In reality, the situation is far worse and more complicated than what Li Chenjiao knows.
Xiao Luzi learned that Suo Xiang had been dismissed from his post and confined to his residence as before, but in reality, Suo Etu had already been taken to the Imperial Clan Court and detained.
The charges against him were: failing to properly educate the Crown Prince, instigating the Crown Prince to rebel, and inciting the Crown Prince to disobey the Emperor. Suddenly, countless accusations were leveled against Prime Minister Suo.
Fourth Master didn't hear at all how many crimes Liang Jiugong read out.
After His Majesty spoke, the Hall of Preserving Harmony fell into a deathly silence. At that time, Prime Minister Suo was not in the palace. The person who came today was Prime Minister Suo's son. Upon hearing this, Empress Hesheli immediately fainted.
When Prime Minister Su heard that the Crown Prince had fallen ill in Dezhou, he also fell ill and never recovered. Although it wasn't as dramatic as his hair turning white overnight, it wasn't far off.
The long silence in the Hall of Preserving Harmony was finally broken by His Majesty's voice. He suddenly pointed to Prince Zhi and said, "Baoqing, go and keep an eye on things on behalf of Father Emperor."
What were they watching? Naturally, it was the matter of taking Suo'etu to the Imperial Clan Court.
However, Prince Zhi and the Crown Prince have never gotten along very well...
What does it mean that His Majesty has chosen Prince Zhi?
Before anyone could think, the Fourth Prince suddenly stood up from his seat: "Father, Prime Minister Suo is old, and I request to travel with my elder brother."
The Third Master, who was sitting in front of the Fourth Master, turned around, but his eyes looked at him as if he were a fool.
Seeing this, Fifth Master hesitated. He wasn't exactly a man of strong opinions, and it would be a lie to say he wasn't worried and curious. But seeing that his father, the Emperor, was in a fit of anger, he really didn't have the courage to speak up.
In the end, Fifth Master still didn't speak. But while he was thinking and hesitating, Eighth Master behind him stood up without hesitation after Fourth Master did.
The Emperor did not object; he waved his hand and said, "Let's go together."
The fourth and eighth princes of the Zhijun County immediately bowed.
The current steward of the Imperial Clan Court is Yarjianga, the son of the former Imperial Clan Court's Chief Clan Member, Prince Jian.
Yarjan had put in a lot of effort to keep this job. He was a shrewd man, and although he had inherited the title, he knew that no matter how good the title was, it was not as important as a real job.
To keep this job, he even pulled some strings with the Fourth Master.
The Fourth Prince did not avoid all social interactions outside the court; otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to gain a foothold in the imperial court. For example, in the Ministry of Revenue, everyone praised the Fourth Prince highly. Besides the fact that the Fourth Prince was indeed capable, he naturally had to attend to social engagements.
If we're talking about the person holding the kite string, the Fourth Prince's grasp of the nuances was absolutely masterful.
Upon arriving at the Imperial Clan Court, Yarjianga, who had already received the news, greeted the gentlemen and went to see Suo'etu. During the visit, he secretly made a gesture to the Fourth Prince.
Although Soetu was detained by order of the Emperor, he was not punished. Yarjianga was indeed shrewd, and he did not dare to torture Soetu. He simply chose a not-too-bad torture chamber to imprison Soetu.
Even though it was during his visit to the imperial palace, the Fourth Prince hadn't seen Suo'etu for more than half a year.
Soetu is getting old. After several dynasties, this pillar of the Hesheli clan is also getting old. As for how much longer he can support the Hesheli clan, no one can say for sure.
Soetu faced the dark wall and did not turn to look at the crowd even though he heard the noise.
Eighth Master smiled gently: "Prime Minister Suo is old and frail. Why didn't you prepare charcoal and blankets to entertain him? Aren't you afraid that Prime Minister Suo will blame you and hold a grudge after he leaves?"
Fourth Master gave Eighth Master a cold glance.
While Lao Ba's words appeared to be in support of Suo Xiang, they were actually sarcastic. He felt that Suo Xiang's current prison cell was too comfortable, implying that Ya Erjiang'a's arrangement was to prevent Suo Xiang from blaming him after he left the Imperial Clan Court.
Before Yarjianga could explain, the Prince of Zhi sneered, "Whether he can leave or not is still unknown. He's allowed the Crown Prince to commit so many misdeeds... Prime Minister Suo, Prime Minister Suo..."
These two have really started playing the good cop/bad cop game.
Fourth Master's face turned cold, and he immediately spoke up: "What are you all standing there for? Didn't you hear your Eighth Master ordering the preparation of charcoal fire blankets? It's too early to use charcoal fires now. Tell someone to prepare some warm water."
Eighth Master was taken aback and looked at Fourth Master with a strange expression.
Fourth Master looked back at him, his expression unchanged: "Eighth Brother, wasn't that what you meant just now?"
Yarjiang Adang immediately flattered him smoothly: "I have long heard of Eighth Master's virtue and talent, and seeing him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved. This servant will go and give the order right away."
He bowed, turned around, and disappeared.
Prince Zhi seemed unconcerned about such trivial matters. He left Haha Zhuzi by his side to keep a close watch on the people, and spoke without any restraint: "Keep a close eye on them, lest they die out of guilt."
Sometimes, living is more agonizing than dying.
Prince Zhi did not linger and soon sat down in a bright spot outside.
The Fourth Prince stood outside the cell door for a while, during which time Suo'etu remained motionless, like a living dead man.
The cramped environment in the dungeon was suffocating, and this was probably the first time for Suo'etu, who once held immense power in the court.
Fourth Master didn't stay long either. There were still too many things he couldn't understand after what had happened today. He was accompanied by Fu Lu, not Su Peisheng, at the moment.
After they left, Fulu whispered, "Prince Jian sent someone to say that the imperial physician has arrived, but he will not dare to bring him in for Prime Minister Suo to examine until late at night."
Moreover, with Prince Zhi guarding outside right now, it's probably... as difficult as ascending to heaven.
The Fourth Prince hummed in agreement: "Thank him on my behalf. How is the manor?"
Fu Lu still spoke in a low voice: "As per Master's instructions, the guards escorted us all the way back to the manor. Nothing went wrong."
The Fourth Prince hummed in agreement again, but his voice still betrayed his weariness: "Tell the Princess Consort to keep the doors and windows closed these days. Go back to the manor and tidy up your things. I will be staying at the Ministry of Revenue for the next few days."
Halfway there, Fourth Master suddenly asked, "Have you received a letter from Thirteenth Master?"
Fu Lu shook his head and said truthfully, "The Thirteenth Prince just sent a letter a few days ago, so it will probably take a few more days."
The letter written by the Thirteenth Prince to the Fourth Prince could not possibly be delivered to the capital by express courier.
Fourth Master waved his hand, indicating that Fulu didn't need to say anything more: "We'll just send it directly to the Ministry of Revenue then."
As they were talking, Fourth Master finally stepped out of the cramped dungeon, and his breathing became much easier.
Prince Zhi was sitting upright, drinking tea. When he saw the Fourth Prince, he smiled and said, "Fourth Prince, sometimes you really are hard to dislike..."
The Fourth Prince was puzzled, but he didn't ask. He simply sat down on the other side and quietly waited for his father's decree.
Aside from the obvious crimes, he was also wondering what could have made his father so furious that he had Suo'etu brought to the Imperial Clan Court and refused to listen to a single word of Suo'etu's explanation.
He already had a guess that this was probably related to the Crown Prince again.
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