The media reporters were led out of the great hall.
Chadan's expression was gloomy: "I'll see what you can come up with. If you can't prove my guilt today, I'll strip you of your title of nobility!"
The Earl named Henry smiled and then ordered his assistant: "Go bring that person in."
"Yes." The assistant turned and strode quickly out of the great hall.
"Who is he going to bring in? A witness?"
"What does Earl Henry know? Is what he's saying true or false? Why did he choose today to make an accusation? What is he trying to do?"
Chadan: "What tricks are you trying to pull? Earl, I advise you to stop this nonsense right now if you're not crazy."
Henry: "What is the Crown Prince so nervous and afraid of? I've staked my title of nobility and my entire family's future on this."
"That's right. Falsely accusing the royal family is a serious crime. He wouldn't make claims involving his title and family so lightly."
"If it really is as Henry said..."
One bad thing after another, the King's supporters were already struggling to hold on. As long as the throne didn't fall into the hands of the Howard family, they figured Chadan would do, he wasn't completely without merit. But now this had happened...
Chadan: "The Earl has misunderstood. I just wanted to say the reporters are still waiting in the side hall. There are more important things to announce right now. The Earl and I can discuss his other objections privately."
Henry had never taken sides before, so Chadan couldn't figure out whose man he was and who had given him the courage to stand up and slander him. Chadan was convinced he hadn't left any handles for Henry to grab onto, but Henry's phrase about staking his title of nobility made Chadan a little nervous.
Henry: "It won't take up too much time. The person is already here."
Chadan looked towards the entrance and saw Henry's assistant and bodyguards escorting a bound man inside. And when he saw the man's face, Chadan began to panic.
"Who is this person? What has he done?"
The man was brought to Henry's side, in front of Chadan.
Henry: "Are you going to admit what you did yourself, Crown Prince? Or shall I say it for you?"
Chadan gritted his teeth and kept his composure: "Then I'll hear what the Earl has to say." Mainly because he had no way to stop Henry at the moment. Was he going to get tough? That would only make him look guilty.
Henry: "Alright then—"
Henry grabbed the hair of the man next to him and forced him to raise his head, then asked Chadan, "Does the Crown Prince recognize him?"
Chadan: "Why would I know someone the Earl brought along?"
Henry: "This man has followed you for fifteen years. He has been diligent and accomplished for you all these years. He is like a blade in your hand. He has rendered outstanding service to you. Yet you say you don't recognize him. How heartless. It makes one's heart go cold."
Henry pushed the man's head to the side with force.
Chadan: "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Henry: "That he bribed the driver who caused the accident and killed Duke Lin. Then he disguised himself as a doctor, hid in the ambulance, and killed the driver to eliminate any witnesses. He did all this on your orders."
Chadan: "Hmph, falsely accusing someone when you lack evidence, randomly grabbing someone and claiming I sent him to pin a bunch of fabricated crimes on me. Laughable!"
Henry: "It's true the Crown Prince's scheme was seamless, and utterly ruthless. But does the Crown Prince really think I've only caught this man?"
He took out a USB drive: "Want to watch the footage again of you meeting him to give orders? The records of him bribing the driver and transferring money? Him hiding in the ambulance and committing murder? Care to take a look?"
Chadan: "This is a major issue that cannot be decided just on your word alone. Come, invite Earl Henry to the side hall and call the police. We will talk about this in an impartial location. I trust the police station will not wrongly accuse anyone."
Henry: "Hmph, an impartial location? Not even the great hall of the palace can be considered impartial, so where can there be such a place?"
Henry turned to the royal family members behind him, "Everyone, if I'm taken away today, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for me to safely leave the palace again. As for what's on this drive, it will also probably never make it into police hands. And even if it did, how could I, a soon-to-be disgraced petty Earl, compete with the Crown Prince's power and influence?"
Before Chadan could do anything, he saw one of Lafeier's supporters come forward and snatch away the USB drive: "Enough useless talk. The Crown Prince also said this is a major issue. Today, Duke Lin's death is the most important matter. The truth is hidden inside here. We'll know if it's real or fake after we look."
Chadan's expression changed.
"What he said makes sense. If you've done nothing wrong, why would you be afraid to let everyone see? Doesn't the Crown Prince want to prove his own innocence?"
"From the beginning, I felt Duke Lin's car accident was too coincidental. I didn't expect it to actually be man-made rather than an act of nature. I just never imagined it would be the Crown Prince..."
"If it's true he killed Duke Lin for the throne and his own selfish desires, then it's truly...unforgivable! C Country's future absolutely cannot be handed over to such a person. We must get to the bottom of Duke Lin's car accident."
Seeing the agitated Lafeier supporters stepping forward, Chadan immediately looked towards Lafeier father and son at the back of the crowd.
