Chapter 49: Letter from Luzhou, the Crown Prince is punished
Xiao Qinggu blinked, "What I want is the evidence that the Shang family was framed, not the testimony that the prince swallowed up the disaster relief money."
Moreover, Xiao Qingji's words at that time could be regarded as a denial, but Xiao Qinggu could also see that her good second brother was definitely not innocent.
Shang Yuwan chuckled.
"No matter what the evidence is, isn't Her Royal Highness the Princess on our side?"
"Besides, if I had directly told him that the Crown Prince had falsely accused General Shang of treason, I'm afraid he would have tried his best to kill us all."
Xiao Qinggu understood Shang Yuwan's meaning very clearly.
How could Xiao Qinggu not have seen the clue when she saw Xiao Qingji's reaction when Shang Yuwan mentioned the title of the eldest princess? Who knows what the two of them and Lang Jiang had done in secret? Shang Junhu was most likely caught in the act of collaborating with the enemy because he had discovered their secret.
Once the princess and the prince were in cahoots, the people Xiao Qingji brought with him must have been more than just those in the open. Who knows how many more were hiding behind the scenes. If Shang Yuwan had revealed the affairs of the Shang family at that time, Xiao Qingji and those who had been hiding behind the scenes and had not taken action would have killed them even at the risk of their lives in order to protect Xiao Tong.
Xiao Qinggu lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then turned to look at the raindrops dripping from the windowsill.
Tonight, it started raining again.
Xiao Qinggu finally made up his mind.
"He shouldn't be sitting in that seat anyway."
Shang Yuwan and Xiao Qingxu looked at each other, and both saw joy in each other's eyes.
Lu Heying smiled lazily and said nothing.
The letter has been delivered, and Xiao Qinggu and Lu Heying have returned to their rooms to rest.
Before leaving, Shang Yuwan suddenly asked Xiao Qingxu a question.
"Since that night, the emperor seems to have sent no one again, but what have you done?"
Xiao Qingxu heard that she was testing him and smiled slightly.
"Isn't it good that someone is secretly helping me?"
Since Shang Yuwan has discovered this, then Yao Lao's plan should be successful.
Shang Yuwan looked at him for a few seconds, then finally just smiled it off.
Forget it, as long as he helps her succeed, no matter who he is or what he does behind her back, it doesn’t matter to her.
The next morning, the news of Gao Zhu's death spread throughout Luzhou City. Xiao Qinggu, along with Shang Yuwan and others, quickly stabilized the situation in the city, comforting the people in the city while waiting for news from the court.
Kyoto, Imperial Palace.
Emperor Chengming was wearing casual clothes, with only a silver jade hairpin on his head. He supported his head with one hand and sat in front of the desk with his body tilted.
Prime Minister Zhao Zhouxing knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, please make a decision for me!"
Emperor Chengming hummed nonchalantly. "You're saying that your family's Zhao Xiang wanted to gain merit in front of the Crown Prince, so he ran to Luzhou City to help him, but happened to see the Crown Prince embezzling the disaster relief money needed by the people. After being discovered, he was hunted down and tried to silence him?"
The Prime Minister was silent for a while, then said, "Yes!"
Emperor Chengming looked at Xiao Qingji who was kneeling beside the prime minister.
"What do you want to say?"
Xiao Qingji replied quickly, "The Prime Minister colluded with the Lord of Luzhou City to embezzle money. I blame this son for being weak-minded and succumbing to the bribes of this traitor. I accept the punishment. Please, Father, reduce the punishment!"
“…”
A strand of hair fell in front of his eyes, and Emperor Chengming almost rolled his eyes at him, but in the end he sighed softly.
Emperor Chengming picked up several memorials from the desk and threw them in front of the prime minister, "Read them for yourself."
The Prime Minister took it in his hand, took a closer look, and was immediately panicked. He kowtowed hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please understand! I have devoted my life to Dayu, and it is impossible..."
"Master Prime Minister, are you saying that I have slandered you?"
Before seeing the person, he heard the voice first. The prime minister froze and Xiao Qingji's breathing even stopped.
Emperor Chengming looked up and asked, "Why didn't you inform me that Seventh Sister was coming?"
Xiao Tong was wearing a gorgeous red dress and smiling brightly.
"Brother, are you blaming me?"
Emperor Chengming smiled and shook his head, "How could that be? I also want to thank Seventh Sister for uncovering this venomous creature for Dayu."
The Prime Minister was horrified and looked up, "Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chengming looked at him with an air of brooking no argument, "Still quibbling?"
"The whole world belongs to the emperor. I stay in the palace all year round, and the prime minister thinks I'm blind?"
The prime minister was shocked, and Xiao Qingji and Xiao Tong also realized that something was wrong.
