"Your Majesty, do you think the prince was framed?" Concubine Shen asked softly.
The emperor paused and looked back at her. "Why? Do you think those tragedies were committed by the prince?"
Concubine Shen smiled sweetly, put her arms around the emperor's neck, and lay on his back.
"Your Majesty, I have not had any contact with the Crown Prince, so I dare not make any rash judgments about his character. However, I always feel that as the crown prince of a country, if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince cannot share your worries and instead adds to your troubles, it would be a great act of unfilial piety."
Concubine Shen's words seemed to have touched the emperor's heart.
He didn't say anything, just thought in silence.
At the morning court the next day, under pressure from all sides, the emperor ordered the removal of Xiao Yujue's power as regent and placed him under house arrest in the Prince's Mansion, with no one allowed to see him.
The spread of the news did not satisfy the families of the victims, who still refused to restore order in the capital.
The people of the capital city suffered greatly from this and began to resent and hate Xiao Yujue. The entire capital city was shrouded in gloom and rumors were rampant.
Shangguan Wanning looked at the food on the table and suddenly lost her appetite.
"Miss, please just eat what you can." The housekeeper sighed softly, "I know you are not used to these coarse meals. But the capital is in chaos right now, and it is too difficult to get some fresh vegetables and meat."
Shangguan Wanning's heart sank involuntarily. "Is it really... so difficult?"
"That's right." The housekeeper spread her hands, showing helplessness. "I heard that the girl found in the Prince's villa is the apple of the eye of the president of the Capital Chamber of Commerce. I heard that this person's family has been engaged in business for generations, and their wealth is as rich as a country."
"He not only has businesses in the capital, but also in other wealthy places, and has close contacts with people in the underworld. He secretly monopolized water and land transportation channels, causing the capital to fall into a food crisis."
Shangguan Wanning had heard of this president. Although it was said that people should not fight against officials since ancient times, a man like him must have someone backing him up in the court, otherwise, how could he do such a ruthless thing?
"Miss, if you don't want to eat any vegetables, just have a bowl of soup." Lu Tong served Shangguan Wan Ning a bowl of soup and handed it to her.
Shangguan Wanning only tasted it a few times and then put it down. She returned to her room, wrote a letter, and asked Lutong to take it out and give it to Mu Jingrui.
The two agreed to meet at the Green Willow Pavilion by the West Lake in the city.
Shangguan Wanning waited for a full hour before Mu Jingrui hurried over.
"Why did you come just now?"
Seeing that Shangguan Wanning was a little angry, Mu Jingrui came forward, held her hand, and said softly, "I'm sorry, there are too many things. Did you ask me out for the Crown Prince's business?"
"Um."
Shangguan Wanning was no longer angry and said seriously: "Jingrui, do you still remember that Brother Huo said that these murders were related to the Ling family?"
"I know what you want to say."
After hearing what Huo Gang said, Mu Jingrui and Shangguan Wanning both suspected that Ling Ruiying was the murderer.
However, on the night when Xiao Yujue got into trouble, according to the time calculation, Ling Ruiying was still in Yihong Tower when the girl was harmed.
It is obvious that Ling Ruiying did not have the time to commit the crime.
“But apart from the Ling family, I can’t think of anyone else in the court today who has the ability to arrange such a sophisticated plan to frame His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.” Shangguan Wanning said with a frown.
"There is one more thing. Don't you find it strange?" Mu Jingrui said with a serious expression, "Suppose it was the Ling family who framed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, then what was their purpose? Even if the Crown Prince really fell, what practical benefits would it bring to the Ling family?"
Shangguan Wanning thought about this question for a long time, but still had no answer.
The Queen Mother herself has no children, and there is no such thing as the Ling family supporting her.
unless……
Shangguan Wanning couldn't help but feel a chill on her back.
"That day I left Yihonglou to track down the abducted girl, and indeed I lost track of her near the Prince's villa. And at that time... in addition to the people from the Ministry of Justice, there were also Ling Yuwen's people along the way."
"But according to my investigation, the person on duty that night was not Ling Yuwen at all. He joined in later. However, he applied to investigate the case himself, so no one suspected his presence."
However, Mu Jingrui found it very suspicious.
"Jingrui, what are you going to do now?"
"I have sent someone to test Ling Yuwen."
Shangguan Wanning's eyes lit up. "How do you test me?"
Mu Jingrui looked at the sky and smiled: "Anyway... I have a way. If you want to know, come with me and listen."
"good."
The two of them came to an inconspicuous teahouse hand in hand, and Mu Jingrui took Shangguan Wanning in.
A woman in purple was already sitting in the private room.
She saw Mu Jingrui come in and stood up and saluted.
"How's the task you were asked to do going?"
The woman in purple was fanning herself with her handkerchief, mumbling something and showing a dissatisfied expression.
"Sir, the man you asked me to test... I even doubted whether he was a man. In the wilderness, alone with a man and a woman, no matter how hard I tried, he didn't even bother to touch me."
The purple-clothed woman thought about it, and seemed to have thought of something interesting, so she covered her mouth and smiled. "Besides, I touched him there on purpose, but he didn't react at all."
Shangguan Wanning's face turned red in an instant.
She already understood what the purple-clothed woman meant.
"Okay, I got it."
Mu Jingrui took out two silver ingots from his sleeve and handed them over. "Take it. Just pretend that what happened today never happened and you never saw me."
The purple-clothed woman took the silver and gave it a kiss, then said happily, "Sir, if there is such a good thing next time, remember to come to me again."
After saying that, she threw a coquettish glance at Mu Jingrui and walked away with her slender waist twisting.
"Does she mean that Ling Yuwen is not interested in women at all?"
Mu Jingrui hesitated slightly and nodded slightly.
The woman in purple was a courtesan he had found from out of town. After changing into the clothes worn in red-light districts, she looked like a lady from a noble family.
But even so, Ling Yuwen couldn't be moved.
"Could it be that... the murder case has nothing to do with the Ling family?"
Mu Jingrui was at a loss for words for a moment. "No matter what, the father and son of the Ling family are dangerous people. Remember, don't get close to them."
Shangguan Wanning also understood that she would not always be so lucky. She did not want to make Mu Jingrui worry.
"I know. Just go do your thing, I'll take care of myself."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
