Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 285 The Second Prince Was Assassinated

……

"Master, are you going or not?"

Ping'er saw that Jia Rong put the note from the Second Prince aside and didn't seem to take it seriously, so she asked with a smile.

"Don't go."

Jia Rong said casually.

He now had a legitimate reason to refuse.

Mr. Zhen is not in good health. As a son, am I being filial by going to attend a poetry reading?

As it turned out, it was a good thing that Jia Rong didn't go.

Damn, everyone who went there got into trouble.

On that day, the second prince was assassinated.

Shocked the government and the public.

A maid carrying a fruit plate sneaked in with a knife without anyone noticing, took the opportunity to approach the second prince, and stabbed him with the knife.

It was so cruel and accurate that he directly cut the second prince's neck.

Blood splattered three feet on the spot.

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

They were all weak scholars who studied the books of sages diligently. How could they have ever seen such a bloody scene?
There was chaos all of a sudden.

Some people were so scared that they wet their pants.

Especially Zhou Yanru, the top undergraduate student. He was just having a great conversation with the second prince...he even had the prince's dragon blood on his face.

Zhou Yanru was so frightened that his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

……

The residence of the eldest prince.

"what!"

"how so!"

His Royal Highness the First Prince, who was cursing his second brother at home, got the news first and felt it was incredible!

Is his curse so effective?
Although he really hoped that his second brother would pass away, it was definitely not the right time.

"Your Highness, hurry to the palace and cry in front of the Emperor. You must cry with all your heart." The counselor below reminded.

"Yes!"

The eldest prince's eyes lit up, and he cried and shouted all the way from the gate of the palace to the Yangxin Palace.

"Wow, wow, my poor second brother, why did you abandon us..."

"do not Cry!"

Emperor Anping glanced at his eldest son with a gloomy expression, then looked down at his own palms.

He had once killed his brothers.

So, he sat in this seat.

He couldn't be sure whether it was his eldest son who did it, but there was one thing he had to do: he had to find the real culprit!

The prince was assassinated!

Today he is the prince, tomorrow he will be...

This is something Emperor Anping would never allow!
"Check! Check for me!"

The heads of the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple agreed meekly, fearing that they would die if they said something wrong.

But how do we check this?

I dare not check at all.

"What should we do? Where do you think we should start?"

Hu Yansun, the director of the Censorate, said this very helplessly.

His immediate superior took sick leave, saying that he broke his leg while riding a horse. As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone, and he might not be able to come to the yamen for two or three months, so the power was temporarily transferred to him.

If it were normal times, he would definitely be smiling, and he might even like his boss so much that his legs were broken beyond repair.

But now, he just wants to curse.

Zhao Qin, the head of the Ministry of Justice, was an experienced veteran who had solved many strange cases. Therefore, he was sent out by the Shangshu Lord and had high hopes for him. Before he left, he whispered to him, "The emperor said that no matter who is involved, we must investigate it thoroughly!"

But this can only fool ghosts.

Generally speaking, when investigating such cases, we can only start from the vested interests.

The first to be affected was the eldest prince.

Does he dare to check?

Go crazy.

Liu Hua, the Junior Official of the Dali Temple, said seriously, "Didn't someone find out the whereabouts of the White Lotus Sect members in Kyoto the day before yesterday? This assassination must have been arranged by the White Lotus Sect. We just need to report it truthfully."

Hu Yansun frowned and said, "But, does the emperor believe it?"

In recent years, the White Lotus Sect was blamed for all the troubles. It was obvious that the emperor no longer believed it.

Moreover, the White Lotus Sect was so idle that they came to Kyoto to assassinate the prince? Even if it was done by the White Lotus Sect, how could they get in if there was no insider in the capital?

Liu Hua smiled slightly: "That's the emperor's business. If you don't believe it, we can ask others to check it. Anyway, we have tried our best."

Hu Yansun's eyes lit up.

Even if someone capable enough later finds out that the real culprit is not the White Lotus Sect, they will only be accused of poor handling of the case and the punishment will not be too severe.

It's much better than roasting it over the fire now.

"Brother Zhao, what do you think?"

The two looked at Zhao Qin.

