The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 704: Turning Disadvantages into Advantages
Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.

After listening to the process of Zhang Yun逸's meeting with the retired emperor and the words conveyed by the retired emperor, Emperor Wanlong finally showed his first smile since the assassination.

He rubbed his hands together and said excitedly, "Great! Great! My dear minister is indeed my lucky general!"

After saying this, he dismissed his attendants, not even Gu Dashou and Zhou Xianzu. After everyone had left, he asked meaningfully, "What do you think of this, my dear minister?"

The emperor was not completely led by Zhang Yun逸. After listening to his words, he linked the proposal in the memorial to the emperor's memorial with the assassination attempt.

The relationship between Prince Ning and the nobles has always been a thorn in his heart, but the emperor emeritus is still trying to maintain a balance.

If this assassination attempt was ultimately defined as a personal vendetta by Prince Beijing, although it could achieve the goal of curbing Prince Ning's faction, it obviously did not maximize benefits.

And if he could take advantage of this opportunity to direct the spearhead towards Prince Ning, or even weaken the military power of the nobles in one fell swoop, it would be more in line with his interests.

Originally, he had this plan when he sent Qiu Duo to be interrogated.

However, due to concerns about the reaction of the retired emperor, he has not yet made up his mind.

After listening to Zhang Yun逸's report, he not only strengthened his determination, but also felt more confident.

Seeing that the emperor had dismissed his attendants and was very secretive about what he was saying, Zhang Yun逸 roughly guessed what he was thinking.

He was happy to see the spearhead pointed at Prince Ning. He even hoped that the emperor would be cruel enough to execute Prince Ning and put an end to it once and for all.

In this way, he doesn't have to worry about whether Prince Ning will have another chance to turn things around.

But if the fraud is discovered by the emperor, it would backfire.

I can only say cryptically: "I have no experience in solving cases. I have to wait for the results of the interrogation and listen to Commander Lu's opinion before I can make a judgment!"

Although the retired emperor vowed to let the emperor and him investigate the case, he did not let go completely and sent Lu Bing to assist.

Zhang Yun逸 couldn't shirk responsibility openly, so he could only bring up Lu Bing to remind the emperor.

After hearing this, the emperor calmed down. Just as he was feeling somewhat annoyed, he heard a report from outside: "Your Majesty! Prince Beijing and several ministers have confessed!"

"What did you say?"

Emperor Wanlong asked hurriedly, and then he remembered that the person was still outside, and hurriedly added: "Come in and talk!"

Qiu Duo came in and after paying his respects, he reported: "Prince Beijing and several ministers have confessed that it was indeed Prince Beijing who instructed them to write the letter..."

Having said this, he paused and said, "It's just..."

"Just what?"

"But Prince Beijing insisted that he just wanted to ease the relationship with Duke Wei and had no intention of murdering him, let alone assassinating Your Majesty!"

"If he says no, then no," Emperor Wanlong said dissatisfiedly, "Did they torture him?"

"no!"

"How can he confess without torture? You must torture him severely and find out who is behind this!"

If there was no breakthrough in the petition, the emperor might not have had reason to pursue it relentlessly, but now he had found a reason.

Qiu Duo saw that the emperor looked unhappy, so he quickly explained: "Before I could torture him, he told me everything... In addition, he also said that there was evidence that it was impossible to harm Duke Wei. I have already sent people to the palace to find it, and Commander Lu has also gone to report to the emperor."

"Evidence? What evidence?"

Qiu Duo glanced at Zhang Yunyi and said hurriedly, "It is said that there were letters between Jia Baoyu of Rongguo Mansion and him... and when I went to arrest him, he was indeed not in the palace, but in Jia Baoyu's private residence in Zitan Castle..."

The emperor was stunned when he heard this, but Zhang Yun逸 cursed inwardly, thinking that Jia Baoyu had done great harm to others, and he was also annoyed by his own hesitation.

But now is not the time to regret.

