Chapter 158 Escalating Further

When the news of Yang Zhengtong's sudden death in prison spread, almost everyone was stunned.

The suspect died in the Ministry of Justice prison?

Or did he die when Lord Shangguan had just entered the Ministry of Justice prison?

What are we going to do now?! How are we going to conduct the trial?!

This...isn't this blatantly telling everyone that something fishy is going on?

"Hehe, it is said that Yang Zhengtong pointed out that Lord Shangguan asked him to make the dragon robe privately."

Lord Shangguan would certainly not admit to this crime, so he demanded a face-to-face confrontation.

Who knew that just as Lord Shangguan arrived at the Ministry of Justice and was about to confront that person, that person suddenly died. Isn't that a coincidence?

Isn't this tantamount to murder to silence a witness, trying to pin the crime on the elder brother? Isn't it all so obvious?

"That's right, that's exactly it! This is called 'wanting to find fault, one can always find a pretext.' They couldn't find any other charges to punish Lord Shangguan, so they fabricated some charges and forcibly pinned them on him."

Those people are truly vicious!

"But why are they targeting Lord Shangguan?"

"Are you stupid! Lord Shangguan is the most upright and incorruptible, and he cannot tolerate any injustice."

If those people want to cause trouble in the capital, Lord Shangguan is the biggest obstacle.

Furthermore, Lord Shangguan is absolutely loyal to the emperor and the crown prince, and the crown princess is the legitimate daughter of the Shangguan family.

If we bring down Lord Shangguan, wouldn't the Crown Prince lose a major support?

So from the very beginning, they treated us like fools, making us believe that the Crown Prince had orchestrated everything.

Actually, the real bad guys are hiding behind the scenes!

"That's not fair to say!"

Perhaps Yang Zhengtong couldn't bear it anymore and committed suicide!

Or perhaps he felt he had made a mistake and didn't want to implicate others, so he thought death was the only way out!

Or perhaps, someone behind Yang Zhengtong wanted to frame someone else, which is why Yang Zhengtong was killed!

"That's also possible!"

But the problem now is that Lord Shangguan is still in the Ministry of Justice prison!

Didn't that prince invite Lord Shangguan to confront him?

The person who was supposed to be confronting them is gone. When is Lord Shangguan going to show up?

"I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see!"

I saw with my own eyes that the old lord entered the Ministry of Justice wearing his official robes. If you wanted to get him out, you'd be lucky to escape a severe scolding from him!

"Yes! It's easy to get the old man in, but it's not so simple to get him out."

The old man wearing his official robes was a way of telling everyone that he was upright and honest!

...

Everywhere it was as if a drop of water had been splashed into a scalding hot oil pan, causing it to boil with a sizzle.

Both sides have their own reasons.

Even the old lady selling wontons on the street would say a few words.

"The old man is a good person, he will definitely be alright."

Those who harmed the old man will surely face retribution!

If someone eating wontons here agrees with the old lady, she will happily cook them two more wontons.

If anyone contradicts the old woman, she will sternly say that the wontons are sold out.

"The old woman doesn't know anything, but she does know that Lord Shangguan pointed his finger at those princes and nobles and cursed them for the farmland that had been seized from the people in the suburbs of Beijing."

I also know about the old man's efforts to seek justice for the beggar who died unjustly.

As for other things... the old woman doesn't care.

But if anyone speaks ill of the old man, his wife will be the first to smash them with a big copper spoon!

...

Everyone was waiting for Lord Shangguan to come out of the Ministry of Justice prison.

They wanted to see the prince bend down and personally escort the old man out.

Many people were already waiting at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice prison, just to see Lord Shangguan come out of the prison with their own eyes.

The scholars who had previously attended the banquet at Lord Shangguan's house were also waiting.

They still need to ask Lord Shangguan some questions!

To everyone's surprise, Lord Shangguan did not emerge from the Ministry of Justice prison until nightfall.

As it grew darker, everyone became restless.

What exactly happened...?

However, some people saw King Wu returning to his palace from the Ministry of Justice.

Moreover, the King of Wu looked somewhat displeased...

"They must have failed to fool Lord Shangguan and got scolded by him!"

"Yes! He must have been scolded! Otherwise, why would he look so pale!"

"I wonder if they tortured Lord Shangguan? They probably wouldn't dare!"

"Do they dare? Lord Shangguan is a representative of scholars and literati, with students all over the world."

Who dares to torture Lord Shangguan? Even His Majesty will not spare anyone who dares to torture Lord Shangguan!

...

The Crown Prince remained secluded in the Eastern Palace.

Everything was left to Lin Xiang and his team.

The Crown Princess felt that the Crown Prince hadn't been eating much lately, and she was a little worried.

"Your Highness! You haven't had a good appetite lately, and the people in the kitchen... are so worried they're about to submit a memorial to apologize!" the Crown Princess sighed.

The crown prince looked at the dishes laid out on the table, all of which were the foods he used to love, but he had no appetite at all.

"To Lord Shangguan..."

"Your Highness, rest assured. Didn't my great-grandfather say the other day that he would be back in three days at most?"

Let's not worry!

"Today is already the second day. Great-grandfather will definitely be back tomorrow," the Crown Princess said with a smile.

The prince hummed in agreement and picked up his chopsticks to eat some food.

Tomorrow will be the third day...

My lord...

"Your Highness, even if you don't think of yourself, you should think of those who follow you!"

"Father is far away in the north, and the seventh prince is in the southwest. If they knew you were so worried about not eating or drinking, they would be very anxious!" the Crown Princess continued to persuade.

The prince nodded and put the food in his mouth.

Tasteless...

His mind was now filled with only the words that Lord Shangguan had said to him.

"The emperor and crown prince of Dayu have it tough, and so do the people of Dayu."

"I hope Your Highness will consider the people of Dayu more, and fight for what is rightfully yours!"

...

Song Zhimian also went to see Ye Yunshu.

Ye Yunshu finished her work early today, and had already prepared tea and snacks when Song Zhimian arrived.

However, Ye Yunshu always felt a little uneasy.

I almost scalded my hand with boiling water while making tea.

"My lord, shall I do it?" Song Zhimian said.

Ye Yunshu shook her head and placed the poured tea in front of Song Zhimin.

"I guess he's been doing too much calculations today, his hands are shaking a bit!"

Once the elders come out tomorrow, the matter will be over.

"King Wu... has really suffered a major setback this time!" Ye Yunshu laughed.

Song Zhimian hummed in agreement.

Actually, she was also a little uneasy.

She had a feeling that something was going beyond her plans, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was...