The next day, the morning court session began.
"Minister Wei, have you found any results regarding the matter I asked you to investigate?"
Gu Qingyan's words caused the atmosphere in the court to freeze almost imperceptibly for a moment. Kui Ruo straightened her back and walked out from the queue.
"Your Majesty, I have investigated the circumstances of that year and have both witnesses and physical evidence. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."
The memorial was held up by Kui Ruo with both hands, and everyone's hearts were in their throats. What does it mean to have both witnesses and physical evidence?
Some of the older, more experienced officials sighed almost imperceptibly, already harboring a bad feeling.
Qin Wei took the memorial and handed it to Gu Qingyan.
Gu Qingyan read it without saying a word, then glanced around at himself before silently leaving the court.
Qin Wei was left stunned for a moment, then hurriedly shouted that the court session was over.
"Lord Wei, what are the results of your investigation?" An aged voice rang out on the palace path, and an old minister with white hair and beard appeared, his face filled with sorrow. "How exactly did King Xiang die back then?"
"Old Master Min."
Kui Ruo clasped his hands in a fist salute to the old man, "Back then, the Prince of Xiang did not die in battle, but escaped death and returned to the capital to seek help from the late emperor, but..."
Kui Ruo deliberately raised his voice, "The late emperor was determined to kill the Prince of Xiang, so he gave the Prince of Xiang a huge poison, and then the Prince of Xiang disappeared without a trace."
"Is the King of Xiang dead?" The old minister's hands trembled involuntarily, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
"He is most likely dead."
Kui Ruo's eyes flickered slightly, "But the late emperor did not find the body of the Prince of Xiang, so the tomb has been empty from beginning to end."
Upon hearing this, the old minister's eyes seemed to glisten with tears. He glanced back at the majestic palace, then thought of the silent emperor, and finally let out a deep sigh.
Back then, he wronged King Xiang...
That day, Gu Qingyan arrived at the Prince of Xiang's residence with an imperial procession and stayed there for half a day.
Inside the Prince Xiang's residence, Gu Lin smiled when he saw Gu Qingyan.
Gu Qingyan pouted sadly, "Father, when I finally heard the truth about what happened back then, I..."
He felt a sharp pain in his heart.
His father, having narrowly escaped death, returned to the capital to seek help from his elder brother, only to be tricked by his brother into taking a deadly poison. If his father had made a single wrong move back then, he would not be able to stand before him now.
The scars on Gu Lin's face became particularly glaring in Gu Qingyan's eyes.
"Come on, let me show you around the Prince Xiang's Mansion."
Gu Lin took Gu Qingyan's hand. "Although I know you've been here for almost ten years, I want to show you around myself."
Along the way, Gu Lin vividly recounted to Gu Qingyan the interesting stories that had happened in every corner of the Prince Xiang's mansion, took Gu Qingyan to climb over the walls he had climbed over before, and also took Gu Qingyan to see the trees he had planted himself.
"Father, it's so good to be alive."
"Yes, it's good to be alive no matter what."
Gu Qingyan took out a peace charm from his sleeve with great seriousness and handed it to Gu Lin, saying, "This can keep you safe."
"Where did this amulet come from?"
Gu Lin raised his eyebrows and spoke somewhat unexpectedly.
"Keep it. Your life is precious, so cherish it."
After saying this, Gu Qingyan waved to Gu Lin and left the Prince of Xiang's residence.
Inside the sedan chair, Gu Qingyan lowered his eyes and said, "Qin Wei, immediately summon all the ministers to the palace and tell them that I have urgent matters to discuss with them."
"Also, take Cen Hai with you."
Meanwhile, Gu Lin, who remained at the Prince of Xiang's residence, stared at the peace talisman in his hand, finding it increasingly familiar with him.
Suddenly, Gu Lin's eyes narrowed sharply, and he gripped the peace charm in his hand tightly.
This is the peace charm he left in the Prince Xiang's mansion back then. Has Ayan kept it safe ever since he found it?
......
Summoned to the palace again, everyone looked at each other, wondering what Gu Qingyan's intentions were.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Qin Wei's shrill voice rang out, and behind Gu Qingyan was Cen Hai, who was bound hand and foot.
"Now that everyone is here, Cen Hai, why don't you tell us about what happened back then?"
Cen Hai shuddered and looked at Gu Qingyan in horror.
Before the late emperor passed away, he never imagined that the new emperor would act so ruthlessly.
They could quickly find even the weaknesses he had tried so hard to hide for so many years.
"You servant..."
Cen Hai swallowed hard, and his eyes met Qin Wei's without his noticing. Cen Hai immediately blurted out:
"Yes, it was the late emperor who ordered me to find the most potent poison and have the Prince of Xiang take it."
Upon hearing this, the entire hall fell silent.
"The late emperor was not the designated heir to the throne, so he was worried that if the Prince of Xiang won a great victory in that battle, it would inevitably affect the political landscape of the court. Therefore... therefore, he devised a plan to make the Prince of Xiang lose the battle."
On the dragon throne, Gu Qingyan's hands were already clenched into fists.
Hearing Cen Hai describe what happened back then, Gu Qingyan found it difficult to breathe.
"The late emperor thought that Prince Xiang would die in that great battle, but unexpectedly, Prince Xiang was so lucky that he escaped the spies and pursuers along the way and fled back to the capital."
Cen Hai saw only desolation. At that time, he even absurdly thought that the fact that King Xiang hadn't died meant that Heaven had chosen King Xiang.
"After returning to the capital, the Prince of Xiang was placed under house arrest. At that time, it was the time of the late emperor and the empress dowager's wedding."
At this point, Cen Hai looked up at Gu Qingyan.
"On the day of the late emperor and empress dowager's wedding, the Prince of Xiang took a deadly poison and then disappeared."
Those poisons don't last long; they certainly wouldn't have survived until now.
"In order to cover up the many things the late emperor did to Prince Xiang, he gave Prince Xiang a grand funeral, but in fact, there was never any of Prince Xiang's body in the coffin."
After Cen Hai finished speaking, he smiled foolishly. He hadn't even said the most important thing yet.
The Emperor is the son of the Prince of Xiang and the current Empress Dowager.
The late emperor's scheming against the empress dowager was even more outrageous.
Gu Qingyan's face was extremely pale. If his gaze could turn into sharp arrows, Cen Hai would already be dead, pierced by a thousand arrows.
"Am I truly the son of the King of Xiang?"
Gu Qingyan's words sent shivers down everyone's spines. Now that things had come to this, no one doubted Gu Qingyan's background anymore. If the late emperor had schemed against the Prince of Xiang in this way, then the emperor was truly not the Prince of Xiang's son.
The late emperor had long ago used this to try and kill the emperor.
He would absolutely not pass the throne to the emperor.
"The Emperor is the son of the Prince of Xiang."
The Emperor bears an uncanny resemblance to both the Empress Dowager and the Prince of Xiang, yet ironically, no one has noticed, allowing this earth-shattering secret to remain hidden until today.
Suddenly.
With a thud, the old man who had once asked King Wei Ruoxiang about his cause of death fell to the ground.
"Old Master Min!"
The surrounding officials all stepped forward to help the old man up, but the old man waved his hand, his cloudy eyes fixed on Cen Hai, "Is everything you said true?"
"Lord Min, it is absolutely true."
A cry rang out; the old man was weeping uncontrollably. How could he have done that back then...?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com