Jiuxi

Chapter 411 409 [One step away]

Ning Yuanfu's suspicion has no real evidence.

However, the world is best at association, not to mention Ning Yuanfu's analysis is quite reasonable.

The details of the Qingfeng Street assassination have long been known to everyone. The assassins were well prepared and it was definitely not a temporary act. It was enough to show that they had long planned to assassinate Lu Chen and knew in advance the time and place of the eldest prince's banquet with Lu Chen.

In this way, on the premise that there is no evidence pointing to anyone else, the suspicion on the eldest prince becomes very eye-catching.

However, since the emperor's eldest son was involved, most of the courtiers thought that they did not have the identity and status of the official minister, and they were not sure of the emperor's attitude towards the matter, so they did not rush to agree.

Even so, the eldest prince's heart was still involuntarily suspended.

On the dragon chair, Li Duan said calmly: "Prince Chen."

The eldest prince hurriedly left the class and saluted, "My son and minister are here."

Li Duan glanced at the silent and solemn ministers in the row in front of him, and said in a slightly more serious tone: "Did you hear clearly what Ning Shangshu said just now?"

At that time, Li Duan was noncommittal. Now he looked at the anxious and aggrieved expression of his eldest son. A complex emotion flashed through his narrow and deep eyes, and he said slowly: "In other words, can you be sure that there is nothing wrong with the assassination in Prince Chen's Mansion and Qingfeng Street?" Related?"

The eldest prince's heart trembled. He vaguely realized that there might be a problem here. Could it be that someone in the palace really leaked the information to the outside world?

The eldest prince's emotions were already very depressed during this period, especially after he heard Lu Chen's hint in Feng Yuan Garden that day and realized that his hope of becoming the crown prince was getting slimmer. If Lu Chen's assassination hadn't shocked him so much, maybe he would have The commotion in the palace made everyone feel at risk.

"My son, I heard clearly."

This scene fell in Li Duan's eyes. No one knew the true mood of the emperor at this moment. He looked at the eldest prince who was full of grief and anger, and then looked at the second prince who stepped forward without hesitation. A moment of softness flashed in his heart. , but this emotion disappeared instantly when he saw the third prince.

The eldest prince bowed in agreement, and then quickly defended: "Father, the reason why I want to entertain Shanyang Marquis is just because I admire his character and achievements, and I want to express my respect for him in person, that's all. I can assure my father that I have never told others about the whereabouts of Marquis Shanyang, and no one in the palace would do such a thing."

Although he has never been known for his quick wit, his words were quite reasonable, and many important ministers couldn't help but nodded slightly.

He couldn't tell whether this was possible, but he couldn't let go now, otherwise catastrophe would definitely be imminent.

Ning Yuanfu's face didn't look good. He didn't expect that the second prince would still remember the word "brother" when the battle for the crown prince gradually surfaced.

Thinking of this, the eldest prince turned around and knelt down towards the emperor, and said angrily and sadly: "Father, I dare to swear on my life that I am definitely not the mastermind behind the murder of Shanyang Marquis. I sincerely ask my father to make the decision for me. I implore my father to thoroughly investigate this case and clear my son’s name!”

The eldest prince turned around and saw the second prince looking at him with gentle eyes and whispering: "Brother, I believe you."

In fact, he said this in the palace that night a few days ago.

The third prince reacted quite quickly. He quickly knelt down and said, "Father, I, my son, are also willing to vouch for our eldest brother!"

In fact, the eldest prince and the third prince were brothers from the same mother. The second prince was separated by a layer after all, but he was more determined than the third prince.

Now he was questioned by the officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. What made the eldest prince even more chilled was that no one in the court could defend him.

The eldest prince choked, and his face immediately turned red.

Before Li Duan could speak, the second prince suddenly took two steps forward, knelt down beside the eldest prince, and said in a deep voice: "Father, I firmly believe that the eldest brother has nothing to do with the assassination on Qingfeng Street! I would like to be the eldest brother. As a guarantee, if it is found out that the eldest brother is the mastermind behind the scenes, I am willing to be punished for the same crime!"

Ning Yuanfu said coldly: "What do you mean by His Highness, that the Shanyang Marquis' strict military management is just an illusion? The elite guards he brought out with his own hands are not even aware that they are being watched?"

The eldest prince turned to look at the Minister of Civil Affairs and said hastily: "Master Ning, this king has nothing to do with this case. I don't know why you want to force the suspicion on my head in front of all the civil and military officials! You Saying that the assassins knew Shanyang Hou's whereabouts well does not mean that they must know the details of the banquet held by the king in Feng Yuan Garden in advance. Another possibility is that the mastermind behind the scenes has been sending people to monitor Shan Yang Hou and knew that he went to Feng Yuan Garden for the banquet. What's the problem?"

In the silence, Ning Yuanfu frowned and said: "His Royal Highness Chen is so sure, but how can the assassins know the whereabouts of Shanyang Marquis so well? Do these people have the power of divination?"

A feeling of depression and resentment welled up in his heart. He looked down and saw that the suspicion on Ning Yuanfu's face was not concealed. Many ministers looked at him with slightly strange looks, as if he was the one who sent someone to assassinate Lu Chen. The mastermind behind.

The emperor's voice came to the ears of the three of them.

"Everyone, please get up. Ning Shangshu's doubts are normal. Prince Chen, don't be too impatient."

"My son, I obey."

The three princes stood up one after another and returned to their original positions. At this moment, a general of the Imperial Guard cautiously walked into the Wende Hall and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the Sutra Weaver has asked Qin Zheng to see him."

Li Duandao: "Yes."

