"Your Highness!" A guard from the Holy King's Mansion spotted Dongfang Heng in the crowd, his eyes lighting up as he hurried over. "You're finally back!"
Seeing the guard's anxious eyes, Dongfang Heng's gaze sharpened, and a bad premonition rose in his heart: "What happened?"
The guard's gaze darkened slightly, and he said gravely, "Your Highness, Prince Xun has been arrested and imprisoned!"
Dongfang Heng's joy was instantly dampened, and his sharp eyes narrowed slightly: "What's going on?"
The guard shook his head: "I don't know the specifics. I only know that Prince Xun went on a long trip and was arrested and thrown into the Ministry of Justice prison after returning to the capital."
Dongfang Heng's eyelids darkened: "When was Big Brother arrested?"
The guard clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your Highness, it happened just now, about half an hour ago!"
Dongfang Heng's gaze darkened slightly. He was the heir of the Holy King's Mansion, and as long as the Holy King's Mansion was still there, the jailers in the prison wouldn't make things too difficult for him: "When did he go on his long journey?"
The guard stared intently and calculated: "It was about twenty days ago."
It took Dongfang Heng and Shen Lixue fifteen days to travel from Xiliang to Qingyan Capital. Pigeons take five days to fly, which means that after Dongfang Xun sent a message to the two of them by pigeon, he went on a long journey and was arrested and imprisoned upon his return. This must be related to the urgent matter he mentioned in his letter.
Dongfang Heng walked to the carriage and carefully placed Shen Lixue on it: "Lixue, you go back to the Holy King's Mansion first. I'm going to the Ministry of Justice prison to see my elder brother!"
Shen Lixue gripped Dongfang Heng's sleeve tightly, her beautiful eyes sparkling: "I'll go with you!" Dongfang Xun had gone on a long trip and was arrested upon returning to the capital. The matter was somewhat suspicious. She had slept for a long time in the carriage and was in good spirits. She wanted to go to the Ministry of Justice to see if she could help.
Dongfang Heng looked at her flat stomach and said, "You're pregnant, you need to rest more. The Ministry of Justice prison is not a place for pregnant women."
“I’ve been sleeping for several hours, but I’m wide awake. I went back to the Holy King’s Mansion because I was guessing and worrying about my elder brother. Pregnant women have a lot on their minds, which isn’t good for the baby.” Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow at Dongfang Heng, threatening yet reassuring him, a sly glint in her dark eyes.
Dongfang Heng raised an eyelid. What a troublesome little fox! He didn't know where his elder brother had been arrested, or what the truth was. The little fox looked very energetic and not sleepy at all. It was indeed very boring for her to return to the manor alone. Taking her to the Ministry of Justice prison for a walk and carefully protecting her by his side was not a bad idea: "Alright, let's go to the Ministry of Justice prison together."
Like the prison in Shuntian Prefecture, the Ministry of Justice's prison was dark and damp. As soon as you entered the prison, a foul odor hit you, which was very unpleasant. Shen Lixue felt a churning in her chest. She gently covered her mouth and nose with a silk handkerchief, and the fragrance filtered out the unpleasant smell, which made her feel a little better.
Dongfang Heng gently put his arm around Shen Lixue's shoulder and walked slowly through the narrow passage. On both sides were small cells holding serious criminals of the imperial court. The iron bars were unbreakable. The prisoners sat on dry grass, numbly glancing up at passersby before continuing with their own tasks.
Dongfang Xun was imprisoned in the innermost cell. The floor was relatively clean, and against the wall was a simple small bed and a small desk with several books on it.
Dongfang Xun, dressed in a light blue brocade robe with slight wrinkles at the edges, and wearing a purple jade crown, sat at his desk, elegantly flipping through books, his figure lonely and forlorn.
Dongfang Heng's sharp gaze narrowed slightly, and through the iron bars, he called out in a deep voice, "Big Brother!"
Dongfang Xun abruptly stopped turning the page, turned around and looked at him. His handsome face looked somewhat haggard, but his gentle eyes were filled with a warm smile: "Second brother, sister-in-law, you're back."
The cell door opened, and Dongfang Heng, pulling Shen Lixue along, slowly walked towards Dongfang Xun: "Brother, what's going on?" Why did we suddenly end up in prison?
"It's a long story." Dongfang Xun smiled slightly, but his smile was somewhat bitter. "Father, how are Mother?" He was very surprised when he saw Dongfang Heng's message by carrier pigeon. His parents, who had been missing for five years, were not dead, but had been kidnapped. Fortunately, Ye Qianmei came to Qingyan for a marriage alliance and proudly wore the Huasheng amulet. Otherwise, they would never have been able to see their parents again in their lives.
"Father's injuries are healing quickly, and Mother's toxins have been cleared from her body. She will regain consciousness in two or three months. They will return to Qingyan in two or three months." In just over two months, the handsome and dashing Dongfang Xun had become extremely haggard, his eyes gentle yet tinged with a faint sadness. A sharp glint appeared in Dongfang Hengli's eyes: "Brother, how did you end up in this Ministry of Justice prison?"
Dongfang Xun looked behind Dongfang Heng and saw that the jailer had left and there was no one watching nearby. He sighed softly and lowered his voice: "Not long after you left Qingyan, the King of Yunnan sent word that he had obtained two cannons and was preparing to present them to the Emperor..."
A gun emplacement? A cannon? Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow, not expecting that the ancient Qingyan clan would have such a thing.
"The Prince of Yunnan is preoccupied with many matters and cannot personally escort the cannons. The matter of the fort is of utmost importance, and His Majesty does not want the news to leak out. He plans to select a capable person from the Eastern royal family to escort the cannons back to the capital from Yunnan..."
