Border Cook

As soon as this statement was made, it was immediately agreed by many people.

After all, most of the children of these noble families are well-dressed and well-fed, and have countless servants. It is understandable that some of them occasionally encounter robbers when they go out, but how is it possible that all of them would encounter such a situation?
What's more, I heard that many people died at home. How bold and desperate must this robber be to think of entering the city and breaking into homes to commit crimes?
Revenge is certain!

And if we talk about the enemies of the Wen and Cui clans...

Because of the fight between the eldest prince and the second prince, the Wen and Cui families have always been at odds and have been fighting openly and secretly for many years. It is also said that the reason why they were able to discover that the eldest prince had killed his brothers and sisters was because the second prince was sharp-eyed and smart.

The Wen and Cui families can be said to have added insult to injury.

At this time, both families were retaliated by their enemies...

A bolder guess is that the Wen family was extremely angry with the Cui family because of the incident involving the eldest prince, so they took revenge on the Cui family.

The Cui family guessed that the Wen family was responsible, so they retaliated and made the Wen family feel the same pain in the same way.

After all, all those killed were young men between the ages of fifteen and twenty, which created a generational gap on the other side.

Take the fire out of the cauldron!

It's really cruel!

Everyone sighed and was shocked, and even accused the Wen and Cui families of being too cruel, and at the same time they felt extreme fear in their hearts.

The Wen and Cui families have always claimed to be famous and charitable families, but inwardly they are so cruel and devoid of any humanity.

If they dare to do this to their opponents, one day in the future, they will naturally do the same to others.

If the time comes, would famous families like Wen and Cui also slaughter others so cruelly to clear the obstacles under their feet?

Such aristocratic families can no longer be worshipped as gods in the future, but must be treated carefully and befriended with caution...

Even for the sake of your own life, it is better to make as few friends as possible.

Everyone sighed in their hearts, and at the same time, they also believed that famous families like Wen and Cui, who were only interested in fighting for power and regarded human lives as worthless, were not upright and should be despised.

For a while, the affairs of the Wen and Cui families were discussed all over the capital, and they were also criticized endlessly.

Such a situation naturally made the people from the Wen and Cui families very angry.

Wen Lixin smashed several sets of fine tea sets, cursing and insulting the Cui family's ancestors for eighteen generations.

They thought that getting rid of the new generation of the Cui family would be enough to deal a heavy blow to them, making them never recover. However, they didn't expect that the Cui family also had such an idea. Are they trying to put their Wen family to death?
Damn it, damn it!
Wen Lixin slammed his fist on the table, and blood immediately oozed out from his knuckles.

Watching the bright red blood gathering and spreading on the table, Wen Lixin's eyes turned red and his teeth were clenched.

Great Cui family!

Since you are so heartless in doing things, don’t blame us, the Wen family, for being ruthless!
Wen Lixin immediately called someone in.

The candlelight flickered, and the expression on Wen Lixin's face became ferocious as he continued to explain things to his subordinates, like a wild beast that could go mad at any time.

At this moment, the head of the Cui family also summoned his capable sons, illegitimate sons and advisers to discuss how to deal with the Wen family.

The second prince Xiao Luohe was also among them, but at this time he was wearing a veiled hat and a black scarf covering his face, and did not clearly reveal his identity.

Everyone present guessed the identity of the tightly wrapped young man, but since the head of the family did not introduce him, everyone pretended to be unaware and only discussed how to deal with the Wen family's affairs.

"Father, the Wen family has already taken action. The new generation of our Cui family has suffered heavy losses. To prevent the Cui family from suffering further losses, I suggest that all those under the age of fifteen who have decent talents be secretly protected and quietly transferred to other places to prevent the Wen family from becoming so desperate that they would wipe out the entire family."

"Father, I think this is necessary. We must be extra careful when transferring them and do it in batches. We can't let the Cui family target us again!"

"In addition to protecting ourselves, we also need to teach the Wen family a lesson. The Wen family is now desperate and wants to take the blame before they die. In this case, our Cui family should beat the fallen dog and list all the crimes of the Wen family that we have learned and report them to the emperor."

"In addition to this, we should make it known to the world, so that everyone in the world knows the true face of the Wen family, and put pressure on the emperor so that he will punish them severely..."

As the group was discussing, someone came in hurriedly, walked up to the head of the Cui family, and whispered something.

