Chapter 862: Chapter 861: Apprehension and Resolution

Chapter 862 -861: Apprehension and Resolution

Xu Xin silently retreated, closed the door behind him, then turned and reentered.

Seeing Lu Yang still seated on the throne, he confirmed he was not mistaken.

“Lu Yang, so it was you!”

I checked all the princes and princesses without a clue, I even didn’t spare Eunuch Li’s house, and it turns out it was you, kid!

I even suspected the Crown Prince before, His Majesty was indeed correct, it wasn’t the Crown Prince’s doing.

Are you that bored that you decided to steal the throne?

Xu Xin’s voice directly pulled Fairy Eternity out of the conversation in her Spiritual Space back to reality.

Fairy Eternity, wanting to find Ao Ling and the other two, discovered they had long since flattened themselves pretending to be paintings on the wall, and now only she and Xia Tian remained at the scene.

“What happened? What happened?”

The Ministry of Justice officials who had come with Xu Xin to commend Lu Yang stretched their necks in curiosity upon hearing their boss shouting loudly.

“Wow, Old Buyu’s disciple sure has some guts, to even steal the throne—Old Buyu himself never had the nerve for that.”

“The student surpasses the master—ancient wisdom certainly does not deceive me.”

“Perhaps Master Xu had long suspected it was Lu Yang, hence using the award ceremony as a pretext to capture him!”

“Don’t forget, Master Xu used to be the number one detective in the Imperial City.”

“A sharp sword does not age.”

Sounds of amazement came one after another, some shocked that the criminal was Lu Yang, others admiring Xu Xin’s brilliant deduction.

“Lu Yang, do you have anything to say?”

Fairy Eternity had a strong sense of loyalty; without ratting out the three generals, she preserved the vital forces for the Kingdom of Beans. She stood up from the throne with righteousness and said, “One should take responsibility for their own actions. This affair was orchestrated by Xia Tian and me.”

Emperor Xia: “…”

Couldn’t you have at least said I was just a servant passing by?

“The Prime Minister?”

Xu Xin turned his head, looking toward Xia Tian.

Speaking of which, this Xia Tian seemed to have been present as a witness when Lu Yang reported the Fourth Prince, and he was beside Lu Yang when he persuaded Shi Lei and the others. He also had a part in stealing the throne. What was his relationship with Lu Yang?

“Yes, Xia Tian is the Prime Minister of our Kingdom of Beans!”

“Kingdom of Beans?” Xu Xin looked back at Fairy Eternity.

Fairy Eternity patted her chest: “The kingdom I founded.”

Xu Xin inwardly felt perplexed; he had only casually asked a few questions, so how did things keep getting bigger?

“…Take the two of them into custody.”

The Kingdom of Beans had only just started, and it was already besieged by the Ministry of Punishments, with the Minister of Justice personally capturing the founding ruler and the first Prime Minister.

In secret, a transcendence tribulation stage powerhouse mused over his duty to protect Emperor Xia, wondering if Xia being arrested by the Ministry of Punishments counted as Xia encountering danger?

After the Ministry of Punishments took away the founding ruler and the first Prime Minister, the three generals reverted to their original forms.

“What do we do?” Jin Caiwei, faced with such a situation for the first time, didn’t know what to do.

“No worries, let’s have Elder Brother Lu Yang join us in the East Sea—we have diplomatic immunity.” Early on, when Fairy Eternity proposed the idea of stealing the throne, Ao Ling had anticipated the potential capture of Immortal Sister and saw this as an opportunity to persuade Lu Yang to change allegiances and join them in the East Sea.

Jiang Lianyi rolled her eyes at Ao Ling: “Your East Sea doesn’t even have a country, where will you get diplomatic immunity from? Elder Brother Lu Yang should join our Demon Nation instead!”

Similarly, Jiang Lianyi wanted to pull Lu Yang to her side, making it easier to connect with Fairy Eternity.

“Elder Brother Lu Yang is mine!”

“He’s mine!”

“Mine!”

As Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi argued over who would get Lu Yang, Jin Caiwei would look towards those speaking, becoming increasingly confused.

…

Imperial Palace.

