Offense and defense change
Jing Yao suddenly threw away Si Jue's servant: "Let go! You are not worthy of pulling me!"
But the servant was troubled by the unconcealable anger on her face. What should he do if she rushed over and attacked Prince Lin again after he let go?
For a moment he was worried about letting go, but if he didn't let go he would be criticized by Jing Yao.
"Let go... let her go..." Si Jue's voice, which was already extremely hoarse from a night of sleep, became even more difficult to utter because of the relentless throat clamping just now. At this moment, Si Jue tried his best to speak but could only speak in a halting and extremely low voice.
The attendant hesitated: "Your Highness..."
Si Jue didn't say much, just gave a look. Seeing this, the attendant had nothing to say but to nod in agreement and reluctantly let go of the hand that was holding Jing Yao.
Even so, the servants did not dare to slack off at all. They kept a close eye on Jing Yao's every move, fearing that she would do something to threaten Si Jue again.
Jing Yao pulled the corner of her mouth and gave Si Jue, who was lying on his side with his face facing her, a smile that was either sarcastic or self-deprecating: "Why, are you pretending to be kind again?"
"Si Jue, I don't want to waste any more words with you." Jing Yao was much calmer than before. She knew that if she still wanted to save Si Pei, trying Si Jue was the fastest way.
The girl's eyes were red as she questioned, "What kind of poison did you give Si Pei? Where is the antidote?!"
"Madam Jing! Don't slander me! When has our prince ever poisoned the crown prince?" The attendant was so angry that his face turned red. He loudly defended Si Jue, "His Highness Prince Lin was also stabbed by a foreign assassin and just came back from the brink of death. Madam Jing, you shouldn't suspect Prince Lin no matter what."
Jing Yao didn't even glance at him, and said coldly: "Do you have the right to speak here? Get out of here."
"you!"
The attendants had never seen such a domineering and unreasonable woman, and they couldn't help but criticize that this woman was worthy of the prince's favor. She was just as tyrannical and dictatorial as Prince Si Pei.
Jing Yao's eyes were always on Si Jue. He was not afraid to make eye contact with her even if it meant his death. He was not timid or hesitant at all and looked very frank.
"Cousin Lingyi, I really don't know what you're talking about." Si Jue's round, peach-shaped eyes were filled with innocence. "What happened to my brother? Is he okay?"
Others might not be able to see it, but Jing Yao could see through his hypocrisy and it was disgusting.
"I'm telling you this one last time. If you don't tell the truth now, I'll make you think it over in the dungeon."
Si Jue's body is so weak and hasn't recovered yet. If he is thrown into the dungeon, he will probably die within a day.
She thought, is Si Jue really not afraid of death?
Now that he was in her hands, Si Jue still dared to pretend to be clueless to confuse others. It was a pity that he could deceive others but not Jing Yao.
"Xing Feng, drag him into the Imperial Prison dungeon!"
As soon as Jing Yaofu gave the order, Eunuch Ming's voice came from outside the door, announcing, "Your Highness Prince Lin, Madam Jing, Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, Baili Jun, wishes to see you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the young man hurried into the hall, looking exhausted and inexplicably panicked.
Baili Wenfu is a well-known elegant young man in the capital, and no one has ever seen him show such an impatient expression.
Jing Yao suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.
Especially when he saw his eyes tentatively look at Si Jue behind him, Jing Yao became more certain of the strangeness in his heart.
Something definitely happened.
Baili Wenfu's eyes lingered between Si Jue and Jing Yao, and finally he bowed and said, "I have something important to discuss with Madam Jing."
Jing Yao didn't know why he was still going through all this formalities at this critical moment, and quickly pulled him to one of the side rooms in the main hall.
"Yes or no……"
Before Jing Yao could even ask, Baili Wenfu already had a look of self-blame on his face: "Ling Yi, I'm afraid the situation in the court is no longer under our control."
"What's the meaning?"
Jing Yao was stunned, and for a moment he failed to comprehend the deeper meaning of this.
Baili Wenfu sighed deeply, "Early this morning, the news that Prince Lin had woken up spread throughout the court."
"Didn't he just wake up?" Jing Yao was alert. How could Si Jue have made all these preparations so early? Or was it because he was now the only one in the court who knew everything, so information was flowing so quickly.
"I don't know either, but he's definitely awake now. The court is arguing over this matter fiercely." Baili Wenfu hesitated for a moment. "But in any case, the outcome of the discussion... is probably not favorable to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
There is absolutely no possibility for Si Pei to wake up now. All the officials and royal family members in the court want to support a person in power who can rule temporarily or long-term.
For a moment, whether it was the young eighth prince, several princes far away in their fiefdoms, or Prince Lin Si Jue, who was also born to the emperor and empress.
In terms of seniority, those younger children couldn't compare to Si Jue, and in terms of bloodline, those foreign princes were even less legitimate than Si Jue. In this fight, Si Jue had a very high chance of winning.
Jing Yao was no fool. He knew Si Jue had come prepared. "Then how many people in the court support Prince Lin? What are the opinions of the left and right prime ministers?"
