The Sixth Prince found it difficult to continue speaking at this point.
Qiao Qiu raised an eyebrow slightly. She had to admit, that was a brilliantly crafted excuse. Indeed, she had taken a liking to Yu Honghua and had even married her.
The emperor glanced at Qiao Qiu, noticed the change in her expression, and was both amused and annoyed. With a stern face, he said to the Sixth Prince, "Continue."
"My brother has amassed a great deal of wealth and has so many men. He... he's planning a rebellion, Father!" the Sixth Prince said with a heavy heart.
These words immediately caused an uproar throughout the court and the public.
"What did you say?!" The emperor had already guessed this, but hearing the sixth prince say it still chilled him to the bone.
The Second Prince looked at the Sixth Prince and silently shook his head. If Dongfang Wuche could be brought down with just a few slanderous words, why would he have fought with him for so many years?
"Father, my brothers and Lord Liu left first, so they don't know much about it, but this is indeed true. Murong Wenfeng from Nanyang can testify to this." Murong Wenfeng is the richest man in Nanyang. His father is a royal merchant and has some connection with the court.
As soon as Murong Wenfeng was mentioned, the officials started discussing it again. Everyone knew that the royal merchant Murong Shiyu only had one son, Murong Wenfeng, and this son could be described as a business genius. Such a genius was also a close friend of Meng Yuanqing, the richest man in Jinxi Kingdom. Such a status was enough to make people take him seriously.
The emperor also values this talent highly. It seems that the sixth prince has really gone all out to get such a person's help.
"If there are witnesses, where are they?"
"Your Majesty, the witness is outside the main hall," the Sixth Prince replied.
The emperor's eyes grew even colder. Was the sixth prince preparing to take drastic measures? Was he being a little too eager to kill Che'er?
He then looked at Dongfang Wuche, who remained calm throughout. The other party remained silent, his expression unchanged, displaying an unwavering composure.
The emperor paused for a moment. He felt he should trust his wisest son; he must have his own ideas, otherwise he wouldn't have remained silent until now.
"Announce!"
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Gui immediately bowed, stepped forward, stood up straight, and announced loudly, "Summon Murong Wenfeng to the palace!"
As soon as Eunuch Gui finished his announcement, the little eunuch standing guard at the door immediately relayed the message a second time.
A moment later, a handsome young man walked in from outside the hall.
Murong Wenfeng walked to the center of the hall and knelt down before the emperor. "This humble subject pays his respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"
A hint of regret flashed across the emperor's face. This Murong Wenfeng seemed like a good person, so how did he end up doing such a stupid thing with Lao Liu?
"Rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"So you want to prove that the Crown Prince harbors rebellious intentions?" The Emperor's words were ambiguous, revealing neither his joy nor anger.
All the ministers stared at Murong Wenfeng as if he were a fool. The Sixth Prince dealing with the Crown Prince was one thing; perhaps the Crown Prince, out of consideration for their brotherhood, would spare his life. But who was Murong Wenfeng? Just a commoner. The Crown Prince could crush him as easily as crushing an ant.
"Your Majesty, I have indeed come to testify, but not to prove that the Crown Prince harbors rebellious intentions. Rather, I have come to prove that the Sixth Prince framed His Highness the Crown Prince!" Murong Wenfeng said firmly.
Everyone except Qiao Qiu was shocked by this reversal. Especially the Sixth Prince, whose incriminating evidence was still in Murong Wenfeng's hands.
The Emperor concealed his shock and looked at Qiao Qiu, who showed no surprise whatsoever. "Ah, no wonder he said this kid hadn't uttered a word from beginning to end; it turns out it was all pre-arranged. Now it seems Murong Wenfeng is one of his men."
"What evidence do you have to prove that the Sixth Prince framed the Crown Prince? Murong Wenfeng has already made his move, and there's no turning back. If your evidence is insufficient, the consequences will be more than you can bear."
Although these words clearly showed some favoritism towards the Sixth Prince, Murong Wenfeng could tell that the Emperor was obviously more relaxed than before. This subtle difference was enough to prove that the Emperor's favorite was actually His Highness the Crown Prince.
Rumors circulated that the Emperor and the Crown Prince were secretly vying for power, more like enemies than father and son. Now it seems these rumors are unreliable.
Murong Wenfeng cupped his hands and replied, "Your Majesty, a few days ago, the Sixth Prince came to Nanyang City and secretly met with me. He asked me to confirm that all the recent rumors about Feihong Mountain were true. At that time, the Sixth Prince promised to give me a South China Sea luminous pearl as a thank you gift, and there is a written agreement and seal as proof."
"Where's the paper?" The Emperor glared angrily at the Sixth Prince. How could he have such a stupid son? He had done something wrong, and yet he was rushing to hand over the evidence to someone else.
"Your Majesty, it's in the hands of His Highness the Crown Prince."
Qiao Qiu took out a small bottle, uncorked it, and took out the evidence folded into small rectangles, which she gave to Eunuch Gui.
When the Sixth Prince saw Qiao Qiu take it out, his face turned deathly pale.
Judging from the matter he asked Murong Wenfeng for help, and the things he said today, even a fool would know what he's up to.
The Emperor was so angry his eyebrows shot up. When he saw that the paper really did bear the Sixth Prince's private seal, he slammed it on the dragon-carved armrest and threw the paper away. "Sixth Prince, look at this! You've really grown up, haven't you? You've even developed your own thoughts, and you've even framed your own elder brother! Do you know what the crime of plotting to usurp the throne is?!"
The Sixth Prince, his legs trembling, knelt down with a thud, his face pale and his voice trembling with sobs, and said, "Father, I was wrong, Father, please forgive me this time. Royal Brother, Eldest Royal Brother, please forgive my rudeness, I was wrong, I will definitely change in the future."
"This fool, still dreaming?" Qiao Qiu sighed and said earnestly, "Sixth brother, with the laws of the court in place, there is nothing I can do."
"From today onwards, the title of Prince Dongfang Wuju is hereby revoked. He is demoted to a commoner and forbidden to use the royal surname Dongfang. He must change his surname to his mother's and be exiled to the northernmost border. He will never return to the court. Guards, take him away!" The emperor waved his hand, not wanting to see this son again.
"Father, Father, spare my life!" Dongfang Wuju was truly terrified this time and realized the seriousness of the situation, but it was too late.
Two guards came in and dragged him out.
This farce was both expected and unexpected by everyone.
With the Crown Prince's abilities, resolving this matter would have been a piece of cake. But what they didn't expect was that the Crown Prince only uttered one innocuous sentence from beginning to end, completely devoid of the verbal sparring they had imagined.
This incident further amplified the ministers' perception of the Crown Prince as terrifying. And in the eyes of his brothers, he seemed even more dangerous.
The emperor was in a bad mood, so the morning court session ended quickly.
Murong Wenfeng had obviously been categorized as part of the Crown Prince's faction, so Qiao Qiu had a legitimate reason to invite him to the Eastern Palace.
"I never would have guessed that my friend of many years is actually the Crown Prince who commands respect throughout the land." Murong Wenfeng laughed. "No wonder, if it weren't for you, it would be hard to explain how those old foxes in the business world could be so easily manipulated by a young man in his early twenties."
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