Inside the royal study, Emperor Jin Ming was seething with rage, thunderous as he roared, "What do you mean the assassin got away? Chase, I command the Imperial Guard and all the Dark Guards within YingTian Palace, to give chase. If this group of assassins isn’t captured, all of you will have your heads severed!"
A cold sweat broke over the commander of the Imperial Guard as he quickly retreated, hastily mustering his contingent of guards and headed to the scene of the crime to investigate...
Emperor Jin Ming’s residual anger was like a lion trapped in a cage, pacing restlessly back and forth. He was the supreme emperor, yet someone had the audacity to mess with him, ending up severely harming his most beloved son. How could he swallow this indignation?
"Investigate, investigate for me. Find out who did it. I want to exterminate their nine clans, and sentence all of them to death by lingchi..."
Zhu Zhong’s answer was cautious as he bowed and went to deliver the Emperor’s decree.
Emperor Jin Ming began pacing back and forth in the room, when suddenly he stopped and looked at a young eunuch.
"Go, deliver an order, prepare the royal chariot, I wish to visit the Crown Prince’s Mansion...."
The news of the assassination attempt on the Crown Prince and his subsequent maiming spread like wild fire through the capital. In a short matter of time, the streets of the capital were filled with the silhouettes of Imperial Guards who relentlessly questioned the public about the whereabouts of the assassins, hoping to find clues about them.
Within the main prison of Ying Tianfu
Huo Yuan was seated cross-legged on a stool, meditating.
Since he was brought in yesterday, he had calmly stayed in the prison for two days straight. Today, he almost suffered brutal investigation. It was thanks to his past close relationship with the prefect of Ying Tianfu, Zhao Hongwang, who had received numerous benefits from him, otherwise, he probably wouldn’t be able to sit here calmly right now.
However, Prefect Zhao stated that, considering the past, he would give him a day to consider, otherwise, they would have to use punishment tomorrow.
Though the prefect Zhao claimed that he would be interrogated tomorrow, he believed that he would still be safe tomorrow. He had given Jin Guifei a lesson to avenge his sister and help King Jing get rid of potential trouble. The lesson was substantial, enough for her to digest for a lifetime. He believed that she would have no energy to harass his sister, nor the time to bother him.
The door of the dungeon opened, and a prison guard walked in with a tray, his face filled with flattery.
"Hehe, Young Master Huo, your dinner has arrived. It’s Marinated Pork Knuckle and Roast Goose packed from Shu Dingxiang restaurant. How is it?"
The prison guard walked in front of Huo Yuan, knelt down, placed the tray on the small low table in front of Huo Yuan, picked up the osmanthus liquor from the tray and poured him a cup.
"Hehe, Young Master Huo, please——"
Huo Yuan took the wine cup, and the prison guard took advantage of the moment when he was tasting the wine and whispered very softly, "It’s done!"
The whisper was very low and could not possibly be heard by a second person.
Upon hearing the words, a subtle smile crept up the corners of Huo Yuan’s lips. "Not bad, it truly is the Osmanthus Brew from Shu Dingxiang."
After speaking, he pulled out a piece of broken silver from his pouch and threw it to the prison guard, "Go ahead!"
The prison guard received the silver, bit into it and with a grin said, "Oh, the quality of this silver is really good, as expected from the Huo Family. Hehe, Young Master Huo, please enjoy your meal slowly. If you need anything, just let me know!"
The other prisoners in the neighboring cells licked their lips, eyes fixed on Huo Yuan as he leisurely ate and drank, their mouths watering with hunger.
While every prisoner was living in conditions where a dozen people were crammed into one cell, sleeping on hay and eating moldy cornbread and thin soup, Huo Yuan, on the other hand, was staying in a cell as clean as a guest room. He slept on a thick mat and had a stool and a small low table for eating and resting. Every meal was as exquisite as an imperial banquet, with wine, meat, and post-meal fruits and good tea. Witnessing all this, the other prisoners were green with envy.