Not long after Su Bi had finished bandaging the wound, a eunuch came to report that the emperor had summoned him.
After packing up, Su Bi went to the main tent where Emperor Shao Yuan was, and found that Su Xu, Su Han, Prince Ning and a group of ministers were already waiting in the main tent.
Su Bi opened his robe and prepared to salute, but Emperor Shao Yuan quickly waved his hand to excuse himself.
"The prince is injured, so there is no need to be polite."
Su Bi thanked the emperor and stood aside with his hands hanging.
"How are your injuries? Are they serious?"
Su Bi bowed and replied respectfully: "Thank you for your concern, Father. Fortunately, Prince Ning helped me in time. I only suffered minor injuries and nothing serious."
Emperor Shao Yuan nodded upon hearing this and turned to Prince Ning, "Thanks to Prince Ning's cleverness, we were able to save the crown prince. This is a great achievement."
Prince Ning quickly declined, "I am ashamed to accept this position."
"But I am a little curious. No one knows that the prince was assassinated. How did Prince Ning know about it? And he brought so many guards to rescue him. Is it a coincidence?"
Emperor Shao Yuan had sharp eyes and stared closely at Prince Ning's expression.
The emperor was suspicious, especially when it came to the crown prince and ministers in charge of military power, he thought a lot.
They didn't know about the assassination until the prince returned to the camp. However, Prince Ning had led his men out half an hour earlier and rescued the prince. It would be too much of a stretch to say that it was a coincidence.
Prince Ning had expected this, and replied in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "To be honest, Your Majesty, this is not a coincidence, but I received a distress signal unique to Prince Ning's Mansion sent by Xihua. I thought Xihua was in trouble, so I led people to rescue her, but I didn't expect to save His Royal Highness the Crown Prince at the same time."
After hearing this, Emperor Shao Yuan's expression softened.
That makes sense.
As for why no one else saw the distress signal, since it is unique to Prince Ning's Mansion, it must have its unique features, so there is no need to delve into it.
"Princess Yuexi risked her life to save the prince, blocking an arrow and suffering serious injuries. This kindness and loyalty will be remembered by me and the prince."
Prince Ning declined again in fear, "Your Majesty, your words are too serious. The Crown Prince is the heir apparent of our dynasty. His safety is related to the foundation of the country. Xihua just did what every citizen of Dali should do. I don't deserve the praise from Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Emperor Shao Yuan nodded with satisfaction. Although he was praising Prince Ning in every word and action, Prince Ning was respectful. Not only did he not complain, he also did not seek favor in return. Emperor Shao Yuan was very pleased with this understanding.
"Princess Yuexi and Prince Ning's Mansion have both made great contributions, but you, my dear, have already been given more titles, and I don't know how to reward you." Emperor Shao Yuan sighed.
Prince Ning is already a super first-rank prince, which is the highest title he can get. Princess Yuexi is also a first-rank prince, and if she moves up, she will be promoted to princess.
"We do not need any reward. If your majesty is considerate, I will ask for a favor for Xihua who is still in a coma. When she wakes up, if she has any wishes, I will ask your majesty for this favor in person."
Prince Ning lowered his head and squinted his eyes. He couldn't take the arrow in vain. The emperor's promise was much more practical than any title.
Emperor Shao Yuan did not think it was a big deal, and Prince Yanning's Mansion did not dare to make any unreasonable demands.
"I agree."
After talking about the reward, we got to the real matter of the prince's assassination.
Assassinating the crown prince right under the emperor's nose was a slap in the face of Emperor Shao Yuan. Thinking further, if someone wanted to assassinate the emperor, would it be as easy as assassinating the crown prince today?
"The assassination of the crown prince is a serious matter. Do you have any clues about the murderer?"
Prince Ning replied respectfully: "All the captured men in black committed suicide by taking poison, leaving no one alive, but..."
Emperor Shao Yuan frowned and said, "My dear minister, just speak your mind. It's alright."
"I found this on the black-clad man who led the group."
Prince Ning took out a token from his sleeve and handed it to Emperor Shao Yuan.
A sharp-eyed minister saw it and exclaimed: "It's the token of the Third Prince's Palace!"
Emperor Shao Yuan also saw the token clearly. It was indeed from the Third Prince's mansion. His face suddenly turned ugly.
