Jiuxi

Chapter 689 687 [Sword Pointing]

Longfu Palace, side hall.

Amid the chilly air, Emperor Jing stood with his hands behind his back, quietly staring at the remains of Crown Prince Nalan.

Tian Jue, the chief of the Ministry of Music, stood at the side and said with his head bowed, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Changshan has not made any unusual moves since returning to the palace, and has not made any move against Qing Yu Yingye. According to reports from the secret agents in the palace, everything has been normal in the Prince's Mansion these past two days. Only the Crown Prince Qing Yu Zhongwang went out to visit old friends. The Ministry of Music did not fully grasp the content of those conversations, but judging from the known fragments, Qing Yu Zhongwang was following the orders of the Prince of Changshan to appease the forces belonging to the Qing Yu family."

Emperor Jing's face remained calm as he slowly asked, "How do the people in the court and the public react to my holding Qing Yugong accountable?"

Tian Jue hesitated a little and said, "Your Majesty, most of the dignitaries are indignant, especially the Marshal of the Northern Court, Sa Gai. They think that since the Prince of Changshan is suspected of poisoning His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Your Majesty can put him in jail and punish him. On the civil officials' side, no one questions Your Majesty's decision, but..."

"Just say it."

"Yes, Your Majesty. A few ministers felt that since Your Majesty had no solid evidence, it seemed a little far-fetched to imprison the Prince of Changshan in the palace just because he might know about this strange poison. Of course, these ministers had no intention of disrespecting Your Majesty, but they were worried that this would affect the stability of the court."

Emperor Jing was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Tian Jue and said, "I want to hear your own opinion."

Tian Jue recalled the details of the court meeting that day and said calmly, "Your Majesty, since there are doubts about the Prince of Changshan, why don't you let me investigate privately? If more conclusive evidence can be found, I believe that no matter how Your Majesty deals with the Prince, no one in the court will object. After all, this is a capital crime for murdering His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

In fact, this is a question he has never been able to figure out.

With the emperor's wisdom and cunning, how could he not know the principle of alerting the enemy?
Since the emperor has spies around Qing Yugong and knows that he may be related to the poison, the best option is to look for evidence in secret.

Emperor Jing withdrew his gaze, turned around and walked out, and Tian Jue followed closely.

When he arrived outside the palace, Emperor Jing looked at the snowy scene in the courtyard and said softly, "The Crown Prince's death was caused by collusion between the inside and outside, and the involvement of many parties. It was definitely not the work of a single mastermind behind the scenes. Perhaps in the eyes of many ministers, I am deliberately targeting Qing Yugong. In fact, their thoughts are not wrong, and Qing Yugong did not show too much resistance, which can be regarded as a kind of unique tacit understanding between him and me."

Tian Jue's heart moved, and he asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, are you going to join forces with the Prince of Changshan to paralyze the rulers and ministers of Southern Qi with the illusion of civil strife?"

"You can understand it that way."

Emperor Jing had a strange smile on his face, and then said, "But I always feel that the shadow of Qing Yugong is involved in the death of the crown prince, so pointing the finger at him that day was not a test."

Even though Tian Jue had been in officialdom for a long time and had rich experience, he was still a little confused by the emperor at this moment.

Since the emperor did indeed suspect Qing Yugong, how could they have joined forces to deceive the people of Qi?

Why didn't Qing Yugong try to clear himself of suspicion, but instead cooperate with Emperor Jing to do this?

Emperor Jing was obviously aware of the doubts in his heart, and he said slowly: "Qing Yugong is not a reckless fool like Sagai. From the overall situation, he and I have a common enemy, the Southern Qi. Only by crushing the Southern Qi can I complete the great cause of unifying the world, and if he wants to be truly second to none, if he wants to have the strength and prestige to compete with me, if he wants to return to the position of marshal and re-establish the name of the God of War, he also needs this enemy."

He paused for a moment, then said expressionlessly, "Therefore, when it comes to dealing with Southern Qi, he and I are naturally on the same side, and we have a tacit understanding that can be understood without words."

Tian Jue nodded thoughtfully.

Emperor Jing continued, "We are united against the enemy, but this does not affect our internal intrigues. Qing Yugong knows that after the foreign enemies are pacified, I may start to attack Qing Yu, and even before that, I may continue to weaken his military power. I am the Son of Heaven, and I have a righteous position. Qing Yugong has many enemies in the court, and he is obviously at a disadvantage, so he can only give in step by step. Even though he knows that my move is a bit far-fetched, he still did not resist fiercely. This is the reason."

Tian Jue seemed to suddenly understand, and said respectfully: "It turns out that your majesty is testing the bottom line of the Prince of Changshan."

"It's more than that."

Emperor Jing shook his head, his eyes becoming more profound. "I just said that the Crown Prince's death was full of doubts, and I may not have wronged Qing Yugong. I have known him for decades and I know his character very well. He is especially good at giving a cold attack. Don't be fooled by his docile appearance. Facing my various temptations, he will choose to give in above the bottom line, but it does not mean that he will do nothing."

"But to murder His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..."

Tian Jue wanted to say something but stopped.

