Chapter 683: Prizes and Punishment

Even if the fifth prince did speak up for the Qian clan head, nothing would change. The fact that the Qian clan was in cahoots with the second prince meant that his name would be tarnished if he tried to defend the Qian clan head now.

The king of the realm might not punish him, but nothing good would come out of such a confrontation.

By that time, the Qian clan head had become petrified with fear. The guards stepped forward and dragged him out bodily.

The officials of court felt somewhat sympathetic to the Qian clan head's plight. The king of the realm was making an example out of him, certainly, but wasn't this a rather extreme example? The entire Qian clan would perish overnight!

None of them had expected that the Qian clan would receive such severe punishment.

After all, they weren't a small clan. They were one of the three ancient clans of this world, one of the three pillars of the kingdom. Destroying the Qian clan in this fashion would immediately and gravely impact the kingdom's finances—but the king of the realm had done so anyway, without giving them any quarter.

The officials couldn't help but tremble in fear. If the king of the realm learned of their actions while they thought he was ill and sickly… They were far weaker than the Qian clan; if even the Qian clan suffered such a dire punishment, wouldn't they have it worse?

The clan heads of the other two large clans stood upright, but their heads were downcast and their legs were trembling underneath their robes. The Wang clan head had gone particularly pale.

The king of the realm was trying to shake out any other troublemakers by passing such a heavy sentence on the Qian clan, and the Wang clan head was naturally worried. He had done as much in support for his candidate as the Qian clan head, and he had even sponsored assassinating a prince.

If the king of the realm were to set his sights on him, the Wang clan head surely wouldn't fare any better than the Qian clan head. He was very worried that the king of the realm would clear out his clan, but, to be frank, there wasn't much of a chance of that happening.

If nothing else, the three clans were critical to the day-to-day functioning of the kingdom.

Now that the king of the realm had excised one of their number completely, dealing with another of the major clans would cripple the kingdom's economy and recovery, especially after such a harrowing disaster.

It had been many long years since the king of the realm controlled the kingdom with an iron fist. The officials who had been alive throughout his long tenure were thrown back into the past, when he had first claimed his throne for himself.

They were sorry for the Qian clan, of course, but what could they do? At least the Wang clan head was relieved: the Wang clan was likely safe from the brunt of the punishment.

When the prime minister noticed the officials' behavior, he ventured, "Your majesty, might your punishment be a bit too harsh? It's the Qian clan we're considering, after all..."

The king of the realm glared at him, his gaze as sharp as daggers. "Do you doubt me?"

"No, your majesty!" The prime minister didn't dare rebuke the king of the realm.

The king of the realm snorted. "How many warriors and guards died because of the Qian clan, and how many citizens of the capital fell? For their greed, for their desire to retain their power—how many lives did we have to sacrifice? And you ask that I keep a man like the Qian clan head, a clan like the Qian clan, in power?!"

The prime minister lowered his head. "I understand, your majesty."

The king of the realm continued, "Regardless of the motive behind his actions, he and his clan must pay the price for their consequences. With so many valiant guards and citizens' lives lost, his clan can hardly go unpunished."

"Yes, your majesty!"

"I hope I have no cause for handing out such a punishment ever again." The king of the realm glared at the Wang clan head, who nodded fervently, his face pale.

The Wang clan head was extremely relieved that he hadn't been implicated in this affair, because the king of the realm was truly incensed now.

The fifth prince's face turned dark, but the third prince had to cover his mouth to hide a smile.

In this incident, the second prince had suffered the most—he had lost his life.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The next-biggest loser was the third prince. Meanwhile, the biggest winner was the ninth prince.The fifth prince had looked like the second-biggest winner, but now that the Qian clan had been implicated in the second prince's treason, the fifth prince had lost his advantage.

The third prince might have lost his backer, but he wasn't out of the running just yet—he had built up a sizable base of power after all these years independent of his relationship with the Wang clan.

The king of the realm continued, "Now that appropriate punishment has been doled out, it's time to discuss rewards. During this year's royal hunt, there were two princes who outshone the others and whom I have declared to be the victors of the hunt: the crown and ninth princes.

"They rushed back to assist me when the beast stampede started, and I would hardly have delayed the prize ceremony so long if not for the unusual and extenuating circumstances thereafter. I hope that the princes will understand."

"Of course, your majesty!" the crown and ninth princes replied earnestly.

Many of the less-informed court officials, who didn't know precisely what had happened during the royal hunt, were shocked. It naturally made sense that the crown prince was one of the victors; he won the royal hunt every year. But what about the ninth prince?

None of the court officials paid the ninth prince any mind; he was the youngest prince and the one with the least impressive pedigree, with no backer to speak of. He was useless and ostracized within the palace, and not even the king of the realm paid him any mind.

However, in this year's royal hunt, the ninth prince had somehow beaten all the other princes and emerged the victor.

The court officials who had once ignored him now paid him their fullest attention, causing the ninth prince to stand straight up with his head erect. This was the outcome and response he desired.

The king of the realm asked, "What rewards do you want?"

The crown prince replied, "Your majesty, I have only received the very best from you. I need no other reward."

The ninth prince bowed and echoed, "You've already given me the best reward I could dream of, your majesty."

"You don't want anything more?"

The ninth prince smiled. "If anything, I'd like more praise from you, your majesty."

"Oh? You did very well during the royal hunt. You showed outstanding bravery against the beast stampede, and although I've overlooked you in the past, you're a prince befitting your station, one who doesn't lose out even to your brothers."

The ninth prince was so delighted that his face flushed red, and the other princes all shot him jealous glances, particularly the eighth prince.

The king of the realm continued, "Praise is necessary, but I insist that both of you also receive a reward for what you've overcome. This was a promise I made, and a promise I shall keep. Since the crown prince is the victor every hunt, let's start with you, ninth prince."

The ninth prince requested, as he had discussed with Zhang Lie, "Your majesty, I would like land to call my own."

"Land?" Everyone looked at the ninth prince in surprise, but when they considered his decision more carefully, they found it wise. Although he was now making a name for himself in the battle for succession, it was too late for him compared to the other princes, who had already built up significant power.

Better to ask for a plot of land and leave the capital rather than duke it out with the other seven princes.

This choice left quite a few of the more astute officials nodding—they believed that this was the wisest choice as well.

The king of the realm looked toward Zhang Lie, then back at the ninth prince. "Are you certain?"

"Yes, your majesty!"

The king of the realm nodded. "Very well. Send for a map!"