Chapter 62 Heaven Does Not Forsake the Prince of Wei!

"Your Highness... It is true, absolutely true, Your Highness!" Wang Fu gasped for breath, having nearly been choked, yet he still cried out in fervent excitement. "Many people witnessed it with their own eyes!"

"The Crown Prince just left the imperial court, not even bothering to assemble a full royal procession, and drove his carriage straight to the Pingkang Quarter!"

"Furthermore, the bright and conspicuous crown of the heir apparent that he wore—countless people saw it clearly!"

"And yet, His Highness the Crown Prince did not head to his usual haunt, the Paradise on Earth."

"Instead, he went to another brothel... the Wutong Pavilion!"

Boom...!

It was as though an invisible, giant hammer had smashed heavily against the frozen air!

Every sound and every movement within the study completely froze in that single instant.

The despair, venom, brutality... and all the gloom on the face of Prince Wei, Li Tai, vanished instantly, like dark clouds blown away by a violent gale!

His bloodshot eyes first widened to an unbelievable extent, his pupils contracting violently as he stared fixedly at the twisted, ecstatic face of the eunuch who had brought the news.

As if he wanted to pierce through the skin to see whether this news was true or false.

Following a brief, vacant dullness came an incandescent ecstasy like a volcanic eruption!

"Haha... Hahaha..." Releasing the steward who was nearly suffocating, Li Tai let out a deep, irrepressible laugh rolling from the depths of his throat.

At first, it sounded like muffled thunder, suppressed and bizarre.

Then, the laughter suddenly soared, as if breaking through every suppression in his chest!

It transformed into a series of manic and unbridled bursts of laughter, echoing wildly within the closed study!

"Hahahaha... Heaven has not abandoned me... Heaven has not abandoned me, Li Tai!"

Li Tai acted like one possessed by madness, throwing his arms wide and casting his head back in wild, unceasing laughter!

"Li Chengqian... The Crown Prince of our Great Tang, my dear imperial brother!"

"One moment he was brandishing his might in the imperial court, and the next he couldn't wait to burrow into those filthy alleys of pleasure and willow-shadows to dally with courtesans!" Li Tai laughed so hard tears streamed from his eyes, his fingers forcefully wiping away the moisture at the corners of his eyes, his face etched with unconcealed, near-grotesque triumph!

"Visiting prostitutes while wearing the crown of the heir apparent... Hahahaha... Trust you, you damned cripple, to come up with something like that!"

"Splendid... Splendid, what extraordinary audacity from His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"What a truly 'wise and martial' crown prince!"

"You won yesterday morning—so what if you won today as well?"

"To commit such a self-destructive and foolish act, wearing court robes in broad daylight... visiting prostitutes in the Pingkang Quarter... Hahahaha... Royal Father!"

"All you officials of the court!"

"Open your eyes wide and take a good look!"

"What kind of creature is this damned cripple, Li Chengqian?"

"Hahahaha..." Li Tai was still laughing madly by the end of his words.

Moreover, his laughter was unmistakably filled with the immense, exuberant joy of having narrowly escaped death... and even a sort of twisted, malicious gratification...

Seeing the Prince behave in such a manner, Du Chuke, Wei Ting, Chai Lingwu, and the others could not help but exchange glances.

Yet clearly, the ashen despair that had stained their faces just moments before had long since been swept away. Beneath their profound shock lay an indescribable, fierce elation!

In the study, each man saw a turbulent sea of disbelief mirrored in the eyes of the others.

"Your Highness! This is a heaven-sent opportunity, a heaven-sent opportunity!" Du Chuke was the first to react, his voice trembling with excitement as he stepped forward, speaking at a rapid-fire pace. "As this subject said just moments before, the Crown Prince possesses an unbridled and reckless temperament; sooner or later, he would court disaster and create an opening for us!"

"And look how swiftly it has come to pass!" Du Chuke’s eyes flashed with a hint of complacency as he first validated his previous words, followed by an explosion of ecstatic realization. "The Crown Prince's actions amount to cutting himself off from the entire realm!"

