Chapter 26: The excitement here is too deep, you can't grasp it! ...
At the hour of Xu, the palace gates had already been locked, but the Chuigong Hall was still open.
Twenty-four nine-branched lamps illuminate the Chuigong Hall with brilliant light, and the dragons coiled on the golden lacquer pillars look majestic.
Cong Ying knelt in the palace, at the feet of all the nobles—
Emperor Fengqi sat high on the dragon throne, Princess Chun'an sat below, Prince Jin was given a seat due to his leg disability, and Minister of Rites Duan Jingxiu stood with his head bowed. However, she was of low status and was a weed that was subservient to the power.
She held the evidence high above her head and stated the injustice of the case:
"Yu Wenzhong secretly participated in the sealing of the examination papers. During the sealing and interlineation process, he swapped Jiang Congjing's original paper. To divert attention, he switched places with Lu Mu during the transcription process, deliberately leaving a flaw so that Lu Mu would be misunderstood as the mastermind behind Jiang Congjing's conspiracy. He then waited for an opportunity to kill Lu Mu and fabricate a suicide out of fear of punishment—a servant possessed Lu Mu's family letter as evidence."
At the head, the great eunuch Xue Huanjin asked on behalf of Emperor Fengqi: "Yu Wenzhong is just a scholar who has not yet been appointed to an official position. He has no grudge against Jiang Congjing. Why do you use this trick to frame him?"
Cong Ying said, "I suspect Yu Wenzhong was also being manipulated."
Xue Huanjin: "By whom?"
Cong Ying said, "I have no right to inquire, and I dare not accuse you—but I have evidence I found in Yu Wenzhong's duty room, which I suspect is a letter written by Lu Mu to Minister Duan before his death."
The eunuch handed the two letters to the old clerk of the Hanlin Academy for comparison. After confirming that they were Lu Mu's handwriting, he was about to present them to Emperor Fengqi when Princess Chun'an said, "Bring them here for me to see."
Her voice was clear, like the sound of golden chopsticks striking a jade cup, with a kind of noble calmness.
I quietly raised my eyes from the firefly and saw on the high steps a red satin skirt that trailed on the ground, with golden phoenix feathers swaying like flying.
Minister Duan defended himself, saying, "Lu Mu had been in the Hanlin Academy for two years. When he reached the age limit for official appointments, he wanted to join the Ministry of Rites, so he wrote this letter to me. However, there were so many other people writing to me, and I didn't read it carefully. I asked someone to handle it all at once, and somehow it ended up in Yu Wenzhong's hands."
Princess Chun'an chuckled. "Lu Mu is a brilliant young man from a humble family. He should have been serving under me, but instead he went out to curry favor with you, the aristocratic families, and even wrote such heart-wrenching words as 'turning the tables' and 'aiding and abetting the tyrant's evil'. If I were Minister Duan, I would welcome him and publicize his words to everyone, so as to show the way forward for all scholars. How could I ignore him and treat him like a worn-out shoe?"
Minister Duan said awkwardly, "Your Highness, you are joking. When recruiting talents for the imperial court, I only consider their virtue and ability, not their family background."
Princess Chun'an said, "From the way I read this letter, it seems as if you gave it out personally to frame me."
Cong Ying listened quietly, feeling that Princess Chun'an's words made some sense. At the same time, she was puzzled as to why the topic had shifted from Yu Wenzhong to Lu Mu. Although Lu Mu was important, he was dead and had no evidence, and he wasn't the key culprit in the case...
Just as Minister Duan was crying out for justice, a eunuch outside the palace came in to announce that Prime Minister Xie had arrived.
Emperor Feng Qi raised his eyes and said, "Please come in and take a seat."
Prime Minister Xie entered the court without hastening, but strode forward, took off his cloak and handed it to the waiter, then calmly bowed to Emperor Fengqi. His eyes swept over everyone in the hall, but he paused slightly when he saw Prince Jin.
The King of Jin just kept his eyelids drooping like a sickly puppet, not even giving him a glance.
It is better to turn a blind eye to this biological father in the previous life and the political enemy that caused both parties to suffer losses.
Emperor Feng Qi's tone was very kind: "It's so late, what is it that requires the Prime Minister to run around in person?"
Prime Minister Xie said, "Your Majesty, the imperial guards have just apprehended Yu Wenzhong. This is the confession obtained by the Ministry of Justice. Your Majesty, please review it."
When this news came out, everyone in the palace was shocked, and Princess Chun'an's face suddenly turned pale.
"Oh?" Emperor Fengqi glanced at Princess Chun'an and asked Prime Minister Xie, "Where did you catch her?"
Xie Xiang's eyes swept over Princess Chun'an intentionally or unintentionally: "What a coincidence, it is in a private residence in Budefang. The owner of the private residence is surnamed Xuan, and he is the uncle of Prince Consort Xuan."
