Chapter 914 The Bystander Sees the Best
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye frowned immediately. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Wanted it, which means you didn't succeed?"
"yes."
Who is it?
"The jailers didn't recognize them, but according to their descriptions, the visitors were a man and a woman, both quite young..."
Hearing this, Yuwen Ye completely understood. He turned around and exchanged a glance with Shang Ruyi, whose eyes were serious but whose mind was also clear.
The man and woman should be Jiang Yan and Liang Youying; they want to save Jiang Yu.
However, it was unsuccessful.
It's not surprising, really. Ordinary people may have read miscellaneous books or listened to storytellers recount legends. These stories often feature chivalrous heroes and bandits rescuing people from prison, but in reality, that would be almost impossible.
The Ministry of Justice's prison was heavily guarded. Once the iron gates were closed, it was impossible for ordinary people—even a small army—to break in. Behind the iron gates was a dark, sunless passageway with thick stone walls on both sides. At the end of the passageway was the entrance to the dungeon where serious criminals were imprisoned. After entering, there was another narrow tunnel, only a few hundred steps long and wide enough for two people to walk side by side. It was dark and without fire. Only at the end could one enter a spacious cell. Even if there was only one jailer inside, he could hold off a thousand men.
Therefore, unless there is an inside accomplice, it is impossible to succeed in breaking into a prison to rescue someone.
Jiang Yan and Liang Youying's attempt to storm the Ministry of Justice's prison today clearly stemmed from their knowledge that the prison's iron gates would only be opened during interrogations and releases. They hoped to take advantage of the emperor's interrogation of Pei Xingyuan to break in and rescue him, but they underestimated the Ministry of Justice's tight security and ultimately failed.
but--
A glint of light flashed in both of their eyes as they looked at each other. Just then, Eunuch Yu came in and reported, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince and General Lou are outside requesting an audience."
The atmosphere in the main hall became heavy again.
Yuwen Ye slowly turned his head. After hearing Yuwen Yuan order people to come in, he soon saw Yuwen Qian and Lou Yingxiong follow Eunuch Yu into the Xuanzheng Hall. Crown Prince Yuwen Qian remained calm as always, but perhaps because he had just entered the hall from the freezing cold, his body was still chilled, and even his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of ice. It was unclear whether beneath that layer of ice lay his usual calm or suppressed anger.
On the contrary, Lou Yingxiong, who was standing next to him, had an undisguised look of anger on his face.
The two men stepped forward and kowtowed to the emperor, but Yuwen Yuan merely waved his hand dismissively: "Rise. You came quickly."
Yuwen Qian stood up and said, "I heard that someone was trying to break out of the prison, so I came immediately." After saying that, he glanced at Yuwen Ye and said, "I didn't expect that my second brother would be here as well."
Yuwen Ye said, "Your Majesty, you've heard that someone assassinated a prisoner. Didn't you hear that I was also present?"
Yuwen Qian shook his head: "No."
Yuwen Ye said, "Your Majesty, I was there and saw everything clearly. There were two groups of people. The first group was there to kill Pei Xingyuan, and the second group rescued Pei Xingyuan from the killer's blade. So, it was not as Your Majesty just said—that someone broke into the prison."
Yuwen Yuan looked at him, his pupils trembling slightly.
Yuwen Qian said calmly, "Although I don't know the details, I heard that the scene was very chaotic. I didn't expect that my second brother could see it so clearly."
Yuwen Ye said, "The bystander sees most of the game."
Yuwen Qian said, "I see."
At this moment, Lou Yingxiong coldly said, "But I've heard that His Highness Prince Qin's men were also involved. How can they be considered bystanders?"
Yuwen Ye said, "Then it must be a misrepresentation by the people below."
After saying that, he turned to Yuwen Yuan and said, "Father, although the scene was chaotic at the time, it is still possible to distinguish between killing and calamity. The guards should be able to explain clearly what my men did."
Yuwen Yuan did not speak, but instead looked down at the scroll placed on the imperial desk.
Then he asked, "What did your men do?"
All eyes turned to him. Yuwen Ye calmly said, "Your Majesty and Ruyi went to the restaurant on the street early this morning. It was on the second floor. We waited to catch a glimpse of the carriage carrying Pei Xingyuan as it passed by. When the carriage approached us, Physician Su appeared and said a few words to Pei Xingyuan inside. Then, suddenly someone shot arrows at the carriage."
Yuwen Yuan glanced at Su Qinglan beside him.
These words were exactly what Su Qinglan had just said to him, and they could be completely verified.
He said, "Go on."
Yuwen Ye said, "There was more than one person who fired arrows, and from more than one place. The guards escorting the carriage immediately went to hunt down these assassins, and the people on the street also became chaotic. Just then, another group of assassins took advantage of the chaos to rush out of the restaurant across the street and tried to assassinate Pei Xingyuan in the carriage while the guards were away. It was only at this time that I sent people over."
After saying that, he emphasized, "Otherwise, Pei Xingyuan would already be dead at the hands of those assassins!"
At this moment, Lou Yingxiong said, "Perhaps these assassins are Pei Xingyuan's accomplices, rebels from Wanggang Village. Their killing of him is just an internal strife to silence him."
Yuwen Ye asked, "Since Pei Xingyuan went to prison, has he uttered a single word?"
Lou Yingxiong was taken aback and had no answer. Yan Shaoxuan said in a deep voice, "No."
Yuwen Ye said, "If there's nothing, why bother silencing them?"
"..."
"Moreover, Jiang Yan and Liang Youying only made their move after these assassins appeared, and their actions were aimed at dealing with these assassins and rescuing Pei Xingyuan from their clutches. It is clear that they were two separate groups, one to kill and the other to rescue."
Before anyone could object, Yuwen Ye immediately looked up at Yuwen Yuan and said, "Father, you are right. I was indeed present, and my men did take action, but only to protect the witnesses from being killed. There was nothing wrong with them."
"..."
Yuwen Yuan remained silent, his gaze slowly shifting from the man's face to the scroll in front of him.
This was the confession that came to the table after the guards returned to plead guilty. Although there were many people, they all said the same thing: at the beginning, a group of people did indeed want to assassinate Pei Xingyuan, which caused chaos among the guards and the surrounding people. Suddenly, someone rushed out from the restaurant where they were lying in ambush, intending to kill Pei Xingyuan. Then, someone came to Pei Xingyuan's rescue. One of them was Qin Wang's men. Later, a man and a woman appeared and took Pei Xingyuan away in the chaos.
The testimonies and statements from both sides match perfectly.
However, this matter is indeed too complicated, and he needs to clarify his thoughts and not be swayed by one side's opinions.
Just as Yuwen Yuan remained silent, Lou Yingxiong suddenly stepped forward and said angrily, "Your Majesty, no matter what, it is true that Pei Xingyuan colluded with the people of Wanggang Village, and it is also true that the traitors of Wanggang Village rescued him. The truth of the Tangquan Palace case lies here. This matter must not be let off lightly!"
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