Even if he really knew how to escape underground, he couldn't get from the East Palace to the outside of the palace overnight. Emperor Jianning asked, "Duke Lu, do you have anything else to explain?"
Duke Lu heard a chill in Emperor Jianning's tone, "Your Majesty, many people in the palace praise Prince Ping's benevolence. Even if no one can fly, it could be human!"
Chai Shijing sneered twice, "Your Majesty, I think what Duke Lu said is correct, and I also think it was contrived. But I would like to ask Commander Lei Yinglei of the Imperial Guards: how many walls are there from the East Palace to the outside of the palace? How many people do I need to bribe to sneak the prince out?"
This meant that there were too many people to bribe, as Chai Shijing couldn't determine who was guarding the palace gate last night. Without any certainty, he could only bribe them all, and if he wanted to bribe them all, Lei Ying wouldn't be unaware.
The possibility of escaping underground, bribing the imperial guards, and Lei Ying's loyalty were ruled out. Emperor Jianning considered many possibilities, and the most likely one was that Chai Shirong had disguised himself and slipped out of the palace early.
He wasn't under house arrest and could have left the palace openly, so why did Chai Shirong sneak out? Thinking of Qin Shu's claim that Duke Lu had private soldiers, Emperor Jianning's heart tightened. Could he have left the palace to discuss how to force the emperor to abdicate?
When he looked at Chai Shirong and Duke Lu again, his eyes were filled with poison, "The Crown Prince has lost his virtue..."
A court official who supported Chai Shirong interrupted Emperor Jianning and said, "Your Majesty, I believe this matter should be referred to the three courts for trial."
Censor Wang stood up and loudly accused him, "You are the Crown Prince, the heir apparent to the throne. How can you be considered a wise ruler? Your Highness has disregarded the laws of the land by acting in this way. This is immoral!"
Chai Shirong knew very well how serious the charge of immorality was. "You're talking nonsense! I didn't leave the palace, I didn't! It was Chai Shijing who framed me, Censor Wang, your eyes are blurry..."
"Your Highness, I am only thirty-eight years old this year, and I am not yet at the stage of being old and dim-sighted..."
"Enough! Li Xi, you personally send the prince back to the East Palace for self-reflection and send someone to guard him. Lei Ying, you go and verify and report back to me as soon as possible. Dismiss the court!" Emperor Jianning flicked his sleeves and left.
Although the bloodstains were intermittent, they did start from Prince Ping's Mansion and end at Marquis Wu'an's Mansion.
In addition, Han Lin said that Chai Shirong had been in Wu'an Marquis Mansion last night, which inadvertently confirmed that Chai Shirong had indeed slipped out of the palace early.
As for the testimonies of the East Palace maids, eunuchs, and concubines, no one believed them because they were all slaves serving Chai Shirong.
Yili was also a clever man. During the morning court session, he deliberately created signs of a fight in Prince Ping's mansion and even personally injured several of the palace's guards with a knife. Some of the neighbors in Four Seasons Garden heard the sounds of fighting...
If Chai Shirong were to be deposed, the interests of too many people would be affected. For a time, the capital was in turmoil, and everyone was in danger.
Empress Wan went to Emperor Jianning to plead for Chai Shirong, but Emperor Jianning refused to see her.
She was unable to see Duke Lu, so she summoned his wife, Gao, to see her. Knowing that Gao had some complaints about her, she lowered her status and gently analyzed the benefits of Chai Shirong's residence in Duke Lu's mansion.
Finally, he pleaded softly, asking Gao to tell Duke Lu to save Chai Shirong. He also promised that when Chai Shirong ascended the throne, he would adopt Wan Shan'er's son as his adopted son and protect Wan Shan'er for the rest of his life.
But Gao's resentment had reached its peak. She agreed to Queen Wan's request in person, but after returning home, she only said to Duke Lu lightly, "The Queen asks the master to protect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince," and then turned and left.
Chai Shirong's ascension to the throne did bring many benefits to Duke Lu's Mansion, but Duke Lu's Mansion was destined not to belong to her son Wan Guoxing. She would not do anything to help others.
Among the court officials who supported Chai Shirong, those who supported him because of his status as the legitimate son could not refute the fact that he had committed immorality; those who supported him because of Duke Lu also pretended not to be able to refute it as they had not received Duke Lu's order to protect the crown prince.
Five days later, Emperor Jianning issued an edict during the morning court session, stripping Chai Shirong of his title as crown prince and ordering him to move out of the Eastern Palace immediately. He gave Chai Shirong an unused house in the capital as the residence of the third prince, and punished Chai Shirong to reflect on his mistakes in seclusion and not to leave without the emperor's order.
The idle house is dirty, messy and dilapidated. Not to mention that it is not as good as the Eastern Palace, even the residences of other ministers are better than this one.
Chai Shirong, a child of destiny, couldn't stand it. Unable to leave the palace, he took his anger out on the young eunuch. Thinking of Han Lin's stupid behavior, the former Crown Princess Han was often beaten black and blue by him, and even Han's two legitimate sons were not spared.
From beginning to end, Chai Shirong never spoke to Duke Lu alone. If the two could talk, they would know that the man in black was sent by neither Chai Shirong nor Duke Lu, but by Emperor Jianning!
Lei Ying sat on a spring stool below Emperor Jianning and said, "I have investigated for many days and have not found any evidence of Duke Lu's private troops entering the capital. The spies in Duke Lu's mansion have reported back that Duke Lu has not behaved abnormally."
"Why did the Crown Prince and the Third Prince secretly leave the palace? Did they really go to the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion?"
"Han Lin of the Wu'an Marquis's mansion is indeed useless, and his wife is not favored. The Wu'an Marquis rarely contacts his family. I have verified this again and there is nothing unusual.
"I have learned that the Third Prince and the men in black suddenly appeared at the Marquis of Wu'an's residence. Han Lin's claim of staying overnight is untrue. People in the Eastern Palace have stated with certainty that the Third Prince did indeed rest in the Eastern Palace that night."
Li Xi and his men searched the Eastern Palace thoroughly, but found no secret rooms or secret passages. This was truly puzzling. "Lei Ying, do you think someone could have stolen the Third Prince from the Eastern Palace?"
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