King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 731 The Emperor’s Personal Trial
"Someone...come here!"

Guo Xing realized that something was wrong, and while shouting, he rushed towards the wall pillar, where a standard sword was hanging.

But before he could take it off, two men who entered the room stepped forward, kicked him to the ground, and then controlled Guo Xing.

Guo Xing's martial arts skills are actually quite good, but compared with the person Zhu Jinghong chose to practice with him, there is certainly a gap.

Deng An stepped forward and said, "General Guo, if you shout again, your family will be in danger!"

After taking a few deep breaths, Guo Xing finally calmed down and asked casually, "Who are you?"

The next moment, he asked again: "Did Sun Shaozu send you here?"

But when he took a closer look at Deng An, he realized that he was a eunuch. His heart tightened and he blurted out, "Are you from Prince Xiang's Mansion?"

Deng An said calmly, "We are the guards of Governor Ning, your old subordinates... We are here today to avenge you for betraying the country and killing a group of brothers!"

These were certainly not his old subordinates, Guo Xing was very sure of this. At this moment he understood that these were the people from Prince Xiang's Palace.

Less than a day had passed since I explained the situation to Censor Meng and the official, and people from Prince Xiang's palace came to us. This was too fast.

Prince Xiang is not here, and I’m afraid that the princess is the one in charge of the palace now!
"I answered your question, and I also have something to say... I hope you reply truthfully!"

Guo Xing sneered: "You want to kill me, why should I answer you!"

“For though you must die, your family will live!”

"Killing someone means silencing them. How can they survive? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?"

It has to be said that Guo Xing is worthy of having waded through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Even in this situation where his life was hanging by a thread, he was still able to keep his thoughts and debate with Deng An.

Deng An sat on a chair nearby and said, "As I said earlier, we are your old subordinates. We are seeking revenge on you today. If we destroy all your people, who will tell us about the revenge? And who can be trusted more than your family members?"

Guo Xing could understand that the Prince Xiang's Mansion wanted to create the illusion of revenge in order to distance itself from the matter.

After all, this was someone who wanted to kill me. Could I trust him? What if he was lying to me?
But do I have a choice?

Guo Xing knew that if he made a choice, his family might have a chance of survival, but if he didn't make a choice, they would surely die, so it was obvious what to choose.

Seeing Guo Xing looking at him with hatred, Deng An didn't care and asked directly: "Why did you frame Sun Shaozu?"

Guo Xing didn't expect this question. He was stunned for a moment, then sneered: "Do you really want to hear the truth?"

"Of course it's true!" Deng An replied.

"That was his fault. He did such treasonous things just to climb up the social ladder!"

"If His Royal Highness Prince Xiang uses such a person, it will only bring disaster to him rather than blessing!"

Guo Xingning had a deep grudge against Sun Shaozu, and when he died, he did not forget to set a trap for him.

After thinking for a while, Deng An asked again: "How do I know...you are telling the truth!"

"I returned to Beijing secretly on the seventh day of the first lunar month, but after only five days, Sun Shaozu and his assassins showed up at my doorstep!"

"Think about it, sir. If he hadn't been guilty, why would he care so much about this? He found someone to kill me in just five days?"

"I didn't want to cause any trouble, but I saw that he wanted to harm me, so I went to the censor and exposed all his bad deeds!"

After hearing what Guo Xing said, Deng An's doubts were largely dispelled. Based on his experience, he believed that what this guy said was true.

In other words, Sun Shaozu was the one who killed Ning Huanxiang...

At this moment Deng An also understood why the princess wanted him to come and ask in person. It was because the matter involved was too complicated.

"Father-in-law, I answered truthfully. Do you mean what you just said?"

Deng An smiled and replied, "Of course it counts, provided that you help us finish the rest of the play before you die!"

"acting?"

Guo Xing raised questions, but Deng An had already turned and left, and the next thing would be done by the guards.

"Guo Xing, you betrayed our brothers and harmed our governor. We will not forgive you!"

"You've done us all a disservice for your own sake of fame and fortune... I'll kill you!"

The two guards started yelling, grabbed Guo Xing and started beating him up, then threw him out of the door.

Of course it was impossible to escape, because there were several men guarding outside, who followed up and beat Guo Xing again.

At this moment, Guo Xing already understood what the so-called helping to finish the play meant.

"Brother, spare me... spare me..."

"It was my carelessness that caused the Governor's whereabouts to be revealed, which resulted in his death..."

"But who could have imagined at that time that those nomadic barbarians would actually be spies of the Dzungar people..."

Guo Xing was acting. When he said these words, he was already trying to exonerate Sun Shaozu.

But at the same time, he was also trying to clear himself of responsibility, otherwise the Guo family would be involved in such a major case and would eventually be wiped out.

At this moment, in the main house of the Guo family, Guo Xing's wives, concubines, and children were all controlled inside the house and could only watch helplessly as everything happened.

In the end, Guo Xing did not choose to be beaten to death, but instead committed suicide by hitting his head against a pillar and died.

