My father, Gao Huan, is an invincible prince!

Chapter 62 The Crown Prince's Heart-Piercing Insult Causes the Wise Men to Lose Their Courage!

Meanwhile, inside the main hall of the Sima Mansion.

Sima Ziru, Sun Teng, Gao Yue, and Gao Longzhi were already feeling extremely uneasy.

"Why is there still no news?"

Gao Longzhi was the first to lose his composure and asked Sima Ziru in a low voice, his voice full of anxiety.

Sima Ziru's face was also gloomy, but he forced himself to remain calm and said, "Please... wait a moment. The governor's mansion is heavily guarded, so it is only natural that it will take a little longer."

"Common sense?"

Gao Longzhi gritted his teeth and said, "Judging from this matter, I fear there may be unforeseen circumstances. That brat is so fearless today, could it be... could it be that he had prepared in advance?"

Upon hearing this, the four men's expressions grew even more unpleasant.

Sun Teng couldn't help but shudder, and the methods Liu Taozhi used in the side courtyard that still haunted him resurfaced in his mind.

"It can't be that bad...it can't be that bad..."

After a moment, he murmured to himself, as if trying to comfort himself: "That young fellow is not even twenty years old, how could he possibly have calculated everything so flawlessly?"

Just as they were eagerly anticipating the arrival of the guests, a series of hurried footsteps finally came from outside the hall.

"They've arrived!"

Gao Yue let out a soft cry, a glimmer of light appearing in his eyes.

The remaining three also perked up, immediately straightened their backs, and looked on with anticipation.

However, the moment they saw who it was, the hope on their faces froze instantly and turned into utter despair.

The visitor was not a spy they had sent, but a young general covered in blood, his armor still stained with bits of flesh.

It was Wang Hong.

Wang Hong, covered in blood and his black robe stained crimson, strode in, carrying a long, blood-dripping sword. His gaze swept over the guests, finally settling on Sima Ziru and his three companions, a disdainful sneer playing on his lips.

The four men's faces turned deathly pale in an instant after laughing, as if all the blood had been drained from their bodies.

Wang Hong nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this.

He then strode to Gao Cheng's desk, knelt on one knee, and loudly reported, "Your Highness, the rat traps in the manor have been set, and eighteen rats have been caught and killed without exception. I have come to report this and request that Your Highness return to the manor to inspect them."

Upon hearing this, Gao Cheng, Gao Yang, and Duan Shao exchanged a smile, for the matter was settled!

"Eighteen..."

Conversely, when Sima Ziru and others heard this amount, they were so shocked that they almost fainted.

The number eighteen was exactly the exact number of men they had dispatched.

In other words, not only did they fail to recover the evidence, they also gave away all the pawns they had painstakingly planted in the Governor's Mansion.

In other words, at this point, they had no more cards to play.

Sun Teng, his face ashen, slumped in his chair, muttering, "It's over...it's all over..."

At this moment, Gao Cheng did not linger any longer and immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Lord Sima, there has been a theft of rats in my residence, and I need to return to deal with it. I am deeply grateful for your hospitality today and will certainly host a banquet to repay you in the future."

Having said that, without waiting for a response from the four, he led Gao Yang, Duan Shao, Wang Hong, and the others away.

Watching Gao Cheng's figure disappear into the distance, the four of them finally lost all their strength and slumped into their chairs, their faces ashen.

The guests looked at the four people's behavior and couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment, wondering why they were behaving this way.

However, they are all seasoned officials, and even if they don't understand, they know how to seek advantage and avoid harm.

In an instant, all the guests in the hall stood up to take their leave.

"Lord Sima, I have matters to attend to at home and must take my leave now."

"Lord Gao, I take my leave."

"Take care, Grand Tutor Sun."

In a short while, all the guests had left.

The once bustling Sima Mansion suddenly became deserted, leaving only four dejected people.

Sima Ziru looked at the suddenly deserted mansion, grabbed the edge of the table to steady himself, and then laughed bitterly, "How could it come to this... How could that brat have foreseen our plans? Weren't our actions extremely meticulous?"

