Chapter 26 I Saw Spring Return (Part 3) "I thought I had been lenient enough with you today..."
Yan Chao stepped into the warm pavilion amidst the sound of shattering porcelain. He paused as he lifted his foot, glancing at Lan Huai'en beside him. His expression was calm, seemingly unconcerned about the emperor's anger in the hall, as if he were completely at ease.
But she herself dared not be careless.
When they entered, Qiu Cong, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was kneeling on the ground, while Ji Weixian was crouching down, picking up broken pieces of porcelain from cups and saucers. The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was frightening.
She bowed, and before she could even utter "Father Emperor," the Emperor interrupted her directly, asking in a calm voice, "How is the Crown Prince's investigation into Cao Fu's assassination attempt progressing?"
"Your Majesty, there has been progress, but I have not yet..."
The emperor shifted his posture, still interrupting her, tilting his head impatiently: "It's been almost three days. It's just the New Year, and even the Dali Temple is becoming lazy?"
She choked on her words and explained, "Father, this case involves a lot of people, most of whom are monks from Juehui Temple. Three people have died in succession when the temple was sealed off for investigation. The murderer is suspected of killing them to cover up their crimes, which is why the progress has been slow so far."
The emperor frowned, uttered a "useless" remark, then turned his gaze to Qiu Cong and said in a deep voice, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard also has news. Listen to what Qiu Cong has to say."
Yan Chao responded with a "yes," and turned slightly to look at Qiu Cong.
In her memory, this person was still somewhat unfamiliar. First, there was Han Yu's reputation for ruthlessness, and then Lu Xun was inexplicably ousted from power. There were many outstanding members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Qiu Cong was personally selected by the emperor. She had never heard of any illustrious deeds before.
Compared to the previous two, Qiu Cong was younger. Perhaps somewhat unsettled at the moment, he lowered his head, and his voice trembled slightly when he spoke.
"Your Majesty and Your Highness the Crown Prince, the assassination attempt on Lord Cao occurred near the Zhongwen Bridge west of Juehui Temple. The assassins were hiding in the bamboo grove at the bridgehead, all dressed in night clothes. When Lord Cao passed by, the assassins attempted to stab him with a knife. During the struggle, they slashed Lord Cao's left chest. Then, seeing a monk approaching, they pushed Lord Cao into the river and quickly fled."
Yan Chao nodded: "I know all of this."
Qiu Cong continued, "At that time, no pedestrians were passing by Zhongwen Bridge. According to Lord Cao's description, there were five assassins in total, one of whom had a wound in his left arm. I found a broken jade amulet at the scene, with bloodstains between the jade patterns. Upon investigation, this jade amulet belonged to Meng Tingke, the grandson of Grand Tutor Meng..."
The emperor, growing impatient, interrupted him coldly: "The Northern Garrison has already investigated, and Meng Tingke himself confessed."
Yan Chao froze for a moment, staring blankly at the sandalwood dragon pattern on the edge of the imperial desk, his eyes vacant.
Without a second thought, a thought popped into her head: This is impossible.
"He is still in deep mourning; shouldn't he be returning to his ancestral home to observe the mourning period?"
Qiu Cong replied, "Yes, but Meng Tingke has not returned to his hometown and has been secretly staying in the capital."
Yan Chao stared at him in disbelief. In other words, Meng Tingke had neither held a mourning ceremony nor observed the proper mourning period for the past few months—a serious offense of violating etiquette and regulations!
Meng Tingke entered the Hanlin Academy as the top scholar in the imperial examination, and his talent and virtue were recognized by the senior officials. However, he has not risen through the ranks in recent years, and the reason is well known: his rigid and inflexible nature has become increasingly apparent, and over time, few people have been willing to promote him.
This man was usually very quiet, and appeared extremely honest and unassuming. She subconsciously wondered, how could he possibly do such a thing?
She instinctively felt she shouldn't believe it, yet she was speechless for a moment. She knew very well that what she wanted to show favoritism to was nothing more than the peace that Meng Huai had initially longed for.
However, if we consider only his motives for assassinating Cao Fu, they are reasonable.
His hatred for the Cao family is understandable.
She regained her composure, turned her gaze to the emperor, paused, and asked with a slight bitterness, "Father, now..."
The emperor said, "The cause and effect have not been thoroughly investigated, and I will not rush to condemn without distinguishing right from wrong."
Yan Chao remained silent, but then the emperor asked again, "I entrusted the case to you, did you really not even find these things?"
She could only bow her head and say, "Your subject is incompetent."
