Chapter 239 Countdown 2

The news of the emperor's serious illness was secretly circulated among the various royal palaces, but no one immediately took the initiative to speak out. Everyone sent people to find out the truth.

Xiao Yuancheng was not in a hurry either, he knew that fishing required patience.

The emperor initially dismissed court, citing a bad mood, but continued to handle state affairs and meet with court officials, seemingly proceeding normally. Over the next two days, he suddenly stopped seeing guests again. Bai De'an dismissed requests from court officials and officials from various government offices, citing the need for meditation and self-cultivation after taking the elixir.

However, the spies of the various princes secretly received vague information from different channels: it seemed that medicine was being secretly decocted in the Zichen Palace, and what His Majesty took was probably not some magic pill, but a decoction to cure the disease!

As soon as the news came out, King Wen immediately became excited. In his opinion, this was undoubtedly confirmation that his father was indeed seriously ill.

"Since my father is ill and frail, unable to meticulously manage the affairs of state, don't blame me for being rude." Prince Wen paced around his study, a calculating glint in his eyes. "If we don't eliminate dissidents now, when will we?"

He did not rush to touch the most sensitive throne, but decided to eliminate his rival, Prince Ning. Prince Ning was already caught in a public opinion storm due to the evidence presented by Xiao Ji. Now he would surely be able to suppress him with another move.

"Come here," King Wen beckoned his trusted advisors and whispered, "Go tell Jiang Da that it's time for him to take action, and I will lend him a helping hand."

It is difficult to be cunning with people, let alone human hearts. Jiang Da was originally a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue. It would have been fine if he was forced to stand on the side of Prince Ning, but who would have known that his superior would rely on Prince Ning's power to seize his daughter as a concubine. Being a concubine would have been fine.

Who would have thought that his only daughter died less than half a year after marrying into the residence of the Minister of Revenue? The Minister's residence sent him three hundred taels of silver, saying it was "compensation", without even a decent explanation.

Jiang Da didn't believe it! His daughter had been healthy since childhood, so how could she suddenly be gone? He made inquiries, but only vague rumors of her having "offended the mistress" or "fallen into a well" were heard, but he had nowhere to turn. Prince Ning's power was like a mountain, weighing down his nerves.

Jiang Da's only offspring was gone, so he naturally felt resentful. In secret, he used his position to frantically and secretly collect all the evidence.

He knew very well that his influence was insignificant and that directly reporting the incident would be like hitting a rock with an egg. Until last month, when his last relative passed away, Jiang Da could no longer endure it and turned himself in to King Wen, just to seek revenge.

Although he is a petty official, he is in a key position in the Ministry of Revenue. Over the years, he has seen and heard a lot. The fragmentary clues and secret accounts in his hands can form a deadly chain if they are connected and pieced together.

"Yes! I'll do it right away!" The staff member received the order and quickly stepped back to make arrangements.

King Wen walked to the window, a determined sneer on his face. He had been waiting for this day for a long time. This evidence must be used at the right time to achieve its greatest effect, such as now.

The farce that Prince Ning caused at the birthday banquet has already angered my father. Now that my father is bedridden, and something like this has happened again, isn't this a great opportunity?

King Wen seemed to have seen King Ning being thrown into the Heavenly Prison, and saw that he was one step closer to the supreme position.

On that day, Jiang Da, a minor official from the Ministry of Revenue, carried evidence written in blood and sounded the drum to publicly accuse Prince Ning and his cronies, Zhou Xian, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, of embezzling military pay and forcing his daughter to death, which instantly shocked the court and the public.

Xiao Yuancheng, who was dozing on the couch, slowly opened his eyes. There was no trace of illness in his eyes, only cold mockery: "Oh? Which of my good sons can't help himself again?"

His voice was calm, yet it carried a sense of impending doom. "Watch them, and make them move. I want to see how far they can go."

Although Xiao Ji did not take any action, his subordinates also brought back the information.

"Your Highness, the person behind Jiang Da should be King Wen." The chief guard reported in a low voice.

Xiao Ji was playing chess with Qing Wu. Upon hearing this, his hand holding the chess piece paused slightly, and then he calmly placed the piece: "This second brother of mine can't wait."

He raised his eyes to look at Qing Wu and smiled slightly, "It seems that the emperor's illness is really like bait, with a fragrant smell."

Ever since she performed sword dance at the banquet, Xiao Ji has been asking her what other talents she has hidden, which makes Qing Wu laugh and cry. This talent is really gone.

She traveled around the world with her grandmother and had no time to learn any talents. Her grandmother taught her some solid survival skills, and sword dancing was her only entertainment besides martial arts.

Xiao Ji was a little disappointed, but he quickly cheered up, "It's okay, if you are interested, you can learn now, but it doesn't matter if you don't want to learn. Those are things that can help you cultivate your mind and character. You can also study medicine and continue to delve into it."

This tolerant attitude really pleased Qingwu and aroused her interest, so she chose chess to learn. Xiao Ji taught her personally, which led to the current scene where the two of them sat opposite each other and talked.

Qing Wu watched the chess game, thinking about what the guard had just said, "With two kings fighting, perhaps we can take advantage of it?"

Xiao Ji nodded: "It may be helpful, but we are not helpless. Prince Ning has had a close relationship with the Minister of the Chancellery some time ago. He may help Prince Ning. I must intervene and crush Prince Ning completely."

Hearing this, Qing Wu suddenly remembered his previous guess and couldn't help but smile, "That's not necessarily true..."

Xiao Ji looked confused, but he soon understood.

Jiang Da submitted the charges to the Censorate, which, together with several censors, submitted a heavy memorial listing several major crimes of Prince Ning and his cronies: while serving in the Ministry of Revenue and intervening in its affairs, they had embezzled huge amounts of money, misappropriated public funds, and even withheld military pay at the border to enrich themselves!

One stone can cause a thousand ripples!

The capital city, which was already in turmoil because of Prince An's affairs, was once again plunged into a huge shock.

Prince Ning's party was immediately panicked and tried their best to refute. At this time, Xiao Ji submitted one after another what the Yang family had collected in recent days, making the evidence more sufficient.

Although these are not sufficient, they obviously prove that he has done a lot. Prince Ning and his staff racked their brains, and at the critical moment, he had to place his hopes on Shangshu Ling Shen Yushan.

He secretly went to the Shen residence that night to ask for an audience. Shen Yushan received him in the study, but his expression was not warm, but rather a subtle coldness.

Before Prince Ning could fully explain his intentions, Shen Yushan preemptively demanded, his voice low and questioning, "Your Highness, at the Wanshou Festival banquet earlier, you suddenly launched an attack, exposing the Xi sisters' marriage substitutions. Why didn't you inform me beforehand? With such a serious matter, the slightest mistake would be disastrous! If Your Highness doesn't trust me, why did you come here in the first place?"