"Your Majesty, I also have something to report!" Tuoba Chen also stood up and said loudly, "I want to explain that King Xiang sent people to the Western Regions to form an alliance with me before the war began."
Yuwen Ran had just heard Gu Yanyue mention this matter yesterday, and he didn't expect Tuoba Chen to stand up and expose Prince Xiang's actions today.
The ministers in the hall did not expect that the news today would be so explosive that one after another. First, it was reported that the concubine in the Duke of Qin's mansion hired someone to assassinate the emperor and the empress. Then, it was revealed that Prince Xiang had planted people in the military camp to assassinate the emperor and had formed an alliance with the prince of the Western Regions before the war.
Could this Duke of Qin be on the side of Prince Xiang? Otherwise, how could the incidents happen so coincidentally, all on the same day, and for similar crimes? The concubine in Duke Qin's mansion was also foolish. She hadn't even succeeded in assassinating the Emperor, yet she still tried to get close to him. She didn't do it cleanly, and when she was tortured by the Du Yu Hou, she confessed everything.
Yuwen Ran looked calmly at his brother standing in the center of the hall, his eyes showing no emotion. "Does Prince Xiang have anything to say about what that man said to Prince Tuoba?"
King Xiang fell to his knees on the ground with a thud and said, "I believe that the innocent are innocent. I will never admit to anything I have not done." He kowtowed three times and his voice was choked with sobs.
Yuwen Ran suppressed his smile but said nothing, watching King Xiang's response.
"During the time Your Majesty was away at war, I believe I have made some contributions, but I have nonetheless worked hard. If Your Majesty were to charge me with such a false charge based solely on their one-sided account, I will resolutely refuse to acknowledge it!"
The court officials were silent for a moment. They had all witnessed everything Prince Xiang had done while Your Majesty was away on the expedition. It was indeed as he said, even if he had no merit, he had worked hard. If Yuwen Ran were to be imprisoned upon his return, it would be unacceptable.
Seeing no one speak, the Duke of Qin thought about being confined to his house for a year after court today. Even if he had offended Yuwen Ran in court today, he was not afraid. He slowly said, "I think the King of Xiang is absolutely right. Since Prince Tuoba said that the King of Xiang and him had formed an alliance, does Prince Tuoba have any tokens that can prove this?"
Tuoba Chen shook his head: "No, for the sake of caution, I and the people sent by King Xiang only reached a verbal alliance and cooperation, without any token of trust."
"In that case, Prince Tuoba is going to frame our King Xiang for treason without any witnesses or physical evidence?" After hearing what Duke Qin said, the court was immediately in chaos.
"Shut up, everyone!" Yu Wenran rubbed his forehead and shouted coldly.
"Your Majesty, calm down!" The court officials immediately knelt down, and Tuoba Chen, who was standing in the center, naturally knelt down as well.
Yuwen Ran's sharp eyes swept over the self-righteous Duke of Qin, and turned to the King of Xiang who was kneeling on the ground as if he had suffered a great injustice. "Since the King of Xiang claims that he is innocent, then go to the Dali Temple. I believe that if the King of Xiang is innocent, then the Dali Temple Minister will definitely clear the King of Xiang's name."
Prince Xiang kowtowed several times in Yuwen Ran's direction and said, "Your Majesty, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to prove my innocence."
The situation in the court was turbulent, and the atmosphere in Prince Xiang's mansion was even more bizarre.
The people in Prince Xiang's mansion got the news from the court and reported it to Qin Ranran. Qin Ranran learned that his mother had been imprisoned and would be beheaded soon. He suddenly staggered and managed to stand firm by holding on to the edge of the table.
Before Qin Ranran could digest this news, she heard the bad omen that she was demoted to a concubine and that it was the emperor who ordered the demotion himself. Then the housekeeper told her about the conspiracy between Prince Xiang and the prince of the Western Regions. Suddenly, the prince of the Western Regions turned against her and pushed Prince Xiang out. Now he was also imprisoned.
These bombshell news hit Qin Ranran one after another. In comparison, she felt that the whole mansion of Duke Qin being confined for a year and having their salaries cut in half was not a big deal.
When she heard that Prince Xiang was imprisoned, she was obviously relieved, but after hearing why Prince Xiang was imprisoned, she began to worry again. If Prince Xiang's crime of treason was confirmed, even if Prince Xiang died, she would not be able to escape.
She also knew that her mother's promise to help her win back Prince Xiang's heart meant she had hired a few assassins to kill Qin Ruoruo. However, she had not expected that Qin Ruoruo was not in the capital but had gone to the Western Regions. When the assassins found her, her carriage was following behind Yuwen Ran and Gu Yanyue.
Unexpectedly, Qin Ruoruo did not die, but the killers almost hurt Gu Yanyue, so Yuwen Ran was furious and accused his mother of murdering the emperor and the queen.
Thinking of this, a trace of creepy resentment appeared in Qin Ranran's eyes. Qin Ruoruo, this bitch, is so lucky! If she and the equally bitch Gu Yanyue hadn't been alive, how could her mother be about to die now?
And if Gu Yanyue hadn't interfered in Duke Qin's mansion, her mother would have been the legal wife, and she would have been the legitimate daughter. If she were still the legitimate daughter, after that bitch Murong Yue died, how could the King of Xiang not have made her the legal wife in order to further strengthen the cooperation with Duke Qin's mansion?
After the housekeeper left, Shuang'er looked at Qin Ranran's increasingly gloomy face and hurriedly comforted her, saying, "Miss, please take care of yourself. The doctor said you shouldn't get too excited right now."
Qin Ranran was upset, and she pinched her fingertips into her flesh with hatred. "Shuang'er, go call the slave girl that my mother brought with her to protect me. I have something to tell her to do."
After the court session, Yuwen Ran ignored the court officials' voices pleading for Prince Xiang. He said hello to Tuoba Chen and returned to Weiyang Palace.
"Ah Ran, I always feel that we must first find the evidence that can convict Prince Xiang." Gu Yanyue listened to Yuwen Ran's story and pondered for a moment before saying, "This is a serious matter. I'm always worried that if it's too late, Prince Xiang's faction will destroy the evidence. If we miss this opportunity, I'm afraid it will be difficult to find another chance to bring Prince Xiang down with good reason in the future."
Yuwen Ran nodded. Yuwen Ran and Gu Yanyue and his wife chatted until lunch time. Gu Yanyue then realized that Yuwen Ran did not go to the imperial study today, but went straight back to Weiyang Palace.
"I have so many officials under me, and I don't have to do everything for them. Moreover, two major events happened today. I need to calm myself down so that I can better handle memorials in the future."
Yuwen Ran drank his tea slowly. He guessed that the chief judge would be able to find the murderer behind yesterday's incident today, so he arranged in advance for the officials to help him review the memorials today.
Even when they sat down at the dinner table, Gu Yanyue was still surprised that the hardworking Yu Wenran would slack off and skip classes.
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