Dongfang Xun's gentle voice slowly rang in her ears. Shen Lixue frowned in confusion: "My elder brother likes to travel around. He has never commanded the three armies or interfered in the affairs of the court. Why would the Emperor send my elder brother to Yunnan to escort cannons?"
Dongfang Xun smiled and said helplessly, "His Majesty originally wanted the Crown Prince or Prince Zhan to go to Yunnan to escort the cannons, but unexpectedly, Prince Zhan injured his arm while hunting in the mountains, the Crown Prince has many affairs in the court and cannot leave in a short time, the Fifth Prince is still young, his martial arts are not high enough, and he has no military experience, the Zhan Prince's Mansion has no descendants, and the Prince of Huai's heir has lived in the capital for a long time and is not familiar with things outside the capital, so the matter fell to our Holy Prince's Mansion."
Prince An of the Holy King's Mansion is the God of War of Azure Flame, a master of military strategy, and has never been defeated in battle. Sending him to Yunnan to retrieve the cannons would be most appropriate. Unfortunately, he had to go to Xiliang on business, so the task fell to Dongfang Xun.
As the heir of the Holy King's Mansion, Dongfang Xun had never worked in the capital's court, but he enjoyed traveling around and was quite familiar with the climate and terrain of various places. He was also quite skilled in martial arts. Apart from the Prince of Zhan and the Crown Prince, he was indeed the most suitable person to escort the cannon to the capital.
The journey from Yunnan to Beijing is long and arduous, and bandits frequently roam the remote areas of Qingyan, making this mission difficult.
Escorting the cannons safely to the capital was a task assigned by the emperor, and it was something you should naturally complete. At most, you might be praised for your hard work and good ability. But if anything went wrong, it would be a big mistake, no small matter. A smart person wouldn't take on such a thankless task.
It's understandable that the Crown Prince is busy with court affairs and can't spare the time, but it's strange that Dongfang Zhan's arm was injured at such a critical moment. The princes of the Qingyan royal family have no one else to rely on, so the most capable one, Dongfang Xun, has no choice but to take on this task.
"You're locked up in jail, but what happened to the cannon?"
“That’s right.” Dongfang Xun nodded, a sharp glint flashing in his gentle eyes: “The cannon matter was handled in secrecy. I escorted it all the way from Yunnan to the capital without using the royal family’s name. Although we encountered several bandits and robbers along the way, we easily repelled them, and the cannon was safely delivered to the palace.”
Shen Lixue nodded, her snow-white eyes narrowing slightly. Her intuition told her that something bad was about to happen!
"The cannon was extremely rare and precious. After it was brought into the palace, the emperor couldn't wait to come and see it with his civil and military officials. But when they lifted the cloth covering it, what they saw was not a cannon, but a pile of scrap iron..."
"Scrap iron?" Shen Lixue was shocked. She hadn't seen it with her own eyes, but she could guess how shocked and furious the emperor must have been when he saw the cannons with great joy, only to find a pile of scrap metal: "How could this be?"
"I don't know either." Dongfang Xun shook his head, a hint of confusion flickering in his gentle eyes: "When the cannon set off from Yunnan, I checked it carefully. It was a cannon. The night before it entered the city, I also checked it carefully. The cannon was safe and sound. But once it entered the city and was transported to the palace, the cannon covered by cloth turned into scrap metal."
"The cannon is made of cast iron and goes through many complex processes. It is sturdy and cannot be turned into scrap metal for no reason. Either someone deliberately used their internal strength to smash the cannon, or someone replaced it with something else."
Shen Lixue narrowed her eyes, sensing a conspiracy. The heir of the Holy Prince's Mansion had failed in his duties, and the cannons that had been transported had turned into scrap metal. In a fit of anger, the emperor had thrown him into the Ministry of Justice prison. If things went any worse, he might even be beheaded and displayed to the public.
Dongfang Xun's gaze deepened: "Throughout our journey, whenever we stayed overnight, I stayed next to the cannon. I was very vigilant while sleeping. If someone had used their internal force to smash the cannon, I would definitely have heard it."
The cannon is very hard. Even if a peerless master with profound internal strength wanted to break it, it would make a huge noise. It would be impossible for it to be shattered silently.
“That means someone switched the cannon with a fake one.” Shen Lixue’s eyelids lowered slightly: “They replaced the cannon with scrap metal.”
“During the day, dozens of eyes were watching the cannon while we were traveling. At night, the guards took turns watching the cannon in groups of five. How could it possibly have been switched?” As Dongfang Xun spoke, his gentle voice suddenly lowered.
Could it be that all five guards in one round were bribed? The cannon went missing, and they failed in their duty to protect it, thus committing dereliction of duty. Would the emperor, in a fit of anger, have them all beheaded? Would he value money over his life?
After the cannon turned into scrap metal, he had also had the same suspicion, but he couldn't find any suspicious people. Now, after hearing Shen Lixue's analysis, he smiled bitterly. People's hearts are indeed unpredictable.
Shen Lixue looked at Dongfang Xun and sighed, "There are many people in this world who are only interested in profit. As long as the conditions are right for them, they don't mind committing capital crimes."
Dongfang Xun was responsible for escorting the cannons, while the guards were only assisting. If anything went wrong, he would bear the main responsibility, while the guards would bear much less responsibility. Dongfang Xun was the heir apparent of the Holy King. Although he had failed in his duties, he had not offended the Emperor's authority or committed any capital offenses, so the possibility of him being executed was slim. The guards were even less likely to be executed. Therefore, the bribed guards were completely fearless in secretly switching the cannons.