As soon as he spoke, the weak and sickly Crown Prince immediately demanded sternly, "Where is the Dingbei Marquis?"
No one responded from below.
Yelv Guza lowered his head, a fleeting smile quickly flashed at the corner of his lips.
Marquis Wuding couldn’t help but secretly feel worried for Marquis Gu.
On horseback, he leaned forward with a forced smile, saying, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, I fear that Marquis Gu might have returned to the Great Camp for inspection at the moment, and thus did not hear this. Let me order someone to fetch him."
The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes slightly, scanning the crowd below, and snorted coldly, "I have long heard of Dingbei Marquis’s renown as a skilled warrior, likened to the alert lead wolf in the wild. How is it that when we need him now, he’s not present? If there truly were a foreign invasion, by the time he arrives, we might have already been overrun."
The right corner of Marquis Wuding’s mouth twitched slightly, turning his face away to avoid the Crown Prince’s malicious gaze.
Everyone remained silent.
The Emperor watched his beloved son’s display of authority with a smile, showing no signs of displeasure.
King Tushan, seeing this, felt a pang of jealousy in his heart, and couldn’t help but nudge Prince Qi, whispering, "Aren’t you going to say a few words in defense of Marquis Gu?"
Prince Qi sneered, "The Crown Prince and King Jin are dissatisfied with Marquis Gu presiding over the Capital Inspection. I’m avoiding suspicion as it is, how dare I speak for Marquis Gu now? That would just be courting trouble for myself!"
King Tushan was puzzled, "I’ve heard that people seconded from the six departments are monitored even when using the restroom, and that food and clothing sent by family members are carefully inspected, fearing secret message exchanges. The guards are stricter than during the imperial exams. Marquis Gu is so impartial, why would the Crown Prince be unhappy?"
Prince Qi sneered, "You pretend to understand yet act confused? He shows no favor to anyone, how could the Crown Prince be pleased?"
King Tushan clicked his tongue, "This is too hasty; he’s not afraid of incurring the Emperor’s displeasure."
Prince Qi laughed coldly several times, "What has he to fear? Even if we sons were tied together, we wouldn’t compare to him alone. In the Emperor’s heart and eyes, he only has one son. Once the Eastern Palace leaves behind one or two heirs, us uncles will be sent to our fiefdoms."
King Tushan’s face, hidden in shadow, became somewhat sinister.
Seeing that he dared not respond, Prince Qi laughed repeatedly.
King Tushan was left in an awkward position and reluctantly said, "Marquis Gu, after all, emerged as a War God from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. He doesn’t understand these things, inevitably being more rash and lacking in adaptability."
Prince Qi ignored him, murmuring almost to himself, "In the future, there will be no avoiding the scenario of attending the court behind a curtain, and with the Imperial Grandson so young, we uncles of prime age may be in danger."
Anger and fear climbed onto King Tushan’s face.
Since Emperor Jianwen had his throne usurped by his uncle, Emperor Yongle, the subsequent imperial family took it as a lesson; Prince Qi’s words were not without cause.
The Crown Prince is weak and frail, probably won’t see the Imperial Grandson grow up.
If the Emperor were indeed to fall ill, how would Empress Lin spare these hidden dangers?
For the first time, King Tushan realized that even being a leisurely prince might not spare him from death.
All because the Emperor’s cherished son is infirm!
"Urgent report, urgent report!" Drums and chaotic hoofbeats sounded below.
Everyone’s ears pricked up.
"Report quickly!"
The Emperor immediately ordered.
The imperial guard standing below opened the barrier, and a young general rushed to the platform, announcing loudly, "Report! There are bandits in the city. They are killing and setting fires around the Imperial City Gate, and the Five Cities Military Department and patrol camp people have sealed the city gates and are searching the city."
Everyone gasped in unison.
Since the founding of the dynasty, although there had been many bandit disturbances, acts of misconduct were common, but never such boldness to cause trouble in the Capital City.
