Chapter 108 Dispute
"Didn't I learn everything from my elder brother? Compared to what you did back then, what does my little eloquence mean?"
Xiao Ze was choked and couldn't speak for a long time. His face turned purple and blue, and he almost gritted his teeth and said,
"Xiao Yuan, don't be sarcastic. I know what you are suspicious of. No matter how bad this prince is, he would never set up a trap with his biological mother. This imperial city is hell, and the people living in it are the real devils."
He smiled coldly, "I was jealous of your favor, but now I suddenly realize that you are even more pitiful than me. We are both just pawns in the hands of others, and no one is nobler than the other."
After saying this, he walked away, with the jade pendant swinging back and forth as he walked.
Ling Chenyi followed his line of sight and looked at the jade pendant on Xiao Ze's waist, frowning slightly, "Why are you always staring at his jade pendant?"
Xiao Yuan retracted his gaze, took out an identical one from his sleeve and handed it to Ling Chenyi.
Ling Chenyi was shocked and looked at it over and over for a long time. If he had not seen with his own eyes the one Xiao Ze wore around his waist, he would have thought that this was the real one.
He suddenly looked up at Xiao Yuan. The young eunuch stepped forward quickly, urging the two to start the morning court. Ling Chenyi quickly stuffed the jade pendant into his sleeve, pretending nothing had happened, and entered the Fengtian Hall with Xiao Yuan one after the other.
He said, how could Xiao Yuan dare to mobilize troops without any preparation.
Nothing major happened at the morning court session. The emperor did look a little haggard and dejected, whether he was pretending or not.
After listening to the reports from the four departments, he finally moved from his position on the dragon chair. His cloudy and sharp eyes seemed to glance at Xiao Yuan unintentionally and mentioned the case of Concubine Ning's murder.
Zhou Yunfeng stepped out and narrated the progress of the case. When all the ministers heard Concubine Shen identify the Shen father and son as the masterminds behind the incident, they all gasped.
The emperor did not speak, but looked at Xiao Yuan with a hidden gaze, and asked calmly, "Fourth Brother, do you have anything to say about this matter?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Xiao Yuan. Everyone knew his current relationship with the Shen family. The emperor also deliberately handed this case over to the Zhou family, which was affiliated with the Second Prince. The intention of this warning was very obvious.
Those people watched helplessly as the Second Prince, who was at the height of his power, quickly fell from power, and thought that the Emperor would immediately support his most beloved Fourth Prince to ascend the throne.
But now it seems that it is not the case. The emperor has vaguely begun to suppress the fourth prince again. The emperor's mind is hard to predict, and the ministers could not understand the emperor's intention for a while.
Xiao Yuan raised his head, stared into the emperor's sharp eyes, and opened his thin lips slightly, "Father, I have nothing to say."
"Oh? But I heard that you have been getting close to Miss Shen recently. Don't you want to plead for her?"
The gazes of the father and son met in mid-air, and they were chillingly cold. In the end, Xiao Yuan was the first to retract his gaze, curling the corners of his mouth in sarcasm.
"Father has handed the case over to the Zhou family of the Dali Temple. I think it is useless for me to plead for mercy. Why waste my breath?"
The emperor's face suddenly turned cold, and there seemed to be a blade hidden in his sharp eyes. "Are you saying that I deliberately made things difficult for the Shen family and wanted to kill them?"
Xiao Yuan's expression remained unchanged. "I dare not speak nonsense, but in the eyes of the civil and military officials, it is indeed so."
Everyone in the hall lowered their heads, not daring to breathe. Even Xiao Ze tried to shrink into the crowd for fear of being implicated.
No, he was wrong about one thing. No matter how rebellious Xiao Yuan was, his father would not take his life.
The emperor stared at Xiao Yuan's cold face, with a hint of trance in his eyes, and said.
"Everyone says that Shen Wen is a clique and has a close relationship with you. If he is really innocent, why would he be afraid of letting the Zhou family investigate? You said that I did it on purpose and wanted to kill the Shen family. Does that mean you are admitting that the Shen family is indeed connected with you?"
