The people from Hunan left the East Palace privately without waiting to ask the prince for instructions, and went straight to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to see Shen Jing. Shen Jing understood the purpose of his visit and welcomed him to sit in the living room without asking.
The Xiang people talked about the situation in the East Palace angrily, and then asked: "Is there any movement here, Your Majesty?"
"Probably not. I'll go find out the news later," Shen Jing frowned, "But if the emperor really finds out, what will you do?"
"To be honest, I came here with this intention in mind," Xiangren said. "I hope you can keep an eye on the emperor. He doesn't know what's best. If you do, don't let the emperor drive to the East Palace. Please advise." He summoned the prince in his palace. In this way, you can order the edict to go to Dali Temple first and call Lan Yuan back."
"As expected of Mr. Chen, this idea is really reliable," Shen Jing nodded and stood up, "I'm ready to leave. Please report back to Mr. Chen."
But the Xiang man smacked his lips and said, "I'm not worried. Why don't you just leave me here to wait, so you can contact me if you need anything."
Shen Jing had no choice but to let him stay here, ordered a few young eunuchs to take good care of him, and hurried to his bedroom.
The orange lights were still on in the palace, and the emperor had not gone to bed. Shen Jing took a special look at the moon outside. It was probably the second watch, and he felt a little guilty in his heart. He stood sideways behind the screen, wondering whether he wanted to advance or retreat.
"Do you know what day it is today?" The emperor's voice suddenly came, low and filled with anger, which made Shen Jing shudder. He knew he was being called, so he walked out of the screen tremblingly and knelt down in front of his majesty.
"Because it was already late, I was afraid of disturbing the Holy One, so I did not dare to enter the temple rashly. I had no other intention and begged the Holy One to forgive me..."
"I asked you what day it is today!" The emperor's tone was a little more stern.
"I don't know." Shen lay on the ground, not even daring to raise his head.
"The mourning clothes that the prince sent to your chamberlain...do you still remember them?"
Shen Jing pretended to be confused: "Of course I remember. But I also felt strange. I didn't know what the prince meant, and I couldn't make any assumptions, so I didn't report it."
"Let me tell you, today is the anniversary of my son's death. It turns out that you have all forgotten, and I am the only one who feels the pain..." At this point, the emperor sighed involuntarily - but only for a moment, and then clenched his left hand. He held the dagger by his side and looked around warily, as if this sigh would arouse someone's covetousness. "Well, I don't want to talk about the past. But the prince sent a mourning dress at this time. I guess it was not his intention. There must be some inside story. Manager Shen, please tell the eunuchs below to arrange the sedan chair, and I will go to the East Palace to have a look in person."
Shen Jing immediately admonished: "No! There are so many servants and palace people in the East Palace. If something happens, wouldn't it be noticed by outsiders? After all, it is an internal matter within the royal family, and the national system should be the priority."
The emperor was convinced, so he ordered Shen Jing to pass the decree and summon the prince to the palace to answer the question. Shen Jing finally let go of his worries, and immediately selected a confidant to be the edict messenger, and ordered him to go to Dali Temple to inform Lan Yuan first, and then summon the prince.
Before Lan Yuan could lay out a single crime, he saw the envoy had arrived. Hearing the edict, he was so frightened that he burned his previous confession and quickly returned to the East Palace.
After meeting the prince, Lan Yuan advised: "The emperor suddenly summoned the two of us, and his plan must have been exposed. Since we can't hide it, it's better to go with King Yi to ease your majesty's concerns."
The prince then walked into King Yi's room, removed the guards around him, and told him the love of brotherhood with him in tears. King Yi just wanted to get out of this dark place as soon as possible. He was tired of listening to his ramble. He waved and said "Okay, okay" and walked out. After all, he didn't give him a good look.
"What's going on, huh?" The emperor saw the three people kneeling in front of him. He was at a loss and didn't know where to start the question.
The prince said: "My son is guilty. King Yi came this morning and said he wanted to see my father, but I kept him for half a day because he was dressed suspiciously. I didn't expect my father to notice..."
"If it weren't for that mourning dress, I'm afraid you would never let him go." The emperor interrupted.
The prince was sweating profusely: "I don't dare, I don't dare. But how can my father tell the clues from a mere piece of mourning clothes?"
"Ungrateful," the emperor said heavily, "Today is the day when Prince Xian was murdered by Liu Tie! If he is still alive, how can you control the situation in the court!"
The prince felt an indescribable resentment, but he still pretended to be humble on the surface: "You are right to blame, you are right to blame..."
"Is what he just said true?" The emperor ignored the prince and turned to look at King Yi.
King Yi glanced at the prince and thought: "The fact that Lan Yuan came back from Dali Temple means that someone helped him, and the confession should be gone." If he were to accuse the prince at this time, there would be no evidence. It's better to restrain your sharpness and wait for the opportunity. '
So he said: "Brother Huang has good intentions. When I was in the East Palace, he entertained me with good food and drinks. He did not treat me as an outsider. It was only for the safety of my father, so please don't think too much about it."
"You are worthy of being called a wise king. He is really neat in handling things and speaking, and he still cares about family ties."
After hearing this, King Yi said with emotion: "Actually, I have always been worried about the mourning of the prince. This time I entered the palace with an unkind request: to hold a ceremony for my deceased brother to make up for the regrets of the past!" After saying that, he shook his head and shed tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
The emperor was not a ruthless person. He was deeply moved by this and nodded slightly: "My son, please don't cry. Tomorrow, I will lead all the officials to wear plain clothes to mourn and pay homage!"
The prince and Lan Yuan were shocked. They expected that King Yi would make a big move, but they were unable to stop them, so they had no choice but to retreat.
Arrangements for the ceremony began early in the morning, but two officials had to be absent. Ming Hui took off his official seal and walked out of the Criminal Department, but no one came to say goodbye. Now that the matter was over, he no longer cared about these false courtesy. When he walked to the corridor, he happened to meet Lu Tingci.
"Master Ming!"
"Lu Yushi!"
The two called each other's names and shook hands excitedly. The feeling of falling together is like meeting again after a long separation.
"I am completely disillusioned with those New Dealers," Lu Tingci said as he walked. "Of course, Mr. Ye has been kind to me, and I feel sorry for him, but... the road to prosperity in my mind is not to use political enemies. Paved with blood. They, especially Cui Yi, only have passion. He is too frivolous and does not understand how heavy and terrifying power is. His orders and a few jokes are not only on paper His words and lofty ideals are tied to the fate of millions of people."
"Because of that, I felt it was too heavy, too heavy to have the courage to wield it to kill."
