With a wink from the eldest prince, his men stepped in front of the two.
However, the Crown Prince's side had made preparations in advance and had a numerical advantage, which made the First Prince uneasy even though they weren't in a hurry.
"These two are suspected of cursing the fate of the nation. Is Your Highness deliberately protecting them?" The Crown Prince's expression also turned serious. He chuckled and said, "You should know what you are doing, Your Highness."
"I only did not want the Crown Prince to distort the truth and convict people based on inexplicable evidence. That would be too hasty and unfair to Vice General Chen and the other two. But the Crown Prince said that I deliberately protected them and that I was trying to frame them. Or is it that the Crown Prince has long disliked me and wanted to take this opportunity to trip me up?"
"Second brother, you are mistaken. The evidence was found in their bedroom, which is an undeniable fact. Therefore, we need to interrogate and investigate them thoroughly. There should be no mistake about that."
The eldest prince was speechless at these words, and simply said to General Lin, "General Lin, they are your men, and they may be slandered. Are you going to watch them be taken away?"
General Lin's expression was already quite unpleasant upon finding such a sensitive item in his subordinate's bedroom.
"Throughout history, witchcraft and sorcery have been taboo. His Majesty has repeatedly issued decrees that such things are forbidden in every corner of the Great Swamp Kingdom. If this matter is handled lightly, it would make me appear to be covering up something. We should investigate thoroughly. If they are innocent, we should clear their names. If they were truly malicious, then they should accept the punishment they deserve."
The two knew that once they were interrogated by the three judicial authorities, they would likely have a hard time getting out, and their eyes were desperately pleading with the eldest prince for help.
The eldest prince was in a real bind. The discovery of the straw doll in full view of everyone meant that it was impossible to let the matter go easily. Once Deputy General Chen was taken away, the command of his 40,000 troops would likely be stripped away soon as well.
The Qiao family's 30,000 elite troops have already been wasted, and now these 40,000 are also going to vanish.
This taught him how to accept it willingly.
However, he could not find a reason, and he did not have enough manpower to stop it. If he insisted on stopping it, he would appear suspicious.
He could only say, "You did not curse the fate of the Great Swamp Kingdom, so you will not make a misjudgment. You might even find out who is slandering you. Go and cooperate with the investigation first."
Seeing that the eldest prince had said this, the two were dejected, but the eldest prince's words implied that he would bail them out, which made them feel a little more at ease.
Deputy General Chen and Pang Da were taken away. The First Prince's aura was depressed, and his eyes were filled with gloom.
The Imperial Guards and Qiao Family Army continued searching the other rooms, looking them over thoroughly. They even examined the spacious training grounds and various barracks, but found nothing before leaving.
"It's the eldest prince's turn," Qiao Lian'er thought.
The eldest prince will certainly not be punished as severely as Vice General Chen and Pang Da. It would be good if he could at least stumble and fall.
When the Crown Prince returned to the palace with the Imperial Guards, the first thing he did was to search all the princes' palaces.
Swift and decisive, catching everyone off guard.
Before the princes could react, the Imperial Guards entered the palace.
Upon seeing this action, the eldest prince felt a strong sense of foreboding.
"They want to search the Prince's Palace? Why didn't Father tell me? Could it be that my second brother acted on his own?"
The Crown Prince said, "I have already consulted with the Emperor. Since the Imperial Army has found such filthy things, I'm afraid the palace will also be thoroughly searched. The palaces of all the princesses and concubines will be searched by the female soldiers from Qingfeng Plain."
The eldest prince took a deep breath. Now, the initiative in this matter had fallen into the hands of the crown prince.
The Crown Prince will never let this opportunity to make him suffer a loss slip by.
"My own people can search my palace, so there's no need to trouble the Crown Prince."
"Doesn't Your Majesty know that one should avoid suspicion among one's own people?"
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