Just when Murong Xue was paying careful attention to the discussion between Li Bing and the ministers, and thinking about how to contain and interfere with Xie Guang, Shan Tingxian, the Huangmen servant who went to search his mansion, suddenly returned.
As soon as he entered the hall, Shan Tingxian knelt down on one knee and said loudly: "Your Highness, we have found it, the evidence has been found!"
Following his words, the chamberlain who also went to witness held two objects in his hands, walked quickly to the imperial steps, and presented them to Prince Li Bing for inspection.
Li Bing curiously took them in his hands and looked at them carefully. Among the two objects, one was a bamboo sign that was shiny when touched, and the other was a folding fan sprinkled with gold.
Murong Xue saw the two objects clearly from a distance and suddenly felt bad!
These two things were too familiar to him. They were the "treasures" of his senior brother and good friend Nangong Yuping who had been with him since he was a child.
On the bamboo plaque, the word "Nangong" is engraved, which is the pass to enter and exit the mountain gate of the Nangong family; and the folding fan sprinkled with gold is a gift given to Nangong Yuping by the master. On the fan is painted "Houyi shoots the sun" "Image.
Although the two items were not valuable, Nangong Yuping cherished them very much and never allowed others to touch them. Even Murong Xue took them for fun, which almost made Xiao Nangong fall out.
But at this moment, these "treasures" are actually in the hands of the prince!
Li Bing looked at them for a long time, then turned to ask Shan Tingxian: "What are these? Why are they called evidence? Where did you find them?"
Shan Tingxian was obviously well prepared and answered with excitement: "Your Highness, it is not difficult to tell from the words on the bamboo plaque that it should be something used by Nangong Yuping. As for the folding fan, it is placed together with the bamboo plaque, so it must be Nangong Yuping's. These things were found from the guest room of Master Zhan's house, and the bed in the guest room was still warm. It was obvious that the guest who stayed there left in a hurry and accidentally left the things behind. In these circumstances, the The inner palace supervisor who went with Wei Chen can prove it."
Upon hearing this, the inner palace supervisor quickly bowed his head and said yes, saying that what he saw with his own eyes was true.
Li Bing nodded and turned to Murong Xue: "How do you explain these things?"
This...how else can you explain this? !
Murong Xue was a little confused on the spot.
Under this situation, he did not dare to make any excuses, lest he might accidentally arouse the prince's suspicion and dissatisfaction again, so he had no choice but to tell the truth: "Your Highness, I don't know what is going on in front of me." In the past few days, no guests have come to my home. This insider can testify. As for these two things, according to my opinion... they are indeed belonging to Nangong Yuping. But why did they appear in Weichen's home... Me, I don’t know either.”
"Hmph, you said it so easily!" Xie Guang had never spoken about the Baima Temple case before. At this time, he snorted coldly with an evil look on his face: "Murong Xue, the witnesses and material evidence are all available, do you want to cheat on both sides? ? According to my opinion, it is clearly because of your different political opinions and your hatred of Lao Jianhua that you attracted the gangsters to try to murder the court officials!"
The charge of "murdering a court official" was considered a serious crime of treason and was definitely not a child's play. Everyone present felt unanimously that at this time, Taifu Xie's body exuded a terrifying and strong murderous aura.
Faced with unexpected changes and inexplicable evidence, Murong Xue was completely speechless for a moment.
At this moment, Lao Jianhua, one of the parties involved, suddenly spoke.
I heard him say in a gentle tone: "Master Taifu, please don't be anxious. Please allow me to give you a fair word."
Everyone was curious about what Lao Jianhua would say at this time, and couldn't help but look at him.
Lao Jianhua first bowed his hands to Li Bing, and then said: "Your Highness, I believe that the White Horse Temple case has been investigated diligently by Master Shan. Although there is evidence that it may be related to the Nangong family in Sichuan, it is still only It's just a suspicion, and the whole case has not been found out. Moreover, even if someone from the Nangong family was involved in the assassins, it does not mean that the Nangong family was behind the scenes. Wei Chen has been working in Beiya for many years. It can be said that there are enemies everywhere, and he cannot It excludes the possibility that someone is secretly using a knife to kill people and frame him. Therefore, the charge that Taifu Xie just accused Murong Zhan of may be a bit arbitrary."
"Well, what Lao Aiqing said makes sense." Li Bing listened and thought, and couldn't help but nod slightly: "At present, we can only say that Nangong Yuping may be involved, and he once stayed at Murong's house. As for the truth Exactly how it will happen cannot be determined directly at the moment.”
To be honest, for Prince Li Bing, what Lao Jianhua just said was both pertinent and objective, and at the same time gave him room for maneuver. Before, Li Bing did suspect that Murong Xue was engaging in some conspiracy behind his back, but if Murong Xue's charges were confirmed immediately, then how should he deal with the affairs of the East Palace Zhan next? For him, the prince who oversees the country, It's really a bit of a headache.
