Chapter 91: The Imperial Family's Doubts

  Tang Yan struggled to follow Ren Tian Cang, weak and unsteady, his footsteps staggering, occasionally leaning against an ancient tree to catch his breath: "How did you appear in Giant Elephant City?"

  "Pass by." Ren Tian Cang's face was pale, his jet-black long hair fluttering randomly, appearing eerie and cold under the moonlight. No wonder Ad had such a terrible expression when he saw him that moment.

  "How could he appear here?" Tang Yan had just intimidated Tang Qian, and it was likely still a guess. Since Ren Tian Cang had saved himself in Jue Xiang City, he should have followed him over, and it's impossible for him to be wandering outside while being furious at the Ling Wang Fu.

  "Met them halfway by chance and followed them all the way."

  "Thank you, you saved me again."

  "I just don't want the Ghostly Blue Flame to change hands again so soon."

  "No matter what, you've saved me three times already. In the future, I hope I'll have a chance to repay you."

  "Don't thank me, I won't be taking you out of the Mystic Forest."

  Tang Yan slowly came to a stop, his dry and pale face covered in cold sweat: "You're going to let us fend for ourselves?"

  Ren Tian Cang didn't care, originally he was just passing by and didn't want to see someone die without helping, but he had his own things to do and couldn't stay here any longer. Moreover, this time's assistance was already an exception, he wasn't a savior, no need to rescue all the way through.

  Tang Yan was about to speak when he suddenly felt a blackness in front of his eyes, and with a thud, he fell to the ground. The loss of Jingyuan and Shouyuan was too severe, and the little blood energy granted by the Blood Doll could no longer support this frail body.

  This time, Tang Yan fainted for a full five days before gradually showing signs of waking up. Under the slow operation of the Undying Heaven Technique, his injuries and meridians began to repair themselves, and his spiritual energy replenished slightly once again.

  In these five days, the chaos that erupted in Giant Elephant City affected the entire Northern Wilderness and even shocked the imperial court.

  Zhou Lingluo's tragic death thoroughly enraged Zhou Lingwang. With a single order, in just two short days, the scattered royal guards and escorts were summoned back, the Hawk Group Army gathered on a large scale at the border, and three special forces left their garrison to move towards the Mystic Forest.

  The Giant Elephant City, the Tang family quickly became the focus of the North Wilderness Domain. Taking advantage of their illness to kill them, some opposing families began to secretly stir up trouble, hoping to take this opportunity to overthrow the Tang family. However, due to Tang Yan's reputation and the Tang family's strategy of fully withdrawing their power to protect their family, no one dared to make a move under the premise that the Ling Wang Fu had not clearly expressed its attitude.

  Zhou Ling Wang never thought that things would become so big, and he had no time to take care of the Tang family. He concentrated all his power to hunt down Tang Yan, and offered a reward of one million gold coins, spreading the news throughout the empire. This caused a great stir in the empire, and many mercenary forces were eager to move, but considering that there were still three great butchers guarding Tang Yan's side, about 80% of the mercenaries did not have the guts to provoke him.

  Imperial capital, majestic and grand imperial palace.

  "For the sake of a small Wu Zong, he turned the entire Giant Elephant City upside down. What exactly does Zhou Yi want to do? Absurd!!" The Emperor of the Empire put down his jade strip and let out a cold hum, exuding an aura of majesty without even being angry.

  The Imperial Tutor put down the intelligence report, his expression slightly strange: "It's strange, Zhou Yi has always been calm and steady, why did he want to make a big deal out of killing a child this time?! He is the dignified Prince of the Empire, not an ignorant and arrogant young master, without a reasonable reason, how can he explain it to outsiders?!"

  Tang Yanshan has a great influence in the Northern Wilderness, known as the Northern Domain Spear, with the strength to challenge a Second-Order Martial Honored. Why did Zhou Yi target him? Or kill his most beloved grandson?!

  "The most important thing is, why was Zhou Yi's eldest daughter detained at the Tang's?! Tang Yan Shan is an old imperial man, he should know what kind of crime it is to privately imprison a princess, but he actually did it!"

  A string of questions were raised one after another, making the atmosphere in the study room slightly strange.

  The emperor's eyes gleamed like a torch as he re-examined the jade note that had been transmitted from afar: "What the National Master meant to say was..."

  "Although Tang Yansong was crazy, he wasn't reckless. Zhou Yi had always been calm and never impulsive. What kind of hatred could make them turn against each other to the point of making such a crazy and absurd move? There were two key factors: one was Zhou Lingluo, and the other was Tang Yan's grandson, Tang Yan! The National Master was already old, but he was wise and had a lot of strategies. Having assisted three emperors in a row, he had extraordinary insight."

