The head guard was helpless. Shengjing City was under the emperor's nose. Without the emperor's edict, how could they arbitrarily search the residences of those important ministers?
However, the Third Prince was clearly obsessed with obtaining the Xu family's vast fortune.
Just as the captain of the guards was about to lead his men out, the sound of clattering hooves suddenly came from the end of the quiet street. More than a thousand imperial guards marched in with heavy, orderly footsteps, like pounding on one's heart, surging toward them.
The head guard was startled and quickly took two steps to the doorway to look ahead.
At the very front of the procession, a young commander clad in black armor rode up, holding a bright yellow imperial edict in one hand and the reins in the other, a sword at his waist.
The captain of the guard's heart pounded wildly.
The early risers quickly moved aside to make way for them, and everyone who saw it was terrified.
The assassination during the Lantern Festival, the palace coup three months ago, the bloodshed and devastation still seem vivid in my mind. What has happened now?
The shop assistants, who had just removed a few door panels in preparation for opening for business, hurriedly put the panels back on. Seeing this, the shop owners also closed their doors, leaving only pairs of terrified eyes peeking out from the cracks in their doors.
Holding the imperial edict, Qi Shaocheng stood before the Third Prince's residence with over a thousand imperial guards.
Zhu Chen's chief guard was startled. He had thought it would be an imperial edict to reward the Third Prince, after all, the Third Prince had made great contributions during his five months in Mu City, first by providing disaster relief and then by treating the great epidemic.
But this appearance clearly doesn't match.
He hurriedly rushed down the steps and ran to Qi Shaocheng: "Commander Qi, what, what is this?"
Qi Shaocheng gave him a cold look: "This commander is ordered to arrest the Third Prince Zhu Chen and imprison him! I beg the Third Prince to surrender and not make things difficult for us."
"Commander Qi, are you mistaken? Why is His Majesty arresting the Third Prince? The Third Prince has rendered outstanding service in Mu City, why is he being punished instead of rewarded?"
Qi Shaocheng glanced at him sideways, stepped into the Third Prince's residence, and the more than a thousand imperial guards behind him pushed past the head guard and others, and rushed in.
"By imperial decree, the Third Prince Zhu Chen has been convicted of treason for plotting to murder the Crown Prince. His scheme was cunning, and the Crown Prince died from his injuries. He is to be punished for treason! His attempt to murder Princess Ruoling failed, and he was found guilty of embezzlement and perverting the law. His crime is to be compounded. All members of the Third Prince's household are to be arrested. Zhu Chen and his concubines are to be imprisoned in the Imperial Prison. Anyone who dares to resist will be executed without exception!"
The head guard and other servants of the Third Prince's residence were shocked. When did the Third Prince plot to murder the Crown Prince?
Besides, Zhu Zixuan was already dying and wouldn't last more than two days, so why would the Third Prince go to such lengths?
So, the Third Prince is right, it really was the Emperor's scheme!
Wait, what did Qi Shaocheng just say? He failed to assassinate Princess Ruoling? Princess Ruoling isn't dead?
Where is she now? And is Lu Yuyan still alive?
The head guard was drenched in cold sweat. It was all over.
The imperial guards filed in.
Zhu Chen, who was in the backyard, heard the commotion in the front yard. As soon as he stepped out, he was grabbed by two imperial guards on either side and forced to kneel on the ground.
Zhu Chenyou had no idea what was going on. He struggled and cursed, "Qi Shaocheng, you dog! How dare you lay a hand on me!"
But he was held down firmly, unable to move.
Before long, Zhu Chen's two concubines, his three children, and a host of servants and attendants were all forced to kneel in the front courtyard of the Third Prince's residence.
Qi Shaocheng unfolded the imperial edict and read it aloud in front of Zhu Chen.
Zhu Chen's face turned pale, and he shouted, "I want to see the Emperor! I want to see the Emperor! I did go to the First Prince's residence the day before yesterday, but I didn't even set foot in the Crown Prince's courtyard. How could I have plotted against him? Qi Shaocheng, you dog, you're spouting nonsense!"
Qi Shaocheng sneered: "Heh, Third Prince, you ordered someone to place the tea set that Princess Ruoling used when she contracted the plague in Mu City in the Crown Prince's room. The Crown Prince contracted the plague after drinking tea from this set and died last night. What else does the Third Prince have to say?"
Zhu Chen turned his gaze to the head guard, who was also being forced to kneel to the side: "Impossible! I clearly told him to get rid of this tea set, how could it still be in the Crown Prince's room..."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhu Chen immediately realized he had let something slip and wished he could slap himself twice.
In the few days since returning to Shengjing from Mucheng, Xie Xinru inexplicably discovered she was pregnant, which enraged him so much that he caused her to bleed to death in a fit of hatred.
Then Xu was humiliated to death, and he couldn't find where she had hidden the money. Now, Zhu Zixuan's death was being pinned on him. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in the past few days.
So much so that at this moment, my mind was completely muddled, and I blurted it out almost without thinking.
But the words were already out and couldn't be taken back. He stared at the head guard: "I told you to dispose of the things, did you take them away?"
The head guard didn't dare look at him. He had dealt with it, but not personally; he had only instructed his subordinates to throw the things away carelessly.
Whether the item was picked up and put back into the Crown Prince's room is unknown.
"Your Highness, you haven't forgotten about plotting to murder Princess Ruoling and intercepting her and Mr. Lu on their way, have you?" Qi Shaocheng looked down at Zhu Chen, who was kneeling on the ground.
Zhu Chen stared intently at Qi Shaocheng with his bloodshot eyes.
"The snow disaster and the plague in Mu City have exacerbated the situation. The Third Prince has embezzled 450,000 taels of silver. Is the Third Prince fully aware of this matter?"
Zhu Chen's eyes widened. How... how did they know everything?
"Ha, it seems I wasn't wrong about you! Tie you up and throw you in jail!"
In a short while, all two hundred people from the Third Prince's residence were captured.
The people hiding behind the door soon saw the commander of the Imperial Guards escorting someone over.
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