Chapter 039 Drama

Wang Bo was startled, his steps faltering slightly, but he quickly recovered.

Qin Liangyu saw it clearly, stepped closer, and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

Wang Bo replied, "I just heard Lady Gremory's voice, but it was intermittent and unclear."

Qin Liangyu glanced around the palace and asked, "You mean that demon is here?"

"Very likely." As he spoke, Wang Bo looked at the cat in his arms, Bael, and asked softly, "Lord Bael, is Lady Gremory here?"

"Yes." Bael lazily turned over and said, "That fool Gremory is trapped here, but not in this space—in another space."

"Another space?" Wang Bo immediately understood. "Lord Bael, you mean Lady Gremory is trapped by space magic."

Bael nodded. "A very interesting space magic, breathtaking. The one who invented this magic has an understanding of space that even I cannot match. The multiverse is indeed vast, full of fascinating beings."

Wang Bo suppressed his astonishment and tried to contact Lady Gremory through their contract.

"Where are you?"

Lady Gremory's voice was still intermittent. "I... am... in... the... palace... you... must... be... careful..."

Wang Bo was bewildered. Lady Gremory said she was in some palace—the imperial palace or another palace? There were too many palaces within the Forbidden City.

As for "be careful," Wang Bo had heard that clearly.

Of course he knew he had to be careful, but with Lord Bael around, his safety should be assured.

Moreover, with Lord Bael's help, Wang Bo had been reborn, his magic transformed, no longer what he once was. Even if he encountered Mephisto again, Wang Bo would not flee... probably.

Before long, the group finally arrived before the Xuanzheng Hall of the Daming Palace.

The Daming Palace was the imperial palace, the main palace of the Great Tang Empire, the political center and national symbol of the Tang Dynasty, located on Longshou Plateau north of Chang'an, the Tang capital.

Incidentally, the Daming Palace was first built in the eighth year of the Zhenguan era under Emperor Taizong of Tang, originally named Yong'an Palace.

And this Daming Palace was the most magnificent and splendid palace complex in the world at that time, grand in scale and complete in layout, hailed as... the pinnacle of ancient palace architecture.

The Xuanzheng Hall was the second largest hall in the Daming Palace of Chang'an, used for daily court sessions, second only to the Hanyuan Hall, the outer court's main audience hall to the south.

The emperor held daily court meetings, listened to government affairs, and conducted grand ceremonies such as the first and fifteenth day audiences and investitures in the Xuanzheng Hall. It was also the administrative center where the emperor held regular court and officials conducted business.

Today was no exception.

Upon arriving at the Xuanzheng Hall, the group stopped outside. Chen Xuanli stepped forward to report Wang Bo's arrival. Soon, the order to summon An Lushan was relayed layer by layer.

Wang Bo smiled slightly, handed Bael to Qin Liangyu, and turned to enter the Xuanzheng Hall.

As he entered the hall, the eyes of all the civil and military officials swept over him, but Wang Bo paid them no heed, his gaze fixed on only one person.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, seated on the dragon throne.

The attendant by his side was Gao Lishi, whom Wang Bo had met a few times.

"Your servant greets Your Majesty." Wang Bo neither bowed nor knelt, merely inclining his head slightly.

Li Longji's face was dark, seemingly displeased, as he stared intently at Wang Bo.

In the past, when An Lushan did not kneel before him, he had not minded. But ever since he learned that An Lushan was a cruel, cold-hearted, and ruthless man, for some reason, he simply could not stand the sight of him.

Now seeing Wang Bo not kneeling, Li Longji's expression turned very sour.

Yang Guozhong sneered and immediately stepped forward. "How dare you, An Lushan, show contempt for His Majesty! I see you have no regard for the emperor at all."

Then, respectfully addressing Li Longji, he said, "Your Majesty, An Lushan is unruly, insolent, lawless, indulging his concubine to murder his own son—utterly heartless and worse than a beast. How can such a ruthless and ungrateful man be allowed to stand in court?"

"Your servant requests that Your Majesty immediately arrest An Lushan, strip him of all titles, throw him into the imperial prison, and await punishment."

Wang Bo turned his head and said, "Yang Guozhong, when did I ever indulge my concubine to kill someone?"

Yang Guozhong sneered. "An Lushan, who is that Qin Liangyu?"

Wang Bo chuckled. "Yang Guozhong, you've done your homework well, even knowing Qin Liangyu's name."

Yang Guozhong sneered inwardly, thinking, I know Qin Liangyu's name all because of you fool. If you hadn't been so careless and failed to keep the news under wraps, how could I have learned Qin Liangyu's name?

An Lushan, after letting Qin Liangyu kill your own son, you didn't even bother to suppress the news, and you openly live with her.

With such arrogance, how can you escape death?

On the dragon throne, Li Longji's expression was stern, his gaze icy. He slowly spoke, "An Lushan, what explanation do you have for this matter?"

Wang Bo met Li Longji's eyes and said, "Your Majesty, please see clearly. I believe this matter is simply Yang Guozhong slandering me. Therefore, I request Your Majesty to judge, strip Yang Guozhong of his chancellor position, and behead him to set the record straight."

Li Longji nodded and said, "An Lushan, what you say is reasonable. Guards, seize Yang Guozhong."

Instantly, the entire hall erupted in uproar.

The civil and military officials on both sides stared at Li Longji in disbelief.

Even Yang Guozhong was dumbfounded, looking at Li Longji incredulously, never expecting events to take such a dramatic turn.

Weren't we supposed to join forces to eliminate An Lushan?

Why kill me?

He looked at the others and found that most officials were as bewildered as he was, at a loss.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, why are you killing me?" Yang Guozhong fell to his knees with a thud, pleading desperately.

The officials exchanged glances, none understanding what Li Longji was up to. Until things became clear, they all played it safe, eyes on their noses, noses on their hearts.

Only a few of Yang Guozhong's cronies, sensing trouble, quickly stepped forward to plead for him.

Even Gao Lishi, standing beside Li Longji, sensed something amiss and softly reminded him, "Your Majesty? Your Majesty?"

Li Longji ignored him and barked, "Guards!"

Several fully armed Imperial Guards entered, led by Chen Xuanli.

Li Longji pointed at Yang Guozhong and said, "Chen Xuanli, take Yang Guozhong out and behead him."

Chen Xuanli was dumbfounded. He looked at Wang Bo, then at Yang Guozhong, unable to understand how things had come to this. Weren't they supposed to deal with An Lushan?

Why suddenly behead Yang Guozhong?