Chapter 227 The Villain Lady Arrives 55

Chapter 227 The Villain Lady Arrives 55

The third prince saluted respectfully, and then described in detail the difficulties and obstacles during the journey, and how the Dawn Legion overcame them one by one with wisdom and courage. His words were full of admiration and gratitude for the soldiers, and the king nodded repeatedly, with a gleam of admiration in his eyes.

"Well done! Great Dawn Legion, great son of mine!" The king praised, and then changed the subject, "However, I heard rumors that you have obtained a treasure. Is this true?"

When the treasure was mentioned, the Third Prince's expression froze, and then he answered respectfully: "Father, I have indeed been to the place where the treasure is hidden, but there is no real treasure there, it is all traps and illusions. As for this rumor, I don't know who spread it, but please understand, Father, I have not obtained any treasure."

The king frowned when he heard this, as if he was thinking about something. After a moment, he sighed softly, with a hint of fatigue in his tone: "Forget it, since you have clarified the matter, I will not pursue it. But there are rumors everywhere in this palace, you need to be careful."

After saying this, the king waved his hand in a disinterested manner, signaling the Third Prince to leave. Although the Third Prince had a thousand words in his mind, he could only bow and slowly leave the Imperial Study.

Walking out of the imperial study, the third prince looked at the sparse stars in the night sky, feeling mixed emotions. He knew that this was just the beginning, and the real challenge was still to come. He had to find out the truth about the treasure rumor as soon as possible to eliminate this unprovoked disaster and gain more support and power for himself in the capital.

At the same time, at the other end of the capital, in the Second Prince's residence, the atmosphere was extremely tense. When the Second Prince received the news of the Third Prince's return, his face instantly became sinister. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turned white from the force, and his eyes flashed with resentment and anger.

"This piece of trash actually came back alive!" The second prince cursed in a low voice, and then turned to the trusted guards beside him, "Where are those trash? I asked them to get rid of this trouble, why is there still no news?"

The guard lowered his head, his voice trembling: "Your Highness, calm down. Those people... have lost contact. I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of? I'm afraid they're already dead!" The second prince was furious. He kicked over the coffee table beside him. The sound of broken porcelain echoed in the empty house. "Waste! A bunch of waste! What's the point of keeping you!"

After venting his anger, the second prince calmed down. He knew that he could not lose his composure at this time. He quickly sorted out his thoughts and decided to take the initiative and use the officials he had recently won over to create public opinion and suppress the reputation of the third prince.

"Send someone to deliver a letter to me immediately to let those fence-sitters know who the future king will be!" the second prince ordered coldly.

However, as the Third Prince had expected, most of the officials chose to remain silent after receiving the Second Prince's news. They knew that the situation in the capital was complicated and changeable, and taking sides easily would only lead to their own ruin. Therefore, the Second Prince's news was like a drop in the ocean, without causing any waves.

After learning about this, the second prince was furious and cursed. Those officials who usually flattered him became cowards at the critical moment. He knew that he had to take more direct and powerful measures to gain the upper hand in this battle for the throne.

On the other hand, after returning to his mansion, the Third Prince immediately summoned Alice, Tariq and several trusted advisers to discuss countermeasures. They knew that the treasure rumor was just the tip of the iceberg, and there was a more complicated political struggle behind it.

"We must find out the truth as soon as possible and find out who is behind the rumors." The third prince said in a deep voice, with a determined light flashing in his eyes. "At the same time, we must also strengthen our own strength to ensure that we can be invincible at the critical moment."

Alice and Tariq nodded in agreement. They knew the cruelty and complexity of this struggle.

The words of the Third Prince echoed in the spacious meeting room, and everyone's face was filled with solemnity and thought. The flickering candlelight stretched their shadows long, as if even the air was filled with a sense of urgency and uneasiness.

"I've always felt that there was something fishy about the rumor about the treasure." Alice stroked her hair gently, her brows furrowed. Her voice was soft but firm, and she said, "We entered the ruins of the altar, and all we saw were ancient and complicated mechanisms. If it weren't for the three of us working together, we probably wouldn't have been able to get out of there unscathed. And none of the people who entered with us survived. This is a huge mystery in itself."

She paused for a moment, her eyes swept across everyone's faces, and continued, "More importantly, after leaving the ruins, the three of us were almost inseparable, and there was no chance for us to pass on any information privately. So, how did this rumor spread? Is it really groundless?"

Upon hearing this, Tariq clenched his fists and a cold light flashed in his eyes. "Alice is right. There must be a conspiracy behind this. I think it may not be that one of us leaked the secret, but that someone has grasped our whereabouts without our knowledge, and may have even set up a trap before we entered the ruins."

He stood up and slowly walked to the window, staring at the brightest star in the night sky, as if looking for answers in the endless darkness. "We must consider whether there is someone outside the ruins who can monitor our every move through some special means. For example, those who failed to enter the ruins but have ulterior motives may have magic or technology that we don't know about."

One of the counselors, the older Calvin, stroked his beard and spoke slowly: "Your Highness, what General Tariq said is not without reason. But in my opinion, the spreaders of this rumor may not be limited to the direct participants. In the palace, the forces are complicated and intricate, and any disturbance may become a pawn in the hands of someone. Perhaps the root of this rumor lies in some people who are not good for Your Highness. They intend to use this to weaken Your Highness's reputation and pave the way for future power struggles."

The Third Prince's eyes became deeper when he heard this, and he nodded slowly to show his agreement. "Mr. Calvin's analysis makes sense. But the question is, how do we find the enemy hiding in the dark? And how do we prove our innocence?"

At this time, another young counselor, Leah, proposed a bold hypothesis: "Perhaps, we can look for clues from those who did not survive. Although they are dead, their relics, or their words and deeds before entering the ruins, may reveal some clues."

Alice's eyes sparkled when she heard this, and she quickly took over the conversation: "Liya's suggestion is worth a try. I remember that before entering the ruins, I had a brief exchange with several companions, and some of them mentioned their desire for a certain treasure in the ruins. Perhaps this can be the starting point of our investigation."