Chapter 176
The Seventh Prince’s Mansion.
"…In the end, His Majesty left without saying a word."
Ye Xiaoyuan recounted what happened in the court today, "Your Highness, this is all."
After hearing this, Qu Dubian couldn't describe the feeling in his heart.
Finally this day has come.
The bomb that had been hidden between the sixth brother and the fifth brother for nearly a decade finally exploded after the external threat was eliminated, and it exploded very thoroughly.
Backstabbed in the court.
Sixth brother has relied on fifth brother over the years, I wonder what expression he had on his face at that time.
Reselling weapons... I have to write a letter to ask my uncle. If this is true, Sixth Brother can save his life, but his maternal grandfather's family will probably be executed.
He thought for a long time and noticed that Ye Xiaoyuan was particularly silent, so he asked, "Banban, anything else?"
Ye Xiaoyuan whispered, "Yes, Your Majesty. Your Majesty can issue an order to investigate the case of the Sixth Prince and the Li family reselling weapons, so why don't you issue an order to thoroughly investigate the paper money injustice?"
Qu Dubian was not surprised: "Sixth brother is almost ruined by the weapons trafficking, and fifth brother is also involved. The balance of the court has been broken, and it is already chaotic enough. It is not wise for Your Majesty to investigate the paper money issue at this time."
On the surface, it seemed that the fifth brother was the one who backstabbed the sixth brother, but in reality, the second brother was definitely involved.
All the princes were involved in the situation, which was completely different from what Emperor Chongzhao wanted.
Ye Xiaoyuan: "Then your majesty should at least express his attitude."
Qu Duanbian shook his head: "He will probably have someone investigate privately."
-
Purple Palace.
When Emperor Chongzhao came back from court, he saw several people standing at the entrance of the palace.
When he walked in, he saw that they were Concubine Xuan, Guiren Guo, Zhiyi, Sihe, and the three old concubines who were still alive in the Cining Palace.
Emperor Chongzhao greeted Concubine Liang and the other two and asked, "Why are you here?"
Concubine Xuan said, "I couldn't sleep at night when I heard about the paper money avenging injustice. If I can't get to the bottom of it, how can I be a mother?"
Lady Guo: "Your Majesty, please order an investigation."
Zhiyi held Sihe's hand and said, "Please ask the emperor to order an investigation."
Concubine Liang said tremblingly, "We have been in the palace for a long time, and only the Seventh Prince often comes to visit us. In our hearts, we already regard him as half a descendant. If Your Majesty still regards us as elders, please check it out."
"If it's just a rumor, we will come and apologize. If it's true, the child shouldn't have to suffer like this."
"Your Majesty, I beg you!" They knelt down, causing Emperor Chongzhao's eyelids to flutter. He hurried forward to support them, "My dear concubines, please don't do this."
He is so old now, and he still needs to be called a filial son after kneeling down and causing trouble.
Emperor Chongzhao had no choice but to say: "Xiao Qi is a meritorious official of the Great Zhou. I will definitely give everyone an explanation."
After finally persuading Concubine Xuan, Concubine Dowager and others to go back, Emperor Chongzhao called Wen Xiaochun.
Inside the west warm room.
Emperor Chongzhao: "I called you here to tell you something."
Wen Xiaochun: "Your Majesty ordered."
"Regarding the matter of the Seventh Prince," Emperor Chongzhao paused for a long time before slowly saying, "regardless of whether it is true or not, after you have found out, report it to me immediately."
"Yes," Wen Xiaochun asked softly, "but why not hand it over to the Dali Temple?"
Emperor Chongzhao: "The Dali Temple will preside over Lao Liu's case, and the East Factory can supervise it."
"clear."
Wen Xiaochun left the Zichen Palace and met Xi Zixing on the way back to the East Factory.
The two seemed to meet by chance and chatted casually.
Xi Zixing: "Successful?"
Wen Xiaochun: "Well, it's just that there is no clear purpose yet."
Private investigations are very limited.
Now that the matter of paper money has come to light, it would be better to bring it all to the surface. He needs someone completely trustworthy to become a knife and strongly advocate the investigation of the matter in the court, and to bring it up from time to time afterwards.
With the emperor's appointment, the East Factory can conduct investigations with full freedom.
-
After Xi Zixing's impeachment, the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate and the Dali Temple all quickly submitted a memorial regarding the use of paper money to seek redress.
Emperor Chongzhao officially issued an edict.
The investigation is fully entrusted to the Eastern Depot, with the assistance of the Ministry of Justice. They will conduct a strict investigation to determine whether the use of paper money to seek redress is indeed true or whether there are villains causing trouble.
When Qu Dubian heard about Concubine Xuan and the other concubines petitioning in the Zichen Palace, he made a special trip to the palace to check on them.
But when they asked if anyone had framed him, he just said he didn't know.
