The sun rose, and Prince Sam was in discussion with several ministers he had courted.
At this moment, a silver-masked man and two bronze-masked men walked in!
The other ministers looked alarmed and retreated one after another. They all knew about the news of many ministers being killed the previous night, and some had seen these masked figures as the culprits.
"Don't panic!"
Prince Sam spoke to calm everyone, smiling as he explained, "Those three were sent by me!"
Only then did the ministers breathe a sigh of relief, but soon their faces turned pale as they looked at each other. The mastermind behind this was actually Prince Sam!
Although these ministers were all on Prince Sam's side, they were completely unaware of this matter. Upon learning of it, they all broke out in a cold sweat.
No one present was foolish. Among the twelve ministers Prince Sam had sent people to kill, some were loyal subjects of the King, and others were allies of two other princes.
Was Prince Sam planning a coup?
Everyone held their breath, for this was treason. If it succeeded, all would be well, but if it failed, everyone would have to be buried with Prince Sam.
"Heh, what? Are you scared?"
Prince Sam looked at the ministers with a cold smile on his face. "The old King has been seriously ill for many years and could breathe his last breath at any moment. When that time comes, who will inherit the throne? Prince Saqi?"
"Let's not even talk about Prince Saqi being too young, inexperienced, and incapable. Would you obey him as king? Furthermore, I've received word that Prince Saqi has been missing for almost a month!"
"Besides Prince Saqi, who else can inherit the throne? That little girl, Xibeiya?"
"Besides me, who else is qualified to inherit the throne?"
Prince Sam said proudly, then looked at everyone, "You are all people I value. Therefore, once I inherit the throne, you will all be meritorious officials! But if anyone does not cooperate with me, they will have only one outcome!"
At these words, many ministers trembled slightly.
They knew without him saying it that if they didn't stand with Prince Sam, their fate would be the same as the twelve who had died.
"I swear to follow Your Highness Prince Sam to the death!"
Suddenly, a minister stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
Soon, the other ministers followed suit, their courage bolstered, and they all shouted, "We swear to follow you to the death!"
"Hahaha…"
Prince Sam was overjoyed to hear this. At this moment, he truly felt the sensation of soon becoming king.
He felt as if he would be standing in the grand hall the next moment, receiving the worship and awe of all royal family members, becoming the supreme ruler of the royal family.
"Your Highness!"
Suddenly, a voice came from behind. Prince Sam turned his head and saw Ye Cangtian speaking, "The people on the list have been dealt with. May I ask what Your Highness's next plan is..."
"The next plan? Isn't it obvious? The opportunity is right before me, so of course, I will go and take what belongs to me!" Prince Sam said as a matter of course.
Ye Cangtian shook his head. "Your Highness, doing this is very risky. I think it's better to proceed according to your original plan. First, let the royal family fall into chaos, and then Your Highness can seize power under the guise of saving the royal family!"
"You mean I should wait?"
Prince Sam pouted. Doing so would be safer, but he couldn't wait any longer!
He also feared that something unexpected might happen while waiting, especially since he had two competitors, even though those two competitors had already lost their influence.
Seeing that the other party still intended to persuade him, Prince Sam waved his hand and said seriously, "No need to say more! You have done well in this matter, and I will reward you accordingly later. You may leave now!"
Seeing this, he intended to let Ye Cangtian and the other two leave.
Ye Cangtian raised an eyebrow and stepped forward, saying, "Your Highness, we have a cooperative relationship."
Prince Sam nodded and said calmly, "It was indeed a cooperative relationship before, but now you are of no use to me, aren't you?"
This was tantamount to burning bridges!
Even Huang Wu and Huang San were angered by these words and walked to Ye Cangtian's side.
However, at this moment, hurried footsteps rushed out from not far away.
Dozens of armed guards surrounded Ye Cangtian and the other two, while also protecting Prince Sam. Snipers were also aiming at the three from the shadows.
Prince Sam said indifferently, "I'm giving you a chance to leave! I will also have my subordinates prepare the payment for the killings and send it to you!"
"But if you still don't know what's good for you, hehe, I don't mind arresting you. That way, I can also claim to the outside world that I captured the three culprits who killed the royal ministers!"
"You!" Huang Wu and Huang San's faces turned green with anger.
This was the first time they had ever met such a shameless person!
Ye Cangtian was barely holding back his laughter. He actually wished that the other party would terminate the cooperation, so that if the other party failed, he could tell Zi Long that it was the other party's fault!
Although he was happy in his heart, he still had to pretend to be very angry and turned to Huang Wu and Huang San, "Let's go!"
Dozens of guards looked at Prince Sam.
Prince Sam waved his hand. He naturally had no intention of arresting these three, as the Dark Association organization was still quite a formidable force.
The guards cleared a path, and the three were allowed to leave.
A moment later, they walked out of the manor.
Huang Wu couldn't help but grit his teeth and curse, "This bastard is truly a worthless fellow! We had a deal for cooperation, but after helping him kill people, he just burned the bridge!"
Huang San was also very displeased and looked at Ye Cangtian, saying, "Executive, are we just going to let this go?"
Ye Cangtian sighed and nodded. "Although this person has severed our cooperative relationship, causing our mission to be unfulfilled, there's nothing we can do about him!"
"However, I don't think things are that simple. It won't be easy for the other party to seize power. Let's observe for a while, and I'll report this matter to Lord Zi Long later!"
This was all they could do. Huang Wu and Huang San nodded helplessly.
Little did they know that their executive in front of them was finding it increasingly difficult to continue his act.
...
Although the royal family tried their best to cover up the assassination of the twelve ministers, the news still spread rapidly.
Many local ministers became uneasy, fearing that they would be the next to be assassinated.
Some also guessed that this was internal strife within the royal family and worried that the situation would further deteriorate!
Of course, more people questioned Princess Xibeiya's capabilities.
After all, although important officials had been assassinated in the royal family in previous years, twelve ministers being assassinated in a single night was unprecedented!
Princess Xibeiya handling state affairs on behalf of the old King had already caused dissatisfaction among many. It was only because she was highly capable and left no room for criticism that there weren't many dissenting voices.
But now that such a major event had occurred, the opposition within the royal family was growing!