Chapter 169 Crown Prince Su Xuanmao is deposed
He became suspicious of Su Xuanmao at the time, but when he thought that Su Xuanmao was usually quite filial to him, he felt that Su Xuanmao was not involved in this matter.
Emperor Anqing had been brainwashing himself, believing that Su Xuanmao had discovered this matter so easily because of his own abilities.
But now, with the bloody evidence laid out before him, he had no choice but to take a good look at his good son and see what his true colors were behind the scenes.
"Is it safe outside now?"
"Your Majesty, everything is safe outside!"
"How are those ministers?" Emperor Anqing asked with a stern face.
"Your Majesty, after the incident, all the wealthy families in Jiangnan fled, leaving only a few children who couldn't escape. As for the ministers..."
"Only the Regent and his wife, along with Lord Wen, didn't flee; everyone else ran for their lives!"
Upon hearing that Yan Jue and Shen Pingjin had not fled, Emperor Anqing frowned slightly.
"Are they alright?"
"Your Majesty, apart from bloodstains on their clothes, the three of them had no wounds on their bodies."
"Alright, take me out."
The two guards agreed, but then they looked at the bewildered Young Master Lanting and said, "Your Majesty, should we kill this young master? He just overheard our conversation!"
Emperor Anqing frowned slightly and shook his head: "No need. Take him to an inn and settle him in properly. He took a sword for me and is my savior."
The two guards nodded and escorted Emperor Anqing and the bewildered Young Master Lanting outside.
Yan Jue and Shen Pingjin were discussing something when they suddenly caught a glimpse of a bright yellow hem in their peripheral vision.
"emperor!"
"emperor!"
Shen Pingjin and Yan Jue stepped forward together and spoke.
Emperor Anqing's expression remained indifferent. "I am fine, but it is you who have been frightened along with me."
Shen Pingjin raised her hand in a gesture of respect: "Your Majesty is the ruler of the country. It is our duty as your wife and the Regent to wait for Your Majesty here."
Su Xuanmao was also with Shen Ruixue. Shen Ruixue's face was flushed and her eyes were glazed over.
Just now, the bodyguards she had paid for also appeared among the many assassins. She originally planned to take advantage of the chaos to have those assassins kidnap Shen Pingjin and then order someone to destroy her innocence.
But who would have thought that Yan Jue would guard Shen Pingjin so closely, and that the two of them would not run away with composure!
Shen Ruixue gritted her teeth; both of them were despicable!
Su Xuanmao looked at the stupid Shen Ruixue and slapped her across the face. He hadn't missed the scheming glint in Shen Ruixue's eyes!
This stupid woman must have done something bad again, but Su Xuanmao didn't believe that these men in black were sent by Shen Ruixue, because he felt that Shen Ruixue didn't have the courage or ability to do so.
Upon seeing Emperor Anqing standing unharmed before him, Su Xuanmao hurriedly stepped forward and knelt on the ground.
“Father, I have arrived late to save you and have failed to prepare a proper farewell banquet. I beg you to punish me.”
"You know that too?"
Emperor Anqing glanced at Su Xuanmao kneeling on the ground but did not tell him to get up.
"Father..."
Su Xuanmao's body trembled violently.
Emperor Anqing sneered, "My good son, do you think I don't know what you've done?"
"Splat—"
Emperor Anqing took a thick stack of Xuan paper from his sleeve and threw it heavily on the ground.
Paper fluttered in the bloody breeze, and a few drifted down to Su Xuanmao's feet. Su Xuanmao was still puzzled, but when he saw the handwriting on the paper, he was shocked!
This, this isn't...
These are pieces of evidence that belonged to Fang Shengde; how could they be in the Emperor's hands?
A heart suddenly pounded in his chest, and Su Xuanmao tried his best to calm himself down.
"Father, what is this?"
Looking at Su Xuanmao, who was trying his best to remain calm, Emperor Anqing felt a chill in his heart.
He wasn't stupid. Even if he was confused at this moment, he understood that Su Xuanmao must have been involved in the smuggling of salt.
"Isn't all the evidence written down here? My good son, didn't you see it?"
Su Xuanmao's heart skipped a beat, realizing something was wrong. He was about to raise his head to say something when he met Emperor Anqing's gloomy eyes.
"Father..."
"Smack—"
Su Xuanmao was met with a heavy slap from Emperor Anqing.
Su Xuanmao covered his face in disbelief. "Father, why did you hit me?"
Emperor Anqing found himself ridiculous; his son, who usually appeared so filial and peaceful, was probably just faking it!
Behind the scenes, they probably wish he would die quickly so they could rightfully inherit his throne.
Not only did they dare to get involved in the illegal salt trade, but they also kept him in the dark and manipulated him completely...
Since that's the case, then I'll ensure that you'll never inherit the throne!
"Eunuch Shun!"
Eunuch Shun walked to Emperor Anqing's side and said, "This servant is here."
"Issue the imperial decree: From this day forward, the Crown Prince is stripped of his title for his unforgivable crime of engaging in the illegal trade of salt."
"Father!"
Su Xuanmao listened in disbelief as Emperor Anqing stripped him of his title as crown prince, his expression blank and furious.
Emperor Anqing merely sneered at this sight.
"The evidence is conclusive. Do you dare to say that you did not participate in the buying and selling of smuggled salt? I originally thought you were calm and filial, but I never expected that you would join forces with my old ministers to weaken the central government and seek personal gain, disregarding the lives of the people."
"If I hadn't obtained this evidence by chance, I'm afraid I would have been kept in the dark until my death."
"No, Father, that's not how it is. Father, please let me explain."
Su Xuanmao crawled forward, trying to grab Emperor Anqing's sleeve.
He was once so high and mighty, but now he is just as destitute and down on his luck.
Shen Ruixue couldn't believe it. Was this still the same Crown Prince who was once aloof, dignified, and upright?
Shen Ruixue covered her face, feeling the pain in her cheek.
For some reason, she felt a sense of satisfaction.
"I am the Emperor. Once I have spoken, I cannot take it back."
Emperor Anqing looked coldly at his son, feeling somewhat distressed.
But he's not even dead yet and Su Xuanmao is already like this. What if he gets seriously ill one day and he can't live to die a natural death before he's stripped of his power?
He could not tolerate such a thing happening.
Thinking this, Emperor Anqing glanced coldly at Eunuch Shun beside him.
Eunuch Shun was somewhat embarrassed: "Your Majesty, this is not the capital. This servant... this servant does not know who to convey the imperial decree to."
Emperor Anqing snorted coldly: "Once we arrive in the capital, I will immediately draft an edict and announce it to the world."
Su Xuanmao, who was still planning to plead with Emperor Anqing, couldn't hold back any longer and fell to the ground like a kite with a broken string.
He looked blank, as if he didn't believe it.
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