Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne Chapter 1108 - 136: Prince Han Dares Not Return to the Capital

At Prince Han Mansion in Youzhou.

Once the spy wrapped up his report, Prince Han's face contorted into a savage snarl, his voice dripping with icy malice and dread: "Say it again!"

A chill gripped the spy's heart; he stuttered, reciting his earlier words precisely, without omission.

Having heard it repeated, Prince Han surged with wrath and hurled the desk before him aside.

"Get out!"

The spy whirled around and swiftly withdrew.

Off to the side, Yang Qi's scalp prickled as he observed Prince Han exploding in fury.

Prince Han rampaged wildly, demolishing over half the study's contents. His blazing anger cooled somewhat only amid the resulting wreckage.

Yang Qi held his tongue. As soon as Prince Han quit his haphazard destruction, he urged him against letting rage damage his well-being.

"Sir, our schemes in Annan, Pyu Kingdom, and Johor are all destroyed. How can you expect me to keep calm?" Prince Han's eyes burned crimson with rage, his features warped as though craving to swallow someone whole. "The setups in Annan were years of our toil—now they're gone, utterly gone!"

Yang Qi surmised, "It should be Prince Han’s doing." None but Prince Han, tied closely to realms like Annan and Johor, could have quietly dismantled their operatives.

Prince Han suspected Zhao Yao too. With resentment carving his face, he spat, "I truly underestimated him; never imagined he'd possess such prowess, bold enough to purge my men." He had long scorned Zhao Yao, his supposed younger brother. Truth be told, he never deemed him family. Blood-related or not, Prince Han viewed Zhao Yao's humble birth as unworthy of brotherhood.

One more cause lingered. Zhao Yao had forever appeared profoundly dim and insignificant. Prince Han refused to see him as kin, let alone spare him a glance.

A year prior, Zhao Yao crafted glass in Swamp Prefecture. Prince Han patronizingly extended a partnership, rejected outright by Zhao Yao. Outraged at the slight, Prince Han sought to punish him, dispatching assassins—yet every attempt failed. Henceforth, he acknowledged Zhao Yao's cunning, though he still dismissed any real danger.

Beyond Zhao Yao, even Prince Chu—the emperor's utmost favorite—earned Prince Han's contempt.

Though stationed in Swamp Prefecture near Annan and Johor-like states, Zhao Yao never drew Prince Han's defenses. Prince Han believed him too inept to uncover operations in those lands.

His intrigues in Annan, Pyu Kingdom, and others evaded even the Imperial Court's notice, far less Zhao Yao's. Yet Prince Han had just endured harsh slaps, leaving his cheeks inflamed and swollen.

Zhao Yao, perpetually belittled, had pierced his secrets in Annan, Siam, and beyond, then obliterated his networks undetected.

Prince Han, steeped in self-importance, reeled from the shattering reversal.

"Good! Good! Good! Truly splendid!" Prince Han raged, his molars grinding fiercely.

Yang Qi now agonized over a separate concern, too timid to reveal it to Prince Han.

"Zhao Yao! I'll shred you limb from limb!" Only vivisecting Zhao Yao would quench Prince Han's seething grudge.

"Your Highness, Prince Han's silent purge of our agents in Annan and Siam implies he has operatives there too. How else did he pinpoint ours?" They had sorely misjudged Prince Han. He had masterminded a trade summit in Swamp Prefecture, dealing with Annan, Siam, and kin. Impossible for him to lack spies in those places. "His clout there doubtless outstrips ours, or our people wouldn't have vanished without trace.

Those embedded in Annan and similar domains weren't mere wastrels. Ordinarily, facing elimination, they'd foresee it and alert Youzhou. No word arrived, proving Prince Han's forces struck swiftly and unseen.

For years, they'd nurtured vast sway in Annan, Johor, and the like, burrowing deep—even into royal lineages. Yet Prince Han annihilated it entirely, his dominance plainly eclipsing theirs.

Prince Han visited Swamp Prefecture merely last year and hosted the trade conference just this year. How could he have forged such a formidable influence across these nations in so short a time? Utterly impossible—building influence demands years. This points to Prince Han secretly grooming his followers in places like Annan well before his journey to Swamp Prefecture. Simply put, Prince Han chose to venture into Lingnan of his own accord, with preparations laid out far in advance.