Chapter 280: Ning Family Overturns the Case 2
As soon as they met, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple knelt down in the hall, apologized, and confessed the truth that had been investigated by Dali Temple.
"Your Majesty... the letter of treason written by General Ning himself was, as Your Majesty had guessed, a forgery. The handwriting was exactly the same as General Ning's, and it was probably imitated by a skilled person.
"I have carefully checked the letter and found that the ink on it is not blurred at all. However, General Ning was in Qinling Mountains, so the letter should have been sent from there. It was the early spring rainy season in Qinling Mountains at that time. If the letter was really written in Qinling Mountains, the air would be humid and the ink would be slightly blurred when writing, and it would never be like this now."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Chen cried even harder, while Xiao Jingheng suppressed his anger and asked:
"What else?"
The Dali Temple Shaoqing continued:
"The relatives of those so-called General Ning's trusted old subordinates were secretly detained by King Rui early on, in order to put pressure on the generals and make them follow his words to frame General Ning for treason. If they refused to compromise, King Rui would kill their relatives. The generals were helpless and produced the blood-stained evidence that the emperor saw.
Furthermore, the fact that General Ning colluded with Zhuyin Kingdom was completely false. When General Ning led his army into Zhuyin, the Emperor of Zhuyin refused to obey and even cursed the emperor. General Ning was furious and skinned and pulled out the tendons of the Emperor of Zhuyin in the downtown area, causing people in Zhuyin to complain about General Ning and say that he won unfairly. The whole country hated him and it was impossible for them to collude with him.
As for those Zhuyin ministers saying that General Ning was secretly colluding with Zhuyin to instigate a rebellion against Qi Dynasty, it was also because they received benefits from others...”
As for who gave this benefit, although the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple did not say it explicitly, it was self-evident.
After explaining the truth, he clasped his fists and said,
"Among all these, apart from the fact that they committed corruption and bribery, the other evidences show that the Ning family father and son were slandered by others."
At this moment, Concubine Chen was filled with grief and anger, crying at the top of her lungs, which was heartbreaking to hear.
Xiao Jingheng also angrily rebuked the Dali Temple Shaoqing,
"How exactly does the Dali Temple work? When Prince Rui handed me the so-called evidence of the Ning family's crimes, didn't I instruct the Dali Temple to investigate the matter in detail? Why is what I said then so different from what I said today?"
"Your Majesty, at that time, it was the Dali Temple Minister Mo who was investigating the case, and I was not allowed to interfere. However, Lord Mo had been bribed by King Rui early on, and letting him investigate would only make the truth more and more hidden. If it weren't for the fact that Your Majesty was alert and ordered me to investigate the case beyond my authority, I'm afraid that General Ning would have to bear the infamy of a traitor for generations to come!"
Xiao Jingheng's face was extremely gloomy.
He smashed the cup next to him to the ground and said angrily:
"Great! He is really my good brother! He framed loyal officials, weakened external military power, colluded with Zhu Yin, bribed the Dali Temple... He made so many moves, what is he trying to plot? Could it be that he wants to rebel against me!?"
Concubine Chen was heartbroken and hated Prince Rui.
She tried hard to hold back her tears and spoke to Xiao Jingheng fiercely.
"Your Majesty! The late emperor originally wanted Prince Rui to be the crown prince. If Prince Rui had not committed a serious mistake that angered the emperor, causing the late emperor to deprive him of his title, I'm afraid now..."
She looked at Xiao Jingheng's eyebrows twitching with anger, then stood up and knelt in front of him, saying in a shrill voice:
"I think Prince Rui is still thinking about the possibility of inheriting the imperial power, and he is bent on plotting against the emperor and the country of Daqi! It's a small matter that he framed my father and brother, but his intention to usurp the throne is obvious! Such a traitor should be torn into pieces by five horses, and it would not be too much!"
She was very emotional, and had a high fever for several days, so her body was extremely weak.
After saying these words in a sonorous voice, he fainted due to exhaustion.
Xiao Jingheng hurriedly ordered someone to move her back to her room and let the imperial physician take good care of her.
Then he issued an order solemnly:
"Come here! Return to the capital immediately and surround the Prince Rui's mansion, and bring Prince Rui to Suzhou for me! He must be brought alive! As for the people in his mansion, if they dare to resist, kill them all, whether they are his personal guards, disciples, wives, children, or relatives! No need to come to me!"
Xiao Jingheng's rage remained unabated, and he sentenced all the people who had helped King Rui to death with their entire clans.
Later that day, he went to Concubine Chen's room and stayed with her for a long time.
Although Concubine Jianchen was unconscious, she was still crying and mumbling about her father and brother in her dream.
Xiao Jingheng couldn't bear to watch, so he waited until Concubine Chen calmed down and fell asleep before he returned to his room.
He ordered Jiang Deshun to guard outside the door and not to see anyone who came.
The next day, when the court officials came to greet him in the morning and report on state affairs, they saw that the dinner delivered by the kitchen yesterday and the breakfast delivered today were piled up at the door, but Xiao Jingheng didn't eat a single bite.
They all sighed and whispered,
"Your Majesty feels very guilty about the Ning family's affairs. He has lost his appetite and will become ill. What shall we do?"
"This time, Prince Rui secretly framed the Ning family. We pressed the emperor hard in the previous dynasty and made him execute the Ning family father and son. Now it seems that we have become the criminals who framed the loyal and good people."
"It's no wonder that the emperor is worried about this matter. The imperial concubine is deeply favored by the emperor. Her father and brother both died at the hands of the emperor. I'm afraid there will be a rift between her and the emperor in the future."
At this moment, Xiao Jingheng, who was sitting alone in the room, had not slept all night.
In the early morning light, he took out a precious jade box from the closet.
This was what he brought out from the palace. When he opened the brocade box, a letter of imperial edict lay quietly inside.
That was the edict that the late emperor issued that day to make Prince Rui the crown prince...
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