Chapter 65 Persuasion
When Sima Jun got on the carriage, he had a cold face and everyone around him dared not breathe.
After walking a distance, Deng Lian came over and said at the window, "Sir, just before the princess went to see the prince, she mentioned something and asked me to tell you."
Sima Jun became unhappy when he mentioned her.
Sima Jun said coldly, "What has she figured out? It's better not to listen."
Deng Lian whispered, "It's about General Cheng Yu."
Sima Jun was stunned.
In the Governor's Mansion, Chu Yue heard that Sima Jun had arrived and hurried out to greet him.
"Why are you back so soon?" Chu Yue glanced behind him, "Where's the princess?"
Sima Jun didn't answer, but asked, "Why are you still here? Aren't you supposed to go back to the house and wait for the summons?"
Chu Yue said, "I was about to leave when something happened in the prison. I'll stay and see if I can help."
"What is it?"
"General Jiao Wei is dead."
Sima Jun was very surprised.
General Jiao Wei was the one who instigated the mutiny in the garden.
Sima Jun frowned and thought for a moment, then rushed to the council hall to meet the prince.
The prince sat at the desk, supporting his head with his hands, obviously feeling a little bored.
Sima Jun bowed and stepped forward to ask, "I heard Jiao Wei died. How did he die?"
"He was killed," replied Xu Fu, the Crown Prince's Secretary, "with a single blow. Earlier, the doctor of law, Zhang Su, came to discuss matters with the Crown Prince. But he had only been gone for three incense sticks before he was gone."
"What does the warden say?"
"I can't explain it." Xu Fu shook his head. "Dr. Zhang was quite thoughtful. To prevent collusion, each prisoner was held separately, and their cells were never adjacent. The warden thought this method of detention was foolproof, so when the prisoners flocked to the cell at mealtime, there was a moment of vacancy in the cell, and Dr. Zhang happened to be away, so a thief took advantage of this opportunity to sneak in and commit a crime."
Sima Jun glanced at the crown prince and roughly understood his depression.
Although the prison was separated from here by several courtyards, it was only a hundred feet away, so people were killed right under his nose.
"Who is the assassin? Any clue?"
Xu Fu shook his head. "The jailers have all been detained, so it's hard to find out the result right now."
The prince snorted coldly: "It doesn't matter who the assassin is. Isn't it obvious who ordered it?"
No one spoke, but everyone knew in their hearts that this must have been done by Wang Han.
"How are the other prisoners?" Sima Jun asked.
"Everyone is safe and sound. The assassin was clearly targeting Jiao Wei," Xu Fu said, handing over a document. "As for the reason, these confessions will probably reveal something."
As Sima Jun read, Xu Fu explained, "These confessions all mention Cui Pan, but none mention Wang Pushe and his son. Based on these confessions alone, we can only arrest Cui Pan. Unless..."
"Unless Cui Pan can identify Wang Pushe and his son?" Sima Jun said.
Xu Fu said, "That's right. However, firstly, it's unclear where Cui Pan came from; secondly, it's unknown whether Cui Pan was ordered by Wang Shi."
Sima Jun didn't say anything.
Cui Pan, though his plan failed, was nonetheless alert enough. When Sima Jun encountered him on the street, he was dressed identically to his men. After a period of confusion, Sima Jun quickly calmed the situation, but when he checked on the captives, Cui Pan had already vanished.
"What do you think?" the prince asked Sima Jun.
Sima Jun said, "I have something I want to ask the Crown Prince privately."
Upon hearing this, the prince dismissed everyone around him.
"What do you want to ask?" asked the prince.
"If Cui Pan is indeed under Wang Han's orders, and I have the ability to capture him, what will the Crown Prince do?"
The prince said, "So I ordered him to lay out all the evidence of Wang Han's crimes, announce it to the world, and bring Wang Han down."
He answered without hesitation, but Deng Lian's previous words were circling in Sima Jun's mind.