With no power to stop it, Chadan could only watch as they brought over a laptop and inserted the USB drive.
All the people present, including the faction supporting the old King and Duke Lin, crowded around the computer screen. Chadan clenched his fists without realizing it, eyes fixed intently on the laptop in that man's hand. At this moment, he even forgot to breathe, completely oblivious to the loss of control showing on his face.
Chadan couldn't see the laptop screen and had no idea what was stored on the USB drive. But he heard his own voice coming out of the computer speakers: ["With him being just a Hua Country person, he still wants to become king of my C Country. Wishful thinking. I don't know what my muddleheaded father was thinking."]
The instant he heard these familiar words, Chadan's legs went weak.
["He wants to marry my sister and live in this palace's great hall. He wants to sit on that throne. I won't let him set foot in this palace again for the rest of his life. Tomorrow, I want him dead."]
Upon hearing the familiar voice and seeing the Crown Prince's reaction, the Second Prince and several younger royal siblings instantly knew whether it was real or fake. They looked at the Crown Prince in disbelief: "Big brother...?"
"So it really was you! The evidence is right before our eyes, do you have anything more to say?!"
"Duke Lin was personally chosen by the King as successor. He was the undisputed heir to the throne. As a prince of C Country, you, you are simply foolish! This severs C Country's future!" One aged royal reprimanded him angrily.
"You watched Duke Lin grow up, yet you had the heart to act so viciously against him. How can you face C Country?!"
"Someone like you is unfit to rule a nation!"
The royal family had never been so united before as they publicly denounced the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince was frightened by this momentum and retreated backward: "I...I didn't. Father, it wasn't me. I really didn't."
The Crown Prince suddenly knelt before the old King, going from paradise to hell in an instant. He panicked completely, no longer thinking about whether he could still become King, but whether he would even remain in the royal family now.
He looked at his father who was filled with pain, disappointment and anger towards him. He looked at the royal family members approaching, eager to tear him apart. Fearfully he pleaded: "It wasn't me, Father. Truly it wasn't me, it was...it was Lafeier, the Howards."
He pointed to Lafeier father and son at the back: "They made me do it. This is all their conspiracy!"
Realizing he had been schemed against, Chadan furiously stood up and angrily pointed at the two: "You schemed against me? You never intended for me to become king, but instead used me to get rid of Lin Cheng, then used Lin Cheng's death to eliminate me, the first in line to inherit the throne!"
The media reporters were led out of the great hall.
Chadan's expression was gloomy: "I'll see what you can come up with. If you can't prove my guilt today, I'll strip you of your title of nobility!"
The Earl named Henry smiled and then ordered his assistant: "Go bring that person in."
"Yes." The assistant turned and strode quickly out of the great hall.
"Who is he going to bring in? A witness?"
"What does Earl Henry know? Is what he's saying true or false? Why did he choose today to make an accusation? What is he trying to do?"
Chadan: "What tricks are you trying to pull? Earl, I advise you to stop this nonsense right now if you're not crazy."
Henry: "What is the Crown Prince so nervous and afraid of? I've staked my title of nobility and my entire family's future on this."
"That's right. Falsely accusing the royal family is a serious crime. He wouldn't make claims involving his title and family so lightly."
"If it really is as Henry said..."
One bad thing after another, the King's supporters were already struggling to hold on. As long as the throne didn't fall into the hands of the Howard family, they figured Chadan would do, he wasn't completely without merit. But now this had happened...
Chadan: "The Earl has misunderstood. I just wanted to say the reporters are still waiting in the side hall. There are more important things to announce right now. The Earl and I can discuss his other objections privately."
Henry had never taken sides before, so Chadan couldn't figure out whose man he was and who had given him the courage to stand up and slander him. Chadan was convinced he hadn't left any handles for Henry to grab onto, but Henry's phrase about staking his title of nobility made Chadan a little nervous.
Henry: "It won't take up too much time. The person is already here."
Chadan looked towards the entrance and saw Henry's assistant and bodyguards escorting a bound man inside. And when he saw the man's face, Chadan began to panic.
"Who is this person? What has he done?"
The man was brought to Henry's side, in front of Chadan.
Henry: "Are you going to admit what you did yourself, Crown Prince? Or shall I say it for you?"
Chadan gritted his teeth and kept his composure: "Then I'll hear what the Earl has to say." Mainly because he had no way to stop Henry at the moment. Was he going to get tough? That would only make him look guilty.
Henry: "Alright then—"
Henry grabbed the hair of the man next to him and forced him to raise his head, then asked Chadan, "Does the Crown Prince recognize him?"
Chadan: "Why would I know someone the Earl brought along?"
Henry: "This man has followed you for fifteen years. He has been diligent and accomplished for you all these years. He is like a blade in your hand. He has rendered outstanding service to you. Yet you say you don't recognize him. How heartless. It makes one's heart go cold."
