"Your Majesty, the Ministry of War is indeed forging new types of feathered arrows. Everything from their shape and length to the number of feathers and the length of the arrowhead is recorded. However, the material used for the arrowheads is very special, and the Ministry of War has no record of it!"
"Eunuch Zhao lowered his eyelids and answered in a low voice, his sympathetic gaze secretly falling on Dongfang Zhan. The Prince of Zhan was actually making arrows without permission, a heinous crime indeed."
The emperor's sharp gaze suddenly shot towards Dongfang Zhan, and he asked angrily, "Zhan'er, what's going on?" Arrows that were not in the Ministry of War had appeared in Zhan Wang's mansion, which meant that Zhan Wang was secretly making feathered arrows behind his back!
"Your Majesty, I have no idea what happened!" Dongfang Zhan frowned, his eyes filled with doubt, as if he truly did not know the origin of these arrows.
"You didn't even know that there were arrows of unknown origin in your residence?" The emperor looked at him coldly.
The Zhan Prince's Mansion has no mistress; the mansion is managed by a steward, but the steward still consults the master on matters large and small. With so many feathered arrows, the emperor would never believe that Dongfang Zhan was completely unaware of them.
"These two types of arrows are almost identical; you can't tell the difference without a close look. I've only been focused on improving my archery skills and haven't paid attention to these small details!" Dongfang Zhan muttered under his breath, deflecting all responsibility in a few words.
He gave Dongfang Heng a cold glance, his sharp eyes filled with icy intent. Dongfang Heng wanted to punish him, but it wouldn't be so easy.
Everyone thought about it and agreed. Prince Zhan's archery skills were superb, and he usually only thought about practicing archery. He wouldn't have time to carefully check whether the arrows were made by the Ministry of War.
Dongfang Heng looked at the dark yellow stains on the arrow boxes and said coldly, "The arrows were transported from the Ministry of War to the Prince's residence and were stored in the armory. Why would Prince Zhan put them in an inconspicuous corner room? Could it be that the armory is full and can't hold these few boxes of arrows?"
Everyone knows that Prince Zhan loves archery. His mansion covers dozens of acres, and his armory must be ridiculously large. How could he not fit a few boxes of arrows? What a joke.
The people in the Imperial Study were all intelligent. After a little thought, they figured out the real reason: these arrows couldn't be exposed to the light of day, which was why they weren't put in the armory.
"Dongfang Zhan!" The emperor's face instantly turned terribly gloomy, and he was furious. His son was really secretly manufacturing weapons behind his back. Ha, did he want to rebel?
Dongfang Zhan knelt down and hurriedly said, "Father, please calm your anger. The matter of the feathered arrow really has nothing to do with me!"
Manufacturing weapons without authorization is a heinous crime, and the emperor is furious. He can no longer play games and must find a way to resolve the issue.
Dongfang Heng's methods are truly impressive; he managed to push him to this point!
"An arrow of unknown origin appeared in your Zhanwang Mansion, and you dare to say it has nothing to do with you!" The emperor roared angrily, grabbing the memorial on the table and slamming it hard at Dongfang Zhan.
Dongfang Zhan knelt straight down, neither dodging nor avoiding, letting the memorials fall onto his sapphire blue brocade robe. One memorial grazed his cheek, and a faint red mark suddenly appeared on his handsome profile.
"Your Majesty, I have always been obsessed with archery, and I have entrusted all the affairs of the manor to the steward. I really don't know where these arrows came from. Why don't we call the steward over and ask him?"
He will handle the matter of the arrows properly. The emperor has already become suspicious of these arrows, and he cannot afford to have any further involvement with them.
The emperor stared coldly at Dongfang Zhan, who was kneeling on the ground, without saying a word, the cold glint in his eyes fading slightly.
Upon seeing this, Eunuch Zhao shouted in a high-pitched voice towards the door, "The steward of Prince Zhan's residence is here to see you!"
Knowing that Dongfang Zhan was trying to shirk responsibility, Dongfang Heng did not stop him, but a mocking smile appeared on his lips.
A moment later, the steward arrived, his sleeves trailing on the ground, and bowed respectfully: "This humble servant greets Your Majesty!"
"What's the deal with these feathered arrows?" The emperor didn't waste any words, pointing directly at the arrows and getting straight to the point.
The steward turned and glanced at the chest full of arrows, then frowned. "Your Majesty, these arrows were sent by the Duke of Wen!"
Duke Wen! Everyone was shocked again! How did this matter get involved with him again?
