Masquerade in Bridal Attire and Marry the Prince

215. Loophole

Translator: Bryan

Almost everyone subconsciously shifted their gaze to the patriarchs of the Zhao and Fang families. They were the only ones present who had daughters that had married into the imperial family, which meant that the two of them had the greatest say in this matter. After all, what happened in a girl’s boudoir was sometimes unknown to even her neighbors. If one of them verified it…

“How dare you!” Minister Zhao thundered, giving the man a kick, his face furious, feeling an urge to tear the man to pieces. However, his reaction also suggested in a roundabout way that what this man had overheard when being brought into the palace was what the Crown Prince had said when making out with Fang Rui.

A hint of complacency flashed across Yuxing Wei’s eyes. He knew that his plan was watertight. “Outrageous! You didn’t tell me that when in my residence! If I had known…” He was just about to continue when the Emperor raised his hand, gesturing for him to stop speaking. Face sepulchral, the Emperor stared at the man kneeling on the floor. “Are you saying it was Tianrui who instructed you to assassinate him?

“As far as I can tell, you have no kung fu skills, which means you can’t even gain entry into the palace. My son is a martial-arts-meister. There’s no way you could’ve approached him,” the Emperor snorted, clearly distrustful of the man’s story.

Du Chuxuan was momentarily astonished. He had not expected that the Emperor would ask that question. He couldn’t help but glance at the Emperor, and then he instantly caught on. The Emperor was expert at pretending, and even in these circumstances, he was still trying to make his act more convincing.

The man kneeling on the floor was well prepared. After hearing the Emperor’s question, he did not panic. “Indeed, I have no kung fu skills, but His Highness’ guards cooperated with me, and His Highness didn’t resist when I attacked him, which was why I got the job done easily.”

Many people believed him, but Du Chuxuan couldn’t help but sneer. He had thought that Yuxing Wei would take this opportunity to do something big, but it had never crossed his mind that Yuxing Wei would despicably work in cahoots with the Emperor and just try to bring down Yuxing Tianrui and ruin his reputation. Du Chuxuan felt that this actually made things easier for him.

“How dare you?!” Du Chuxuan yelled angrily. “You think everybody in this room is stupid?” Du Chuxuan looked as if he were still in horror, and he was emanating a more brooding air. “If His Highness really wanted to do that, he could totally just have one of his guards do it, which would be a much safer way.

“Are you saying His Highness, a very intelligent man, went to all that trouble just to have you put on a show with him? How ridiculous!” After hearing Du Chuxuan’s words, many people also cottoned on.

When it came to an assassination, no matter whether it was premeditated by the target or not, it was indeed much safer to have their own men do it. Every dignitary had a henchman or two. Only by letting a man like that to do it would the mastermind be able to make sure that the plan was watertight and it would spare them the worry too.

The man had failed to think of such a flaw. Feeling uneasy, he sounded less certain when he spoke again. “I don’t know any of that. I was just strong-armed into that palace for no reason. I still want to ask His Highness why he forced me to do that!”

“Father!” Du Chuxuan turned to look at the Emperor. “This man is clearly a liar. I think he’s trying to frame His Highness. There’s no telling if he works for Manlou or not. Firstly, if he does, he would definitely want to see our country descend into chaos and to see His Highness sidelined.

“Secondly, if he doesn’t work for Manlou, seeing as how he made such wild accusations, he would sure as hell have premeditated the whole thing. His story is far from convincing! If His Highness is convicted because of this man’s ambiguous words, I’m afraid the people would be very disappointed with the imperial court!”

The Emperor kept silent, his face sulky. He stared at Du Chuxuan for a long time, as if trying to figure out what Du Chuxuan was thinking. He gazed at him for such a long time that the atmosphere in the study became subdued. “You have a point, but I have a question to ask you. Where did Tianrui get the provisions and vehicles for the troops he brought with him?”

The Emperor finally asked a question that struck home. Du Chuxuan sneered inwardly. He felt that the Emperor was indeed more shrewd. Clearly, the Emperor had just come to realize that he couldn’t use this witness’s words to convict Yuxing Tianrui, which was why he changed his tactic. The Emperor hadn’t played all his cards yet, so Du Chuxuan had to continue to deal with his tricks.

If Du Chuxuan said that it was the Du family who had provided Yuxing Tianrui with those supplies, the Du family would become his accomplices and might even be convicted of the crime of shielding criminals. The Emperor would suspect that the Du family had enough power to usurp the throne, given that they had helped the Crown Prince build an army. That was what worried the Emperor the most and he would try to exterminate the Du family.

And if Du Chuxuan said that he didn’t know, the Emperor would send someone to check the account books in the East Palace. This was what the Emperor had been planning for many years. Once the account books were found, not only would Yuxing Tianrui’s good reputation among the commoners be ruined, but his achievements would be instantly denied as well, considering how damaging public opinion could be.

By doing that, the Emperor would be able to kill two birds with one stone and put them in dilemma. However, the Emperor had failed to anticipate one thing. “Your Majesty, Du Shi requests an audience with you.” Eunuch Desheng pushed the door open and entered without so much as a glance at anybody else in the room.

The Emperor glanced at Du Chuxuan in confusion. When he saw that Du Chuxuan also looked slightly surprised, he felt faintly relieved. “Let him in.”

He felt that this might be a good thing. With Du Shi present, the two of them wouldn’t have time to make up a story together. He doubted that Du Chuxuan could settle this problem.

Before long, Du Shi walked inside. At the sight of Du Chuxuan kneeling on the side, he felt a tad upset, but he could only restrain it. “I prostrate myself before you, Your Majesty.”

Although his daughter had married into the imperial family and become the Crown Princess, no members of the Du family held a post in the court, which was why Du Shi had to observe all the formalities as a commoner did when having an audience with the Emperor.

The Emperor nodded and told him to rise. “What is it that you want to see me about?”

“Your Majesty, I’m here because I wanna donate all my family’s fortune to the court to help His Highness. I also hope my actions would bring good fortune to my fellow countrymen. People in the south are suffering. The Du family has an obligation to give them a hand.”

The Emperor involuntarily lifted his eyebrows. He glanced at Du Chuxuan kneeling on the floor, feeling suspicious. He had just begun to look into Du Chuxuan when the Du family came here to make a donation. Although the outcome was exactly the one he wanted, the situation had become somewhat different.

He turned to look at Du Chuxuan. “What do you think?”

“What a wily old fox,” Du Chuxuan thought. “I, uh…” he said, feigning hesitation. “I’d like a word with my father.”