The Cui family's patriarch, who is already in his eighties, has white hair and a youthful face. He does not look old at all, but is energetic. He plays with the jade beads in his hand. After listening to the report from his subordinates, he suddenly opened his eyes, which had been squinting, and asked, "Is the information accurate?"

"Go home, the news is very accurate. Concubine Shu has fainted and is being treated by the imperial physician. The emperor is seriously ill at the moment, and no one dares to report to him. The Empress Dowager and the Empress are currently in charge of the overall situation in the palace. The Ministry of Rites has received the news and has begun to prepare for subsequent matters."

"Okay." The Cui family's patriarch nodded slightly, "Go down."

After the person who came to report left, the head of the Cui family coughed lightly and tapped the jade beads in his hand twice on the armrest of the armchair under him.

The sound was crisp and not loud, but it was enough to make everyone else present fall silent immediately.

The Patriarch of the Cui family cleared his throat and said, "Someone just reported that the eldest prince Xiao Luochen was poisoned at noon and died. Does this matter have anything to do with those of you present?"

Xiao Luochen is dead?
Everyone present was extremely shocked. Even Xiao Luohe's eyes widened. He shook his head along with the others and looked at the Cui family's patriarch with excitement. "Once the eldest prince dies, the entire Wen family will be completely ruined."

Although the Wen family is still struggling, the biggest bargaining chip in their hands is a prince. If they are pushed to a certain point, they can still rebel and seize the throne.

But now, Xiao Luochen is dead, and the Wen family’s last hope, and even their current struggling support, were completely shattered in an instant.

The Wen family is now like a wild beast that has had its marrow drained out. It is dying and has no chance of making a comeback.

"That's right." The Cui family's patriarch raised his head and nodded, "What we, the Cui family, need to do now is to completely defeat the Wen family and make it impossible for the Wen family to recover!"

"Yes!" Everyone present answered loudly.

The head of the Cui family looked at Xiao Luohe and said, "He'er, come home early. Xiao Luochen died suddenly. Although we don't know who did it, the Ministry of Justice will definitely conduct a thorough investigation to find the murderer behind the scenes."

"You are now the number one enemy of the Wen family. You will definitely be attacked by the Wen family, and the Ministry of Justice will definitely question you. You must be careful during this period of time."

"Don't worry, Grandfather. I understand." Xiao Luohe responded, "I'll go back right away."

Xiao Luohe is prudent in his work, which is very reassuring.

The Patriarch of the Cui family reached out and patted Xiao Luohe on the shoulder. "The more it is at this time, the more patience is needed. Don't rush into things and let others catch you."

"Yes." Xiao Luohe answered again and hurried away with his attendants.

The head of the Cui family continued to discuss with others what to do next.

Everyone present was overjoyed that Xiao Luochen was poisoned at this time, saying that his death was very timely. "Father." The eldest son of the Cui family was overjoyed, "Now God is on the side of our Cui family!"

"Yes." Others followed suit and sneered, "After all, the Wen family has committed many evil deeds, and the heaven and earth cannot tolerate it. The heaven wants to punish them."

"In fact, after all, it's still the Wen family that's stupid and arrogant. They even dared to attack the prince..."

The head of the Cui family frowned slightly as he listened to the people below discussing what the Wen family had done.

He was not surprised that the Wen family was so arrogant that they could kill the prince. However, he had never figured out why the Wen family deliberately brought Xiao Luoan's jade disk back to the capital.

And now, Xiao Luochen was poisoned to death...

At this critical juncture, the purpose of killing Xiao Luochen, in addition to bringing down the Wen family, may also be to divert the Wen family's hatred to the Cui family.

The person who did this probably has grudges against both the Wen family and the Cui family.

Who could this person be?
The An family has long disappeared, the He family has never participated in these struggles, the Fan family is devoted to assisting the emperor, and they don’t have such ability...

Looking around the world, he really couldn't think of who could do such a thing and benefit from it.

Is there a hidden family in this world that has never been heard of?
The head of the Cui family was a little confused and even felt a little afraid.

As for where this fear came from, he didn't quite understand, he just shuddered for no apparent reason.

Now I just hope that everything goes well. Once Xiao Luohe ascends to the throne of crown prince, I can rest assured.

The head of the Cui family closed his eyes.

Xiao Luohe went home under the starlight.

