Read Novel Full Chapter 739 - 362: What a Pity
Chapter 739: Chapter 362: What a Pity
Duke Zhen did not believe that Prince Chu had been assassinated and killed. He worried this was a ruse by Prince Chu to lull him and the Crown Prince into a false sense of security.
He wrote a letter to his confidant on Mount Wuhua, inquiring whether there were any unusual happenings there. Although he believed Prince Chu would not find Mount Wuhua, he felt it was better to personally confirm just in case.
Duke Zhen was unaware that Mount Wuhua had long been under Prince Chu’s control. His confidant had also been swayed by Prince Chu and had already betrayed him.
The confidant on Mount Wuhua replied to Duke Zhen, informing him that there were no anomalies at Mount Wuhua and everything was as usual. Yet, the copper supply at Mount Wuhua would not last much longer. At the end of the letter, he asked when Duke Zhen would send new copper, otherwise the work would have to be halted soon.
The Princely Heir of Duke Zhen’s Mansion noticed his father’s furrowed brow and somewhat unpleasant expression after reading the letter. He assumed something had gone wrong at Mount Wuhua and asked worriedly, "Father, has Prince Chu gone to Mount Wuhua?"
"No, everything at Mount Wuhua is as usual." Duke Zhen said, handing the letter to his son for him to read.
The Princely Heir of Duke Zhen’s Mansion quickly bowed his head to read the letter and saw that there was no anomaly at Mount Wuhua, just that new copper had not been sent, causing the craftsmen there to be temporarily unable to continue forging weapons.
"Father, Prince Chu hasn’t sought out Mount Wuhua, so what are you worried about?" Mount Wuhua is hidden; no matter how capable Prince Chu might be, he couldn’t find it.
"The weapons are still insufficient." At this point, Duke Zhen sighed softly, "Now that the matter of copper theft in Peng City has been discovered, it will be hard to continue transporting copper from Peng City to Mount Wuhua for weapon forging." Not being able to continue forging weapons was a significant issue for them.
Hearing this, the Princely Heir of Duke Zhen’s Mansion finally realized the gravity of the situation.
"Father, why not transport copper from elsewhere?" If it’s not possible from Peng City, then get it from somewhere else; there are other places in the Great Zhou besides Peng City where copper is available.
"Where to transport it from?" Duke Zhen shook his head slightly, "Trying to transfer copper from other places unnoticed is not easy. Moreover, the Emperor is already suspicious; if we make another move, it would only bring trouble upon ourselves." Over the years, they had been discreet in diverting copper from Peng City, but somehow someone must have slipped up, leading the Emperor to notice.
The Princely Heir of Duke Zhen’s Mansion agreed that his father’s reasoning was right, "Then we can only wait for a few years."
Duke Zhen let out a long sigh and said, "I’m afraid we can’t wait."
The Princely Heir of Duke Zhen’s Mansion was shocked at these words and exclaimed in panic, "Father, do you mean..."
Duke Zhen, seeing his son’s frightened expression, smiled reassuringly at him, "I am just preparing for any eventuality."
"Father, even if Prince Chu is still alive, even if he can sneak back to the capital secretly, as long as he hasn’t found Mount Wuhua, there is no evidence for the Emperor to act against us." The Princely Heir of Duke Zhen’s Mansion also didn’t believe that Prince Chu had died in the Jinling River.
"Prince Chu..." Duke Zhen spoke, his eyes filling with murderous intent, "He has become our biggest obstacle; he must not be allowed to live."
"Prince Chu is still missing; our men have searched the Jinling River for days and found no trace of him." The Princely Heir of Duke Zhen’s Mansion said with furrowed brows, "Besides Jinling, we have searched other places too, with no news of Prince Chu. Where on earth has he hidden?"
"We underestimated Prince Chu. His journey to Peng City involved many decoys, and his disappearance in the Jinling River was likely another of his decoys." Prince Chu is much harder to deal with than Prince Dai. We should not have allowed Prince Chu to grow stronger in the first place.
"Father, where do you think Prince Chu would go?" Jiangnan is not too big, not too small; finding someone should not be that difficult, yet we haven’t found Prince Chu.
"I’ve misled Prince Chu from Peng City; he might have gone to Yangzhou."
"Yangzhou?" The Princely Heir of Duke Zhen’s Mansion said in surprise, "If Prince Chu indeed went to Yangzhou, there shouldn’t be complete silence."
"Yangzhou is not our domain; the governor of Yangzhou is the maternal grandfather of the Tenth Prince, and the Tenth Prince is close to Prince Chu. The Yanzhou governor sheltering and hiding Prince Chu is not impossible."
"So, Prince Chu is in Yangzhou then."
"Very likely."
"Father, since we know Prince Chu is in Yangzhou, why not send someone there to eliminate him?" The Princely Heir of Duke Zhen’s Mansion’s expression turned malicious, "Father, Prince Chu must not be allowed to return to the capital alive."
"We cannot act in Yangzhou."
The Princely Heir of Duke Zhen’s Mansion asked in confusion, "Why not? Although the governor of Yangzhou is the maternal grandfather of the Tenth Prince, he is not formidable, and we could also get rid of him."