I picked up skill fragments in the demon world

Chapter 93: You're in Trouble!

For Zhang Chen, faking his own death wasn't entirely unacceptable. If it could quell everything and buy him enough time to excavate the great tomb, then it would all be worth it.

Zhang Chen looked at the fox spirit: "Do you have any other ideas?"

"Difficult!" The fox spirit scratched her head, also finding it quite troublesome. "As things stand, we can only wait and see."

Hearing this, Zhang Chen glared at the fox spirit: "Isn't this all your fault?!"

The fox spirit immediately retorted unhappily: "How is this my fault? I was just going with the flow! Even without me, the Prince of Pingbian's府 would still not let you go."

"But don't worry, the Prince of Pingbian definitely wouldn't dare to kill you openly. First, you haven't committed any crime. That Zhang Xiaohua is just making false accusations; you have an alibi. Second, if the Prince of Pingbian hastily kills you, it would only make the Surveillance Division think that the Prince of Pingbian's府 has grasped the secret of the explosion, which would bring more trouble to the Prince of Pingbian. You must know that the Prince of Pingbian is already facing pressure from the imperial court and is in a difficult situation. He would never do something that would put himself in more trouble for the sake of an insignificant ant like you," the fox spirit comforted Zhang Chen.

"Do you think the Prince of Pingbian will deal with me like this?" Zhang Chen asked the fox spirit.

"I don't know! At worst, we'll fight to the death at a critical moment," the fox spirit said.

She didn't want to die! She didn't want Zhang Chen to die more than anyone!

The carriage rumbled along, and screams echoed from within the county jail.

Even in broad daylight, the county jail was still dim, with only the brazier flickering, illuminating the entire county office.

Beside Gou Chun, the steward of the Prince of Pingbian's府 leisurely ate roasted chicken, looking relaxed and natural. Since it was an interrogation about the secret of the explosion, of course, someone from the Prince of Pingbian's府 had to be present; there couldn't be any negligence in this matter.

The red-hot branding iron seared Zhang Xiaohua's body, and with the splashing of salt water, a series of miserable screams echoed through the prison: "You corrupt officials! You group of corrupt officials! Even if I become a ghost, I will never let you go!"

"Boy, why are you being so stubborn? As long as you confess the secret of the explosion, you can go home and reunite with your stepmother, younger brother, and younger sisters. We brothers can also get off work and eat dinner earlier, and you'll suffer less!" The yamen runner held the red-hot branding iron, constantly rubbing it back and forth on Zhang Xiaohua's body, wisps of green smoke rising, and the smell of roasted meat constantly wafted through the prison, making the steward of the Prince of Pingbian's府 eat even more deliciously.

"You corrupt officials, my teacher is the famous Five Six先生 of the capital. When my teacher returns, he will definitely seek justice for me!" Zhang Xiaohua cursed loudly in pain, but he refused to give in, because he still had hope. As long as Five Six先生 returned, he would definitely be able to seek justice for him. If he gave in now and confirmed the ironclad case, when Five Six先生 returned, he would really be powerless to turn the tide.

The steward of the Prince's府, who was eating roasted chicken, was shocked when he heard the words 'Five Six先生' and quickly shouted, "Hold on! Stop the torture!"

"Sir, what is this?" County Magistrate Gou Chun looked at the steward of the Prince's府 in surprise.

The steward of the Prince's府 quickly stood up and came to Zhang Xiaohua: "Say what you just said again."

"What? Are you afraid? What if I say it again? You corrupt officials are forcing a confession. When my teacher, Five Six先生, returns, you are all doomed!" Zhang Xiaohua spat out a mouthful of blood-red saliva, spitting it on the steward of the Prince's府's face.

"Are you the scholar Zhang Chen or the hunter Zhang Chen?" The steward of the Prince's府 didn't wipe the blood from his face. Looking at Zhang Xiaohua, whose whole body was festering and had no good spots, he felt his legs trembling.

As someone who had experienced this matter in the Prince's府, he naturally knew many of the key points.

"I am the plaintiff, the victim. Who do you say I am!!!" Zhang Xiaohua gritted his teeth angrily: "I, the plaintiff, the victim, am being forced to confess by you, but you let the murderer escape. I will never forgive you!"

Hearing this, the steward felt as if struck by lightning and quickly said to County Magistrate Gou Chun, who was beside him, "Go get a written statement of confession."

"Are we going to fabricate a statement directly? This scholar hasn't spoken yet. If we fabricate a statement directly and the Surveillance Division finds out, it will be a big trouble. We still need to pry open his mouth first, and then ask him to write the statement himself," Gou Chun said from the side.

What Gou Chun received was a slap in the face. The steward's face was extremely gloomy: "Go get the written statement."

