was even angrier. “Try me if you’re not afraid of death!”
Yu Shuli was afraid that Wei Yan would try to fight Zhao Yong one-on-one, and Zhao Yong would bully him.
“He’s deliberately provoking us to make the first move, don’t fall for his tricks.” He grabbed Wei Yan and protected him behind him.
Ever since he knew what the Crown Prince was thinking, Yu Shuli found it difficult to maintain a superficial politeness when looking at the Crown Prince. He showed an indescribable expression: “You’re really being presumptuous, like a peacock showing off…”
Ignoring the grudges they had from earlier years, the incidents of hindering each other over the years could fill a basket.
Saying the Crown Prince liked him? Yu Shuli wasn’t that narcissistic.
He only saw naked desire in the Crown Prince’s eyes.
Unrelated to love, just a desire to control his prey.
But Yu Shuli would not be that prey.
Just as he was thinking of saying some harsh words, he saw several guards rushing over again.
Yu Shuli had to deal with these people first, he didn’t have time to scold the Crown Prince.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhao Yong tried to sneak attack Wei Yan from the side. He thought he could kill this sickly man with one strike, but who knew that when the knife came down, Wei Yan suddenly fell, bending his waist to dodge it.
Wei Yan’s appearance as he fell was really embarrassing, and his foot inadvertently kicked the Crown Prince’s calf, causing him to frown and groan.
Tables and chairs were smashed all over the floor, and the fine wine reflected a decadent trace under the candlelight.
Wei Yan struggled to stand up amidst the mess, his expression still indifferent: “Your Highness, do you think that by killing me, with so many people here… you can block public opinion?”
But in Zhao Yong’s eyes, his calm appearance was like trying hard to pretend to be calm.
Zhao Yong didn’t care about Wei Yan’s insignificant kick, it was like a tickle. He curled the corners of his lips, leaned forward again, and this time without any obstruction, he raised his sword directly against Wei Yan’s neck, drawing a line of bright red blood.
He looked at Wei Yan with the air of a victor: “Wei Yan, you have already lost.”