Frost for a Thousand Years

The news was completely blocked.

All officials residing at the official post stations near the Tuntian Grand Ceremony could only move within the 'Tuntian Park'.

Although they were not completely confined to their homes and were still allowed to go out, people were still in a state of panic at this time. No one knew exactly how many people were involved in the assassination case, so they had to be careful with their words and actions.

Therefore, everyone stayed in their rooms, waiting for the Imperial Guards to investigate and question them, and to bring everything back to normal.

The emperor and his officials originally lived in two separate places, more than ten miles apart. But now that this has happened, he can no longer move to the Song family's old residence, which is now his temporary palace.

What if the crown prince really is a traitor?
If he framed someone, that would be fine. But if the investigation really leads back to him and pushes the Crown Prince to the brink, that would be even worse.

The emperor, protected by only a few thousand imperial guards, was a lamb to the slaughter.

However, the crown prince could not possibly be a rebel.

Even if he really is.

Therefore, just like the villa murder case in Detective Conan, no one can escape it; they can only play the werewolf game until a winner is determined.

The emperor also left his mark outside the relatively simple ceremony, in the place where the crown prince resided.

"Father, this matter must be thoroughly investigated, thoroughly investigated. No matter who is behind it, anyone whose name is mentioned must be beheaded..."

In the main hall, the crown prince knelt before the emperor and spoke with great excitement.

"Whoever is involved, kill them?" The emperor looked at the crown prince and a cold smile appeared on his face. "If you involve the Prince of Zhongping, kill the Prince of Zhongping; if you involve the Prince of Jin, kill him too. Do you want me to kill all your brothers?"

The emperor is making malicious speculations again.

She still treated her own son as Ji Yuan's son.

That was pure hatred.

In the past, the crown prince would have been terrified.

People started speculating wildly.

However, he had undergone a baptism.

"Father, if my brothers have done these things, whether it is the Prince of Zhongping or the Prince of Jin, they must be executed." The Crown Prince looked at his father, his tone firm and his attitude resolute. "Including me, if I am also involved in this matter, if I am related to such a rebellious act that violates human ethics and is disloyal to the Emperor, only death can atone for my sins!"

The Crown Prince's words directly silenced the Emperor.

What was originally a threatening probe has now turned into a confrontation with the Crown Prince.

Moreover, it was based on sound reasoning and the righteous cause of loyalty and filial piety, making it impossible for even a dictatorial emperor to maintain his absolute power at this time.

Why did the Crown Prince dare to make such a bold statement, leaving no room for negotiation?

That means he not only had no involvement or connection to this matter, but was also completely unaware of it, and was even confident that no matter how much they investigated, they would not find any evidence against him or his cronies.

Just like a paternity test.

A strong refusal, a heart-wrenching oath, and a threatening warning—with these signs, there's no need to even investigate.

Why not do something that's 100% guaranteed to win?
Therefore, the crown prince was able to say such things to his father with a clear conscience.

What's the purpose?
At least let the King of Zhongping die.

If I get the chance, I'll kill the Prince of Jin.

In that instant, the emperor was certain that his crown prince was innocent and could be directly ruled out as a suspect.

"Zisheng, I believe in you."

The emperor looked into his eyes and said, "And I love you very much."

Even if the emperor truly loved his son, his pride... no, his supreme authority prevented him from expressing love to his child, let alone saying it so openly.

“Father, I know,” the Crown Prince said, deeply moved. “To pave the way for me, you did not hesitate to personally strip Wusheng of his military power, leaving behind a less-than-stellar reputation. I saw it all.”

"Did you see that Imperial Guard at the banquet just now?" the Emperor suddenly asked. "Did you hear what he said?"

“Father, I was so frightened at the time that I didn’t hear you… Please forgive me.”

The crown prince heard everything, but he didn't want to admit it.

He didn't want to repay the favors that hadn't actually happened.

The emperor's hand, which was gripping the armrest, clenched gently.

Even if the emperor has not shown you any favors, you should still try to find out what favors he has shown you.

You actually made the emperor take the initiative to say, "How can I treat you well?"
"I'll tell you," the emperor said, his patience wearing thin, "that Imperial Guard was arranged by me to report on the military situation of the Northern Liang rebellion at the land reclamation ceremony."

The crown prince had actually had this suspicion before, but after the emperor said this, he became even more certain.

This logic is self-consistent.

In other words, his father was really going to take the blame for him.

"Father... has Beiliang really rebelled?" the Crown Prince asked in astonishment.

