The emperor felt both gratified and inexplicably saddened.
His relationship with his younger brothers was actually quite good when he was a child. Back then, he did think that when he became emperor, he would treat his brothers well.
Now, he has indeed treated them well, giving them a grand funeral.
I just hope his Chen'er won't cry on that day.
"Father, have you found evidence that the assassins who tried to kill me yesterday were instigated by the Jiang family? Can you deal with the Jiang family now?" Seeing that the topic was getting a bit off track, Ye Jingchen had no choice but to ask.
The reason he said that the decision on how to deal with Fangzhi should be left to Ye Jinghe, the victim, was to indirectly remind the emperor that he was the victim of yesterday's assassination attempt. Shouldn't the emperor tell him the results of the investigation?
"What Jiang family?" The topic changed a bit too quickly, and the emperor hadn't quite caught up yet.
"Yesterday, I was assassinated. Wasn't it the work of the Jiang family? Have you found any evidence?" Ye Jingchen asked, feigning innocence.
emperor:……
"Who told you it was the Jiang family who did it?" the emperor asked, squinting.
"You said it yourself, that you wanted Fangfei to drug me and prevent me from leaving the palace, using my double and companion as bait to fish—fishing for the Jiang family. They mobilized so many assassins, surely they couldn't have missed a single clue?" Ye Jingchen asked.
There are, of course, clues.
The emperor even used the investigation of the assassins as an excuse to confiscate many of the Jiang family's properties, making a lot of money into his own private treasury. But didn't he find the Xie family's military badge on the assassins? In his delight, he decided to let the Jiang family off the hook for the time being.
After all, in his view, the Xie family, which controlled the Divine Might Army, was far more threatening than the Jiang family.
After all, the Jiang family did not have an army to command, so they posed no threat to his throne.
Moreover, the money he obtained from the Jiang family's private property was comparable to the annual revenue of the Dayuan national treasury. He suddenly had a brilliant idea: since the Jiang family was so good at accumulating wealth, why not take advantage of this and let the Jiang family make money for him?
If Ye Jingchen could sense what the emperor was thinking at that moment, he might want to crack open the emperor's head to see if it was filled with brain matter or water!
Unfortunately, he couldn't perceive it.
Under Ye Jingchen's questioning gaze, the emperor coughed and said solemnly, "I just think the Jiang family is the most suspicious, but in fact, the Imperial Guards found Xie family army badges on the assassins. Those assassins are very likely arranged by the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion."
"Father believed it?" Ye Jingchen asked in shock.
"The evidence is conclusive," the emperor said solemnly.
He could naturally tell that this was a frame-up, but he had finally managed to find a weakness in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and this was a rare opportunity that he couldn't afford to miss.
"Yesterday at the assassination scene, I asked the commander of the Imperial Guards if we could find any evidence on the assassins. At that time, Commander Sun told me that those assassins were all suicide soldiers, and qualified suicide soldiers would not carry any marks or items that would expose their identities. The Xie family army's waist badges are so special and conspicuous. This is obviously a frame-up, isn't it?" Ye Jingchen said disdainfully.
"Although it was somewhat deliberate, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was doing the opposite and acting on purpose," the emperor explained deliberately.
Ye Jingchen's heart sank.
The fact that the emperor said this shows that he knew in his heart that this was a setup, but he still went along with it. This shows that the emperor was also wary of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible.
The Jiang family must have been aware of this, which is why they arranged this assassination.
Killing the crown prince would certainly disrupt the peace of the royal family. Even if they couldn't kill him, dragging the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion into the mess would severely damage Dayuan. The real purpose of this assassination might even be to frame the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
"Who found Xie Family Army badges on the bodies of the suicide soldiers?" Ye Jingchen asked.
"Chen He, Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards," the Emperor said.
"Father, the Jiang family has even extended their reach into your Imperial Guards. This Chen He has even climbed to the high position of Deputy Commander. Can you tolerate this?" Ye Jingchen asked with an exaggerated expression.
Ye Jingchen's question inadvertently reminded the emperor.
He wanted to keep the Jiang family around, but the Imperial Guard was his private army, and the position of deputy commander was crucial. He couldn't let someone with an unclear stance take the position, so he couldn't keep Chen He.
However, Ye Jingchen's attitude of protecting the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion displeased the emperor.
"You really trust the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion that much?" he asked, displeased.
Ye Jingchen keenly sensed the change in the emperor's emotions, but this was within his expectations.
The emperor wanted to eliminate the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion, while he wanted to protect it. Their opinions differed, and the emperor was bound to be displeased.
"It's not that I trust them that much," Ye Jingchen said calmly. "It's just that the Northern Frontier needs the Duke of Zhenguo to guard it; otherwise, who will stop the ferocious Northern Barbarians?"
The emperor's expression darkened further, and he said coldly, "Does my Great Yuan only have the Duke of Zhenguo capable of leading troops into battle? Moreover, a few days ago, the Imperial Guards discovered that Jiang He of the Jiang family was colluding with the Northern Barbarians. Jiang He committed suicide in the Ministry of Justice prison out of fear of punishment, confessing before his death that it was actually the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion that was colluding with the Northern Barbarians, and he was merely acting as their messenger. Jiang He had no real connection with the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, yet he frequently visited them under the guise of being the Duke's wife's cousin. Isn't his behavior suspicious?"
Ye Jingchen was shocked and exclaimed in horror, "The Duke of Zhenguo and the three young generals are all in the Northern Barbarians right now. If they collude with the Northern Barbarians, wouldn't our Great Yuan be wide open and allowed to be invaded by the Northern Barbarians? Father, is our Great Yuan doomed?"
"You insolent fool, what nonsense are you spouting?!" The emperor roared in anger.
"Your Majesty, I am not talking nonsense. For decades, the northern border has been guarded by the Xie family army. If they collude with the northern barbarians, can your army, which has never even seen a battlefield, withstand the renowned Xie family army and the ferocious and bloodthirsty northern barbarian army? Father, we should make plans as soon as possible!" Ye Jingchen said with a wronged expression.
"You—" The emperor pointed at Ye Jingchen, too angry to speak.
Ye Jingchen ignored his anger and looked at him with an innocent expression.
"What Xie Family Army?! That's the Divine Might Army, the army of my Great Yuan, not the Duke of Zhenguo's private army! How could the Divine Might Army possibly collude with the Northern Barbarians?!" the emperor roared.
"When a general is in the field, he may not obey all orders. Who knows whether the Divine Might Army listens to you, Father Emperor, or the Duke of Zhenguo?" Ye Jingchen said casually.
"Furthermore, I thought you trusted the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion a lot. The Duke of Zhenguo himself has a very high prestige in the army. You even sent his three sons to the Northern Frontier to help him. Are you worried that they can't completely control the Northern Frontier?" He added, not wanting to miss any opportunity to stir things up. "Just how much do you trust them to make such an arrangement!"
This single sentence revealed the emperor's inner turmoil.
The emperor was both wary of them and trusted them from the bottom of his heart, just as the late emperor had trusted the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in the same way.
Humans are just so contradictory.
Ye Jingchen pointed out the emperor's inner conflict.
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