Jiuxi

Chapter 721 Chapter 719 [The truth is revealed]

Jingchao, Dadu.

The imperial guards on duty at the palace gate looked at the middle-aged man walking slowly in front of them and couldn't help but open their eyes wide.

After being imprisoned in the palace for several months, Changshan Prince Qing Yugong finally saw the light of day again and was summoned into the palace by the emperor.

The actual confinement during this period did not seem to have much impact on Qing Yugong. His steps were still steady and he walked to Chongde Hall unhurriedly. However, as soon as he came in, he felt an extremely solemn and cold atmosphere.

Looking up, I saw the emperor sitting high on the dragon throne, with the powerful military officials represented by Isaac Gai and several civil officials headed by Zhao Siwen standing on the east and west sides, and including Qing Yugong himself. These were the core power layer of the Dajing court.

Several princes stood solemnly on the side, and only one of them knelt in the open space between the civil and military officials.

Qing Yugong's heart moved. Looking at the back, it should be the third prince Wu Yan.

The queen gave birth to three sons, namely the late Crown Prince Nalan, Wuyan and the fourth prince Haige.

"I, the guilty minister, Qing Yugong, pay my respects to Your Majesty."

Qing Yugong suppressed his doubts and came to the front of Wu Yan, paying homage meticulously.

"No need to pay tribute."

Emperor Jing spoke in a deep voice, and then said: "I wrongly blamed the prince for the death of the crown prince. This matter has nothing to do with you. Today, in front of all the court officials, I will clear your name."

"Your Majesty is wise and wise. I am grateful to you!"

Qing Yugong's voice trembled slightly, he bowed, his heart as calm as a still pond.

He had no involvement in the incident at all, and he knew very well that the emperor was just using it to make a fuss.

After he agreed to the marriage between Qing Yu Huaijin and the Fourth Prince, the Emperor would clear his name sooner or later. But judging from the current situation, it seems that the Emperor has already found the real murderer who murdered the Crown Prince?

Emperor Jing then slowly stood up and walked to the edge of the imperial steps. A hint of self-mockery appeared on his face, and he slowly said, "During this period of time, I have always believed that it was the spies of Southern Qi who killed the crown prince, and I suspected that the prince just wanted to let the real culprit behind the scenes relax his vigilance. I never expected that in the end, after investigating, I would find out about the royal family itself."

All the ministers were inevitably shocked, and they all looked at the third prince who was kneeling on the ground.

Emperor Jing's tone remained calm, but Wu Yan was shaking like a sieve and didn't dare to raise his head.

Emperor Jing took a deep breath and continued, "Wu Yanshu severely damaged the Qi army in the south and broke Han Zhongjie's spine in one battle. This is a victory worth celebrating. On such a day of universal celebration, I can't be happy at all. Wu Yan, tell me why this is the case?"

"Father...your son..."

The Third Prince Wu Yan's teeth were chattering and he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Seeing his cowardly look, Emperor Jing couldn't help but change his tone: "What, you dare to do it but not to take responsibility? Is this the character of my son? Lift your head!"

Wu Yan raised his head with difficulty and said fearfully, "Father, I don't know what happened."

Emperor Jing sneered and turned to look at Tian Jue, the chief music official. Tian Jue stepped forward and asked, "Third Prince, do you know a man named Zhai Xuan?"

Wu Yan shook his head almost subconsciously and said, "I don't know him."

Tian Jue said expressionlessly: "This person also has a real name called Yu Qing. Your Highness really doesn't know him?"

Hearing this, Wu Yan suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Tian Jue said, "I'd like to let your Highness know that I finally caught Yu Qing after much hardship. According to his confession, six years ago he approached the Crown Prince in the name of the Third Prince, and because he was smart, sensible and eloquent, he gradually gained the respect of the Crown Prince. Under the instructions of the Third Prince, Yu Qing presented the Crown Prince with the strong liquor Queshanhong, and successfully made the Crown Prince fall in love with this strong liquor."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the important officials in the hall changed color, even Qing Yugong frowned.

Wu Yan's face showed fear.

Tian Jue sighed and said, "Your Highness must be wondering why Yu Qing is still alive. Four years ago, after completing the task you assigned him, he could have taken the gold and silver you gave him and changed his appearance to live happily, but you obviously didn't want to leave this hidden danger. However, the assassin you sent gave Yu Qing a way out because he was greedy for money. Perhaps this is what fate has determined."

"Father, I did not attempt to murder His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Wu Yan knew that he was in a desperate situation and could only scream miserably.

However, Emperor Jing looked ahead indifferently.

Tian Jue added: "It has been found that the Crown Prince drank some poison from the red wine before he fell into a coma. This is a poison that has never been seen before. It can swallow a person's life force silently. However, because of its special taste, it must be mixed with strong liquor to avoid being detected. Your Majesty, please rest assured that the Imperial Medical Bureau has filed this poison and there will be no similar risks in the future."

Emperor Jing obviously didn't care about this. He moved his eyes to stay on Wu Yan's face and said indifferently: "You want to fight for power and profit, I don't blame you. I am rich and have thousands of miles of territory in the world. I will always have enough to arrange for you guys. If you want to fight for it openly, why do you use such despicable means?"

Wu Yan said in a trembling voice, "Father, I really did not murder His Royal Highness. At the beginning, I was... indeed jealous of him, so I let Yu Qing get close to him, and offered him strong liquor just to make him develop some bad habits, which is no different from cockfighting and running dogs. But I never ordered anyone to poison Queshanhong. Father, I am innocent!"