"If Beiliang doesn't rebel, how can you so easily strip Wei Wusheng of his military power?" the emperor retorted. "You didn't even fabricate a crime, yet you take him down just like that. Do you think this court is a bandit's den of righteousness? Even a den of righteousness should have some sense of justice."

“But I promised Song Shi’an that as long as they were willing to relinquish power, I would spare their lives…” the Crown Prince said anxiously. “If Qin Kuo, Zhu Qing and the others really become rebels, I will break my promise to Song Shi’an, and he will have no way to enter the court again.”

"Then we won't join. This Great Yu will still be Great Yu even without the two of them."

After his initial threat, the emperor earnestly said, "The only thing I care about is that you sit firmly on the throne until you die, without being hindered or threatened by anyone, do you understand?"

"..." The Crown Prince's eyes instantly welled up with tears, his body trembled with emotion, and tears gradually streamed down his face. He said haltingly, "Father's good intentions... Your son has no way to repay them..."

The Crown Prince's weeping was deeply moving, and even the Emperor was moved to tears.

"Zisheng, this matter has nothing to do with Prince Jin." At this moment of paternal love and filial piety, the emperor also spoke up, "My eyes will not be wrong."

Let the Prince of Jin go.

"Father." The Crown Prince looked at the Emperor with teary eyes and nodded, his voice choked with emotion. "Your subject understands."

The Prince of Jin and the Crown Prince agreed to refrain from dealing with him for the time being.

"Furthermore, why did the Prince of Zhongping want to kill me? What reason did he have to kill me?" the emperor countered. "What benefit would he gain from killing me?"

"Father, your leniency will only embolden some of your unworthy descendants, making them even more arrogant and disregard things."

According to the Crown Prince, Prince Zhongping is absolutely doomed.

"Then demote him to a commoner and banish him to the cold palace," the emperor decided.

"Your Majesty, murdering the emperor, according to the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty, is punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. If it is a member of the royal family, he should also be hanged." At this moment, the Crown Prince took up his post and earnestly advised, "The Prince of Zhongping's opera troupe, the grand opera he presented, and it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but had been prepared for months. With such conclusive evidence, unless we can find irrefutable proof that others deceived him, such a lenient sentence will likely cause discontent among the people."

The emperor could no longer win an argument with the crown prince.

His bloodlust was too strong.

However, this is not wrong.

If he were the crown prince, then Prince Zhongping would have to die now, and after the emperor dies, Prince Jin would also have to die.

Kill them all.

The Crown Prince is already very good at being an emperor.

But this decisiveness and wisdom made the current emperor quite uncomfortable.

Even though he was becoming more like himself, the emperor still felt uncomfortable.

By taking others as a mirror, we can know our own gains and losses.

It seems I really am an unpleasant emperor. Faced with the crown prince's sincere words, the emperor did not argue with him anymore, but after a long silence, he said, "Zisheng, you must treat your brothers well."

"Father, I will certainly treat my brothers well, as long as they are completely loyal to you!"

The crown prince agreed quickly, so quickly that it seemed as if he hadn't thought about it at all.

But what can we do?

"Then you can go down."

"Father, I take my leave."

And so, the prince left and returned to his temporary residence.

Not long after he sat down, Xishan came in and reported, "Your Highness, all of Sun Wukong's accomplices are being severely tortured... but before the torture even began, they confessed to everything. They even said things that I didn't ask them, so they don't seem to know anything."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Crown Prince glanced at him and said, "Didn't His Majesty say that you can investigate anyone, including me? Why do you need to report to me?"

Upon hearing this, Xishan immediately knelt down, prostrating herself, and said excitedly, "This servant is His Majesty's henchman, and also the Crown Prince's henchman. Even if this servant investigates anyone, she would never commit such a treasonous act of disloyalty, nor would she allow anyone to cause trouble and implicate Your Highness!"

Xi Shan knew exactly what was going on.

The emperor will die sooner or later.

The one he would have to serve was naturally the next emperor.

The emperor said that purely to show his officials.

Of course, the plate of food he had on the assassin's plate was definitely a great achievement.

If it weren't for me, the emperor would have almost died.

It could be said that he saved the emperor's life.

With this resume, as long as he doesn't commit any serious crimes in the future, it will be a get-out-of-jail-free card.

His status in the palace was finally comparable to that of Chen Bao in the past.

"Hmm." The crown prince was very satisfied with the answer and said, "Get up."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Xishan slowly got up and bowed to the Crown Prince.

