"King of Yunnan, Crown Prince, it was a misunderstanding. I apologize for the disturbance. Please continue your meal. Farewell!" The Fifth Prince chuckled and turned to slip away.
The Prince of Yunnan grabbed his collar: "Fifth Prince, your men should demolish my villa immediately! A mere apology is far too insincere!"
The Fifth Prince gave an awkward smile: "Your Highness, please don't be angry. I will send people to repair the courtyard as soon as I get back, and I guarantee it will be repaired exactly the same as before!"
"Thank you for your kindness, Fifth Prince, but I don't want the courtyard. I only want justice!" With that, the Prince of Yunnan grabbed the Fifth Prince and strode out.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, what are you doing?" The Fifth Prince shouted anxiously, unable to break free from the Prince of Yunnan.
"I will go to the palace to see the Emperor and ask him to give me justice!" Someone has their eyes on the Prince of Yunnan and wants to kill him without him even realizing it. He then tries to outwit them, but things are far from over!
"No, no, no... Your Highness, let's talk this out, let's talk this out..." The Fifth Prince kept struggling and shouting anxiously. Everyone knew that what he feared most was Emperor Qingyan. Suspecting the prince of treason was no small crime. If it reached the emperor, he would be beaten half to death.
"When I get to the Emperor's presence, I will speak properly!" the King of Yunnan replied coldly, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Dongfang Yi trying to slip into the crowd and escape.
With a flick of his wrist, a guard's sword shot out and pierced the ground in front of Dongfang Yi. The gently swaying blade gleamed with a cold, eerie light, blocking his path and filling him with dread.
The King of Yunnan's icy voice rang in my ears: "Lord Dongfang, please come with me to the palace to meet the Emperor!"
It was still early, and the Emperor was reviewing memorials in his study before taking a break. He was somewhat surprised to hear that the Prince of Yunnan had come to visit, but still ordered someone to summon him in.
"Your Majesty, my loyalty to Qingyan is as clear as the sun and moon and as worthy of witness by heaven and earth. For many years, I have been loyal to the country and the people and have never done anything to betray Qingyan. Why does Your Majesty suspect me of plotting a rebellion?" The Prince of Yunnan strode into the imperial study and, without even performing the proper etiquette between a subject and a ruler, launched a barrage of attacks at the emperor with a gloomy expression.
The emperor was completely bewildered: "When did I ever suspect that the Prince of Yunnan was plotting a rebellion?"
"Didn't you have any doubts? Then what about him going to the other courtyard to injure my guards and search my room?" The Prince of Yunnan pulled out the Fifth Prince from behind and pushed him in front of the Emperor.
"Father...Father Emperor..." the fifth prince called out softly, lowering his head and not daring to look the emperor in the eye.
The emperor frowned: "What's going on?"
“It was Dongfang Yi. He said that the King of Yunnan brought 20,000 elite troops to the capital, intending to rebel. I personally saw those 20,000 elite troops and was worried that Qingyan would be in trouble. That’s why I ordered Dongfang Yi to lead the patrol guards to rush into the villa…” The Fifth Prince said in a low voice, his voice getting softer and softer, and his head drooping lower and lower.
The emperor's sharp eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous glint in them: "King of Yunnan, you actually brought troops to the capital!"
The King of Yunnan remained unfazed, stating confidently, "My 20,000 elite troops were handpicked from Yunnan, skilled in various battle formations, and are a birthday gift for His Majesty..."
The emperor's gaze sharpened, but he remained silent.
The Fifth Prince was instantly shocked: "Using soldiers as birthday gifts!" How unique!
Dongfang Yi was dragged in by the King of Yunnan and had no way to escape. He forced himself to step forward and kneel down: "Your Majesty, this is only the King of Yunnan's side of the story and is not to be believed!"
“Lord Dongfang, my 20,000 elite troops are a hundred miles away. If there is any unusual activity, the soldiers outside the city will definitely notice. There are only a few dozen guards in the villa, but there are three thousand Imperial Guards in the capital. How can I possibly rebel?” The King of Yunnan looked down at Dongfang Yi coldly.
Dongfang Yi trembled slightly and replied perfunctorily, "If someone wants to rebel, they can do so no matter how bad the conditions are."
Shen Lixue, Dongfang Heng, Nangong Xiao, and Dongfang Yu'er, as witnesses, also came to the Imperial Study. While the King of Yunnan and Dongfang Yi were fiercely arguing, they stood aside as if they were invisible.
Shen Lixue looked at the emperor with sharp eyes and a cold face, her eyelids slightly lowered. The emperor had long suspected that the Prince of Yunnan had ulterior motives, but had not yet found a suitable opportunity to test him. This time, the deliberate scheme of someone with ulterior motives had actually brought good fortune to the Prince of Yunnan. The emperor should then dispel his suspicions about him.
