At that moment, Prime Minister Zhang thought of many things, his expression shifting unpredictably.
Noticing something was off with Prime Minister Zhang’s mood, the Second Prince tentatively asked, “Prime Minister Zhang, is there something wrong with the meal?”
Today’s meal was better than in the past few days, making it hard not to overthink. The Second Prince even suspected the food might be poisoned, which instantly dampened his appetite. He quickly wiped his hands and dared not touch the food again.
However, Prime Minister Zhang picked up his chopsticks and began to eat a fried meatball. The flavor of the meatball came from the palace’s cook! Prime Minister Zhang was puzzled by this.
He called over Zhao, the prison guard, and asked, “Do you know who sent this food?”
Zhao replied, “It was sent by the steward of the Zhang family.”
Old Xing has returned!
Prime Minister Zhang’s expression turned astonished; he had sent the steward to Jiangzhou to look for Zhang Fang, and now that the steward was back, didn’t that mean Zhang Fang had returned too? At such a critical moment, with unrest prevailing in the capital, how could they have brought Zhang Fang back?
Feeling anxious, Prime Minister Zhang spoke to Zhao sternly, “Could you do me a favor?”
“Please, say on.” Due to the orders from the Minister of Justice, Zhao maintained a rather respectful attitude towards Prime Minister Zhang.
“I need paper and a pen; I want to write a letter.” Prime Minister Zhang wanted to ask Old Xing to take Zhang Fang away.
Zhao quickly found paper, pen, and ink for Prime Minister Zhang.
Seeing this, the Second Prince thought Prime Minister Zhang was about to make a move and eagerly watched him write the letter.
Little did he know that the letter contained family news, instructing Old Xing to send Zhang Fang to the border to do hard labor! No matter what happened in the capital, Zhang Fang must not return!
The Second Prince grew anxious and began to sweet-talk Prime Minister Zhang, “Prime Minister, if we can get through this crisis and I ascend to the throne, I will surely grant you a noble title and bestow honors upon you! Your son’s transgressions will be forgiven as well! The most pressing matter now is to get out of the prison and expose the true nature of the Qi King, so everyone knows his wicked ambitions! He is the one who harmed my father and others!”
“Hmm.” Prime Minister Zhang replied absentmindedly. After finishing the letter, he handed it to Zhao when the ink had dried.
Zhang Fang was already aware of the situation in the capital. As long as the Qi King did not appear, the officials in court would not take action against the Second Prince. Now, it was simply the case of making the Second Prince take the blame. The Qi King was indeed a master strategist! Unfortunately for him, he had calculated everything but never expected to fall into Zhang Fang’s hands.
“Uncle Xing, prepare a coffin; we enter the palace tomorrow.”
Uncle Xing immediately asked, “Young Master, are you going to deal with the Qi King?”
Zhang Fang nodded. Right now, only the death of the Qi King could make this crowd behave.
Uncle Xing showed a fierce expression and cursed, “He should have died long ago! He rebelled against the throne, plotted against His Majesty and the Crown Prince, and in the end, he slandered our Prime Minister! And previously, he plotted against you, leading to a feud between the Zhang and Dou families! It’s time to settle these scores!”
Regardless of the Qi King’s willingness, Uncle Xing took action himself, killing him with a dose of poison.
The next day, Zhang Fang brought people to carry the Qi King’s coffin into the city, heading straight for the palace.
At first, the Imperial Guards blocked Zhang Fang and even drew their swords against him.
Zhang Fang shouted the crimes of the Qi King loudly. From the moment the Qi King framed him for Dou Changkang’s death, leading to a feud between the Zhang and Dou families, to the secrets of Meixian, Zhang Fang revealed everything to the public.
People were shocked by Zhang Fang’s actions.
Many officials ran over, and those who recognized the Qi King gasped when they saw that the coffin indeed contained him; their hearts sank.
What an excellent move! How could such a clever person as the Qi King fall to the hands of a playboy like Zhang Fang! All the meticulous plotting of the years was turning to waste! Especially since both the Emperor and the Crown Prince were dead, and the other princes and princesses had perished as well. Only the Second Prince was left, and they had been forcing him to shoulder the blame, causing great offense! Once the Second Prince ascended the throne, how could they continue to survive in the court?
In the crowd, many officials turned pale, breaking out in cold sweats. Some older officials were so weak they could not even stand and fell to the ground.
As he carried the coffin into the palace, Zhang Fang continued to accuse the Qi King of his crimes, shocking everyone while nobody blocked his entrance.
Upon reaching the memorial hall, Zhang Fang knelt outside and paid respects to the late emperor. Once the tribute was completed, he instructed people to stack wood outside and burn the Qi King’s body.
Everyone watched, dumbfounded. Wasn’t the Prime Minister’s son a playboy? Having been exiled from the capital, who could have imagined he would return in such a manner! And make such a bold move right upon his return! Shocking everyone!
The relatives of the Dou family were also intimidated by Zhang Fang; regardless of whether Zhang Fang’s words were true or not, whether Dou Changkang’s death was indeed plotted by the Qi King, Zhang Fang was now the embodiment of justice, and no one dared to oppose him! Anyone opposing him at this moment would essentially be siding with the Qi King!
The rebellion of the Qi King, no matter how many were involved, was not something openly discussed. So those who knew the truth dared not speak out and had to keep their heads low to avoid being implicated, fearing calamity would befall their families!
“Today, Zhang Fang takes it upon himself to turn the Qi King into ashes! This is to comfort the late Emperor, Empress, Crown Prince, and all the respective princes and princesses! The Qi King’s family shall be handled by the Second Prince!”
Zhang Fang’s voice was loud, striking fear into the hearts of everyone present.
At this moment, they had to acknowledge that the Zhang family had reversed the situation, and the Second Prince was truly lucky! Relying on the Zhang family, he was going to ascend to the throne! If they had known, they wouldn’t have wiped out the Emperor’s family so cleanly and should have left a few more princes for competition! Now the throne had fallen directly into the hands of the Second Prince! How enviable!
The Second Prince, unaware of his impending luck, had been starving since yesterday. He dared not eat anything. Even though Prime Minister Zhang had eaten the food and urged him to dine together, the Second Prince still refrained, fearing that eating would endanger his life.
The Minister of Justice excitedly rushed into the prison, freeing Prime Minister Zhang and the Second Prince. He happily praised, “Truly a case of a tiger father not begetting a dog son! Prime Minister Zhang has taught him well!”
Prime Minister Zhang looked at the Minister of Justice with confusion.
The Second Prince, feeling dizzy from hunger, weakly asked, “What is going on? Are we free to go?”