When the eighth prince was mentioned, Xu Hongwen's expression changed.
The other three guards turned pale instantly. If they had known it was the Eighth Prince's men, they would never have dared to attack...
Xu Hongwen stared at the old storyteller in the distance. If the old storyteller was instructed by the Eighth Prince, then what was he trying to achieve?
He is a prince and a member of the royal family. The content of the paper with the national seal on it is a slap in the face of the royal family, and making it public would be an embarrassment to himself.
"Prince, we can't interfere with the Eighth Prince's people." The guard said cautiously.
Xu Hongwen thought that if it was really the Eighth Prince's instigation, perhaps this incident could be used to prevent the Emperor from doting on the Eighth Prince.
The Eighth Prince has been too arrogant in the past ten years. No matter how big a disaster he has caused, the Emperor has always supported him and has shown favoritism over the years.
Even a few years ago, he massacred the entire family of an official in the capital. When the emperor found out, he did not punish him too severely, but just put him in solitary confinement.
It is because of the emperor's indulgence that the eighth prince is so arrogant.
If the emperor knew that the current situation in the capital was caused by the eighth prince, would he still tolerate him?
Thinking of this, Xu Hongwen felt a little happy in his heart. Being able to bring down the Eighth Prince, Shu'er would definitely look at him with admiration.
"Turn around and go into the palace." Xu Hongwen said.
Just as the Earl's carriage turned around, hurried sounds were heard on the street.
"Oh no, oh no, something happened at the city gate, something happened to Aunt Wu, your Wu Qiong."
"Third boy, what happened to the Wu family's son?"
"Wu Qiong...Wu Qiong was beaten half to death and hung at the city gate."
"What? Isn't the Wu family's son a servant in the Earl's Mansion? How could he be beaten half to death?"
"It's true. There's even a notice posted at the city gate saying he was caught red-handed in the assassination of Marquis Xiang Ming and Miss Xiang..."
"Assassination? Oh, the Wu family is quite honest. How dare their son assassinate someone?"
"Let's not discuss this anymore. Isn't Aunt Wu always setting up a stall on Zhong Street? Have you seen her?" the boy said anxiously.
"It was there just now, I don't know..."
"Go find it quickly."
“Oh oh oh…”
The people who had just gathered together suddenly dispersed.
The young man anxiously scanned the stalls. "Aunt Wu, Aunt Wu, are you there? Aunt Wu, your Wu Qiong... Hey? Who are you and why are you arresting me?"
"Shut up."
Two guards from the Earl's Mansion carried the young man towards the carriage.
The young man was terrified and didn't dare to struggle, because he saw the carriage of the Earl's Mansion...
"Kneel down."
Walking to the side of the carriage, the guard pushed the man to the ground.
Xu Hongwen's brow darkened. "You just said there was a corpse hanging at the city gate?"
The boy shook his head in horror: "No...it's not a corpse..."
"Tell me everything you saw."
Wu Qiong, Xu Hongwen knew this person. He was the first-class guard of their Earl's Mansion. It seemed that he was the one sent to Sifang Town yesterday.
"The people... those hanging at the city gate are not dead, they are still alive. The names and addresses of those people are written on the notice... I saw... there is a person named Wu Qiong. I looked for a long time before I recognized him. Wu Qiong's mother buys vegetables at Zhongjie all year round... I just came to tell her." The boy hesitated and was about to cry.
"All? There are so many people hanging at the city gate?" Xu Hongwen grasped the key point.
"Yes... there seem to be twelve of them. They said they were arrested last night for committing a crime in Sifang Town."
"Twelve? Really twelve?"
"Bang" "Hiss..."
Hearing the number, Xu Hongwen stood up in shock, seemingly forgetting he was still in the car. He exerted too much force and his head hit the roof hard, causing him to grimace in pain.
"Prince, are you okay?" the guard exclaimed.
Xu Hongwen's head hit so hard that he felt dizzy.
The boy was terrified, and while the guards were distracted, he broke free from them and ran towards the alley next to him.
"Little bastard."
The guard cursed and started to chase after him.
"return."
Xu Hongwen half bent over, covering his head.
The guard stopped and said, "Prince, are you okay?"
"Okay, bullshit, let's go to the city gate." Xu Hongwen shouted angrily, covering his head with his fingers, where there was an obvious big bump.
"Didn't the prince say he wanted to enter the palace?"
"To the city gate, now, immediately!"
"Yes, yes, please sit down, my lord."
Xu Hongwen moved his body and sat up. His head felt hot. When he put down his hands, there were some red spots on his palms. Anger was burning in his heart.
Twelve people?
Yesterday he sent out exactly twelve people to assassinate Miss Xiang. How could they all be caught?
Not long after the hour of Chen had passed, the news of the replica of the imperial edict and the storytelling spread, and then the news of the twelve people hanging at the city gate also spread throughout the city.
Gao Qi, Yin Qing and Huo Jinxuan had finished their meal at the restaurant. As they walked out, they saw many people passing by in a hurry.
Some of them were muttering something as they walked, with looks of surprise and fear on their faces.
Yin Qing was puzzled and grabbed one of them: "Brother, what are you doing in such a hurry?"
"Go to the city gate."
"What are you doing at the city gate? Is Marquis Xiang Ming going to enter the capital again?"