Su Xu's expression changed. How is this possible!
Hearing this, he fell to his knees and kowtowed to Emperor Shao Yuan, "I am innocent!"
"Show the token to the third brother!"
The eunuch handed the token to Su Xu. Su Xu examined it carefully and was shocked to find that the token was indeed real.
Someone wants to kill two birds with one stone!
"This token is indeed from my son's house, but I have always respected my brother and would never do such a thing to assassinate him. Someone must have framed me!"
The ministers also cast their eyes on Su Xu and discussed it. If the crown prince was assassinated, the biggest beneficiary was indeed the third prince who was currently the most favored by the emperor.
Su Xu knelt down and cried out for injustice, but Emperor Shao Yuan had a very serious expression.
"Prince, what do you think?"
Su Bi also knelt down upon hearing this, "I believe that my third brother was framed. The murderer not only wanted to assassinate me, but also wanted to cause a quarrel between me and my third brother and disrupt the government of our dynasty. Father, please look into this matter!"
The Minister of Justice Sun Xueyao also bowed and reported: "The group of black-clad men who came to assassinate us had no identification information on them. After being captured, they all committed suicide by taking poison. However, they only had this token on their bodies. It is indeed strange. Please investigate carefully, Your Majesty!"
Emperor Shao Yuan glanced at everyone.
Su Bi looked calm, Su Xu was full of grievance and anger, Prince Ning was indifferent, Sun Xueyao looked terrified, and Su Han, as usual, remained silent and had no sense of existence.
He pondered for a moment, then announced: "The case of the assassination of the crown prince is to be investigated jointly by the Dali Temple and the Yushitai. The murderer must be caught to set the record straight."
The Dali Temple Minister and the Yushi Grand Secretary looked at each other and agreed to the order, leaving only the Minister of Justice Sun with a bitter look on his face.
In the past, difficult cases like this one that had a great impact or involved the royal family were all tried by the Dali Temple, the Yushitai and the Ministry of Justice.
Now, His Majesty has excluded only the Ministry of Justice headed by the Third Prince's grandfather, and the implication is very clear.
Su Xu lowered his head, his face gloomy.
Once the seed of doubt is planted, there may be no way to stop it from taking root and sprouting, even if the seed is just a token that looks very deliberate.
"Okay, you guys can leave first, the prince will stay."
Everyone bowed and left, leaving only Su Bi standing in the middle.
"Now that no one is around, tell me the truth, did you do this yourself?"
Su Bi was shocked. "Father, you don't believe me? Princess Yuexi is still unconscious. If she hadn't saved me, I would be the one lying there unconscious now!"
He looked up at the majestic look of Emperor Shao Yuan, and knew in his heart that they had always been a monarch and a subject, not a father and a son. He would rather believe Su Xu, whom he had always doted on, than believe himself who was injured.
He smiled bitterly, "Although I was once jealous of my third brother's favor, I didn't risk my life to frame him and even implicate Princess Yuexi!"
Su Bi raised her clear eyes, which were full of sadness.
"Should I, your son, die in a foreign country instead of coming back and causing so much trouble?"
Emperor Shao Yuan felt somewhat embarrassed by the questioning and realized that his suspicion of the prince was a bit excessive.
Seeing that Su Bi had an angry look on her face, which did not seem fake, and thinking back to when she had sent him as a hostage, he felt a surge of guilt in his heart.
"Nonsense! I was just asking, why would I not trust you? I wronged you in the assassination, and I will definitely give you justice in this matter."
Su Bi knelt on the ground again, bowed her head to thank him, but there was an unnoticed sneer on her face.
"I believe in you, Father. But I have a request."
"Go ahead."
"Princess Yue Xi saved my life, and she is still in danger. If she is injured... I would like to marry Princess Yue Xi to repay her kindness. I hope you will grant my permission."
Emperor Shao Yuan was stunned. Although he also had the idea of marrying Princess Yuexi to a member of the royal family, he had never considered the crown prince.
"We still need to ask Prince Ning for his opinion on this matter, and we will discuss it later."
Su Bi's original intention was just to leave an impression in front of Emperor Shao Yuan, and he didn't expect him to agree immediately, so he didn't say anything more. After kowtowing to express his gratitude, he stood up and left.