Chapter 59: Expose "I want to expose the King of Qi, Xie Yushu, Pei Yi...
Three days later, Prince Jin's Mansion.
early morning.
"The wedding is over, and the house is finished." Prince Jin's fingertips brushed the cold leaves of the orchid, with a hint of cold calculation on the corner of his mouth, "It's our turn to take the stage."
The King of Qi was attracted to Du Ruo, so how could he turn around and fall in love with Pei Yixue? He even asked for an imperial decree to grant the marriage! What's even more bizarre is that the wedding was held on the same day as Xie Yushu's, and Pei Yixue even rode in a sedan chair and covered her head with a red veil. Her intentions were obvious.
Marriage exchange in secret. Such audacity, the crime of deceiving the emperor is a foregone conclusion! Xie Yushu, King Qi, Pei Yixue, Du Ruo, none of them can escape!
"Prepare the car." A fierce light flashed in the eyes of King Jin, "I want to go see my father!"
Outside the Pepper Room, the King of Qi followed the eunuch into the hall.
The emperor raised his eyes from the memorial and glanced at the kneeling Prince Jin. His voice was emotionless and he said, "Fourth Brother, why are you so anxious to see me?"
"I want to expose the King of Qi, Xie Yushu, Pei Yixue, and Du Ruo." King Jin's voice was filled with suppressed excitement. "They are deceiving the emperor!"
"Deceiving the emperor?" The emperor frowned slightly.
"That's right! Prince Qi is in love with Du Ruo, Xie Yushu and Pei Yixue have had an affair for a long time! The four of them are dissatisfied with the marriages arranged by their father, but they dare not disobey the order, so they carry out the plan of replacing the prince with a cat in a guise!" Prince Jin spoke quickly.
"Where is the evidence?" The emperor put down the memorial and looked sharp.
"At this moment, Xie Yushu's pregnancy has blossomed, while the pregnancy on King Qi's chest has faded. This is irrefutable evidence!"
The emperor snorted coldly: "How can I ask them to undress and prove their innocence based on your one-sided statement?"
"Father, please allow me to report!" The King of Jin pleaded anxiously, "Last year during the Lantern Festival, I personally saw the King of Qi and Du Ruo secretly meeting in an alley! Du Ruo had just been granted marriage, and the King of Qi turned around and asked to marry Pei Yixue, and even specified that Pei Yixue should be married in a red sedan chair and on the same day! Look at Xie Yushu, he knelt down to beg you to take back your decision, and then he happily got married, and after the marriage he had close contact with the King of Qi! How can all these things be covered up by the word coincidence?"
"You said... the King of Qi loves Du Ruo?" The emperor's eyes suddenly turned cold. "When Du Heng asked for an imperial decree that day, he was very sure that Du Ruo loved Xie Yushu."
"Perhaps Du Ruo has already changed her mind, or maybe Minister Du... misunderstood my daughter's feelings." Prince Jin argued.
"Oh, you are good at thinking of excuses for them." The emperor's voice suddenly cooled down. "Since you have such suspicions, why didn't you say anything before the wedding banquet? Why did you wait until the matter was done and the wedding ceremony was over before reporting it?"
"Father... your son... your son has just figured out the key to this, and will immediately go to the palace to see your father." The King of Jin felt a pang in his heart, and he felt that the Emperor was favoring the King of Qi again. At this point, he did not pursue the serious crime of deceiving the emperor, but instead blamed him? It was not him who deceived the emperor!
"This is a matter of ancestral etiquette! Shuang'er married and entered the court as an official, turning the world upside down, blaspheming the law and insulting the royal dignity! I am willing to guarantee with my life that these four people have indeed deceived the emperor and must not be tolerated!" The King of Jin kowtowed heavily, his voice ringing to the ground.
The emperor stared at him for a long while, then said coldly, "You mean, if they are innocent, I will chop off your head?"
"Father..." The Prince of Jin was choking, but when he thought of the secret report from his spies, he gritted his teeth again, "Father, please understand! To exchange marriages for personal desires and deceive the emperor is to trample on the reputation of our royal family! This crime is unforgivable!"