Just as they were about to arrive at the mansion, a group of people suddenly appeared on the street and stopped Xiao Luohe's carriage.

The attendant beside Xiao Luohe yelled angrily, "You are blind, do you know whose car this is? How dare you stop it!"

"Of course I know. This is the Second Prince's carriage." He Lingfeng came out and said faintly, "But we are here to find the Second Prince. Please get off the carriage, Second Prince."

Xiao Luohe naturally recognized He Lingfeng's voice, and signaled his men to lift the curtain of the carriage. He looked at He Lingfeng and said, "Lord He, you came to see me so late at night. What can I do for you?"

"I would like to ask the Second Prince first, what happened held you back from returning home at night?" He Lingfeng raised his chin.

"I have been busy with government affairs recently, and I am physically and mentally exhausted, so I want to go out and relax and have a couple of drinks." Xiao Luohe said, "But tonight the night is intoxicating, and the music is elegant, so I stayed a little longer, and therefore came back just now. Lord He asked about this matter, what is your purpose?"

Xiao Luohe narrowed his eyes, "Lord He even called himself the official in front of this prince, his authority is quite impressive."

"I work for the Emperor and represent him, so I must be dignified and not embarrass him."

He Lingfeng said, "The eldest prince died suddenly after eating a meal containing poison at noon. I was ordered to investigate the whole case and found the person who poisoned him."

The murderer was found so quickly?
It seems that the strength of this person who has a grudge against Xiao Luochen is just so so.

Xiao Luohe smiled and said, "As expected of Lord He, you are so decisive and resolute in your work. I admire you..."

He Lingfeng raised his hand to interrupt Xiao Luohe's words, "Second Prince, there is no need to praise me first. This is what I should do. It's just that the murderer I caught is not someone else, but a servant in the Second Prince's mansion."

"This servant has confessed the truth. He said that he was instructed by you, the Second Prince, to bribe the guards of the First Prince and mix the red dregs of life into the First Prince's food in order to poison him..."

"What nonsense!" Xiao Luohe was immediately furious. "This prince and the eldest prince are good brothers. How could this prince do such a thing as killing his brother? Someone is framing me!"

"I have thought about this possibility, but now the facts are before us. The Second Prince and the First Prince are enemies, and we cannot rule out the Second Prince as a suspect."

He Lingfeng said, "And I can't figure out who would frame the Second Prince. What does the Second Prince think?"

"This frame-up must be profitable. It's better to murder the eldest prince and frame the second prince. Looking at all the cases, I really can't think of anyone else who could be the one to do it."

Xiao Luohe pursed his lips tightly.

Indeed, the other princes were too young, and their mothers' families were not strong enough, so they did not have the ability or courage to do this.

At this moment, the only ones who hated him to the core were probably the Wen family. However, if the Wen family wanted to drag him down, there was no need to pay such a huge price by cutting off the Wen family's support.

Xiao Luohe couldn't figure out for a moment who would do this.

"Since the Second Prince has nothing to say, then follow me." He Lingfeng said quietly, "The Emperor is still waiting for me to report."

emperor?

Xiao Luohe was startled, "Does Father also think that I killed the eldest prince?"

He Lingfeng did not answer Xiao Luohe's words, but just raised his hand, "Please come in, Second Prince."

At this point, Xiao Luohe had no room for refusal or resistance. After a long silence, he got off the carriage.

He Lingfeng personally took Xiao Luohe to the carriage he brought, and led his subordinates to the palace.

The news that Xiao Luohe was taken to the palace by He Lingfeng on suspicion of murdering the eldest prince soon reached the ears of the head of the Cui family.

The head of the Cui family frowned immediately.

He had thought about the fact that Xiao Luohe would be questioned, but being taken directly to the palace was somewhat beyond his expectations.

The person who delivered the message mentioned that He Lingfeng was going to report to the Emperor.

That is to say, it was the emperor's intention that Xiao Luohe was taken to the palace.

This made the whole thing complicated.

Whether it is someone accusing someone or there is so-called witness, it is not important in front of the case. What is important is the emperor's trust.

As long as the emperor trusts us, no matter how irrefutable the evidence is, it doesn't matter.

But if the emperor does not trust him, some superficial evidence will become a sharp weapon to kill Xiao Luohe.

Xiao Luohe is in danger! (End of this chapter)