Chapter 767 Zhong Hao is Min Ji!
Emperor Xiaozhao glanced at Li Sanqi, who was kneeling upright, and said, "You are quite calm."
Li Sanqi said calmly, "Your subject has done nothing wrong, so naturally you have nothing to fear."
Emperor Xiaozhao gave her a deep look, then turned his gaze to see the King of Qi glancing at the King of Chu with a gloating expression, his face full of triumphant joy.
The smug look on that person's face was simply unbearable to look at.
Emperor Xiaozhao frowned, feeling utterly powerless.
His three sons, whom he had high hopes for, were all less shrewd than his daughter, Li Sanqi!
Emperor Xiaozhao suppressed his agitation and looked at Zhou Ting, the Minister of Justice, "Continue."
Zhou Ting quickly replied, "Yes," and continued, "Princess Huaiyang's former personal maid, Lianxin, revealed that the King of Chu repeatedly used Princess Huaiyang to inquire about the Emperor's whereabouts and had her plead for him on his behalf on several occasions. This shows that Princess Huaiyang was indeed serving the King of Chu."
"Lianxin also clearly stated that it was indeed Princess Huaiyang who revealed the matter of the Emperor's longing for the deposed Crown Prince to the Princess of Chu."
Zhou Ting paused, glanced at Li Sanqi, and continued, "Furthermore, according to the maidservant of the Princess of Chu, after learning from Princess Huaiyang that His Majesty intended to reinstate the deposed Crown Prince, the Princess of Chu returned to the Yongchang Marquis's residence to discuss the matter with the Marquis of Yongchang and his Dowager wife."
"In the end, the three of them jointly devised a plan to force the Wu family to betray you and file a lawsuit against the deposed crown prince."
"And the most crucial part of the plan, the evidence of the deposed crown prince killing his wife, was obtained by Princess Huaiyang from Lady Qinghe."
Emperor Xiaozhao raised his hand, and Zhou Ting's statement came to an end.
Upon seeing this, the King of Chu immediately tried to explain.
He was merely afraid of his father, so he asked Li Sanqi to say a few good words for him. How did that turn into Li Sanqi being under his orders and serving him?
However, before he could speak, he was startled by Emperor Xiaozhao's warning gaze. The words that were about to come out of his throat were swallowed back down.
Emperor Xiaozhao turned to look at Li Sanqi: "What do you say?"
Li Sanqi said respectfully, "Your subject and the King of Chu are merely like brothers and sisters. The King of Chu was honest and made a mistake, which displeased Father Emperor. Your subject was only speaking a few good words for him out of brotherly affection. There is no question of him serving any purpose."
"As for deliberately revealing to the Princess Consort of Chu that Father Emperor was considering the matter of deposing the Crown Prince, it was indeed done by your son."
"Compared to the deposed crown prince, I prefer the King of Chu."
"Compared to reinstating the deposed crown prince, I would much rather the King of Chu be made crown prince."
"Therefore, I have a clear conscience about what I have done."
Emperor Xiaozhao scoffed, "What a fine 'clear conscience' indeed."
After saying that, he turned to look at Qiao Qinghe, "Where is Madam Qinghe?"
Qiao Qinghe couldn't sit still any longer. She quickly stood up, bowed, and replied, "This humble woman shares the same thoughts as Princess Huaiyang. Compared to the deposed Crown Prince, the Prince of Chu is more lenient."
"That's why I provided evidence in the case of the Wu family accusing the deposed crown prince of murdering his wife."
Emperor Xiaozhao scoffed, "I merely mentioned the deposed crown prince twice, and you all act as if it's a formidable enemy!"
"This is absolutely ridiculous!"
Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
The Prince of Qi secretly curled his lip, thinking to himself: "My father really doesn't know how to talk when he's not in my shoes. The Crown Prince has been deposed for years, yet he still refuses to appoint a new one. And in this situation, he keeps saying how good it was to depose the Crown Prince. Anyone would think twice, right?"
