CHAPTER 694: CHAPTER 341 PRINCE CHU CAN FINALLY BE AT EASE

Prince Wei scrutinized Zhao Yao from head to toe several times, and seeing Zhao Yao’s excellent complexion and spirits, his heart was finally at ease.

"Brother Eight, I’m fine." Zhao Yao said as he stood up, jumped off the bed, and deliberately bounced around in front of Prince Wei. "Brother Eight, look, I don’t have a single injury and I’m as lively as ever."

Prince Wei held Zhao Yao, making him obediently sit back on the bed.

"Alright, alright, Brother Eight knows that you’re fine."

"Brother Eight, during the time I was kidnapped and missing, you must have been worried sick." Zhao Yao thought that even Fourth Brother was probably worried about him.

Prince Wei poked Zhao Yao’s forehead with his hand, "You actually know that I was worried about you, huh?"

"Brother Eight, I didn’t want to worry you, but I don’t know why I was kidnapped." Speaking of this incident, Zhao Yao felt wronged, "I’m an unvalued prince, I haven’t done anything, nor offended anyone, and I don’t know why those people kidnapped me."

Prince Wei had a lot to say to Zhao Yao, but it was already midnight, and it would be better to speak tomorrow.

"You continue to sleep well, and we will talk tomorrow."

Zhao Yao also had a lot to say, but he saw that Prince Wei looked a bit fatigued and knew that Brother Eight had rushed here urgently. During the journey, he probably hadn’t rested well.

"Brother Eight, hurry and wash up; we can sleep together later."

"Alright." Prince Wei reached out to touch Zhao Yao’s head, speaking gently, "Don’t wait for me, just go to sleep."

"Alright, then I’ll sleep first." Zhao Yao obediently lay down and closed his eyes to sleep.

Seeing how well-behaved he was, Prince Wei couldn’t help but smile, then withdrew from the room.

Zhao Yao originally intended to wait for Prince Wei, but he was too tired and fell asleep shortly.

When Prince Wei returned after washing up, seeing Zhao Yao already asleep, he felt amused and relieved. He adjusted the covers for Zhao Yao, then turned and left.

He didn’t sleep with Zhao Yao, fearing he might wake him. Besides, he wasn’t sleepy; he had things to ask Mr. Fan.

Mr. Fan was already waiting for Prince Wei in another room. When Prince Wei came in, Mr. Fan immediately knelt heavily on the ground, kowtowing several times.

"I’m guilty beyond pardon, please punish me, Your Highness."

Prince Wei looked down at Mr. Fan coldly, "You certainly know how to ask for forgiveness."

Kneeling on the ground, Mr. Fan’s back was drenched with cold sweat, his forehead and face covered in sweat as well. He trembled slightly, stammering, "I...I deserve a thousand deaths..."

Prince Wei walked to the side and sat down, and Mr. Fan immediately shifted to face Prince Wei.

"If it weren’t for our tenth younger brother’s cleverness, by the time you arrived, he would have been a dead man." Prince Wei’s words sounded indifferent, but to Mr. Fan, they were terrifying like a death sentence.

"I..." Mr. Fan was frightened to the core, trembling intensely. He didn’t dare to defend himself, stumbling over his words in fear, "I deserve to die, please punish me, Your Highness."

Prince Wei asked calmly, "How many days was the tenth prince imprisoned?"

Pale-faced, Mr. Fan replied, "Ten...ten...ten..." Zhao Yao had been imprisoned for over ten days.

"And when exactly did you find him?" As Prince Wei spoke, his expression darkened, exuding a harsh and icy aura, "You’ve truly astonished me."

"I..." Mr. Fan was so frightened he almost fainted.

Prince Wei still had questions for Mr. Fan and temporarily refrained from punishing him.

Mr. Fan nervously recounted to Prince Wei every detail of the events that occurred during those days.

Prince Wei, upon hearing that Zhao Yao had guessed Li Jue was behind his capture, was somewhat surprised but also a bit proud.

Ordinarily carefree, naive, and unwilling to overthink things, it was unexpected that Zhao Yao had become quite astute during this trip to Jinling.

Mr. Fan noticed that after hearing about Zhao Yao, Prince Wei’s demeanor relaxed a bit, and the pressure around him lessened. He quickly recounted more of Zhao Yao’s affairs, emphasizing above all how Zhao Yao constantly worried about Prince Wei.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Prince Wei’s expression improved, no longer as angry as before.

"Since you have taken good care of the tenth prince, I won’t severely punish you this time."

Mr. Fan was overjoyed upon hearing this. He quickly kowtowed in gratitude, "Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!"

"After this matter is resolved, you’re to report to the northwest for punishment."

Though the northwest was harsh, it was better than losing one’s life. Mr. Fan was deeply grateful to Prince Wei.

