Chapter 762 Rupture - Evidence
The emperor's murderous intent had been aroused, and when he looked at Lu Yuanbin again, his eyes were filled with coldness.
"Fifth brother, aren't you going to tell the truth?"
The emperor spoke coldly, and Lu Yuanbin shuddered at the emperor's gaze, shaking his head vigorously.
"Father, I didn't, I really didn't."
Lu Yuanbin insisted that he knew nothing at all.
Upon seeing this, Duke Anguo bowed to the emperor and directly revealed the Fifth Prince's previous act of poisoning.
The scene erupted in uproar!
"Duke Anguo, everything must be based on evidence. Do you have any solid evidence to accuse a prince like this?"
At this moment, no one present, including Lu Yuanbin himself, expected that Yun Yichen would be the one to stand up for him at this time.
“Your Majesty, the matter of poisoning is of great importance. The Duke of Anguo’s statement alone is not enough to prove that the Fifth Prince was responsible.”
Yun Yichen bowed to the emperor, adopting an official demeanor.
The emperor's eyes flickered as he looked at Yun Yichen.
He had always thought Yun Yichen was quite perceptive, but today he was utterly oblivious. It was a foregone conclusion that the Fifth Prince had poisoned him; he could figure out the reason with a flick of his finger. What evidence was needed?
But since Yun Yichen had raised the question, he had no choice but to ask, "Duke Anguo, do you have any evidence?"
Since the Duke of Anguo dared to come to him to report Lu Yuanbin, he must have some evidence!
The emperor was not worried at all, but little did he expect that when asked for evidence, the Duke of Anguo would simply shake his head.
"I only heard about this from my daughter a couple of days ago, so I don't have any concrete evidence."
How could the Duke of Anguo possibly admit in front of so many people that he was the one who found the poison? If that were true, wouldn't that be telling the emperor that he was also an accomplice in the poisoning?
The crime of poisoning the emperor was something even Lu Yuanbin couldn't bear, let alone a mere subject like him.
Upon hearing this, Luo Yuying hurriedly replied, "Your Highness and your subordinates mentioned it by chance, and I was so anxious that I told Father."
The father and daughter hurriedly distanced themselves from each other, and Yun Yichen breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.
"So, everything that the Duke of Anguo and the Princess Consort said was just hearsay?"
It wasn't that Yun Yichen wanted to exonerate Lu Yuanbin; it was simply that now was not the time for Lu Yuanbin to get into trouble. As long as the Duke of Anguo and his daughter dared not reveal the truth, he could still protect Lu Yuanbin.
However, Yun Yichen was too naive. The Fourth Prince had meticulously planned this whole thing, and if he didn't use it to bring down Lu Yuanbin, why would he have broken his promise to Yun Yichen on his own?
"Your subject has evidence that your fifth brother abused his power, deceived his superiors, and attempted to murder his father!"
The fourth prince slowly walked in from outside the main hall. Because of his handsome appearance and aristocratic air, everyone's attention was immediately focused on him.
Behind him, Sun Ruoyun followed at a leisurely pace.
Yun Yichen had not received any news that the Fourth Prince had taken Sun Ruoyun away before he arrived, otherwise he would not have been completely unaware of the danger.
It seems that the Fourth Prince only came to fetch Sun Ruoyun after she entered the palace, intending to catch her off guard.
The fourth prince led Sun Ruoyun to pay their respects to the emperor, while the fifth prince and Minister Sun could no longer contain their shock when they saw Sun Ruoyun.
"Fourth brother, tell me, what did you mean by what you just said?"
The emperor couldn't wait to have the fourth prince reveal the fifth prince's deeds.
"Your Majesty, let the eldest daughter of Minister Sun explain the details!"
The fourth prince pointed to Sun Ruoyun behind him, and Sun Ruoyun immediately stepped forward and knelt in the main hall.
Upon hearing this, the emperor glanced at the kneeling woman, thought for a moment, and couldn't help but ask, "I seem to remember bestowing upon you the title of princess for a political marriage, sending you to the State of Wei to become the crown princess. How come you are in the capital?"
Sun Ruoyun was extremely beautiful. The emperor had seen her at a banquet before and still remembered her.
Upon hearing this, Sun Ruoyun quickly kowtowed and replied, "Your Majesty, the one who went to Wei for the marriage alliance was a maidservant of my daughter. My father did not want my daughter to marry far away, so he secretly kept her behind."
Sun Ruoyun deliberately emphasized the word "privately," implying that Minister Sun had deceived the emperor.
As expected, upon hearing this, the emperor immediately slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "Minister Sun, how dare you!"
Minister Sun never expected Sun Ruoyun to suddenly appear in the main hall. Without having time to think about why Sun Ruoyun would say such a thing, he took a few steps into the hall and knelt down with a thud.
"Your Majesty, I am only concerned for my daughter. I beg Your Majesty to have mercy."
As Minister Sun spoke, his body trembled. He knew that any attempt to argue was now futile.
However, what surprised Minister Sun was that this was only the beginning.
"Father, let's hear what Miss Sun has to say!"
The Fourth Prince aptly steered the conversation back on track.
Upon hearing this, the emperor nodded, signaling Sun Ruoyun to continue speaking about Lu Yuanbin, and Sun Ruoyun certainly did not disappoint him.
"Your Majesty, these are all evidences of my father and the Fifth Prince's collusion with court officials, their secret dealings, corruption, and perversion of justice over the years. I have kept all of this evidence, and I humbly request Your Majesty to review it!"
As Sun Ruoyun spoke, she handed over a stack of account books, correspondence, and other evidence. Upon seeing those familiar things, Minister Sun lost his balance and collapsed to the ground.
Minister Sun never expected that those things that should have been destroyed long ago would still be kept by Sun Ruoyun.
He glanced at Sun Ruoyun, his daughter, the daughter he had always been proud of.
Over the years, he had given Sun Ruojun treatment that even her legitimate son had never received, but in the end, it was all ruined by this daughter.
"Why?"
Minister Sun knew that with those things, his career, and even the fate of his entire Sun family, would change.
He stared blankly at Sun Ruoyun, hoping she would give him an answer.
However, Sun Ruoyun ignored him completely and continued, "After the former crown prince was deposed, the fifth prince always thought that His Majesty would make him the crown prince. But first, the third prince emerged to compete with him, and then the fourth prince recovered from his old illness. Seeing that the position of crown prince was far away, the fifth prince took a risk and reached out to His Majesty."
"With his father's support in court, the Fifth Prince believes that as long as His Majesty passes away, the throne will surely fall into his hands."
After Sun Ruoyun finished speaking, the scene fell silent, while those involved were sweating profusely.
The emperor looked at the countless pieces of evidence in his hand, glanced at the nervous court officials, and then looked directly at the fifth prince.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
The emperor was not unaware of the Fifth Prince's underhanded dealings over the years, but what he shouldn't have done was extend his reach to him.
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