"Wei Yiyuan was the one who ordered the people. Is there no objection now?" the Crown Prince asked.

“Apart from the King of Zhongping not acknowledging it, there seems to be no objection,” Xishan said. “However, these opera singers say that they were not originally a group. They were all chosen by the troupe leader and gathered together from various places. Some of them knew each other before the troupe was formed, but the others did not know Sun Wukong before.”

"..." The Crown Prince's expression darkened, and he became somewhat serious. "You speak."

Xishan leaned closer and whispered, "The troupe used to have a boss, but he never showed his face. He would just send people to discipline them. He didn't come this time either."

Sure enough, they found some things.

While this doesn't necessarily mean Wei Yiyuan was set up, it at least makes the matter seem more like a conspiracy.

“However, this opera troupe was assembled long before the land reclamation ceremony was to be held, and it was Prince Zhongping who took the initiative to send someone to propose buying the troupe. As for Sun Wukong, he was already here,” Xishan explained.

There is absolutely no doubt about this case.

You say he was framed by someone else, but it was Wei Yiyuan who took the initiative to buy the opera troupe.

You said that someone deliberately tricked him, knowing that he would present a gift to the emperor on the spot at the land reclamation ceremony, but the opera troupe already existed long before the court announced that it would hold the ceremony.

This assassin didn't appear out of nowhere; he had been in the opera troupe for a long time.

"Let's use severe torture," the crown prince said.

"Your Highness, shall we continue to torture those actors?" Xi Shan asked.

"We've already come this far, why are you letting them say anything more?" the Crown Prince said coldly. "It's the Prince of Zhongping."

"...Hee-seon was genuinely frightened. "Are they going to torture the prince?"

“He is a prince, but first and foremost, he was an assassin who murdered the emperor,” the Crown Prince said. “Even if he is my own brother, I cannot show him any leniency!”

Father, I will listen to you and treat my brothers very well!

"Yes, Your Highness!" Although Xishan was afraid, he was absolutely loyal to the Crown Prince, so he decided to go with the group.

"And another thing," the Crown Prince said, his expression turning serious as he thought of this, "send an urgent order to General Zhao Yi, informing him of what has happened here, and instructing him to stabilize the army while keeping an eye on Hua Zheng."

Originally, the Crown Prince wanted to take this opportunity to win over Hua Zheng and convert him completely.

But who knew this would happen?

It wasn't that he thought East China University of Political Science and Law would have any connection to this matter.

Anyone with a brain would know that Huazheng is already an outstanding representative of the nobility, so why would he be crazy enough to gamble on such disproportionate wealth?
But after all, he was once a member of the Prince of Jin's faction.

The Prince of Zhongping was also an ally of the Prince of Jin.

If he heard that such a thing had happened and that the Prince of Zhongping was imprisoned, he would definitely start to have wild thoughts—could it be that the Crown Prince lured me away from the mountain in order to wipe out the Prince of Jin's faction in one fell swoop?
People can really be scared to death.

With the Chinese government in control of the military, they could potentially rebel if pushed too far!
"Yes, Your Highness." Xishan nodded.

"Also, we must act quickly," the Crown Prince said. "This matter cannot be suppressed; it will inevitably spread sooner or later. But as long as General Zhao Yi learns about the situation here as soon as possible, the army can be stabilized."

“Yes, Your Highness.

Xi Shan went to do it.

The Crown Prince, too, is like a meticulously planned machine, carefully arranging every step.

He built his dragon throne to be more and more solid.

……

Late at night, Song Shi'an and Xin Yue stood closely together in their bedroom.

After all, Xin Yue was her personal bodyguard.

However, the thing about sharing a room late at night is something that only happened today.

"To be honest, this sudden assassination attempt by the Prince of Zhongping is actually to our advantage," Xinyue whispered, covering her mouth.

"That's for sure."

Song Shi'an covered his mouth and whispered, "After all, it was me who did it."

"..."

Xin Yue was stunned.

After Song Shi'an revealed everything to her, she was completely dumbfounded.

Then, Song Shi'an's lips curled into a smile as she spoke of something even more terrifying to her: "I finally realized where Hua Zheng went. But just in time, he's not coming back."

After saying that, Song Shi'an put the letter he had just written into the mailbox.

Then, with one kick, he flipped over a piece of floorboards under the desk.

It was a narrow opening.

Song Shi'an threw the mailbox inside.

With a loud thud, it crashed onto the solid stone ground.

A hand reached out from the secret passage and picked up the letter. (End of Chapter)