I play the role of Jiajing in Zongwu: What crime have I committed?

"That's enough."

Yuwen Jian roared, staring intently at the two of them, his expression cold and fierce.

"Effective immediately, Yuwen Quan is hereby stripped of his title as Crown Prince and placed under house arrest in the Imperial Clan Court. Consort Hua is hereby ordered to commit suicide."

The air inside the hall seemed to freeze instantly.

At this moment, Gu Siling, who had been silent all along, stepped forward and stood in front of Yuwen Quan.

"Your Majesty, there are still many doubts about this matter, and it requires careful investigation. We cannot hastily depose the heir."

"investigation?"

Yuwen Jian roared, "How much more investigation do you want?"

"You've already seen it all, caught them in the act. What's there to doubt?"

Gu Siling refused to budge an inch upon hearing this.

"The Crown Prince has been kind and filial since childhood. Doesn't Your Majesty know this?"

"There must be something fishy about this!"

"Gu Siling, you've gone too far!"

Yuwen Jian roared, "Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?"

"I am no match for the Grandmaster, but if Your Majesty takes action in the capital, the world will surely rebel within three months."

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.

They never expected that Gu Siling, that old scoundrel, would dare to threaten the emperor to his face!

puff~

The next second, Yuwen Jian also spat out his drink.

Suddenly, he froze, then looked up and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Zhu Houcong saw it clearly through Qinglong's eyes.

He almost laughed out loud.

This time, Yuwen Jian wasn't faking it; he was genuinely so angry that he vomited blood.

Yuwen Jian, what kind of miserable life have you been living all day long?!

A family man like Gu Jia has driven him to this point.

If this continues, Yuwen Jian will probably be driven crazy by Gu Siling.

Wouldn't that mean Yuwen Quan would inherit the throne?

can not be like this!

So Qinglong stepped forward again, offering Yuwen Jian a way out.

"Your Majesty, I request that this case be thoroughly investigated. Since Lord Gu insists that the case is questionable, it would be better to hand it over to the Imperial Guards for a detailed investigation, so as to give the people of the world an explanation."

Yuwen Jian's face was as white as paper. The mouthful of blood he had just swallowed seemed to have exhausted all his energy, causing him to speak breathlessly.

"Okay... we investigated... we investigated thoroughly."

Qinglong glanced at Gu Siling without changing his expression, and continued in a loud voice, "Your subject will certainly handle this matter impartially and give His Majesty and the world an explanation."

Seeing this, Gu Siling snorted coldly, but didn't say anything more.

Although it was the Imperial Guards conducting the investigation, he would still keep an eye on things.

Seeing that he had taken over the power of investigation, Zhu Houcong smiled even more happily.

He knew all too well what Yuwen Jian was planning.

They sent the Imperial Guards to investigate, thinking they could say whatever they wanted, black was black, and white was white.

They could use this opportunity to solidify the Crown Prince's guilt of having defiled the harem, and then rightfully depose him.

Then gradually strip away Gu Jia's wings.

Unfortunately, they made the wrong decision.

Zhu Houcong had no intention of helping Yuwen Jian stabilize the court.

Everything he did was designed to further destabilize the situation in Southern Chu.

Depose the crown prince?

Wouldn't that benefit Yuwen Jian?

He wanted Gu Siling to be desperate and take drastic measures, and he wanted the princelings to go to extremes!

As long as we drive the Crown Prince to the brink of despair, making Gu Siling believe that the Crown Prince is not even going to survive.

This made him believe that the emperor was determined to kill Crown Prince Yuwen Quan in order to avenge the cuckolding he had been cheated on.

Only then will he fully realize that he has no choice but to rebel.

At that time, Yuwen Jian will face a real coup d'état launched by the Gu family in conjunction with the Crown Prince.

The entire kingdom of Southern Chu would be overthrown as a result.

It collapsed from within.

Chapter 138: His Majesty Wants the Crown Prince Dead

Crown Prince Yuwen Quan and Consort Hua were escorted to the Imperial Guard prison overnight.

Meanwhile, Zhu Houcong had already arranged for Zhao Chuan, a loyal subordinate in the Imperial Guard, to take over the case.

And they painted a big pie in his sky for him.

The implication was that the emperor should hand the crown prince over to the imperial guards for interrogation, with the intention of having the guards use torture to cause the crown prince to succumb to the torture and die unexpectedly.

