Shengshichun

Chapter 307 Palace
"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Pei Zhan paid his respects and said, "This matter must start with an accident that happened outside the school performance venue before the Crown Prince Crowning Ceremony——"

"Wait a minute!" The emperor suddenly interrupted him when he heard this, and said thoughtfully: "Is this matter so deeply involved?"

Pei Zhan considered his words: "Indeed, at first I didn't expect that it would end up in such a situation."

The emperor nodded slightly and told the eunuch: "Please come over and listen together."

"I'm already here."

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, the queen's gentle yet majestic voice came from the door. Several people turned around and saw the usually simple woman walking in with only a palace maid. After calling "Your Majesty," she turned to Pei Zhan and the others and said, "I heard that you guys entered the palace so early, so I wondered if there was something important. It seems I was right."

Pei Zhan nodded and said, "Reporting to your Majesty, I am about to report to the Emperor the cause of Princess Rong's death." After receiving a nod from the Emperor, he continued: "At the school performance of the Crown Prince and Crown Ceremony, something happened. In an accident, Chu Yu, who held the position of commander, was suddenly injured and left the battle. Later, Zhang Huan's son Zhang Shicheng was accused of tampering with the substitute roster and was dismissed. However, Chu Yu was seriously injured and almost died on the spot that day. Richen's wife Fu Zhenhao was also in the crowd. While watching the drill, she happened to find out that Chu Yu was being plotted. In other words, the accident that day was actually a premeditation. "

"For whom?"

"This is Xu Yin, the Minister of Rites."

The emperor's expression remained unchanged: "Why is he the one accusing him? Do you have any evidence?"

Liang Chen held up his hands and said, "Cui Yu is in my residence. If the emperor wants to bring him to trial, I can summon him immediately."

"No need for the moment." The emperor said, "You continue to talk, Xu Yin is the minister of the Ministry of Rites and an important minister in the court, and the official position of Chu Yu you mentioned is not high, there should be no conflict between the two of them. Why did Xu Yin plot against Chu Yu? ?”

"Because Xu Yin wants to take the opportunity to frame the Zhang family and provoke conflicts within Prince Rong's palace."

"This statement is still inconsistent with Xu Yin's identity." The emperor said slowly, "As the son-in-law of Prince Rong's Palace, why would he provoke these conflicts? Prince Rong's Palace has become restless, which is not good for him."

"What the emperor said is true. But it might be reasonable to say that Xu Yin only uses Prince Rong's palace as a stepping stone to seize power."

The emperor said: "What do you mean, Xu Yin, who has a good reputation outside, is actually different from what he appears to be? But even so, Xu Yin has no reason to target Rong Prince's Palace. Moreover, Xu Yin has no family backing, so he can only How can he fight against Prince Rong's palace when he is alone? He is not afraid of exposing his flaws and letting Prince Rong know about it and deal with him in turn?"

"On that day, I discovered that the person who plotted against Chu Yu was actually Empress Xu Yin. I was puzzled. But later, I accidentally got a dagger. By tracing the origin of the dagger, I not only discovered that Prince Rong and the Crown Prince had conspired. A strange case of serial murders, and Xu Yin was also found to be involved in this case. King Rong and Xu Yin were trying to find excuses for each other. The reason why Xu Yin is like this is that he is confident. "

"Serial murderer?" The emperor put down the folding fan in his hand, "Where do you start talking about this?"

"It must start from an ordinary night six years ago."

When Pei Zhan said this, he presented the original drawing of the dagger he had brought with him: "I did not dare to ignore the palace rules and bring a sharp weapon to face the saint, so I drew the appearance of the dagger.

"Earlier, I got the origin of the dagger from Taifu Gu based on the carvings on it. Taifu Gu proved that this dagger came from the Yiwang Palace of Dayue Kingdom, and it should have been presented as a tribute to the previous king, because Taifu Gu said that there was a batch of daggers very similar to this one in the basement.

"And this dagger was found at the scene of the murder in Baiyu Hutong that night six years ago."

"The murder in Baiyu Alley!"

The emperor looked at the picture carefully and asked: "What kind of murder is it? Can Dali Temple have an archive?"

"No. This is a murder that almost no one knows about!"

"Then how did you know?"

"Chen's mother-in-law happens to be a witness in this case!"

The emperor and empress were shocked, looked at each other in unison, and then looked at Pei Zhan: "Your mother-in-law, I remember she is Ning Bochi's daughter!"

"Exactly! On the night of the incident, Chen's mother-in-law happened to witness the ins and outs in secret!"