This was practically trampling the dignity of the Imperial Family on the ground.
As expected, the Emperor was furious, "Outrageous, outrageous, utterly outrageous! Who has such audacity to cause chaos in the Capital City?"
The young general said, "Reports say bandits from Black Wind Village came down the mountain and entered the city. They were the ones who killed and set fires in front of the Capital Governor Mansion before, intending to jailbreak."
Yelv Guza and Earl Cheng’en couldn’t help but exchange a glance before looking away.
Empress Lin’s face was full of uncertainty.
"Reckless scoundrels!" The Emperor said with seething anger, "Today is the Empress Dowager’s birthday; the whole nation celebrates, yet these criminals commit such heinous crimes. Punishing all nine generations isn’t too much. Clearly, I have been too lenient on them!"
The civil servants all said, "Indeed, with the frontier now at peace, these bandits should be subdued. They are overly rampant, committing such deeds that cannot be tolerated."
A Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel added, "Not only do they disturb the people, but in recent years, many officials and their families have been killed by bandits. Two years ago, a Ministry of Personnel official returning home with his deceased family members was wiped out on the waterway. The water bandits have yet to be caught."
The Minister of the Ministry of Justice added, "Two years ago, there were also hooligans from the Mao Family, who led dissolute youths at night to gamble and drink excessively. In their excitement, they dragged two daughters of a neighboring widow onto the main road to rape and kill them, even dismantling the doors and windows to set fire to the house. If the patrol camp hadn’t arrived, who knows how many households would’ve been harmed."
Bandits in the Capital, roving the hills, ambush and rob merchants passing by, disappearing after robbing them, making capture difficult.
Now, merchants doing business in the Capital with much wealth all hire escort agencies for protection.
If not severely punished, it’s feared that future customs will be hard to rectify."
The Emperor looked at the Minister of War, his gaze cold, "Make arrangements to swiftly dispatch people to eliminate them, leave none behind. If there’s even the slightest mistake, you shouldn’t remain Minister of War."
The Minister of War immediately responded with acceptance of the decree.
Yelv Guza’s face held a trace of a mysterious smile.
The Crown Prince said, "Father, isn’t the Dingbei Marquis ready for use?"
The Emperor hesitated for a moment.
Marquis Wuding cleared his throat, "The Dingbei Marquis is currently tasked with overseeing the Capital Inspection and might not be able to spare the time."
The Crown Prince snorted repeatedly.
Empress Lin also wore a displeased expression.
Earl Cheng’en rolled his eyes, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this old minister has something to say."
If it were any other day, the Emperor would naturally give him face.
But before he could, someone else came forward to report, "Report! Bandits have infiltrated the Imperial Manor in the East Suburb, but were caught by soldiers under Dingbei Marquis’s command, among them was Monk Zhiguang who escaped from the Capital Governor Mansion’s large prison last time."
"Monk Zhiguang?" The Emperor was somewhat puzzled.
The Minister of the Ministry of Justice immediately said, "This person is connected to the seal-stealing case, and was caught red-handed by Dingbei Marquis’s people after hiding for over a decade in the family temple of Dingbei Marquis Mansion, and sent to the Capital Governor Mansion. The Ministry of Justice intended to interrogate him but hadn’t had the chance before he was seized."
Earl Cheng’en tried to speak again.
Marquis Wuding questioned full of doubts, "So, these bandits are here for Monk Zhiguang?"
"How could that be!" Earl Cheng’en’s voice cracked slightly.
Marquis Wuding glanced at the flustered Earl Cheng’en and said, "Bandits from Black Wind Village have always only been dominant near their village, acting very cautiously. Why would they do such a thing today?"
Earl Cheng’en retorted stubbornly, "These are all desperados; how can their actions be judged by the logic of normal people? Perhaps they came to make things uncomfortable for the Empress Dowager."