"Father, the reason I was defeated by the Northern Desert back then was because someone came to the military camp with a letter bearing your imperial seal, preventing me from attacking the Northern Desert at a crucial moment, and also had my army's food supplies cut off."
That's why the Northern Desert was able to gain an advantage and catch their breath, and then launched a surprise attack on us when our army was starving, freezing, and weak, leading to my crushing defeat. Furthermore, I was poisoned by that messenger.
Xiao Ye carefully recounted what happened back then.
This is a true story; he wasn't lying. The only thing that's not true is that, as Xiao Churen said, the messenger did indeed die back then, and was killed by Consort Liu to silence him.
Therefore, this is why Xiao Ye did not seek justice for himself back then: he had no witnesses, no evidence, and his defeat to Bei Mo caused Daliang to pay Bei Mo a sum of money.
At the time, public resentment was boiling over, and everyone was blaming themselves; no one believed his words.
"Are you telling the truth?"
Emperor Wenjian's anger intensified, and even his tone became somewhat unsteady.
He found it hard to accept that Xiao Ye was defeated by Bei Mo back then for this reason.
Someone actually dared to send a fake letter in their own name and even cut off the army's food supplies!
If that's really the case, Xiao Churen was only fifteen or sixteen years old back then. He certainly couldn't have done that on his own. The only person supporting him was Consort Liu!
Consort Liu was merely a concubine; she alone could not possess such power. Further investigation revealed the Liu family, a powerful clan in Jiangnan!
Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered that he had ordered a thorough investigation into whether the Liu family had embezzled anything. For some reason, it was as if the Liu family had been notified in advance, and his people did not find anything when they searched.
Therefore, the Liu family was not punished.
King Chu, Consort Liu, the Liu family.
Thinking of all this, Emperor Wenjian felt a chill run down his spine.
“Everything I have said is true. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can search the Prince of Chu’s residence now. I remember what that woman looked like and I have a portrait.”
Xiao Ye said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Wenjian could not wait any longer. After asking Xiao Ye for the portrait, he immediately ordered his men to search the Prince of Chu's residence.
Xiao Churen was somewhat bewildered. The messenger was clearly dead, so why was Xiao Ye suddenly saying this?
And where would he get any women from the Northern Desert in his household? All the maids in his household are from the Great Liang, and even his concubines are only...
Thinking of this, Xiao Churen suddenly stopped.
Concubine!
He also had a concubine named Qi Yinyin, who seemed to have fled from the Northern Desert!
At the time, he found her to be attractive, intelligent, and of a similar age to Xiao Ye's savior, which is why he...
She was thinking of having her seduce Xiao Ye.
But in the end, no one expected that Xiao Ye would not only fail to seduce her, but would also end up in their bed.
Could it be that Imperial Censor Liu and the others were referring to Qi Yinyin?
Thinking this, he immediately looked at Xiao Ye. Xiao Ye met his gaze, a playful smile hidden deep in his eyes.
Even though the smile was faint, Xiao Churen, who was in a difficult situation, could still feel it.
He was laughing at himself.
As expected, Emperor Wenjian's men captured Qi Yinyin and brought her to the palace.
"Your Majesty, when we searched the Prince of Chu's residence, we found this woman acting suspiciously, as if she was trying to escape. We also found quite a few things on her."
The head of the guards, who had been sent by Emperor Wenjian to search the mansion, knelt on the ground to report and handed the items to the eunuch, who then presented them to Emperor Wenjian.
After reading it, Emperor Wenjian looked at Xiao Churen kneeling on the ground with a gloomy expression.
"The evidence is overwhelming, what else do you have to say?"
Xiao Churen was so frightened that he trembled and felt like his mind couldn't process what he was seeing.
The evidence and witnesses that Xiao Ye had brought over were all half true and half false, and he really didn't know how to explain it.
If Qi Yinyin wasn't that messenger, and that the messenger from back then was already dead, then he was essentially admitting that it was he who plotted to harm the Crown Prince.
If he denied doing these things, his father would be even less likely to believe him, because the evidence presented by Xiao Ye and Imperial Censor Liu both pointed to him, especially since Qi Yinyin really was a person from the Northern Desert.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Is this your admission? Now you don't know how to explain yourself in the face of evidence? I've really raised a fine son!"
Emperor Wenjian was so angry that he kept sneering.
"No, Father, I did not do that. This woman must be in cahoots with the Crown Prince. They conspired to frame me!"
Father, think about it. The rumor circulating in the city that the spy from the Northern Desert is Jiang Ruan, who is the Crown Prince's mother-in-law, is true. If this is true, the Crown Prince will definitely be implicated.
That's why he turned around and framed me! It was all the Crown Prince's scheme, Father, you must believe me!
Xiao Churen begged for mercy anxiously.
"Prince Chu, you have been spouting nonsense for so long that I can no longer tolerate it. You keep saying that my wife is a spy from the Northern Desert, but what evidence do you have?"
"My wife has been dead for over a decade. If she were a spy, why didn't anyone say anything back then? Now that she's being brought up when His Highness the Crown Prince is enjoying the Emperor's favor, it's hard not to suspect this is a conspiracy against him!"
At this moment, Su Zhen stepped forward and spoke.
His words, spoken at this moment, unconsciously drew the attention of Emperor Wenjian and other court officials to Xiao Churen, making it even clearer that he intended to frame the Crown Prince.
"No, I didn't, I didn't! If you don't believe me, interrogate this Qi Yinyin. She's just a woman I found to seduce the Crown Prince. She's not some spy from the Northern Desert at all!"
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