As soon as these words were spoken, all the ministers in the hall knelt down, and it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Xiao Yuan suddenly raised the corner of his mouth in a mocking manner and looked at the emperor. That gloomy and disappointed look, the familiar expression deeply hurt the emperor's eyes.
That year, when he brought the woman he liked back to the palace, Concubine Shu looked at him with the same eyes. The eyes of mother and son were equally proud and pure.
"Your Majesty seems to have forgotten that you were the one who originally gave Miss Shen to me."
The emperor choked up in his throat and was speechless for a long time. It was unclear whether it was because of his questioning or his guilt towards the woman.
He held his forehead tiredly, and the chief eunuch immediately understood what he meant. He stepped forward and shouted to adjourn the court.
The ministers were already accustomed to this, and Xiao Yuan's defiance of the emperor would most likely end up in nothing.
Xiao Yuan turned to leave but was stopped by the chief eunuch, "Fourth Prince, the Emperor is waiting for you in the imperial study." '
Xiao Yuan gave Ling Chenyi a look and followed the eunuch away.
The imperial study was as warm as a spring day. The emperor was sitting behind the dragon desk, annotating memorials. When Xiao Yuan came in, he didn't even raise his head, nor did he pay attention to Xiao Yuan's greeting.
After a moment, Xiao Yuan straightened up and sat down below the emperor. The emperor then raised his eyes and looked at him coldly, "You were quite impressive in Fengtian Palace today."
Xiao Yuan lowered his eyes and did not respond, "Why did your Majesty ask me to come here?"
The emperor put down his ink brush heavily and said in a cold voice, "Xiao Yuan, you are now even less respectful of the father and son and the monarch and his subject. Are you sure that I dare not abandon you?"
"Hasn't the Emperor abandoned me, my son?" He raised his eyes calmly, his dark pupils devoid of a trace of warmth.
"When Concubine Ning and her son were powerful, you favored Concubine Shen and allowed her to help the Shen family in order to support me. Later, Xiao Ze was defeated by me again and again, and his power was gradually disintegrated. You did not want me to be the only one in power, so you began to suppress the Shen family and use the same means to check me. May I ask your Majesty, is the killing of my second brother and I the etiquette of father and son and monarch and minister that you mentioned?"
The imperial study was eerily quiet. The eunuch who was serving with the pens and ink almost instantly fell to his knees on the ground, shaking all over.
The emperor, whose thoughts were exposed, became furious and terribly gloomy, with red eyes full of hostility.
He was really too lenient towards this rebellious son, which allowed him to be so bold and say anything.
"Xiao Yuan, do you really think that I dare not kill you?" He does have some talent, but he is the emperor and he has more than one son.
Xiao Yuan looked straight at him, and there was obviously no fear in his eyes. "How could that be? Father can kill even the person next to him at will. He is just a son, and you wouldn't even blink an eye."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" The emperor shouted angrily, but he sat down and withdrew his gaze from Xiao Yuan.
"Concubine Ning, how did she die?" Xiao Yuan asked in a deep voice.
"I have already said this at the morning court today. The Dali Temple is in charge of this case. If you have any questions, you should go and ask the Dali Temple."
"But my second brother said that this matter had nothing to do with him. Father, do you think I would believe that it was Concubine Shen who killed Concubine Ning?"
"Believe it or not," the emperor sneered, 'You don't need to test me with words. I tell you, all the people in Daliang are my subjects. I have the final say on life and death. Remember this, the emperor's will cannot be guessed. If you disobey it, I will really kill you if you do it again. '
Xiao Yuan did not speak this time. He looked at the emperor for a long while before saying, "I have one more question for you, Father."
"explain."
"If..." Xiao Yuan paused for a moment, staring at the emperor's expression, and said, "If I stop investigating my mother's death, will Concubine Ning not have to die, the Shen family will not be implicated, and Qi Jinping can also come back from the border?"
Just when he had some clues, Concubine Ning died. He still refused to let Qi Jinping come back, and the Shen family seemed to be slowly weakening his power and preventing him from continuing his investigation.
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