Chapter 281: Late Night Meeting with the Emperor
After Yu Shengsheng expressed her doubts, Fu Qingyin didn't say anything.
His eyes were slightly lowered, his long, thick eyelashes hiding the emotions in his eyes, and his face showed no sign of joy or anger.
Yu Shengsheng didn't know what he was thinking.
However, she believed that Fu Qingyin was not as cold-blooded and ruthless as he appeared to be and as rumored to be, and he would not be ignorant of right and wrong.
The two stopped talking and the carriage became quiet. Yu Shengsheng held her breath, but could still smell the faint scent of medicine on Fu Qingyin.
Is his illness not cured yet?
She wanted to ask, but when she looked again, Fu Qingyin had closed his eyes and leaned against the car wall. She didn't know if he had fallen asleep.
The words came to my lips, but I had to swallow them back.
After an unknown amount of time, the carriages stopped. She listened carefully and saw that the carriage in the front was that of King Ming. It seemed that they had presented a token, but the guards at the palace gate did not let them get off. They checked and continued on their way.
The emperor has not gone to bed yet and is reading memorials in his study.
Eunuch Wei took away the soup bowl and whispered, "Your Majesty, it's getting late. Please settle down quickly."
The emperor glanced at the soup bowl and asked: "How many days in a row has the imperial concubine sent soup here?"
"Three days."
The emperor nodded and said nothing more. Just as he put down the red brush, a young eunuch came in from outside.
He seemed to be hesitating about how to report it.
Eunuch Wei walked over quickly and whispered a few words.
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Ming Wang requests an audience."
The emperor was surprised: "Prince Ming? He hasn't been to the palace for a while. Why is he here so late?"
Eunuch Wei took another step forward and whispered, "Not only His Royal Highness Prince Ming, but also the Commander, Prince Kong, Young Master Lu, and Princess Ruiyang."
The emperor was even more confused: "They?"
It was strange enough that these five people were gathered together, and they came into the palace together so late.
"Xuan."
At the command, five people, accompanied by Kong Tu, entered one after another.
When the emperor saw Prince Ming, he smiled gently and said, "Seventh brother, it's rare for you to come to the palace to see me."
The King of Ming greeted him and said: "If your Majesty brother says so, then I will not leave tonight and will stay in the palace for a few more days until you get tired of it."
The emperor laughed and said, "Great! I also want to see if your chess skills have deteriorated."
The emperor turned his gaze to Fu Qingyin: "Qingyin, you don't look well, what's wrong?"
Before he finished speaking, his eyes swept over Yu Shengsheng again, and when he saw her outfit, he looked at her with a little more scrutiny.
Looking at Kong Dezhao again, he was wearing a simple long gown, without a crown, and his face looked sick, which made people even more surprised.
"De Zhao, what are you doing..."
Prince Ming sighed softly, "Brother, I shouldn't have come to the palace so late to disturb you. There is really a reason. I have something important to ask the emperor to make a decision."
"Commander, you go ahead and speak."
Before Fu Qingyin could speak, Kong Dezhao snorted, "Your Majesty, I will speak first!"
He has always been domineering and has a fiery temper. The emperor glanced at Fu Qingyin and nodded slowly.
"Then you go first."
"Your Majesty, the commander was so arrogant that he insisted that my guards were the leaders of the thieves and wanted to take them away to punish them. I refused and insisted on confronting him. That's when I alerted the King of Ming and asked him to judge the matter. He couldn't judge the matter, so I came to see Your Majesty."
In just a few words, although no details were given, the emperor understood what had happened generally.
The emperor laughed angrily: "Are you children? If you quarrel and fight, let me be the judge."
"Okay, I'll give you my comments. Tell me everything."
His eyes fell on Yu Shengsheng: "Princess Ruiyang is also involved? Then you..."
Fu Qingyin suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, the princess used herself as bait and fell into the hands of the thieves. She later fell into a coma and does not know the whole story. Let me tell you."