"What about Li Jue and those people?"

"Your Highness..." Mr. Fan meticulously reported the recent activities of the Li Family and the Fang Family to Prince Wei.

After hearing the report, Prince Wei’s face turned grim, not saying a word.

Mr. Fan cautiously asked, "Your Highness, should we act against Li Jue and them next?"

Prince Wei lightly rotated the ring on his left index finger with his right hand, speaking nonchalantly, "Killing them now would be too easy on them."

"Your Highness, do you mean to spare them for now?"

"We’ll temporarily refrain from acting against them and strike when the time is ripe." Prince Wei’s lips curled into a cold smile, "They kidnapped the tenth prince, poisoned him, and planned to feed him to the fish by sinking him in the river. To kill them swiftly would be benevolent; I want them to wish they were dead."

Mr. Fan felt chills down his spine, his heart filled with terror.

"As you say, Your Highness."

"How are things over at Runzhou Prefecture?"

"Everything is under control..." Mr. Fan continued to give Prince Wei a detailed report on the situation in Runzhou Prefecture, as well as in Suzhou Prefecture.

Prince Wei needed to return to the official ship before dawn. After hearing Mr. Fan’s report, he quickly departed by boat. Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed Mr. Fan to take good care of Zhao Yao.

When Zhao Yao awoke, Prince Wei had already safely returned to the official ship.

"Brother Eight left, when did he leave?" Wouldn’t Brother Eight have returned to the official ship overnight?

"The prince left before dawn."

"What, so Brother Eight didn’t sleep all night?" Zhao Yao felt a pang of heartache for Prince Wei, "Brother Eight came specially to see me last night?"

Mr. Fan also hadn’t slept all night and looked extremely tired.

"The prince was worried about you all along, so he came secretly last night to see you." Mr. Fan explained on behalf of Prince Wei, "The prince would be very busy after arriving in Jinling and would be accompanied by the Crown Prince’s people, so it wasn’t convenient for him to come see you, except last night."

"I’m fine; Brother Eight doesn’t need to come see me specially."

"Your Highness, His Highness was originally not supposed to come to Jinling. He requested permission from the Crown Prince to come here because of you. Officially, he’s here to assist Prince Jing," Mr. Fan continued, "Just now, Prince Jing arrived in Jinling."

"Seventh Brother is here, what’s he here for?" Zhao Yao asked in surprise, "Is he here to oversee the Jinling imperial exams?"

"Yes, His Majesty appointed Prince Jing as the chief examiner, responsible for overseeing the Jinling imperial exams."

"So it truly is Seventh Brother overseeing it?" Father still is as cunning as ever. Having Seventh Brother oversee the exams, it’s like openly setting him against the Crown Prince. However, with the tactics of the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen, Seventh Brother probably won’t be able to do much. Yet, knowing Seventh Brother’s temperament, he might cause quite a fuss.

"Your Highness, before leaving, the prince instructed me to tell you that he’ll be very busy these days and won’t have time to visit you. He asked you to obediently wait for him here." Mr. Fan accurately transmitted Prince Wei’s instructions to Zhao Yao, "His Highness tells you not to worry about him."

Zhao Yao nodded and said, "Alright, I’ll obediently wait here for Brother Eight."

At this moment, far away in Peng City, Prince Chu received a reply from Prince Wei, learning that Zhao Yao was safe, and he finally felt relieved, having been worried for days.

Wei Mian saw the tension lift from Prince Chu’s face and his stern features soften slightly. He guessed the reason and beamed with joy, "Your Highness, is the tenth prince alright?"

Prince Chu nodded slightly, "The tenth prince is fine. Old Eight’s people have rescued him and are keeping him well hidden."

"That’s wonderful, truly wonderful." Wei Mian, too, had been worrying about Zhao Yao’s safety, "Your Highness, I told you that the tenth prince is blessed."

Prince Chu smiled faintly.

"Your Highness, with the tenth prince safe, you can finally focus on investigating the affairs in Peng City." Concern for the tenth prince’s safety had left Prince Chu unsettled, preventing him from fully concentrating on investigating the copper theft.

"Yes." The sooner the copper theft is resolved, the sooner he can take the tenth prince back to the capital. Although Old Eight’s people would look after the tenth prince, staying long in Jinling was still unsafe.

The Crown Prince actually sent people to capture Zhao Yao, and a chill of cold fury flashed in Prince Chu’s eyes.

The tenth prince was innocent, yet the Crown Prince dragged him into this and even tried to harm him. Such a Crown Prince is unworthy of being the heir.

Regarding the copper theft in Peng City, Prince Chu vowed to investigate thoroughly, ensuring the Crown Prince would not have an easy time.