With Emperor Wen's command, the atmosphere in the Prime Minister's Mansion instantly grew solemn. Everyone held their breath, not daring to make a sound. The Third Prince, on the other hand, lowered his head, silently groaning. This was clearly a setup to harm him!
Minister of Justice Zhang Liu spoke in a panic, "Your Majesty! Ever since the Eighth Princess married into our family, we have treated her with the utmost courtesy and care, never daring to neglect her in the slightest! Now that the Eighth Princess has unfortunately contracted this hysterical illness, I am deeply concerned, but I am afraid of disturbing her health, so I have no choice but to arrange for her to recuperate in peace at home. I swear to heaven that our Zhang family has absolutely no intention of harming the princess. Please understand, Your Majesty!"
The prince retorted angrily: "Humph! How can you, the Zhang family, make up stories about whether Caiwei suffers from hysteria? This matter must be thoroughly investigated!" His eyes were full of anger and unwillingness.
Emperor Wen frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then ordered: "Well, in this case, let the wise prince lead the imperial doctors to go together, and make sure to get to the bottom of this matter." After saying that, Emperor Wen glanced at the fourth prince and the fifth prince standing aside. He saw that the two of them were watching the dispute between the crown prince and the third prince with expressionless faces, and seemed indifferent to it.
Everyone had their own agenda, and Zhang Liu, the Minister of Justice, was incredibly nervous, his hands trembling incessantly beneath his sleeves. After all, the Eighth Princess and her two maids had been confined in the Zhang Mansion's backyard, guarded by numerous maids and guards.
Now, these two maids, covered in wounds, had broken into the Prime Minister's residence. It was obvious that someone was behind all this. Who could it be? Thinking carefully, the biggest beneficiary of this was the Crown Prince! Could it really be that the Crown Prince had set up this scheme?
It must be said that this move by the Crown Prince was extremely clever! He had previously ignored the Eighth Princess, but now he chose to tamper with the coming-of-age ceremony of his future Crown Princess, and in front of the Emperor, Empress, and many ministers, he directly pointed the finger at the Third Prince!
This way, not only can the Third Prince be put in a passive position, but he can also demonstrate his wisdom and decisiveness. It seems that this palace struggle is becoming more and more complicated and confusing...
It wasn't long before the virtuous king hurried back with his guards and the imperial physician. The Eighth Princess was carefully carried into the palace on a soft chair. Behind them followed a group of escorting maids and guards.
The soft chair gently fell to the ground, and everyone's eyes were focused on the eighth princess - Chu Caiwei's breath was very weak, and her face was frighteningly pale.
Upon seeing this, the Empress rushed towards the Eighth Princess with a sad face, crying, "My child! Zhang Liu, how dare you treat His Majesty and my precious daughter like this! You deserve to die!" Her voice was full of grief and pain, which was very moving.
Her face was covered in tears, and she looked at Emperor Wen in grief, her voice choking with sobs, "Your Majesty! Caiwei is our daughter! She was the child you held in your hands, cherished and treated like a treasure! Now she has been murdered by such a cruel hand, and has been harmed so miserably! Your Majesty! Are you simply going to turn a blind eye?"
Emperor Wen's expression darkened. He clenched his fists tightly, his eyes fixed on Zhang Liu, who knelt on the ground. Zhang Liu, already trembling with fear, kowtowed in terror, begging for mercy: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please understand! My family is loyal to the Eighth Princess and would never harm her! There must be a misunderstanding... I am truly wronged! I implore Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter and clear my name!"
"Framed? Zhang Liu! Open your eyes wide and see!" The virtuous king was furious, his eyes wide open as if about to spit fire. His voice was deafening and echoed throughout the palace. Everyone was startled and looked sideways at the virtuous king and Zhang Liu beside him.
The virtuous king took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger, but his hands were still shaking slightly. He carefully lifted the sleeve of the eighth princess, Chu Caiwei, fearing to hurt her.
Everyone present gasped at the sight. Chu Caiwei's fair, delicate arms were covered in hideous whip marks. Some had already healed, while others were still oozing blood, clearly fresh from the beating. The interweaving of old and new scars was a horrifying sight.
Upon witnessing this horrific scene, Zhang Liu's face instantly turned as pale as paper, and his body collapsed to the ground as if unsupported. He stared at the emperor in horror, kowtowed repeatedly, and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty! I and my family swear to heaven that we have never whipped the Eighth Princess! Your Majesty is wise! This must be a deliberate attempt to frame us. Please, Your Majesty, resolve this!"
His voice was filled with despair and pleading, tears streaming down his cheeks, making him look very pitiful. However, at this moment, the atmosphere in the hall was extremely tense, and no one dared to believe his words easily.
Emperor Wen's face was extremely gloomy, his eyes flashing with raging anger. He roared, "Immediately arrest everyone in the Zhang Mansion and escort them to the Dali Temple! Strictly investigate! At the same time, place the Third Prince, Chu Chengyan, under house arrest and forbid him from leaving the palace!"
The Empress burst into tears, hugging the Eighth Princess tightly in her arms, and said bitterly, "It's all my fault! I failed to protect you! Your Majesty, please severely punish the person who drugged Caiwei!"
Emperor Wen's brow furrowed, his face etched with fury. He sternly declared, "Wise Prince! I order you to lead the Imperial Guards and fully assist the Dali Temple. You must thoroughly investigate what happened on that birthday banquet day! You must get to the bottom of it and give the Eighth Princess justice!"
All the officials present were silent, as if terrified, and the atmosphere was extremely solemn and oppressive. With things having come to this point, how could the Empress and the Crown Prince easily let go of this golden opportunity? It was foreseeable that Zhang Liu, the Minister of Justice, would have a hard time retaining his position. If he were accused of the serious crime of murdering the heir to the throne, the entire Zhang family would likely face calamity!
The third prince's capable general was killed so easily by the crown prince!
Li Jingshu's coming-of-age ceremony had to be hastily concluded. The Fourth Prince sneered and said to the Fifth Prince beside him, "The Crown Prince is truly brilliant! To eradicate the Zhang family, he even abandoned his own sister!"
The Fifth Prince sneered in disdain, "Whoever set this up remains to be seen! We've seen enough of this show, Fourth Brother! How about we go and watch the singing and dancing together?"
When the Fourth Prince heard this, the images of the Fifth Prince's male favorites flirting with each other immediately emerged in his mind. He immediately got goose bumps all over his body and quickly waved his hand to refuse, saying, "I have something important to attend to, so I'll take my leave first!" After that, he turned and left.
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