This Prince Consort Xuan was the husband of Princess Chun'an.
"Yu Wenzhong is a coward. Although he hid behind the scenes and planned all this, he never thought he would be exposed. When Miss Jiang Si found him, he was terrified and climbed over the wall to leave the Imperial Examination Hall, desperately seeking refuge with his patrons."
Emperor Feng Qi narrowed his eyes slightly. "Prime Minister, are you saying that the person behind Yu Wenzhong is Prince Consort Wen?"
Prime Minister Xie nodded and said, "We have Yu Wenzhong's confession as evidence."
The fresh ink, still not yet dry, bore Yu Wenzhong's bloody fingerprints, the black words piercing the white paper:
"The criminal, Yu Wenzhong, was instructed by Prince Consort Wen to replace Jiang Congjing's exam paper, leaving an error and blaming Minister Duan of the Ministry of Rites. This is evidenced by a private letter signed and sealed by Prince Consort Wen."
Xie Xiang smiled and said, "Thanks to Miss Jiang Si's caution and astuteness, she figured out that Yu Wenzhong was the mastermind behind Lu Mu. Otherwise, the blame would have been put on Minister Duan."
Minister Duan was almost moved to tears of gratitude: "Your Majesty, your decision is wise! The Prime Minister is brilliant!"
Emperor Fengqi's expression was gloomy and hard to read. He sighed and threw Yu Wenzhong's confession in front of Princess Chun'an. "It's your husband's fault! Xue Huanjin!"
Xue Huanjin bowed his head and listened: "Your servant is here."
"You will personally lead the troops to arrest Prince Consort Xuan and have him confronted in the palace."
Xue Huanjin took the order and left. The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Cong Ying was still kneeling on the ground. Although the ground was as warm as spring, a chill crept up her numb knees and back.
Yu Wenzhong is actually Princess Chun'an's man... How could he be Princess Chun'an's man?
This would explain why Princess Chun'an avoided talking about Yu Wenzhong just now and only attributed everything to Lu Mu.
But there are also some things that don’t make sense.
Cong Ying thought to herself, if she were Princess Chun'an, and had finally won the opportunity to preside over this spring examination, and had been working day and night to do so, how could she use this national treasure as a tool for conspiracy, just to frame one or two political enemies?
If this behavior is exposed, it may discourage scholars and lead to criticism.
Princess Chun'an was granted the fief of Xuzhou. Thinking back to the years spent in Xuzhou, Cong Ying didn't think Princess Chun'an would be such a narrow-minded and short-sighted person.
But she was the one who found out about Yu Wenzhong herself. When all the evidence pointed to Princess Chun'an, it would be unreasonable and unfair to the Third Master Xie if she still suspected him.
Yu Wenzhong... By the way, when Yu Wenzhong ran into her, he mentioned Prince Jin in a panic.
Perhaps His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin knows something about the inside story.
Cong Ying couldn't help but look up at Prince Jin, and met a pair of quiet and deep eyes.
His skin and lips were as cold as white stone, which made his eyes look even darker, almost eerie black, as if this body was dying, and only these eyes were trapped alive in the body, staring at her, staring at her all the time, as if carrying an unknown compassion and affection.
Cong Ying's mind went blank for a moment when she was stared at by him, and she even forgot what she was going to say.
Prince Jin withdrew his gaze first, slowly stood up with the help of his jade staff, and said to Emperor Feng Qi: "Your Majesty, please allow me to take a few pills. The servant has them with me and they are outside the palace."
Emperor Fengqi said, "You are weak, go back to your residence and rest."
Prince Jin: "With such a grand occasion, I wish to continue watching. Besides, among all the nobles in the hall, I am the only one who has truly stayed out of it. I am listening here so that I can be a witness."
Emperor Fengqi pondered for a moment and tacitly agreed.
When Prince Jin returned, Xue Huanjin had already brought Prince Consort Xuan to the palace and glanced at him from afar.
If Princess Chun'an is the brilliant and radiant phoenix, Prince Consort Xuan is the icy and cool mountain snow.
He had a handsome appearance, and because he took good care of himself, he seemed to be less than thirty years old. He was dressed in a frosty white crane cloak, as plain as white silk. He did not look like the only imperial concubine of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but more like a hermit living in seclusion in the mountains.
He knelt in the hall and said, "I bow to Your Majesty."
Emperor Feng Qi asked him directly: "Your uncle is hiding the criminal Yu Wenzhong. Are you aware of this?"
Prince Consort Xuan said, "I know."
Emperor Fengqi was so angry that he slapped Zhen Shanhe hard.
Anyone could hear that Emperor Fengqi asked this question to give Prince Consort Xuan room to defend himself. He could have said he knew nothing about it and asked someone to investigate, and there might be a way out. But he agreed without hesitation.
