Chapter 12 — Little Demon King Khang Vuong Phu

13

Old Luong died right next to my skirt. His hand was still clutching the bloody cloth, his knuckles as stiff as steel. I lowered my head to look, the arrow that pierced his chest left only half exposed on the outside. The arrow's tail is very thin, with a small cloud pattern carved into it. I've seen this pattern before. Next to the golden bell on the Crown Prince's carriage, there is also an identical pattern. The eyes of everyone in the yard suddenly focused on the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince's face was gray.

“This arrow is not from the Eastern Palace.”

I pulled out the arrow, blood along the tip of the arrow dripped onto the blue tile floor.

“Your Highness hasn't looked closely yet, why are you so quick to say no?”

The Crown Prince coldly responded: "Of course, the Princess recognizes the things of the Eastern Palace." I laughed out loud.

“So your highness realized it really quickly.”

Tham Tung Le stood behind Khanh Vuong, his pale lips as if covered with white powder. Khanh Vuong angrily shouted: "Tham A Man, stop being so rude before going to the palace." I turned to look at him.

“What is the need for Khanh Vuong to rush?”

“Arrows don't fly out of your sleeves.”

Khanh Vuong's face twitched. The Emperor raised his hand.

“Phung Bao, test the arrow.”

Phung Bao took the arrow and with just one glance, his face completely changed.

“Your Majesty, this arrow is an old thing in the palace.”

“Twenty years ago, the military used it, then because the range was too short, it was sealed a long time ago.”

The emperor asked: "Where is the seal?" Phung Bao's throat moved up and down.

“Vo Kho Tong Temple.”

The whole yard was so quiet that you could clearly hear the sound of the wind blowing falling leaves. The Thua An sword was swapped, and the old arrow tip leaked out from the temple. These two events are strung together, like a noose, hanging straight around the necks of some people. The king's father stared at Khanh Vuong.

“Seventh brother, are you still going to say it's all a coincidence?”

Khanh Vuong laughed.

"Six brother, if you can't produce a living witness, you'll want to throw dirty water on this king's head."

“Old Luong is a person in your palace, what he said before he died, who knows if it was pre-arranged by you or not.”

The king's father's face was a bit pale. Before he could object, I bent down and unwrapped the cloth. There was no knife or poison in the bag. Inside there was only a stack of yellowed papers, a small silver lock, and half a broken string of agarwood. I reached out and picked up the silver lock. The silver lock is very old and has two words engraved on the back.

“Binh An”.

I recognize it. When I was a child, I used to wear this lock. I asked my father: "Is this mine?" The king was stunned.

“After the fire when I was three years old, this lock flew away without wings.”

My heart sank heavily. Old Luong has been hiding my lost silver lock for thirteen years. In the end, is he silently protecting me, or is he monitoring me? I picked up half the string of agarwood beads again. One pearl had been cracked, revealing a layer of dark red powder inside the crack. The Crown Prince's eyes finally changed. Even though it was just an extremely short blink of an eye, it still did not escape my eyes. I raised my head to look at him.

“Your Highness also likes the string of incense.”

The hand hidden in the Prince's sleeve slowly clenched.

“Noble people of Thuong Kinh Wearing agarwood is nothing strange."

I took one step closer.

“But this necklace of yours seems to be more than just agarwood.”

The Crown Prince did not back down. He looked at me, his eyes seemed to be compressing the cold layer of ice and snow.

“Tham A Man, if you dare to go one step further, it is blasphemy.”

I stopped walking. Not out of fear. It's because my sharp eyes saw a red mark on his wrist caused by the friction of the beads. The red mark is not like a normal scratch. A stroke, a mark, extremely strange curving. If you add two more strokes, it fits exactly like the word "Luong". The Queen Mother also saw it. The Buddha rosary in her hand suddenly broke off a bead. The pearl fell to the ground and rolled close to the tip of the Crown Prince's shoe. The Crown Prince bowed his head and glanced at it, not bothering to pick it up. The Emperor's voice was much colder than just now.

“Thua Canh, roll up your sleeves.”

The prince raised his head.

“Father.”

The emperor stared at him.

“Roll up.”

The Crown Prince still stood motionless. Khanh Vuong suddenly burst out laughing.

“Your Majesty, as a noble Emperor, how could you suffer such humiliation in a crowded place because of the vague words of a dying slave?”

I looked at Khanh Vuong's face and suddenly understood everything. He is not speaking for the Crown Prince. He is forcing the Crown Prince onto the funeral pyre. The Crown Prince also understood. He slowly turned his head to look at Khanh Vuong. Khanh Vuong lowered his eyelids and closed his eyes, looking like an uncle dedicated to protecting the Army. My father took a step forward.

“Your Majesty, this matter is not convenient to interrogate in front of so many people.”

The emperor glanced at his father. Under his eyes, there was a hint of sadness and immense rage.

“Into the heavenly palace.”

The Crown Prince finally stirred. As he passed me, I heard him whisper in a low voice: "Tham A Man, you better pray that your guess is wrong." I also lowered my voice and replied:

“Your Highness should also pray that you are not a sword kept by someone else in a cage.”

Before the heavenly temple door closed, I turned my head to look at Lao Luong's body on the ground. His eyes were still wide open. It's like being dead and still wanting to see who carried the cup of poisoned wine sixteen years ago until today.

14

In the royal palace, only the Emperor, Queen Mother, Crown Prince, my father and I remained. Phung Bao stood guard outside. The prince stood under the candlelight, the cold frost on his face crumbling little by little. The emperor does not sit still. His shoulder was still bleeding bright red, but he didn't seem to feel the pain at all.

“Roll up your sleeves.”

The prince raised his hand. His movements were extremely slow. When the sleeve rolled up to the wrist bone, the red mark was completely exposed. It's not a wound. Not even a burn. It is an underground seal that is pricked with extremely thin needles, penetrating deep into the skin. Under the candlelight, the faint lines glow blue. Indeed, it is the word "Luong". My father took a breath of horror. The Queen Mother closed her eyes. The Emperor stared at that word, but for a long time he still did not open his mouth. The Crown Prince lowered his voice: "Father already knew?" The Emperor's throat moved.

“When I was seven years old, my father went missing on an autumn hunting trip day."

The Crown Prince's face changed dramatically.

“Your father once said that my son was kidnapped by bandits.”

“That's right.”

The emperor continued: "Because I cannot tell you that the people who kidnapped you are not bandits."

“But the remnants of Liangzhou.”

The light in the back of the Prince's eyes trembled.

“What about this word?”

The Queen Mother answered on behalf of the Emperor.

"They tattooed the word 'Luong' on me, wanting to send a message to the Emperor."

“If the investigation continues, Dong Cung will also lose his life.”

The Crown Prince burst out laughing. That smile was more sad and unsightly than crying.

"So all these years, I've always worn a string of incense, because father wanted me to cover up this tattoo?"

The emperor said in a deep voice: "There is medicine in that necklace, which can ease the pain caused by the cold since childhood." The prince raised his wrist high.

“Is it to relieve pain, or is it to hide the stain?”

The emperor did not respond. I should have been very happy. Because the Crown Prince just threw things at my father today and even wanted to send me away to be punished.