Before this, he was worried that the emperor would suspect him of directing and acting out the incident himself. Now that he heard that Jia Baoyu had been exchanging letters with Prince Beijing, he was even more worried that he would get into trouble. His mind was racing, no slower than when he was saving the emperor.

Before the emperor could ask any questions, he spoke first: "No!"

"What's wrong?"

"Since Prince Beijing has already admitted that he was the one who ordered the letter, how can he deny that he wanted to harm me? Since he has caused such a scene, can't he tell which is more serious?"

"You mean..."

"Frame-up!" Zhang Yunyi immediately analyzed, "Not only did the assassin write a confession in advance, he was also Beijing King's man. He can't get away from it, but he didn't deny instructing the letter. Instead, he insisted that he didn't plot to murder me. Isn't he afraid of backfiring and being charged with assassination?
It seems that someone took advantage of the conflict between him and me and deliberately framed me. I didn't expect that he and Jia Baoyu had eased their relationship in private!"

At this point, Zhang Yunyi sighed, "There may be many people who want to use this incident to frame Prince Beijing, but with Prince Beijing's identity, not everyone can place assassins around him!"

If the servant had not informed him before, he could still claim that he was not aware of it, but now he could not guarantee that the servant who informed him could keep the secret.

We can only avoid the important issues, take advantage of the situation and turn our disadvantages into advantages.

This undoubtedly matched the thoughts of Emperor Wanlong. The more he listened, the sharper his eyes became. He praised, "Yes! My dear, your words are very much in my heart. They are exactly what I thought!"

Zhang Yunyi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said something modest.

Emperor Wanlong looked at him and said, "In that case, you should immediately follow this clue with Lu Bing and dig deeper..."

Before he finished speaking, he heard another report from outside: "Your Majesty!"

Emperor Wanlong, whose train of thought was interrupted, said unhappily, "If you have anything to fart, fart now!"

"I was ordered to go to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion to arrest Princess Beijing, but the Queen Mother issued an order..."

When Qiu Duo went to capture Prince Beijing, he didn't know about this episode, and hurriedly explained: "I was worried that Prince Beijing would flee for fear of crime, and worried that he would fall into a trap, so I sent people to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion..."

Emperor Wanlong didn't pay much attention to Princess Beijing. He was just dissatisfied with Concubine Zhen's behavior and blurted out, "At this time, the old...concubine still has the heart to take care of this niece?"

Hearing that Concubine Zhen still didn't know how to avoid suspicion at this time, he was secretly worried, wondering if she had a clear conscience?
I was hesitant and spoke too quickly, almost blurting out the words "old witch", but fortunately I changed my words in time.

Zhang Yunyi seized the opportunity and asked, "Maybe we have to protect it?"

The emperor's eyes suddenly lit up: "You mean, the princess was involved?"

"I always feel that there are many doubts about the petition. After all, the princess is my bedmate. Maybe she is using me. Prince Beijing is eager to ease the relationship with me, so she instigated Prince Beijing to have someone submit the petition..."

"Correct!"

As long as she was related to Concubine Zhen, even if there was no evidence pointing to Prince Ning, it would be enough for the retired emperor to suspect that this was a conspiracy between mother and son.

Therefore, before Zhang Yun逸 finished speaking, Emperor Wanlong not only agreed with his point of view, but also echoed it.

"I have a plan!"

"you say!"

"If the princess is really involved, and the dowager concubine has ordered it, if torture is used but there is no result, I am afraid it will be unacceptable."

At this point, Zhang Yunyi paused and said, "Since the princess is so sensible and wants to recite scriptures to atone for her sins, why don't you go with the flow and let her meet with Prince Beijing and ask her to persuade Prince Beijing to plead guilty, so that they can fight each other.

I will hide in the dark with Lu Bing and listen in. If we don't hear any useful information, we can continue to investigate along this line of thought. If we can find out a few words, not only will we have a clear target, but the emperor and the concubine will also have an explanation!"

"Okay! Okay! I'll do as you say!"

Emperor Wanlong immediately made the decision: "I will pass on my order and ask the princess to go to the prison to persuade Prince Beijing..."

……

(End of this chapter)