Chapter 915 There's More to the Story
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!"
"..."
"Furthermore, the Pei family should also be included—"
Before he could finish speaking, Yuwen Ye interrupted, "General Lou, things are probably not that simple."
Lou Yingxiong said coldly, "Your Highness Prince Qin, isn't this matter simple?"
"..."
“Pei Xingyuan knew the rebels of Wanggangzhai and secretly met with them at Tangquan Palace to plot against the Emperor. After the incident was exposed, he was imprisoned. Today, because His Majesty wanted to interrogate him, these people took advantage of the chaos to rescue him. This is irrefutable evidence that he colluded with the rebels of Wanggangzhai!”
Yuwen Ye said, "Pei Xingyuan knows the people of Wanggang Village, a fact he hasn't denied, and I won't deny it for him either; in fact, I can even tell you that I've met Liang Youying. But does knowing someone necessarily mean collusion?"
Lou Yingxiong was taken aback when Lou revealed that he knew Liang Youying at this moment.
This seemed to be the biggest flaw that had appeared since the incident, but precisely because it was such a big "flaw," Lou Yingxiong was momentarily speechless, staring at him with wide eyes. Before he could sort out his thoughts and how to speak, Yuwen Ye continued, "Moreover, I witnessed everything today. The people of Wanggang Village probably didn't originally intend to save him."
Yuwen Yuan immediately asked, "What do you mean?"
Yuwen Ye turned to him and said in a deep voice, "Father, Minister Yan just said that right after the carriage carrying Pei Xingyuan left the Ministry of Justice prison, a man and a woman immediately tried to break into the prison to rescue him. This man and woman are naturally Jiang Yan and Liang Youying from Wanggang Village."
Yuwen Yuan nodded slightly.
In fact, before Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi returned, he not only received news from the Ministry of Justice, but also had Su Qinglan identify the portrait sent by the Ministry of Justice, confirming that the two people who wanted to break into the prison were indeed those two.
Yuwen Ye immediately said, "They broke into the prison after Pei Xingyuan was taken away, naturally to save Jiang Yu. This is also Jiang Yan's filial piety as a son."
Upon hearing the words "filial piety," Yuwen Yuan nodded again.
Yuwen Ye continued, "Since they only went to rescue Jiang Yu after Pei Xingyuan was taken away, it's clear that rescuing Pei Xingyuan wasn't part of their original plan at all."
Yuwen Yuan's eyes lit up.
When he heard the news from the Ministry of Justice, he was furious, especially when he heard that the two men had escaped capture again. He was so angry that he smashed the incense burner on his desk. However, in his rage, he also sensed something amiss.
Upon hearing Yuwen Ye's words, he understood—it was a matter of time.
They chose to break into the prison to rescue Jiang Yu first. If the prison break was successful, the two of them would definitely leave Chang'an City immediately. There was absolutely no reason for them to take an old and frail Jiang Yu with them to rescue Pei Xingyuan.
But--
His doubts remained unresolved, but before he could speak, the Crown Prince beside him said, "But they still managed to rescue Pei Xingyuan."
Yuwen Ye immediately turned to him and said, "That's right, but this rescue is different from the one I just mentioned."
Yuwen Qian smiled faintly: "They're both saving lives, what's the difference?"
Yuwen Ye said, “The ‘rescue’ that Your Majesty speaks of is the abduction of Pei Xingyuan from the guards who were escorting him, which is to oppose the court; but the ‘rescue’ that I speak of is the rescue of Pei Xingyuan when I encountered someone on the road who was trying to assassinate him with malicious intent. This action was not to oppose the court, but was out of necessity.”
Yuwen Qian said, "What a convenient excuse of being forced to do something against one's will."
"..."
"I never imagined that, according to my second brother, the traitor's actions were all out of necessity. What else can the court do?"
Shang Ruyi immediately said, "At least, the court can still do one thing: find out who wanted to ambush Lord Pei on the way and what their purpose was."
Yuwen Qian glanced at her, his eyes flickering, but he said nothing. Yuwen Ye continued, "That's right. Hasn't Your Majesty realized that the crux of today's matter lies with the group that first attempted to assassinate Pei Xingyuan?"
"..."
"If the people who plotted to murder the Emperor at Tangquan Palace were indeed from Wanggang Village, then the only people attempting to break into the prison today should be Jiang Yan and Liang Youying. Why did this other group suddenly appear out of nowhere? Whose people are they working for? Why did they want to assassinate Pei Xingyuan on the way? What benefit would they gain if Pei Xingyuan were really killed?"
As he spoke, he immediately turned to look at Yuwen Yuan: "Father, I believe there may be more to the story in the Tangquan Palace case than meets the eye!"
Yuwen Yuan's expression immediately turned serious.
Before today, all his suspicions were on Pei Xingyuan and the traitors of Wanggang Village, but the sudden appearance of this group of people today has indeed given the case some other possibilities.
If the original plan of the Wanggangzhai people was only to rescue the old, senile, and useless Jiang Yu, then who were the people who ambushed Pei Xingyuan on the way, and what was their purpose?
Most importantly, are they related to the Tangquan Palace incident?
The enemies of Wanggangzhai and them were each serving their own masters, and the open fighting between the two sides was also based on their own abilities; but the assassination attempt at Tangquan Palace was a completely different matter. If that incident was not done by the people of Wanggangzhai, but by someone else, and if this group and the mastermind were hiding in Chang'an City, an unknown force, then the matter would be much more serious!
He thought for a moment and said, "Then who do you think was the one who ambushed Pei Xingyuan today?"
Yuwen Ye said, “There are only two kinds of murderers. One is those with personal grudges, but this possibility is very small. After all, today is the day Father Emperor is interrogating Pei Xingyuan. Ordinary people would never dare to make a move under these circumstances. Moreover, based on my understanding of him, Pei Xingyuan rarely clashes with others except when he disagrees with them in court.”
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yuan glanced to the side.
Yuwen Ye continued, "So, it's still about this case. And since the case started, apart from the 'main culprits' we previously thought were Jiang Yan and Liang Youying, only three accomplices have been arrested: Jiang Yu, Physician Su, and him."
"..."
"Currently, Jiang Yu still knows very little about that case, and Imperial Physician Su has already interrogated him thoroughly. Only Vice Minister Pei remains, but he was intercepted and killed just before he was to be interrogated. If he is truly dead, then this case will—"
He paused for a moment, then said, "The investigation can't continue."
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the Xuanzheng Hall immediately became heavy, and he even heard some people unconsciously holding their breath.
Then, he fell silent.
After a period of somewhat suffocating silence, Yuwen Yuan slowly raised his head and asked casually, "Qian'er, what has the Duke of Wushan been doing these days?"
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