When leaving, Qu Dubian met the queen at the palace gate.
The Queen brought the twelve-year-old Princess Sihe and seemed to be waiting for him.
When Qu Dubian walked in, Princess Sihe looked up at the queen. The queen nodded at her, and Sihe walked forward. She bowed deeply, her voice still very childish.
"Sihe thanks Seventh Brother."
Qu Dubian remembered his blind character, resisted the urge to help him up, and turned his head to ask Ye Xiaoyuan: "What's wrong?"
Ye Xiaoyuan: "The Queen and Princess Sihe were in front, and Princess Sihe kowtowed."
Qu Watanabe: "Banban, help him up."
"No need," the queen said gently, "This gift is what she should do."
She also bowed: "I should thank you too."
Qu Dubian frowned and asked, "Empress, what are you doing?"
Sihe did not stand up, but raised his head and said seriously: "Seventh brother, you don't know how scared mother was when the news of Northern Xinjiang's request for peace came."
"Empress Dowager Zhou and Lady Guo have both experienced the pain of having their own flesh and blood go to the Northern Frontier. Mother said that if the Northern Frontier had not been destroyed, the Great Zhou and the Northern Frontier would have to go the way of marriage sooner or later, and the Great Zhou would still have daughters who were far away from their homeland. But if my seventh brother, General Xia, and the soldiers on the border completely defeated the Northern Frontier, we will be safe."
"Sihe's bow is on behalf of the royal family, clan women, and all the heroes who fought on the battlefield."
Qu Duanbian was speechless, then he smiled and waved, "Come."
Sihe then stood up and took the initiative to put his head into the palm of his seventh brother, who rubbed his head.
"Then my brother will bear it for the soldiers on the border." He pinched the little girl's cheek, "I feel like she has grown a lot taller."
The Queen said, "Yes, it has grown very fast this year."
She didn't want to waste any more of Qu Watanabe's time. "It's cold outside, so we won't say much. But if there's anything I can help with, just let me know."
Qu Watanabe nodded: "Thank you, Queen."
He was really not used to such a formal thank-you scene in private, and he didn't feel completely relieved until he left the palace.
-
Seven days later.
The Dali Temple investigated one by one the matter of the Sixth Prince and the Li family reselling weapons in Zhennan Pass.
Except for some minor discrepancies, everything else is true.
Treason during wartime is a foregone conclusion.
The Fifth Prince’s Mansion.
The second prince came to him with a pot of good wine.
The fifth prince was imprisoned in the mansion, sitting in front of the window all day. He was not surprised to see the second prince coming, "Sit down."
"I have secured for you a chance to redeem yourself from your crimes. I have personally taken Concubine Lan to prison and supervised the execution of the Li family." The Second Prince poured him a glass of wine. "Although I am a little tired, I think you are willing to do it."
The Fifth Prince: "Thank you, second brother."
"polite."
The Second Prince: "I wonder what Xiaowu's plans are next? Many people in Sixth Brother's team listen to you. Why don't you recruit them as your own people?"
The fifth prince smiled and said, "If I really do this, will my second brother let me go? You gave me advice and hinted to Li Fanyun to resell weapons to deal with Xiaoliu. You must have a backup plan to deal with me."
The second prince sighed: "It's not necessary. We have been together for so many years. I don't believe that Xiaowu doesn't have something on me."
"Are you referring to the incident with my third brother?" The fifth prince said, "What good will it do to tell me? In this situation, I can still be an idle prince. If I drag my second brother into this, I may not even be able to survive."
The Second Prince: "Okay, let's not talk about that nonsense."
The fifth prince drank two glasses of wine quietly, and suddenly asked: "Second brother, did you participate in Xiaoqi's affairs?"
"..." The second prince paused, "The paper money floating all over the city, is it you who made it?"
The Fifth Prince: “No.”
The Second Prince: "Then my answer is no."
"My brother has spoken out of turn," the fifth prince raised his glass, "I will drink a glass as a punishment."
Neither of them continued to talk about this topic. After the Second Prince left, the Fifth Prince sat quietly until dusk before he received the order to arrest and supervise the execution.
He changed his clothes and went to the inner prison of the harem.
Lanpin is a concubine. Before her guilt is confirmed, she has to stay in the inner prison and cannot be imprisoned like other officials.
The fifth prince entered the inner prison of the harem for the second time.
This time, no one stopped him like the time when he was a child. They all bowed their heads respectfully and waited on both sides.
The inner prison is dark and gloomy, and is a dirtier place in the entire harem than the cold palace. Countless palace maids have died there.
His mother was carried out from here.
The fifth prince stopped in front of Lanpin's cage and said, "Lady Lanpin, I'm here to take you to where you need to go."
Concubine Lan was combing her hair against the wall with her fingers. When she was captured here, she was paying respects to the Queen in the Palace, so she was still wearing luxurious clothes.