Zhao Qin was silent for a while and finally nodded.

Based on his many years of experience, this case is very difficult to solve. On the one hand, it involves Bai Lian, and on the other hand, it must also involve important figures in the court. Is it specifically the eldest prince who did it...

Theoretically, it shouldn't be.

Unless the eldest prince is stupid.

But it seems unlikely to say that it has nothing to do with the eldest prince.

Anyway, whoever wants to have a headache can have it.

……

"Assassination by the White Lotus?"

"That's all you found out?"

When Emperor Anping saw the result of the joint trial by the three judicial departments, he was furious.

"I am incompetent and guilty."

Several people knelt on the ground obediently and confessed their crimes.

There's nothing wrong with not being able to confess, right?

There are so many incompetent officials in the court.

If you want to punish us, that would not be what a benevolent king does.

Emperor Anping waved his hands in annoyance.

"Go down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Several people were delighted in their hearts, but they did not dare to show it on their faces. They kept their faces droopy, looking as if they were ashamed to the emperor and their ancestors.

"Announce Jinyiwei Commander Zhao Quan!"

After a moment of silence, Emperor Anping spoke in a deep voice.

He finally understood that it was no use pointing fingers at those bastards who were just sitting there doing nothing.

It's time to restart the Jinyiwei.

No one would object at this time, right?

If anyone dares to say too much, don't blame him for being rude!
After a while, Zhao Quan came hurriedly.

"I see you, Your Majesty."

"My dear minister, please don't be polite." Emperor Anping said in a deep voice: "What do you think about the assassination of the second son?"

Zhao Quan was slightly delighted, knowing that this was an opportunity, and hurriedly said cautiously: "I dare not speak rashly, but I am willing to conduct a thorough investigation to relieve the emperor's worries!"

"it is good!"

Emperor Anping slapped the jade table and said, "I give you the power and the imperial sword. You can investigate the royal relatives, civil officials and military officials as you wish. I only want the truth!"

Zhao Quan's heart was pounding.

What kind of right is this!

It is not an exaggeration to say that he is second to none and above ten thousand people!
"I will live up to the emperor's expectations!"

Zhao Quan quickly knelt on the ground and swore.

Emperor Anping nodded, and suddenly added: "There is one thing I want to tell you in advance. The Jinyiwei needs to expand its manpower, but I don't have the money to allocate to you at the moment."

"You'll have to figure it out on your own."

Zhao Quan: “…”

……

The residence of Prime Minister Ye.

When everyone gathered together, they all looked unhappy.

"The Emperor has re-activated the Imperial Guard."

"Yes, no one dares to object at this time."

"It was all caused by the assassination of the Second Prince. I don't know who did it."

"Aren't you talking about the White Lotus Sect?"

"You're lying, you believed it?"

"Ahem, stop talking nonsense." Ye Xiang coughed lightly, interrupting everyone's nonsense.

Everyone was a smart person and immediately shut up.

Prime Minister Ye said seriously: "The emperor has re-established the Jinyiwei and given it great power. The emperor's relatives, civil officials and military officials can be investigated. This is to centralize power. It is not good news for us. We must find a way to resist it!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The most terrifying thing about the Jinyiwei is that they can bypass the three judicial departments to arrest people and judge cases directly.

It had a huge impact and damaged the interests of all officials.

It must be resisted firmly.

"Lord Ye, how should we resist? Should we die?" everyone asked.

Ye Xiang thought for a while and said, "I'm afraid it won't work for a while now. Let's wait for some time until the incident of the assassination of the Second Prince is over, and then unite with everyone to make a death appeal."

……

Ningguo Mansion, Jia Jing's study.

"The second prince was assassinated, and the emperor re-instated the Imperial Guard. What do you think?" Jia Jing asked with a little concern.

The stable situation in the court may be gone forever.

Nangong Lu thought for a moment and said, "This should be counted as two things. The second prince's assassination is one thing, and the emperor's re-activation of the Jinyiwei is another."

"Let's not talk about the assassination of the Second Prince for now. It involves too many things. I dare not say who did it."

"Just the fact that the Royal Guards are being restarted is not a good sign."

……

(End of this chapter)