The prince knelt down again, but not in the previous hall.
This is the emperor's study. The previous officials stayed in the main hall to check the evidence brought by General Iron Mask. The emperor took the prince and General Iron Mask to the study.
"Father," the prince said with tears, "it was my son's negligence and my son's fault."
At this moment, he admitted his mistake calmly and sincerely. The emperor looked at him with a complicated expression, and a trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes.
"Get up." He said, "I know that moving the capital is not that easy. There must be many crises. This is your first time facing this situation."
The prince kowtowed and stood up, saluting the iron-faced general again: "Fortunately, the general is here."
It was found out that the perpetrators of the Shanghe Village case were the soldiers of the King of Qi, and the matter was solved. From the incident to the end, it only took two days, and there was no harm done. The emperor looked at the iron-faced general with a calmer expression.
"Thank you General," he said.
The iron-faced general saluted: "It is my duty to help your majesty relieve Daxia's worries."
"This is why I can leave you alone in Xijing and let you preside over the important matter of moving the capital." The emperor said solemnly to the prince, "Because the presence of the iron-faced general is the most solid barrier."
The prince saluted the iron-faced general again.
The iron-faced general returned the favor and said, "Your Highness has done a good job, but the King of Qi is cunning and cunning. The prince is defeated by him once. It is not a shame."
The prince nodded and looked at the Iron Masked General with gratitude and respect.
The prince looked at the two of them and nodded with satisfaction.
The court meeting lasted until late at night, but the fifth prince waiting in the East Palace was not impatient at all. He looked at the uneasy Crown Princess and the distracted Yao Fu standing aside.
"Don't worry, it's okay." He said, "This is not the prince's fault at all. This is King Qi framing the prince."
The princess held her hand with hatred and uneasiness: "This old and immortal King Qi really does many evil things."
What Yao Fu was thinking was that even though he was framed, but the Iron-faced General did not provide evidence to rescue the prince, your majesty would really accuse the prince. This shows that the prince's favor in the emperor's heart is not so strong.
After saying this, the prince came back. The prince concubine and the fifth prince hurriedly stood up to greet them. The prince smiled at them.
"Don't worry, go to bed early." He said to the Crown Princess first, then looked at the Fifth Prince, "Mu Rong, follow me."
The fifth prince followed the prince to the study: "Are you okay? What did your majesty say?"
"Your Majesty, we must use troops against King Qi." The prince said to him.
The fifth prince touched his palm and said, "That's what you should do. Your Majesty spared this old grandson of King Qi out of mercy, but he dared to frame you." He smiled at the prince again, "It shows that my father still protects you."
Only by using troops against King Qi can we declare to the whole world that the Shanghe Village case is King Qi's conspiracy and has nothing to do with the prince. Only then can the prince completely avoid leaving any stigma.
The prince sighed softly: "It's just that my father has to worry about it again." He was silent for a moment, "and I think-"
The words stopped here.
The fifth prince hurriedly asked: "What do you think?"
The prince said: "I think this matter is not just the work of King Qi. It was before, but now the orphans suddenly sue me, and maybe there are others who are adding to the flames."
The fifth prince was puzzled, but he didn't think too much. He just listened to the prince and stood up immediately: "Brother, who do you think you are?"
The prince motioned for him to relax: "Don't be nervous. I'm just guessing. Don't take it too seriously. I'll make my own conclusion after the evidence inquiry is over."
The fifth prince said: "My intuition is also very accurate. Not to mention what you think, Prince Brother, I feel that there are many more people who want to harm you, brother. If nothing else, every one of us brothers has evil intentions."
The prince stopped him, "Don't talk nonsense, don't be disrespectful to your brothers." He then said, "In this case, even if they disrespect me, it was me, the eldest brother, who acted in the first place."
The fifth prince was even more angry: "Brother, you have a good temper, that's why you let them climb on your head one by one, first the third prince, and now the second brother is the same."
The prince pressed his forehead: "Okay, just take care of yourself and don't cause trouble for me."
Seeing the tired look on the prince's face, the fifth prince hurriedly pressed down what he wanted to say. The prince was already so tired. He couldn't be upset. He should relieve his worries. This was what a younger brother should do.
"I understand." The fifth prince nodded, "Brother, please rest quickly."
The prince hummed, but did not go to rest. Instead, he sat down and said, "There are still some things that have not been finished. You can't be lazy and delayed because of me. I will go to rest after I finish."
The fifth prince looked at the prince with a distressed look, did not dare to disturb him and resigned.
As expected, the prince sat and read the memorial one by one. Not long after, Fuqing came in with midnight snacks.
"Your Highness." He stood aside and asked in a low voice, "This time is really dangerous."
The prince stopped writing: "It is indeed very dangerous." He looked at the memorial in front of him, and the pen in his hand was broken with a creak. "Haven't all the matters in Shanghe Village been dealt with? How could there be any omissions?"
Fu Qing lowered his head and said, "I asked the old servant about it. They said it was very chaotic at the time and they didn't expect that County Magistrate Wang would dare to betray His Highness."
The prince was holding the broken pen, with veins popping out in his hand.
"My father kept asking me, asking me what choice I would make if the bandits threatened the villagers." He gritted his teeth and said, "How could I choose? How could I let go for a group of useless villagers?
A meritorious bandit, if it were the father himself, would he have any other choice?"
How could his father pretend to be a benevolent king? How many innocent people died in his hands? Two imperial uncles, King Yan and King Lu, as well as the wives, concubines and children of those people——
Now that the world is at peace, let’s start pretending!
Fuqing lowered his head. In fact, at that time, the bandits had not even had time to issue threats, and His Highness the Crown Prince had already given the order to take action. He would rather kill one by mistake than let one go.
This matter was conducted privately and handled cleanly. Who would have thought that these bandits were actually King Qi’s people, let alone the lethality of King Qi’s move that has continued to this day!
"Fortunately, they are King Qi's men." Fu Qing couldn't help but say, "It's even more fortunate that the Iron-faced General found out all this."
Otherwise, this matter really cannot be done well.
The prince obviously understood. He sighed heavily and leaned back on the chair: "Fortunately, there is General Iron Mask. No wonder my father keeps telling me that with Iron Mask around, I can feel at ease."
.....
.....
Early the next morning, Chen Danzhu learned about the new development of the matter early in the morning - after feeding Zhou Xuan a bowl of rice.
Chen Danzhu sat in a daze while holding the bowl and chopsticks.
"Then," she said, "the prince is fine this time."
Zhou Xuan glanced at her and asked: "Chen Danzhu, you seem to be hoping that something will happen to the prince?"
Chen Danzhu came back to his senses and stared: "I don't have one."
Zhou Xuan smiled and didn't ask any more questions. He pushed himself up to get up. Chen Danzhu asked warily: "What do you want to do? I don't care if it's convenient for you."
Zhou Xuan was so angry that she laughed and fell back: "Chen Danzhu, what are you thinking!"
Chen Danzhu coughed lightly.
"I want to go back to the palace, I want to see His Majesty, and I want to lead the troops." Zhou Xuan said.
"Although I'm happy when you say you're leaving," Chen Danzhu said with a smile, "But how can you lead an army like this?"
Zhou Xuandao: "No matter what happens to King Qi when he sends troops, I will go."
Chen Danzhu said, "Yes, if the prince is fine, then King Qi will be fine."
This time, is there something wrong with King Qi so early? Then——
Chen Danzhu held the bowl and chopsticks and looked in the direction of the palace. Would the third prince also intercede for King Qi so early?