"Continue," Emperor Xiaozhao instructed Zhou Ting again.
Zhou Ting quickly continued, "The Wu family has filed a lawsuit against the deposed crown prince for murdering his wife, and the evidence is conclusive. However, the case has been delayed again and again for some reason."
"Therefore, the Yongchang Marquis's mansion sent someone to poison the deposed crown prince and pinned the blame on the Wu family."
"Under interrogation, the personal maid of the Princess of Chu and the head maid of the Grand Madam of Yongchang confessed that the plan to poison the deposed crown prince was indeed discussed and devised by them and the Marquis of Yongchang."
Since the Marquis of Yongchang started crying out for justice, he had been kneeling on the ground without getting up. Now that he was mentioned again, he could no longer even kneel steadily.
However, Emperor Xiaozhao did not give Marquis Yongchang another chance to protest his innocence. With a single glare, Marquis Yongchang was so frightened that he shut his mouth.
Emperor Xiaozhao glanced at everyone and said, “Li Sanqi has been spying on the Emperor’s mind, and the Prince of Chu has been using the Yongchang Marquis’s mansion to plot against the deposed Crown Prince. You two are truly remarkable!”
Qiao Qinghe glanced at Li Sanqi, who was kneeling upright, and then looked at Emperor Xiaozhao, who was seated on the throne. She felt that something was off.
She subconsciously looked at Zhong Hao and, sure enough, saw that the old fox had a calm expression and deep eyes, looking at everything in front of him as if he were watching a farce, exuding an air of superiority.
Just as she looked away, she caught a glimpse of a deeper meaning flashing in the eyes of Liu Wenyan, the patriarch of the Liu family.
That deep meaning carried calculation, an air of self-assurance, and a hint of inexplicable madness.
Was it just her imagination?
In that instant, she actually saw the shadow of Min Ji in Liu Wenyan.
But clearly...
She stiffly turned her head to look at Zhong Hao.
It's clearly Zhong Hao who's Min Ji!
Just as she looked at Zhong Hao again, Zhong Hao seemed to realize something and looked in her direction.
The moment their eyes met, Zhong Hao's eyebrows curved slightly, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that the corners of his mouth didn't move at all.
It is almost impossible for a normal person to smile without smiling at the corners of their mouth.
But Zhong Hao actually did it.
At this moment, Qiao Qinghe finally realized that Zhong Hao was Min Ji!
Because Min Ji is very good at: smiling with his lips but not his eyes. Even better, he's good at smiling with his eyes but not his lips!
Min Ji once said: "A smile on the lips but not in the eyes is blatant mockery, sarcasm, and disdain."
If the eyes smile but the corners of the mouth don't, it indicates insincerity, hypocrisy, and scheming.
Only when his lips and eyes are smiling can he truly express the joy in his heart.
He also said that in front of her, he always couldn't help but smile and raise his eyebrows.
He said that only she was the one who could truly make him happy, whom he could trust, and the one who could make him let down all his pretenses and guardedness.
Qiao Qinghe could no longer hear what Emperor Xiaozhao was saying; her mind was filled with nothing but this: she had finally found Min Ji! She had finally found him! ...
Just as she was lost in thought, she was suddenly pulled hard by Madam Zheng.
Caught off guard, she was nearly pulled off balance.
When she finally regained her balance, she turned her head and looked down, and saw the shock and astonishment in Madam Zheng's eyes.
Just as they were wondering, they heard the King of Qi cry out in alarm, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! Father! Your Majesty, I am innocent!"
"The deposed crown prince was not his doing!"
"Your Majesty, I only bribed a few people!"
"No! Your Majesty, I only asked them to tell the truth, not to slander Huaiyang and the King of Chu!"
"Your Majesty, I only wish for the truth to come out in the case of the deposed crown prince as soon as possible!"
"I did not frame anyone, nor did I murder the deposed crown prince or pin the blame on the Prince of Chu and the Marquis of Yongchang!"
"..."
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