Chapter 56 Chapter 56 The prince is collaborating with the enemy and selling out the country?
This time, Prince Xian came alone, and even his trusted followers had left the house. When he heard that Yin Jinglong was planning a rebellion, he was almost furious. He wanted to find him to ask about the whole story, but he found nothing in Prince Yin's mansion.
Later, the princess told him that Prince Consort Sun had found Prince Yin, who had "fled for fear of punishment," in southern Xinjiang, and had hurried over to interrogate this rebellious and unworthy descendant.
Before meeting Yin Jinglong, Prince Xian was filled with rage and had prepared a lot of scolding. But when he saw the weak and helpless child limping and being supported by others, he suppressed all his harsh words and asked only one question: "Long'er, how did you become like this?"
He looked at the woman who had supported his child all the way here, and recalled that this was the Snow Mountain Woman he had seen in the dungeon that day. Didn't she claim to be Heng'er's wife? Why was she with Long'er again?
"Isn't this the Snow Mountain Girl Heng'er married on the Snow Mountain? How come the two of you..."
Hanyu hurriedly explained, "Uncle, please don't misunderstand me. I'm just taking care of him on behalf of Ajiang."
Prince Consort Sun standing aside showed an intriguing smile, as if he was enjoying the fun. His expression seemed to be saying: Don't explain, it's obvious that there's something wrong between you two.
Yin Jinglong signaled her not to say anything and just asked her to help him sit down.
He questioned the old prince in a cold tone, "Father has never liked a disabled son like me. Why are you pretending to care about me now?"
"Whether you have a broken arm or a broken leg, you are still my father's son. Father and son are connected by blood. Even if the bones are cut, the tendons are still connected. Now that you are in trouble, how can I, as your father, ignore you?"
"Oh~ Then should I kneel down and thank my father for his long-lost concern?"
"Long'er, please don't get angry with me. I have only one question for you. Answer truthfully: Are you planning a rebellion?"
Yin Jinglong raised his eyes slightly, staring back at him with a sinister look, and asked, "Shouldn't this question be asked to those of you sitting here? It was you who accused me of treason, and it was you who said you found the evidence. Now you're asking me if I did it? If I say I didn't, will you believe me?"
Seeing his stubborn attitude, Princess Chaoyang could no longer sit still. She slammed the table and stood up, cursing, "You're still stubborn even when death is imminent? It's okay if you don't want to live, but don't drag down your old father who has worked so hard for you for half his life!"
"Is it His Majesty who wants me dead, or is it you, Aunt, who wants me dead? I'm afraid only you, Aunt, know the answer to this question."
At this point, Yin Jinglong was no longer afraid of confronting them head-on. He had long been fed up with the hypocritical faces of the Yin clan members.
Princess Chaoyang didn't even consider him as a member of the royal family. She had always mocked him openly and secretly, saying that he was not as good as General Yin Jingheng. Now, after the news came out that General Yin Jingheng was not dead, the princess's faction could not wait to tear off the mask of hypocrisy and ordered the prince consort to bring him back from southern Xinjiang as a criminal.
All these deeds showed that these people did not take him, the regent, seriously at all, let alone consider him as a member of the royal family.
Prince Xian advised the princess to calm down. This matter was both a family affair and a national affair. If Yin Jinglong really had not done those treasonous things, then as his father and aunt, they should stand on his side and vindicate him, instead of the family quarreling in front of outsiders. This was really a disgrace to the royal family!
After hearing this, Princess Chaoyang asked all outsiders, including her husband, to leave.
But Yin Jinglong specifically asked Hanyu to stay.
He said, "Although Miss Hanyu is an outsider, she has long been forced into this power struggle. Moreover, she and this king have an undeniable close relationship. She knows everything about my whereabouts and what I have done these days. Therefore, as my witness, she must stay!"
Hanyu was forced to stay and listen to these royal family members list the evidence of Yin Jinglong's rebellion, among which was the mention of his raising private soldiers in the palace.
At this moment, Princess Chaoyang ordered her subordinates to bring a man. Hanyu looked and saw that it was Xin Da. But hadn't he been taken away by A Jiang? If Xin Da appeared in the capital, did that mean A Jiang had returned as well?
Xin Da was brought up tied up. He looked up at everyone and when his gaze fell on Han Yu's face, his eyes contained a hint of seeking help, as if he had some difficulties, but because there were others present, he didn't dare to say it out loud.
“Kneel down!”
Princess Chaoyang ordered the guards to force Xin Da to kneel down. She demanded harshly, "You're Prince Yin's man, so why are you dressed differently from the ordinary palace guards? And what's the meaning of the 'dragon' inscribed on your shoulder?"
Xin Da's eyes were filled with fear as he glanced towards Yin Jinglong.
Without waiting for his answer, Yin Jinglong claimed to be his man.
"He's a guard in the dungeon of my palace. His duty is to guard it. Since he doesn't often go out, he's naturally different from ordinary guards. So, what's the matter? My aunt can train secret guards, but I can't raise private soldiers? And you want to convict me of treason just based on this private soldier? That's too hasty!"
Prince Xian repeatedly echoed "yes". Indeed, this point alone was not enough to convict him. Speaking of private soldiers, he had also trained a guard army in the palace in his early years, and the nature of them was not much different from his private soldiers. If Yin Jinglong raising private soldiers was a rebellion, then shouldn't those people in his palace also be dismissed?
