“That’s right!” Qin Yu was awakened by Luo Shangyu’s words.
She did not actually need to answer Qin Yi’s questions directly.
Qin Yu took a deep breath, steadied her mind, and adjusted her mental state.
She immediately came up with a countermeasure.
Mimicking Qin Yi’s arrogant and domineering tone, she spoke, “What is your status? A matter like this is not something for you to be gossiping about!”
Qin Yu’s voice was cold and carried a hint of firmness, startling Qin Yi so much that he was momentarily speechless.
It was true.
The Crown Prince was the heir to the nation.
What right did Qin Yi have to criticize her?
However, ever since Qin Yi had led his troops into the capital, he had relied on his 50,000 elite soldiers to suppress the civil and military officials.
Not a single person among them dared to look him in the eye out of fear.
Even Qin Ling could only obediently follow his whims.
But what Qin Yi had not expected was that Qin Yu would actually dare to be so rude to him!
“What do you mean by that?” Qin Yi stood up abruptly and said, “Right now, in the entire Capital City, only my word counts. If I wanted to, I could even become the Emperor!”
“Is that so?” Qin Yu glared at Qin Yi with a sidelong glance.
Seeing that Qin Yu still looked down on him, Qin Yi flew into a rage.
He drew his waist sword on the spot and slashed it down onto the desk.
“Qin Yu, do you believe that I can strip you of your title as Crown Prince?”
The desk was sliced into two pieces by the sharp sword, and it also shattered the illusions in Qin Yu’s mind.
She had originally thought that Qin Yi had only come to the capital to be a powerful official, but she had not expected him to have already become an uncrowned king!
The guards in the hall raised their halberds and struck them against the floor.
A dull, heavy thud echoed through the room, terrifying the officials so much they did not dare to move.
Many of them actually resented Qin Yi’s actions, but they were all too afraid to speak out.
Qin Yu stood up and pulled out her staff, pointing it directly at Qin Yi she asked, “Presumptuous! Are you attempting to rebel?”
“What about you?” Qin Yi held up his official seal.
“I am currently the Grand Preceptor, the Regent, the Overseer of the Hundred Officials, and I have been granted the right to open my own office with the same honors as the Three Ducal Ministers. On top of that, I am the Prince of Zhenping. What right do you have to be presumptuous toward me?”
Qin Yu felt like laughing out of pure anger.
No matter how exalted Qin Yi’s status was, he was still a subject.
Compared to her, the future heir of the kingdom, he was truly nothing.
The civil and military officials usually attended the morning court sessions with little interest, treating it as nothing more than a routine.
Now that they were witnessing two members of the royal family tearing off their masks and openly challenging each other in court, their interest was piqued.
Among the officials, many had been forced to join Qin Yi’s camp and had been unhappy with him for a long time.
Now that Qin Yu had returned and they could see her openly defying Qin Yi, they were all cheering in their hearts.
Luo Shangyu stood up and stood side by side with Qin Yu, also raising the staff in her hand.
Qin Yi had brought troops into the capital well-prepared.
Luo Shangyu guessed that he might have powerful Mages by his side.
She had to protect Qin Yu in case of any sudden emergencies.
“You dare to point a staff at me too!?” Qin Yi roared at Luo Shangyu.
“Luo Shangyu? I know of you. You are nothing but a traitorous servant of three masters who betrayed the royal family of the Kingdom of Yiyong. How dare you act so wildly here?”
“Do you even have the right to say such things?” Qin Yu narrowed her eyes and began listing Qin Yi’s crimes.
“You illegally recruited an army, carried a sword into the hall, seized control of the Forbidden Army, and attempted to rebel. What should your punishment be!”
In an instant, the two sides glared at each other, and it felt as though a duel might break out at any moment.
Qin Yi held his sword in front of him and lightly ran his finger along the blade.
The cold glint of the sword appeared exceptionally dazzling under the reflection of the hall’s candlelight.
‘Fine, so he dares to threaten me?’ Qin Yu felt a surge of irritation and aimed her staff at the guard standing behind Qin Yi.
A cold beam flashed as a ray of pure ground-state mana shot from Qin Yu’s staff, flying straight toward the forehead of one of the men.
In a split second, the man let out a miserable scream and fell backward, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
Qin Yi turned his head and saw a pool of deep red blood spreading across the floor.
A thick, metallic scent of blood rushed into his nostrils.
Everyone in the court was stunned.
Most of them were frail scholars who had never seen such a bloody scene before.
Several of them already began to gag.
“Qin Yi, you had better understand your place.” Qin Yu pointed her staff at Qin Yi.
With the bloody tragedy right before his eyes and the fact that he could not use magic, Qin Yi’s face turned as pale as ash from fear.
However, his guards were still reliable; they stood in front of him to shield him.
Seeing this, Qin Yi’s confidence returned, “Humph, so what if you can use magic? No matter how strong your individual strength is, what can you do? Can you stand against my thousands of troops and horses?”
“Qin Yi, don’t you forget that magic kills. Your few human shields won’t be able to stop it,” Qin Yu said coldly.
Qin Yi was startled and couldn’t help but take a step back.
“I hope that when you die, you can be just as arrogant.” After saying that, Qin Yu grabbed Luo Shangyu and turned to leave the main hall of Weiyang Hall, her sleeves fluttering as she walked away.
“You…” Qin Yi wanted to say something more, but the sight of the guard’s miserable death had already eroded the courage in his heart.
The words he had just used to threaten Qin Yu were now like an arrow at the end of its flight.
“We’re leaving.” Qin Yi left Weiyang Hall, his legs nearly trembling.
The civil and military officials did not dare to breathe a word as they watched this scene.
After witnessing Qin Yu’s strength, many of them had already begun to lean back toward her side.
Qin Ling sat on the dragon throne, feeling lost.
He was surrounded by Qin Yi’s guards and was already under his control.
He wanted to cheer for Qin Yu’s actions, but under the surveillance of Qin Yi’s soldiers, he could only remain silent.
At the moment, everything was so complicated and chaotic that he felt his illness becoming a bit more severe again.
“The court is dismissed!” After making the announcement, Qin Ling was supported by others as he left Weiyang Hall.
***
Outside Weiyang Hall, the sun was shining brightly.
Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu boarded their sedan chair, preparing to return to the East Palace.
“Luo Shangyu, do you think I went a bit too far?” Qin Yu had acted on a sudden rush of blood to the head, and now that she had calmed down, she felt a lingering fear.
“Not at all,” Luo Shangyu comforted her, “You’ve effectively crushed Qin Yi’s prestige and dealt a blow to his morale. Many of those who were wavering between you and Qin Yi will now lean toward your side.”
Qin Yu was still a bit worried so she asked, “But Qin Yi’s troops are still numerous. It’s impossible for the two of us to fight against his army of tens of thousands, right?”
“Won’t doing this make him hold a grudge and come back for revenge?”
“Don’t worry,” Luo Shangyu said, “Even if he has an army, he won’t dare to act rashly.”
“As long as the enemy doesn’t have a Mage, it’s not entirely impossible for us to hold our own against his great army.”
“Once we have recruited enough soldiers, we will have the strength to fight against Qin Yi.”
“Recruit an army?” Qin Yu smiled bitterly, “How is that even possible?”
“I heard that the ones responsible for the capital’s defense are the Yulin Army, right? They haven’t been bought off by Qin Yi yet, have they?”
“That’s correct.” Qin Yu nodded.
“I will go and lobby them for you. Let them join your ranks. That way, we will have enough power to contend with Qin Yi!”