After confirming that Guo Xing was dead, the guards of Prince Xiang's mansion withdrew immediately. Then the Guo family members ran out of the house, wailing heart-wrenchingly.

The Guo family was in chaos. After a while, the officers who were knocked unconscious woke up. Some of them went into the Guo family to inquire about the situation, while others went to report to the authorities.

At the same time, in Prince Rui's Mansion, Zhu Jingyuan finally made up his mind to take the risk and touch the golden signboard of Prince Xiang's Mansion at this sensitive moment.

But Zhu Jingyuan knew very well that this matter must be carefully planned. On the one hand, he needed to clear himself, and on the other hand, he had to ensure that the attack would hit the target instead of just scratching the surface.

However, just as Zhu Jingyuan continued to discuss how to select officials to investigate the case, how to arrange for the censors to speak out against the emperor, and how to incite the nobles to revolt, the eunuch entered the palace to report the situation of the Guo family.

"What? Guo Xing is dead?" Zhu Jingyuan was shocked.

At this time, Meng Kuan slapped his forehead and said in great annoyance: "It must be someone sent by the Prince Xiang's Mansion to assassinate him. I should have sent more people to protect him!"

Zhu Jingyuan knew that Baochai left the palace before him, so he agreed with Meng Kuan's judgment.

What surprised him was that the Prince Xiang's Mansion acted so quickly, and it was obvious that all this was done on Baochai's orders.

Guo Xing is dead and the victim is gone, is there any need to make a big deal about this matter?

The answer was obvious, but Zhu Jingyuan was unwilling to accept it and could only sigh in the end.

"Old Thirteen, when you chose the princess, I thought you chose a girl who had lost her father at a young age just to play dumb or to defile yourself. I didn't expect... you chose a phoenix to go home!" Zhu Jingyuan murmured in a low voice.

Although he didn't hear clearly what Zhu Jingyuan said, but seeing his dejected look, Meng Kuan knew that he was planning to back off.

"Your Highness, although Guo Xing is dead, his appeal is still there. It is written in black and white and cannot be false. The case can still proceed!"

"Because Guo Xing was killed, we can carefully plan and lead the murderer to Prince Xiang's mansion!"

Hearing Meng Kuan's words, Zhu Jingyuan stood up and said, "This is too troublesome!"

What "too troublesome" actually means is that the process is too complicated and prone to failure, and if you get involved you will suffer a huge loss.

"Let's leave it at that!" Seeing Zhu Jingyuan was about to leave, Meng Kuan hurriedly followed him and said, "If Your Highness has any concerns, why not pass the news to the East Palace and let them go to Prince Xiang's Mansion?"

"Eastern Palace!"

"That's right...it's not impossible!"

The two of them conspired again as to how things would proceed, and it was obvious that the prince would be the one to be tricked again.

The case of Guo Xing being beaten to death was quickly handled by the Shuntian Prefecture Court. Guo's family members went to record their statements, and the basic circumstances of the matter were clarified.

Killing people during security checks was not uncommon, but since it involved a nobleman and was related to the death of Ning Huanxiang, the matter spread within the court.

As a result, the news reached the emperor's ears, especially the appeal filed by Guo Xing.

Although the investigation results of Shuntian Prefecture Court showed that Guo Xing himself had made a false accusation, his sudden death at this time could not help but make people think that perhaps he died because of the content of his appeal.

The defendant is Sun Shaozu, who was promoted by the Prince Xiang’s Mansion. So is it possible that Guo Xing’s death is related to the Prince Xiang’s Mansion?
Of course, for Zhu Xianming, Guo Xing's life or death is irrelevant.

What he was more concerned about was whether Ning Huanxiang's death was related to Zhu Jinghong.

This is a very serious question. Although Zhu Xianming wants to know the truth, he also knows that it is impossible to delve into it, at least not openly.

In a blink of an eye, four or five days passed. Several princesses in Kunning Palace were still taking care of the sick, while the crown prince and Zhu Jingyuan were busy with their own affairs.

The Queen has been feeling better these past couple of days, so there is no need for all her sons to stay by her side, as that would seem unlucky.

During these days, Baochai spent her daytime in Kunning Palace, leaving all the affairs of the mansion to Daiyu.

Of course, she was not sitting here doing nothing, but was thinking about what was happening in the court, especially the public opinion about the Guo Xing incident.

She was sure that there must be someone behind the scenes fanning the flames, otherwise such a case would not have spread so quickly.

As for the person behind the scenes, it could be the Eastern Palace or the Rui Palace, but it doesn’t seem to matter who it is.

Soon it was noon, and the emperor came to Kunning Palace as usual and had lunch with the empress.

Baochai, Chen Zhi and Yuanchun were responsible for the task of serving, and they had become very familiar with it these days.

Seeing that the Queen showed signs of improvement, Baochai felt relieved. She was also worried that the Queen would not live long enough for Zhu Jinghong to return.

Lunch was over soon, and after chatting with the Queen for a while, Zhu Xianming left Kunning Palace, while Baochai and others stayed in the palace to serve him.

