From the incident in Lingyun Temple to the alarming of the Black Armored Guards, to the subsequent interrogation to find out the truth, it was already dawn when Canglang and his entourage escorted the fourth prince and others back to the capital.
According to the rules of the DPRK, all officials in Beijing must attend the DPRK during the first lunar month and during the first lunar month.
Officials of fifth rank and above are required to attend court every day.
Yesterday, the 15th day of the month, was supposed to be the mid-month court meeting. However, because it coincided with the Zhongyuan period, the royal ceremony was moved to the 16th day of the month. Therefore, when the heavily armored black-armored guards escorted the fourth prince and others into the palace, they were directly outside the palace gate. Near the Jinshui Bridge, I bumped into officials who came one after another for morning court.
The sky outside was misty, and the morning light had not yet appeared. From a distance, it was almost impossible to distinguish the appearance, but the black-armored guard's particularly eye-catching clothes were instantly recognizable.
Before everyone could be shocked when they saw the fourth prince and others being escorted by black-armored guards, with their hands and feet bound and gagged, they were rushed over in the still-fading night, but they shot and wounded the fourth prince angrily in front of the palace gate. Xiao Yan was frightened.
But before the guards in front of the palace gate could gather around him, Xiao Yan, who had been holding on to his health for a long time, relapsed from his old injury. A mouthful of blood spurted on the face of the screaming Fourth Prince, and he fell down.
There was chaos in front of the palace gate.
When Emperor An was supported by Feng's servant and hurriedly went to court, he looked at the fourth prince and Princess Leyang who were kneeling below, as well as a group of courtiers who lowered their heads and dared not speak out. He patted the dragon chair next to him with a gloomy face. superior.
A "bang" sound made the hall even quieter.
"Who will tell me what happened? What are you causing trouble in the morning?"
Cang Lang was furious at Emperor An and went straight forward and knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, please..."
He unhurriedly recounted what happened in Lingyun Temple last night, without any cover-up or adding any jealousy. He only revealed that the fourth prince's concubine and the Buddhist temple were messed up and broken into, and then the eldest princess Leyang was involved. , the fourth prince, and the second prince’s affairs were told to Emperor An from beginning to end.
The palace was eerily quiet. Cang Lang's voice was not loud when he spoke, but it was enough for all the courtiers inside and outside the palace to hear clearly, and these courtiers only understood at this time.
Why was Xiao Yan so angry before that he actually attacked the fourth prince in front of the palace gate? He even got so angry that he vomited blood and fainted from his old injury.
The second prince and the fourth prince simply threw Xiao Yan's face into the ground by scheming against Song Tangning, and even made a big move to plot against Xiao Yan.
Not to mention that all the courtiers were shocked, even Emperor An, who was sitting at the top, turned pale as Cang Lang said.
The second prince's face turned pale and he knelt on the ground: "Father, I have been wronged! I was in the house all the time last night and had no idea what was going on outside the city. Moreover, I have never sent anyone to Lingyun Temple. What's more, I have never sent anyone to Lingyun Temple." I don’t know that my fourth brother wants to plot against the Lord of Yiyang County.”
"Commander Cang, why did you wrongly accuse me?!"
Cang Lang said: "Wei Chen only informed His Majesty of the results of the interrogation. It was the fourth prince's concubine who identified the second prince."
Cui Lin's heart skipped a beat when he saw the second prince being implicated. He quickly stepped forward holding the jade tablet in his hand and said, "The fourth prince's concubine was caught trying to murder the lord of Yiyang County. Didn't you know that she wasn't trying to clear herself of the false accusation against the second prince?" Prince, how can you believe her words?!"
The courtiers from the aristocratic family also spoke one after another.
"What Cui Gong said is that a woman whose evil thoughts can destroy someone's innocence can say anything good?"
"Your Majesty, the second prince has always been gentle, humble and polite, how could he do such a vicious thing."
"Yes, Your Majesty, although Bai is the younger sister of the second princess, she only went to Lingyun Temple to offer incense. Should she be convicted just because she met the fourth prince once? This is too ridiculous!"
"The fourth prince's concubine has evil thoughts. Your Majesty must not listen to her."
The Minister of Industry, Pei, knelt on the ground and said anxiously: "Wei Chen is wronged. Although Mrs. Wei Chen's natal family is somewhat related to the second prince's concubine, Wei Chen and the second prince have little contact, and his wife went to Lingyun Temple. I also pray for the child in my house who died young, so that she would never dare to do anything to murder the prince."
After he finished speaking, he raised his head and glared at the fourth prince and the others:
"Wei Chen is loyal to His Majesty and would never dare to collude with others. However, the fourth prince plotted against the Yiyang County Lord. How could he know that he was not taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble and deliberately sacrificed the fourth prince's concubine to frame the second prince and Wei Chen? .”
"Please give me your Majesty's advice!"
Although the fourth prince lost the Lu family, he still had some connections after working in the court for many years.
Those people had already placed their wealth and lives on the Fourth Prince. Although they had already cursed the Fourth Prince for being foolish in committing such a dangerous move, the situation now was that they could only drag the Second Prince into the water and try their best to keep the Fourth Prince away.
Seeing that the Fourth Prince was covered in injuries and gagged, they also spoke urgently.
"Young Master Pei, please don't frame it randomly. The fourth prince's concubine was jealous and framed the Yiyang County Lord for a while, but what happened to her later was clearly framed by someone else. If it weren't for the second prince, how could the second lady Bai and Mrs. Pei stop the fourth prince's concubine by such a coincidence?" , and still be alone with her?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, the fourth prince's sudden coma must have been drugged. If it wasn't the second prince's order, how could it be such a coincidence?"
"The second prince and the fourth prince have been at odds for a long time. He clearly wants to destroy the fourth prince this time. Lord Pei is colluding with the second prince. Your Majesty knows it for sure."
The courtiers of the aristocratic family retorted: "I think the fourth prince colluded with others and wanted to unjustly harm the second prince because he saw something was wrong."
"You're talking nonsense. It's obvious that the second prince is evil."
"It's the Fourth Prince..."
"The second prince..."
"Don't talk nonsense..."
"Father, my son and I have been wronged..."
The whole court was noisy and chaotic. Those who were protecting the second prince, those who were protecting the fourth prince, and those who were watching the fun and not taking it too seriously. In addition, the second prince was kneeling on the ground and kept shouting that he was wronged. It was even worse than in the city. Be noisy.
Lu Chongyuan, who was much older, just watched quietly, Cao Dejiang and others looked on with cold eyes, and Song Jinxiu stood in the crowd holding his palms, his face pale.
how come……
Things obviously shouldn't be like this...
Andy, who was on his way up, didn't notice the change in his "new favorite"'s face. He just felt as if eight hundred ducks were quacking in his ears, his head was in pain, and his heart felt even more violent and restless.
"enough!!"
He suddenly slapped his palm on the dragon chair, and the angry shouts silenced the hall.
"Do you think this is a vegetable market, or do you think you are a street talker? Do you want me to go out first and let you have a good time arguing?!"
All the ministers who were still noisy at first knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, calm down."
An Di's brain throbbed with pain, and when a blush appeared on his face, his breathing became rapid.
Seeing that he was about to have a "headache", the servant Feng next to him quickly took a golden elixir and handed it to Emperor An's mouth while the courtiers below were bowing their heads and kneeling on the ground to plead guilty.
Andi subconsciously opened his mouth and took it, waiting for the medicine to slide down his throat.
Attendant Feng quickly stretched out his hand to help Emperor An sit back on the dragon chair: "Your Majesty, be careful of the dragon body."