But the evidence Princess Chaoyang found was far more than that. She ordered someone to present a stack of letters, saying that these were letters exchanged privately between Yin Jinglong and Japanese officials on the border, and were evidence of his treason.
As soon as these words were spoken, Yin Jinglong threw his head back and laughed wildly. He had to fabricate these evidences for something he had never done. He really didn't understand why the person behind this had to sue him?
"Prince Yin may deny it, but each of these letters bears your jade seal. The handwriting can be forged, but the regent's jade seal truly exists. How do you defend yourself against this?"
Yin Jinglong took the letters and carefully identified the authenticity of the jade seal. It was indeed authentic. He clapped his hands and praised, "Good!"
It was this genuine jade seal that made him realize who was trying to frame him.
Princess Chaoyang didn't understand why he wasn't afraid at all, but instead burst into laughter. Could it be that his trip to southern Xinjiang had left him not only physically disabled, but also mentally disabled?
"So Prince Yin admitted that these letters are authentic?"
Prince Xian still refused to believe that his son was a traitor who collaborated with the enemy and betrayed his country! He picked up each letter and carefully compared the handwriting on it, then looked at the seal, looked left and right, and indeed could not find any flaws.
He looked at his son disheartenedly, slapping his chest in disbelief. "What a sin! I, Yin Ji, have been so careful and cautious in my life, never taking even a single wrong step. That's why I was able to protect my family after the late emperor's passing. Who could have known that I would produce such an unfilial son? I'm so sorry to the late emperor, and to my deceased father!"
Kneeling on the ground, Xin Da stared back and forth with wide eyes, clearly unable to believe that his master was actually a traitor who was plotting treason. If his master was executed, would he still be able to survive?
Just as Princess Chaoyang was about to present these letters as evidence in a memorial to the emperor, Yin Jinglong suddenly said, "Half a month ago, while I was at the Nanjiang Post Station, this jade seal was stolen. Judging from the condition of the paper these letters were written on, it couldn't have been there long ago. I'm thinking that while the jade seal can't be fake, the person using it might be a fake prince."
Hanyu suddenly walked up to the princess and summoned her courage to speak: "In southern Xinjiang, I saw General Yin Jingheng with my own eyes. He stole Yin Jinglong's jade seal and pretended to be him. Perhaps he forged those letters?"
"Ridiculous! It's absolutely ridiculous!"
Prince Xian angrily slammed the table and forbade anyone to insult his great son, the general.
He would rather believe that Yin Jingheng was missing than that he had forged a letter of treason to frame his own brother!
"Heng'er has been missing for years, how could he just show up? And even if he showed up in Southern Xinjiang, what motive would he have to frame his own brother? What about pretending to be a prince? He's a great general who holds great military power. Why would he need to pretend to be someone else?"
Princess Chaoyang echoed, "That's right. This Snow Mountain girl who appeared out of nowhere is already suspicious. Not only does she have no evidence to prove that she is the wife the general married on the snowy mountain, but now she is helping Prince Yin frame the general. In my opinion, she is actually Prince Yin's person."
"Your Highness, please forgive me, I would like to interrupt you!"
Xin Da knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times before he spoke a few fair words on behalf of Yin Jinglong.
Like Hanyu, he mentioned that he had met General Yin Jingheng in person. He also said, "Although the general looks very similar to the prince, I have followed the prince for many years. How could I possibly recognize my master? He has a violent temper and beats and scolds us private soldiers. Anyone who doubts his identity has been..."
At this point, Xin Da couldn't help but choke up. "That night, after Miss Hanyu was sent away by him, I was unaware of it and went to her room to look for her. Unexpectedly, I ran into the general in his nightgown. I thought it was the prince, but I accidentally caught a glimpse of the scars on his chest and back! I thought, our prince is not a veteran of the battlefield, how could he have such scars on his body?"
Yin Jinglong nodded silently, indicating that he should continue.
"As for the general's identity, I realized it was wrong only later, but he took the prince's jade seal, and we all obeyed the jade seal's orders, so even if we had doubts, we didn't dare to disobey him. Later..."
Xin Da recalled what happened later. After Yin Jingheng took away the Regent Yuzhang, he left the post station with the private soldiers of the prince's palace. On the way out, others gradually discovered the abnormality of the fake prince. His hair would inexplicably turn silver in the middle of the night.
Yin Jingheng explained that he had been poisoned by a chronic poison that not only damaged his meridians but also caused his hair to turn white. Now he has found the antidote, but it just takes some time to detoxify.
Xin Ziran didn't believe his explanation, but he didn't dare to expose his identity as a fake prince, so he wanted to escape secretly, thinking that as long as he returned to the palace in the capital, he might be safe.
But what he didn't expect was that several other brothers had the same idea. They escaped before him, but were discovered by Yin Jingheng and killed on the way back to Beijing.
He covered his chest and was so scared that he almost cried. It is said that men don't shed tears easily. It seems that he was so scared because he really escaped death this time.
But Princess Chaoyang didn't believe his story. She pressed him, "Why were all of them killed by the fake prince, while a coward like you managed to escape death? Isn't there something fishy going on?"
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