"No, I heard that twelve people were hanged at the city gate early this morning."
"Oh? There's such a thing?"
"I just heard about it. We don't know whether it's true or not. Let's go and see it." The man seemed to be in a hurry to join in the fun. He broke free from Yin Qing's hand and ran away in a hurry.
Yin Qing was excited: "Let's go and take a look."
"Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble now?" Takaki glanced at him.
Yin Qing waved his hand: "With so many people, we can't be so unlucky. It's not my fault that I got into trouble. Besides, we still have Mr. Gao to support us. Jin Xuan, let's go."
"Let's go, Mr. Gao." Huo Jinxuan joked with a smile.
Takaki raised the corner of his mouth. It was not difficult to guess who the matter was related to. The person who hung up the city gate was indeed arrogant.
The sun was scorching and there were already many people crowding at the city gate.
The man hanging on the city wall was in great pain all over his body, but he was conscious. He looked weakly at the people gathered below, feeling a sensation more unbearable than death.
The notice posted at the city gate clearly states everyone's information, even their ancestral home.
Those who were hanging there were recognized and thought of the Earl's Mansion. Considering the Fifth Princess' action of closing the city gate yesterday, even a fool could understand it. They didn't know whether the Earl's Mansion would come to pick them up.
Li Kun went to the Changyang Palace to find Prince Changyang.
Prince Changyang got out of the car and went straight to the city gate. He looked around at the twelve people. Most of them were covered in blood, but that person's face was clean.
The person hanging above seemed to be intentionally hiding his face in his hair, and his head seemed to be buried in his chest.
Even so, Prince Changyang saw one or two familiar faces.
"The prince has posted these people's names and information. Do you think they are..." Li Kun had just told Changyang about the matter, and his words were vague at this time.
"No need to look, these people are from their house." Prince Changyang said.
Li Kun didn't know what to do when he heard this, so he asked tentatively, "Since he is from their house, should I send someone to ask them to come pick him up?"
"No."
Li Kun was puzzled: "Why?"
"If the Earl's Mansion comes to take the person away, wouldn't that mean they admit the assassination?"
“…”
Li Kun pursed his lips in a complicated manner, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Do I need to admit it?
Isn't it obvious now?
"Your Highness, what do you think we should do? It's not a good idea to have twelve people hanging at the city gate. The Emperor might not even know about this. If he does, I won't be able to handle it properly..." Li Kun knelt down, "Please, Your Highness, save me."
Prince Changyang thought for a moment and said, "I will report to the Emperor. For the time being, the people on the city gates can be left hanging. As for the Earl's Mansion, if they come to claim the people, you can release them. If they don't, we will take them down after they die, and send people to each family to claim the bodies."
"Yes, thank you, Your Highness." Li Kun kowtowed.
"Get up."
Li Kun stood up slowly, feeling weak all over. He was still young at 30, but now he felt physically and mentally exhausted and looked ten years older.
He thought his sudden promotion was a sign of good luck in his career, but he didn't expect to encounter such a difficult situation on his first day in office.
"Look, the people from the Earl's Mansion are here."
There was a cry of surprise from the crowd, and everyone looked towards the city. The Earl's carriage was galloping towards them.
The moment Li Kun saw the Earl's carriage leaving the city, his face was filled with joy and he immediately wanted to meet it.
"Lord Li, don't be anxious." Prince Changyang stared at the carriage that was getting closer and closer.
"Your Highness, the Earl's Mansion must have learned the news and is here to pick someone up. These people are cautious people, so they can take Your Highness away now without having to embarrass Him in front of His Majesty." Li Kun said as he walked towards the carriage.
Come to pick someone up?
Prince Changyang did not think that the Earl's Mansion would be so soft-hearted. It was no wonder that Li Kun had been sitting in a small official position for eight years because he was so short-sighted.
The Earl's carriage turned out of the city and stopped on the left side of the official road, just below the hanging man.
The guards driving the carriage saw a man hanging on the opposite city wall. The knife wounds on his body were glaring and the blood had dyed his clothes dark red.
"Prince...Prince..." The guard's voice trembled.
Xu Hongwen did not get out of the car, but just lifted the curtain and looked at the opposite side. From what he saw, they were indeed the people sent to assassinate yesterday, but... weren't there twelve people? Why were there only six?
"Prince, you are finally here."
Li Kun stopped a few steps away from the carriage.
Xu Hongwen turned his eyes and asked coldly, "Who are you?"
"I just took over the inspection camp today, replacing Lord Fang." Li Kun said with a smile.
Xu Hongwen snorted softly, his eyes once again falling on the other person's hanging body: "Where are the other six?"
“It’s all here.”
Xu Hongwen glanced around again, his face darkening: "Are you kidding me again, sir?"
Li Kun was stunned and nodded: "I dare not."
"Where are the others?" Xu Hongwen asked again.
Li Kun hissed inwardly, there are still six?
The Earl's Mansion is really willing to take action!
Seeing the other party remain silent, Xu Hongwen glanced at him coldly: "Sir, my patience is limited. Where are the other six people?"
Li Kun saw the other person's expression change, confused and panicked: "Sir, they are all here. There were only twelve people when they were hung up this morning. I don't know where the others are."
After saying that, he spread his hands and wanted to curse in his heart.
It has been less than two hours since he took office, and he has been hit hard several times!
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