Tang Ning accommodated Princess Cheng and others, while Xiao Yan, the second prince and his entourage entered the palace.
Emperor An was full of anger when he was woken up from the bed of his newly promoted concubine. When he heard that King Cheng secretly hid weapons and raised soldiers.
His clothes were open, and when the wind and rain outside drifted in through the windows, the cool air brought out did not refresh him at all, but instead made him even hotter.
"You said that King Cheng secretly hid weapons?" Emperor An said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, please take a look."
Marquis Wenxin bowed and handed over the crossbow brought back from Prince Cheng's Mansion. After the crossbow was delivered to Emperor An, he continued: "This object is the Benlei Crossbow developed by the Arms Department. It has a long range and high lethality. , and can shoot ten rounds of repeating crossbows, but because the steel required for the crossbow body is difficult to refine, so far the garrisons in various places have only equipped them with a small amount."
"In the entire capital, there are only a few from the Forbidden Army and the Shenyu Camp on the outskirts of Beijing. They are usually used as a deterrent, but Wei Chen found more than 300 weapons in Prince Cheng's palace. In addition, there are other weapons hidden in his palace. Equipment, including several ladders..."
"Ladder? Does he want to rebel?!"
Forget about the Thunderbolt Crossbow, the ladder is a tool for siege. No matter how tall the buildings in the capital are, they cannot cross the palace wall. Where else can a ladder be used in the entire capital besides the palace? !
Emperor An suddenly threw the short crossbow in his hand on the table: "Where is Prince Cheng?"
"It has been captured by Wei Chensuo."
Xiao Yan hadn't changed his wet clothes yet. After only standing for a moment, there was already a puddle of water under his feet. He whispered:
"Previously, there were already suspicions about Prince Cheng's dealings with people from the aristocratic family. Later, when the ministers investigated the Lu family's corruption, they discovered that Prince Cheng's house was involved, and that he had close contacts with people from the Ministry of War and the Department of Arms, and had done so in private. Order people to mine minerals in the northwest and set up a place for iron smelting."
"Wei Chen has long wanted to investigate Prince Cheng's Mansion, but has never been able to get in. It just so happened that Princess Cheng returned to the residence tonight, so Wei Chen wanted to take the opportunity to check it out. Who would have expected that Prince Cheng's ambition would be so bad if Wei Chen noticed that something was wrong? He is determined to silence himself."
"Fortunately, Wei Chen informed Marquis Wen Xin in advance, and he and the second prince arrived in time with their people. Otherwise, Wei Chen would have been killed by those crossbows."
Emperor An rarely saw Xiao Yan in such a miserable state. His eyes passed over Wenxinhou and Wu Huai, and finally fell on the second prince: "Why are you with Wenxinhou?"
The second prince hurriedly lowered his head: "My son went to the palace tonight to take care of the Empress Dowager. When I left the palace, I heard someone talking about Marquis Wenxin deploying troops. My father had no intention, and there was nothing unusual in the capital. It was a late night patrol in the capital. It’s such an unusual transfer.”
He paused for a moment before continuing: "I dare not hide from my father. I did not go with Marquis Wenxin, but followed him quietly..."
Marquis Wenxin looked at him with a cold face when he heard this: "His Second Highness led his personal entourage from the palace, and dozens of soldiers followed Wei Chen. Wei Chen almost killed them as if they were underlings."
"cough!"
The second prince's face instantly turned red, and he couldn't help coughing in embarrassment.
Emperor An looked at his usually steady second son with a face filled with sarcasm. He wished he could dig a hole in the ground and bury himself. The doubts that had arisen in his heart were relieved a little.
He knew that these sons below each had their own thoughts, and they all had their own spies in Beijing and the DPRK.
It is true that the transfer of the Beijing Patrol Camp cannot be hidden from anyone. If the Second Prince said that he just happened to pass by Prince Cheng's Mansion tonight, Emperor An would also suspect that he had colluded with Marquis Wenxin and the others. But if it was his people who "inquired" about the news, he secretly followed I went over to investigate and found that it was not surprising that I bumped into Prince Cheng's Mansion.
"You dare to say that." Emperor An glanced at him and pretended to be angry: "You dare to let people go in the Beijing Patrol Camp. I think your courage is unbelievable!"
The second prince said anxiously: "My son, I don't dare."
"What are you afraid of?" Emperor An's face was cold, and his eyes were even more difficult to distinguish between joy and anger: "Interfering with the defense of the capital without authorization and investigating the affairs of the army. What do you want to do?"
The second prince's face instantly turned pale: "Father..."
"boom--"
Andy slammed the table: "You are so brave!"
The second prince was so frightened that he knelt on the ground with a pop. Seeing Emperor An's rage, he said anxiously with a pale face: "I have no intention of interfering in the defense of the capital, nor do I have any intention of investigating the affairs of the army. I just want to protect myself." "
Emperor An looked at him coldly, and the second prince said in a low voice: "My father allowed several of my brothers to get involved in the government affairs, and he was very tolerant and supportive of us. I can guess what the intention was. I don't look like my fourth brother." They have the protection of their mother clan and have no one to rely on in the court, but my son is unwilling to give in without giving it a try."
"This road is dangerous. I don't mean to hurt anyone, but I always have to be careful about others wanting to hurt the tiger. There are indeed people like you in the Beijing patrol camp, but they just live there and have no authority. Otherwise, I There is no need to take the risk of leading people to follow you tonight, and you will almost be whipped to death by Marquis Wenxin..."
Upon hearing this, Marquis Wenxin frowned and said, "Your Highness, I have not killed anyone."
The second prince said: "I know." He touched his arm, as if he was in pain: "Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your mercy."
After he finished speaking, he looked at An Di:
"My son knows that I shouldn't go to the capital to patrol the camp and release people, but I have no disloyal heart. I am just worried about my father's safety tonight, and I hope my father will give me a warning."
An Di looked at his second son covering his arms with strange eyes.
He has many princes under his knees, and they have never stopped being obedient in front of him. Compared with those who are sweet-talking and thoughtful, the second prince used to be particularly low-key and taciturn.
An Di had always felt that he was useless, but he didn't expect that he had such thoughts. The most important thing was that he actually had the courage to talk to him like this.
"You are honest." Andi said something unclear.
The second prince lowered his eyes and smiled bitterly: "I don't dare, but Governor Xiao and the others are here, so I can't hide it from my father."
"Then you mean you can hide it from me when they're not around?"
"My son..."
The second prince was speechless.
Seeing that his face was turning green and white, and he didn't know how to reply for a while, Emperor An felt better. He didn't mind the prince being more considerate. He also came from their position, so he naturally knew what they wanted.
Being ambitious is not a bad thing, and as the second prince said, he has no protection from his mother's family and no one in the court to rely on. If he doesn't know how to plan for himself, he would be really stupid.
"Okay, get up."
He did not pursue the second prince's "placement" of personnel in the patrol camp in Beijing, nor did he accuse him of spying on the army. He just turned to look at Xiao Yan.
"Let me investigate Prince Cheng's matter carefully. Where did the Thunderbolt Crossbow come from? The Arms Department, the Ministry of War, and anyone in the court who is related to this matter must not let it go."
"I obey the order, but I have one matter that I would like to ask Your Majesty to make your decision on."
Xiao Yan whispered: "The old concubine of Prince Cheng's residence died unexpectedly, and the eldest son of Prince Cheng's residence is not Princess Cheng's biological son. If this matter spreads out, I'm afraid it will arouse people's criticism, but do you want me to have someone keep it quiet?"
