C65

As for mobilizing more Liangzhou Army, searching all suspicious areas for traces of the Ping Wang? It was still better to organize more people to continue digging the hidden weapons' cave. Pei Yuan Zhao hadn't made any arrangements, and everything was left to the officials of Liang Prefecture to decide.

Dazhu Pei Yuanhao did not stay long at Lu Jia Ping. He was afraid that if time went on for too long, new problems would arise. The next day, he would bring the people involved back to the capital.

The common folk of the capital did not know much about this matter, so the return of the Dazhu Kingdom did not cause much of a commotion. However, the civil and military officials of the imperial court were absolutely shocked. Everyone was well aware of what kind of a storm was coming.

The Ping Wang went missing? Or was he killed? Without seeing anyone alive, without seeing his corpse, who was the mastermind? Who would be implicated? What kind of thunderous anger would this be? In the dispute over the succession to the throne, the originally extremely advantageous side was bound to withdraw, so what sort of change would happen? All of his guesses were unknown as everyone was waiting to see!

In today's Grand Examination, there were only a handful of civil and military officials on leave. Even the long-suffering Prime Minister, Yuan Shang, was present for only one reason. Today, he had to give a verdict on the case of the Prince! His Majesty will personally interrogate him! The person in the case was implicated with the Left and Right Attendants of the Ministry of Justice as well as numerous others. How could the Ministry of Justice have the right to interfere?

Zhao Qianyuan sat on the dragon throne with a gloomy expression on his face. Seeing the two people kneeling down below, Lu Fengqiao remained silent. After a long while, Lu Daiwen who had been kneeling for a long time stumbled and Lu Fengqiao quickly supported him up. Zhao Qianyuan then said lightly, "Dai Wen, get up!"

Lu Daiwen did not get up, but his face was filled with grief as he kneeled deeply on the ground.

"Your Majesty, this subject has a request to rely on!"

When the witness disappeared, when the material evidence was gone, when the hidden weapons cave that gave him the most hope gained nothing, Lu Daiwen had nothing left to say.

"Is the sequence of events as described in the memorial?"

Lu Daiwen sighed, "Your Majesty, this old official was the one who was in the wrong regarding the peace king! This official is willing to accept his punishment! "

Lu Fengqiao also said with tears in his eyes, "My father is old and everything is under his control. The blame is naturally on me alone. I hope Your Majesty can remember that my father has been diligent and dedicated throughout his life, and forgive my father. I humbly request Your Majesty to look after us with grace!"

The Lu father and son had already weighed the pros and cons. In a situation where there was no conclusive evidence, if they continued to pester them to death, the result would be an even greater blow to the King's side. With the absence of the King, there was no longer any point in retaliating in the face of the other party's deadly revenge!

Zhao Qianyuan sighed. What he said about the imperial report, how could he not doubt it? However, without evidence, how could he deal with the person he suspected?

The entire dynasty was silent, waiting for the Emperor's words!

At this moment, someone went out and kneeled down, "Your Majesty, the culprits this time are Zhang Zhou and Zhang Xing. Both of them are Cao Yi's disciples, Cao Yi cannot escape being involved. I hope Your Majesty can investigate this thoroughly!"

The one who spoke was the Left Attendant of the Ministry of Law, Xu Huanyin!

Upon hearing this, Cao Yi also knelt down, "Your Majesty, your subject is not talented, but as for the two students under your tutelage, your subject is willing to give his life as proof. How can you trust a single word of it?"

Xu Huaiyan snorted coldly: "Master Cao, your words cannot be trusted, then what evidence do you have to prove that your disciple, the Peace King, is missing? Although Han Zhen and Lu Xingsan were nowhere to be found, they still had their previous testimony! What are you trying to argue about! Compared to the Peace King, is your guarantee worth mentioning? "

At this point, Princess Lin Lang also stepped forward and kowtowed, "Imperial Father, this son was present personally. At that time, the witnesses were not missing, and I heard all the confessions myself. Although the details of the case are lacking, I have a rough understanding of the situation!"

Since it had already happened, someone had to step out and take the blame. The Lu father and son duo could not escape from their responsibilities, but it was still not enough! The culprit in the testimony had to be executed as well!

At this time, King Jing Qi stepped forward and said, "Imperial Father, that evidence is not enough to be trusted! Zhen Jiu was born in the clouds and water, so his kung fu skills were naturally outstanding. How could Zhang Zhou and Zhang Xingzhi possibly succeed? Furthermore, after the incident, all the people involved disappeared together, which is completely unreasonable. However, I feel that it is more reasonable for someone to deliberately frame someone and create evidence to kill everyone! "

Zhao Qi Xuan had written a secret letter to the crown prince, telling him not to express his opinion. However, Zhao Qi's words made Zhao Qi Rui extremely angry, and Zhao Qi Rui said, "Duke Jing, you're not here, so what right do you have to judge!? "Without evidence, how can you just sit here and make wild guesses!"