  The emperor stood up, his face cold and stern. As the ruler of millions of subjects, every move he made exuded a heavy sense of majesty: "There must be some secret to it. Zhou Yi has been indulging in the Northern Wilderness for over a decade, controlling the Falcon Group Army and getting along with many aristocratic families. His behavior is somewhat excessive, but when it comes to matters of great importance, he has always been proper and never made any major mistakes."

  "This time, why did you make yourself so miserable? To the point where the Ling Wang Fu became the focus of the empire's ridicule! Not to mention the final outcome of the matter, just for a child, not only using the respected ones and the Wu Wang, but also stirring up the Giant Elephant City, and offending Tang Yan, there must be many secrets that are unknown to people."

  "I have reminded Your Majesty more than once that Zhou Yi has been harboring ambitions. The series of compromises he made during the struggle for the throne were just a means to retreat and advance. His voluntary offer to garrison the Northern Wilderness was also a preparation to rest and recover. What he has done in the Northern Wilderness domain over the years, Your Majesty should be clearer than I am, has completely exceeded the authority of a king. Now that this sudden event has occurred, I have a premonition that it should be a precursor to some kind of event."

  "The empire has four major outer domains, the Northern Wilderness Domain is just one of them. In addition to the four major outer domains, there is also the Central Plains that can surpass two major outer domains. What kind of waves can a small Northern Wilderness Domain stir up? Considering the years he has supported me wholeheartedly, giving him a Northern Wilderness Domain is no big deal!"

  "Your Majesty values emotions and righteousness, and cannot bear the internal strife of the imperial family. I can understand this point, however...I still insist on my own judgment. Regarding the Giant Elephant City incident, Zhou Yi should not have anticipated such a huge stir, to the extent that it pushed the Ling Wang Fu to the forefront, and exposed some kind of plan he had been operating."

  Your Majesty, do you still remember the hijacking incident that occurred in the Mystic Forest last year? A group of mysterious people forcibly took away nearly a hundred children who were about to be baptized. This matter itself is very strange, why didn't Zhou Yi, as the person in charge of the Northern Wilderness Domain, thoroughly investigate it? Instead, he lightly covered up the matter and did not even report it to the Empire!

  And this time, the survivors of the Giant Elephant City incident, Tang Yan, Du Yang, and Ailin Da, were among the original survivors, but they were also designated as deceased personnel by Zhou Yi. Is there any connection between them?

  The emperor's eyebrows were tightly locked, and when the national teacher mentioned it, there were indeed many suspicious places. In recent years, about the various intelligence of the Northern Wilderness Domain, he was very clear, but never considered it a major threat, after all, even if the Northern Wilderness Domain was strong, it did not have the qualifications to contend with the empire! Zhou Yi wanted to be an idle prince, which was perfectly fine, but if there were other ideas...it was no different from a fool's dream.

  "Your Majesty may still not be taking it seriously, so I'll say one more thing!" The national teacher stood up, and a hint of worry flashed across his aged face: "Behind Zhou Yi... there is likely to be a special force at work!"

  "Hmm?" The emperor's expression changed slightly, and his majestic aura shook the study room imperceptibly.

  "This is just my speculation, there's no concrete evidence. However... I've been paying attention to Zhou Yi for many years, he's always kept a low profile until recent years when he started making some rather strange moves. According to our scouts, the Ling Wang Fu often has strangers coming and going, what's suspicious is that these people mostly come and go at night."

  "What kind of power? Where did this power come from?! How dare you resist the Empire?!"

  "It's always good to be prepared, maybe we're just being paranoid, but if Zhou Yi really has something in mind, it won't be a small matter. From another perspective, this possibly existing special force should be extremely powerful, powerful enough to assist Zhou Yi in provoking the imperial family!"

  The Emperor of Great Zhou was silent, his eyes sparkling like stars, shining with a sharp and cold light!

  The national teacher continued: "I suggest that we secretly search for the escaped Tang Yan, this child may know something. In addition, from today on, strictly monitor the North Wasteland Domain and include the other three outer domains as well as the major family forces of the Central Plains in the surveillance scope. Since we are going to investigate, let's do it thoroughly! Also, make complete preparations to respond to any unexpected situations that may arise at any time!"

  "Alright!!" Emperor Da Zhou raised his hand and waved it, a golden glyph suddenly appeared out of thin air, as if flowing light scattered into certain special parts of the imperial palace. At the same time, all the empire's secret agents who received the order sprang into action!