The Queen, who had been sitting calmly and dignifiedly beside her, suddenly couldn't hold back at this moment: "Tell me the process of the case! What did King Rong and the others do?..."

……

The morning light illuminated the glazed tiles, reflecting the dazzling golden light.

Xu Yin stood in the front hall of the East Palace. The glazed tile roof opposite was illuminated for a small part, and the prince strode out.

"Shilang Xu?"

Even if the prince of a country is disturbed from his scheduled schedule, he still wears his clothes neatly and speaks calmly.

"See Your Highness."

"No courtesy." The prince waved his hand, looked at him pleasantly, and then said: "Why are you so early?"

"I have something important to report to Your Highness."

"What's the matter?" The prince sat down behind the case.

"I have found out the whereabouts of that fan."

The prince who had just sat down raised his body when he heard these words and almost stood up again. "Where? Did you get it?"

"If this fan is still in the hands of Prince Rong, then it may not be a problem for me to get it. However, it is no longer in Prince Rong's palace at this time! Your Highness, the fan is already in the hands of General Pei!"

"...Pei Zhan?"

The prince finally stood up, "How did it get into his hands?"

"Because on the night when Princess Rong's accident happened, Pei Zhan lurked in the ancestral hall. I had already evacuated before Prince Rong broke in, so I didn't know about it. Later I found out that even I didn't know where the gun was hidden. The fan was taken away by Pei Zhan just as the lights went out in the ancestral hall! "

The prince stood on the Danqi and seemed to be holding his breath. After a while, he said: "How do you know? What evidence is there?"

"I have no evidence, but Your Highness already knows that on the night of the incident, King Rong came to Xu's house in a rage to find me. His purpose was to ask me for a fan, but I did not take it, and King Rong's move can also prove that the fan has indeed been Not in the hands of King Rong. “There are not many people in the whole court who can do all this quietly in such a short period of time.

"And there happens to be another thing that may prove this."

"What's up!"

"A few months ago, Prince Rong and his family went to Baihe Temple to pray for their little grandson. A strange thing happened that night. A dagger suddenly fell in front of Prince Rong and his son. In the blink of an eye, a mysterious person came to hold it. Take away the dagger."

"dagger?!"

"That's right." Xu Yin lowered his eyes and chin, "Many years ago, among the tributes presented by Dayue Kingdom's Palace to the previous monarch, there was a dagger called Hanyue, which was rewarded by the previous monarch to a then-king. General, later the previous dynasty perished, and this dagger passed into the hands of King Rong.

"But then the dagger was accidentally lost. I wonder if His Highness knows about this?"

The prince walked down Danqi, stopped in front of him and looked at him steadily: "Go on."

Xu Yin said: "As far as I know, the dagger should have been lost six or seven years ago. At that time, King Rong secretly searched for a long time, but there was no trace after searching hard. It suddenly fell from the sky that night. This must not be an accident. But just After King Rong and the Crown Prince recognized the Hanyue Dagger, it couldn't be a coincidence that the dagger was quickly taken away by a mysterious person. "

"You mean, this mysterious man is Pei Zhan?"

"Pei Zhan happened to be on the mountain that night."

The prince turned to face the window, his eyes flashing with unpredictability.

"Why did Pei Zhan do this?"

"Pei Zhan defeated Dayue, and the emperor treated him with great favor. Now the Pei family is more popular than any other family, even the Liang family is slightly behind.

"The emperor's dragon body is not in good health, and the whole court is paying attention to the movements of the Qianqing Palace. I must be honest, once bad news comes from the palace, then His Highness will immediately ascend the throne. When the new monarch takes the throne, it is best for the powerful ministers to control The opportunity for power, given the current situation of the Pei family, may not want to take a further step in the court status of the Great Zhou Dynasty. "

The prince said slowly: "You are hinting that the Pei family has evil intentions."

"It has always been a taboo for ministers to have great achievements and shock the master. The emperor and His Highness are benevolent and righteous, so naturally they will not follow the example of the previous dynasty and kill the donkey, but there is no guarantee that the Pei family will think this way. How can the glory, wealth, status and power they exchanged for their brothers' lives be? Are you willing to let go easily? How can you not be careful about being suppressed and feared?

"In short, even if His Highness can treat him kindly, he may not be relieved. So why not take precautions?

"Once they get hold of something, they naturally won't let it go. And King Rong seems to have something in his hands - such as this dagger and that fan. Why would Pei Zhan not want to get to the bottom of it?"

