Chapter 277 Chu Taibao is poisoned

"I have a son and a daughter to support, and a wife to support. His Majesty asked me to reveal this matter for his sake. What can I do? What dare I do?!"

When Chu Taibao said this, his expression was indescribably sad.

He didn't dare to drag his family down, but he never let go of this grudge.

Mu Qing felt very complicated. He didn't expect that Chu Taibao was burdened with such a heavy past.

But after thinking it over again and again, he still refused Chu Taibao: "You have already lost a son, you can't lose more, so..."

It was rare for him to say so much, but Chu Taibao suddenly attacked the moment he heard it and knocked him unconscious to the ground!

When he woke up, he was already in a small hidden room in the library.

Mu Qing hurried to the main hall. The morning court session had already ended, and only the emperor and the prince were left in the hall.

He rushed to the door, but was stopped by the eunuch: "Lu Hanlin, you are not allowed to enter without the emperor's summons!"

But even from such a distance, Mu Qing still heard the angry shouts coming from the hall.

"Look at this memorial for yourself. Building such a remote Qingliang Garden cost a full 300,000 taels of silver. You truly are my good son! The best heir to the throne!"

Mu Qing's heart sank, but Chu Taibao finally handed over the memorial.

Fortunately, he had practiced martial arts and had excellent hearing, so he could hear clearly what was happening in the hall.

The eunuch said politely, "As you can see, His Majesty has already instructed us today not to let anyone else in. Why don't you please go back?"

Mu Qing shook his head: "I'll just wait here, it's no big deal."

He was ready to listen to what happened in the temple.

The eunuch was not a very warm-hearted person, so he didn't say anything when he saw this.

Inside the hall, the emperor stood in front of the table, his beard trembling with anger.

The prince kowtowed heavily, "Please calm down, Father! It would be unfilial of a son to make you so angry."

The emperor said with some sadness, "You are the crown prince of the country. You have everything you need. Is it necessary for you to embezzle money at this juncture?"

The prince knelt on the ground, looking innocent and unaware. "Father, I didn't do anything! What do you mean by 300,000 taels? What do you mean by building a courtyard?"

His Majesty said angrily, "I have already verified it with the Council of Accounts. See for yourself!"

He threw an account book in front of the prince.

The fact that the usually gentle and kind emperor was so angry shows the seriousness of the situation.

The Crown Prince flipped through the account book in astonishment. "This son has never seen this account book, nor has he ever ordered anyone to repair Qingliang Garden. Please, father, please be clear!"

"You mean, this account book was forged by someone?" The emperor couldn't help but feel soft in his heart when he saw his most trusted son showing this expression.

The prince shook his head and said, "I dare not speak nonsense, but..."

A trace of sadness flashed in his eyes: "You also know that what happened in Qingliangyuan has always been an eternal pain in my son's heart."

The emperor also remembered the matter of Master Chu and fell silent.

Mu Qing felt sick after hearing this. According to the description of Chu Taibao, it was clearly the prince who framed and falsely accused Master Chu, and in the end, he even killed Master Chu!

But the prince was actually able to hypocritically use Master Chu to play the emotional card, which was simply shameless.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince spoke earnestly, "Over the years, every time I dreamt of something, tears welled up in my eyes. How could I dare to touch that painful place? I beg you, Father, to investigate this matter thoroughly and find out who dared to use Qingliang Garden to cause trouble!"

After his superb performance, the emperor's anger had largely dissipated. He nodded and said, "Then call the eunuch in charge of the accounts of the Eastern Palace and the eunuch Wang from the Ministry of Finance for a confrontation!"

Soon, the eunuch in charge of accounting for the Eastern Palace came in trembling.

Before entering, Eunuch Wang looked at Mu Qing meaningfully.

Mu Qing felt something was wrong. If Eunuch Wang reported his appearance in the Sihui Bureau, the emperor might not necessarily become suspicious, but the prince would definitely be able to deduce who submitted the memorial.

But—this is fine.

Although Chu Taibao's efforts to take the blame for him were in vain, Mu Qing was willing to let the prince concentrate his firepower on himself without bringing harm to Chu Taibao.

So he stood there calmly, not even looking at Eunuch Wang.

Eunuch Wang was shocked and confused, and in an instant he came up with countless guesses. Finally, when they stood in the hall and confronted each other, he still did not tell anyone about Mu Qing.

Before the emperor could ask any more questions, the eunuch in charge of the accounts in the Eastern Palace knelt down tremblingly, crying out, "I plead guilty! I was bewitched and took advantage of the Crown Prince's trust to falsify the accounts."

The emperor was furious: "How dare you, such a rat, find such a scoundrel in the Crown Prince's palace! Where's the silver you stole?"

The eunuch in charge of accounts cried and said, "There was some money in the room, but the rest was gambled away!"

He knelt and crawled in front of the prince as if he had found a lifeline. "Prince, you are so kind-hearted. Please save me! I only stole 500 taels of silver at the beginning. I couldn't make up for the loss, so I thought of winning it back in the casino..."

The Crown Prince showed reluctance. "Little Dezi, since you were three years old, your father has assigned you to my side. Although you like to gamble, I didn't stop you in time, which is why you caused such a disaster... But this time it's 300,000 taels. I really can't help you!"

Seeing this, the emperor said with a look of dismay, "Prince, please stop being so soft-hearted! Come, beat this eunuch to death!"

Mu Qing turned around and left silently, his heart feeling cold.

He finally understood why Chu Taibao said he was seeking his own death...

The prince was respectful in front of the emperor, but secretly asked people to investigate, and soon the trace was found to be Chu Taibao.

He summoned Grand Tutor Chu to the palace and asked directly, "How did Grand Tutor know the number of Qingliang Gardens?"

Chu Taibao knew that the matter had been exposed, but he did not reveal any information. Instead, he said coldly: "Prince, why don't you ask why I am targeting you?"

When the prince heard this, a guilty look flashed across his eyes.

When he couldn't get any information out of him, he actually ordered someone to feed poison to Chu Taibao, but Chu Taibao still refused to speak.

The prince narrowed his eyes and said, "Alright, since you're so stubborn, I'll let you go. However, your poison will definitely take effect within three days. I hope you can withstand it!"

When Mu Qing heard that Chu Taibao had been arrested, his heart skipped a beat, but when he rushed to the Eastern Palace, he saw him coming out of the Eastern Palace safely, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as he was about to step forward, Chu Taibao spoke very quickly, "I have something to go home for. In three days, you must come to the Guanyin Temple in the south of the city to find me!"

Although Mu Qing didn't understand the situation, he still agreed.