Great, it's just a lackey, we're saved!

Chapter 225 I have already met A Bao!

Chen Wenyu, as the Minister of Rites, is currently the unspoken head of the civil officials in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The weight of his words was immense!

Even as the heir apparent, the Crown Prince must treat veteran ministers like Chen Wenyu with the utmost respect.

The Crown Prince said with a pained expression, "What are you saying, my lord? What proof do you have? The deer hunting banquet that day was a gathering of military officers. None of you civil officials attended. It had nothing to do with the beast tide!"

Chen Wenyu ignored the Crown Prince's words and instead pressed on, "Your Highness, I only ask you, if I were to testify, would my testimony be sufficient?"

The Crown Prince's face turned ugly, and Chen Wenyu's importance was certainly sufficient.

He had just said those random things to shut Zhou Wei up, but he didn't expect Chen Wenyu to jump out.

However, the Crown Prince was not afraid. Chen Wenyu had nothing to do with the beast tide, so what testimony could he give?

"My lord, you have served two dynasties. You were unwilling to take up office back then, saying you had to mourn your mother. It was only because my father insisted that you come to court. How dare I say you are not worthy enough?"

When Chen Wenyu pressed him for an answer, the Crown Prince could only give this reply.

Zhou Wei laughed along, "Your Highness is right. If Lord Chen Wenyu is not qualified, then all the civil and military officials are just like the Tom, Dick, and Harry in Your Highness's eyes."

The Crown Prince glared at Zhou Wei, but Zhou Wei didn't even look at him, only urging Chen Wenyu on.

"My lord, now that you've stepped forward, then speak properly with the Imperial Noble Consort and the court officials, and let everyone see the cruel and hypocritical faces of certain people."

Zhou Wei's words were so pointed that even Bai Xiaoxiao became curious.

Could it be that Chen Wenyu, this civil official, could really testify about the beast tide?

This matter is indeed strange. Just by looking at the bewildered expressions of the military officers, it is clear that Chen Wenyu should have nothing to do with the beast tide.

Otherwise, Qian Tao and the others wouldn't have been so surprised!

Chen Wenyu did not directly accuse Abao, but instead walked over to Abao and patted Abao's head.

Ah Bao didn't resist; instead, he acted as if to say, "Old man, we meet again."

After interacting with A Bao, Chen Wenyu said, "Your Highness, colleagues, I have actually met A Bao before."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the eldest princess, each with their own thoughts.

The eldest princess and Zhou Wei had long since won over A Bao, but they concealed this fact and lured the crown prince into a trap.

Chen Wenyu said he had seen Abao before, which made it hard for everyone not to suspect that this important official of two dynasties had already sided with the Princess.

Ignoring the speculations of the crowd, Chen Wenyu looked only at the Crown Prince and asked, "Does Your Highness know where I saw A Bao?"

The crown prince wore an indifferent smile and said casually, "How would I know when the old man and this beast first met?"

Chen Wenyu replied earnestly, "No, Your Highness knows."

Seeing Chen Wenyu's serious expression, the Crown Prince felt a chill and sensed that something was amiss.

He stopped smiling and frowned at Chen Wenyu: "Old sir, please don't try to deceive me. Trying to get information out of me with such vague words is not the conduct of a gentleman."

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, Chen Wenyu sighed deeply.

His gaze toward the Crown Prince became complicated; the Crown Prince was someone he had watched grow up.

When Chen Wenyu was deprived of his love by the Emperor of the Great Zhou, one of the reasons was that the prince was young and urgently needed a teacher who was virtuous, respected and talented.

Chen Wenyu had taught the prince before the prince became the heir apparent.

When the Crown Prince became the heir apparent, Chen Wenyu was very satisfied with him.

He is, after all, a disciple of a renowned scholar and learned the teachings of sages; he should be able to become a wise ruler in the future.

Unfortunately, the Crown Prince's performance at today's grand court assembly has completely disappointed Chen Wenyu!