Zhu Houcong promised Zhao Chuan that as long as the Crown Prince died in the Imperial Guard's office, Zhao Chuan would surely win the Emperor's favor.

Given time, a meteoric rise to success is not a dream.

Upon receiving the hint, a ruthless glint flashed in Zhao Chuan's eyes.

"I understand, and I will handle it cleanly and efficiently."

Seeing the ruthlessness in Zhao Chuan's eyes, Zhu Houcong knew that he had not made a wrong choice.

Zhao Chuan is also a person who will stop at nothing to achieve his ambitions.

Soon Yuwen Quan was locked on the rack and interrogated by Zhao Chuan personally.

He approached the Crown Prince with a sinister smile: "Your Highness, forgive me."

What are you going to do?

Yuwen Quan looked at the instruments of torture brought in by the jailers in horror and roared.

Zhao Chuan ignored Yuwen Quan completely and simply waved his hand.

"Put on the torture."

The heavy iron hammer landed directly on the prince's knee.

Click!

The sound of bones cracking, accompanied by Yuwen Quan's shrill screams, echoed through the prison cell.

The executioner was a skilled officer; each blow inflicted pain deep into the bone marrow.

"Ah, Father... Your son is innocent!"

Yuwen Quan's wails gradually weakened.

Zhao Chuan remained a cold observer, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Zhu Houcong was not idle either. He changed into a night suit and went to the heavily guarded Gu residence.

He toyed with a thin, willow-leaf-shaped dart between his fingers, with a piece of paper tied to its end.

"Lord Gu, please accept this 'generous gift' carefully."

A hint of mockery flashed in Zhu Houcong's eyes.

With a flick of his wrist, the willow-leaf dart pierced through the window paper.

Ding!

It was nailed directly to Gu Siling's desk.

Inside the study, Gu Siling suddenly looked up and frowned slightly when she saw that it was a willow-leaf dart.

He hurried over and discovered that a roll of paper was still tied to the end of the dart.

The inscription reads: "The Emperor secretly ordered the Imperial Guards to torture the Crown Prince, fabricating the fact that he died unexpectedly."

After reading it, Gu Siling's hands trembled violently.

He instantly realized that the note was very likely true, and that the emperor, being cuckolded, might very well do something like this.

Moreover, even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance of such a thing happening, he wouldn't dare to gamble.

Yuwen Quan was his sister's only son.

"Yuwen Jian, how cruel you are!"

Gu Siling slammed her hand down on the table, shattering it and sending splinters flying everywhere.

He stood up abruptly, not even having time to put on his outer robe, grabbed a sword and rushed out of the study.

"Prepare the horses, quickly prepare the horses!"

The guards in the manor had never seen Gu Siling so out of control, and hurriedly and haphazardly brought over a warhorse.

Gu Siling mounted her horse and lashed it with her whip. The warhorse, in pain, shot straight toward the Imperial Guard's headquarters.

"Quan'er... hang in there... you must hold on!"

Soon, the imposing gates of the Imperial Guard's office came into view.

Gu Siling leaped up and landed at the doorway, roughly pushing aside the guards who were blocking her way.

"Make way! I demand to see the Crown Prince!"

Inside the yamen, Zhao Chuan came out upon hearing the sound, his face still showing some fear.

Among the soldiers of Southern Chu, none were afraid of Gu Siling.

The moment their eyes met, Gu Siling's heart sank to the bottom.

He saw guilt and panic in the other person's eyes.

Where is the Crown Prince?

Gu Siling's voice had changed tone.

He rushed in recklessly, but was stopped by a group of imperial guards.

Gu Siling shoved the crowd aside with a single palm strike and charged straight in.

When he arrived at the dungeon, the sight before him made his eyes widen in horror.

Crown Prince Yuwen Quan is currently chained to a rack, covered in blood.

Several imperial guards carrying out the executions were approaching with red-hot branding irons.

"stop!"

Gu Siling roared and pounced like a tiger, sending the nearest executioner flying several feet with a single palm strike.

The man crashed into the wall, coughed up blood, and immediately lost consciousness.

Clang!

Dozens of imperial guards instantly drew their long swords, all pointing their blades at Gu Siling.

"Lord Gu, are you planning a rebellion?"

Zhao Chuan, who was in the lead, shouted sternly, but his voice trembled slightly.