The doubt in his mind was what the emperor said in the court that day. If Qing Yugong really wanted to rebel, how could poisoning the prince be compared to poisoning the emperor?
Emperor Jing sneered and said, "Even you can't find obvious evidence in this matter, which means that there is definitely more than one party involved, and there must be people from the royal family among them. If I am killed, the prince will succeed to the throne, and the mastermind behind the scenes, including Qing Yugong, will not be able to gain any advantage. Only by poisoning the prince can Qing Yugong form an unbreakable alliance with a certain prince, and he can gain the greatest benefit from it. Besides, how can it be so easy to kill the king? I know Qing Yugong's strength, and he also knows my skills."

Tian Jue couldn't help but say sincerely: "Your Majesty is wise."

"These are just speculations. It is also possible that Qing Yugong did nothing. This is just my wishful thinking. Of course, I hope I am wrong."

Emperor Jing turned to look at Tian Jue and said solemnly, "I forced the accusation on Qing Yugong, and another consideration was to create convenience for you. No matter how many people are behind the scenes, they will definitely relax after Qing Yugong imprisoned himself in the mansion. This is your chance to find out the cause of the prince's death."

Tian Jue bowed and said, "I will do my best." Emperor Jing nodded slightly and said in a slow tone, "Remember, you don't have to focus on the present when investigating a case. Since the prince's death is related to Queshan Red, you can trace back to a few years ago or even longer to find out why the prince liked this wine and what unusual things happened to him at the time. You can investigate secretly and find useful clues from the pile of old papers, and then follow the clues to find all the people behind the scenes."

Tian Jue said sternly: "I understand, I will follow your majesty's instructions!"

Emperor Jing raised his hand and pressed it on the pillar, saying word by word: "Find the real murderer, cut him into pieces, and offer sacrifice to Nalan's spirit in heaven."

At this moment, Tian Jue heard the deep pain and anger in the emperor's slightly trembling voice.

Although there has never been any family affection in the royal family, the situation between the emperor and the prince is slightly different.

The emperor chose Nalan as his successor from the very beginning, poured countless efforts into him, and placed high hopes on him.

Now that the crown prince has died suddenly, how can the emperor not feel pain?

But he couldn't dwell on his depressed mood, he had to use this incident to make detailed arrangements, and perhaps only at this time would he show some expression.

Thinking of this, Tian Jue said with a guilty look on his face: "It is my incompetence that caused His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to be murdered by a villain. Once the truth of this case is found out, I am willing to die for my crime!"

Emperor Jing was silent for a moment, then turned around and walked away. When he passed by, he gently patted Tian Jue on the shoulder and left only one sentence: "Live well. When I travel to the south of the Yangtze River in the future, you must accompany me and escort me."

Tian Jue was slightly startled, looking at the emperor's departing back, then knelt on his knees and paid homage.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Emperor Jing did not look back. He boarded the imperial sedan chair and returned to the imperial study surrounded by a group of personal soldiers and eunuchs.

After half an hour, a Jinglian nobleman in his forties came to the imperial study and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"No need to pay tribute."

Emperor Jing looked up and saw that the man was tall and strong with bright eyes. He could tell at a glance that he was a brave man.

This man's name is Chemu Gunnanyong, and he is the brother of the current queen.

Emperor Jing said calmly, "I asked someone to send you Wu Yanshu's secret memorial. Have you read it?"

Nan Yong bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have read it over and over again."

"Is there any gain?"

"In the previous battle, the Feiyu Army of Southern Qi escaped with luck. From the process, we can see that the Qi Army is arrogant and conceited. It is obvious that the wars in the past few years have made them so conceited. I think there is nothing wrong with Wu Yan's plan to stay behind. Although the people of Qi often say that an arrogant army will be defeated, the Qi Army will definitely not wake up unless they suffer a few heavy losses."

Emperor Jing hesitated for a moment and said slowly: "The death of the crown prince has caused instability in the court. This is indeed an opportunity for Southern Qi, but I don't think Lu Chen will lose his patience."

Nan Yong smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the new ruler of Southern Qi has ascended the throne, and it is said that he is quite afraid of Lu Chen. Why don't we take advantage of this and stir up conflicts between the ruler and his subjects in the south?"

"I have already arranged for someone to do this."

Emperor Jing looked calm and said, "But I summoned you here today not to ask you to help Wu Yanshu deal with Liu Shouguang."

Nan Yong cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, please give your orders.”

Emperor Jing stood up and walked to the topographic map of the world hanging on the west wall. He looked up at the southwest corner of the map and said calmly, "I attach great importance to Lu Chen, so I asked Wu Yanshu to target the Jingzhou army led by Liu Shouguang, but I think there is another way to go."

Nan Yong came closer, followed the Emperor Jing's line of sight, and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, are you talking about... Shazhou?"

"Ah."

Emperor Jingdi's eyes flashed with coldness, and he added: "Sagai disappointed me. If he had been able to take Shazhou, Qing Yugong would not have been defeated in Yongqiu. The danger of Shazhou lies in Feiniao Pass. If we can take this place, the army can march straight in. I will leave this matter to you. Make preparations first. When Wu Yanshu takes action, you will take advantage of the situation and attack from both sides to take Jingzhou directly."

Nan Yong felt his blood boiling in his chest, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will definitely live up to your expectations!"

(End of this chapter)