Yu Shengsheng lowered her eyes slightly and watched him walk forward out of the corner of her eye.
Fu Qingyin recounted what had happened, and it was exactly the same as what he had said in front of the alley.
"Your Majesty, Kong Tu has my Sky Needle on him. A beast head mask was found in the alley, and he was caught by the Red Dragon Guards at the entrance of the alley."
"Based on these three points, I have reason to believe that he is the leader of the thieves."
Fu Qingyin glanced at Kong Dezhao and said, "The prince has a strong temper and cruel methods. A dozen lives are nothing to him."
"I heard that the prince likes to dress people up as prey and put them in the forest for hunting fun."
Fu Qingyin turned to look at Yu Shengsheng: "Princess, I heard that you saw it with your own eyes, is that true or not?"
Yu Shengsheng was quite surprised. She thought she had mentioned to Fu Qingyin in the car before about the reason why Kong Tu was not the leader of the thieves. Although Fu Qingyin did not say it, he should believe her.
However, at this time, in front of the emperor, he still insisted and mentioned that Kong Dezhao killed people for fun.
Yu Shengsheng pursed her lips slightly and looked up at him, her eyes full of confusion.
Fu Qingyin's eyes were calm and slightly cold. He looked at her without any retreat, as if the reminder in the car had never existed.
Yu Shengsheng lowered her head, feeling mixed emotions. If she said yes, the emperor might be prejudiced against Kong Dezhao, which would affect her judgment. If she said no...but the killing in the hunting ground was indeed a fact.
"Rui Yang, what do you say?" asked the emperor.
Before Yu Shengsheng could think it through, Kong Dezhao suddenly spoke: "Fu Qingyin, just talk about the thief leader, don't bring it up with other things."
"I have done what I have done and I dare to take responsibility for it. I don't need anyone else to testify."
He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I hunt often, but the people I kill are those who deserve to be killed, the most vicious and evil, those who betrayed their country and rebelled."
The emperor frowned, and Fu Qingyin said, "The court has its own laws, and the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple are not for show. Does it mean that whoever the prince says is guilty is guilty? Can you kill him if you want?"
Kong Dezhao's eyes were filled with anger: "Why are you talking about that now? You should say that it was you who wrongly accused my guards."
"Unfair?" Fu Qingyin sneered, "Is it true that your guard was hit by a Sky Needle?"
The emperor looked at Kong Tu and said, "Since you are not the leader of the thieves, why did you get hit by the Heavenly Needle?"
Kong Tu's face turned pale, and he said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I was in the alley at that time, and suddenly someone jumped down from a high place. Before I could see clearly, I felt a pain in my arm. When I looked at the person again, he had jumped over the courtyard wall and disappeared."
"After that, when I walked out of the alley, I was blocked by the Red Dragon Guards."
"What are you doing in the alley?" asked the emperor.
Kong Tu pursed her lips, unable to speak.
Kong Dezhao said, "Your Majesty, there has been some unrest in my palace these past few days. Kong Tu, as a first-class guard, has been checking nearby every day."
Fu Qingyin laughed briefly: "Why not check nearby, why not check within a few miles?"
Yu Shengsheng listened and also felt puzzled. What was Kong Tu doing in the alley?
He seemed to be hiding something and didn't want to say it.
But he didn't say anything, and it seemed that he couldn't clear himself of suspicion in this matter.
Fu Qingyin added: "Your Majesty, there are more than a dozen murdered women in that house, and their lives and deaths are unknown now."
The emperor glanced at Lu Xingyao who was standing at the back.
"Xingyao, you went there too? Tell me about it."
Lu Xingyao had never expected that things would turn out like this and even come to the emperor.
Being pointed out at this time, he had no choice but to step forward and say, "Your Majesty, what the commander said is true. It is very strange there. There are indeed more than a dozen women. I saw it with my own eyes. At that time, Princess Ruiyang was also among them."
"However, this is all I know. As for who the leader of the thieves is, I have no idea."
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