Emperor Jing narrowed his eyes and said word by word: "If that's the case, why did you want to send someone to kill Yu Qing? If you didn't have such a vicious mind, why would you kill someone to silence him? If you weren't so cruel, how could Yu Qing confess everything that happened after being caught by Tian Jue?"

Wu Yan felt even more aggrieved, and cried, "Father, I gave Yu Qing a sum of money to make him disappear, and I didn't send anyone to kill him!"

"Ah."

Emperor Jing laughed in anger and said coldly, "My dear ministers, there is irrefutable evidence that Wu Yan was plotting to murder the crown prince. How should we deal with him?"

There was silence in the hall.

The answer to this question is obvious. Do you want to survive after committing such a serious crime?
The problem is that the real murderer is also a prince. Who would dare to suggest to the emperor to sentence a prince to death at this time?
Throughout the dynasties, it was not uncommon for the emperor to kill his son, but this was ultimately a royal affair, and if the ministers dared to get involved, there would be endless trouble. Emperor Jing seemed to have anticipated this scene, and turned to look at Qing Yugong and asked, "What suggestions does the prince have?"

Qing Yugong stood up straight and said bluntly: "This is a capital crime."

When Wu Yan heard this, he turned pale and almost in despair.

However, the next moment, Qing Yugong changed the subject and said, "But I want to ask Lord Tian, ​​who mixed the poison into that batch of Queshan Red? Has the person who poisoned it been found?"

Tian Jue glanced at Emperor Jing and immediately replied, "My Lord, the man from Dachang was probably the one who poisoned the place, but he died suddenly and I cannot ask him for details. I followed this line of inquiry and dug three feet deep in his home and found 100 taels of gold underground. This batch of gold came from the residence of His Highness the Third Prince."

Wu Yan said in panic, "Father, I don't know anything about the Dachang guys. Someone is framing me. Please investigate!"

"Shut up!"

Emperor Jing spat out two words in disgust.

Qing Yugong pondered and said, "Your Majesty, although the relevant evidence points to the Third Prince, the most crucial link is missing, that is, the evidence that the Third Prince asked the waiter to poison. As for the gold, it is easy to put the blame on him. In my opinion, this incident may have been done by the Third Prince, but now there is no evidence, so please think twice."

Emperor Jing looked at him quietly.

This person is still as flawless as usual.

After a moment, he walked up to Wu Yan and said word by word: "You disappoint me."

"Father——"

Wu Yan had just uttered two words when Emperor Jing raised his right foot and kicked down.

Wu Yan, who had been kneeling on the ground, was kicked more than a foot away. He slid on the smooth floor of the hall and spit out a large mouthful of blood.

He couldn't even struggle to get up.

Emperor Jing said sternly: "Drag him away, strip him of his royal family status, and imprison him in Youdao, never to be released again!"

"Father..."

Wu Yan's face was filled with fear, but before he could even utter a word of begging for mercy, he was picked up by several burly guards and taken away.

The several adult princes standing on the side were silent. Logically, they should plead for Wu Yan, but this matter involved the death of the crown prince. Standing up at this time would undoubtedly add fuel to the fire. Therefore, including the fourth prince Hai Ge, who was of the same mother as Wu Yan, could only stand in silence.

But no one knew that Brother Hai, with a sad and solemn face, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Emperor Jing looked at the palace gate with a deep gaze, as if he was immersed in disappointment and anger because of the princes' infighting.

After a long time, he turned around and walked back to the dragon throne and slowly sat down.

The ministers had different thoughts.

Some people are still secretly shocked by this incident, while others are already thinking about the future of the court.

Now that the real murderer of the prince's murder has been exposed, Qing Yugong's suspicion has been cleared and he should return to the court. This is obviously a situation that a group of Jinglian nobles led by Sa Gai do not want to see, but they do not have enough reasons to oppose it.

Several civil officials couldn't help but look at the Fourth Prince Hai Ge.

The crown prince has passed away, and the third prince Wu Yan had the same ending, so there seems to be no suspense about who will be the new crown prince of Dajing.

In the depressing atmosphere, Emperor Jing slowly said, "Does the prince know the details of the battle of Kaocheng?"

Qing Yugong replied: "I don't know."

Emperor Jing asked his attendant to describe the current situation in the southern border in detail, and then asked: "What does the prince think of the progress of the subsequent war? Can our army capture Jingzhou this time?"

Qing Yugong thought for a moment and answered seriously: "Your Majesty, it is natural for the army to continue to attack Jingzhou, but I am worried that unexpected situations will occur on the eastern front."

"You mean Lu Chen?"

"Yes, although this man is young, he is extremely cunning in the use of troops and should not be underestimated."

Emperor Jing suddenly smiled and said slowly, "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. This is also the main reason why I summoned you to the palace today."

Qing Yugong seemed a little confused.

Isn't the most important thing today to find out the truth about the prince's death and clear him of suspicion? How could there be something more important?

Emperor Jing said in a loud voice: "The prince is a master of military strategy, how can he stay idle in his palace? At this time when the world is fighting, I hope the prince can continue to make plans for the great Jing."

The ministers seemed to have expected this result.

However, Qing Yugong savored the words "meticulous planning", raised his head to look at the emperor sitting on the dragon throne, noticed his extremely deep gaze, and couldn't help but sigh quietly in his heart.

He had long known that no one could stop the emperor from doing what he was determined to do.

Just like today.

(End of this chapter)