A few people were busy when suddenly a female official came to report that His Majesty wanted to ask Princess Xiang out for questioning.

Hearing this, Yuanchun and Chen Zhi looked at each other subconsciously and saw smiles on each other's faces.

Baochai took a deep breath. She was certainly feeling panic in her heart, so she tried her best to calm herself down.

"Baochai, His Majesty has summoned you, why don't you go quickly!" Yuanchun urged.

Baochai did not answer, but turned to look at her two sisters-in-law before walking out of the bedroom.

Soon, Baochai came to the outer hall. At this moment, the emperor was sitting in the main seat with a stern expression and cold eyes.

"Your Majesty, your son, kowtows to your father. Long live your father!"

Zhu Xianming lowered his head slightly and asked, "Do you know all the rumors in the court today?"

Baochai replied cautiously, "Reporting to the emperor, I am devoted to serving the queen mother and have no time to care about what is happening outside, so I don't know what the emperor is talking about!"

"The death of Northwest Governor Ning Huanxiang a few years ago was related to Sun Shaozu, whom you promoted. What do you think about this?"

"My wife doesn't know the truth and dare not speak out. Father, please order the officials to investigate this matter. If Sun Shaozu really committed a crime, even before Your Majesty punishes him... Prince Xiang will never forgive him!"

Zhu Xianming sneered, which made Baochai, who was lowering her head, even more nervous. At the moment, she was not sure what the emperor meant, so she didn't know if there was anything wrong with her reply.

"The one who filed the complaint, Guo Xing, died. Just two days after he filed the complaint, some people said that the Prince Xiang's Mansion was trying to protect him, so they sent someone to kill him!"

Baochai had never expected the emperor to say this.

The emperor himself told her what the Prince Xiang's Mansion had done, which made her extremely frightened for a moment, thinking that the truth had been revealed and she would be severely punished.

It’s no wonder she thought this way. She was really under too much pressure at the moment, which was why she started to have such wild thoughts.

Even so, Baochai still did not lose her ability to think. She repeatedly analyzed the situation in her mind, and finally she withstood the pressure and made a decision.

"Your Majesty, this is pure nonsense. Please do not believe it!"

"Really?" Zhu Xianming asked further.

At this moment, Baochai raised her head and said solemnly, "Such rumors are definitely intended to slander Prince Xiang. Your Majesty, please investigate carefully!"

This girl is really brave... Looking at his daughter-in-law in front of him, Zhu Xianming praised her in his heart.

"We will get to the bottom of this matter!"

After saying this, Zhu Xianming got up and left, and only called Baochai to get up when he passed by her.

At this moment, in the bedroom, Yuanchun and Chen Zhi were listening through the wall. They were in similar moods and were generally disappointed.

Baochai had already stood up. When she approached the inner room, she saw Yuanchun and the other two and said, "My two sisters-in-law, there are people in the court who are trying to frame my family. Do you think these people are stupid or evil?"

Chen Zhi straightened her sleeves and said, "Baochai...you can't say that. I've heard people mention Sun Shaozu before, saying that he has the heart of a wolf. Maybe this incident is really related to him!"

"Really? It seems that my sister-in-law knows a lot about this!"

Chen Zhi smiled and said, "I've heard a little bit about it!"

Yuanchun replied, "Baochai, the servants in your house should be well disciplined. Today it was Sun Shaozu, and tomorrow who knows who will get into trouble!"

Baochai sighed and said helplessly, "I still envy my two sisters-in-law. The guests who come to your house are all distinguished guests, so there are no such troubles!"

The sisters-in-law were bickering, and the most uncomfortable ones were the palace maids around them. At this moment, they just wanted to find a place to hide.

It was not until someone from the inner room spoke up and said that the Queen was about to get up that the three men shut up and went into the hall.

In the blink of an eye, a few days passed. As Zhu Xianming deliberately suppressed it, Guo Xing's case was handled in a low-key manner.

In the final analysis, it is just a fight between his three sons. Now that the queen is seriously ill, he does not want to make a big deal, so he can only handle it in a low-key manner.

Because of the confession of Guo's family, it was proved that it was still Guo Xing's dereliction of duty that caused Ning Huanxiang's death, so the original verdict remained unchanged.

As for the thief who broke into the Guo family, Shuntian Prefecture issued a warrant for his arrest. Only God knows when he can be caught.

This matter made Zhu Xianming worried, but fortunately, something made him happy recently, that is, the queen's condition has stabilized.

On the afternoon of the 28th day of the first lunar month, after finishing his official duties, Zhu Xianming was about to go to Kunning Palace, when Dai Quan came up to him.

"Your Majesty, the East Depot has found some key clues regarding Guo Xing's case!" Dai Quan reported carefully.

More than ten days had passed since Guo Xing's death. Zhu Xianming had said two days ago that there was no need to investigate further. Now Dai Quan said that he had found a key clue, which made Zhu Xianming a little unhappy.

But since he had already checked, he decided to just listen.

"speak!"

(End of this chapter)