Chapter 985: Xie Fang's Traces

"The Crown Prince!"

"A national tragedy! A tragedy for Longyan!"

Along the way, the commoners of Jiaozhou knelt and kowtowed; the entire city was shrouded in the white atmosphere of a State Funeral.

Liu Zheng and the Prince of Wei, however, sat inside the Horse Carriage, looking at each other and laughing heartily.

The two had been separated for many days, and after such a long time apart, their reunion brought a sense of heroes cherishing one another. Liu Zheng noticed that the Prince of Wei had also aged; there was more gray hair on his head. Although he remained spirited and as imposing as ever, time spares no one, and this former top King of a Different Surname of Longyan was already over fifty years old.

"With you, Minister Liu, in the Li Dynasty, we were on pins and needles here in Longyan, hahahaha! That fellow, the Prince of Qin, even said you were in danger this time. At the time, I said, that brat Liu Zheng is crafty; others might die several times over, but he never will! Hahahaha, I was right, wasn't I!"

The Prince of Wei also laughed loudly and personally poured a cup of wine for Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng smiled bitterly: "Your words, Prince of Wei, carry a hidden meaning, as if reminding me that this Xie Fang was 'done in' by me."

The Prince of Wei was stunned for a moment, then immediately continued to laugh: "Isn't that so?"

Liu Zheng sighed: "It was a helpless move. I summoned an army of five hundred thousand from Nanyang while in the Li Dynasty, which already violated the taboos of our dynasty. If I had returned alone, I would certainly have become a target for everyone. I had no choice but to use Xie Fang's death to divert people's attention."

The Prince of Wei smiled in approval: "Those who achieve great things do not fuss over trifles, let alone a mere Crown Prince? Do not worry, Minister Liu, I have already dispatched men to continue searching for the Crown Prince, Xie Fang..."

Having said this, he did not continue, a flash of ruthless brilliance crossing his eyes.

Liu Zheng took a deep breath and immediately understood the Prince of Wei's meaning.

Since Xie Fang was already "dead," then no matter what happened, he had to stay dead! And he had to be dead thoroughly! Xie Fang had lost his trail in the land of Liaodong; at this time, Liaodong was entirely under Liu Zheng's control, so if Xie Fang suddenly disappeared, there was only one destination: the sea!

Coincidentally, the Qingzhou Navy was not just sitting around; if they conducted a large-scale search, they would certainly be able to capture any news of Xie Fang.

When that time came...

That would be the moment Xie Fang truly died!

Ruthless!

Vicious!

But Liu Zheng also understood that at this critical juncture, this was how it had to be; it allowed for not a shred of mercy.

He and the Prince of Wei represented the entire New Aristocracy power bloc at this moment. Under their command were countless people; once the struggle for power failed, what awaited them was very likely the collapse of the entire foundation. Under such circumstances, even if it were the real Crown Prince, they would have to kill him!

"That is good."

Liu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.

What he worried about most right now was indeed whether this Xie Fang might suddenly pop up... If he really did pop up, then he would be in an awkward position. Not only would this grand play be unable to continue, but he would be directly guilty of deceiving the monarch, doomed forever.

Jiaozhou, finally arrived.

The wailing of the commoners throughout the city had already reached them.

Liu Zheng and the Prince of Wei stood up.

The two of them had to go down and weep for a while.

Xie Fang would never have imagined.

That at this moment, in the Longyan Dynasty, he had already been arranged to be dead.

"Kill!"

"Change formation!"

"Charge!"

"Retreat on the flank, cavalry move up!"

"Charge!"

At this moment, Xie Fang stood on the watchtower on this island, quietly watching.

Yes.

He had slowly grown accustomed to everything on this Java Island. Even after more than half a year of wind and sun, he himself had changed from his former soft-skinned self to being much darker. However, it must be said that compared to the body Xie Fang had previously hollowed out with wine and women, he was also much healthier; the muscles exposed to the air were full of explosive power and definition. His eyes had also become much more piercing than before.

And the frivolous temperament he once had was swept away, replaced by a sense of determination and killing intent.

At this time, he already possessed the bearing of a general.

"Husband, eat something..."

And the black Princess of this Java Island, after first admiring her husband's poise with infatuation, walked up gently.

Upon hearing this, Xie Fang's face showed a look of concern: "Why do this? Just let the servants bring it; your condition..."

The black Princess had a beautiful name, Li Caoer. In fact, she was not ugly; if viewed through modern aesthetics, her skin was not as black as that of Africa, but merely the darkness of Southeast Asia. Looking closely, her perfect, exquisite face, clear contours, and graceful figure would definitely be a top-tier international model if placed in Liu Zheng's era.

Therefore.

After his initial rejection, once Li Caoer became pregnant with his child, Xie Fang slowly accepted reality and developed feelings for his wife.

Li Caoer felt her husband's concern and smiled softly: "It's fine, the physician said I can walk around more; it's good for the fetus."

Xie Fang laughed heartily: "Good, good, good! Come, let's eat together."

The couple was affectionate, their relationship very good.

Xie Fang did not forget to wave his hand.

Half a year.

From the initial resistance, to being unaccustomed, to now, Xie Fang had become a general on this Java Island. That band of ragtag soldiers, through Xie Fang's hands, had already begun to be trained into a very strong fighting force.

Every time he saw the rebirth and transformation of these soldiers, Xie Fang felt it was worth it.

Yes, it was worth it.

Once, these people did not submit to him, and this Java Island was actually not small, possessing many different tribes. But as Xie Fang led his father-in-law's troops, they had unified this entire Java Island and some surrounding small islands. At this time, the troops under Xie Fang's command had reached a total of two hundred thousand...

Xie Fang was stunned at the time.

He suddenly felt that he had actually become happy on this island.

Previously in Longyan, although he was the noble Crown Prince, living in such a complex environment, with others' hypocrisy and flattery, was he not just a tool in the hands of those powers? He had long lived in an environment of intrigue and deception, which left him unable to find his own place or sense of existence, so he could only indulge hysterically, seeking the value of his own existence through indulgence.

But here.

These simple people, their slowly growing trust in him, their admiration for him—he discovered that the thing he had been searching for all along, he had found.

He began to distance himself from the foul atmosphere of the imperial court, and he discovered that he, who had been well-read in the classics since childhood, possessed talent that was no worse than anyone else's.

At first, he had thought of fighting his way back to Longyan, but recently, this mindset had been fading more and more.

If he went back, what would he do? Recently, there have been frequent pop-ups; you can click to download to avoid pop-ups.