Guan Bin told Fourth Master that he was acting under orders and didn't intend to claim credit. Fourth Master pressed him further, "You said you were acting under orders, was that person the Eighth Prince?"
Guan Bin had no choice but to admit that he was the Eighth Prince, but he was not only acting under the Eighth Prince's orders, but also had the Duke of England behind him.
Fourth Prince was greatly alarmed. He hadn't expected that Ulanara would be involved this time. So he suppressed his surprise and asked, "Duke of Yingguo? Explain the matter clearly."
Guan Bin said, "The Duke of Yingguo knows that the Emperor favors the Fourth Prince, but the current Empress has no sons, only the Second Prince is her adopted son. In order to make the Second Prince the Crown Prince and the Empress the Empress Dowager, and to consolidate the position of the Ulanara clan, he must make the Emperor treat him differently. So when the Emperor decided to send the Second Prince to provide disaster relief, the Duke of Yingguo and the Eighth Prince came up with a plan."
Fourth Master, seizing the key point, asked, "What method?"
"The Duke of Yingguo knew that the current emperor loved his people like his own children and favored benevolent people. So the Duke of Yingguo wrote to me to inquire about the disaster situation in Kaifeng Prefecture. Unfortunately, although it was a drought, Kaifeng Prefecture was not significantly affected. Even if the Second Prince came, he wouldn't need to do anything. Therefore, the Duke of Yingguo decided to make the drought worse." Guan Bin paused, then continued, "You'll know the rest. The Second Prince ordered the cessation of grain distribution to Geshan Village and had soldiers guard the village entrance to prevent anyone from leaving. In the end, most of the villagers in Geshan Village starved to death."
In order to save his own life, Guan Bin shifted the blame for ordering the cessation of food distribution and the responsibility for dealing with the officers and soldiers onto Hong Shi.
As Guan Bin spoke, Fourth Master's heart sank. Under the very nose of the Emperor, the Duke of Ying's mansion dared to do such a thing; it was tantamount to deceiving the Emperor. It seemed that this time they could not only arrest Eighth Master, but also wipe out the Empress's entire family.
The Ulanara clan has become far too audacious, to the point that they dared to do such a thing. If they are not dealt with soon, and are allowed to become the empress's clan again, it is hard to guarantee that they will not have designs on the throne.
The Fourth Prince thought to himself that the Empress must also know about this matter, because only if Hongshi becomes the Crown Prince can she eventually become the Empress. However, it seems that her time as Empress is coming to an end.
The Fourth Prince then asked, "Do you know why the Eighth Prince wanted to cooperate with the Duke of England?"
Fourth Master had always found it strange. Given Eighth Prince's personality, he was never willing to be subordinate to anyone, especially since Fourth Master had suppressed him for so many years. How could he possibly be focused on supporting his own son? Therefore, it could only be that the Duke of Ying had some kind of deal with him, or that he was plotting something.
Guan Bin replied, "This humble official does not know."
Then he kowtowed and said, "This humble official has told everything he knows, please spare my life, sir! Spare my life!"
The Fourth Prince ignored him and said to Li Wan, "Throw him into the death row and forbid anyone from seeing him!"
After Fourth Master left, Li Wan instructed the jailers to keep a close eye on Guan Bin and make sure nothing happened to him, and then followed Fourth Master out.
With the matter settled, the Fourth Prince boarded his carriage to return to the palace. Li Wan knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, this humble subject respectfully sees you off!"
Looking in the direction the carriage had gone, Li Wan muttered to himself, "The world is about to change! I wonder what kind of scene will appear in the capital this time, the Duke of Ying, the Ulanara clan, the Eighth Prince, and the Second Prince."
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