Seeing the Emperor deep in thought, Liu Shiqi was afraid that he would notice something, so he quickly explained, "Your Majesty, our Fifth Prince once encountered an assassination attempt when he was at the post station. Those people were also wearing black clothes."
However, the Fifth Prince was already resting at the time, so he couldn't dodge in time and was injured. We rushed over and chased those people away. It happened so suddenly that we didn't have time to report to the Emperor. Later, the Fifth Prince also felt that it was such a trivial matter and didn't want to trouble the Emperor, so the matter was suppressed.
"I see." The emperor stroked his beard and nodded, seemingly accepting the answer, but what he truly thought was anyone's guess.
"The Fifth Prince's injury is no small matter. You don't need to hide it. His injuries haven't fully healed, and now he's suffered this misfortune. I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and give your Fifth Prince an explanation."
Regardless of the circumstances, the Fifth Prince was injured in the palace, and no matter who the culprit was, they were determined to express their stance.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Our Fifth Prince will be very grateful when he wakes up." Liu Shiqi cupped his hands in thanks.
The Emperor nodded and said nothing more. No one had expected things to turn out this way.
He Liufeng simply stood there quietly, listening to the two people exchanging pleasantries. At the same time, he knew that the Emperor had begun to suspect Zhou Wenli's relationship with the Xu family.
The Emperor is naturally suspicious, and Zhou Wenli's injuries are so strange that he will inevitably connect them to the Xu family, which is also his purpose.
He deliberately injured Zhou Wenli, forcing the imperial physician to treat him, and at the same time discovered the wound on Zhou Wenli's chest, which aroused the emperor's suspicion.
The matter concerning Zhou Wenli and the Xu family must be discovered by the Emperor himself for him to find it true and credible. Otherwise, no matter who reveals it, that person will be suspected by the Emperor, even if that person is He Liufeng.
There was a moment of silence in the hall. Zhou Wenli was still unconscious. At this moment, a young eunuch walked to Laifu's side and whispered a few words in his ear. Laifu nodded slightly and then walked to the emperor's side.
"Your Majesty, the people from the Censorate just now said that they found some clues about those men in black."
"explain."
“On the lower right side of those men in black, there was a small mark, like a totem or something, with a small wolf head on it.”
"Right back waist? Wolf head?" Upon hearing this, Liu Shiqi's eyes widened as he looked at Laifu.
“Exactly.” Lai Fu nodded to Liu Shiqi.
"Does the Fifth Prince know about this?" Seeing Liu Shiqi's unusual behavior, the Emperor asked suspiciously.
"No, it's just that the black-clad men who assassinated the Fifth Prince before also had similar marks on their lower backs, which is why I was a little suspicious."
Liu Shiqi quickly made up an excuse, but his heart was in turmoil. The wolf head on his right back waist, wasn't that the person the Third Prince raised?
Therefore, the Third Prince's men actually followed him here, and even wanted to take advantage of the palace to make a move. If the Fifth Prince died in the Ling Dynasty's palace, the Emperor would definitely be irreconcilable with the Ling Dynasty. In fact, given the Emperor's favor towards the Fifth Prince, it was highly likely that he would send troops to attack the Ling Dynasty.
The Third Prince actually dared to incite conflict between the two countries; what a vicious plan!
Now that it has been discovered that these people are the Third Prince's men, it doesn't matter if they take the blame again. They might as well pin the Fifth Prince's injury on them as well, so that the Emperor of Ling Dynasty will not suspect the Fifth Prince's wounds.
"Such a thing is true? In that case, General Liu, why don't you send someone to check and make sure that the patterns on their bodies are the same?"
The Emperor feigned surprise and spoke, but he knew in his heart that this was just an excuse Liu Shiqi had made up. As for the pattern, the Emperor naturally knew that it was something that only the subordinates of the Third Prince of Zhou would possess.
On the surface, he had to pretend he didn't know, but he had to tell Zhou Wenli about it so that they wouldn't think that Ling Chao's people had hurt them, that they had mistaken their enemy, and that they had taken revenge on the wrong person.
Liu Shiqi is Zhou Wenli's man. As long as Liu Shiqi confirms that these people are indeed the people of the third prince of Zhou, then Zhou Wenli will naturally know the truth.
"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty." Liu Shiqi turned to his subordinate and gestured for him to follow Ling Chao's men to confirm.
The man returned quickly, nodded slightly to Liu Shiqi, confirming that the patterns on the black-clad men were the same patterns worn by the Third Prince's subordinates.
After the two finished their conversation, the Emperor slowly spoke, "Now that we have a lead, I will have people investigate along this lead and give the Fifth Prince and you an explanation."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Liu Shiqi looked at the Emperor gratefully, but a strange glint flashed in his lowered eyes. The Emperor of Ling Dynasty wanted to investigate this matter, and he had no excuse to stop him.
The matter of the internal strife among the princes of Zhou should not be known to the people of Zhou for the time being, especially since the person in question is the emperor of Zhou. Otherwise, if the emperor of Zhou were to take the opportunity to send troops, they might not be able to cope with it.
The Zhou Kingdom appears very powerful on the surface, but in the past two years, the emperor's health has been declining, and the struggles between the princes have intensified, leading to serious internal strife. It is simply not suitable for the country to engage in conflict with other nations at this time.
This was no small matter, and Liu Shiqi couldn't make the decision himself. He could only wait for the Fifth Prince to arrive and let him decide.
However, what Liu Shiqi didn't know was that the emperor of the Ling Dynasty already knew about the patterns on the bodies of the assassins of the third prince of the Zhou Kingdom. He did this on purpose simply to prevent Liu Shiqi from noticing anything.
Both sides had their own agendas, and at this moment, Zhou Wenli slowly opened his eyes.
When he finally saw the scene before him, everything that had happened before flooded his mind. A murderous glint flashed in Zhou Wenli's eyes as he looked at He Liufeng.
This was the first time he had been defeated by He Liufeng. He had originally planned to scheme against He Liufeng, but unexpectedly, He Liufeng had outmaneuvered him and set him up.
And that bitch Xu Yanyan, how dare she betray me.
He remembered this humiliation.
"Fifth Prince, you're finally awake." Liu Shiqi had been keeping a close eye on Zhou Wenli's condition, and seeing him wake up, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Once the Fifth Prince wakes up, he can make decisions about some things without me having to worry about them anymore.
Zhou Wenli surveyed his surroundings, confirming that he was still in the palace, and closed his eyes slightly.
"Did you catch those men in black?" Zhou Wenli asked weakly, his words implying that the men in black had injured him.
He Liufeng was not surprised at all. Zhou Wenli was an extremely proud man. He would never admit that he had been defeated by him. That's why He Liufeng was so confident and blamed Zhou Wenli's injury on the group of men in black.
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