In any case, Murong Xue came to Luoyi on behalf of the imperial court and the emperor's uncle Li Chengwu. Therefore, regardless of whether Murong Xue was guilty or not, being cruel to him was not as simple as clearing the line. From a certain perspective, this Zheng Ruo is telling the emperor that he, Xie Guang and the others are on the same team.
However, Li Bing never expected that Lao Jianhua did not speak for Xie Guang at this time, but seemed to be trying his best to protect Murong Xue's innocence. Such a strange and abnormal situation made him a little confused.
At this time, Xie Guang said slightly dissatisfied: "Well, since Mr. Lao said that I am a bit arbitrary, then it can be regarded as arbitrary. You, the person who was assassinated, are not in a hurry, so why should I worry about it!"
Lao Jianhua smiled faintly when he heard this and said nothing. Li Bing also smiled and said to the somewhat aggressive Xie Guang: "Taifu, there is no need to be angry about this. What Lao Aiqing said does make some sense. Although the prince Zhan Shi and Prince Xima often argue because of their different political opinions, but they are all for official reasons. They are both subordinate officials of this palace, so it is a good thing that they can stick to their positions. According to this palace, there is nothing wrong with them. Personal hatred, Murong Xue will not be like this."
Then, he turned to Lao Jianhua, nodded and said, "It's very rare that you can ignore personal grudges and speak out frankly. It also shows your broad-mindedness. I am very pleased."
Lao Jianhua received the prince's praise and quickly saluted with a few words of humility.
When Xie Guang saw what the prince said, he had no choice but to give it up for the time being. He calmed down his anger and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, it is clear that this old minister did not deliberately embarrass Murong Zhan. It was only because of the evidence and clues found by Shan Shilang and the day of the incense offering at White Horse Temple. Murong Xue's various abnormal arrangements all show that the assassin's affairs are closely related to him. If it is true, as the old minister said, that Murong Xue was indeed involved, then this kind of behavior must not be tolerated or condoned. Otherwise, Chao Gang will be in chaos and we will be ashamed of the country. Etiquette!”
He glanced at Murong Xue, who was standing silently beside him, and said coldly: "According to the law, this case should be reported to the court as soon as possible, and circulated throughout the world in the form of a newspaper, urging officials to investigate and deal with it quickly and give a clear explanation. .”
Shan Tingxian continued Xie Guang's words and continued: "Your Highness, I admire Master Lao's magnanimity very much, but the Taifu's words are also true. Since an important suspect has been locked in, I ask for Your Highness's permission to allow Wei Chen to continue. Investigate this case and get to the bottom of the whole thing. Either prove Lord Murong’s innocence, or give Lord Lao an explanation."
Hearing this, Li Bing was silent for a moment, and then nodded in agreement: "What you all said is reasonable. According to the decree of this palace, from now on, Prince Zhan Shi Murongxue of the East Palace will be suspended from office for self-reflection and stay at home pending investigation. White Horse Temple The assassination case was presided over by Shan Tingxian, the minister of Huangmen, with the cooperation of the three legal departments of the imperial court and the local and state governments. Anyone involved in the case must go to the government to cooperate after receiving the order, otherwise he will be punished for treason! This edict was forwarded to the province. Spread it all over the world!"
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Murong Xue came out of Ziwei Palace and returned home dejectedly. Behind him was a group of Xuanjia troops who specially "escorted" him. Seeing Murong Xue entering the courtyard gate alone, the dozens of tall and burly Xuanjia warriors followed the order and set up heavy sentries around the courtyard to keep a tight guard.
At this time, Rui Ji was crying softly in the room alone. When she heard Murong Xue coming back, she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, stood up and came out to greet him.
Murong Xue saw her expression of dejection, and hurriedly stepped forward, put her arm around Rui Ji, and asked with concern: "Why are you crying? Were you scared just now? The person who came to search Didn’t he do anything to you?”
"Young master, I'm fine." Rui Ji blinked her slightly red eyes and said with a forced smile: "Those people said they were following the prince's order and came to find someone named Nangong. Their Although he looked a little fierce, he was still polite and polite and did not embarrass me. There was a kind-hearted father-in-law who kept comforting me and told me not to be afraid. Master, I wish you could come back safely. I just kept silent. I'm worried, I'm afraid something big will happen in the palace, and I...I won't be able to see the young master..."
Saying that, Ruiji started crying sadly again.
"Oh, my dear Rui Ji, how could something happen to me?" Murong Xue gently wiped away the tears on Rui Ji's cheeks with her fingertips and comforted her, "Look, aren't I a good person?"
Hearing what he said, Rui Ji gradually held back her tears, nodded obediently, and then showed her charming smile from before.
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something important, and said in a panic: "No, I was so sad just now that I forgot to prepare dinner for the young master! Are you hungry? There are some pastries in the box, please. Let’s make some peace of mind first, I’ll go out and buy some cooked meat, wine and food.”
Murong Xue grabbed Rui Ji who was about to go out. After a moment of silence, she said unbearably: "Rui darling, don't go. Outside... the outside has been blocked by the Xuanjia Army... you must not go." Be afraid, as long as I'm here, nothing will happen."