Duke Jing calmly replied with a sarcastic remark, "Crown Prince, the number one person on the scene is your sect's Tian Patrol. The scene has been destroyed, the witness has gone missing, and he is the first person to be suspected! Are you trying to shirk it for him? "

"Don't talk nonsense. Although Inspector Tian is under my tutelage, he is guilty of dereliction of duty and cannot be forgiven. Imperial Father, Inspector Tian is incapable, causing my royal brother's death to become blurred. I request that you execute Inspector Tian so that I can vent the anger in my heart!"

"Hehe, Crown Prince, why do I feel like I'm in a hurry to silence them!"

Just as the Crown Prince was about to speak, he heard Zhao Qianyuan's angry roar.

"Shut up!"

No one dared to say another word. How could Zhao Qianyuan not know about the scheming and scheming between his sons? This was the fate of the royal family. He didn't want to talk about it, but today, his heart truly ached. Fighting was fine, but this kind of life-threatening action was definitely his bottom line. It wasn't that he didn't suspect the crown prince, but the internal strife within the royal family was real, fake and real. Many things seemed to be like this, but the truth wasn't so.

Zhao Qianyuan calmed his anger, looked at Pei Yuanzhao from the Dazhu Kingdom and asked, "Young master Pei, what do you think?"

Pei Yuan Zhao stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, two of the important witnesses in this case have gone missing overnight. If there's nothing amiss, it's unbelievable. And the disappearance of these two witnesses will pacify General Tian in Lianzhou."

"Well, where is Patrol Officer Tian?"

"This subject is afraid of any accidents happening again. I have been detaining Inspector Tian in my guard all this time."

"Does this Inspector Tian have an excuse?"

"The bigger the trouble, the more I dare to question in private!"

Zhao Qianyuan naturally knew his intentions.

"Hand Inspector Tian over to the investigation department for questioning. Do you dear officials have any objections?"

At this moment, an old and powerless voice sounded.

"Your majesty, a single investigation department might not be enough!" This old official recommends that the military participate as well! "

The one who spoke was Yuan Shang. Pei Yuan Zhao frowned when he heard this. The entire imperial court knew that Yuan Shang had never been on the right path with him. Yuan Shang was pushing him into a pit of fire! But he did not speak. Which one of those present was not smart? Yuan Shang just didn't want Pei Yuan Zhao to get out of this mess! However, for Pei Yuan Zhao, who was not a part of the group, to participate, the deeper meaning was something very few people could understand! However, Zhao Qixuan immediately understood the underlying meaning. The matter of patrolling in the fields would inevitably never escape from the crown prince. Once something was found out, it would be impossible to escape from offending the crown prince. Even if Pei Yuan Zhao didn't want to stand up for the crown prince, it would be difficult for him to stand together with the vengeful crown prince in the future. Thinking of this, Zhao Qixuan said, "Inspector Tian is a member of the military. The military should not be involved! It should be avoided! "

Yuan Shang ignored Princess Lin Lang and continued, "Your Majesty, Inspector Tian has not only lost two witnesses. If the King Ping was in trouble and besieged Lu Jia Ping without a thorough investigation of the King Ping's whereabouts, his punishment would be two; if the witnesses were lost, the evidence would be destroyed, and his punishment three! The military should conduct a thorough investigation of these three crimes. They could also take some measures to prevent them from fading away into thin air! "Besides, he's just a small Liang Prefecture. How could the military avoid him?"

The investigation department was not within the scope of the crown prince. If the military was included, the crown prince would not be able to feel at ease! Although this matter was only known to him after the fact, what if Tian Patrol did not accept the punishment and spoke some nonsense? He quickly said: "Imperial Father, the reason why Tian Patrol besieged Lu Jia Ping was to prevent the suspect from escaping. It's just that his ability to deal with matters is insufficient and his vision is limited. Besides, the witness was missing, but the testimony was still there! It's more urgent that we decide the crimes of Zhang Zhou and Zhang Xing's murder! "

"Crown Prince, you said earlier that you wanted to kill Inspector Tian to resolve the hatred in your heart! Why was he maintaining it now? Furthermore, Zhang Zhou and Zhang Xingzhi have also gone missing, so what makes you think that Han Zhen's testimony is trustworthy? "

"Duke Jing, don't think that just because This King doesn't know your thoughts, you will make use of Inspector Tian's matter to attempt to frame This King!"

"What's there to be afraid of?"

In fact, why would Zhao Qianyuan believe the so-called testimony? Zhang Zhou and the empress were very close, so the empress didn't know anything about him being their adopted son. The Duke of Ping's guard testified that the Duke of Ping and Zhang Zhou got along extremely well, so why would they suddenly turn against each other? Many people in Zhang Zhou's team had proved that it was Ping Wang who invited Zhang Zhou out that night, so how could Zhang Zhou not be prepared? If Zhang Zhou had given up on such a great future and attacked the Ping Wang, he definitely wouldn't have believed it! He also believed that there was a high chance that eight or nine boats had been captured, but there was no evidence to prove that!

