CHAPTER 394: CHAPTER 256: SEIZING PEOPLE OR SEIZING THE MINE

The Dark Crown Prince’s gaze settled on Yun Sheng, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

When he caught sight of the refined and ethereal girl standing behind Zhan Li, despite her looking vastly distinct from the one he had seen before.

But the contours of her facial features, especially those unforgettable bright eyes.

The lips of the Dark Crown Prince, as sharp as a knife’s edge, pressed tightly together, curling into a cruel smile.

In nearly a moment’s time, he confirmed Yun Sheng’s identity.

His eyes flashed with both amazement and greed.

His heart was like being scratched by a cat’s paw, merely thinking of her filled him with intense excitement.

Such a blatant stare made Yun Sheng feel quite uncomfortable, as if the Dark Crown Prince’s gaze stripped her bare, leaving her naked and humiliated.

Yun Sheng lifted her delicate face, glaring fiercely at the Dark Crown Prince.

Caught in the Dark Crown Prince’s eyes, Yun Sheng’s behavior seemed petulant yet somewhat coquettish; had there not been others around, he probably would have burst into laughter.

Whether it be Sun Si of the Yun Residence or Yanyun, he, Dugu Xiu, had made his decision!

Just as the Dark Crown Prince was unabashedly appraising his prey, two displeased gazes shot towards him.

The Dark Crown Prince knitted his brows, noticing the two individuals.

One was like the stars in the night sky, concealed within darkness.

The other was like the warm sun in winter, radiating a glow that could not be ignored.

It was at this moment Yun Bahe suddenly changed the topic, "If Brother Tian came here just to seek out wine, it wouldn’t matter, but could it be that the Dark Crown Prince and City Lord Xuan are here to ask for plain water to drink?"

All eyes turned towards the Dark Crown Prince.

Great Zhou and Hou Qin, though not at war, the arrival of a foreign Crown Prince, without notice, into the capital city of another nation, could not but raise alarms. Yet the Dark Crown Prince merely smiled slightly, and although he was smiling, there was a chilling indifference about him that could make one shudder. His gaze casually swept across and suddenly landed on Yun Sheng.

The question from Yun Bahe interrupted the triangular eye contact.

Yun Bahe also took notice of the young man who accompanied Tian Quezi, recognizing the latter’s distinguished identity, but what he hadn’t expected was that the person would be the Dark Crown Prince.

"Old General need not worry; Dugu Xiu has come to Yujing today, firstly, to celebrate the Old General’s birthday, and secondly, for that Purple Gold Vein on the border," retracted the Dark Crown Prince.

It appears the little girl has quite a number of Flower Protectors by her side, but no matter, the person the Dark Crown Prince has taken a liking to, even if it means resorting to forceful methods, he will snatch her up.

The law of the jungle is the Dark Crown Prince’s preference.

Upon hearing about the Purple Gold Vein, Yun Bahe also had his suspicions.

It seems news of the Purple Gold Vein had leaked out.

However, Yun Bahe remained calm, "Many thanks to the Crown Prince for personally coming to celebrate this old man’s birthday, but what is this about a Purple Gold Vein you speak of?"

The old fox is still pretending.

The Dark Crown Prince sneered coldly, "Old General, there’s no need to conceal anything. Great Zhou’s appetite is not small; that Purple Gold Vein was originally agreed upon by three countries to be developed together. Now it has been monopolized by Great Zhou alone. Tang Yuan might endure this grievance, but we in Hou Qin cannot."

Upon hearing this, the crowd burst into an uproar once again.

The issue with the Purple Gold Vein couldn’t be kept secret forever; it was bound to come out sooner or later.

But the Dark Crown Prince repeatedly said that Great Zhou alone had obtained an entire Purple Gold Vein – on what grounds does he make this claim?

Apart from a few key people who knew that the Purple Gold Vein had already been divided into three parts, with more than fifty percent falling into the hands of mysterious people, which is to say, Tang Yuan’s share, the remaining fifty percent was also split evenly according to the agreement between the Emperor of Great Zhou and Zong Ren.

"The Crown Prince might have misunderstood, Great Zhou did obtain some Purple Gold Ore, but certainly not exclusively. The Crown Prince might have fallen for Tang Yuan Country’s deception. Our country only obtained fifty percent of the vein," Yun Canglang stepped forward and explained the whole story.

"Why should General Yun play innocent? Let’s not beat around the bush in front of everyone. Great Zhou is indeed cunning. On the surface, Tang Yuan got fifty percent of the Purple Gold Ore, but behind the scenes, you sent troops to bloodily purge Tang Yuan’s Magic Smelting Factory. Tang Yuan has suffered a huge loss this time, with over a hundred Mages dead, injured, or missing, and the Purple Gold Ore was plundered. Who else but Great Zhou could carry out such a tactic?" the Dark Crown Prince insisted vehemently.

Upon learning the news, he was also furiously enraged.

Great Zhou and Tang Yuan dared to excavate the Purple Gold Vein right under his nose, and he was completely unaware.

"Plundered?" Even Yun Sheng looked utterly bewildered.

Unexpectedly, there was such a development hiding behind this affair. Who could possibly be powerful enough to do this?

"Then Crown Prince, for what purpose have you come here today?" The birthday celebration hadn’t even started, and the festive mood had already been completely disrupted by the sudden arrival of the Dark Crown Prince and others.

Backed by the Post Qin Martial Saint and accompanied by Dihong City’s Young City Lord, the Dark Crown Prince arrived this time with absolute confidence.

The atmosphere in the Yun Residence had become tense.

Noble Princess Consort Wenren’s eyebrows knit tightly, and she quietly ordered her entourage to immediately take the news back to the Imperial Palace.

"It’s quite simple. I came here today, naturally for the Purple Gold Vein. I don’t care who ultimately ends up with the vein; I only have one condition – I want half of the Purple Gold Ore that Great Zhou has obtained," the Dark Crown Prince declared resolutely.

Yun Bahe said in a deep voice: "Crown Prince, aren’t you asking the impossible? What if Great Zhou refuses?"

The Emperor of Great Zhou would never agree to hand over half of the ore because that was all the ore there was in the Great Zhou National Treasury at the moment.

If it were all given to the Dark Crown Prince, wouldn’t Great Zhou have wasted all that effort? If word got out, where would Great Zhou’s face be?

"Refuse? Hehe, does General Yun wish to immediately lead troops southward once the birthday celebration ends? Hou Qin and Tang could ally once eight years ago, so why couldn’t they form an alliance again after another eight years?" There was a looming and threatening sense of an impending storm in the Dark Crown Prince’s words.

Who would have thought that the Dark Crown Prince had already conspired with Tang Yuan? If one has not guessed wrong, the border would already be lined with troops from both countries.

Even the normally composed Yun Bahe was now breaking out in cold sweat.

Over the years, the military power in Yun Residence had gradually been usurped by Marquis Weiyuan, and now the borders of Great Zhou were under the control of Ni Renyi. If what the Dark Crown Prince said was true, then the current border situation of Great Zhou must be extremely critical.

Even if Yun Bahe wanted to lead troops southward, it was already too late.

"This is a matter of great importance. As an old man, I cannot decide on my own. I would ask the Dark Crown Prince to wait a moment while I immediately dispatch someone to report to the Emperor of Great Zhou," Yun Bahe heard and became insanely worried.

Just as Yun Bahe finished speaking, a shrill voice could be heard dragging from outside the door.

"The Emperor arrives——"