Gao Yue's face darkened: "Zhou Mi? In Gao Zihui's eyes, we are nothing but clowns. This boy's cunning and ruthlessness far surpass those of the former King Gao."

Gao Long slammed his fist on the table, gritting his teeth, "How can we let this go? How can we suffer this humiliation for nothing?"

At this moment, Sun Teng suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with resentment and venom, and gritted his teeth: "Absolutely not! I will personally go to Jinyang to meet with Prince Gao and impeach him for his arrogance and humiliation of my meritorious officials!"

"Sue him?"

Sima Ziru gave another bitter laugh: "What do you have to tell him? All the evidence is in his hands. If you go to Jinyang, I'm afraid you'll be implicated in treason before you even have a chance to meet King Gao."

Upon hearing this, Sun Teng was struck dumb, collapsed to the ground, and could no longer utter a word.

......

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Just as Gao Cheng led the group out of the Sima residence, Duan Shao, who had been holding back for a long time, finally couldn't contain himself any longer.

With a worried expression, he asked Gao Cheng, "Your Highness, was today's action perhaps too forceful? Although Sun Teng and Sima Ziru are greedy and lawless, they are still Your Majesty's old subordinates and have rendered meritorious service in supporting the emperor. Today, having suffered such a great humiliation, they will surely harbor resentment and may bring harm to Jinyang."

Unexpectedly, before Gao Cheng could even respond to Duan Shao's words, Gao Yang, with a disdainful expression, said, "What do you mean by 'serving the emperor'? You're nothing but arrogant fools, waiting to be crippled. You've taken advantage of your small contribution to occupy positions of power, looking down on everyone."

"In my opinion, my brother was too lenient today, only allowing Liu Taozhi to suffer a little humiliation before letting it go lightly. If I had done that, how could the old and frail Sun Teng have survived?"

Upon hearing Gao Yang's words, Duan Shao frowned immediately and said unhappily, "Second Brother, you are mistaken. Even if they have made mistakes, they are still meritorious officials. When Your Majesty raised your army in Xindu, your troops were few and your generals were few. If it weren't for them sacrificing their families to relieve the crisis, how could we have the foundation of the Great Wei today? In all things, we should leave room for maneuver. How can we drive them to their deaths?"

"Times change."

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang still scoffed disdainfully: "Those people may have had some merit in the past, but in recent years they have been greedy and insatiable, oppressing the common people. Their merits have long since vanished. If you, brother, execute them, you will be ridding the people of a scourge. Who would dare to utter a word of dissent?"

"you......"

Duan Shao was speechless, so he could only turn to Gao Cheng, hoping that he would say something fair.

However, Gao Cheng listened to the argument between the two and was quite unimpressed.

After all, while his methods today were indeed ruthless, they were far more restrained than those of the original owner in history.

It should be noted that in history, the original owner personally beat Sun Teng half to death with a sword ring, and in the end, Sun Teng was unable to make a fuss.

This shows that these old guys are only good at putting on a show; in reality, they have long been blinded by wealth and glory and have lost their ambition.

However, he also knew that Duan Shao's concerns were not entirely unfounded.

These people are, after all, former officials of Gao Huan. If we were to eliminate them all, it would inevitably discourage the other veteran officials.

Therefore, when he met Duan Shao's pleading gaze, he still waved his hand and said calmly, "Tie Fa's concerns are not without reason; Er Lang's words are not entirely wrong either."

Having said that, he then spoke slowly, saying, "My actions today are merely a mild punishment. If they realize the situation and behave themselves from now on, I will not go too far and will not hesitate to bestow upon them the honors they deserve. On the contrary, if they still dare to take risks, then do not blame me for being ruthless."

Upon hearing this, Duan Shao hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Gao Cheng, however, seemed to have seen through his thoughts and continued, "As for Jinyang, it is not worth worrying about. Father, with your great ambition, how could you not know the evil of those people? Their forbearance is merely out of consideration for past favors. Now that I have taken it upon myself to cleanse them, Father will surely be pleased, how could I be punished?"

Upon hearing this, Duan Shao finally sighed, nodded slightly, and said no more.