Chapter 327 Framed
The chubby orange cat once again defended its position in the palace with its own life.
Now it is the uncrowned king of the palace!
Who made it so powerful that it helped find the villain who intended to harm the emperor!
From this moment on, it is the great cat god!
Chirp: [Seriously, nobody can beat it up? It's so annoying!]
The Crown Prince had already reported the matter to Emperor Jingming, and the two tutors left in a huff, leaving only the Empress to stay by Little Fatty's side. This incident further convinced her of what the Imperial Advisor had said about Little Fatty being a noblewoman in the palace, and it also fueled Little Fatty's arrogance.
"Meow!" Little fish, go get me a fish!
Chiu Chiu trembled with anger: [Eat, eat, eat! Why didn't I poison you to make you mute?!]
Fu Ning comforted Qiu Qiu, "Fat cat, you're bad!"
The chubby orange cat stretched and meowed at Fu Ning, "Meow! You don't just stand there, go get me some catnip to rinse my mouth!"
Fu Ning: "Awoooooo!" Let's just kill it!
The three cubs were locked in a fierce battle, a truly exhilarating "fight." After the palace maids separated them, they discovered that none of the cubs were any good to look at...
"Stop fighting! Stop fighting! Please stop fighting!"
Sanzai: "..."
The chubby orange cub, with its sharp claws, overwhelmingly became the little tyrant among the cubs, leaving Chiu Chiu and Fu Ning defeated in tears.
But opportunity favors the prepared cat. Just as the chubby orange cat was feeling smug, Chiu Chiu used its weight advantage to pin the chubby orange cat down. "Chubby!"
The chubby orange cat shook its fur, turned its head and licked its lips, "Meow." This place is fraught with danger.
Small animals have more acute senses. After being beaten up, the little chubby orange cat realized that there were bad people in the palace who wanted to harm its cubs!
If Chiu Chiu knew what Little Fatty Orange was thinking, she would definitely tell it that no one would want to harm a cat, but what Little Fatty Orange said makes a lot of sense; there really is someone who wants to harm the kitten.
However, this child could be Princess Fu Ning, or it could be Qiu Qiu, or some other child.
Because no royal family member or noblewoman would eat a chicken leg at a banquet, this dish was specially ordered by Princess Funing for herself and her friends.
Fu Ning hugged her thin frame tightly, "Terrible!"
The person who poisoned the food was quickly caught; it was a thin, small eunuch from the imperial kitchen who washed vegetables, and he said he had been bribed.
However, the young eunuch couldn't say who gave the order. When he went to the Cold Palace to retrieve the silver, there would be a note instructing him on what to do. Not only that, the young eunuch's entire family disappeared, and according to him, the person threatened his whole family before they would give in.
The Cold Palace was turned upside down, but there wasn't a trace left.
There is only one person who can be associated with the Cold Palace—Prince Ning!
Prince Ning was truly caught in the crossfire. He had been a hostage of the Turks for many years, and to avoid suspicion, after the Turkic envoys came to the capital, he basically stayed home except for court sessions, and even strictly controlled the servants in his palace. Even so, he still took the blame.
Prince Ning was speechless: "I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly, it really has nothing to do with me!"
The Crown Prince believed him, saying, "Father, I believe in my second brother."
Emperor Jingming leaned back in his chair, his face revealing neither joy nor anger. After a long while, he said helplessly, "I believe the Second Prince wouldn't have done such a thing, but how should this object be explained?"
Eunuch Liu presented the two gold ingots to the two men, saying, "Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Highness Prince Ning, would you please take a look?"
Both gold ingots bear the insignia of the Imperial Household Department, indicating they originated from the palace, and are dated to the beginning of the year. These gold ingots were only recently received as a reward by His Highness Prince Ning for performing a task.
"Otherwise, do you really think I would believe some secret story about the Cold Palace and bring you into the palace?"
Prince Ning hesitated: "But I've already spent all that gold."
"Spent it all? You're in a hurry for money?" Emperor Jingming finally had time to properly examine his second son. "Why... do you always give me the impression of being poor?"
It's not a good thing for a prince to be short of money.
Prince Ning was embarrassed; he wasn't just poor in appearance, he was genuinely poor!
"Where is your salary?"
Prince Ning lowered his head and remained silent. The Crown Prince nudged his arm with his loose robe. Prince Ning noticed, a thought flickered in his mind, and he quickly came up with an excuse: "I gave it to Qiuqiu."
"What?!"
Not only did Emperor Jingming's eyes widen, but even the Crown Prince was dumbfounded. He was asked to come up with a reason, but never one this absurd!
“Chirp chirp said it would bring me wealth.”
The crown prince's lips twitched: "She's said that to everyone..."
"Yes, only I believe it."
Did you make a profit?
Prince Ning shook his head: "Otherwise, he wouldn't have been unable to afford the household expenses and would have spent all the reward money."
Emperor Jingming no longer doubted Prince Ning's ulterior motives; with his intelligence and courage, he would never do such a thing in his life.
This method of framing someone was not sophisticated enough, and Emperor Jingming was unaware of the person's intentions.
Is it really just a matter of making a fuss at tonight's palace banquet?
"You may all return now. This matter will be handled by the Court of Judicial Review. The peace treaty between the two countries will be signed tonight, and I will not allow any further mishaps!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey."
The two walked out of Zhengyang Palace one after the other, bypassing the patrolling guards. The Crown Prince asked, "Did you really give the silver to Qiuqiu?"
Prince Ning was silent for a moment, then spoke with anticipation: "Could my eldest brother get the silver back for me?"
It turns out the reason wasn't made up.
“Jin Fengnian has already delivered the goods.” The Crown Prince suddenly spoke up. “Be careful lately, the Third Prince or the Que Yu clan may suddenly make trouble for you.”
Prince Ning chuckled: "Your Majesty need not worry about that, I have already found a powerful backer."
The prince had a bad feeling: "Could it be Qiuqiu?"
"Hmm!" Prince Ning chuckled awkwardly, "We should at least recoup some of our losses."
Prince Ning was also involved in Jin Fengnian's transport of grain. The guards of the three passes he needed to bypass were Prince Ning's men, and they provided cover all the way so that he was not discovered.
However, he had one request—to keep Yan Jiamu.
The prince patted him on the shoulder: "Although I don't know what happened to you in the Turkic Khaganate, as your elder brother, I will definitely avenge you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Prince Ning said expressionlessly. "I met a kind Han Chinese woman in the Turkic lands. I felt she looked familiar; her features resembled those of Father Emperor."
"This person is Yan Jiamu's mother."
The crown prince sensed something was wrong. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Prince Ning did not answer, but continued talking to himself: "I originally wanted to take her back to the Great Zhou, but she refused. She said that the people of the Great Zhou should consider her dead, and that she would give me the key to my father when the opportunity came."
However, he regretted it after he returned, feeling that it was not appropriate to give such a thing to his father.
"I think you're more suitable."
He will hand the key to the Crown Prince after the palace banquet, as long as Yan Jiamu can stay in the Great Zhou!
The Crown Prince vaguely knew who Yan Jiamu's mother was, and the answer was unbelievable to him, but now was clearly not the time to discuss it.
"After the palace banquet, everything will be over."
"Believe me!"
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