Chapter 149: Chu Mu Has Gone Too Far in Bullying Me

General Chu, do you have something to say to this Crown Prince!

Chu Mu must have been granted the gall of the heavens, daring to scheme against his people.

Just how much did he fail to take him, the Crown Prince, seriously?

If word of this got out, those fine imperial brothers of his would certainly find ways to mock and humiliate him.

He was simply pushing people too far.

Without even needing to listen, Shen Zhao knew what that guard had reported to the Crown Prince.

It was nothing more than the fact that she had taken Han Wenzai under her command.

"Your humble servant hasn't yet had the chance to thank Your Highness."

The Crown Prince froze, stunned. What nonsense was Chu Mu spouting?

He was here to hold him accountable; what was he thanking him for?

Was he trying to play the fool right in front of him?

How dare Chu Mu!

Did he truly think the Crown Prince was someone to be toyed with?

"Why thank Us?" The Crown Prince's tone carried a hint of chill.

If Chu Mu could not give him a reasonable explanation today, he would certainly not spare him.

Though this stubborn block of wood had finally figured things out, an enlightened Chu Mu was even more aggravating than his unenlightened former self.

He kept running wild in his territory, over and over again.

His life as Crown Prince was truly... deeply aggrieved.

Though on the surface he tried his utmost to suppress this fellow, he had never actually inflicted any real loss upon him.

On the contrary, this fellow looked as though he wanted to bite two chunks of flesh straight off his body.

Just how deep was this enmity?

He must be the most aggrieved Crown Prince since the founding of the Southern Chu dynasty.

Every day he had to play the madman and play the fool, maintaining a damn persona of a scoundrel, while managing to attract the bitter hatred of others.

Damn it all! Once he managed to ferret out all those treacherous villains one by one, he would let the world see what kind of person he truly was.

Especially this blind fool, Chu Mu.

"The Emperor commanded this humble servant to reorganize the Capital Garrison, and I was agonizing over how to begin. Your Highness is well aware that the factions within the Capital Garrison are a tangled mess, and this humble servant is merely an insignificant nobody. Clashing with any single faction is something I cannot afford to bear."

The Crown Prince's expression remained displeased. At least he still knew those factions in the Capital Garrison were forces he could not casually shake.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew. The Chu fellow didn't dare touch other people's subordinates, yet he dared to poach his!

It simply meant he still didn't take him, the Crown Prince, seriously at all!

It seemed only he was easy to bully!

No, he had to teach him a lesson so he would know the Crown Prince was not someone to be trifled with.

Just as the Crown Prince was about to unleash his wrath on Shen Zhao, he met a pair of grateful eyes looking back at him.

Those eyes gave him the creeps.

The reprimand teetering on the edge of his tongue vanished. What kind of trick was Chu Mu playing now?

Shen Zhao looked at the Crown Prince with grateful eyes and said, with a deeply moved expression, "This humble servant thought it would end in disappointment for the Emperor, just like all the times before. I never imagined that Your Highness would reach out a helping hand."

The Crown Prince started in surprise. When on earth had he ever extended a helping hand?

Such words could not be spoken carelessly. Although he possessed the inclination, reality simply didn't permit it—those people were still lurking in the shadows, watching.

If he truly helped Chu Mu, he would probably be collecting Chu Mu's corpse before long.

Those people would never sit idly by and watch him join forces with Chu Mu, nor would they ever tolerate him staining his hands with military power.

Even though he had arranged for Deputy Commander Han to enter the Capital Garrison, creating the superficial appearance of having influence in the military,

this power was entirely different from actual military clout.

In the eyes of those people, his actions were nothing more than petty games.

The only reason those people tolerated Chu Mu serving as a commander in the Capital Garrison was because Chu Mu possessed a head as hard as iron, refusing to be swayed by anyone, and certainly never bowing in submission to any faction.

Shen Zhao gazed sincerely into the Crown Prince's face, though inwardly she desperately wanted to slap him a few times—she couldn't.

She had to endure, letting out flattering words as if they cost nothing at all. "This humble servant was poisoned by scheming villains and fell unconscious. Your Highness, with profound consideration, arranged for Deputy Commander Han to take this opportunity and pledge allegiance to me.

This humble servant knows Your Highness did this to help me establish prestige within the military, signaling to the other factions that even Your Highness's own man has been brought under my command. This will inevitably make the other factions wary.