“You are not incompetent,” the emperor sneered, tapping the table lightly with his hand. His usually calm gaze now held a hint of coldness, but he suddenly changed the subject, “Meng Tingke refuses to admit it.”
Yan Chao was still in a daze.
"Looking at you, do I need to expect you to conduct the interrogation? What can you possibly find out? Or rather, what do you intend to find out?"
The emperor deliberately paused his last sentence by a fraction, which was quite meaningful. Yan Chao didn't understand why, but her innate vigilance made her vaguely aware that she was probably going to be implicated again.
Qiu Cong received a signal from the emperor and reported, "Your Highness, I have investigated. That morning, Lord Meng passed by the Li family, who were holding their annual reunion, and met and talked with Your Highness's eunuch, Jiu Yue. Afterwards, Eunuch Jiu did not return to the palace with Your Highness. That evening, the two met again at the lantern festival in the city."
The name "September" made Yan Chao momentarily lose her composure, before her thoughts returned and her expression changed drastically. She realized that the emperor's anger might be due to this.
In no time, she realized that the emperor suspected her of being involved!
But Xiao Jiu...
She couldn't bother to refute or explain herself. Her heart sank, and with a barely perceptible tremor, she knelt down before the emperor.
The emperor looked at her and asked in a calm voice, "I've heard that the eunuch is someone close to you, and you often take him with you when you go out. How much do you know about what Qiu Cong said?"
"Your Majesty, I truly had no idea."
She answered, her mind filled with thoughts of Xiao Jiu. Just as she was about to speak, the Emperor silenced her with a kiss: "Whether you know the truth or not, I cannot say for sure right now. You are the Crown Prince, and I will not do anything to you until the matter is thoroughly investigated. But since that eunuch is a suspect, I have already sent Lan Huai'en to arrest him."
Yan Chao's face paled, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Lan Huaien was indeed no longer in front of the emperor.
She composed herself, her voice still slightly urgent: "Father, according to the current investigation, there are many suspicious points. Please give me some time to investigate..."
The emperor smiled: "You dare not plead for that eunuch, yet you think these few words can save him?"
Yan Chao felt caught in a dilemma.
She didn't know if Xiao Jiu had betrayed her, but she understood that this situation was ultimately going to kill him. Naturally, it was ultimately aimed at her.
There was no time to think any further; the usual tricks and schemes for dealing with the emperor seemed utterly meaningless at the moment.
“Father, if he is truly colluding with foreign officials, I will absolutely not protect him. But if he is innocent and someone wants to use this to frame me, I will not allow it…” She stopped speaking before she could finish.
Such an explanation seems far too weak.
The emperor won't believe it.
She felt disheartened and her body went cold. It seemed that no matter what, Xiao Jiu was bound to be a suspect.
"The Crown Prince has very little confidence in the Embroidered Uniform Guard." The Emperor's tone was light, yet it carried a great deal of weight.
Yan Chao choked up, swallowing back all those incoherent and nonsensical words.
Fearing a repeat of what happened to Meng Huai, she secretly took action, but the cause of death remains unknown. The emperor, however, refuses to admit he was wrong.
She said, "Your subject wouldn't dare." The emperor frowned and waved his hand at her: "You don't need to spout nonsense here. You're barely able to protect yourself now, and a mere eunuch like you is not worth all this rambling from me. Whether you can find out the truth or not is the skill of the Imperial Prison. You should think about how you're going to explain yourself to me. It's best if you didn't do it."
The emperor got up and slowly walked out. As he passed by her, he glanced at her still deep in thought, then looked away.
"Father entrusted this case to your son for investigation, and it is still unresolved. It would be a dereliction of duty for me to relinquish it. I beg Father to grant me three more days to investigate. If there is still no conclusion after three days, I am willing to accept my punishment and submit to your disposal."
Upon hearing the last four words, the emperor raised an eyebrow, turned to look at her, and asked with a mixture of surprise and mockery, "You think you're still qualified to investigate cases?"
She is now under considerable suspicion.
"Your son..."
"I thought I had been lenient enough with you today."
Yan Chao thought to herself, yes. Compared to before, the emperor's attitude was indeed much gentler today. She herself felt that if the emperor had really pressed her until she was speechless, she might be the one imprisoned in the Zhaoyu prison right now.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to share your burdens and prove my innocence. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to continue the investigation."
What she needs to fight for right now is to gain the initiative in the investigation. Only by gaining power can she have a chance to turn the tide; otherwise, she will remain in a passive position.
The emperor was getting impatient and was about to refuse her when Lan Huaien's voice suddenly came from the doorway.
"Your Majesty, Deng Xunyi, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, requests an audience."