Hearing this, Gou Chun's head was buzzing from the slap, and a hint of anger appeared in his eyes, but facing the steward of the Prince of Pingbian's府, he, a seventh-rank county magistrate, could only swallow his anger and bring a written statement.

The steward snatched the statement and came to Zhang Xiaohua: "If you can read the statement, your crime can be forgiven."

Zhang Xiaohua glared at the steward, looking at the statement, feeling that this person was a lunatic, but he was happy to suffer less and take the opportunity to delay.

After Zhang Xiaohua finished reading the statement, the steward felt his legs weaken and his head buzzed: "It's over! Something went wrong!"

He roared at the yamen runners beside him: "You bunch of bastards, hurry up and untie the heir!"

"The heir?" Gou Chun was stunned when he heard this, his head seemed to have been struck by lightning, and he couldn't function for a while.

Half an hour later, inside the Prince of Pingbian's府.

The steward and Gou Chun knelt outside the door, and Zhang Xiaohua looked at the middle-aged man who claimed to be the chief steward of the Prince of Pingbian's府 with a dazed expression, his eyes full of disbelief: "I am the heir of the Prince of Pingbian's府?"

"Verification is correct, you are the heir of the Prince of Pingbian's府, the only heir to the future Prince of Pingbian's府," the middle-aged man said with a gentle expression, sitting in front of Zhang Xiaohua's bed: "Heir, welcome back! From today onwards, you will be the most dazzling person in the North, and you will usher in a new life."

Zhang Xiaohua was wrapped in gauze like a dumpling, unable to accept this huge amount of information for a while, and then he came back to his senses and said with a ferocious expression:

"Where is Zhang Chen? I want him to die! I want to cut him into a thousand pieces!"

"Zhang Chen's crime is not punishable by death!" The chief steward shook his head.

"He tried to murder me, isn't that punishable by death? Can't I, as the heir of the dignified Prince of Pingbian's府, decide the life and death of an ordinary person?" Zhang Xiaohua's voice was full of dissatisfaction. If he hadn't seen the darkness in the yamen with his own eyes, and his own injuries, he would have almost believed the other party's nonsense.

"You say he murdered you, but there is no evidence! It's not difficult to kill a mere hunter, the difficulty is that you are now the heir, and you will be watched by the Surveillance Division at all times. If the Surveillance Division catches any flaws, it will involve you and the Prince's府 in a huge trouble," the steward said.

“Your Highness is now a Junior Prince, your reputation is paramount. If word gets out that you are taking revenge and killing people without solid evidence, I fear that your reputation and the Prince's will be ruined! Our Pingbian Royal Mansion has always treated people with benevolence and kindness. Matters of reputation concern the hearts of the people, and at this critical juncture, there cannot be the slightest flaw!”

“You say we can't kill him directly, but there shouldn't be a problem with killing him indirectly, right? I know this kid evaded corvée labor five years ago. His sister brought back a sum of money to bribe the yamen runners. Why not just send him to serve in the Yellow River! If he accidentally contracts the plague while serving, or accidentally falls into the mud and drowns, or falls into a big pit and dies, these are all very normal things, right? Even if people find out, they won't be able to find evidence!” Zhang Xiaohua said, looking at the head steward, “Don't tell me that the dignified Pingbian Royal Mansion can't even handle such a small matter.”

The head steward nodded upon hearing this, finding the matter very appropriate!

After all, the Prince wants a reputation for being virtuous, and the Heir Apparent even more so for being generous. If this matter were to spread, it would be a good story in the Northern Territory, greatly increasing the people's sense of unity and allowing their young master to gain more popular support in the Northern Territory.

Zhang Chen offended the Heir Apparent so much, yet he was forgiven by the Heir Apparent. What will the people think when this matter reaches their ears?

The Heir Apparent is the future of the Northern Territory, and his reputation cannot have the slightest flaw.

They will only think that the Prince is so wise and the Heir Apparent so generous, and then his prestige will increase greatly.

The head steward looked at Zhang Xiaohua, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: ‘This new master's personality is vindictive and not easy to deal with. It seems I need to be careful in the future.’

“I will make arrangements. You should take good care of your injuries. Once your injuries have healed, you can return to your ancestors. The Prince is currently busy with a major event. An unexpected event suddenly occurred an hour ago, so he secretly left the residence. After a few days, when the Prince returns, he will personally explain many things to you.” After speaking, the head steward withdrew.

The head steward came to the door and saw Gou Chun kneeling on the ground, sweating profusely. He said in a strange tone: “You heard what was said in the room just now, right? You should know how to handle things, right?”

“This official understands!” Gou Chun said quickly, knowing that he had passed this hurdle: “This official will also have his mother, younger brother, and younger sister buried with him! It can also be considered a gift of apology from this official to the Heir Apparent.”