After capturing the wanted criminals, Xu Xin hurried to the Imperial Palace to report the situation.

“For what reason has Master Xu acted in this manner?” Jiang Qun did not expect Master Xu to return so quickly within half a day.

Xu Xin hesitated, unsure of how to broach the subject. Even after pondering all the way there, he hadn’t figured out how to start.

“Your Majesty, the one who stole the imperial throne has been found.”

Jiang Qun’s eyes lit up; Master Xu truly was a brilliant detective, having so quickly uncovered the truth.

“However, there’s also a conspiracy to rebel connected to this matter.”

“Rebellion? Which one of my sons is it?”

Jiang Qun thought to himself that the Fourth and Fifth Princes had been imprisoned by Lu Yang. If Lu Yang intended to ascend to the throne through such means, that would leave only the Second Prince.

“Is it the Second Prince?”

“It’s Lu Yang.”

“?”

Jiang Qun was briefly confused, but then understood the ins and outs of the situation—it was Lu Yang who had reported it.

Soon Xu Xin’s words overturned his speculation: “According to this servant’s investigation, the one who stole the throne is Lu Yang, intending to establish the Soy Dynasty, which indicates he harbors a treasonous heart. Apprehended along with Lu Yang was an accomplice.”

“Lu Yang? Rebelling?”

It took Jiang Qun considerable effort to combine these two unrelated concepts.

Lu Yang rebelling? Could it be that the Seek Dao Sect was finally about to challenge the world for supremacy?

“Your Majesty, how should this be dealt with?” Xu Xin asked, completely at a loss after spending two thousand years in the Ministry of Punishments and never encountering such a situation; he had to seek guidance from his superior.

He discovered that passing the buck to his superior was a rather effective strategy, one he would resort to more in the future.

Jiang Qun also faced a dilemma, unsure of how to deal with the situation.

Well, since Father Emperor has temporarily entrusted me with the throne, I cannot simply shirk my duties.

Jiang Qun slammed the table, his imperial authority emanating: “Even the emperor is subject to the same laws as the common folk. Members of the Seek Dao Sect are no exception. I shall personally interrogate Lu Yang!”

“Go, bring Lu Yang to the Daming Hall!”

“Yes!” Xu Xin secretly sensed trouble; it seemed His Majesty was truly serious this time, and things looked grim for Lu Yang.

“Wait a minute.” Jiang Qun called Xu Xin back, causing Xu Xin to wonder if His Majesty had reconsidered and was going to let Lu Yang off the hook.

“Also, bring the imperial throne to the Daming Hall.”

“As evidence?”

“As a chair.”

…

Soon, Lu Yang and his accomplice Xia Tian were brought before the Daming Hall for Jiang Qun to personally interrogate them.

Considering Lu Yang’s special status, this matter was not widely publicized. Aside from the Ministry of Punishments, no one knew the throne had been found, nor that Lu Yang was responsible.

Jiang Qun, dressed in imperial robes and wearing the diadem, walked with a steady gait, his gaze sharp and spirited, exuding an aura of power. Seated on the throne, he emanated the presence of a ruler, a stark contrast to the aura of Fairy Eternity in imperial attire.

The Imperial Guards flanked both sides of the Daming Hall, holding their magic artifacts with a display of imperial grandeur.

“Minister Xu, have the prisoners been brought here?”

“They are before the hall.”

“Bring them in.”

After Jiang Qun spoke, Eunuch Li called out, “By the Emperor’s command, bring in the prisoners!”

The entire Daming Hall echoed with Eunuch Li’s voice.

Soon, four Imperial Guards brought in two figures. The morning sunlight cast long shadows over them.

Jiang Qun, facing the sun, couldn’t make out their faces clearly. He was well acquainted with Lu Yang and could recognize him by his build even against the backlight.

But the question was, why did the other figure also look familiar?

Finally, as Lu Yang and the other stepped out of the sunlight, Jiang Qun could see their faces clearly.

“Your Majesty,” Xu Xin reported, “Lu Yang and his accomplice Xia Tian are both present.”

Jiang Qun: “…”

Dad, you’ve gone undercover and now you’re bringing it to me?