The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 468 Everything was so unexpected, yet everything made so logical.

Speaking of the joint trial by the three judicial departments, those were all the most important cases in the imperial court!

The cases they handle on a regular basis could be enough for a storyteller to tell for three days and three nights without repeating a single one.

This time it's even more exciting, the trial is actually about the death of Duke Yansheng, Kong Yujin!

Good heavens! A descendant of a saint and a duke of the current dynasty—this case is inherently eye-catching, not to mention that it also involves the fourth prince!
Under normal circumstances, whoever gets involved in such a hot potato is doomed. Everyone tries to avoid it as much as possible, wishing they could suddenly fall ill and go home to recuperate.

However, once the Emperor spoke, he declared: the case must be closed before the end of the year!
Now things were in trouble. The three heads of the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review—Folun, Chen Tingjing, and Fei Yuanji—had no choice but to bite the bullet and get to work as soon as possible.

Fortunately, the three judicial departments had already investigated the case beforehand.

Moreover, all the people involved in this case have now arrived in Beijing, so the trial shouldn't be too difficult.

Thus, on the third day of the grand court assembly, this momentous case, which had attracted the attention of thousands and even made the imperial cats in the palace perched on the walls to curiously observe, officially began!

The day before the trial, invitations were sent to the Fourth Prince and Kong Shangde, the heir of the Kong family. The invitations were written in an extremely polite manner: "Gentlemen, please come to the Three Judicial Offices tomorrow. See you there!"

In the past, when the three judicial departments tried cases, the prisoners would kneel to answer questions. This time, not only were seats prepared for them, but they were also provided with soft cushions!

After all, one of the two people to be interrogated is a descendant of a sage and is very likely to become the future Duke Yansheng;
One of them was the fourth prince of the current dynasty, the biological son of Emperor Qianxi.

They couldn't afford to offend any of them, yet the trial proceeded as if they were having a conversation.

As soon as the two arrived, the three presiding judges quickly stood up to greet them and politely invited them to sit down.

If you didn't know better, you'd think they were discussing going into business together!
However, this is not a teahouse after all. The sound of the gavel striking and the court being convened sends a chill down one's spine.

Just as the presiding judge, Fei Yuanji, cleared his throat, put on an expression even more serious than when meeting the emperor, and was about to begin, a loud and long shout suddenly came from outside the door: "The Crown Prince has arrived!"

Startled by the shout, Fei Yuanji's hand trembled, and he quickly exchanged a glance with Chen Tingjing and Fu Lun: What brings this gentleman here?

Without a second thought, the three of them stood up and bowed in unison.
"Your Highness, this humble subject pays respects!"

Crown Prince Shen Ye strolled out with a smile and raised his hand: "Gentlemen, please do not stand on ceremony. I am just here to listen in."

"I will only listen and not speak, and I will absolutely not interrupt! I am just a passerby and will not disturb the three gentlemen in their trial."

"Just pretend I don't exist!"

Chen Tingjing thought to himself: You say you're not here, but do you think we'll just pretend you're not here?

You are the Crown Prince!

Who here dares to ignore you?!

Although he was inwardly complaining, he outwardly said in a serious tone, "Your subject will obey the Crown Prince's decree."

"Your Highness, please take a seat!"

Even if Chen Tingjing and the other two were unwilling, the Crown Prince is the Crown Prince. Now that he has come to the Three Judicial Offices, the honored seat next to the presiding judge is his.

Shen Ye waved his hand and said, "No need, no need. I'm just here to listen to the proceedings and learn. I'll just find a side seat to sit on."

"The three gentlemen are the presiding judges and should sit in the main hall. Please continue, please continue."

As he spoke, he glanced around and then had his attendant Zhou Bao bring him a chair. He sat down next to him, just like someone listening to a play.

When the Fourth Prince saw the Crown Prince arrive, his eyes lit up, and he straightened his back a bit. He felt much more at ease: the Crown Prince's personal presence was enough to show that the Crown Prince clearly supported him on this matter!
Kong Shangde, however, kept a straight face!

His already firm resolve became even stronger at this moment!

His heart was churning with turmoil. They really were a den of snakes and rats! The Crown Prince himself was here; he was determined to support the fourth prince!
If this crown prince ascends the throne, will the Kong family still have a good life? They probably won't even have a way to survive!

No, we have to bring him down!

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Fei Yuanji said solemnly, "Today, we, the three judicial officials, are here by His Majesty's order to try the case of the Duke Yansheng's suicide!"

"Please answer truthfully—" He paused, then, remembering the identities of the two people opposite him, his tone softened involuntarily:

"We urge you both to cooperate fully. This entire process is being recorded and will be presented to the Emperor. Any deception would be tantamount to deceiving the Emperor!"

The Fourth Prince and Kong Shangde exchanged a glance, both displaying impeccable sincerity: "Please rest assured, gentlemen, we will speak frankly and without reservation!"

Fei Yuanji first targeted the Fourth Prince, asking his question cautiously: "Then let me ask Your Highness, why did you... suddenly go to the Duke of Yansheng's residence while you were on your way to provide disaster relief in Mount Tai?"

The Fourth Prince was well-prepared. He calmly pulled out a thick stack of papers from his sleeve and said frankly, "When I was ordered to provide disaster relief near Mount Tai, I discovered that although the court had distributed relief grain, countless disaster victims were still starving to death every day!"