"When was it sent?" The emperor suppressed his shock and asked in a cold voice.
"Your Majesty, it was sent to the Prince Zhan's residence more than two months ago, the day before the Duke of Wen left the capital to take up his post!"
"The steward has a good memory. He remembers everything that happened more than two months ago perfectly. He answered without even thinking." Dongfang Heng raised his eyebrows slightly, his calm tone carrying a hint of sarcasm: "The arrows sent by the Duke of Wen are still arrows. Why didn't you have them put in the armory? Why are they piled up in a corner room?"
"Your Highness, when the arrows arrived, I was taking inventory of the armory, which was in a mess. So I ordered someone to put the arrows in a corner room. I was thinking of moving them back after I finished cleaning up the armory, but I got so busy that I forgot!" The steward chuckled apologetically.
"What a coincidence!" Dongfang Heng said nonchalantly. The steward doesn't check the armory early in the morning or late in the evening, but he just happened to check the armory when Duke Wen sent the arrows. Heh.
"It is indeed a coincidence!" The butler smiled awkwardly.
Dongfang Heng looked at the steward's family: "Duke Wen inexplicably sent arrows to Prince Zhan, didn't you have any suspicions?"
The steward smiled and said, "The Duke of Wen is about to leave the capital. I assumed he wouldn't need these arrows for a while, so I sent them to Prince Zhan. I didn't think much of it!"
Everyone knows that Prince Zhan loved archery and had many arrows at home. It's not surprising that they were given to him when he no longer needed them.
"Guards, summon Duke Wen back to the capital immediately!" The emperor's gaze was gloomy as he issued the order in a cold voice.
Sixteen years ago, Duke Wen was also a general in the army, following the King of War in his campaigns. He was a skilled archer, so it is not impossible that he shot and killed Prince Xun!
Seeing the emperor's solemn and thoughtful gaze, Dongfang Zhan felt a little relieved. The emperor had begun to suspect Duke Wen, and he had cleared himself of suspicion.
“The Duke of Wen has been away from the capital for more than two months. My elder brother was killed today. Even if the arrow was sent by the Duke of Wen, he wouldn’t have had that kind of arrow left, and he wouldn’t have had time to kill anyone!”
Dongfang Heng's cold, emotionless voice rang out in the imperial study.
Dongfang Zhan's gaze sharpened, and he abruptly turned his head to look over, only to meet Dongfang Heng's icy gaze. A fierce light flashed in Dongfang Heng's eyes. Dongfang Heng was determined to kill him. How despicable!
“My elder brother is highly skilled in martial arts, and ordinary people cannot shoot him. However, if it is a superb archery skill that can fire three arrows in succession, then it is a different story!”
Dongfang Heng met Dongfang Zhan's gaze, his tone icy, emphasizing each word as he accused Dongfang Xun of being the culprit who shot him to death.
“Prince An, you can also fire three arrows in succession!” Dongfang Zhan’s lips curled up slightly, a smile that was not quite a smile. If Dongfang Xun died from firing three arrows in succession, Dongfang Heng was also a suspect. The fact that the two brothers both liked the same woman and were jealous of each other was known to most of the capital.
Thinking of that woman, Dongfang Zhan's gaze instantly darkened. Shen Lixue was indeed an extraordinary woman; every casual smile and frown of hers was captivating.
"Before Duke Wen left, he delivered the arrows to Prince Zhan's residence, not Prince Sheng's residence." Dongfang Heng's gaze was cold. In other words, Prince Zhan's residence had these arrows, but Prince Sheng's residence did not, so he had no way to use these arrows to kill people.
"Before Dongfang Xun was shot, he was gathering herbs in the mountains. The deep mountains and forests are full of poisonous insects and snakes, as well as poisonous flowers and herbs. Is it possible that he was poisoned first, leaving him powerless to resist, and was easily shot to death?" Dongfang Zhan stared intently, pretending to think. It was wishful thinking to pin the crime of murdering Dongfang Xun on him!
"My elder brother's body is in Shuntian Prefecture. If you want to know if he was poisoned before he died, call the coroner and you'll know the answer in one question!" When Dongfang Heng arrived at the foot of the mountain where the incident occurred, Dongfang Zhan's body was already cold, but the blood on his clothes was bright red and there were no signs of poisoning. Dongfang Zhan could not find any excuse to escape punishment.
Dongfang Zhan's lips curled slightly as he casually agreed, "Then call the coroner..."