He looked at the Crown Prince and said, word by word, "Your subject met A Bao in Wangjia Village, on the southern outskirts of the capital."

The moment the words "Wangjia Village" were uttered, the prince's ears rang, and he staggered a few steps.

If someone hadn't caught him from behind, he probably would have fallen to the ground.

Seeing the Crown Prince's reaction, Chen Wenyu sighed even more deeply.

When the Princess and Zhou Wei found him that day, wanting him to go see a good show, Chen Wenyu was somewhat resistant.

But when Chen Wenyu saw Zhu Zhen leading the Imperial Guards into Wang the Rich Man's courtyard, he was completely shocked.

This old minister never expected that the Crown Prince would be such a heartless person!

Even though he had seen it with his own eyes, Chen Wenyu still wanted to give the Crown Prince a chance.

Therefore, after the grand assembly began, he rarely spoke, and instead observed carefully from the sidelines.

But the Crown Prince's actions only made him more and more disappointed!

From personally killing Mei Xingyue, to the auspicious beast recognizing its master being exposed, and then to the crown prince shifting all the blame onto Mei Xingyue.

They relentlessly pursued and killed the three sons of the Mei family, vehemently denying any connection between them and the beast tide.

Chen Wenyu's support for the crown prince has completely died!

"Your Highness hasn't forgotten, has he? You personally led the Imperial Guards to silence the survivors of Wangjia Village."

"When A Bao and Zhu Zhen, the commander of the Jinwu Guard, led their men into the courtyard, I was drinking with Jimin in the courtyard."

Li An also stepped forward and bowed to Bai Xiaoxiao.

"Your Highness, your subject and the old minister did indeed witness Zhu Zhen and A Bao breaking into the courtyard. The Imperial Guards were all carrying knives, intending to kill them to silence them."

If only Chen Wenyu comes forward to testify, the Crown Prince might say there are not enough witnesses.

But Ang Lee's appearance completely shut down his attempts to argue.

Bai Xiaoxiao asked curiously, "Isn't this too bizarre? Weren't you two afraid of being in the courtyard of a villager in Wangjia Village late at night?"

"When the Imperial Guards broke into the courtyard and saw the two of you, didn't they immediately silence you?"

Li An sneered, looking at the Crown Prince with an excited look in his eyes, as if he was about to take revenge.

"Silence them? They'd like to! But the old man's words made Zhu Zhen put down his knife."

It turned out that when Zhu Zhen and the others saw Chen Wenyu and Li An in the courtyard that day, they were all terrified.

After all, they were doing dirty work, turning their knives against the common people.

Now that the two ministers are in front of us, who wouldn't be afraid?

Chen Wenyu didn't take the menacing blade seriously at all, and only looked at Zhu Zhen and asked him, "Commander Zhu, if you kill me and Lord Li today, then you will not live much longer."

Zhu Zhen naturally didn't believe it, so he could only bite the bullet and reply, "Please don't be offended, sir. We are following orders and dare not disobey."

Ang Lee, however, was not so polite, and went straight to the point: "Jiang Yueshan is a treacherous, mean, selfish and self-serving person. He went out of the city in the middle of the night to silence people, which shows how afraid he is of this matter."

"Does Commander Zhu really think that someone like Jiang Yueshan would be comfortable with so many people knowing his secrets?"

Zhu Zhen remained unmoved, but the dozen or so Imperial Guards who had come with him began to tremble.

They knew their status was inferior to Zhu Zhen's, and if the Crown Prince really wanted to silence them, they would be the first to be targeted.

Zhu Zhen had served the Crown Prince for many years, so he still had a chance to survive, but they were definitely cannon fodder!

With just a few words, Li An completely divided the Jinwu Guard.

Knowing that he could not resist alone, Zhu Zhen raised his hand and ordered everyone to put down their knives.

When the Crown Prince heard Li An recount the whole story, he could no longer suppress the anger in his eyes.

He roared, "Zhu Zhen, you deserve to die!"