Chapter 367 Morning Chaos
The incident at Lingyun Temple, from the time it happened to the time the Black Armor Guards were alerted, and then to the subsequent interrogation to find out the truth, by the time Canglang and his party escorted the Fourth Prince and others back to the capital, it was already dawn.
According to the rules of the court, all officials in Beijing must attend court on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, and no one can be absent without a valid reason.
Officials of the fifth rank and above attend court every day.
Yesterday, the fifteenth, was supposed to be the mid-month court meeting, but because it coincided with the Zhongyuan Festival, a royal sacrifice, it was moved to the sixteenth as an exception. So while waiting for the heavily armored black-armored guards to escort the Fourth Prince and others into the palace, they ran into officials who were coming for the morning court one after another near the Jinshui Bridge outside the palace gate.
The sky outside was hazy and the morning light had not yet appeared. From a distance, it was almost impossible to make out their faces, but the black-armored guards' particularly eye-catching attire made them recognizable at a glance.
Before everyone could be shocked when they saw the Fourth Prince and his companions being escorted by black-armored guards, with his hands and feet tied and his mouth gagged, they were frightened by Xiao Yan, who hurried over in the lingering night and angrily attacked and injured the Fourth Prince in front of the palace gate.
But before the guards in front of the palace gate could surround him, Xiao Yan, who was already struggling to hold on, suffered a relapse of his old injury. He spat out a mouthful of blood on the face of the screaming Fourth Prince, and then fell down.
There was chaos in front of the palace gate.
When Emperor An was hurried to the court supported by Eunuch Feng, he looked at the Fourth Prince and Princess Leyang kneeling below, as well as a group of courtiers who lowered their heads and dared not speak. He slammed the dragon throne beside him with a gloomy face.
A "bang" sound made the hall even quieter.
"Someone come and tell me what happened. What were you doing during the morning court?"
Cang Lang was furious at Emperor An and knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty, please allow me to..."
He calmly recounted what had happened in Lingyun Temple last night, without concealing anything or adding any embellishments. He simply told Emperor An the whole story of how the Fourth Prince's wife was caught committing adultery in the Buddhist temple, and how Princess Leyang, the Fourth Prince, and the Second Prince were implicated.
The hall was eerily quiet. Canglang's voice was not loud when he spoke, but it was loud enough for all the court officials inside and outside the hall to hear clearly, and these officials only understood at this moment.
Why was Xiao Yan so furious before that he attacked the Fourth Prince in front of the palace gate? He was even so angry that his old injury relapsed and he vomited blood and fainted.
The second prince and the fourth prince were simply plotting against Song Tangning in order to trample on Xiao Yan's face. They even set up a big scheme to plot against Xiao Yan.
Not only were all the court officials shocked, even Emperor An, who was sitting at the top, had a face that gradually turned pale as Canglang spoke.
The Second Prince's face turned pale and he fell to his knees. "Father, I am innocent! I was in the palace the entire night and had no idea what was happening outside the city. I never sent anyone to Lingyun Temple, let alone that Fourth Brother was planning to plot against the Princess of Yiyang County."
"Commander Cang, why are you wrongly accusing me?!"
Canglang said, "I have only informed Your Majesty of the results of the interrogation. It was the Fourth Prince's wife who identified the Second Prince."
Cui Lin's heart skipped a beat when he saw the Second Prince implicated. He quickly stepped forward, holding the jade sceptre in his hand and said, "The Fourth Prince's wife was caught red-handed plotting to murder the Princess of Yiyang County. How could she be trusted if she wasn't trying to clear herself by accusing the Second Prince?!"
The court officials from the aristocratic families also spoke up.
"Mr. Cui is right. How can a woman with such evil intentions that can destroy someone's innocence say anything good?"
"Your Majesty, the Second Prince has always been gentle, humble and polite. How could he do such a vicious thing?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Although Bai is the younger sister of the Second Prince's wife, she went to Lingyun Temple just to burn incense. Can you convict her just because she met with the Fourth Prince's wife? This is too absurd!"
"The Fourth Prince's wife has evil intentions. Your Majesty, please do not believe her."
Minister Pei of the Ministry of Works knelt on the ground and said anxiously, "I am innocent. Although my wife's family is related to the Second Prince's wife, I have very little contact with the Second Prince. Moreover, my wife went to Lingyun Temple to pray for the child who died young in my family. She would never dare to murder the prince."
After he finished speaking, he looked up and glared at the Fourth Prince and the others:
"I am loyal to Your Majesty and would never dare to collude with anyone. It's the Fourth Prince who is plotting against the Princess of Yiyang. I wonder if he's not just taking advantage of his failure to create trouble, deliberately sacrificing the Fourth Prince's consort to frame the Second Prince and me."
"Your Majesty, please enlighten me!"
Although the Fourth Prince had lost the Lu family, he still had some connections after working hard in the court for many years.
Those people had already placed their lives and property on the Fourth Prince. Although they had already cursed the Fourth Prince in their hearts for his foolishness and risky move, the only way now was to drag the Second Prince into the water and try to clear the Fourth Prince from the matter.
Seeing that the Fourth Prince was covered in wounds and had his mouth blocked, they also spoke in a hurry.
"Minister Pei, please stop making false accusations. The Fourth Prince's wife framed the Princess of Yiyang out of jealousy, but it was clearly someone else who got into trouble later. If it wasn't the Second Prince, how could Second Lady Bai and Madam Pei have so coincidentally stopped the Fourth Prince's wife and even been alone with her?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince's wife suddenly fell into a coma. She must have been drugged. If it wasn't done by the Second Prince, how could it be such a coincidence?"
"The Second Prince and the Fourth Prince have long been at odds. This time, he clearly intends to destroy the Fourth Prince. Lord Pei is colluding with the Second Prince. Your Majesty, please understand."
The court officials from the noble families retorted, "I think the Fourth Prince is colluding with others and wants to wrongly harm the Second Prince because he sees things are not going well."
"You're talking nonsense. It's clearly the Second Prince who is vicious."
"It's the Fourth Prince..."
"Second Prince..."
"Stop talking nonsense..."
"Father, I am wronged..."
The entire court was in chaos and noisy. Some were protecting the Second Prince, some were protecting the Fourth Prince, and some were just watching the fun. Add to that the Second Prince who was kneeling on the ground and shouting that he was innocent, and the noise was even louder than the market town.
Lu Chongyuan, who looked much older, just watched quietly, Cao Dejiang and others watched coldly, and Song Jinxiu stood in the crowd, pinching his palms, his face pale.
How could it be...
This isn't how it should be...
Emperor An, who was sitting at the top, didn't notice the change in his "new favorite's" expression. He just felt as if eight hundred ducks were quacking in his ears, his head was aching, and a sense of violence and restlessness was rising in his heart.
“That’s enough!!”
He slammed his palm on the dragon throne, and the angry roar made the hall quiet down.
"Do you think this is a market, or do you think you are just gossipers? Do you want me to go out and let you guys have enough time to argue?!"
The ministers who were arguing fiercely all knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, calm down."
Emperor An's head was throbbing with pain, his face flushed, and his breathing became rapid.
Seeing that he seemed to be having a headache, Feng, the eunuch standing by, took out a golden pill and handed it to Emperor An's mouth while the court officials were kneeling on the ground and asking for forgiveness.
Emperor An subconsciously opened his mouth and swallowed it, waiting for the medicine to slide down his throat.
Eunuch Feng quickly reached out and helped Emperor An sit back on the throne: "Your Majesty, please take care of your health."
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