Joy of Life: The melon-eating prince sees through Fan Xian's fake death

Chapter 49 Fan Wujiu: My hair.
There had been rumors circulating in the officialdom about the assassination of the crown prince at Baoyue Tower before, but the reason why it did not spread and convince all officials was because there was no proof, no convincing evidence to be produced.

This made the officials think that the Crown Prince wanted to protect his own reputation and fabricated a shield to cover up this negative impact.

But now His Royal Highness the Crown Prince says there is evidence, so the nature of the case is different and has become serious.

Even as the court meeting was being held in the imperial study, the officials could not help but look at each other, whispering, and wondering how much of the so-called truth there was. Was this just a statement made up by the crown prince to get away with it in front of His Majesty? Should they turn a blind eye to it?
Li Chengze narrowed his long and narrow eyes slightly. As the mastermind of this incident, he was more and more seeking death. This was not right. After all, the three assassins he sent had clearly died at the hands of the prince, but this matter could produce so-called evidence, which was a bit strange.

He immediately stepped forward and flattered the prince:

"Your Majesty, I would like to say a few words for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The rumors circulating in the streets are too false. I grew up with His Royal Highness and I know him best. I would never indulge him in a place like Baoyue Tower that is currently under closure. Those ugly words must be rumors."

"Besides, since His Royal Highness has denied it, we can see his sincerity. His Royal Highness is a man of his word and he values ​​his promises the most. Once a word is spoken, it cannot be taken back. There will not be any falsehood in what he said. Even without this evidence, I still believe His Royal Highness."

The Second Prince's statement seemed to be a concession, asking the forces under his command to follow suit and say that the Crown Prince was innocent. But in fact, he was speaking in a sarcastic way, meaning that the officials should just muddle through.

What is the status of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? As a prince, Li Chengze has only believed since childhood. How can you question him? Even if the Crown Prince can produce evidence or not, no matter what kind of evidence he can produce, you have to nod and approve it.

The officials in the Imperial Study heard the hidden meaning and guessed that His Majesty was indeed trying to make up a shield for himself, and then use some so-called evidence to make the officials call a horse a zebra. They nodded in agreement, thinking that as long as the impact of this matter was minimized, His Majesty's blame for the prince would be reduced:

"Your Highness is right. How could His Highness the Crown Prince be that kind of person?"

"Lai Mingcheng, you are so bold that you dare to slander His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"My heart aches when I hear that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been framed by treacherous officials!"

Li Chengqian was almost amused by the acting of this group of people, especially his own disciple Xin Qiwu, who cried for his parents as if his own ancestral grave was dug up, kneeling on the ground and sobbing loudly, but without shedding a single tear.

He was also disgusted by the Second Prince's scheming. In this case, if he could not produce strong evidence, it would become fabricated evidence in the eyes of the ministers. Li Chengze was speaking for the Crown Prince on the surface, but in fact he was adding insult to injury.

Upon hearing this, Censor Lai became even angrier: "My Censorate always acts according to the evidence. Whether it is investigating corruption, investigating officials of the Vegetarian Procuratorate, or even investigating royal relatives, we will use evidence to indict people. I, Lai Mingcheng, will never slander His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Censor Lai came to the prince and said, "Your Highness, your theory on rat control has benefited me a lot. It has made me hate corrupt officials even more. This has inspired me to be determined to punish corrupt officials. You have only been temporarily deceived by the villain. Don't listen to slanderous words and do something unfounded!"

Lai Mingcheng's meaning was very clear. He told the prince that he was only implicated in Fan Xian and it had nothing to do with him. He asked the prince not to be deceived by Fan Xian, and to produce the so-called evidence to avoid this disaster, thus allowing the treacherous minister Fan Xian to survive.

Emperor Qing watched this scene with great interest. How would the prince continue singing?
"You said you have evidence, show it to me."

Li Chengqian bows:
"It's on the way, so I can't present it for the time being."

on the way?
The ministers and officials were discussing this. Could it be that this evidence was the goods that were to be transported, or the people who were rushing over?
A trace of vigilance flashed through Li Chengze's heart, and as he thought about the recent events, he realized that something was wrong.

But Lai Mingcheng was still not satisfied and continued to advise the prince: "Your Highness, now that we have the evidence, even though it has not arrived yet, can we tell you what it is?"

Li Chengqian nodded:
"Of course. I was assassinated in Baoyue Tower that day. There is a witness. This person is a swordsman, Fan Wujiu!"

All the officials were shocked. Fan Wujiu? He is the second prince's retainer! Doesn't this mean...
Li Chengze's mind echoed his previous suspicions, and his face immediately changed drastically. He stood up and said sincerely, "Your Highness, we are brothers and sisters, please don't talk nonsense. How could I let Fan Wujiu kill you?"

Li Chengqian did not change his words: "Your Majesty, three of those who tried to assassinate me died that day, and one escaped. The assassin who escaped was Fan Wujiu. It was only later that I learned about his relationship with my second brother. I am so heartbroken."

Li Chengze took a deep breath, knelt down with a plop, and begged with red eyes: "Your Majesty, I would never dare to assassinate the crown prince. There must be some misunderstanding. Fan Wujiu was definitely not instigated by me!"

The crown prince and the prince were accusing each other in the imperial study, and even brought up a major event that was suspected to be regicide and a succession to the throne. The officials who were originally waiting to see the excitement of the Fan family were so scared that they dared not make a sound and stayed in their seats with their heads shrank.

Even a lone and brave minister like Lai Mingcheng was so frightened that he stared at the Crown Prince beside him:
Earlier, both outside and inside the palace accused Fan Xian of bewitching the Crown Prince, but the latter showed no anger at all. Could it be that the truth of the matter was not the Crown Prince's indulgence in sensual pleasures as the rumors said, but a bigger case of the Prince murdering the king? !

The matter was so serious that not only did the officials dare not discuss it, but even the "mad dog" censors kept their mouths shut and hid behind Lai Mingcheng obediently to observe the situation. They would not come out to make any comments until things had a general direction and His Majesty had a clear attitude.

Do not know why.

Emperor Qing behind the curtain never spoke, nor did he show any sign of anger. He just sat there quietly, as if he was deliberately observing the changes in the expressions of those important officials when the Crown Prince and the Second Prince were confronting each other.

The air was as silent as death, and Emperor Qing spoke slowly: "Where is Fan Wu saving people?"

Li Chengqian replied, "They should be back in the capital now. They are being paraded through the city gates and taken back to the government office in Kyoto."

The purpose of his doing this was not only to whitewash himself, but also to maintain the dignity of the royal family. If some mosquitoes dared to bite the dragon's son, they would have to accept humiliation and suppression, and make them turn around in humiliation in front of the people, so that the people would feel disgusted and maintain their inner respect for the royal family.

Kyoto at this time.

A prisoner car swaggered into the capital from the city gate. Fan Wujiu was wearing an iron shackle, with dishevelled hair and a dirty face. He was awakened by waves of rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves. He heard the ugly curses of the people:
"You who assassinated His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will die a horrible death! You will die a horrible death!"

Fan Wujiu was stunned. Just then, an egg hit him on the head. The egg liquid flowed through his side bangs imitating the Second Prince, making them even more messy.
"My Hair"

(End of this chapter)