"How sacred an object is the crown of the heir apparent?"

"Indulging in debauchery in broad daylight is already absurd to the extreme, let alone stepping into such a foul place while draped in the nation's most solemn regalia?"

"This is a desecration of ritual and law, a contempt for the majesty of the imperial court!"

"It is... it is tantamount to treason, Your Highness!" He was stuttering slightly in his agitation.

"Rightly spoken!" Chai Lingwu chimed in with great excitement, his face glowing red. "The Crown Prince's actions are truly digging his own grave; there is no need for us to fabricate any charges at all!"

"After all, facts speak louder than any eloquence, and everyone in Chang'an will be a witness!"

"No matter how partial His Majesty is this time, can he possibly stem the torrent of opinions from all under heaven?"

"Your Highness!" Du Chuke took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the boiling turmoil within his chest, his eyes flashing with the cold, calculating cunning of a viper. "What Lord Chai says is true, but there is no time to lose!"

"We must immediately spread this news to every corner of Chang'an City at top speed. Every common laborer and petty vendor must know what fine deeds their Crown Prince performed the moment he stepped down from court!"

"If possible, we must even have the teahouses and wine shops immediately chanting the romantic escapades of the Crown Prince!"

"Once the entire city is in an uproar, we won't even need to lift a finger—memorials from the Censorate will pile high upon His Majesty's dragon desk!"

"When that time comes, let's see how he argues his way out of this... A miraculous turnaround?"

"Indeed, Your Highness... We subjects also feel this is a heaven-sent opportunity..." The rest echoed in agreement, each appearing exceedingly thrilled.

Li Tai's laughter finally subsided gradually. Though his chest still heaved violently, the wild joy in his eyes was replaced by a deeper, bone-deep malice and excitement.

"Very well, proceed as the Chief Historian has instructed, and every single one of you shall personally attend to this matter!" Panting heavily, Li Tai waved his hand abruptly, his voice carrying a resolute and ruthless finality as he issued his command to all present. "Let Lord Du coordinate everything, mobilizing all our manpower across Chang'an. Wine shops, teahouses, pleasure quarters, marketplaces—have storytellers immediately weave this into tales, and let the vagabonds of the streets and alleys chant it!"

"Embroidery and exaggeration are encouraged, make it vivid and graphic!"

"By sunset today, I want to see the entire city of Chang'an discussing the romantic exploit of the Crown Prince visiting prostitutes in full crown and attire!"

"I want to drench this Li Chengqian thoroughly in this basin of filthy water!"

"I want to rot away the tiny shred of reputation and prestige he just managed to pick up!"

"We humbly obey your command!" The men of the Prince Wei's Manor bowed in unison and withdrew to carry out the orders.

Once everyone had departed, Prince Wei paced over to the window, abruptly shoving open the tightly shut carved wooden casement. The window faced east, looking directly toward the Eastern Palace.

Li Tai stared fixedly at the direction of the Eastern Palace, the corners of his mouth curling into a bone-chilling, confident arc.

"Li Chengqian..." he muttered to himself, his voice so low only he could hear it, like a viper hissing, "Did you really think a few clever stratagems could elevate you to the heavens in a single bound?"

"Today, this Prince shall teach you, you damned cripple..."

"What it means to have joy turn to sorrow, what it means to fall into eternal damnation!"

"Did you think you could shed your old skin and securely sit upon the throne of the Eastern Palace?"

"Keep dreaming. Mud is always mud!"

"The higher you climb, the more wretchedly you will die when you fall!"

"Ultimately, this seat of the heir apparent remains within the palm of my hand!"

The Prince Wei's Manor had always stationed men to keep watch over every single move of the Crown Prince, making them the first to receive this heaven-shaking news...

Yet the officials of the court, high and low, lacked such daring ears and eyes, and naturally, their intelligence lagged behind.