Chapter 156 Can't stand this blow
"I didn't do this for Xiao Qi's sake," He Zhilin looked at Jing Ye with burning eyes, and said, "I just told what I saw that year. Even if Prince An is really not Xiao Qi's biological father, even if the two of them really have a blood feud, it doesn't mean that Xiao Qi was not involved in the conspiracy to poison the eldest prince."
Jing Ye, however, did not respond to him in any way. He just turned to look at Jiang Yu and Jiang Xue and asked, "I am very curious. How do you feel after learning about these things?"
Jiang Yu's eyes, which were originally somewhat moved, suddenly turned cold, and he said in a deep voice: "What does this have to do with the prince?"
He looked at Jiang Xue and said, “Even so, what Zhilin said makes sense.
What happened back then involved the interests of both countries and could not be driven solely by the father-son relationship.
Moreover, after the incident, the Gan Kingdom immediately sent an envoy to take Xiao Qi back. If it wasn't for the internal and external cooperation, why would the timing of welcoming the prince back be such a coincidence?"
Jiang Xue looked at Jing Ye, and suddenly there was a hint of determination in her eyes.
"Second brother, do you still remember that I once asked you about the former Imperial Counselor Feng Song?"
"Yes, it happened," Jiang Yu said, "Is he related to this matter?"
Jiang Xue nodded and said, "I'm afraid that's the case."
"Back then, all the evidence pointed to Xiao Qi alone. That's why we always thought that the incident was committed by Prince Gan Guoan alone. We never thought about whether there was someone in the Ji Kingdom who was colluding with him."
"You mean Feng Song?!" Jiang Yu was shocked and said, "How could it be? Although he did have many conflicts with the eldest brother in the court, it was only because of different political views. Although I was not in the court at that time, I also heard that Lord Feng had a good reputation as a loyal minister. How could he rebel? And this incident happened in the palace, how could it be related to him, an outsider?"
"Whether there is any connection," Jiang Xue lowered her eyes and said softly, "We'll know after some time."
"Do you remember, Second Brother? Three or four years ago, before the incident, Lord Feng was in his prime and full of ambitions, but he suddenly resigned for some reason."
Jiang Yu said firmly: "You think he resigned at the wrong time? But he did not retire for no reason. His mother in his hometown was seriously ill, and he left the government to repay her kindness."
"No," Jiang Xue shook her head and said, "If it's just resignation, there's nothing worth investigating. But I went to check the background of Li Congde a few days ago. Does the emperor still remember Li Congde?"
Jiang Yu clenched his teeth and said, "The eunuch who poisoned your palace back then."
"Yes," Jiang Xue said, "He didn't serve in my palace all along. He was convicted in front of the emperor and I protected him. Later, I asked him to come to Changle Palace."
"The day he made the mistake in front of the emperor, Feng Song was also there."
"If I remember correctly, Feng Song was the Right Picker of Relics at the time," Jiang Yu said, "As a close minister to the emperor, it's not surprising that he walked before the emperor."
"I asked someone to check the records. Feng Song had not been to the palace to see the emperor for many days. He happened to be in the palace on that day. Li Congde, who had never made a mistake in front of the emperor, accidentally knocked over the teacup on him. But Feng Song insisted on picking on such an unknown little palace maid and vowed to persuade the emperor to punish him severely."
"It just so happened that day," Jiang Xue looked at Jiang Yu and said firmly, "I went to the Imperial Court to look for my father."
"With your temper..." Jiang Yu clenched his fists, as if he was suppressing his anger, and said, "You have been good-tempered and kind-hearted since you were young. You have always been kind to the palace servants and guards. You will not leave them alone."
"Yes, so Li Congde came to my palace to serve me, and he served me very well. Soon he became my most indispensable servant." Jiang Xue said softly, "I used to think that Xiao Qi bribed Li Congde. But now that my brother thinks about it, don't you think that this matter from beginning to end seems to have been planned by someone behind the scenes?"
"Li Congde was brought back to Changle Palace by me, and he seemed to have no connection with anyone. After the incident, you and I found out that Li Congde was adopted by Gan for a period of time before entering the palace. Apart from that, his life experience was like a blank sheet of paper. Naturally, we thought that the only person who could have any connection with him was Xiao Qi from Gan Country.
Also, because I had a very close relationship with Xiao Qi at that time, I naturally thought that the reason why Li Congde had such an accurate understanding of my diet, daily life, temperament and hobbies was all because of Xiao Qi's guidance.
Li Congde took the letter of collusion with Prince An and directed the blame to Xiao Qi, and everything just happened naturally. "
He Zhilin looked at Jiang Xue, who looked dejected, with a complicated expression, and comforted her softly, "It sounds like it was no wonder that the two princes mistakenly thought that Xiao Qi was the mastermind. After all, who would have thought that Lord Feng Song, who seemed to have only met Li Congde once and had retired at the time, would be related to this matter."
"There are so many coincidences, but the only clue is Feng Song, who has already retired." Jiang Yu slammed the table and said, "I will send someone to look for him in his hometown. We must find him and ask him clearly!"
Jiang Xue grabbed Jiang Yu's sleeve and stopped him, saying, "Many days ago, I sent a trusted person to Ganzhou."
"After some time, perhaps we will be able to know a little bit of the truth."
Jing Ye, who had been standing by the window silently, suddenly laughed.
"I don't really understand the minds of you Ji people," Jing Ye said sarcastically, "but if I were the one who ordered Feng Song, I would definitely not let him live."
"Such a big secret," Jing Ye glanced at the brother and sister calmly, "If you want to keep it secret, living people are always unsafe. Only dead people are the most reliable, aren't they?"
"I know what you mean," Jiang Xue nodded, and then said, "But if Feng Song really died back then, it would further prove that the incident back then had nothing to do with Xiao Qi, and that the real murderer is hiding in the court now."
Jiang Yu sat down in a daze. After a moment, he suddenly turned around and asked Jing Ye, "Where is Xiao Qi's body buried?"
Jing Ye sneered, and suddenly looked at Jiang Yu steadily, saying: "I came here tonight not to listen to you two brothers and sisters express your deep regrets here. Don't look at me with such eyes, I don't want to know how much regret you have for Xiao Qi. If you want to find his grave, you might as well find out the truth and clear the name of the deceased, which will also be helpful to the court of our country. Otherwise,"
He looked at Jiang Xue and said, "Don't call me here. It's a waste of time."
Jiang Xue stood up and walked in front of him. Her watery eyes were filled with compassion, but she didn't dare show it in front of him. She just lowered her head and tugged at his sleeve, saying, "Sit down and talk. I just want to explain the whole story to Second Brother first, so that he will know why I want to go to Jiaodong."
"Xue'er," Jiang Yu suddenly called Jiang Xue, with worry in his eyes, "If you go to the palace tomorrow, or in front of Qiong Shuang, don't mention Feng Song for the time being."
Jiang Xue asked in confusion: "I have always known the importance of this matter, but why did my brother specifically instruct me to do this?"
"Feng Song was my grandfather's most proud student back then," Jiang Yu said softly with a dark look in his eyes.
"Grandfather's illness has not yet been cured, so this matter must be kept secret from him."
"My eldest brother was my grandfather's most beloved and cherished child. Back then, my grandfather almost fell seriously ill because of his old age and death."
"If he knew that his favorite student was involved in poisoning his grandson..."
"I'm afraid he can't bear this blow."
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