vrcanaries Chapter 1446
Chapter 1446
"And... the chief registrar, monk Yao Guangxiao, shall be escorted back to the capital for trial! This is the imperial decree!!!"
When Zhang Cheng finally delivered the imperial edict to Zhu Di, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief—at least the job was done smoothly.
In fact, the imperial edict didn't say anything exaggerated. It was just a reprimand of Zhu Di's crimes and his intention to arrest them and bring them back. The other side probably already guessed what that meant.
However, as soon as Zhang Cheng finished speaking...
He did not hear Zhu Di's voice responding to the imperial decree.
"Your Highness, Prince Yan?" Zhang Cheng closed the imperial edict in his hand, frowned, and looked at Zhu Di.
When he looked at Zhu Di, he found that the Prince of Yan, who was famous throughout the northern border, seemed to have left his body, and was frozen on the spot... His eyes were wide open like copper bells - shocked, stunned, and incredulous!
It was as if this imperial edict contained the most shocking thing in the world.
So much so that even after Zhang Cheng finished reading the imperial edict and called his name again, Zhu Di remained as if he hadn't heard anything, still standing there dumbfounded.
"Receive the decree, Your Highness Prince Yan?" Zhang Cheng called out again.
Zhu Di: “…”
Zhang Cheng: "Your Highness, the Prince of Yan...?"
Zhu Di: “…”
This really put Zhang Cheng in a difficult position. He looked around awkwardly and asked Wu Zhenhai beside him, "What's going on? Has His Highness Prince Yan's soul been taken away? I don't think there's anything in the imperial edict that would catch our Prince Yan off guard. He even just anticipated that His Majesty would have us deal with him on the spot... It's strange that he's not happy but alarmed now."
Wu Zhenhai hadn't expected things to turn out this way, and he was completely baffled, shrugging with a blank expression.
However, he was not responsible for conveying imperial orders; he was only responsible for maintaining order.
Unlike Zhang Cheng, they didn't have much psychological pressure and were just watching the show from the sidelines.
And the other side.
Xu Miaoyun, Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui, who were kneeling behind Zhu Di, were also puzzled as to what was wrong with him.
As Zhang Cheng said, this imperial edict should be considered a happy event for Zhu Di's family, at least the lives of the whole family are temporarily saved.
Xu Miaoyun knew that her family was now nothing more than fish on the chopping block of the new emperor of Yingtian Prefecture. Since they were already in this situation, they had to put on a show of obedience.
He frowned and pondered for a moment.
She had no other choice, so she immediately tugged at Zhu Di's sleeve and anxiously whispered, "Your Highness? Receive the imperial decree... Your Highness?"
Xu Miaoyun pulled and tugged at him several times.
Zhu Di seemed to snap out of his daze, his eyes darting around in a panic. He stammered, "Your...your humble servant Zhu Di...receives the imperial decree..."
Zhang Cheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He handed the imperial edict to Zhu Di and nodded politely: "In that case, Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness, and the other princes and dukes, please cooperate."
After saying that, he winked at someone behind him.
Then, several Imperial Guards who had come with him removed the shackles they had prepared from their waists and stepped forward.
Unauthorized troop deployment is a serious crime, let alone the stunt they pulled today. It's highly unlikely they'll be able to return to Tianfu comfortably.
However, once again, to Zhang Cheng's surprise,
Zhu Di, this noble prince, simply let things be and showed no intention of resisting whatsoever.
On the contrary, his second son, a tall and strong man, refused to accept it and cursed, "What!? You want to put me in shackles!? Don't you have any sense? I was officially appointed as a king according to ancestral rules, and my parents are even princes and princesses... Where do you, a mere commander, get the guts to do this!?"
Zhu Gaoxu cursed as he rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was about to fight the shackled Imperial Guards.
Fortunately, Xu Miaoyun and Zhu Gaochi were relatively calm and quickly pinned him down.
Of course, the most important reason to shut him up was that all those dark "musket barrels" were pointing at him.
He can turn into a sieve with just a flick of his finger.
Even if Zhu Gaoxu was an idiot, he would know that this was not the way to fight back. In the end, he could only sulk and resentfully let the Imperial Guards put shackles on him.
Zhu Di remained silent.
Thus, the manhunt came to an end...
Zhu Di's personal guards were temporarily detained and guarded by the garrison troops in Beiping. Zhang Cheng and Wu Zhenhai led a thousand Shenji Battalion soldiers brought from Yingtian Prefecture to escort Zhu Di's family, as well as the monk Daoyan who had been found in the Prince of Yan's residence, out of Beiping City.
On the road.
The monk Daoyan sat cross-legged inside the prison cart, turned to look at Zhu Di who had remained silent, and slowly said, "Your Highness?"
He knew that Zhu Di would be struck dumb upon seeing those muskets, becoming depressed and unwilling to speak or talk to anyone, which was quite normal.
But as he traveled south from Beiping Prefecture, the monk Daoyan always felt that something was wrong with Zhu Di.
He did not wait for Zhu Di's reply.
Zhu Gaochi sighed and replied, "Master Daoyan, I don't know what happened to my father all of a sudden. It's like he can't hear anyone. He doesn't respond when we talk to him."
"Because you saw those muskets?" Monk Daoyan asked.
Zhu Gaochi shook his head, denying their claims, and then explained in detail: "It shouldn't be. Although my father was caught off guard and couldn't believe what he saw, he was still quite normal at that time, and even tried to find a way to survive for us under those circumstances. It was only after hearing that imperial edict that he became abnormal."
The monk Daoyan nodded: "The prince is indeed not the kind of person who would be so dejected just by seeing those muskets."