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Chapter 598: Storm

As we all know, princesses are not really that useful, except for adding a little fun to the relationship.

If a prince or nobleman were to be intercepted and killed, it could potentially trigger a small-scale political upheaval, or even lead to a rebellion or war.

But the princess?

Intercepting this thing seems to have no purpose other than inviting endless retaliation!

Unless the current emperor Zhao Dun wanted to kill his second brother at all costs, he really couldn't understand why a master who was at least at the Finger Profound Realm would come to kidnap the current princess.
However, based on Zhao Heng's understanding of his fourth brother, the other party truly doted on his daughter Zhao Fengya, so the chances of him being used as bait were slim.

So who exactly is it? And for what purpose?
Zhao Heng was completely baffled. Could it be that a top expert was so attracted to Princess Suizhu’s beauty that he killed and robbed her?

No way, really? Could there really be a master like that?
Keep in mind that it will be another ten years or so before celestial phenomena are as common as dogs and earthly immortals are everywhere. The Finger Profound Realm is definitely one of the top masters in the world. So what about Wang Mingyin, whose realm is only Finger Profound? Yet he is known as the eleventh master in the world.

"Report!"

Just as Zhao Heng was feeling uneasy, his guards immediately brought news.

They found a collapsed patch of grass in a dense forest about three miles from the crime scene, and also found something strange on the grass!

(It's not that someone doesn't have a habit of destroying evidence; it's just that the mattress was so dirty after use that they simply didn't bother to dispose of it.)
"this!"

Looking at the strange thing in front of him and the liquid on it, Zhao Heng felt his head throbbing.

Is it really true that someone captured the princess just to do something?

Is it so outrageous?
As for why he knew one of them was a princess?

Around the strange object were scattered a pile of torn clothing, the style of which anyone with professional training would recognize as belonging to royalty.

So!

Which expert, after intercepting the princess's guards, led Princess Suizhu directly into the dense forest and began to carry out his mission?
"What else have you found out?"

Zhao Heng asked in an icy tone.

If Emperor Zhao Dun were here, he would probably have gone mad. His precious daughter had been treated so badly; the emperor's wrath would surely cause the deaths of millions.

But for Zhao Heng, it was just that his niece had been slept with by someone else, no big deal!
Now all he has to do is find the murderer and shift the blame; how Zhao Dun handles that is up to him.

Or rather, if I can make that fourth brother unhappy, then I'll be happy!

"Based on the analysis, it is speculated that the enemy may have been fighting continuously for two hours!"

"Two hours? One person?"

Zhao Heng was stunned. Damn it, if he could catch this villain, he would definitely interrogate him thoroughly.

"It should be one person!" His subordinates answered somewhat uncertainly, after all, this thing was beyond everyone's understanding.

"Preserve the physical evidence, and at the same time expand the search area. We must find the person alive or dead!"

Zhao Heng felt that his niece was probably in grave danger, after all, the thieves were really too ruthless.

So how should I report this to the capital?

Prince Jing'an felt a headache coming on. No matter what, he would definitely be charged with negligence in supervising his subordinates. Although he probably wouldn't be stripped of his title, his power would certainly suffer a great loss.

After all, he couldn't shirk responsibility for the incident that happened to the princess in his territory.

Or rather, only he, as a prince, could bear this blame. If Princess Suizhu had happened in another place, not to mention that everyone within a hundred miles would have been killed, at the very least the city lord and the nearby guards and garrison would have been doomed.

Don't cry foul, that's just how the world is!
No matter how much the emperor outwardly loved his people, deep down, the lives of millions of commoners were far less important than his daughter.

News of Princess Suizhu's murder quickly spread throughout Liyang. It is said that Emperor Zhao Dun vomited blood on the spot, and his already poor health became even more precarious.

Emperor Zhao Dun directly ordered Han Shengxuan, a human-cat, to go to Qingzhou as an imperial envoy to investigate the disappearance of Princess Suizhu. He not only gave Han Shengxuan the imperial sword, a symbol of imperial power, but also directly dispatched 30,000 iron cavalry to accompany him. It was clear that even though Zhao Heng had handed over all the evidence, Zhao Dun still did not believe his second brother.

Incidentally, because such a big case occurred in Qingzhou, Zhao Dun took the opportunity to dismiss the general of Qingzhou and replace him with one of his own generals.

Although Zhao Dun was indeed extremely anxious about his daughter's accident, as a qualified emperor, he had to maximize his own interests even under such circumstances.

After Prince Jing'an failed in his bid for the throne, he became somewhat too powerful to control. Qingzhou has now completely become his territory, and even the emperor cannot interfere at will. Therefore, the emperor can only take this opportunity to weaken Prince Jing'an's military power.

In fact, Zhao Dun's initial idea was to directly imprison and interrogate Prince Jing'an, but he swallowed his words.

This proposal would definitely be opposed by everyone, and even his younger brother, Prince Zhao Yi of Guangling, who has always supported him, would probably not agree.

After all, if he could arrest Prince Jing'an at will because of Princess Suizhu's death, then wouldn't Zhao Dun be able to deal with any prince or princess who had an accident in the territory of a vassal king at will?

This door must not be opened under any circumstances. If evidence is found that Prince Jing'an did indeed participate in or plan this activity, then Zhao Dun will have an excuse and reason to take action. Given the current lack of evidence, stripping Prince Jing'an of some military power is already the limit!
Such political maneuvering naturally wouldn't only affect this aspect; Xu Xiao and his son Xu Fengnian, far away in Beiliang, were also completely bewildered when they learned of this.

"The emperor's most important task now is to find the princess's whereabouts and catch the murderer. But once he catches the murderer, he will definitely remember that the reason the princess got into trouble was because she came to Wudang Mountain to find you!"

"Yes! In essence, if I hadn't refused the emperor's arranged marriage, Princess Suizhu wouldn't have met with this accident!"

Xu Fengnian sat in the main seat without any decorum, while his father, Xu Xiao, sat to the left, essentially acting as a rebel against the Heavenly Gang.

"I'm actually quite curious now, who in the world is so bold as to dare to do such a thing?"

Xu Fengnian looked amused, yet also somewhat angry.

Although he refused the emperor's bestowed marriage, Princess Suizhu was still one of his women, and now someone dared to steal her away. This was a slap in his face!
(End of this chapter)