"Under these circumstances, I had someone investigate."

"Upon investigation, it was discovered that someone had brazenly withheld the disaster relief grain distributed by the imperial court and then resold it at a high price."

"After I catch these thieves, their confessions all point to the Duke of Yansheng's mansion."

"I just came to inquire about the situation—the evidence is all there, and the people are being held at Dali Temple!" Chen Tingjing took the evidence, slowly flipped through it, and asked leisurely, "Fourth Prince, can you really conclude that Princess Yansheng was behind it based solely on the testimonies of these servants?"

Before the Fourth Prince could answer, Chen Tingjing turned to Kong Shangde: "Young Master Kong, you heard what the Fourth Prince just said. Now tell me, did your Kong family do the work of stealing and selling disaster relief grain for huge profits?"

Kong Shangde immediately switched to "saint mode," straightened his back, and spoke with great enthusiasm: "Lord Chen, esteemed lords!"

“My family, the Kong family, are descendants of a sage, with a tradition of poetry and literature, and high moral character. How could we do something that would disgrace our family and shame our ancestors?”

He clutched his chest with his right hand, feigning deep sorrow, and said, “The people the Fourth Prince mentioned are just a few unruly servants in the manor, blinded by greed, colluding with outsiders. My Kong family is willing to guarantee with our thousand-year reputation that they are absolutely unrelated!”

His words were delivered with conviction, and there seemed to be tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

The Fourth Prince coldly chimed in, "Kong Shangde, I went to the Duke of Yansheng's residence only to ask for his assistance in the investigation and to give the court an explanation. I did not say that he personally instigated this matter."

As Chen Tingjing listened, he felt that something was amiss: Why wasn't Kong Shangde more agitated about the Fourth Prince's "murder of his father"?

What's happening here?
Before he could figure it out, Floren, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly slammed his hand on the table, pointed at Kong Shangde, and roared:
"Kong Shangde, you keep insisting that this was not done by your Kong family, but only by a servant!"

"Alright, then let me ask you, since your Kong family is only guilty of lax discipline of the servants, such a crime, although it will be punished, His Majesty is so lenient that he would never severely punish the Duke Yansheng."

"Since the crime did not warrant death, why did the Duke Yansheng commit suicide?"

"If he wasn't feeling guilty, why would he want to die? Was he just bored?!"

"Do you really think our three judicial departments are a vegetable market, where you can fool us with a few words like 'descendant of a sage' and 'a thousand-year reputation'? Can you bear the crime of deceiving the emperor? Can your entire Kong family bear the responsibility?!"

Floren's shout nearly made Kong Shangde slip off his chair. His face was pale, and he gripped the armrest, stammering, "Lord Floren, I...I..."

Shen Ye, who was listening in, felt a strange sense of unease as he watched Floren's completely different behavior.

This guy's behavior seems a bit strange!

This Florentino... He's usually a shrewd old man who won't budge even if you hit him three times, but today he's acting like he's been injected with chicken blood.

Did he genuinely want to help the Fourth Prince uncover the truth, or... did he have ulterior motives?
Just as Shen Ye was completely baffled, Floren leaned forward, pressing his advantage: "Kong Shangde! What exactly is going on? Tell the truth! You must tell us the truth!"

"Do you really intend to commit the crime of deceiving the emperor?!"

The echo of Florence's last words resonated between the beams.

Kong Shangde seemed to be broken by the last straw, and he knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face.

"Lord Florent, esteemed lords, we...we truly do not wish to dwell on Father's death!"

"Actually... actually, my father has been preoccupied with many things for the past two years, especially since he returned from the capital, he has been sighing all day long."

"When the Fourth Prince arrived, he became even more distraught, muttering things like 'What should I do?' and 'This is too much!'"

“These words are inexplicable, but when we ask him, he won’t say anything!”

At this point, Kong Shangde wiped away his tears: "Although we were also surprised by what my father was anxious about, we never expected that he would take his own life!"

As he spoke, he shakily pulled out a slip of paper: "While sorting through my father's belongings, I found this tightly clutched in his hand..."

Note?

All eyes in the room immediately turned to him.

Florence took it, opened it, paused for two seconds, and then read it aloud:
I only wish your heart were like mine, then my longing for you would never be in vain.

After reading it aloud, he gave an awkward laugh: "I didn't realize that the Duke Yansheng was so...so affectionate!"

Nobody can laugh.

Shen Ye also leaned over to take a look, and his heart skipped a beat: This handwriting... why does it look so familiar?

Before he could react, Chen Tingjing suddenly exclaimed:

"This...this...this can't be His Highness the Crown Prince's handwriting, can it?!"

Shen Ye's mind went blank: It really is the Crown Prince's handwriting! But I've never written anything like this!

"I only wish your heart were like mine"? What am I supposed to be 'longing' for, you Duke Yansheng?!
But who among those present wasn't a shrewd and calculating individual? They instantly conjured up a grand political drama of a secret alliance between the crown prince and a high-ranking official…

Everyone's expressions became incredibly interesting.

Chen Tingjing stammered as he spoke, "My lords, perhaps we should stop here for today? This matter... needs to be reported to the Emperor for a decision!"

After speaking, he stole a glance at Shen Ye, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

Silence speaks louder than words!

The fourth prince was taken aback, his eyes widening like saucers: "My goodness, brother, how did this fire end up on you?!"
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(End of this chapter)