407: Chapter 407 Did the Fourth Princess Poison the Late Emperor?

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye across the vast territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Windblown sand, deserts, and bustling border towns.

Over the past half-month, Jiang You, wearing a low-slung, slightly frayed bamboo hat, had traveled alone through the rugged mountains and bustling towns of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Like a dark shadow drifting across the map of the Great Zhou, he gathered information while secretly investigating the reclusive masters who had "suddenly risen" with "bizarre methods" within Great Zhou territory.

But that bastard Imperial Preceptor Wen Wangshan seemed to have truly vanished from the face of the earth.

He hadn't used his Supernatural Ability once, nor had he left behind any trace of vital energy fluctuations.

The guy had indeed taken his specialty of playing the "cowardly turtle" to the absolute extreme.

Since his secret investigations yielded no results, Jiang You simply changed his approach and began gathering intelligence in the most crowded places.

Qingzhou City, in the largest teahouse at the center of the city.

Outside, a gentle drizzle was falling. Dressed in inconspicuous black robes and wearing his bamboo hat, Jiang You sat quietly in a corner by the window on the second floor.

A pot of coarse tea sat on the table. Holding his teacup with one hand, he stared out the window at the passing merchants and peddlers, his gaze completely devoid of emotion.

"Smack!"

In the very center of the main hall, the storyteller slammed his smooth, polished gavel heavily onto the table, producing a sharp, startling crack.

The noisy teahouse hall instantly fell silent.

"Honored guests! Today, we shall not speak of martial arts rivalries, nor shall we talk of gods and monsters!"

The storyteller's face flushed red, and his voice trembled as he lowered his tone, dropping a bombshell that was enough to shatter the very heavens of the Great Zhou Dynasty:

"Just three days ago, a monumental case occurred in the Imperial City, one that will surely go down in history!"

"The late Emperor... has passed away!"

"Hiss—"

Inside the teahouse, hundreds of patrons simultaneously gasped. Many dropped their teacups with a clatter, spilling tea all over the tables.

"Audacious! How dare you speak of such treasonous matters?" A martial artist with a long saber hanging from his waist suddenly stood up, cold sweat instantly breaking out across his back.

"Even if this old man had ten lives, I wouldn't dare make light of the Emperor's life!"

The storyteller beat his chest in grief and cried out:

"This news has already spread across the world on wings! His Highness the Crown Prince formally ascended the throne yesterday, and even the era name has been changed!"

"But what is most terrifying is the cause of the late Emperor's death!"

The storyteller swallowed hard, his eyes wide. "The late Emperor did not die of natural causes. He was heavily poisoned, bleeding from his seven orifices and dying on the spot!"

"And the poisoner is none other than the late Emperor's most beloved jewel, The Fourth Princess!"

Boom!

This news instantly swept through the entire teahouse like a swarm of locusts, setting it ablaze with noise.

Everyone looked horrified, erupting into frantic discussion.

"How is that possible? The Fourth Princess is known throughout the world for her kind nature! How could she poison her own father?"

"In the struggle for imperial power, there is no room for family affection!"

"It is said that the new Emperor was furious. His very first imperial decree upon ascending the throne was to mobilize thirty thousand Imperial Guards to completely surround the Princesss Mansion, vowing to slice The Fourth Princess into a thousand pieces to avenge the late Emperor!"

Hearing this, Jiang You's hand holding the teacup paused imperceptibly in the corner.

"What happened next? Was she caught?" someone asked urgently.

"How could it be that easy?"

The storyteller slapped his thigh, spit flying as he spoke. "The Fourth Princess put up a desperate resistance! Don't forget, she is a supreme genius who awakened an Innate Divine Ability!"

"Moreover, there are many guards in the Princesss Mansion bestowed upon her by the late Emperor. The battle has fallen into a stalemate, and they've actually managed to hold out until now!"

The storyteller sighed, shaking his head repeatedly.

"However, although The Fourth Princess is powerful and has fought the enemy for several days, holding the inner courtyard of the Princesss Mansion..."

"...the guards of the Princesss Mansion have been almost completely wiped out. Rivers of blood flow inside and outside the high walls, and bodies are piled higher than the courtyard walls!"

"Her spiritual energy will eventually run out. If she is worn down by the continuous attacks of those thirty thousand troops, her defeat is likely only a matter of a day or two!"

The patrons shook their heads and sighed, filled with lamentation.

And amidst the noisy discussions,

at the wooden table in the corner by the window,

Jiang You still maintained his posture of holding the teacup.

His cold, handsome face showed no expression, his eyes as calm as a bottomless, dry well.

But when he lowered his head,

his gaze seemed to pierce through the coarse porcelain teacup in his hand, recalling the girl in the dungeon who, with red eyes, had asked him, 'We will never see each other again, will we?'

Poisoning the late Emperor?

Jiang You let out a disdainful sneer in his heart.

With that naive girl who only knew how to save osmanthus cakes for her servants, how could she do such a thing?

A frame-up.

And it was an extremely crude, merciless frame-up to seize power!

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, for someone to have this kind of audacity and act with such ruthless lack of remorse, Jiang You's mind instantly locked onto an old acquaintance hiding in the gutters.

"Wen... Wang... Shan."

Jiang You repeated the name in his heart, syllable by syllable.

*Crack.*

A sound so faint it was almost inaudible.

The coarse porcelain teacup in Jiang You's hand instantly dissolved into fine, pale powder!

An indescribable, terrifying killing intent erupted without warning, centering around the wooden table!

The air on the second floor of the teahouse instantly dropped to freezing point. The patrons who had been talking loudly felt as if their throats were being choked by an invisible hand; they couldn't make a sound, and their teeth chattered uncontrollably.

"Why... why did it suddenly get so cold?" A nearby martial artist turned around in terror.

But when he looked,

the black-clad man in the bamboo hat was already gone from his seat.

A mass of black mist, thick as boiling ink, rolled over the wooden chair for a brief moment before collapsing inward and completely vanishing into the void.

On the table, only a piece of broken silver remained spinning, alongside the cup that had been reduced to powder.

...

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, deep within the majestic Great Zhou Imperial Palace that loomed like a giant beast.

Inside the magnificent palace, a suffocating oppression and dead silence now hung in the air.

*Crash!*

A sharp shattering sound broke the silence of the hall.

The newly crowned Emperor of Zhou, formerly the Crown Prince, was dressed in a brand-new bright yellow dragon robe. His once-handsome face was now completely distorted with rage.

He raised his right hand and slammed a precious jade slip, carved from top-grade warm jade, violently onto the hard marble floor, shattering it completely.

"Useless! You are all a bunch of useless trash!"

The new Emperor of Zhou pointed a trembling finger at the civil and military officials kneeling all over the floor, as well as the commanders clad in Imperial Guard armor.

Veins bulged on his forehead as a hysterical roar erupted from his throat, his voice echoing sharply through the vast, high-ceilinged hall:

"It has been three whole days!"

"For three whole days, I mobilized thirty thousand Imperial Guards and even dispatched a peak fifth-rank Imperial Chaplain!"

"But the result? A defenseless woman, a mere Princesss Mansion, and you still haven't been able to take it down for me!"

"What use do I have for you people?!"

"Huh?! What use?!"