When the prince heard this, his face turned gloomy. After a moment, he narrowed his eyes, looked out the window and said slowly:
"You have been Prince Rong's son-in-law for six years. How much do you know about Prince Rong?"

Xu Yin stood there with his hands folded and looked straight at his back, without moving at all: "I won't hide it from Your Highness, I already know everything that should be known."

The prince turned around suddenly, his eyes as bright as lightning: "You mean, including the things behind this fan?"

Xu Yin nodded calmly: "I haven't known about this fan for a long time, but I have known about the connection behind the fan a few years ago.

"I don't know if Prince Rong has ever reported it to His Highness. On the night when the dagger was lost, Zhang Shicheng brought someone to ask me if I had seen the dagger."

There was already a burning poisonous light in the prince's eyes. He walked up to Xu Yin and suddenly stretched out his hand to strangle Xu Yin's neck: "Then do you know what will happen to you if you do this?"

"Of course I know." Xu Yin remained motionless, "But I have only wanted to be His Highness's minister from the beginning. I have performed my duties diligently for many years just to share your worries and relieve Your Highness.

"It's a pity that I have never had the opportunity. I have never been able to show my loyalty to His Highness. I am confessing this to His Highness today precisely because I want to gain His Highness's trust."

"Ke Gu will never leave hidden dangers around!" The prince's voice came out from between his teeth, cold and low, "Just because you killed Princess Rong, it's only natural that Gu stab you to death in this hall! "

He said chilling words and really used his right hand hard.

The prince, who has been practicing martial arts since he was a child, has a power that cannot be matched by civil servants like Xu Ying, whose main occupation is studying.

Xu Yin tried his best to keep his breath steady: "Why don't your highness ask me why you have such courage to come here to die?"

The prince didn't speak, but he didn't mean to let go either!
Xu Yin continued: "Just half an hour ago, Pei Zhan and Liang Chen went to the Palace of Qianqing to meet the saint! If the Hanyue Dagger and the fan are in Pei Zhan's hands as I said, then for His Highness, Qian Qian Isn’t everything in the Qing Palace more important to His Highness? "

The hand that was holding his neck suddenly relaxed.

"Pei Zhan and the others are in Qianqing Palace now?"

"It's absolutely true! They entered the palace before daybreak! After Princess Rong's death, the emperor immediately sent people to hold the city gate, and then sent Pei Zhan to lead the army to station in Prince Rong's Mansion. His Highness never thought , why is this?”

The prince stared at him with burning eyes, and after a moment he suddenly let go of his hand.

"Why do you think that is?"

"The emperor has already suspected King Rong!" Xu Yin stroked his neck and took a few quick breaths, "There is no airtight wall in the world. King Rong must have leaked the news. The emperor knows, and he doesn't believe Rong." I don’t believe that Princess Rong was killed by a thief of unknown origin!”

The prince swallowed deeply: "Come here! Go and have a look at Qianqing Palace!"

"Report to Your Highness!" Jin Bao, who had arrived in front of him in small steps, leaned over and said, "I just heard that the palace people came from the imperial kitchen in the morning. I did hear the people in the imperial kitchen saying that General Pei and the others are with the emperor! Now in the palace Everyone in the palace was led out, only the emperor and the empress were inside! "

Suddenly there was a tremor on the prince's face.

"Your Highness, you must think of a countermeasure immediately!" Xu Yin walked up to him, "I accidentally died as Princess Rong, and now I am also a person in the game. Not only will I not become a hidden danger to His Highness, but in order to protect myself, I must communicate with Your Highness. United front!

"Your Highness, I hurriedly entered the palace to give you advice! If your Highness thinks that I am still useful, please give me a chance to be loyal!"

The prince gritted his teeth and looked at him: "I am just the crown prince now, and now the world belongs to my father. If you have such a scheme, why don't you directly report it to the emperor and expose me in exchange for your peace?"

"Your Highness, what you said is wrong," Xu Yin raised his head, "As the emperor and his courtiers, the emperor has a group of veterans who have made great contributions to the country. Even if Xu Yin is a little talented, what does it count among the many achievements?
"The veterans and heroes are all veterans of the Great Zhou Dynasty. In the future when Your Highness takes the throne, they may not be willing to listen to His Highness's instructions. Sooner or later, Your Highness will need to support his own strength.

"The Emperor's dragon body has been in poor condition for a long time. It is only a matter of time before His Highness takes over the kingdom of Great Zhou! I am willing to take the lead from now on, be loyal to His Highness, and help His Highness protect the kingdom of Great Zhou!"