Chapter 472: Young Master Chi Sends Another Letter
As he took in his surroundings, the Crown Prince realized that they were completely surrounded by countless men dressed in black!
“How dare you! Do you even know who I am? How dare you attempt to assassinate me?”
His heart sank, but he forced himself to put on a brave front, glaring at the black-clad figures encircling him in an attempt to assert his authority.
“Hahahaha!”
A masked man in black burst into laughter before mockingly retorting, “Who cares who you are? Anyone passing through this desolate land—be it an emperor of multiple nations—will leave here stripped to the bone!”
Hearing this, the Crown Prince grew even more uneasy. If these men didn’t even fear emperors, why would they spare a mere prince from the Lan Yue Dynasty?
“I advise you to reconsider your actions. Otherwise, don’t blame me when I call reinforcements to wipe you all out!”
He bluffed, but his words were met with another round of raucous laughter, the chilling wind whistling through the air, sending shivers down the spines of the prince and his attendants.
“Oh? A prince, huh? Even better. If we capture you, we can demand a hefty ransom from your kingdom! The only question is—does your emperor value you enough to pay? Otherwise, it would be a shame if our efforts tonight were wasted!”
The Crown Prince had traveled to this barren land in secret, bringing only a small retinue. Including hidden guards, he had no more than thirty men.
By dawn, the base of Mount Jiuzhong was littered with nothing but bones.
Surrounded and outnumbered, the prince’s men quickly fell. A dart flew through the air, and as the prince—shielded by his guards—watched, his vision blurred. The next thing he knew, he was collapsing into the snow.
The remaining attendants, seeing the dire situation, tried to escape with their unconscious master.
One guard hoisted the prince onto his back, but before he could even channel his inner strength, he felt a cold sensation at his neck. Warm liquid splattered onto the prince, and the guard’s eyes widened before he fell, dragging the prince down with him once more.
The black-clad assailants deliberately let a single heavily injured guard flee, ensuring he would return to the Lan Yue Dynasty. Meanwhile, they took the prince and transported him to the dungeons of Luo City.
“Lord of the City, everything went smoothly. The target has been imprisoned.”
Before this, the prince’s guards had tried multiple times to break through the encirclement, but they stood no chance against the overwhelming force of hundreds of black-clad warriors.
The leader of the black-clad men sneered.
The fallen guards’ corpses were left for wild beasts, while the prince was taken away.
Another masked figure beside him smirked disdainfully, “Does it even matter if the emperor cares about him? Capturing him was effortless. If the emperor refuses to pay, we’ll just kill him. It’s rare for a big shot to wander into this desolate land—we can’t let this opportunity go to waste.”
Hearing this, Yu Haojie nodded in satisfaction. “You’ve all worked hard. Any injuries among our brothers?”
“Thank you for your concern, Lord of the City, but with Ah Yan around, the rest of us barely had to lift a finger. Ah Yan alone took down ten men at a time! The prince’s subordinates were wiped out effortlessly.”
“We followed the lady’s orders and let a gravely injured guard escape. Let’s hope he isn’t too cowardly and makes it back to report to the empress.”
Yu Haojie nodded approvingly. “Good, good. You may all go rest. Keep the prince locked up for now. Let the empress stew in anxiety for a few more days before we act.”
Hearing this, Zhang Hu hesitated before speaking. “Lord of the City, while we’ve left no traces linking this to Luo City, the empress and the Lan Yue Dynasty will surely blame us. If they use this as a pretext for war, won’t that put us in a difficult position?”
“What’s there to fear? The Lan Yue Dynasty was never going to let us off the hook anyway. It’s only a matter of time before they come after us.”
The Crown Prince languished in the pitch-black dungeon, barely surviving.
Day after day passed. He was given only the bare minimum of food to keep him alive, and no one spoke to him.
The ones who brought him food were always masked, dropping off his meals and leaving without a word.
He had no way of knowing how long he had been imprisoned.
Half a month later, Yu Luo received a letter from Chi Jinchen.
In it, Chi Jinchen revealed that he knew the Crown Prince was in her hands. The empress had gone mad searching for him and was preparing to send troops into the desolate lands immediately.
Yu Luo, holding the letter, immediately sought out her father and relayed the message.
“How did Young Master Chi find out we captured the prince?”
Yu Luo shook her head in confusion. But then, recalling that Chi Jinchen still had many private troops stationed in Luo City, she suddenly understood.
“Someone in his forces must have informed him.
Father, what do you think? Are our weapons ready? If war breaks out, Luo City will become a prime target for the other kingdoms. The Crown Prince has suffered enough—should we forge a ransom letter from a group of rogue warriors and send it to the empress?”
“Hmm. We have no intention of starting a war. We are prepared, but avoiding conflict is preferable.
And the empress, a mere woman from the harem, dares to launch a war? She must be under tremendous pressure. This is the perfect time to send her a letter.”
Yu Haojie fell silent for a moment, his expression growing solemn as he considered the plan.
Just as Yu Luo finished writing the ransom letter and was about to hand it off, Chen Yu burst into the room, flustered.
“Miss! Another letter from Young Master Chi!”
Seeing Chen Yu present the letter with both hands, Yu Luo frowned, sensing that something was off.
“Young Master Chi rarely sends letters, and now they’re coming so frequently—could something major have happened?”
Yu Haojie, watching Yu Luo hold the letter, spoke suspiciously.
Yu Luo said nothing. Without hesitation, she tore open the letter.
(End of Chapter 472)