The emperor stopped in his tracks. Yan Chao was slightly taken aback, not expecting him to request an audience with the emperor directly, but he also hoped that the emperor could find some new evidence, so he silently waited with bated breath.
The emperor paused for a moment, but did not turn around. He said in a low voice, "Your Highness, please rise first."
She responded and got up to step aside to wait for the emperor to return to his seat, but found that he had already walked out of the hall, so she followed behind him without making a sound.
Qiu Cong, having not yet received the emperor's decree, remained kneeling in the hall.
Deng Xun stood waiting outside the hall, his wide sleeves trembling in the breeze. Beneath his black gauze hat was a handsome face, the gentle sunlight outlining his sharply defined features.
When he saw the emperor come out, he bowed slightly, lifted his robe, and bowed in a calm and unhurried manner.
The emperor ignored him and first asked Lan Huaien, "Where are the people I ordered you to arrest?"
Lan Huaien replied, "Your Majesty, Lord Deng is in a hurry to see you, saying he has important business to discuss. So I detained him first. If you wish to see him now, I will send someone to fetch him immediately."
The emperor paused for a moment, said "Never mind," and then looked at Deng Xunyi.
"Is it Cao Fu's case?" he asked.
Deng Xun responded solemnly, "I know that the Embroidered Uniform Guard is also investigating this case and has obtained the jade token as evidence. However, I have made a new discovery. I was originally going to report this to His Highness the Crown Prince, but His Highness is not here, so I can only request an audience with Your Majesty."
The emperor silently glanced back at Yan Chao, then turned back to him and said, "Speak."
Deng Xunyi remained silent for a moment, then slowly took out a sheathed short dagger from his bosom.
However, as soon as he made this move, the guards on both sides of the hall rushed forward, snatched the dagger without saying a word, and pinned him to the ground.
Yan Chao reminded him, "Minister Deng seems to have forgotten that sharp weapons are not allowed to be seen before the Emperor..."
Before she could finish speaking, the dagger suddenly slipped from its sheath and fell to the ground with a clatter. The guard held the handle; only a fragment of the blade remained, the tip nowhere to be found.
However, obvious bloodstains are still visible.
The sapphire blue tassel attached to the dagger hilt was stained with black marks.
Yan Chao glanced at the dagger and felt a strange sense of familiarity about it.
The emperor said, "Release him."
Deng Xun straightened his robes, knelt upright again, and spoke without any politeness.
"Your Majesty, I dare to report that Lord Qiu Cong of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has made some mistakes in his investigation."
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A stunningly charming, two-faced beauty x A composed and aloof high monk who remains unmoved even when embraced.
Wen Shuishui was the legitimate daughter of the current prime minister. She was beautiful and charming and should have been enjoying a life of wealth and privilege.
Unfortunately, she lost her mother at a young age, and her stepmother treated her unkindly.
From then on, everything went wrong.
On her first trip to the outskirts of Beijing to worship Buddha, she was kidnapped by robbers.
Just then, a monk happened to pass by and rescued her.
Wen Shuishui asked him for his Buddhist name, and the monk called himself Yuan Kong.
The Buddhist disciple Yuan Kong, whose birth mother offended the emperor and was killed, was ordered to convert to Buddhism.
Wen Shuishui tugged at his prayer beads, her eyes showing a hint of affection, "I feel an extraordinary affinity for the master."
Yuan Kong looked on with pity.
The second time she was pushed into the water, a monk was sitting in the pavilion fishing. She grabbed the fishhook in the water and watched him cry, barely clinging to life.
The monk sighed, went into the water, and pulled her ashore.
Wen Shuishui leaned against his shoulder and suddenly giggled, "Those who are willing will take the bait."
The monk sat cross-legged, chanting scriptures with his eyes closed.
On the night of Wen Shuishui's third wedding, her husband eloped with someone else, leaving her sitting alone in the bridal chamber, facing the monks in the courtyard.
Later, when the Wen family fell from grace, Wen Shuishui was sent to the Buddhist hall in the Eastern Palace.
One day, she was copying scriptures in her room when Yuan Kong burst in.
Her gaze fell on that long hair. "His Highness the Crown Prince kidnaps people at will without even asking if I am willing."
He gripped her hand tightly. "Come back with me."
Wen Shuishui held a pen and dotted a red mole at the corner of his eye, saying flippantly, "Back to your meditation room?"
Yuan Kong: "..."
Mine clearance!!!
(1) The monk will become a prince later. The female lead has a split personality. The main personality is obedient, weak and pitiful, while the secondary personality is charming, alluring and extremely aggressive.
(2) 1v1! Both are virgins! He!
(3) Overhead Overhead Overhead Overhead
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