Chapter 16 : Chapter 16
Chapter 16. The Second Prince Makes His Move
Having made up his mind, William planned to begin immediately.
He still had more than six million gold coins in his possession. Rather than letting them sit idle, it would be better to invest them all and convert them into real, tangible strength.
Just as he was pondering this, a court knight hurried over and bowed respectfully.
“Your Highness the Fourth Prince, your attendant has angered the Second Prince. He has been seized and is currently being punished.”
William’s expression turned icy as he said in a low voice, “Lead the way.”
The knight responded and guided him forward. The two quickly walked around a palace building, and from a distance they could already hear a suppressed scream of pain.
William’s heart tightened. He quickened his pace, pushed open the door, and entered a side hall.
His appearance instantly drew the attention of everyone inside.
The Second Prince sat lazily in the main seat. When he saw William enter, a playful smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
“Fourth Brother, you arrived just in time. Your attendant is quite capable—he actually dared to cheat in a gambling game.”
On the floor of the hall, a young attendant was being pinned down. Clear slap marks were visible on his face, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
When he saw William enter, he struggled and shouted, “Your Highness! Your Highness! I did not cheat!”
The intense pain forced him to gasp.
“I… I lose money every day. I only joined the games to get closer to the sons of the dukes and marquises, to expand my connections… Does losing a lot make it cheating?”
“Still talking tough!”
The third son of Duke Lane stepped forward and slapped the attendant viciously across the face.
“Are you suggesting that His Highness the Second Prince would falsely accuse you?”
The crisp sound of the slap echoed through the hall. The attendant groaned in pain but stubbornly raised his head and looked toward William.
William’s gaze swept over the wounds on the attendant’s body before settling on the Second Prince and the duke’s third son. His eyes were as cold as ice.
“Second Brother, since when did outsiders gain the right to lay hands on my people?”
The Second Prince raised an eyebrow and leisurely toyed with the agate beads in his hand.
“What do you mean, Fourth Brother? Your attendant committed an offense. Should he not be punished?”
“An offense?”
William stepped forward, and the aura around him suddenly turned sharp.
“If he truly cheated, I will deal with him myself.”
“But now—who can prove that he cheated?”
“Is it because he lost too much money, or simply because of a single word from you, Second Brother?”
His gaze was like a blade as it swept over the noble youths who were watching the spectacle.
“Everyone here was present. Who saw him cheat? Step forward and say it.”
Under his gaze, the crowd fell silent. One by one, they lowered their heads.
Everyone knew the truth. This was merely the Second Prince using the incident as an excuse to intimidate the Fourth Prince. The so-called cheating was nothing more than a pretext.
The third son of Duke Lane still wanted to act fiercely, but when William shot him a cold glance, he instinctively stepped back half a step.
“Release him.”
William looked at the Second Prince, his tone leaving no room for refusal.
“My attendant. I will take him back and question him myself.”
“If he truly did something wrong, I will give you an explanation, Second Brother.”
The smile on the Second Prince’s face faded. He stared at William for a moment before suddenly laughing.
“Very well. Since Fourth Brother has spoken, I will naturally give you that face.”
He waved his hand.
“Let him go.”
The two guards restraining the attendant released their grip.
The attendant staggered to his feet, clutching his stomach as he moved behind William. His eyes were filled with gratitude and lingering fear.
William did not look at the Second Prince again. He turned and led the attendant toward the exit.
When he reached the doorway, he paused. With his back to the people in the hall, he said:
“In the future, before anyone touches my people, they had better think twice.”
“You may be the son of a duke, but I am still the king’s son. Even a dog should learn to be smart—otherwise it might get beaten to death one day.”
With that, he left the side hall without looking back.
Inside the hall, the smile on the Second Prince’s face vanished completely. The agate beads in his hand creaked as he squeezed them tightly.
The sunlight outside the hall was somewhat blinding. Supporting the injured attendant, William softened his voice slightly.
“Go back and have a physician examine you. After you recover, tell me exactly what happened.”
The attendant nodded, choking with emotion.
William looked toward the distant palace buildings, his gaze growing increasingly solemn.
The Second Prince’s provocation was only the beginning.
He had to be strong. If he showed weakness even once…
However, the aftermath of this incident far exceeded William’s expectations.
Early the next morning, a large group of attendants of noble birth gathered outside his palace. Their expressions were awkward, but each of them declared that they wished to resign from their positions as attendants.
William looked at them and immediately understood.
This was pressure from the First Prince, the Second Prince, and the others. They were trying to isolate him through this method.
He did not stop them. Instead, he simply nodded calmly.
“Since you have already made up your minds, then go.”
These attendants had clearly prepared for this beforehand. Not a single one mentioned the cultivation resources or tuition William had previously invested in them. They simply bowed hastily before leaving together, as though staying even a moment longer would be a burden.
Looking at the now-empty courtyard, a cold curve appeared at the corner of William’s mouth.
They truly could not wait to make their move. The king had not even gone far yet, and they already dared to attack him so openly. Things were becoming more and more interesting.
“Since you cannot sit still, I might as well give you something to do as well,” he murmured to himself, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
Turning back to the study, William immediately summoned Knight Tos.
“Go investigate. Within the past month, check whether any businesses under the Second Prince’s name have violated regulations—especially regarding taxes and territorial procurement. The more detailed, the better.”
Tos froze for a moment before quickly understanding. He bowed.
“This subordinate will handle it immediately.”
William walked to the window and looked out at the still-bustling royal palace.
Did those noble youths think removing a few attendants would embarrass him?
How naïve.
He had only ever liked their money, not the people themselves.
As for the Second Prince’s provocation, it would naturally be repaid many times over.
His merchant caravans, his territorial estates, his spice trade… Which one of them was truly clean? Since the Second Prince had struck first, he could hardly blame William for digging up old accounts.
Sunlight streamed through the lattice window and illuminated the map of the Northern Frontier spread across the desk.
William lightly tapped the map with his finger, his gaze deep.
The farce in the royal capital was only an appetizer. The real contest still lay ahead.
He had plenty of patience to play this game with them slowly.
Sure enough, Knight Tos soon uncovered some leads. But that very night, he was attacked by assassins.
Fortunately, the guards secretly arranged by Marquis Peter intervened in time. Otherwise, Tos might not have survived.
William looked at the unconscious Tos who had been carried back. The wound on his chest was still bleeding, and his face was as pale as paper.
William did not dare delay. He immediately took out a high-grade healing potion and fed it to him.
The pale green potion flowed down Tos’s throat. A faint glow appeared around the wound, and the bleeding gradually stopped.
Only after Tos’s breathing stabilized did William pick up the parchment scroll that had been soaked with blood over half its surface.
It recorded the accounts of several merchant guilds under the Second Prince’s name. On the surface, the books were flawless, so neat that no mistakes could be found.
But when William compared them with the actual scale and trade volume of those guilds that he had investigated, he instantly saw the problem.
The taxes they paid to the royal family each year were nearly fifty percent lower than the normal amount.
Tax evasion—clear evidence.
“Your Highness… cough… be careful…”
Tos spoke weakly, his voice intermittent.
“They… will not stop…”
“I know,” William replied in a deep voice, his eyes as cold as ice. “Focus on recovering. Leave the rest to me.”