"What do you plan to do?"
"Go into the palace," said Zhong Tianyi.
"Now." Zhong Tianyi nodded and said, "The longer the night, the more dreams will come. We can’t delay this... Once they come looking for us, we’ll be even more passive."
"Alright, I’ll go with you," said Yu Huoshui. "In this matter, I’m also an ’accomplice.’"
Zhong Tianyi glanced at Lei Xiangyang lying on the ground with disgust and said, "Take him with us."
Yu Huoshui waved his hand, and several black-clad bodyguards rushed in, lifting Lei Xiangyang up and walking him outside.
Zhong Daolong, donned in a silk robe, stormed out furiously and barked, "What time is it? Do you really have to wake people up? Can’t anyone rest? Can’t it wait until tomorrow?"
"Father, it is Tian Yi’s fault. I apologize to you," said Zhong Tianyi with a respectful stance in front of Zhong Daolong. "But this matter is of utmost importance, and I dare not delay for a moment."
Zhong Daolong considered Zhong Tianyi’s expression thoughtfully, then glanced at Yu Huoshui, who stood behind him with a bruised face, and his angry demeanor subsided, asking, "What’s so important?"
"This matter also involves my elder brother. Could you please have someone call him over as well?" Zhong Tianyi looked up and asked.
"Fine, I want to see what kind of drama you’re going to stage," said Zhong Daolong, turning to Chen Fenglei beside him. "Go, call Zhong Tianque over here, and say I want him... Right, call Phoenix over too. Let them all come and listen."
"Yes," Chen Fenglei didn’t dare to ask further and quickly sent for Zhong Tianque and Phoenix.
In no time, Zhong Tianque and Phoenix rushed over.
Zhong Tianque’s expression was emotionless, looking the part of a spirited and capable Crown Prince.
Phoenix had sleepy eyes, clearly just roused from sleep.
Zhong Daolong looked at Zhong Tianyi still in his white sports attire, as if he had just finished exercising, and said, "Alright, your elder brother has arrived, and your sister is here too... Speak, what’s the matter that you couldn’t wait and had to wake us?"
"Father, someone by my side has wronged my elder brother, and I think the situation is extremely urgent, so I rushed back immediately..." Zhong Tianyi got straight to the point without beating around the bush.
"Oh? Is that so?" With a drink of the nutrient liquid handed by Chen Fenglei, Zhong Daolong strengthened himself and then turned to ask Zhong Tianyi, "What have they done to wrong your elder brother? You’re speaking so vaguely, how can we know what the situation is?"
"Uncle, let me explain..." Yu Huoshui intervened, "This is how it is: one of my men, named Lei Xiangyang, has a driver named Li Zhi..."
"This Li Zhi registered a company on Li Island called Dahe Commerce. Recently, Dahe Commerce transferred a large sum of money to a foreign media organization to support the dissemination of derogatory videos about my elder cousin..."
Zhong Tianque’s gaze turned sharp but he did not speak.
Phoenix looked astonished. There was such a thing? The scandalous videos of her elder brother had gone viral, and there was involvement from within their own family?
What were they trying to do?
Her elder brother and her second brother...
"Succession struggle!"
These two words surged in her mind.
"Why would this Li Zhi do such a thing?" Zhong Daolong’s gaze burned into Yu Huoshui, asking, "What motive does a driver have to go to such lengths to promote these derogatory videos of your elder cousin?"
"Does he hold a grudge against your elder cousin, or is he dissatisfied with him?"
"I’m not sure," said Yu Huoshui, looking remorseful. "After I learned about this, I went to find Lei Xiangyang to bring Li Zhi in for questioning. Unexpectedly, Li Zhi had already run off..."
"Yes, he ran off. We spread out a lot of people, and we still haven’t been able to locate Li Zhi."
"It’s good if we can’t find him, good that there’s no witness to testify, good that the trail is cut off, and nobody has to take responsibility... It’s good if we can’t find him."
"I brought Lei Xiangyang over," Yu Huoshui said. "We questioned him, but he doesn’t know where Li Zhi has gone... Maybe the palace has ways to get him to reveal the truth."
"Lei Xiangyang?" Zhong Daolong realized that since they had brought Lei Xiangyang to them, he had already been turned into a scapegoat, completely handed over to the palace for disposal. Could it be true that this matter had nothing to do with them?
"I won’t see this person..."
He turned to Chen Fenglei and said, "Feng Lei, have a talk with him."
"Yes," Chen Fenglei bowed and replied, "I will make sure he tells us everything he knows, holding nothing back."
"Hmm, I trust your ability to handle things," Zhong Daolong nodded.
He looked at Yu Huoshui and said, "You brought Lei Xiangyang here to prove to me that you have nothing to do with this matter? That you were completely unaware of the events that happened before?"
"That is exactly right," Yu Huoshui earnestly stated. "After finding out about this, we were also very anxious and afraid, immediately wanting to bring Li Zhi in for questioning... But he had already vanished without a trace, the living couldn’t find him, the dead could not produce a corpse..."
"So that means, Li Zhi was acting under someone’s orders?"