"It seems that you are determined to use your life as a guarantee for this matter?"
"To protect the royal dignity, I will die for it!"
"Good, good, very good!" The emperor pointed at him, laughed in anger, and then shouted, "Prince Xuanqi, Xie Yushu, the Junior Yin of Jingzhao Prefecture, his wife Du Ruo, and the Prince Consort Pei Yixue, enter the palace immediately!"
The summoned eunuch arrived at Xie's house, and Pei Yixue and Xie Yushu were having lunch.
When Pei Yixue learned that he would go to the palace to meet the emperor with Xie Yushu, he was secretly moved.
"Thank you, eunuch." Pei Yixue calmly put a gold ingot into the eunuch's palm, smiling warmly, "I wonder if His Majesty has summoned anyone else besides me and my husband?"
The golden ingots were immediately visible, and the eunuch smiled more sincerely: "Madam, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi and the Prince Consort have been summoned." He lowered his voice, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin... has been waiting in the palace for a long time."
After the eunuch left, Pei Yixue raised a barely perceptible smile.
The four people were summoned together, and the King of Jin was present. It was indeed about the marriage exchange.
When the wedding took place, the King of Jin kept his troops on standby, waiting for the moment when the matter was done and irrefutable, and wanted to use the only "ironclad evidence" to deal them a fatal blow.
After planning for a long time, the fish finally took the bait.
Xie Yushu looked at him and asked, "Why are you so happy that His Majesty has summoned you?"
"Of course I'm happy. I haven't seen the current emperor yet." Pei Yixue smiled, took Xie Yushu's hand, moved closer, and whispered: "Ah Shu, this time when I enter the palace, that person will most likely be held accountable. Ah Shu, just remember that I am always Du Ruo."
"Ask..." Xie Yushu's pupils shrank.
"Yeah." Pei Yixue tightened the other person's hand. They exchanged glances and knew what the other was talking about without saying much.
Outside the palace gate, two carriages met unexpectedly.
As soon as they got off the carriage, the four of them met each other.
Du Ruo has been "weak" and unable to take care of himself since his last serious illness, while King Qi and Pei Yixue have always appeared to be "sickly" to the outside world.
Then a strange scene appeared in the palace: the strong and healthy Xie Yushu, with three "sickly people" - Prince Qi, Pei Yixue, and Du Ruo, walked slowly towards the Pepper Palace.
Outside the Pepper Room, the eunuchs shrilly called out, "Announce—Qi Wang Zhao Jingyan, his son-in-law Pei Yixue, Jingzhao Prefecture Shaoyin Xie Yushu, and Madam Du Ruo—come to see the emperor!"
The palace door opened, and the four people performed the formal ceremony. The atmosphere in the palace was so solemn that one could hear a pin drop.
The emperor's gaze descended heavily, finally locking onto Xie Yushu, as sharp as a knife.
"I remember," the emperor's voice broke the silence, every word hitting people's hearts, "at that time Du Heng asked for marriage for his daughter. I remembered the Du family's merits and heard of Du Ruo's talent, so I granted you marriage." His eyes suddenly turned cold, "But as soon as the decree was issued, you knelt outside the imperial study and begged me to take back my decision..."
The emperor leaned forward slightly, and an invisible pressure spread out: "Thank you, my dear minister. Please repeat clearly what you said that day in front of me."
These words exploded like thunder.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Xie Yushu, waiting for his answer. The air was tense and ready to burst.
Xie Yushu took a deep breath and forced himself to meet the emperor's gaze that seemed to see through people's hearts. He did not defend himself, but spoke in a strangely firm tone: "I knelt outside the Funing Palace and cried to Your Majesty: 'I beg Your Majesty to take back your order. I... already have someone in my heart.'"
Every word he said landed on the ground with great force. These were exactly what he said at the time, and also confirmed the fact that he once had a lover.
The King of Jin almost laughed out loud: "Father! You heard it! He would rather risk his life to disobey the imperial order and refuse marriage, but now he happily marries Du Ruo. Isn't it ridiculous? I'm afraid that he married Du Ruo in public, but he sleeps with someone else every night!"