"You killed my guards, searched my villa, did you find any evidence? Did you find any witnesses? Is your ability to spout nonsense and make false accusations just based on your mouth?"
On his way to the palace, the King of Yunnan saw many orderly guards marching down the street and was secretly alarmed. He realized that tonight's scheme was a deliberate attempt to kill him. If he had been tricked by Apei into rebelling, he would have been surrounded and the guards in the streets and alleys would have rushed to his aid. Ha, the person who set this trap was determined to kill him.
"My villa was bestowed upon me by the Emperor himself. You barged into it, killed the guards, and challenged not only my dignity, but also the dignity of the Emperor and the entire Qingyan Kingdom!"
"When I entered the living room, Prince An and the Crown Prince were all dining around the table. There were no servants around the Prince of Yunnan, so it didn't seem like they were discussing important state affairs." The Fifth Prince muttered to himself, feeling a little regretful. When he left the courtyard, he saw that most of the people lying on the ground were the Prince of Yunnan's guards. They must have been caught off guard and killed in a surprise attack.
If the King of Yunnan truly intended to rebel, his villa would surely be heavily guarded; how could his guards have been ambushed and killed?
The Fifth Prince's voice was very soft, but the Emperor still heard it. His gaze swept over the calm-looking Dongfang Heng, Shen Lixue, and Dongfang Yu'er. All three of them shared the surname Dongfang and were members of the royal family. They would not help outsiders oppose the Dongfang royal family.
Then look at the King of Yunnan, his face slightly flushed and filled with righteous indignation after the argument:
He was wrongly accused of treason and was furious. He grabbed Che'er and confronted Dongfang Yi, arguing sharply with him. This showed that he was honest and had no intention of rebelling. Otherwise, he could have killed Dongfang Yi, covered the body and left. As long as he got a hundred miles away, he could have met up with 20,000 elites, and Dongfang Yi would have been unable to do anything to him in a short time.
"Dongfang Yi has falsely accused the King of Yunnan. Drag him out and execute him immediately!" The emperor coldly issued the order. The King of Yunnan had already blown things up. He would not let the matter rest until he received a satisfactory answer. Dongfang Yi had instigated Che'er to make a mistake, and his crime was unforgivable.
Dongfang Yi was shocked, his body trembling like a leaf, his head pounding loudly as he cried out, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I am innocent!"
He failed to frame the King of Yunnan, which meant he hadn't completed the task assigned to him. That person wouldn't help him deal with Dongfang Heng. He was also seriously ill and had a dying son to take care of. He couldn't die, he couldn't die!
The emperor frowned, gave Dongfang Yi a cold glance, and waved his hand impatiently: "Drag him out!"
Two guards stepped forward, ignoring Dongfang Yi's urgent cries of pain, grabbed his arms, and dragged him out of the imperial study.
The sound of swords clashing rang out, heads fell, and Dongfang Yi's cries of pain abruptly ceased. The imperial study was eerily silent. The emperor's cold voice rang out softly: "As for Dongfang Che, he was misled by others, blinded by falsehoods, and unable to distinguish right from wrong. He shall be given fifty strokes of the cane and confined for six months!"
---Aside---
(*^__^*) Hehe... More exciting content tomorrow! Thank you all for the flowers, diamonds, tips, and votes, mwah...
Chapter 146: The Imperial Marriage
"Father!" The Fifth Prince frowned in protest. It was Dongfang Yi who had instigated him to go to the villa, and it was Dongfang Yi who ordered the soldiers to kill the villa's guards. The matter had nothing to do with him.
"Hmm!" The emperor looked at Dongfang Che with a serious gaze, exuding an imposing aura.
The words that Dongfang Che was about to say circled back and forth, and he didn't dare to say them. He sighed helplessly, and with a bitter face, he was escorted away by the guards and pressed tightly onto a stool. The dull sound of the board hitting him rang out quickly.
Shen Lixue looked at the Fifth Prince, who was grimacing and groaning in pain after being beaten, and gently shook her head.
A wisp of ink, carrying a faint scent of pine resin, drifted down before her eyes. She glanced to the side and saw Dongfang Heng standing beside her, his gentle breath brushing against her ear as he whispered, "The Fifth Prince was framed."
“I know!” Shen Lixue nodded. The Fifth Prince was very pure-hearted and couldn’t have come up with such a clever plan to frame the King of Yunnan. Dongfang Yi’s mastermind was someone else, and the Fifth Prince became that person’s scapegoat.
"Do you know who framed him?" Dongfang Heng lowered his eyelids, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible.