550: Chapter 550 Upholding Justice

"Prince of Wu?"

The group of scholars at the scene looked at each other, not expecting that the Prince of Wu would leave Yue Prefecture and come all the way to Lushan.

It seemed that the Prince of Wu had been driven into a corner.

Otherwise, the dignified Prince of Wu would not have traveled such a long distance, uninvited.

"Master Qi, Princess Lanti is my beloved daughter. I am heartbroken that she has been framed by the Prince of Zhenbei and his wife."

"But because of this matter, Master Qi has also been dragged into a disaster, which makes me feel even more ashamed!"

The Prince of Wu bowed to Qi Songyuan with an apologetic look.

"Your Highness, there is no need for this. As the saying goes, all is fair in war. That Lin Xiao is so eager to secure his throne that he would stoop to such despicable tactics. While ridiculous, it is within reason."

Qi Songyuan cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, rest assured. This old man will never abandon Princess Lanti. I swear to demand justice from the Prince of Zhenbei in front of the whole world!"

"I thank you on behalf of Princess Lanti for your intentions, Master Qi. I wonder how you plan to retaliate?"

"Naturally, we will use the pens in the hands of us scholars to clarify the ins and outs of this matter, one by one, and let the world be the judge!"

Qi Songyuan said proudly, "This old man believes that justice lies in the hearts of the people!"

The Prince of Wu gave a bitter smile. "Master, Lin Xiao is framing you; the matter simply does not exist. If you go to reason with him, wouldn't that be playing right into his hands?"

"He wants you to go to the Northern Territory merely to make the Academy submit to him."

"Not to mention that even if you were to argue with him, or even die to prove your innocence, Lin Xiao would just find another excuse to smear you and the Academy!"

Qi Songyuan frowned. This made sense; they could not follow Lin Xiao's pace.

The group of scholars nodded silently. The root cause was not Qi Songyuan, but the fact that the Prince of Zhenbei wanted to deal with the Academy.

To say nothing of anything else, during the Tianwu Grand Tournament, Lin Xiao had killed Wu Zike without a second thought.

He had even let his woman, Leng Bingyan, ruthlessly humiliate the Academy's prodigy, Dai Yunchuan.

Although it was unclear why Lin Xiao was targeting the Academy so intensely, the animosity had certainly not started today or yesterday.

Thinking of this, the scholars felt even more uneasy, trapped in a dilemma.

"Then, in Your Highness's opinion, how should we respond?" Meng Sansi asked, taking the lead.

The Prince of Wu arched his hands from a distance. "The only person who can restore justice to the Academy and the Prince of Wus Mansion now is the current Emperor!"

"An imperial appeal?!"

The group of scholars from the Academy looked surprised.

"Correct!"

The Prince of Wu said solemnly, "No matter how powerful Lin Xiao is, he is still just a vassal king. According to the laws of the Imperial Dynasty, if there is a conflict between vassal kings, it should be decided by the Emperor!"

"Unless Lin Xiao openly declares that he intends to be a traitor, he cannot ignore the imperial decree!"

The Academy members suddenly realized. No wonder the Prince of Wu had rushed to Lushan; he intended to head straight to the capital and join forces with the Emperor!

Come to think of it, because the new Emperor, Crown Prince Li Chenghao, was too weak and incompetent, and had such a low presence, the people in the Academy had truly overlooked him!

But in reality, no matter how much of a coward the Emperor was, he was still the nominal supreme ruler of the Imperial Dynasty!

If Lin Xiao wanted to rebel, then of course, there was nothing to say.

But if he still wanted to be "loyal and righteous" and did not want to be a usurper and a traitor, then he could not bypass the Emperor, Crown Prince Li Chenghao!

"Letting the one in the palace hold the Prince of Zhenbei back is theoretically feasible..."

Meng Sansi frowned. "However, as far as I know, the Prince of Zhenbei has no respect for the Imperial Dynasty's royal family. Even when he was just starting out, he never knelt when seeing an imperial decree."

"If he completely ignores it this time as well, and uses the matter of Princess Lanti as an excuse to forcefully march his army south, how should we respond to that?"

The Prince of Wu laughed. "Before, Lin Xiao dared to ignore imperial decrees without kneeling because those decrees were always awarding him, praising him, and promoting him!"

"The late Emperor might have been furious, but he had to endure it, as he relied on Lin Xiao to hold the north."

"But things are different now. The world is at peace, and the people have finally managed to rest and recover."

"The Emperor's decree is to make Lin Xiao face us in court, avoiding the people falling into the flames of war once again."

"If Lin Xiao still insists on acting arbitrarily and ignores the imperial advice, then the Academy's students across the world will denounce him, and no charge would be too heavy!"

"Isn't he deeply loved by the people? When he stands on the opposite side of the people, how will he conduct himself?"

The scholars of the Academy suddenly realized. They thought to themselves that the Prince of Wu was indeed calculating and shrewd; they hadn't even thought of this point!

Qi Songyuan was also greatly encouraged. "Good! This old man truly wants to debate with the Prince of Zhenbei and his wife in front of the Emperor!"

"Let's see if Lin Xiao really has the guts to be a traitor just to drag me to the Northern Territory!"

"This method... is indeed worth a try." Meng Sansi stood up. "This old man will return to the capital and face the Emperor together with Your Highness and Brother Qi!"

The Prince of Wu beamed with joy. "With the great scholars of the Academy upholding justice, I believe that my daughter, Princess Lanti, will surely be exonerated!!"

Without further ado, the Prince of Wu, Meng Sansi, and Qi Songyuan headed towards the capital together.

...

Western Qiang, potato planting base.

On a high slope, an independent cowhide tent was Lin Xiao's residence.

His bed and furniture were all brought from his storage space, so the conditions were not difficult at all.

In the early morning, Lin Xiao was lying on the large bed, and the quilt covering him was constantly rising and falling in waves.

After a while, a charming little face with exotic features poked out from under the quilt.

"Your Highness, have I improved again?" Princess Meng Xi asked seductively.

Lin Xiao was in a daze, and he answered with a satisfied "Hmm."

Princess Meng Xi had come over the day before yesterday, bringing a team of people to help dig potatoes.

She claimed to be concerned about whether this food could benefit Western Qiang, but she hadn't even dug a single potato, sticking to Lin Xiao's side the whole time.

Mu Wanying and Zhao Caiwei knew that Princess Meng Xi didn't have many opportunities to see men, so they had gone to sleep in other tents for these two days.

"Your Highness, let's go out later today. It's rare for you to come to the grassland; I want to cuddle with you a bit longer..."

"Just cuddling? Not doing anything else?" Lin Xiao asked.

Feeling the endless strength of the man, Princess Meng Xi's cheeks flushed red. "We can also get closer..."

Just then, Mu Wanying walked into the tent.

"Oh my, did I interrupt you two?"

"Can you not interrupt us?" Princess Meng Xi pouted. "General Mu, didn't we agree that you would give me these two days?"

Mu Wanying feigned innocence. "How was I to know you'd want him first thing in the morning..."

"Does morning or night matter? As long as His Highness has needs, I am always..."

"Alright, alright!"

Lin Xiao hurriedly interrupted the two women who were speaking without restraint. "Wanying, tell me, what is it?"

He knew that Mu Wanying wouldn't come to ruin his good time for no reason; at most, she would join in the fun.

"Elder Zhu and Elder Li have something they need you to see, husband. They said there has been a response from the Academy."