"The princess said that Cheng Yu did not escape. She has urged Cheng Yu to redeem himself from his crime and capture Cui Pan. Once Cui Pan is captured, he will become the crown prince's greatest chess piece. However, the crown prince must use this chess piece with caution."
"This man can only be used to exchange for the Northern Governor, but cannot be used to overthrow Wang Han. This is because Wang Han's power is deeply entrenched in the court. To convict him, a grand trial is necessary. And with more people involved, the situation becomes more complex. Given the current abilities of the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince, even with witnesses, they cannot shake him. If this goes on, not only will the Crown Prince's chess piece be wasted, but the position of Northern Governor will also inevitably fall to someone else."
——"What the Crown Prince needs to do now is to cut the Gordian knot. If the Crown Prince wants to obtain the Northern Palace, he must not hesitate. The most important point here is to convince the Crown Prince. After all..."
Wang Han is the prince's inner demon.
No one understands this principle better than Sima Jun.
For example, today, Wang Han was able to kill people right under the crown prince's nose, clearly not taking the crown prince seriously. And the crown prince, as the heir to the throne, how could he be despised?
——"And persuading the prince is not advisable. The princess said the best way is to use the princess's inquiry as a pretext."
When Sima Jun heard this, he glanced at Deng Lian.
Deng Lian hurriedly said, "I am merely relaying the princess's words..."
Sima Jun felt annoyed. If Wang Han was the prince's inner demon, then Lu was his own inner demon.
"Why aren't you talking?" Sima Jun was brought back to his senses when he heard the prince's voice.
Sima Jun put aside his distracting thoughts and said to the Crown Prince, "I believe the purpose of this trip is to seize the Northern Palace, not to overthrow Wang Han."
The prince waved his hand and said, "Once Wang Hao falls, who will fight for the Northern Palace?"
"It won't be long before Wong Hom is defeated. I'm just afraid of the long night and the many dreams."
"You worry too much," the prince said. "As long as we can capture Cheng Yu and Cui Pan and prove the evidence, I will return to the palace to report to the Queen Mother. Once the Queen Mother knows Wang Han's true identity, she will naturally side with us."
Sima Jun said, "But has the Crown Prince ever considered that Wang Han's disrespect and exclusion of the Crown Prince have not been a single episode? Why has the Queen Mother always turned a blind eye and turned a deaf ear? With all due respect, the Queen Mother's surname is Wang. As long as the fundamentals are not violated, the Queen Mother needs Wang Han and is happy to see him control the government. I think the Crown Prince's move is quite risky. Even if there is witnesses and evidence, if the Queen Mother turns a blind eye and suppresses the matter, the Crown Prince will be powerless to reverse the situation."
The prince stared at him and suddenly said in a cold voice, "What's wrong with you today? You are usually the most courageous and the most motivated. Why are you retreating today?"
After saying this, the prince's face became irritated. "I heard that you went to Wang Han's house just now. But what did he say to you?"
"He has detained the concubine, I will go to him to argue." Sima Jun said.
The prince was stunned when he heard this.
"Why did he detain the concubine?"
Sima Jun told the prince the whole story.
"To keep things peaceful, the Concubine is willing to stay at Wang Kan's residence," Sima Jun said. "I can't persuade her."
"What a shrewd Wang Han!" The Crown Prince sneered. "How can he deprive the Princess of Yuzhang of her title just because he wants to? And you, Wang Han has bullied you, and you actually tolerate it? At this moment, you and I should unite against this enemy and teach Wang Han a lesson! Ziheng, what are you hesitating about? Could it be that Wang Han has also instigated your rebellion?"
Sima Jun closed his eyes.
"The prince has misunderstood," he said. "How could I be swayed by someone like Wang Han?"
"Why is that?"
Sima Jun looked at the prince's angry expression and sighed in his heart.
"It's just because..." He gritted his teeth, "I just met the concubine at the palace and asked her to tell my fortune."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com