"Your Majesty, please forgive the Seventh Prince. He has done nothing wrong. He simply came back to lecture me. As a subject, it is normal for me to listen to the prince's scolding. Your Majesty, please do not blame me."
Sheng Mingyu did not act cowardly and also knelt down to beg for mercy.
Du Changming glared at him fiercely, but didn't dare to say anything more.
The eighth prince curled his lips with disdain on his face, but he knelt down obediently, fearing that he would be in trouble.
"Yes, Father, Seventh Brother is my elder brother. If you see me doing something wrong, it's normal to teach him a lesson. Father, please don't be so angry. Don't let your anger harm yourself."
"You two are so honest that you don't even realize when you've been wronged. I want to make a decision for you today, but you still want to plead for him."
The emperor, who was furious just now, immediately laughed when he heard Sheng Mingyu talking to the eighth prince.
The ministers breathed a sigh of relief as the palace suddenly regained its vitality.
If the emperor is not angry, their lives will be better.
"Alright, Seventh Brother, since your two brothers have pleaded for you, I won't make it too difficult for you. But you must remember their kindness. If you curse at them again in the future, don't blame me for being rude."
"Thank you, father, and thank you both for your tolerance." Du Changming responded with gritted teeth.
Although it was disgusting to accept the favor from these two people, he couldn't just be taken away like this, otherwise, he would really miss that position.
"Well, it's almost time. Now that the witness has been brought here, take him to the palace quickly. Don't waste time."
Du Changming had originally felt relieved, but when he heard the emperor's next words, his heart sank again.
He looked back and saw his personal bodyguard being brought up, and his characteristics were exactly the same as those described by the common people.
He completely collapsed and turned pale. If he had known this earlier, he should have killed this man!
The emperor had a faint smile on his face. He already knew who those people were describing.
I just wanted to catch Du Changming off guard.
"Hey, isn't this the guard beside Lao Qi? Why was he brought here? I remember that he was Lao Qi's confidant. You must have arrested the wrong person. What's going on?"
"It's him, Your Majesty! He's the one who approached us and gave us the money! Please spare us, Your Majesty! We were deceived by his words. If we had known the risks were so great, no one would have done it!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, he only dared to let us do things because he saw that we were ordinary people. If it were any other official, do you think he would dare to do the same?"
When several witnesses saw the person being brought in, they immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.
"It seems you have all determined that the man before you is the murderer who ordered you to commit the crime. If that's the case, then, Old Seven, you must give me an explanation. Your two brothers have been so kind to you and have even pleaded for you. What are you going to say now?"
The emperor's expression did not change, which made Du Changming very nervous.
It would have been fine if the emperor had given him some hints, but his tone and expression remained unchanged, making it difficult to understand what he was thinking.
"Father, they must have made a mistake. How could my personal guard have done those things? Even if they did, it wasn't my son's orders. I stay at home all day and I really don't understand what's going on outside."
Du Changming had no choice but to distance himself from the matter.
The life of a mere guard is not as important as his own life.
"You are my son, and I naturally trust you, but you also need to listen to what the guards say. If all your statements match, I will not pursue the matter."
The emperor nodded, thoughtfully.
Sheng Mingyu listened quietly on the side. Today's game was already a disaster, no matter how Du Changming refuted it.
"Please spare my life, Your Majesty!"
The guards could only beg for mercy and said nothing else, which made the emperor very annoyed. He frowned, showing that he was in a bad mood.
"If you have nothing to say, I will behead you today to avenge the prince. If you really are being manipulated by someone, you can tell the truth. I will definitely keep you safe."
"Your Majesty! Your servant..."
The man hesitated and couldn't speak, his eyes glancing at Du Changming frantically, hoping that he would come out and speak.
"Don't always look at the Seventh Prince. Do you mean that the person behind you is the Seventh Prince? But my Seventh Prince has always been obedient!" The emperor meant something, but he pretended to be deaf and dumb.
The third prince couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward to kick the guard down, and the tension stopped.
"Tell me the truth, who is this person behind you? How dare you throw dirty water on me? How audacious! If you don't tell me the truth, I will kill you right now!"
He had a bad temper, and the guards were frightened. They kowtowed tremblingly and refused to say more.
Du Changming also felt relieved. As long as this person didn't say anything, everything would be fine.
"Third brother, you should pay attention to your image. You are a prince after all. How can you be forced to confess under torture? Just punish me as you deserve."
He was calm and spoke in a relaxed tone.
The Third Prince was furious. "Seventh Brother, tell me what should we do about this? This is your personal bodyguard. He wouldn't do anything to harm the Crown Prince. It's already obvious who's behind this, yet you're still pretending to be deaf and dumb?"
The Third Prince saw that he had no other options and could only transfer his anger to Du Changming.
Sheng Mingyu was watching this wonderful show from the side, motionless as a mountain.
"Me?" Du Changming pointed at himself with a smile on his face.
"How should I know what to do? Although he is my personal guard, I don't know everything he does. Third brother, you can punish him however you want."
His nonchalant look deeply hurt the guard's eyes.
The emperor and his men all turned their attention to the guards.
The guard seemed to want to say something but stopped himself. Finally, he closed his eyes tightly and still refused to open his mouth.
The emperor cursed him silently in his heart. It was already this time, and he still didn't say anything. He was really a coward.
"Alright! Since Old Seven said it was all done by your men, then drag them out and kill them. However, you are also responsible for the negligence of your men. From now on, you will be confined to the mansion. Do not come out easily without my summons."
The emperor did not hesitate and immediately turned the matter over to Du Changming.
He has to use this matter to turn things around in front of the imperial concubine. If he doesn't handle it properly, he will never be able to enter the harem again.
"Why?" Du Changming looked up with confusion in his eyes, an expression of disbelief.
"You clearly know that this matter has nothing to do with me, and there is no testimony. Why do you want to punish me?! Father, is this your reasoning?"
Every question he asked hit the emperor's sore spot.
The emperor's face darkened and he pointed at him and cursed.
"Do you really think I don't know where this guard came from? Don't you know the truth behind this? I just want to save some face for you. If you really don't want it, then drag him out and behead him!"
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