Emperor Chengming was too lazy to waste words and waved his hand. "Zhao Zhou has committed corruption and bribery, exploiting the people. His crimes are unforgivable. Drag him out, cut off his tongue, and behead him at noon tomorrow. All the stolen money will be confiscated and handed over to the national treasury. The Zhao family will be demoted to commoners."
Xiao Qingji is the crown prince, and there is no other suitable candidate to replace him for the time being. Emperor Chengming naturally cannot convict Xiao Qingji according to the facts, and can only let the Zhao family take the blame.
The prime minister was in disbelief and had his mouth stuffed. No matter how much he whimpered, he was dragged out and had his tongue cut out.
Emperor Chengming issued another decree: "Crown Prince Xiao Qingji was lured into embezzling disaster relief funds. Considering that he repented in time, he will not be severely punished."
"But the death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot be escaped."
Emperor Chengming looked coldly at the back of Xiao Qingji's head.
"You will be confined to the Eastern Palace for two years, and all your salary for the five years will be handed over to Luzhou City for disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction."
Sending all his money to Luzhou City would be a great help to Xiao Qinggu and the others, wouldn't it?
Even though Xiao Qingji was dissatisfied in his heart, he still held back his anger and said, "Thank you, Father, for your mercy."
Xiao Qingji left the hall, and Emperor Chengming looked at Xiao Tong who had not left yet.
"Seventh sister, is there anything else?"
Xiao Tong smiled and asked, "Royal brother, are you not in a hurry to get Gu'er back?"
"Gu'er cares about the people and came to Prince Zeng's aid when he was overwhelmed. Prince Zeng's letter was delivered to my desk early this morning. Do I really want to refuse his honor?"
Xiao Tong naturally had no objection. "My royal brother is tolerant, but we still need to have a good talk with the child when he returns. After all, he is about to enter his marriage, and he should not act recklessly anymore."
Emperor Chengming curled his lips. "Gu'er also sent a letter, saying that he wants to nominate someone to be the new city lord. I've checked, and he's a good person."
Xiao Tong asked, "Did my brother agree?"
Emperor Chengming raised his eyebrows.
"Why not agree? Since he's a capable person, and can be used by Dayu and benefit the people, why not?"
Xiao Tong thought about it carefully and felt that there was nothing else to do, so he bowed and took his leave.
Emperor Chengming looked at her back and narrowed his eyes.
"Seventh sister."
Xiao Tong had just taken a few steps when she heard Emperor Chengming calling her and turned around.
"This seat shouldn't be occupied by someone who despises the common people. Am I right?"
Xiao Tong seemed confused, "So, my royal brother, do you want to change the crown prince?"
"...No, I was just expressing my feelings. Ji'er was just bewitched for a moment, and it hasn't reached that point yet."
Emperor Chengming smiled harmlessly.
"I heard that Seventh Sister recently injured her arm. You must rest well and don't hurt yourself again."
A glint flashed in Xiao Tong's eyes, and she smiled and replied, "Thank you for your concern, my Royal Highness. I will take care of her myself. Your Royal Highness is very busy, so please don't worry about her."
After the two of them exchanged false greetings, Xiao Tong returned to the Princess's Mansion as quickly as possible.
"Mo Ran, is there any news today?"
As soon as Xiao Tong entered the room and sat down, she started asking questions. Mo Ran did have some bad news waiting for her to tell him when she came back.
"Your Highness, the silver we previously hid with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was taken away by His Majesty's men under the pretext of 'stolen property from the Prime Minister.'"
"What a coincidence! Isn't he the one guarding it?"
Xiao Tong's face was gloomy.
Mo Ran lowered his head and replied, "He was captured by the emperor's men. They said they wanted to interrogate him to see if he was a spy planted by the prime minister around the crown prince."
Xiao Tong's eyes rolled a few times. "Find an opportunity to kill him to prevent future trouble. Also, inform that person to take back all those 'camellias' outside. Don't act rashly without my order!"
"yes."
Mo Ran hesitated for a while, then spoke: "Your Highness, have we been exposed? What should we do next?"
Xiao Tong threw the fruits and pastries on the table.
"How could he not know this with his keen eyes?!"
Her face was slightly distorted with anger.
"He's just so sure I can't do it that he's just taking his time and not caring about anything!"
Xiao Tong gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with anger, hatred, and a strong sense of unwillingness.
"Your Highness, there is one more thing."
"explain!"
"The twelfth of the Shang family is in Baijialou."
Xiao Tong's expression changed, "Shang Twelve?"
It was strange that she hadn't heard anything about it before.
"Yes. His Royal Highness also said that Princess Qi faked her own death to escape, and is now Shang Yuwan of Baijialou."
Faking his own death to escape? If so, why not just use a fake name?
Xiao Tong didn't say anything. After ten breaths, she moved her fingers on her knees.
"I remember that Dayu and Langjiang's business banquet is about to begin?"
Mo Ran's mind moved, and he immediately said, "I understand. I'll do it right away."
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