The emperor's eyes became even colder, covering Xie Yushu like frost: "What do you say about what King Jin said? The person you love——" The emperor glanced at "Du Ruo" beside King Qi, "But Pei Yixue?"
Xie Yushu was not good at lying. Even though Pei Yixue had practiced this question with him countless times in the carriage, his heartbeat still accelerated a bit, and sweat began to seep out of his palms.
But he must not reveal any flaws, otherwise he, Pei Yixue, King Qi and Du Ruo would all be convicted of deceiving the emperor.
Xie Yushu bowed deeply again and looked at the emperor with an unusually firm look in his eyes: "Your Majesty, please understand. I was indeed very stupid at the time and did not expect to cause such a misunderstanding."
He paused, "The person I was referring to as 'the one I love' was none other than Minister Du's daughter, Miss Du Ruo!"
When these words were spoken, everyone in the room was shocked!
"Ridiculous!" King Jin was shocked and angry, and shouted, "The one you disobeyed the imperial order and refused to marry was Du Ruo! Now you say you are in love with her? This is ridiculous!!"
"I would never dare to deceive you." Xie Yushu's breathing quickened a little. "When I first came to the capital, I met Miss Du once. I was struck by her beauty and fell in love with her. However... at that time, I didn't know that Miss Du was the daughter of Minister Du. It was by some strange mistake that I disobeyed your order and caused a huge misunderstanding."
Thanks to Pei Yixue's repeated preparations and hints beforehand, he was able to speak sincerely and without any hesitation.
The emperor then asked Pei Yixue about his first meeting with Xie Yushu, and Pei Yixue frankly admitted that Du Ruo fell in love with Xie Yushu at first sight.
He was not afraid of the Emperor and Prince Jin conducting a thorough investigation. After all, Du Ruo and Xie Yushu had indeed met once, but it was only a brief encounter. Not only did they not know each other's identities and names, they also did not fall in love at first sight.
The emperor was delighted: "Great! I never thought that my marriage would help a couple who have long been in love with each other to get together! I am now the matchmaker!"
When Prince Jin saw that the emperor believed it, he became furious and brought up the matter of Prince Qi and Du Ruo's "secret meeting" during the Lantern Festival.
It was easy for the King of Qi and Pei Yixue to fabricate stories. They could easily come up with excuses, denials, and retorts, without any loopholes.
Seeing that all the accusations were resolved, the King of Jin decided to make a desperate move: "Father! The truth will be revealed in an instant after verifying the right and wrong of the King of Qi and Xie Yushu's intention to conceive!"
"Why is Fourth Brother so aggressive? He even wants me to undress and examine my body in public and suffer such humiliation." The King of Qi was heartbroken.
"I'm just asking you to take off some clothes. If you have a clear conscience, why would you be afraid?"
A cold light flashed in the eyes of the King of Qi, "What if the test result is not as my brother said?"
King Jin: "Absolutely impossible!"
"Enough." The emperor shouted, interrupting the argument.
"Father!" Prince Jin fell to his knees, "Your Majesty!" "I am willing to use my life as a guarantee! If Xie Yushu is still pregnant and Prince Qi is still pregnant, then I am making false accusations! I am willing to die to apologize!"
"Fourth Brother!" The emperor was furious. He slammed his palm on the imperial desk, causing the inkstone to jump.
“Father!!” Prince Jin shouted at the top of his lungs, his eyes bloodshot.
"Someone come!" The emperor was furious, his voice like thunder, "Take the Prince of Jin back to the palace and put him under house arrest for three months! Let him reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors!"
"Father...Emperor..." Endless hatred and unwillingness instantly wrapped around Prince Jin's heart like a poisonous vine.
The spy reported that the King of Qi's intention to commit suicide had obviously disappeared, and Xie Yushu's intention to commit suicide had definitely emerged! The evidence of deceiving the king was right in front of us!
But his good father, the Emperor, locked him up in order to favor the King of Qi.
Forget about the King of Yan, the King of Qin, and the King of Wei, but why should Zhao Jingyan, a Shuang'er, be so powerful? !
Is it because the King of Qi has a seductive and charming concubine?
He was unwilling to accept this. He was very unwilling to accept this.
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