The emperor did not respond.
The entire bedchamber was unusually quiet.
After a long while, Huaifu cautiously stole glances at the emperor's expression.
The deposed crown prince was born to the late empress. Although the late empress died young, the deposed crown prince was truly remarkable. He was exceptionally intelligent from a young age, and whether it was reading and writing, riding and archery, or fighting on the battlefield, he far surpassed the other princes.
Even after the emperor appointed a new empress, he still valued the deposed crown prince highly, and everyone believed that the deposed crown prince would become a rare wise ruler in the future.
But what happened during the Lantern Festival shattered all the trust between the emperor and his ministers and the common people.
Huaifu witnessed firsthand how the emperor nearly fell ill from anger.
He thought there was evidence to prove that the deposed crown prince was innocent, and the emperor would be pleased because they had thought the ruthless and rebellious deposed crown prince was actually innocent and had been framed.
With evidence, it can be shown that the deposed crown prince is still the excellent heir they expect and believe in.
But Huaifu now discovers that the emperor is unhappy.
It seems the emperor doesn't expect the deposed crown prince to clear his name and restore his innocence...
This realization startled Huaifu. He immediately lowered his head, his heart pounding, and he even held his breath.
On the Lantern Festival, Consort Li and her entire palace were massacred, and the Eastern Palace was filled with blood. If it is proven today that the Crown Prince was wronged, then who will bear the responsibility for the tragedy of the past?
He's the emperor.
Even if the emperor could say that he was blinded by treacherous people and issued such an order, it would still prove that as an emperor, he was not calm enough and could not distinguish right from wrong at the time, which led to such a miscarriage of justice!
If the case of the deposed crown prince is overturned, his imperial authority will be damaged, and his illustrious reputation will be severely affected a century later...
Huaifu suddenly shivered.
"Your Majesty, General Lan requests an audience." Another eunuch ran in from outside, breaking the silence in the palace.
Before the emperor could summon him, General Lan had already followed the little eunuch in, panting heavily and in a great hurry, and knelt before the emperor to pay his respects.
How dare they trespass into his bedchamber!
The emperor finally found a reason to show his displeasure!
"This humble general did not intend to trespass into Your Majesty's palace; I had no other choice! Moreover, this matter is extremely urgent. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!" General Lan said.
Before the emperor could speak, General Lan hurriedly said, "I heard some noises last night and found that things were not very peaceful outside the capital. For the safety of the capital, I took a few men and went outside the city. I found that Taoxi Village was in the midst of a battle, with flames soaring into the sky!"
"This humble general was quite frightened, thinking that the enemy had infiltrated our country and quietly arrived outside the capital to kill our people. I immediately led my men to secretly investigate near Taoxi Village, only to find that the situation was not as this humble general had thought!"
"It turns out that a group of people of unknown origin, disguised as the deposed crown prince, were massacring the people of Taoxi Village."
"This humble general accidentally ran into the deposed crown prince. The deposed crown prince was covered in blood, and with a dozen or so men under his command, he was pitifully fighting against a group of unknown people. Blood was flowing from his body, all for the sake of protecting the people of Taoxi Village!"
The emperor's heart sank with General Lan's words.
The previous report said that the deposed crown prince was leading his men to massacre the people of Taoxi Village, but now General Lan has given a different account.
General Lan continued, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I simply wouldn't have believed that the deposed crown prince would risk his life to save the villagers of Taoxi Village!"
"I wonder what kind of evil person would put the deposed crown prince in such an unjust situation! First, he was deposed, and now he has to bear the infamy of massacring villagers!"
"When I escaped, I saw Lord Cui leading his guards towards Taoxi Village. I initially thought that Your Majesty knew the truth and sent Lord Cui to help depose the Crown Prince, but, but..."
General Lan's eyes were red, and he said with grief and urgency, "Your Majesty, have you been deceived? This humble general begs you to quickly rescind your order, otherwise when the deposed crown prince is captured, the villagers of Taoxi Village will also be slaughtered!"
The emperor pursed his lips, his face darkening.
General Lan kowtowed repeatedly on the floor: "Your Majesty, when I entered the palace, I also rescued several villagers from Taoxi Village and brought them with me. After hearing their words, Your Majesty will know that everything I said is true! Bring them here!"
This completely denied the emperor any chance to refuse.
Five villagers were then brought in.
They were dressed in rags, their bodies stained with blood, and there were even burn marks on their hair, ankles, or wrists.
There were elderly people over seventy years old and children as young as five, all kneeling before the emperor, their voices trembling with sobs as they kowtowed.
They begged the emperor to save their families, and even said that the deposed crown prince was a good person, and that without the deposed crown prince, they would never have been able to wait for General Lan to come and save them!
"This is outrageous!" The emperor slammed his fist on the table, his face contorted with rage. "Right under my nose, such audacious individuals dare to attempt to massacre the villagers of Taoxi Village and frame the deposed crown prince!"
"Huaifu, take them away and settle them properly."
"General Lan, convey my decree: proceed immediately to Taoxi Village and order Cui Shao to bring the Crown Prince back to the palace at all costs. I will thoroughly investigate this case!"
Huaifu arranged for several eunuchs and palace maids to step forward and take the five villagers away.
The emperor then said, "I knew it. The crown prince I personally appointed back then was not such a vicious, ruthless, and rebellious person! I suspected from the beginning that he was framed!"
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