Chapter 86 The Prodigal Brother (Twenty-Six) A Merchant's Son's Counterattack Against a King of a Different Surname...
Before long, the Crown Prince, sitting in a wheelchair, was pushed into the hall by Gao Yu. Prince Ji, Prince Ding, and Prince Kui followed behind the Crown Prince and entered in turn.
"Father, my leg injury has not yet healed, and I am unable to move freely, so I am unable to bow to you. I hope you will forgive me," the Crown Prince said with a respectful expression, bowing his head.
Emperor Hongjing waved his hand, a hint of concern flashing in his eyes: "We are father and son, there's no need for such formalities. How is your leg injury now?"
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince hurriedly replied, "Thank you for your concern, Father. My leg is much better now. Physician Song said that I only need to rest for another three months and I will be fully recovered."
"That would be wonderful." Emperor Hongjing nodded slightly, pleased.
At this moment, Prince Ji, Prince Ding, and Prince Kui stepped forward one after another, knelt down and bowed, saying, "Your subjects pay their respects to Your Majesty and wish Your Majesty good health." Upon hearing this, Emperor Hongjing coldly swept his gaze over everyone and said in a deep voice, "Rise, all of you."
The three responded in unison, "Thank you, Father Emperor."
Emperor Hongjing slowly leaned back on his dragon throne, his fingers rhythmically tapping the armrests. "I'm sure you've all heard that Yang Yan was brutally murdered by villains outside the palace today. What are your thoughts on this matter?"
The sixth prince, Prince Kui, stepped forward and said, "Father, Eunuch Yang was on his way to celebrate Third Brother's birthday today. Why don't you ask Third Brother if he has any clues?"
Upon hearing this, Prince Ding's heart tightened. He immediately knelt down and said urgently, "Father! When I heard about this in the palace, I could hardly believe it was true! Father, please understand! I knew nothing about Eunuch Yang's death. It must be someone who deliberately set a trap to frame me! I beg you, Father, to thoroughly investigate this matter and clear my name!"
The Second Prince, Prince Ji, was a gentle and kind-hearted man. He looked at his brothers kneeling beside him and hurriedly asked, "Father, may I ask how Eunuch Yang lost his life?"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Hongjing turned his gaze to the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and said in a deep voice, "Minister Feng."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Feng Cheng respectfully bowed to the princes, and then systematically recounted the autopsy results from the Dali Temple once again.
Upon hearing this, the crown prince, who was sitting in a wheelchair, changed his expression and exclaimed, "How could this be?"
"Your Highness, is there anything I have overlooked in what I said?" Feng Cheng asked anxiously.
"Father, please forgive me." The Crown Prince, his face filled with resentment and fear, roared, "As everyone knows, a month ago, I accidentally fell from my horse. If it weren't for Physician Song's all-out efforts to save me, I would have perished under the horse's hooves. At the time, everyone thought it was an accident, including me. But later, a groom from the deer farm on the outskirts of the capital confessed that he was instructed to poison the feed of the horses I usually ride, causing them to suddenly go mad. I intended to bring him to the palace to be dealt with by Father, but who knew that that very night, the groom and the guards who were watching him all died mysteriously!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Hongjing abruptly raised his head, his gaze sharp, and asked in a stern voice, "How...how did the groom and the guards die?"
"Your Majesty," the Crown Prince said angrily, "their cause of death is exactly the same as that of Eunuch Yang and the other eunuchs. Later, I ordered a thorough examination, and they found and removed a needle as thin as a cow's hair from their chests. I followed the clues of this needle throughout the city and finally found some traces in a blacksmith shop called Fujitang. However... as time has passed, the shopkeeper can no longer remember who ordered it. With what happened today, I find it hard not to connect them. Yesterday it was me, today it's Eunuch Yang, so who will it be tomorrow? Such a deadly weapon, if it falls into the hands of evildoers, who knows how many lives it will take!"
Upon hearing this, Feng Cheng, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, paled instantly, cold sweat pouring down his back. Emperor Hongjing's gaze sharpened, and he roared, "Where is that fine needle now?"
The Crown Prince immediately replied, "Gao Yu."
Gao Yu lowered his head and respectfully presented the brass cylinder and fine needle to Emperor Hongjing with both hands.
Emperor Hongjing took the brass cylinder and examined it closely for a long time, his face growing increasingly grim. The Crown Prince was right; they dared to plot against him last time, so what about next time? Could they possibly be targeting him, the emperor?
After a long silence, Emperor Hongjing suddenly slammed the brass cylinder in his hand at the feet of the commander of the Imperial Guards, gritting his teeth and saying, "Go and investigate! Investigate thoroughly!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The commander of the Imperial Guards trembled and hurriedly answered the order in a loud voice.
After the commander of the Imperial Guards withdrew, the hall fell into a deathly silence.
Prince Ding remained kneeling on the ground, his eyes fixed on Emperor Hongjing, whose anger had not yet subsided. He inwardly groaned. He had merely been organizing a birthday banquet in his residence, a joyous occasion, but because of Yang Yan's death, he had been unwittingly thrust into the eye of the storm. He carefully wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead and instinctively turned his pleading gaze to the Crown Prince.
Unexpectedly, the crown prince merely glanced at him indifferently before looking away.
What... what's going on? The Crown Prince used to treat him very well, so why does he seem like a completely different person today? Why is he so cold to him?
Seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable to him, Prince Ding had no choice but to crawl forward two steps, looking panicked, and said, "Father, I am truly innocent! I swear to Heaven that this matter has absolutely nothing to do with me. I beg you, Father, to investigate!"