"The Baili family and my father both maintained a neutral stance and didn't say much. We mostly hoped that the Crown Prince would wake up soon. The Right Prime Minister...also advocated choosing someone to stabilize the situation first."
"Is that all?" Jing Yao had never asked about state affairs before, but she saw Si Pei ruling the previous dynasty for many years, and he definitely had more people supporting him than Si Jue. The most important thing was that Zuo Yuanwu must also support Si Pei.
"Grand Marshal Wenren and the Right Prime Minister have the same opinion." Baili Wenfu said, feeling somewhat surprised that the Wenren family, who always liked to remain neutral, actually chose to take sides in such a dangerous and tense situation this time.
It's really rare.
"Prince Heng is ill and has not attended court."
Jing Yao snorted coldly. He had known for a long time that the old man was unreliable and would fall ill at the critical moment.
"More importantly, almost all of the Qingchen faction supports Prince Lin."
Jing Yao's eyes widened in disbelief. "Why would the Qingchen faction be willing to wade into this mess? And wasn't Master Cui from the Prince's faction among them? Why didn't he even try to stop them?"
Baili Wenfu's expression was indescribable: "He was one of the first to express his stance."
Jing Yao angrily cursed those sons of bitches in his heart. They had taken advantage of Si Pei, but now, at this crucial moment, they switched sides. And what about those Qing officials, who usually kept their distance from the matter? Why were they joining in the fun now? What good would it do him to support Si Jue?
Seeing Jing Yao pacing back and forth angrily, Baili Wenfu seemed to be hesitant to speak.
If Zuo Yuanwu was here at this moment, he would probably tell her frankly while hesitating that in the eyes of Qingchen, there are only two choices. Choose Si Pei, but Si Pei is unconscious, so it is very likely that Jing Yao will control the government. Jing Yao's reputation in the previous dynasty was not very good, so it seems very reasonable to choose Si Jue.
The group of pedantic ministers of the previous dynasty had always disliked Jing Yao. When Si Pei was in power, no one dared to comment on his behavior, but now the prince's life and death were uncertain, and the throne that he had not yet obtained was very likely to change hands. From a utilitarian point of view, they were also seeking benefits and avoiding harm.
Jing Yao finally understood that although the Qing officials claimed that they were not afraid of power and coercion and did not seek fame, wealth and honor, in fact, they could not control the power of the prince and also wanted to take the road of prosperity with more people.
From Jing Yao's perspective, the court officials were naturally hypocritical and treacherous, but if one really examined it from the perspective of the officials, supporting Si Jue was actually the best and most reliable choice at the moment.
Si Jue was known for his gentleness and kindness within the court, so even if he ascended to power, he would never harm his brother, who was born to the same mother. Furthermore, with his experience in handling government affairs in his fiefdom, he should be quite capable as a regent. Furthermore, his respect and care for the people earned him a very good reputation among the people.
Not to mention the court, the previous incident of the bookstore owner being "forced to death" had already caused a wave of support in the capital for Si Jue to replace Si Pei, but it was all dealt with by people sent by the prince.
"The court has decided now to promote Si Jue to the position first."
Originally, Si Pei had been unwilling to ascend the throne, and the throne of Xijing had been vacant for a long time. The current unrest had caused the people of Shanghua City in Xijing to be in constant fear. The ascension of the new emperor to the throne could not only stabilize the people's hearts but also deter foreign powers.
After Baili Wenfu finished his explanation, Jing Yao felt disappointed.
"No, Brother Wenfu, we must interrogate Si Jue. He must know where the antidote to save Si Pei is."
Jing Yao's expression was firm, and there was no trace of madness on his face. Baili Wenfu couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. "Ling Yi, I know the Crown Prince's incident has hit you hard, but we need evidence to investigate this case."
"Evidence, what evidence do you want? Do bad people admit to doing bad things themselves?"
Seeing Jing Yao's tone getting a little hurried, Baili Wenfu raised his hand to signal her to calm down. Jing Yao was furious at Baili Wenfu's hesitation. She really didn't know why she had thought he was the most handsome man before...
She impatiently slapped Baili Wenfu's hand away. Seeing this, the latter didn't get angry, but quietly withdrew his hand. "I was able to disobey the Queen Mother's orders last night not only because I trusted you, but also because I had evidence to tell the Queen Mother that the murderer was not you. But this time is different. There is no evidence to prove that this matter is related to Prince Lin."
"Ling Yi, I'm not timid, nor am I a opportunist. It's just that there are too many people involved behind me, and I dare not gamble." Every word of Baili Wenfu's words was as powerful as stone carvings, leaving Jing Yao speechless.
Yes, everyone has their own difficulties and things that they must protect.
Jing Yao herself has nothing, so why should she ask others to abandon everything to help her and believe in her?
She couldn't even produce a single piece of evidence. Was she going to tell all the civil and military officials that because she had lived a second life, she knew that the person who poisoned her was Si Jue?
Even Baili Wenfu would probably just think that she was stimulated and started to fantasize, not to mention those cunning people in the court, who would rather call her a lunatic or a monster.
No...someone would still believe her!
Jing Yao lifted her skirt and ran to the door: "Eunuch Ming, please call General Zuo Yuanwu for me!"
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