Left Prime Minister Li Daoyan, who had been silent and bowed his head before, as if he was old and frail and almost sleepy, suddenly raised his head, with a look of confusion in his old eyes. Li Duan took the opportunity to look over, and the monarch and minister, who had walked hand in hand for fourteen years, looked at each other, and then looked away.

In a slightly strange atmosphere, the warp weaver Tiju Qin Zheng walked into the Hall of Wende with steady steps.

He walked along the spacious open space between the civil servants and military honors, and went straight to the imperial steps. He bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, Qin Zheng, pays homage to your Majesty."

"No need to pay tribute."

Li Duan nodded slightly and then asked: "I asked you to thoroughly investigate the assassin who appeared on Qingfeng Street. Did you make any new discoveries when you suddenly entered the palace today?"

Qin Zheng responded: "Your Majesty, I and my colleagues in the Sutra Weaving Department discovered an extremely important clue an hour ago, so we dare not delay."

This sentence instantly aroused the curiosity of most people in the hall.

They knew Qin Zheng's character very well. If it weren't for the key discovery, he wouldn't have been so eager to visit the palace.

Li Duan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Come on."

All the ministers looked at Qin Zheng standing in the center of the hall, as did the princes on the right side of the imperial steps, especially the eldest prince who looked complicated. He was worried that Qin Zheng's next statement would involve people from Prince Chen's palace, but also hoped that The warp weaver was able to clear his suspicions.

The third prince seemed to be looking at Qin Zheng with concern, but in fact his heartbeat was already accelerating crazily, and his hands hidden in his sleeves were clenched involuntarily.

He did not notice that Lu Chen, who was standing below, did not look at Qin Zheng, but instead kept his eyes on him.

When Qin Zheng stepped into the Hall of Wende, Lu Chen suddenly understood. He finally understood why the emperor did not support the eldest prince, and he vaguely guessed what was going to happen next.

Qin Zheng received the emperor's permission, turned to look at Xue Nanting, his right prime minister, and said calmly: "May I ask Prime Minister Xue whether there is any missing ordnance in the Lingwei Army of Wuwei Camp?"

Xue Nanting was in charge of investigating the responsibilities of the various departments of the Beijing Army. Although he had previously spoken very conservatively in front of the emperor, in fact he had a more detailed understanding of the various departments of the Beijing Army, and he calmly replied: "Yes."

Qin Zheng's expression became solemn, and he faced the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, I have finally made some progress in investigating the identities of those assassins. Among the assassins who appeared on Qingfeng Street that day, one of them was able to use a pair of Water Cloud Thorn, this kind of weapon is quite rare and has relatively distinctive features. This assassin's name is Luan Jicheng. He is from Caimang, Jiangbei. He appeared in Jiangnan four or five years ago, and then disappeared for a while. He started to appear in Beijing about six months ago. Appear."

All the ministers in the court listened attentively.

Qin Zheng continued: "I mobilized my manpower to investigate along this line, and found that Luan Jicheng was a romantic by nature, often lingering in romantic places, and was very close to a brothel girl named Yangliuyue in the capital. According to this Yangliuyue She explained that Luan Jicheng told her half a month ago that he was going to do a big thing, and after it was completed, he would help her redeem her life and take her out of the capital to enjoy the glory and wealth. She also said that one night about a month ago, Luan Jicheng. After being drunk, he spent the night at her place and once said that he met two noble people that day."

A tense mood spread in Wende Hall.

Li Duan frowned slightly, as if he was not satisfied with Qin Zheng's unusual verbosity today, and said lightly: "Two noblemen?"

Qin Zheng said respectfully: "Yes, Your Majesty. Luan Jicheng didn't say much to Yang Liuyue, but he said the names of the two people after being drunk. One of them was Zheng Jinyuan, who is now the commander of the Lingwei Army of the Beijing Army. Captain of the regiment, he is fully capable of providing military-standard crossbows to the mastermind behind Luan Jicheng. Before entering the palace, I had sent people to control Zheng Jinyuan to prevent him from committing suicide in fear of crime. "

Li Duan's face gradually turned cold and serious, and he said slowly: "Is there another person?"

Qin Zheng raised his head and glanced to the right side of the imperial steps, and said in a deep voice: "There is another person named Changsun Jun. I have found out that this person is a Qingke scholar raised by His Highness King Chen in the mansion."

The officials were in an uproar.

After the eldest prince heard this name, he was like a thunderbolt, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Li Duan looked at Qin Zheng steadily, not looking at the eldest prince whose expression changed drastically.

Qin Zheng continued: "I know that this matter is of great importance, especially the people around His Highness Prince Chen, so I dare not be careless and negligent. Because the clues came so suddenly, I am worried about the long nights and dreams, and I am also afraid that I will wrongly accuse His Highness Prince Chen. So I took people to Prince Chen's Mansion in person, wanting to see the Qing guest in person. The palace chief said that Chang Sun Jun left the palace yesterday afternoon and never showed up again. I hurried to Chang Sun Jun's residence and found it empty. No one was there, and there were obvious signs of packing up and leaving.”

The eldest prince instantly turned pale, and large drops of sweat spread all over his forehead.

The second prince looked at his elder brother with great confusion. He thought that although the eldest brother was strong on the outside but strong on the inside, his nature was not too bad and he should not be able to do such cruel things.

But how could Qin Zheng talk nonsense in the Hall of Wende?
The third prince standing on the other side lowered his head and tried his best to suppress the ecstasy in his heart.

A picture seemed to appear before his eyes.

The eldest prince was imprisoned, and the second prince was seriously ill. As the only sound and innocent prince in the Tian family, he walked towards that position step by step amid the noise of officials.

That represents the supreme position.

(End of this chapter)