Seeing this, Prince Ji couldn't bear it and pleaded, "Father, before the truth of this matter is revealed, why don't you let our third brother get up first!"
Emperor Hongjing slightly raised his chin and said coldly, "In that case, you may rise! If this matter is indeed unrelated to you, I will clear your name; but if I find out that you are involved in this matter in the slightest, I will not let you off lightly!"
Upon hearing this, Prince Ding hurriedly kowtowed to express his gratitude, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, Father Emperor."
Standing to the side, Prince Kui noticed the Crown Prince's furrowed brow, as if deep in thought. He asked, "Brother, have you thought of something?"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Hongjing turned his gaze to the Crown Prince and said, "Your Highness, please speak frankly."
The Crown Prince pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, “Father, in my opinion, this is far more than a simple assassination. To be able to attack one of your close attendants near the heavily guarded palace, and to use methods identical to those used when I fell from my horse, suggests that the person behind this has been planning this for a long time, and their power should not be underestimated. The most urgent task at hand is to stabilize the court and prevent panic. At the same time, we must do everything in our power to track down the real culprit and bring them to justice as soon as possible to ensure the stability of the court.”
Emperor Hongjing nodded slightly and said with concern, "What the Crown Prince said is very true. However, your leg injury has not yet healed, so you should not overexert yourself. You should return to the Eastern Palace to recuperate. This matter can be handled by the Imperial Guard and the Court of Judicial Review."
"Yes, Father," the Crown Prince replied respectfully.
After everyone had left, Emperor Hongjing slowly leaned back on the dragon throne and closed his eyes.
After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Hongjing slowly awoke. He subconsciously raised his hand to rub his genitals and habitually ordered, "Yang Yan, go to the imperial kitchen immediately and bring me a bowl of calming soup." For a long time... the hall was deathly silent, and no one answered.
Emperor Hongjing was immediately stunned, then realized that Yang Yan... was gone. This palace servant, who had served him faithfully since his childhood, had been murdered without cause. Thinking of this, he could hardly control his rage. A sharp "crack" was heard in the hall as his owner swept his favorite teacup to the ground, shattering it into pieces.
On the other side, after Prince Ding returned to his residence, he immediately ordered the steward with a gloomy face to summon Gu Ting to his study.
"You unfilial son! Kneel down!" Prince Ding slammed the paperweight beside him at Gu Tingxun, startling him so much that he instinctively took two steps back, his face full of grievance. "Father! What have I done to offend you so much? You have never..."
Before he could finish speaking, Prince Ding slammed his fist on the table again in anger, shouting, "Do you call me 'Father' because you're afraid I won't die fast enough? Before! Before! How could I have known about the future? Now the Crown Prince's leg injury has healed, and some so-called miracle doctor has appeared and cured him! Now Yang Yan, who is by His Majesty's side, has been murdered, and the hidden weapon used is that 'Traceless Needle' you mentioned! Didn't you say that no one knew about that hidden weapon? What's going on now?"
Gu Tingxun's expression changed drastically upon hearing this, and he exclaimed in shock, "Father... Father, what did you say? Yang Yan is dead? This is impossible... When Father ascended the throne, Yang Yan was still alive and well. How could he have been murdered so suddenly?"
Prince Ding took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said in a deep voice, "I don't know how much of what you say is true and how much is false. Could it be that what you've said is nothing but a dream, and you've become so deeply immersed in it that you've believed it to be real?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Tingxuan immediately knelt down. "Father! Everything I have said is true! Just half a year ago, I slept for a whole night, and when I woke up the next day, I remembered everything from my past life! The Crown Prince was supposed to die three years later when he encountered a landslide caused by heavy rain on his way to the south! I only wanted him to go to the Western Paradise two years earlier, but some divine physician appeared out of nowhere and ruined our great plan! In my memory, there is no trace of this person at all; it's as if he appeared out of thin air!"
"Now that things have come to this, what's the use of saying all this?" Prince Ding paced back and forth in his study in frustration, and said in a deep voice, "How are we supposed to explain to His Majesty that Yang Yan died from the hidden weapon you commissioned?"
“Father, I did not personally go to commission this hidden weapon; I sent a servant from the manor to do so…” Gu Tingxun quickly explained.
"Fool!" Prince Ding immediately interrupted him, shouting sternly, "Do you really think the Imperial Guards around His Majesty are useless? In less than two days, they will find out that you were behind this!"
Gu Tingxun's face turned pale upon hearing this, and he murmured, "Son...son..."
"Xun'er," Prince Ding closed his eyes and said softly, "What do you think your father should do?"
“Father, I remember now! That servant used to work in my elder brother’s courtyard. Now… now that my elder brother is a second-rank prince, I think… I think His Majesty will consider his status and won’t punish him too much.” Gu Tingxun’s eyes flickered slightly as he cautiously suggested.
"You mean... Xuan'er?" Prince Ding was taken aback and murmured repeatedly.
“Yes! Father, he…” Gu Tingxun paused, then suddenly whispered, “He wasn’t your biological son, was he?”
"What did you say?" Upon hearing this, Prince Ding's expression changed drastically. He turned his head sharply and stared intently at Gu Tingxun, his eyes seeming as if he wanted to devour him alive.
Gu Tingxun trembled under the sharp gaze of the Prince of Ding. He instinctively shrank back and said cautiously, "Father..."
Prince Ding's chest heaved violently. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and asked, "How did you know about this?"
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Author's Note: [Let me see] Thank you, little angels, for the nutrient solution~ (spooning flowers and wall-slamming)
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