I insist

Chapter 506: The Question

Prince Jing stared wide-eyed at Yu Huailin, momentarily lost in thought.

At that moment, he slashed King Jing's arm with his sword, causing King Jing to stagger back several steps.

"You did this on purpose, how despicable."

King Jing glanced down at his slashed arm and frowned slightly. He hadn't expected to encounter such a sneak attack on the battlefield.

Yu Huailin raised an eyebrow: "As long as we can win, it doesn't matter what method we use."

This statement displeased Prince Jing, who immediately assumed an attack stance, intending to charge directly at Yu Huailin, but was unexpectedly stopped by him.

"Stop, Prince Jing, didn't you hear me? The Emperor has been taken into custody. He is your father! Aren't you worried?"

“You’re just trying to distract me, so what you’re saying isn’t true at all,” said King Jing.

Yu Huailin smiled slightly: "I did speak to distract you, but who told you that what I said was false?"

"What do you mean by that?" King Jing was somewhat taken aback by these words.

Yu Huailin raised an eyebrow: "The Emperor has been controlled by Liuli. This is true. You probably don't know this here, but many princes..."

"They've already lost their right to inherit the throne. Aside from you, what do you think people who don't know the truth will think?"

Upon hearing this, King Jing fell into deep thought, and at that moment Yu Huailin suddenly made a move, seemingly about to harm him.

Unexpectedly, Prince Jing's confidant appeared, knocked Yu Huailin's sword away, and took Prince Jing away.

At this moment, King Jing had no idea what had happened and let his men take him away without even glancing at him.

Yu Huailin had no intention of pressing his advantage; instead, he watched Prince Jing and his men leave.

Seeing that King Jing had left, the others naturally followed suit.

"Alright, no need to chase after them anymore. The matter should be resolved soon. You don't need to worry about the rest," Yu Huailin said calmly.

General Mu nodded when he heard Yu Huailin say that.

Yu Huailin allowed Prince Jing to escape because he wanted to give him time and see how he would handle the situation.

After being brought back by his subordinates, Prince Jing remained in a daze. Thinking about what had happened with Princess Jing and the child, he felt that what Yu Huailin said might not be false.

The strategist arrived at this moment and, upon seeing that Prince Jing's arm was injured, exclaimed, "Quickly summon the military doctor! Your Highness's arm is injured!"

Upon hearing this, everyone else left, but Prince Jing still seemed not to have heard.

"Your Highness, what happened? Why did you return so quickly?" the strategist asked cautiously.

King Jing snapped out of his daze, glanced at the strategist, and then stood up: "I haven't rested well, I'll go back and rest first. Don't bother me unless it's something important."

The strategist, who had originally intended to remind him of his arm injury, frowned slightly upon seeing him like this, assuming it was because he was overly worried about Princess Jing and the child.

Prince Jing had no idea that the strategist thought this way about him; his mind was filled with thoughts of the emperor being controlled.

Because of this incident, King Jing spent a sleepless night pondering what to do. He looked completely lost and dejected for two days in a row, and everyone else noticed the difference in him.

The strategist felt that if King Jing continued like this, the morale of the army would definitely collapse, so he planned to try to comfort him.

"Your Highness, we all know you're worried about Princess Jing and the child, but the most serious issue right now is the current situation. You can't ignore it."

"So, please handle this matter first before you think about honoring the Princess Consort, is that alright?" the strategist asked cautiously.

Prince Jing raised his head and glanced at the strategist, then said calmly, "I'm not thinking about Princess Jing and the child, but about something else."

“Another thing.”

"Strategist, is there any poison that can control a person's mind?" King Jing looked up at him and asked.

Although he didn't understand why Prince Jing would suddenly ask this, he thought about it seriously and said, "Your Highness, now that you mention it, I do remember something."

"There is indeed such a drug, a forbidden medicine from the previous dynasty. It can temporarily control a person's mind and is extremely harmful to those poisoned. Your Highness, could it be that something has happened in the palace?"

Recalling what they had heard about Princess Jing and her child, and then the topic of controlling people, the strategist immediately realized the problem.

Prince Jing did not hide anything from his strategist and told him what Yu Huailin had said.

"Does Your Highness believe it?" The strategist dared not say whether he believed it or not.

King Jing sighed, "I don't believe it either, but he has no reason to lie to me. Is it because he wants to win? If that's really the case..."

He could have killed me the first time he brought up the topic, but he didn't; even at the end, he was just deliberately reminding me.

The strategist didn't know how to bring this up, so he thought for a moment before speaking.

"Your Highness, if you believe this man can be trusted, then let him come here directly. Let the two of you talk things out face-to-face, and discuss his purpose."

There's no point in us speculating like this; it only makes things worse.

King Jing thought carefully about the strategist's words and nodded slightly: "You're right, that's indeed the way to do it. No matter what, let's get to the bottom of things first."

Thinking of this, Prince Jing had his strategist write a letter, asking Yu Huailin to secretly meet with him the following evening.

"In secret? It might be a trap set by that Prince Jing. Your Highness, you can't trust him. That man's son is bound to be very cunning."

"It's better to be cautious; we shouldn't go," said the general standing nearby.

Another general echoed this sentiment: "Yes, who knows what their plans are? It's best not to go; what if we get ambushed?"

Yu Huailin ignored what these people were saying and instead turned his gaze to General Mu, asking softly, "General Mu, what do you think? Should we go to the appointment?"

“I also think I shouldn’t go to the appointment. It’s not clear what it’s about. What if something goes wrong if I go without thinking?”

Although the prince is blessed with good fortune, why let something that could have been avoided happen?

General Mu knelt on one knee and spoke softly to Yu Huailin.

Yu Huailin closed the letter and said softly, "I know what you all mean, but I won't listen. I still have to keep my appointment."

Previously on the battlefield, I deliberately distracted King Jing and attacked him, yet he trusted me and dared to challenge me. Why shouldn't I? I trust King Jing's character.

He wouldn't do anything despicable.

Just as the others were about to speak, Yu Huailin raised his hand to stop them.