Prince Consort Xuan's next words were like thunder, "Because it was I who instigated my uncle, and I was also the one behind Yu Wenzhong."
Princess Chun'an stood up suddenly: "Xuan Feiqing, you are crazy!"
"Asshole, sit back down!" Emperor Fengqi scolded Princess Chun'an harshly.
Prime Minister Xie seized the opportunity to speak out, "Yu Wenzhong obeys Prince Consort Xuan, but who does Prince Consort Xuan obey?"
"No one else."
"This is not something Prince Consort Xuan can sum up in one word—"
Prince Consort Xuan: "Because I did this precisely to frame your Majesty and take revenge on her."
His voice was not loud, but it was like thunder, making everyone in the hall hold their breath.
A sarcastic sneer crossed Prince Consort Xuan's impassive face. "Captain Consort? How ridiculous! For the past twenty years, I've been like a caged canary, swallowing my hatred day and night. She ruined the Xuan family and my life, yet she still lives so happily. Why? I want to let her know what it feels like to be disgraced and lose everything."
Princess Chun'an's nails were digging into her palms tightly, and her face was almost pale.
Emperor Feng Qi held his forehead with his hand and sighed: "You are confused. Chun'an has indeed been implicated by you. Xue Huanjin——"
Hearing this tone, Prime Minister Xie stepped forward and said, "Prince Consort Xuan's words are clearly a move to sacrifice the chariot to save the emperor. How can Your Majesty believe it?"
Minister Duan also echoed: "This is a matter of great importance. Your Majesty, please take a clear look at it!"
Emperor Feng Qi's tone turned colder. "What kind of investigation do you want? You have to trap my only daughter in this, are you satisfied? Thank you for your understanding!"
Minister Duan shuddered violently.
Xie Xiang's name is not often heard. The last time it was heard was ten years ago when Xie Xiang led the censors to kneel in the snow and force the current emperor to adopt his son.
The development of the situation did indeed show a tendency to repeat the past. Xie Xiang flicked his sleeves, his expression stern as if he was determined to speak out to the emperor:
"A benevolent ruler should correct himself and remove evil, not be partial. Princess Chun'an's meddling in the imperial examinations has already violated the rules. Your Majesty, how can you continue to allow her to stir up trouble and frame her colleagues?"
"You say I'm partial? Can you guarantee that you're innocent in this matter?"
"I dare, but the princess doesn't."
The atmosphere in Chuigong Hall was tense, and there was a hint of tension between the two most powerful people in the Great Zhou.
The rest of the people were afraid to speak. Princess Chun'an looked pale, and even Prince Jin leaned back in his armchair with his eyes closed, tapping the armrests with his long fingers, wondering what he was thinking.
It felt like a stone was blocking Ying's heart.
Tonight's twists and turns were more sudden than the last, so much so that when they had already begun to convict Princess Chun'an, Cong Ying finally realized what was wrong.
Yu Wenzhong was definitely not Princess Chun'an's man - at least the person who could truly control and instigate him was not Princess Chun'an.
Otherwise, when he saw the female official Gan Jiu in the Imperial Examination Hall, he should have asked Gan Jiu for help and killed him together, instead of escaping from the Imperial Examination Hall for thousands of miles and then seeking the protection of Prince Consort Xuan.
As for how Prince Consort Xuan was involved and who exactly the Xuan family uncle's accomplices were, as long as they were willing to investigate, there would be clues, but the prerequisite was that Princess Chun'an would not be hastily convicted tonight.
Do you want to say it?
Not to mention it today, Princess Chun'an will face impeachment and accusations from all officials at tomorrow morning court.
Looking at her from Ying, although she was wearing gorgeous clothes and a noble crown, she stood alone with her neck stiffened, looking a little sad.
Cong Ying was reminded of herself when she faced the eldest house of the Jiang family. Her words were as sharp as knives, crushing her muscles and bones. She had experienced this feeling deeply.
The impulse was just a momentary thing, and Cong Ying had no time to think: "Your Majesty——"
"presumptuous!"
The King of Jin stopped her almost immediately: "You are the daughter of a guilty minister, you have no right to speak here!"
His eyes were fierce and frightening, an expression Ying had never seen on his face before, as if she was about to commit a heinous crime.
At this moment, a eunuch came trotting in from outside the palace, stammering, "Your Majesty, Third Young Master Xie has brought a knife and two other prisoners with him. He wants to confront the two murderers in court to see who is the real culprit!"
Two murderers? Yu Wenzhong? Who else...
Cong Ying fell speechless, and Xie Xiang also fell speechless.
Only King Jin secretly breathed a sigh of relief: Fortunately, we made it in time.
Emperor Feng Qi pushed the table aside and stood up, not knowing whether to be angry or amused. "Okay, the palace hasn't been this lively for a long time. Bring them all in!"
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