"Your Majesty!" King Duan bowed deeply, "This is all a misunderstanding. I really don't know what happened, and I don't know Mr. Xue. Please understand clearly."
Today, I was caught off guard. King Duan knew that he did not have any evidence at hand, and his defense was extremely pale. For now, he could only delay the matter and think of ways to overturn the case.
Thinking of this, his heart sank. Even if he could be exonerated afterwards, the emperor was already wary of him. He was afraid that he would be under constant surveillance in the future, and what he planned would become twice as difficult. But he couldn't care about so much now.
, let’s get this out of the way first.
The emperor's face was gloomy: "What do you think?"
Ministers, you look at me and I look at you. When it comes to the struggle for the throne, they dare not express their opinions at will.
Finally, an official came out and said: "Your Majesty, this is a serious matter, and we need to investigate the evidence carefully before we can convict."
This was what everyone wanted, so they all expressed their opinions: "Master Zhu is right, and I second my opinion."
The emperor nodded and ordered: "Take the assassin into custody and hand it over to the custody of Dali Temple. The case will be reviewed by the three departments and reported directly to me."
The official of the Sansi Hall took the order, and the minister of Dali Temple hesitated for a moment and asked for instructions: "Your Majesty, will His Highness Prince Duan be taken into custody?"
The emperor glanced coldly and snorted: "Go back to the palace!"
The Minister of Dali Temple understood what he meant and ordered the guards: "Please go to the Tianlao with His Highness Prince Duan!"
"yes."
Only then did Xu Yin let out a breath.
Well, King Duan's wolfish ambition has been exposed, and the first step is considered a success. Next, it depends on whether the secret forces in the Duke of Zhao can kill him.
Princess Changning was so distracted that she held on to her sleeves and murmured, "Uncle Huang...did your uncle really do this?"
In her mind, King Duan was a good uncle. He was amiable and generous. He greeted him with a smile every time he met him. Sometimes he would help to intercede when he got into trouble. He never refused to ask for help.
Xu Yin thought of her previous life when she was sent to marry by King Duan and died in a foreign country at a young age. She couldn't help but sigh and said: "Princess, you know people, faces but not hearts. What kind of person King Duan is, wait until the Third Division finds out
Just know it.”
Princess Changning nodded, and when she saw the prince and Yan Ling coming out, she hurriedly followed them.
"Brother Royal!"
The prince waved his hand to her: "We'll talk about it when we get back."
Then he turned to Yan Ling and asked, "Are you okay?"
Yan Ling nodded and said gratefully: "Your Highness has protected me in every possible way today, and I feel deeply in my heart."
The prince patted him on the shoulder and said proudly: "My brother, why are you talking about this? You have helped so much before, I will remember it in my heart!"
Yan Ling smiled and thought, considering today's kindness, I will definitely repay him if necessary in the future.
"I scared you today, go back and have a rest." The prince comforted him warmly, "This matter will pass soon, and my father will not restrain you anymore."
Yan Ling nodded and bowed her hands to him obediently: "Then I will resign."
"go Go."
The prince watched him being supported by Yan Ji and left. He couldn't help but sigh and said to Princess Changning: "Let's go, let's go back to the palace."
Princess Changning agreed, said goodbye to Xu Yin, and left in the prince's carriage.
Xiaoman came over and asked, "Miss, are we going back too?"
Xu Yin withdrew his gaze: "Go back."
With the Dragon Boat Festival going like this, the dragon boat race has started but ended, so we will give it up.
People in the capital were panicked, and even ordinary people smelled something extraordinary.
A well-informed old man recalled the chaos of the Green Forest Rebellion decades ago and couldn't help but sigh: "The world is not peaceful..."
Xu Yin returned to his mansion, washed and changed clothes as usual.
After she changed into homely clothes and sat in the pavilion drinking tea, someone knocked on the window.
Before she could respond, the window was pushed open, and Yan Ling rolled in and said, "I'm so hot, please have a cup of tea!"
While Xiaoman went to pour tea, he complained: "Second Master Yan, after all, there are differences between men and women. Why can't you pay attention when you come in? What if my lady is changing clothes?"
Yan Ling was stunned for a moment, then his face turned red and he coughed lightly: "Be careful next time."
Xiaoman said no more, served him tea, and then went outside to watch.
Xu Yin ignored these trivial matters and asked him: "How is it?"
Yan Ling sat down opposite her, Gulu Gulu poured a cup of tea first, and then said: "Prince Duan has entered the prison, but the attitude of the Dali Temple Minister is ambiguous. We suspect that he may be an accomplice."
King Duan was deeply hidden, and on the surface he was just an idle king. At that time, he used the poetry meeting to recruit a group of officials from the court. The minister of Dali Temple was not among them, and they had not found out the news before.
"Maybe it was Zhang Huaide who made the acquaintance." Xu Yin said, "Your Majesty has neglected state affairs in recent years. Zhang Huaide has a lot of power. The Dali Temple minister may have voted for him."
Yan Ling felt troubled: "This is a bit troublesome. The Punishment Department is ours. We thought that as long as Dali Temple did not favor Prince Duan, we could kill him directly. Now things are not easy to handle."
Xue Ru is a member of Prince Duan. This cannot be washed away. There are spies in the court, and there will always be clues upon closer inspection. However, it is absolutely true that Xue Ru was kicked out of Prince Duan's palace early. It depends on where the people who are investigating the case go.
Aspect guidance.
If Dali Temple is determined to obstruct it, it will be difficult to complete the ironclad case.
Xu Yin had a thought in his mind and said: "Don't worry, let's see how things develop first. If it is really confirmed that it is related to Zhang Huaide, we will think of something else."
Yan Ling nodded, discussed some things with her, and didn't leave until late at night.
…
Heavenly prison.
King Duan had not yet been convicted, so the jailer did not dare to neglect him, and the single cell he lived in was kept very clean.
When the Minister of Dali Temple came, Prince Duan was having a meal. A bowl of rice and two side dishes, although it was not sour, it was ordinary. He was used to eating delicacies from the mountains and the sea, but he didn't dislike it.
This made the Minister of Dali Temple breathe a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Prince Duan himself would panic first, in which case he would not be able to use his strength.
"Your Majesty." He bowed and saluted, "You have suffered a lot. There are many people watching you right now, so I can't do much."
King Duan hummed, calmly finished the last bit of rice and put down the bowl and chopsticks.
The Minister of Dali Temple personally came forward, poured tea, and helped him rinse his mouth.
King Duan slowly wiped the corners of his mouth and asked, "Where is Xue Ru?"
"Locked in the execution chamber." The minister of Dali Temple replied, "I asked someone to guard you at all times to prevent anyone from silencing you."
King Duan shook his head: "That's not the case. At this point, Xue Ru's death will not be good for them."
The minister of Dali Temple obediently accepted the instruction: "Yes."
King Duan paused for a moment and looked puzzled: "Have you asked clearly? How did Xue Ru survive?"
The Minister of Dali Temple nodded: "I asked. She had committed a crime before, and for fear of having to die to apologize, she swallowed the heart-protecting pill first and inserted the dagger crookedly. Only then did she escape from the eyes and ears of the house."
King Duan sneered: "She has been with me for many years and has not learned anything else. She is very good at playing tricks."
The minister of Dali Temple laughed with me.
King Duan thought for a while: "Is it convenient for me to see her?"