Chapter 240 The Truth
But being an old man with great foresight, he did not show any fear or guilt in front of the emperor. Prince Shuo lifted up his skirt and knelt down with a frank attitude.
"Royal brother, it's easy to find a pretext to accuse someone of a crime. It's obvious that these two people were tortured and forced to confess. How can we believe their words?" Prince Shuo argued.
The emperor frowned when he heard this and said, "You mean you were wronged? But at that time, the King of Qin and his men were already imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison. Who in the court or the public would dare to instruct them to wrongly accuse a prince like you?"
"Brother Royal, I have been out of the court for so many years and have not even attended the morning court. Why should I do all this? What benefit will I get from framing the Crown Prince and the King of Qin?" Prince Shuo said righteously.
Over the years, he has always portrayed himself as a free and easy person in front of his brother. Not only does he not participate in government affairs, he even leaves the capital from time to time to travel, and his princesses are all women of low status and good looks.
After he said that, the emperor really believed it a little and sighed, "If it wasn't you, then who else could it be? Who could do so many things behind the scenes?"
Pei Jingchuan saw this and stepped forward, cupping his hands and saying, "Your Majesty, if the King of Qin is successfully framed, not only will the Crown Prince be gone, but the King of Qin will also be finished. Prince Yu and the Sixth Prince will also be in trouble at this time. If it is not put out in time, I am afraid they will also be gone. The other two princes are still young. If Your Majesty suffers this blow and gets sick, then the only one who can benefit in the end will be Prince Shuo."
Prince Shuo wanted to excuse himself, and he wanted to analyze the pros and cons for the emperor. Sure enough, after the emperor heard it, his brain suddenly became clear. Yes! If all this happens successfully, then wouldn't Prince Shuo be the one who benefits? His brothers, in the early years, either died because of their failed struggle for the throne with him, or were sent to remote fiefdoms. Several of them have died.
Now, the only one alive and well is Prince Shuo. If all his adult princes died and he himself got into trouble, wouldn't the imperial power be lost? For so many years, Prince Shuo seemed to have no interest in government affairs, but what if he was just pretending? After all, imperial power is a very attractive thing. So, the look he gave Prince Shuo changed instantly.
Of course, Prince Shuo also felt this change. A sinister look flashed across his drooping eyes. Pei Jingchuan was indeed his biggest worry. This time, he framed him but failed, and he was able to stand up. That's right! Could the person behind the scenes be him?
Suddenly, Prince Shuo understood and felt that this possibility was very high.
"Royal brother, I am so disappointed in you! It turns out that you have been pretending for so many years? You are my only brother now, and I have never treated you unfairly!" The emperor looked at Prince Shuo with disappointment and said.
Prince Shuo was of course nervous now. He knelt on the ground with a plop and cried, "Brother, you have to believe me! If I really had this intention, then why did I risk my life to save you? Back then, you and Prince Jing were fighting. If I hadn't blocked the knife for you, then maybe I would be the one sitting on the throne. Why did I do all this today? Brother, don't listen to other people's instigation! I am really wronged! For so many years, I have been absolutely loyal to you! You have to believe me!"
Prince Shuo spoke with tears in his eyes, and the emperor, who had been doubting him, was immediately moved. Suddenly, she remembered that when she was fighting for the throne more than 20 years ago, she and Prince Jing were evenly matched and fought to the death. Once, she was surrounded by Prince Jing and was almost assassinated by his men. Fortunately, Prince Shuo, who was standing by, blocked the knife for her.
Although the knife didn't kill Prince Shuo, it made him lie down for more than a month. After he succeeded in his bid for the throne, Prince Shuo was afraid that he would be suspicious, so he took the initiative to resign and stay away from the court to become an idle prince. How could the person who was able to block the knife for him back then want to snatch his throne now?
If he really had this intention, he should have just not saved him and let him be stabbed to death.
Seeing the emperor's expression gradually changing, Prince Shuo couldn't help but slowly let go of his worries, and even proudly cast a provocative look at Pei Jingchuan. Even if they had done everything they could, so what? Back then, he had blocked a knife for the emperor. With this unique brotherhood, the emperor would definitely let him go.
Pei Jingchuan had no idea that such a thing had happened back then. He and the King of Qin had originally planned very well, and both believed that this time the evidence was complete and that Prince Shuo would surely be convicted, but they had not expected such a thing to suddenly happen halfway.
As expected, the emperor was silent for a while before he sighed and said, "I have asked people to continue investigating this matter. I think someone is trying to frame me for internal strife in Daxia. It may be the work of an enemy country."
"Your Majesty is wise! You have not been deceived by outsiders. I will also ask people to investigate this matter thoroughly. No one will be allowed to persecute our Great Xia!" Prince Shuo kowtowed and knelt to express his gratitude.
"Okay, all of you may leave now! You all must continue to investigate this matter. You must investigate it thoroughly and do not let the truth go unpunished." Then, the emperor rubbed his brows and gave perfunctory instructions to Prince Qin and Pei Jingchuan.
After the King of Qin and the others looked at each other, they could not say anything more and could only quietly retreat. This evidence was presented to the emperor in such a complete manner, and they did not believe it. What else could they say?
However, they were more curious about what happened back then. So, after leaving the palace, the King of Qin followed Pei Jingchuan to the Duke of Ying's mansion.
The Duke of Yingguo was the one who accompanied the Emperor all the way. In the battle for the throne, the Prince of Pingnan wanted to participate and stand on the Emperor's side.
“I didn’t see this incident with my own eyes. I was leading the troops outside the city at the time and were about to attack the city. Prince Jing’s men were already at the end of their strength. When I entered the city, I heard that Prince Shuo blocked a knife for the emperor.
At that time, I felt a little confused. Obviously, Prince Jing's people had been almost all cleared out, so why were there still assassins arranged by Prince Jing around the emperor?
Because of this, the emperor was very grateful to Prince Shuo. Among all his brothers, this was the only one who was treated well by the emperor. "
After listening to Pei Jingchuan and the others talk about the palace, Duke Ying recalled what happened back then and said, "How could Prince Shuo, with his character, take the knife for the emperor? Why do I not believe it? If it is true as they said, if there is such an opportunity to kill the emperor and Prince Shuo can take the throne, Prince Shuo will definitely not give up? Well... there must be something else behind this matter. I guess my young master and the others don't know what happened! Let me go over and see what happened."
Xu Qingyan, who was standing aside, could not help but rest her chin with one hand, thinking secretly in her heart: [So that's how it is! This emperor is really too sleepy! At that time, he was playing both sides, and he was not aggressive on the surface, but he secretly joined the emperor and Prince Jing. The assassins around the emperor at that time were arranged by him. He arranged a lot of people around the emperor, and even now, there are Prince Shuo's people around the emperor. Originally, the knife was intended to kill the emperor, but the guards under the Duke happened to lead the team to attack, and he saw it and was about to save the emperor. If he didn't block the knife at that time, the knife would not hurt the emperor, so he threw himself on the knife! ]
Pei Jingchuan and the Duke of England knew that Xu Qingyan was truly capable, and upon hearing this, they both became concerned.
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