Chapter 423 Qiao Jingyuan Surrenders to Police
Min Ji gave a wry smile. "I'm afraid so."
“How could that be?” Wang shook her head in denial.
"The Marquis helped the Crown Prince rise from a destitute and helpless prince to become the Crown Prince, cleared obstacles for him, and successfully oversaw the country. Now, he is also devising strategies to help the Crown Prince subdue the ambitions of Dayan."
"Without the Marquis, there would be no Crown Prince today."
"How could the Crown Prince possibly suspect the Marquis?"
Min Ji sighed, "Indeed, without me, there would be no Crown Prince today. But, the reverse is also true. Without the Crown Prince, where would the Marquis of Pingyan come from?"
"I simply accurately grasped the Crown Prince's pulse at different stages and acted accordingly."
Xia Linyuan, who was neglected and bullied at a young age, wanted dignity and the position of crown prince.
After becoming the crown prince, he needs to consolidate his position.
Once his position was secure, he wanted to realize his ambitions and aspirations.
Now, what he wants is absolute control!
Recently, a series of unexpected incidents have all been related to the Pingyan Marquis's residence.
First, Ji Huailang confidently obtained Min Qiaoshi's handwritten letter and volunteered to go to the border for negotiations.
They only realized they had been scammed when they were about to leave.
Then came a series of assassinations that suddenly appeared. All the victims were Min Pan'er's bullies, and coincidentally, the assassinations began on the very night Min Pan'er left the capital.
Unfortunately, Min Pan'er is a member of the Min family.
No one believed that the assassination had nothing to do with Min Pan'er.
Moreover, Min Pan'er had met with him alone before leaving the capital, and the assassin's methods were exactly the same as those of the group of people under his command who had followed him from Dayan.
It seems reasonable that the crown prince would suspect him.
"Then His Highness the Crown Prince shouldn't have suspected you!" Madam Wang said, somewhat annoyed and worried. "Can the Marquis find the real culprit in three days?"
Min Ji gave a wry smile. He really is something!
If his men didn't make a move, then it's obvious who did.
The next morning, after having breakfast, Min Ji went straight to the Qiao residence.
He knew that the assassinations that had occurred recently were definitely carried out by the Qiao Jingyuan brothers.
In that case, it seems the Crown Prince wasn't entirely wronging him.
However, the mastermind who ordered them to kill was not himself, but Min Qiaoshi.
"Lord Marquis!?" The gatekeeper of the Qiao residence was startled when he saw Marquis Pingyan.
Is your master here?
The gatekeeper nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes. I'll go in and report right away."
Before the gatekeeper could finish speaking, he took off running inside.
Soon, Madam Min received the news.
"You arrived quite quickly!" Madam Min scoffed.
Wei Jia calmly replied, "The assassination attempt had already caused quite a stir in the city, and the person who died last night was the Crown Prince's personal guard, so it's normal for Marquis Pingyan to come looking for him so early in the morning."
Madam Min nodded, then frowned and asked, "Is everything arranged?"
Wei Jia nodded and said, "Everything is arranged. Jing Yuan left the residence two quarters of an hour ago."
Madam Min squeezed Wei Jia's hand and gently comforted her, "Jing Yuan will return safely."
Wei Jia smiled and responded with an "Mm," then immediately changed the subject, saying, "Madam, I'm afraid the Marquis of Pingyan's visit is not well-intentioned. Should we really avoid him?"
"No need! Everyone knows you're the people who follow me closely. Avoiding you now would make me seem guilty."
Madam Min Qiao smiled nonchalantly, "Let's go, let's go see the uninvited Marquis of Pingyan."
***
Just as Min Ji was approaching the Qiao residence, Qiao Jingyuan also quietly appeared at the Crown Prince's residence.
"You're saying you know the person you killed?"
Xia Linyuan looked at Qiao Jingyuan kneeling on the ground with scrutiny in his eyes.
"Yes." Qiao Jingyuan nodded.
"I've seen you before. You're one of Marquis Pingyan's men." And you're incredibly skilled; you certainly have the ability to easily kill those people.
Xia Linyuan asked calmly, "So, the assassination was ordered to be done by Marquis Pingyan?"
Qiao Jingyuan shook his head in denial: "I dare not deceive Your Highness. It was not the Marquis who instructed me, but..."
He paused for a moment before saying, "It is Madam Qinghe, née Qiao."
"What did you say?!" Xia Linyuan's usually calm face now showed obvious emotional fluctuations.
"You mean Lady Qinghe? The Lady Qinghe who was in charge of escorting Princess Xihe to the marriage alliance? The Grand Madam of the Xuanping Marquis's Mansion?"
"Yes!" Qiao Jingyuan quickly replied.
Suppressing his emotions, Xia Linyuan asked in a deep voice, "She's come to Xijing?"
"yes?"
"When did they arrive? Why didn't anyone inform me?"
Qiao Jingyuan remained silent.
Xia Linyuan didn't press the matter further. It didn't matter anymore.
He took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
So it wasn't that no one informed him, but rather that none of the people around him knew that Qinghe and his wife had come to the capital.
Those who knew that Lady Qinghe had come to the capital deliberately kept it from him!
Qiao Jingyuan was a man of the Marquis of Pingyan. He knew about Lady Qinghe's arrival and even carried out killings in the city on her orders. How could the Marquis of Pingyan not know?
Xia Linyuan summoned someone in and coldly ordered, "Investigate who the people from the Marquis of Pingyan's residence have been in contact with during this past month."
"Yes." The guard acknowledged the order and left.
Xia Linyuan then looked at Qiao Jingyuan and asked, "You said you were ordered by Madam Qinghe to assassinate those people?"
"Yes." The answer was firm and quick, without the slightest hesitation.
Xia Linyuan asked curiously, "Aren't you one of Marquis Pingyan's men? Why would you follow Lady Qinghe's orders?"
Qiao Jingyuan replied respectfully, "Lady Qinghe is the Marquis's wife in Dayan, and can be considered my half-master. Moreover, Lady Qinghe is my own aunt."
"Since Lady Qinghe has given the order, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
Xia Linyuan narrowed his eyes slightly. "You said you're Madam Qinghe's nephew? Or a direct descendant?"
Qiao Jingyuan nodded without hesitation and replied, "Exactly."
"Heh," Xia Linyuan sneered, "Then why did you come here to expose your own aunt?"
Qiao Jingyuan hesitated, but ultimately said nothing.
But Xia Linyuan spoke up for him, saying, "You don't want this matter to involve Marquis Pingyan, do you?"
Qiao Jingyuan nodded slightly, "This matter indeed has nothing to do with the Marquis."
"Heh, you're quite fixated on Min Jizhong." Xia Linyuan sneered. "I just sent someone to give him orders last night, telling him to find the real culprit within three days. And you come to turn yourself in this morning, even revealing the 'mastermind' behind it all."
"Hehe, Marquis Pingyan, you truly have some impressive skills!"
Qiao Jingyuan remained silent again, seemingly acquiescing.
Just then, Xia Linyuan changed the subject and sneered, "Do you think that by saying this, I will believe that Marquis Pingyan did it, and that Lady Qinghe was just pushed out to take the blame?"
"You say that Lady Qinghe is the mastermind, which seems like you're trying to shirk responsibility for Marquis Pingyan, but in reality, isn't the person you truly want to protect Lady Qinghe?"
Qiao Jingyuan gave a wry smile and said dejectedly, "Your Highness is wise; nothing can be hidden from Your Highness!"
Xia Linyuan snorted coldly, about to say, "You think you can fool me with such a little trick?" but he suddenly froze when the words were about to come out.
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