Chapter 122 The Fish is Hooked
An official presented a secret letter.
The content of the secret letter was that the prince told the deposed queen that he had left 80,000 National Protection Army soldiers in Wudan, and only allowed Wei Qingyan to bring 20,000 National Protection Army soldiers back to the capital.
The letter also described Wei Qingyan's route back to Beijing, and how he sent secret guards to follow him all the way.
The handwriting was indeed that of the prince.
The official was Lord Xu, the Junior Secretary of the Crown Prince's side, and was highly trusted by the Crown Prince.
Therefore, his report is more credible.
The prince's brain buzzed. How could the letter be among his mother's belongings?
Lord Xu has always followed his lead, how could he betray him?
The prince's party was even more shocked by this sudden scene, and they all glared at Lord Xu angrily.
Lord Xu ignored everyone's gazes and knelt down, saying, "Yesterday, when I was helping the Crown Prince sort out the belongings left by the deposed Queen, I found this letter.
I am from the Prince's Chamberlain's Office, and the Prince is the most important thing. However, this matter concerns the National Protection Army, and my conscience prevents me from pretending that nothing happened.
In addition, what the Crown Prince did yesterday has made me determined to present this letter to Your Majesty, hoping that Your Majesty will give justice to the National Protection Army and appease the hearts of the soldiers of the Great Wei.
This is an act of betrayal, and I beg to be exiled to a desolate land. Your Majesty, please grant my wish."
The emperor stared at the letter in his hand with an unfathomable expression. After a long pause, he asked, "Prince, do you have anything else to say?"
Upon hearing this, the prince knelt down and said, "Father, I am innocent."
Du Xueyi had heard Wei Qingyan say several times that she suspected the prince was also involved in the Huangshaling incident.
He was furious, "I remember clearly that it was indeed the Crown Prince who left behind 80,000 troops to protect the country, citing the instability of the Wudan border and his concern for Wudan's renewed ambitions.
Liu He accused the Queen, but the Queen denied everything with a single statement: "Unjustly accused." Now the secret letter is in Your Majesty's hands. Liu He is the witness, and the secret letter is the physical evidence. You have both. The Crown Prince still wants to deny it. Is he trying to fool the people of this world like they are fools?
The emperor's gaze lingered on Du Xueyi for a moment, and he exerted a little force on the hand holding the letter.
Xie Shen hurriedly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's handwriting is not difficult to imitate. If someone wants to frame the Crown Prince..."
"Thank you, Lord, as the Minister of Justice, the matter of the assassin entering the Anyuan Marquis's mansion has not been investigated yet.
Now, does Master Xie also want to take over the Crown Prince's case and investigate it for ten or twenty years?"
Du Xueyi interrupted Xie Shen harshly. Since this matter concerned his brothers in the National Protection Army, he could not remain silent.
He lifted his robe and knelt, "Your Majesty, Lord Xu is the Junior Secretary to the Crown Prince, and this letter was found among the deposed Empress's belongings, and it matches what Liu He had previously identified.
The deposed queen learned of General Wei's whereabouts from the crown prince, so when he was trapped in Huangshaling, she was able to write to Wu Yuchu in time to stop Yan Qing from mobilizing troops.
As the crown prince of a country, he murdered loyal officials, oppressed the people, seized his uncle's work, and cursed his uncle's death. This is truly chilling. I implore Your Majesty to severely punish the crown prince and rest the souls of the 20,000 soldiers in peace."
"Du Xueyi, you are so bold!" The prince was furious. "I said this letter was not written by me, so it was not written by me. Don't wrongly accuse me."
"There are gods above us. There are some things that the Crown Prince cannot deny just because he wants to." Du Xueyi looked at him with his neck stiffened. "Once something is done, the traces cannot be completely erased."
Xie Shen chimed in, "Marquis Anyuan, we need evidence for everything. Lord Xu said that the letter was found among the deposed empress's belongings, so there are doubts.
If it was really written by the Crown Prince, why didn't the deposed Queen destroy the letter after reading it for such a major event? She allowed it to fall into the hands of others.
Secondly, Marquis Anyuan determined that this letter was written by the prince, but you cannot deny that someone could imitate the prince's handwriting."
"Minister Xie is so good at analysis, he seems to be no incompetent person. Then why has he not given an answer to the assassination case of Anyuan Marquis Mansion for so long?"
Du Xueyi snorted, "Since Lord Xie has made an analysis, I will also give Lord Xie an analysis.
The assassin's target that night was Senior Lan, who was the Concubine Shu of the Eastern Palace back then. Senior Lan had only been in Beijing for a short time and had no grudges against anyone.
Who could possibly want her life? Who was her presence hindering? I don't need to explain, everyone knows it.
Secondly, in this capital city, who can casually send out more than twenty skilled assassins to assassinate me in my mansion?
The biggest suspect is the prince. Lord Xie must have thought of this. He just wants to protect the prince.
Lord Xie, sitting in the position of Minister of Justice, doesn't he feel guilty about such an unfair judgment?
If all the officials of the Great Wei were like you, how could His Majesty not be hard-working? "
"Marquis Anyuan, solving a case is not just guesswork." Xie Shen was furious.
"Your Majesty, what Minister Xie said is very true." Wang Gangzheng suddenly said in a loud voice, "I have studied calligraphy quite a bit, and I might be able to tell whether it is imitation or not.
In addition, Mr. Yu Liangzhi is highly accomplished in this area, and I implore Your Majesty to allow him to come and identify it."
"I second the motion." Du Xueyi said hurriedly.
Later, some other officials echoed this.
The emperor nodded and looked at Feng Ruobao, "Please come in, Mr. Yu."
As Feng Ruobao just left the palace, Shi Yu also found Wei Qingyan and told him in detail about Lord Xu's report on the prince.
Wei Qingyan's eyes lit up slightly, "The fish has taken the bait."
The first move he made was such a powerful one.
These days, they have been luring the Crown Prince to investigate the affairs of Princess Yu in detail, just to see if there is someone behind Princess Yu.
If there is, it will definitely anger the prince and then take revenge.
Lord Xu is from the Prince's Mansion, but he suddenly stabbed the Prince in the back. It was obviously revenge.
Otherwise, she couldn't figure out why Lord Xu suddenly took out the letter.
She didn't believe that the queen would be stupid enough to keep the letter. It was most likely taken away by someone close to her and left as a handle.
She didn't believe that Lord Xu did this for the sake of his conscience and the National Protection Army.
Birds of a feather flock together. The prince has such a virtuous character. How can Lord Xu be a good person if he is valued by the prince?
However, "This person was able to place someone beside the Queen and make the Junior Secretary abandon his career just to take revenge on the Crown Prince. His status must be quite high."
Shi Yu nodded, "Don't worry, the fish will surface sooner or later. Once Lord Yu confirms that the handwriting is indeed the prince's, the emperor will not sit idly by.
By then, the Crown Prince will surely come to the Queen Mother for help. We'll see how Nanny Wang Chun reacts."
If Nanny Wang Chun and Princess Yu were in cahoots, they would definitely dissuade the Queen Mother from pleading for the Crown Prince.
Wei Qingyan nodded, his eyes turning slightly, "Did you also tell the Queen Mother that the Crown Prince wanted to snatch your marriage?"
Shi Yu hummed lightly, "You said she treated me differently in Prince Rong's mansion before, so I took this opportunity to see how she would react to the Crown Prince insulting me like this."
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