He did not wait for the full imperial procession and instead returned swiftly with only General Meng and a few hundred soldiers.
An unexpected incident occurred as they passed through a bamboo forest.
A group of highly skilled individuals had been secretly ambushed there, waiting for the First Prince to walk into a trap alone.
Soon, the First Prince's men were caught off guard, and many fell from their horses.
General Meng, while protecting the First Prince, also had to fight off the surging assassins, finding himself stretched thin.
The First Prince had never anticipated anyone waiting for them here.
Indeed, the plan was to capture them all.
If Emperor Qi were killed in the explosion, he would have to rush back to the palace, and these assassins would be waiting to kill him.
But if Emperor Qi survived the explosion, he would likely rush back to the palace as well, and these assassins would deliver the fatal blow to him.
Such a meticulously laid trap left them no room to escape.
General Meng was struck twice and was on the verge of being unable to protect the First Prince.
The First Prince's eyes turned red with desperation, wondering if his lifetime of honor would end here.
The assassins had already cut down all the guards around him and were advancing towards him.
With a hardened heart, the First Prince immediately pushed the severely wounded General Meng forward to shield him from the incoming blades, then mounted his horse and fled with the remaining dozen or so men.
Feeling the blade pierce his chest, General Meng spat blood. He wanted to say something but could not open his mouth.
The attacker understood his intention and leaned close to his ear, revealing the truth before he died.
"The Duke said that General Meng was heroic. Is it more glorious to die saving the Emperor, or to be later accused as the mastermind? The General must have his own calculations."
As he spoke, he twisted the blade deeper into the wound.
Blood gushed from the large hole in his chest, and he soon lost consciousness.
Watching the First Prince's receding figure, the leader of the black-clad assassins did not order a pursuit. Instead, they all disappeared into the bamboo forest.
The First Prince raced back to Dongdu City like a madman, completely unaware that he was now truly running into a perfectly constructed trap.
"Close the city gates! Quickly! Close the city gates!"
The First Prince shouted as he galloped his horse.
The guards at the gate had just seen the First Prince leave the city with the imperial procession, looking so majestic then. Now, they saw him in such a sorry state.
However, they had to obey the First Prince's command and immediately began to close the city gate!
Simultaneously, the city gates to the east, south, west, and north also received orders and were closed.
Dongdu City now stood like an impenetrable fortress, yet no one knew why the gates were closed.
The common people were in a state of panic, while the court officials unexpectedly received an imperial decree stating that the First Prince had ordered them to enter the palace to discuss important matters.
Wasn't the First Prince with His Majesty at Fahua Temple?
How did he suddenly return to the capital?
And to summon everyone for urgent discussions, could it be that His Majesty had met with misfortune?
As expected, when they rushed to the palace, they learned the devastating news of Emperor Qi's assassination.
"The bodies of Father Emperor and Mother Empress will be brought back from Fahua Temple shortly. However, someone must have orchestrated this. They sought to kill Father Emperor and also to kill this prince. This shows an insatiable desire for the throne!"
As soon as the First Prince spoke, even a fool would understand who he was referring to.
The officials aligned with the First Prince, seeing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, were determined to pin the blame on the Ninth Prince, even if he were innocent, to prevent him from ever recovering.
Thus, they began to argue amongst themselves. The Ninth Prince's faction, lacking the support of the Wei family, was defeated after several rounds of debate.
Just as the First Prince's faction was about to solidify the accusation, a stern voice from outside announced the arrival of the long-absent Duke.
Behind him were the Ninth Prince and Wei Dalang, as well as General Meng, whose wounds were also hastily bandaged.
Upon first seeing General Meng, the First Prince was astonished.
"You're not dead?!"
General Meng sneered, "Your Highness probably wished I were dead, otherwise, wouldn't your lie be exposed?"
His surprised expression was witnessed by all the court officials.
One by one, they began to doubt the First Prince's words.
The First Prince now found himself unable to defend himself. His surprise was merely due to his guilt over pushing General Meng out to take the blow, not expecting him to survive.
It had caused him a moment of panic.
Unfortunately, seeing their master arrive, the Ninth Prince's faction straightened their backs and asked General Meng,
"What do you mean?"
General Meng suddenly pointed and said,
"It was him! He ordered the Emperor's death and then tried to silence me. If I hadn't realized it in time and escaped, I would have been beheaded!"
"What! How dare you spout such nonsense!"
The First Prince finally understood. This was clearly a series of schemes.
After his father was killed in the explosion, it was General Meng who first urged him to return to the capital. And it was General Meng who stopped him from being pursued in the bamboo forest.
It wasn't about him returning quickly to take charge, but a deliberate setup for him to fall into a trap.
General Meng was a trusted confidant of His Majesty.
His words carried more weight than ten of the First Prince's.
At this moment, the First Prince's faction members all looked flustered. The truth of regicide or not was no longer important.
The victor takes all, just as they had intended to frame the Ninth Prince earlier.
Therefore, they were now contemplating how to turn the tide.
Listening to General Meng's distortion of facts, the First Prince could no longer tolerate it.
He immediately rebuked, "This is sheer audacity, to implicate this prince so casually. Master Jueyuan of Fahua Temple was present at the scene. If he is summoned, my innocence will be cleared!"
As soon as he finished speaking, General Meng snorted.
"Your Highness has a clever plan. Master Jueyuan died saving His Majesty at Fahua Temple. You can try to summon him, and see if he has a mouth to speak in your defense."
"You!"
At this moment, the First Prince truly felt what it meant to be trapped in an inescapable scheme.
Seeing the one-eyed Duke of Wei staring at him, he understood the general situation.
"Duke Wei, you have great skill. You first schemed against Father Emperor, and then against this prince. You intend to send us both to hell so that my Ninth Brother can inherit the throne, is that it?"
Since there was no turning back, the First Prince no longer feared saying offensive things and proceeded to expose Duke Wei's entire plan.
Duke Wei's expression remained as steady as a mountain, unfazed by the First Prince's accusations.
Having navigated the court for decades, he had faced countless accusations.
The First Prince's words, designed to strike at the heart, were of little consequence to him.
Instead, he turned to the assembled ministers and said.