And today, Your Highness even made a special trip to the Capital Garrison to visit me, not only cementing my authority in the army but also drawing away the fury of the others, making them mistakenly believe that I have joined forces with Your Highness.

This deep consideration from Your Highness leaves this humble servant at a loss for how to express my gratitude.

If not for the fact that this humble servant is loyal only to the Emperor, I would most certainly stand shoulder to shoulder with Your Highness."

Listening to the first half of Chu Mu's words, the Crown Prince felt a measure of comfort—this fellow surnamed Chu had finally recognized his benevolence as Crown Prince. But the very last sentence almost choked him to death with anger.

This was handing him a sweet date only to immediately slap him across the face.

It was crystal clear that he had no intention of aligning with him.

No, wait, what kind of twisted logic was this?

The Chu fellow had poached his man, and he was supposed to be holding him accountable. How on earth had he let himself be fooled by a mere three sentences?

"What if I were to say that I never instructed Deputy Commander Han to pledge allegiance to General Chu at all?"

A flash of surprise crossed Shen Zhao's face, her eyes filled with a faint trace of disappointment. "So it was this humble servant who overthought it. I mistakenly believed Your Highness was assisting me; it turns out to have been entirely my own wishful thinking.

However, even if Your Highness gave no such command to Deputy Commander Han, he must now remain my man. If Your Highness were to take him back now, how would Your Highness explain it to the Emperor?

After all, I am tasked with reorganizing the Capital Garrison. If Your Highness were to take the man back or discard him, it would be equivalent to declaring to the world that Your Highness refuses to obey the Emperor's commands."

The Crown Prince held back his temper through repeated efforts, refusing to blow his top—this fellow surnamed Chu was actually resorting to threats now.

When gentle tactics failed, he turned to hardball.

And yet, annoyingly enough, he actually fell for this exact trick.

What the Chu fellow said was also true; having Deputy Commander Han pledge allegiance to him did indeed help establish his prestige in the army and would assist him in unifying the Capital Garrison sooner.

Yet he, the Crown Prince, could not afford to reveal any intention of helping him.

Too many people were still watching from the dark.

The Crown Prince's face darkened as he snapped, "Are you threatening Us? Aren't you afraid that Us might strip you of your position as commander of the Capital Garrison and put someone else in your place?"

"This humble servant is not afraid. I believe Your Highness would never do such a thing." The commander of the Capital Garrison could only be Chu Mu; if anyone else were put in his place, no faction would agree, because Chu Mu served no one and listened solely to the aged Emperor's commands.

The Crown Prince was certainly not foolish enough to pull him down.

If he were going to pull him down, he would have done so long ago, rather than standing here hurling idle threats.

For the Crown Prince knew that even if he removed Chu Mu, the person who eventually took the commander's seat might not necessarily be his own man.

The various imperial princes had all grown up, and the war for that supreme throne had long since begun.

As an imperial prince, who among them did not long to ascend to those lofty heights?

The Crown Prince gave a cold snort. "If there is a next time, Us will not spare you." With that, he stormed angrily out of the tent.

Shen Zhao could even hear the Crown Prince loudly berating his guards outside, the gist of it being that all the tonic gifts he had brought should be hauled right back—he would rather feed them to dogs than give them to her.

For some reason, she always felt that everything the Crown Prince displayed was completely fake.

It didn't feel like the Crown Prince's true nature, though perhaps it was just her imagination.

Regardless of what kind of person the Crown Prince truly was, nothing could alter the fact that he had suppressed his elder brothers, fabricated charges of corruption against them, and caused them to be exiled and reviled by the world.

That was an immutable reality.

Before long, the news of the Crown Prince leaving the Capital Garrison in a fit of rage swept rapidly across the entire camp.

Upon hearing the news, quite a few people felt a malicious sense of delight while simultaneously breathing sighs of relief, though another faction remained skeptical, suspecting it was merely a performance put on by the Crown Prince and Chu Mu.

"Han Wenzai and Liu Zhong request an audience with the General." The two men's resounding voices rang out from outside the tent.

In a weak voice, Shen Zhao replied, "Come in."

The moment Han Wenzai stepped inside, he dropped straight to his knees before Shen Zhao with a heavy thud.

Shen Zhao did not immediately address Han Wenzai; instead, she turned her gaze to Liu Zhong and issued an order: