Chapter 132 Old Friends
There were no weapons in the main hall, and even the King of Wei did not have a suitable weapon to deal with Pan Xi.
But he was strong.
He strode forward, grabbed Panxi's hair, and forced her head high. Before she could react, he was about to slam her head to the ground.
But the movement suddenly stopped abruptly, and I felt a chill on my neck, so I subconsciously stopped moving.
Those around them were startled by the sudden turn of events and gasped in surprise, leaning back in fear.
King Wei was seen grabbing Pan Xi's hair with one hand, while a sharp sword was pressed against his neck. Behind him stood a guard who had entered the palace without a sound. Before anyone could see him clearly, the guard stopped King Wei's actions.
Chu Mingheng's voice was cold, and his gaze was filled with a chilling light, like an icy arrow piercing the Prince of Wei.
He said, "King Wei, you intend to assassinate me in front of the emperor."
He wasn't using a questioning tone; it was clearly a definite fact.
King Wei felt a chill in his heart and quickly let go.
Even when he let go, the blade pressed against his neck did not leave his skin, remaining cold against his throat, as if the slightest movement would sever his neck.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please forgive me—I would never dare to harbor such treasonous thoughts!" Prince Wei cried out anxiously, barely daring to raise his voice, for fear that a sharp sword might pierce his skin as he moved his throat. He also dared not look at Chu Mingheng. "It's just—it's just that I listened to her nonsense... and in a moment of anger, she was spouting nonsense! She must be deliberately slandering me, Your Majesty!"
The charcoal fire burned in the hall, occasionally emitting a soft crackling sound.
In the main hall, no one dared to utter a word at this moment.
If His Majesty believes that the Prince of Wei's actions are an attempt to assassinate and rebel, then no matter what anyone says, it will be of no use; everyone knows this.
“Nonsense, slander.” Chu Mingheng asked him, “Since you already know that the matter she mentioned is an old story from several years ago, how can you remember it so clearly?”
"The late emperor once said, 'Fifth brother, you are not cut out for studying, and your memory is not very good either.'"
"So it turns out the late emperor misjudged you. Fifth brother, it's not that you have a bad memory, it's that you're the most vengeful." Chu Mingheng smiled and ordered the swords to be sheathed.
After being released, Panxi hurriedly moved to the other side and knelt away from King Wei, though resentment still lingered in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, you are wise! Your humble servant has absolutely no intention of treason!"
"It's the Lin family, Your Majesty!" Prince Wei knelt two steps forward and said urgently, "It's the Lin family that tried to assassinate Your Majesty. Although I married a woman from the Lin family, I... I have absolutely no intention of disloyalty—Your Majesty, please understand!"
Upon hearing this, Princess Lin, the first to burst into tears, knelt down trembling and repeatedly kowtowed to the emperor, weakly retorting, "...Your Majesty, please forgive me, the Lin family...the Lin family is absolutely not the real culprit in the assassination attempt on Your Majesty...it is...it is..."
The King of Wei turned his head and stared at Lin Shi from a distance of a few steps, which left her speechless.
The concubines dared not look up to examine the scene closely, while the rest of the imperial relatives remained silent. They had all realized that this was not a family banquet, but a trap.
The Lin family had been imprisoned long ago, but His Majesty had not taken any action. Today, the dancer's plea for justice has brought the Prince of Wei into the picture.
What major event was the King of Wei concealing that could cause him to panic so much, even to the point of losing his composure and resorting to killing someone in front of the emperor at Taiqing Palace?
"Speaking of the Lin family, I once found an old servant of the Lin family. Perhaps Princess Wei still knows him."
As Chu Mingheng spoke, the sound of chains could be heard outside the hall.
Immediately afterwards, a woman covered in blood, who had been deliberately cleaned up, was brought into the hall.
When Zhu Qing was brought into the palace, Princess Yi Zhen, who was beside Lan Wu, was clearly taken aback. She then drank a few sips of wine to suppress her panic. It turned out that Zhu Qing was the Fifth Prince's person. Fortunately, she was innocent and knew nothing.
King Wei looked at Zhu Qing with an expression that suggested he didn't recognize her at all.
Chen Kang'an, who was standing beside Chu Mingheng, spoke up and slowly asked, "Princess Consort Wei, have you seen this person?"
Princess Wei wiped away her tears and looked up. Seeing Zhu Qing with her mouth gagged, she shook her head blankly and said, "I've never seen her before."
Chen Kang'an continued, "Take a closer look. If you don't recognize her, perhaps your maidservant has seen her before."
Princess Wei suddenly turned her head and looked at her maid.
The maid trembled as she looked up at Zhu Qing, seemingly frightened, and stammered, "Replying to... Your Excellency... I saw her talking to the maids of the Prince's mansion when I went to Huguang Temple with the Princess to burn incense."
"That maid is... she's the prince's personal maid. But I don't know what they were saying, I didn't hear them—"
As she spoke, she hurriedly kowtowed to show that she was not lying.
Chen Kang'an understood, looked at the Prince Wei who was ashen-faced but deliberately trying to remain calm, and continued: "Does Your Highness Prince Wei know that this servant girl is named Zi Ming? She used to serve two empress dowagers in the palace, but was later punished and sent to the Wan Shu Pavilion. After leaving the palace, she changed her name to Zhu Qing."
Before she entered the palace, she was a personal maidservant to Consort Hui.
"What do you mean by that, Father-in-law? Do you think I know about every maidservant of my mother's?" Prince Wei scoffed, looking at Zhu Qing. "I heard that there is a maidservant in Princess Yizhen's residence who is skilled at making incense. I specially sent my maidservant to investigate, in order to prepare a birthday gift for the princess."
Chen Kang'an bowed and replied, "If Your Highness says so, this servant cannot deny it."
"But this palace maid named Zhuqing has confessed that she used a bewitching incense on the day of the Kunning Palace fire, causing the two empress dowagers to die in the fire. Afterwards, she hid in the Wanshu Pavilion until one day, Zhuqing came to you."
She said that you are not Consort Hui's biological son.
“You are the son of the late Wen.”
The hall fell into a deathly silence; even breathing was deliberately controlled, for fear of attracting attention or disturbing something.
Lan Wu saw a fleeting, visibly ferocious expression on the face of the Prince Wei in the hall. His anger was undisguised, and he angrily interrupted her, shouting, "You eunuch! How dare you pin this fabricated charge on me! You've placed me in a position of filial impiety and injustice—"
"Your Majesty! Even if you dislike me, I am still the son of the late Emperor! I am of my father's blood!"
"How can you let these people smear me? Wen is a despicable woman! I have absolutely no relation to her!"
Zhu Qing, who was standing to the side, was particularly agitated, not only by what Chen Kang'an had said, but also by the King of Wei's statement and rebuttal. However, she was being held down and her mouth was being gagged, so she could not utter a single word. She could only open her eyes wide in anger and struggle to utter indistinct roars that sounded like a mixture of shock and rage.
Upon hearing this, Panxi suddenly burst into tears. Although she had long known that her sister's death was due to something she had overheard, she was not clear about the truth. What she had said in the main hall was nothing more than risking her life to make the King of Wei feel guilty and reveal his weakness. As long as the King of Wei killed her, His Majesty would definitely find out the truth hidden behind this matter. At that time, although she would die, the King of Wei would not gain any benefit.
She and her sister can rest in peace now.
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