Zhao Qianyuan had used so many underhanded methods to finally ascend to the throne. Naturally, he knew the darkness, the despicable, and the cruel nature of this battle! It could be said that the reason he chose a successor was not because of his character, but his ability! He could only calmly watch the changes of the princes as they fought each other back and forth. He wanted to see just which of them would emerge victorious and stand out in the fight for the throne! As for the fact that he had wronged the innocent, that was something that could be ignored in his path of the emperor! Pure kindness was the first condition to be eliminated! What happened to the Ping Wang was not painful, nor was it fake. However, he had to be a king, not a moral judge. If there was evidence, he would deal with the culprit without any hesitation, even if it was the crown prince. He didn't mind stepping the crown prince into a hopeless situation. However, since there was no evidence, the first thing he had to do was to maintain the balance within the imperial government. He did not wish for the princes to be too biased in their power and influence! However, the Crown Prince's performance today had indeed disappointed him! It was a pity that the Ping Wang was no longer around.

"All of you, shut up!"

Zhao Qianyuan stopped the argument between the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince. He then looked at Prince Jing and said, "Above the imperial court, there's no place for casual words. Hurry up and leave!"

King Jing was not convinced, but he didn't dare to say anything more. Zhao Qianyuan looked at Cao Yi kneeling on the ground and said, "This testimony has to be made by Han Zhen and Lu Xing. Although the two of them have gone missing, there is no evidence to prove that what they said was false. Cao Yi! Zhang Zhou and Zhang Xingzhi are both your students, and as teachers, it's hard for you to escape responsibility. "

Cao Yi sighed and closed his eyes, no longer saying anything. His heart ached, he was unwilling, not because of his own future, but because of his two successful students. He was clearly wronged, but as a teacher, he was unable to protect, and had no plans to declare injustice, his heart was as sharp as a knife.

Zhao Qianyuan stared at the crown prince, Zhao Qili. Without saying a word, he stared at Zhao Qili. Cold sweat dripped down his body, and his voice trembled as he fell to his knees.

"Father, this son knows his wrongs!"

"Inspector Tian is under your tutelage. No matter what happens, you won't be able to escape your incompetence! I'm punishing you by keeping you in seclusion for half a year! Just reflect on it! "

"Thank you, Imperial Father …"

Before the Crown Prince could finish his words, a girl's voice was heard shouting towards the door, "Your Majesty, please wait! This concubine has something to say! "

Zhao Qianyuan's gaze followed the voice and fell on the Queen who was walking into the hall. His expression revealed a trace of guilt.

"The empress isn't resting in the harem. Why are you here?"

Empress Lu looked haggard, her eyes red and swollen, but she looked to be brimming with energy. She walked to Lu Daiwen's side and knelt down to pay her respects. She did not answer the emperor's question, but said with an agitated tone, "Your Majesty, chenqie will file a petition today!"

Zhao Qianyuan and the empress had a good relationship. With the Ping Wang business added on, they felt guilty. "If anyone dares to offend the empress, the empress can tell me in private. I'll definitely stand up for you!"

The empress shook her head and replied, "Your Majesty, chenqie is not suing for personal matters, but for the affairs of the nation!"

Zhao Qianyuan seemed to have guessed who she was going to sue. His expression was one of displeasure.

"Empress, in front of the civil and military officials of the imperial court, you must not carelessly make wild guesses! As the Queen, you need to know the importance of the nation's constitution! "

The empress ignored his words and continued to speak loudly, "With a single word from chenqie, Liangzhou will pacify the general. They will secretly mobilize the army and plot against us!"

"Chenqie will tell you twice, that the Left Attendant of the Ministry of Justice, Xu Huaiyan, has condoned the wrongdoings and murdered the Prince of Ping!"

Xu Huaiyan, who was still kneeling below, felt his vision darken, and he almost fainted. The ministers heard him clearly, and could not help but let out cries of surprise.

"The third time, chenqie charged Princess Linlang with malpractice for personal gain and destroyed the evidence!"

This time, even Princess Lin Lang's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly regained her composure. Poor Empress, is this the last attempt at a life or death struggle?

Everyone was not the least bit surprised to find that Xu Huaiyan was indeed related to the field patrol. Everyone was naturally curious about the relationship between Xu Huaiyan and Princess Linlang. Everyone was somewhat taken aback by the accusation! The defendant, the crown prince, that everyone had guessed the most, didn't make it onto the list as they had hoped.

"Empress, this is where the imperial government of the Great Tang Dynasty will discuss matters. Don't make trouble. Men, help the empress return to the palace!"

Zhao Qianyuan had lost his patience. The entire imperial court was wailing in their hearts. When an accident had befallen the Prince Ping, when the Queen was about to exhaust all of her holy body's members, the Empress was calm instead of hysterical. "Chenqie has a witness," she said in an exceptionally calm voice. I request that Your Majesty allow it to ascend to the upper echelons! "

"Empress, you're in the imperial harem, so don't listen to guesswork and think things through! "Hurry and retreat!"

The empress actually stood up and shouted, "Your Majesty, please grant permission for my son to ascend to the throne!"