Henry pushed the man's head to the side with force.
Chadan: "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Henry: "That he bribed the driver who caused the accident and killed Duke Lin. Then he disguised himself as a doctor, hid in the ambulance, and killed the driver to eliminate any witnesses. He did all this on your orders."
Chadan: "Hmph, falsely accusing someone when you lack evidence, randomly grabbing someone and claiming I sent him to pin a bunch of fabricated crimes on me. Laughable!"
Henry: "It's true the Crown Prince's scheme was seamless, and utterly ruthless. But does the Crown Prince really think I've only caught this man?"
He took out a USB drive: "Want to watch the footage again of you meeting him to give orders? The records of him bribing the driver and transferring money? Him hiding in the ambulance and committing murder? Care to take a look?"
Chadan: "This is a major issue that cannot be decided just on your word alone. Come, invite Earl Henry to the side hall and call the police. We will talk about this in an impartial location. I trust the police station will not wrongly accuse anyone."
Henry: "Hmph, an impartial location? Not even the great hall of the palace can be considered impartial, so where can there be such a place?"
Henry turned to the royal family members behind him, "Everyone, if I'm taken away today, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for me to safely leave the palace again. As for what's on this drive, it will also probably never make it into police hands. And even if it did, how could I, a soon-to-be disgraced petty Earl, compete with the Crown Prince's power and influence?"
Before Chadan could do anything, he saw one of Lafeier's supporters come forward and snatch away the USB drive: "Enough useless talk. The Crown Prince also said this is a major issue. Today, Duke Lin's death is the most important matter. The truth is hidden inside here. We'll know if it's real or fake after we look."
Chadan's expression changed.
"What he said makes sense. If you've done nothing wrong, why would you be afraid to let everyone see? Doesn't the Crown Prince want to prove his own innocence?"
"From the beginning, I felt Duke Lin's car accident was too coincidental. I didn't expect it to actually be man-made rather than an act of nature. I just never imagined it would be the Crown Prince..."
"If it's true he killed Duke Lin for the throne and his own selfish desires, then it's truly...unforgivable! C Country's future absolutely cannot be handed over to such a person. We must get to the bottom of Duke Lin's car accident."
Seeing the agitated Lafeier supporters stepping forward, Chadan immediately looked towards Lafeier father and son at the back of the crowd.
With no power to stop it, Chadan could only watch as they brought over a laptop and inserted the USB drive.
All the people present, including the faction supporting the old King and Duke Lin, crowded around the computer screen. Chadan clenched his fists without realizing it, eyes fixed intently on the laptop in that man's hand. At this moment, he even forgot to breathe, completely oblivious to the loss of control showing on his face.
Chadan couldn't see the laptop screen and had no idea what was stored on the USB drive. But he heard his own voice coming out of the computer speakers: ["With him being just a Hua Country person, he still wants to become king of my C Country. Wishful thinking. I don't know what my muddleheaded father was thinking."]
The instant he heard these familiar words, Chadan's legs went weak.
["He wants to marry my sister and live in this palace's great hall. He wants to sit on that throne. I won't let him set foot in this palace again for the rest of his life. Tomorrow, I want him dead."]
Upon hearing the familiar voice and seeing the Crown Prince's reaction, the Second Prince and several younger royal siblings instantly knew whether it was real or fake. They looked at the Crown Prince in disbelief: "Big brother...?"
"So it really was you! The evidence is right before our eyes, do you have anything more to say?!"
"Duke Lin was personally chosen by the King as successor. He was the undisputed heir to the throne. As a prince of C Country, you, you are simply foolish! This severs C Country's future!" One aged royal reprimanded him angrily.
"You watched Duke Lin grow up, yet you had the heart to act so viciously against him. How can you face C Country?!"
"Someone like you is unfit to rule a nation!"
The royal family had never been so united before as they publicly denounced the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince was frightened by this momentum and retreated backward: "I...I didn't. Father, it wasn't me. I really didn't."
The Crown Prince suddenly knelt before the old King, going from paradise to hell in an instant. He panicked completely, no longer thinking about whether he could still become King, but whether he would even remain in the royal family now.
He looked at his father who was filled with pain, disappointment and anger towards him. He looked at the royal family members approaching, eager to tear him apart. Fearfully he pleaded: "It wasn't me, Father. Truly it wasn't me, it was...it was Lafeier, the Howards."
He pointed to Lafeier father and son at the back: "They made me do it. This is all their conspiracy!"
Realizing he had been schemed against, Chadan furiously stood up and angrily pointed at the two: "You schemed against me? You never intended for me to become king, but instead used me to get rid of Lin Cheng, then used Lin Cheng's death to eliminate me, the first in line to inherit the throne!"
