Chapter 194

C194 – Step by Step

“Master, this humble servant has checked. These things... these things were given to Third Prince by the Great King over the years. They are all recorded on the record.” The deputy reported in fear.

“Really?” Xue Tingwei snatched the book from his hand and flipped through it page by page. Compared to the items in the box, he was completely dumbfounded.

“This...” This time, he was in big trouble!

Xue Tingwei paced around the study room in frustration, his brows tightly knitted.

“Master, this matter... should we report it?” The adjutant knew what he was annoyed about. If he reported this matter, he would definitely offend Third Prince. If he did not report it, he might end up with a crime of not reporting his dereliction of duty.

It was indeed difficult!

Xue Tingwei sat down on his butt. He drummed his fingers on the table and thought for a moment. “Tell me, why did this Third Prince give Envoy of North Yue a gift for no reason?”

“This... I can’t figure it out, but it’s against the rules.”

“Not necessarily. You forgot that Third Prince’s birth mother is a princess of North Yue. It’s not surprising that they have some relationship.”

“Then... shall we not report this?”

“Report! Why not!” Xue Tingwei glared at him, “We are loyal to the Emperor and are focused on investigating the case. Any gains must be reported!”

“But Third Prince...” That person was not a magnanimous person. If they held a grudge, their lives would not be easy.

Although Wang Zixian was not the crown prince, he had quite a lot of influence in the court. Most importantly, he was ambitious and had a heavy heart. He did not know when he had been schemed against.

“I have a decree to investigate the case. Any clues should be submitted. We will only send the items to the Palace. As for the results, the King will naturally send someone to investigate.”

The adjutant secretly heaved a sigh of relief. “Your Excellency is the best!” In this way, they could only pretend that they did not know that these things came from Third Prince Prefecture.

After Xue Tingwei finished speaking, he immediately changed his clothes and entered the palace. The king only gave him a ten-day deadline, so he had to race against time.

As soon as he left the Imperial Advisor’s Residence, the squad of guards he sent came back. “Master, we found something!”

“Speak!”

A guard walked up to him and whispered in his ear. Xue Tingwei frowned and his face tensed up.

“Let’s go, follow me into the palace!” It seemed that this case would have some twists and turns.

In the Imperial Reading Room, King of South Jin was playing chess with Old Prince. It was rare for him to have half a day of leisure.

“Haha... Aiqing’s chess skills are gradually growing!” King of South Jin had won half of his eyes. He threw Bai Qi aside and laughed.

“I am not as busy as the king. If I have time, I will play a few games with State Duke Lu. I have to make some progress.”

“You old people are relaxed. You still have time to play chess!” King of South Jin scolded with a smile, but he did not have any intention of getting angry.

These officials from the older generation all went through life and death with him. Naturally, their feelings were not ordinary.

Old Prince cleaned up the chessboard and divided the black and white pieces. He said casually, “Now it’s the young people’s world! We old people can’t walk anymore. It’s just a bunch of hooligans.”

In fact, they were not very old. It was just that their average life expectancy was only forty or fifty years. They were already at this age and could not be considered young.

King of South Jin’s brows furrowed as he said, “Yes, they are all old...”

“The king is not old. He is in high spirits. It is not a problem for him to live a hundred years longer!”

“Haha... Let’s not talk about that. Throughout the dynasties, there was no king who lived a long life.” Although he said so, King of South Jin was still unconvinced of his old age.

“Eh...” Old Prince stared at something and was surprised.

King of South Jin asked directly, “Do you know this thing?”

Old Prince looked hesitant. Under the anxious gaze of the other party, he braced himself and replied, “Did the king forget? Last year in the middle of autumn, did you reward Third Prince with that jade pendant?”

King of South Jin threw away the red hairpin and took out the jade pendant from the box. After looking at it several times, his eyes gradually darkened.

The atmosphere in the Imperial Reading Room was stagnant. Xue Tingwei secretly wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. It seemed that he had sent the jade pendant to the Palace correctly. Otherwise, if something happened in the future, he would not be able to bear the consequences.

“Men, please invite young master Zhan into the palace... no, go and call the doctor!”

Someone outside replied. The Imperial Reading Room quieted down. King of South Jin no longer had the leisure to relax. He waved his hand to let Old Prince leave first.

Not long after, the doctor asked him to see him. King of South Jin gave the box to him. “Investigate! Find out who these things belong to within two hours!”

The doctor was stunned for a moment. He saw that the things in the box had familiar marks on them. He carefully took the things and left.

He waited for a full hour and a half. When he saw the doctor running over in big strides, Xue Tingwei secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

“King, this item was given to Third Prince by the palace, but the time is different. This official spent more time to verify it.”

King of South Jin was silent for a long time before he said, “I understand. Withdraw!”

When only King of South Jin and Xue Tingwei were left in the Imperial Reading Room, King of South Jin finally spoke. “What else do you know? Let’s talk about it together.”

“Yes... This official found out that Wang Zixian and Envoy of North Yue are in contact with each other, but he did not find anything unusual. As it involves His Highness, this official does not dare to make a decision on his own.”

“I order you to investigate the murder of the messenger. I do not want you to find out who is in contact with Envoy of North Yue.” King of South Jin slapped the table and stood up. “Don’t you know the relationship between Li Xian and Bei Yue? ” Will he kill Envoy of North Yue?”

Xue Tingwei’s back was wet with sweat. He knelt on the ground. “King, please calm down! ...I didn’t mean that. I just found this thing. Should I give it back to Envoy of North Yue?”

“Humph! How can I give this item to the people of North Yue?” King of South Jin threw the box on the ground with one hand and shouted, “Men, burn this thing!”

“Even if it is destroyed, I will not let it into the pockets of the North Yue people!”

Xue Tingwei knew that he was very angry when he heard this. He quickly knelt down and left the Imperial Reading Room.

As for what kind of storm would arise inside, he didn’t care.

The news in the palace soon spread out. Although they did not know what exactly happened, many people knew that the king had been furious today because Xue Tingwei had sent something into the palace.

The only one who knew what had happened was Old Prince. He sent a message to First Prince, telling him to go to the ancestral temple and cultivate in peace for a month. When he returned, the situation in the court would probably change.

“What do you think the king will do next?” After Tang Yue heard the news, he asked Crown Prince Zhao.

He did not know King of South Jin well, but Crown Prince Zhao must know his father very well.

“He will definitely send someone to investigate in secret.” Crown Prince Zhao curled his lips. “He is getting more and more suspicious. How can he tolerate such a thing? If this happened alone, maybe he will quit his job first.”

“Is it that serious?” Tang Yue was the first to mourn for Wang Zixian for a few seconds. With this suspicion, as long as he casually placed something in Third Prince’s residence, he would lose his life.

Should he take this step?

Tang Yue hesitated for a moment. He raised his head and looked at Crown Prince Zhao. The corner of his mouth slowly curved up. “Everyone says that you cannot live with your own sins. If you don’t continue to take this step, won’t you be a little foolish?”

Crown Prince Zhao turned his head to look at him and clenched his fist tightly. The cold touch made him know that Tang Yue was definitely not calm at this moment.

“There’s no need. You already said that you brought this upon yourself. After all, there is a loophole in framing someone. Instead, it is easy to expose it.”

“Then...”

“Wait!” Crown Prince Zhao decisively appraised, “You don’t want to gamble, do you? That’s good.”