She hummed a little tune, pretending not to hear what the fifth prince said.
The fifth prince raised his hand.
Someone immediately came in behind her and arrested Concubine Lan. They forced her to stand still and dragged her out of the inner prison.
Lanpin seemed to have no reaction at all. Her delicate makeup was smudged and her eyes were staring blankly at a certain spot in the air.
"Fifth Prince, Concubine Lan seems to be...crazy."
The fifth prince was silent for a few seconds. "Crazy?" He chuckled. "Okay, let's go to the Ministry of Justice together and let the sixth brother see his mother's madness."
Concubine Lan was escorted to the Ministry of Justice. Countless palace maids and eunuchs saw her along the way and pointed at her crazy appearance.
After arriving at the prison of the Ministry of Justice, the Sixth Prince heard the noise, rushed over, grabbed the wooden pole of the cage, and said with bloodshot eyes: "Mother! Old Five, you ungrateful wolf, what did you do to my mother!"
The Fifth Prince: "Mother and son have a deep bond. Why don't we lock them up together?"
The moment the jailer opened the Fifth Prince's cell door and pushed Concubine Lan in, Lanbin's crazy look disappeared. Her eyes were fierce, and the short hairpin she had been holding in her hand stabbed hard into the Fifth Prince's neck!
"Bitch! I'll kill you!"
The fifth prince dodged but was still stabbed in the shoulder. He narrowed his eyes and kicked Concubine Lan away.
"Fifth Prince!"
"What are you standing there for? Take the man inside!"
The jailer hurriedly agreed, subdued the crazy Concubine Lan, took her into prison, and quickly locked her up.
Even so, Lanpin was still shaking the door lock frantically, "Bitch! Bitch! An ungrateful bastard! I raised you up like this, and you dared to stab my Xiaoliu in the back. You will not die well, you will not die well!"
The fifth prince pulled out the hairpin from his shoulder and threw it away.
He took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood off his hands.
The fifth prince was not angry, and said calmly: "It is you who died a miserable death. Isn't this good? Before my mother died, she wanted to be promoted to the position of concubine the most. You died as a concubine, so you should be satisfied, right?"
Concubine Lan's chest heaved violently. She looked at the Sixth Prince, whose eyes were filled with hatred, and suddenly paused, then closed her eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, he looked crazy again, and she laughed out loud.
"When you were kneeling in front of me like a dog, I wanted to say that you and your mother looked exactly like each other when you licked their faces and fawned on them."
"Actually, you know, right? Your mother's death has something to do with me."
The Sixth Prince was stunned and looked up suddenly: "Mother...?"
Lanpin grabbed the railing and stared at the Fifth Prince's face. "But it wasn't me who harmed her. I just asked someone to pass on a message that she would die sooner or later, and as long as she died, your future would be infinitely bright. Guess what happened? She hit her head against the wall the next day, hahahaha..."
She laughed so hard that she fell backwards. "A foolish person who is greedy for fame and fortune can also make way for his own child. Qu Dushen, do you hate me to death?"
The Fifth Prince's eyes were as dark as ink, and his fists were clenched tightly in his sleeves.
After a long time, he also smiled amid Lanbin's laughter.
"I will personally supervise your execution. Even if you die, your sixth brother is still alive. I will take good care of him for a long time."
Only Concubine Lan and the Sixth Prince were left in the prison.
The Sixth Prince murmured, "Mother, you killed the Fifth Prince's mother."
Lanpin slowly approached, held his face, and whispered: "If she doesn't die, how can I get rid of suspicion? Xiaoliu, mother will definitely die, but you can keep your life."
"Don't think what he said just now is harsh. In fact, as long as you don't seek revenge on him, he will ignore you, understand?"
The Sixth Prince looked at Concubine Lan. The image of his occasionally strict mother was gradually collapsing in his mind.
He leaned against the wall and slowly squatted down. Lanpin also slowly squatted down, and her voice became lower and lower, almost a whisper.
She wiped away her tears, her eyes red, and she was calculating: "But, but you'd better not stay in the capital. If I fall, then what I did before may not be hidden anymore. In order to prevent the Seventh Prince from taking revenge on you..."
The Sixth Prince said in a difficult tone: "Xiao Qi...revenge on me?"
Lanpin: "I have hurt him."
The Sixth Prince's eyes suddenly widened.
Lanpin: "I ordered the Imperial Hospital to give him an overdose of medicine, and his high fever almost burned him to death. I also instigated Concubine Chu to feed him the Wangye fruit... But that little bitch was lucky and escaped. Mother told you this so that you can be careful of him and don't let him hurt you."
She was still whispering something, but the Sixth Prince couldn't hear a word.
His ears were ringing and his eyes were blank.
"mother……"
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