“Fool!” The head steward scolded sternly upon hearing this: “The Prince's grand plan has reached a critical stage. We must not allow the Surveillance Office to seize any evidence that would ruin our reputation and the hearts of the people. You cannot touch the three of them. If the Surveillance Office seizes any evidence that would ruin the Royal Mansion's reputation and lose the hearts of the people, you wouldn't have enough heads to be chopped off even if you had a thousand.”

Gou Chun shuddered upon hearing this and nodded repeatedly like a kowtowing bug, responding ‘Yes’.

In fact, Gou Chun was suffering in his heart!

What did all this have to do with him? He was the innocent one, the most wronged one! If it hadn't been for that concubine in the Pingbian Royal Mansion mistaking him for someone else, how could he have handled things this way?

Good heavens, the Heir Apparent had been beaten half to death by him. If word got out, he would be quite prestigious.

If the Prince hadn't always treated people with generosity, he was afraid that his whole family would have been doomed.

“Inhumane!” Gou Chun cursed inwardly and then walked towards the door.

The Pingbian Royal Mansion's carriage was wandering around the streets. Zhang Xiaolan led Zhang Chen to stroll around the city, admiring the scenery along the way.

Inside the carriage, Zhang Chen and the fox spirit were discussing countermeasures, while Zhang Xiaolan was trapped in an illusion, unaware of any abnormalities.

Zhang Chen was thinking even more in his heart. If he was really exiled, he could take the opportunity to fake his death and then sneak back to the tomb to make gunpowder and blast out the twelfth-order mystery. At that time, with the twelfth-order mystery by his side, he might have a chance to turn things around.

However, before Zhang Chen's carriage had gone too far, a group of yamen runners suddenly rushed up and blocked the carriage's path.

“This is the Pingbian Royal Mansion's carriage. Are you blind, daring to stop the carriage?” The coachman scolded arrogantly.

“What happened?” Zhang Xiaolan, who was in the carriage, heard the commotion, lifted the curtain, and looked at the thirty or so yamen runners who had surrounded the carriage, asking in a calm voice.

Zhang Chen, who was sitting next to Zhang Xiaolan, couldn't help but narrow his eyes. The fox spirit's prediction had finally come true. He didn't know how the Pingbian Royal Mansion would deal with him.

Actually, it didn't make much difference to him. Anyway, he would eventually fake his death, which seemed to be the same thing to him.

As he spoke, Zhang Xiaolan actually got out of the carriage.

Zhang Chen's pupils shrank at this scene. He knew that what the fox spirit had said had come true. This woman had deliberately mistaken him for someone else. Now that the matter had been exposed, she was afraid that he would threaten her or harm the child in her womb.

“They are all old schemers! Even a mere concubine of the Pingbian Royal Mansion has such scheming. No wonder I would be exposed if I went to the Pingbian Royal Mansion!” Zhang Chen cursed inwardly. He had finally witnessed the methods of the ancients in this era.

“Madam, the one behind you is a fake Heir Apparent. We have been tracking him all the way and are about to arrest him and bring him to justice.” Gou Chun said, and then the yamen runners next to him rushed out and locked up Zhang Chen in the carriage.

Zhang Xiaolan's face showed a hint of astonishment, and she said in disbelief: “Sir, could you be mistaken? This is my younger brother. Don't I even recognize my own younger brother?”

Gou Chun said with a wry smile: “Madam, you almost killed me! It almost cost me half my life! After you return to the Royal Mansion, the head steward will naturally explain it to you.”

Zhang Xiaolan's face was filled with astonishment. She looked at the young man sitting quietly in the carriage and turned to Gou Chun and said: “You're not mistaken? He's really a hunter?”

“The spies in the mansion have already verified it. The Junior Prince has already been respectfully welcomed back to the mansion. It's just that the Junior Prince has been through the torture chamber, and there isn't a single intact spot on his body. He won't be able to get out of bed for three to five months, and he might even be scarred…” Gou Chun looked at Zhang Xiaolan.

Zhang Xiaolan didn't say much upon hearing this and went straight to the Pingbian Royal Mansion.

After Zhang Xiaolan left, Gou Chun looked at Zhang Chen, who was as handsome as jade and had the temperament of a refined young master, with a touch of emotion in his eyes: “I never would have imagined that you would be a hunter from the mountains.”

He actually wanted to say ‘No wonder Madam would mistake you for someone else, you look even more like the Heir Apparent than the Heir Apparent’, but this sentence was too rebellious, and he didn't dare to say it!

“Boy, you evaded corvée labor five years ago, and now the matter has been exposed. Go and serve in the corvée! The Prince and the Heir Apparent are magnanimous and don't hold your past crimes against you. You must worship our Prince and Heir Apparent day and night in the future, thanking him for his kindness and generosity.” Gou Chun said with a smile.