After three years apart, Li Guang had clearly grown taller and matured considerably; he was no longer the frail young man he once was.
"Qing'er has grown up, and I am very pleased with him," the emperor said excitedly.
"How is Your Majesty's health?" Li Guang asked with tears in his eyes.
"I am old and often suffer from chest pain. Last year, when the barbarian troops invaded, I was overworked and developed this ailment at that time. Although I have taken good care of myself, it has not been very effective."
"Father, you must take care of your health and not overwork yourself. Only when Father is healthy can our Great Northern Dynasty be blessed."
"Don't worry, Qing'er, I will be careful, nothing will happen."
"Qing'er's sudden return to the capital to see me, is there something important?"
Upon hearing this, Li Guang took a few steps back, knelt down again, and said:
"Qing'er does have something to report to Father Emperor, please make a decision for me."
"Qing'er, there's no need for such formalities. Just tell me what's wrong, and I will definitely stand up for you. I won't let Qing'er suffer any more grievances."
The emperor stood up again. He knew Li Guang must have something important to tell him; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to the palace to see him.
Li Guang nodded, stood up, and said:
"General Wei is going to the southwestern border to carry out an important mission. In order to help General Wei complete the mission assigned to him by the court as soon as possible, Qing'er led 20,000 troops to the southwestern border."
Princess Li Xue, longing for her brother, also accompanied the army to search for Li Ruge, who disappeared ten years ago on the southwestern border. To protect the princess, Zhao Xian, the Vice Minister of War, also went along.
Unexpectedly, this expedition nearly cost us our lives.
Upon hearing this, the emperor was greatly surprised and quickly spoke:
"What exactly happened? Qing'er, tell me quickly."
Li Guang stood up, scanned the hall, and finally his gaze fell on Li Hui.
The ministers immediately understood what was going on; Li Guang's return to the capital must be related to Li Hui.
Li Guang's gaze was like a sharp sword, startling Li Hui so much that he trembled and quickly lowered his head.
"Father, I have two memorials here. One is General Wei's memorial to apologize, and the other is one I wrote. Please take a look."
After Li Guang finished speaking, he handed the two memorials to the emperor, who took them and read them carefully.
The emperor observed very carefully, and his expression began to darken.
Finally, the emperor finished reading the memorial but did not speak immediately.
At this moment, the civil and military officials in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment. They dared not speak, not knowing what the two memorials contained.
After thinking for a long time, the emperor finally spoke: "Take these two memorials away and read them aloud so that all the officials can hear them."
Immediately, a eunuch stepped forward, took the two memorials, and began to read them aloud.
The eunuch first read aloud the memorial presented by Wei Jin, followed by the memorial from Li Guang. After reading both memorials, the eunuch handed them to the emperor.
The ministers finally understood what was going on. To them, these events were both unexpected and reasonable, and they didn't find anything strange about them. It was perfectly normal for the eldest prince to do such a thing.
This terrified Li Hui, who quickly went to the dragon table and knelt down.
“Father, this is not true at all. Li Guang is making false accusations. I did not arrange for Wang Bingling to harm them at all.”
Li Guang ignored Li Hui and spoke:
“I have captured Wang Bingling. Zhao Shaoqing’s guard, Zhao Cheng, was injured by Wang Bingling’s poisoned dart while trying to save his master. This kind of poisoned dart is extremely poisonous. Zhao Cheng had to cut off his arm to survive. He has also been brought here by me. They are all outside the palace.”
The emperor nodded and said, "Bring the two of them to the main hall."
Soon, Zhao Cheng and Wang Bingling were brought to the main hall. Zhao Cheng was very weak and was supported by two guards, while Wang Bingling was bound hand and foot and escorted by others.
Then, Li Guang took out a piece of paper, handed it to the emperor, and said:
"This is what General Wei told Wang Bingling during his interrogation. His purpose for this trip was to kill me and get rid of me no matter what. This paper has his signature and fingerprint on it. Please take a look, Father."
The emperor took Wang Bingling's signed document, carefully examined it, and then looked at Wang Ling, saying:
"Wang Bingling, the court has high hopes for you, hoping that you can make great achievements. Unexpectedly, you went to the southwestern frontier, disobeyed military orders, and caused General Wei to lose three thousand soldiers."
Not only that, you also intend to harm Qing'er and Zhao Shaoqing. Do you know your crime?
Wang Bingling was terrified and quickly said:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. How could I dare to harm the young prince and the junior minister? It was all arranged by the eldest prince."
Upon hearing this, Li Hui quickly stepped forward, knelt down, and said:
"Father, you are wise. This is Wang Bingling and Li Guang conspiring to harm me. You must not believe them."
Li Guang looked at Li Hui and said:
"Your Highness, please don't get agitated. Wang Bingling's real name is Wang Ling, you should know that."
He was the bandit leader of Wild Wolf Stronghold. When Minister Shen tried to wipe out Wild Wolf Stronghold, he escaped.
Among those who escaped were Wang Ling's accomplices, all of whom were recruited by the First Prince, who planned to use these bandits to find an opportunity to kill me.
These people are all in the First Prince's residence; if it weren't for them coming here to testify…
Upon hearing this, the emperor immediately said, "Quickly arrest these people and don't let them escape."
“None of them will escape. I have arranged for two hundred soldiers to surround the Crown Prince’s residence. We are just waiting for the Emperor’s order to enter the residence and arrest the people.”
Upon hearing this, Li Hui was horrified and nearly collapsed to the ground.
It seems that Li Guang was meticulous in his work and very thoughtful in his considerations. Li Hui was no match for him.
At this moment, the emperor looked around and said, "Is Minister Shen here?"
Upon seeing that the emperor had summoned him, Shen Yong quickly stepped forward.
"Your humble servant is here."
"Is what Qing'er just said true?"
"Your Majesty, this is indeed the case. The man's name is Wang Ling. He is skilled in martial arts and committed a major crime in Qing'an Prefecture, which is being investigated by the authorities."
In order to capture this person, I led my troops to wipe out the Wild Wolf Stronghold, but he escaped beforehand and I was unable to capture him.
Later, his whereabouts were discovered in Huizhou Prefecture, and people were sent to capture him.
Because Wang Ling was skilled in martial arts and adept at throwing knives, he managed to escape after injuring several constables.
Unexpectedly, he managed to infiltrate the First Prince's residence and even brought his former accomplices from Wild Wolf Stronghold with him.
"Your Majesty, please issue an order so that I may immediately lead men to capture those thieves."
The Emperor nodded in agreement and ordered Shen Yong to immediately lead men to Li Hui's residence to arrest him.
Shen Yong received the order and led his men to Li Hui's residence to arrest Wang Ling's accomplices.
After Shen Yong left, the hall fell silent as everyone awaited news of his arrest.
At this moment, Li Hui felt utterly hopeless. He knew that once those people in the manor were captured, he would be doomed.
He knew the emperor wouldn't let him off easily this time, and his reign as the eldest prince was over.
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