novelhk Chapter 147 Suspicion of Prince Xin
Chapter 147 Suspicion of Prince Xin
"Jinghan." The emperor saw that Xie Jinghan remained silent, only staring at his head, and said helplessly, "What are you looking at?"
"It's nothing." Xie Jinghan withdrew his gaze and shook his head. "I was just a little curious. If Consort Zhang were to commit a grave mistake one day, would Your Majesty still protect her as you have today?"
Upon hearing this, the emperor smiled and waved his hand: "If that is the case, then it is up to you to handle. I will have no objections."
Where can you find true affection in an imperial family?
She's just a woman. Although there are some feelings involved, compared to the greater cause, which is more important?
The emperor knew exactly what was going on.
Seeing this, Xie Jinghan breathed a slight sigh of relief: "With Your Majesty's words, I am at ease."
"You've mentioned her repeatedly, but she..." the emperor frowned, "...did she really do something wrong?"
Xie Jinghan did not directly answer the emperor's questions.
The affair between Consort Zhang and the Second Prince was kept secret, and even the numerous shadow guards throughout the palace had not noticed it. If he were to rashly point it out, it would only cause trouble. Moreover... even the Emperor probably wouldn't believe that the Second Prince would have an affair with Consort Zhang, who was more than ten years older than him.
So he only vaguely said, "Your Majesty, I was just asking casually. After all, the Zhang family's influence is everywhere in this case, especially that Lady Wen..."
When Madam Wen was mentioned, Xie Jinghan's voice turned noticeably colder.
The emperor understood the implication and said with a smile, "Are you worried that I might treat her sister leniently because of the Consort?"
"Go ahead and do it," the emperor waved his hand. "I will have no objections!"
"Let alone the Consort's sister, even if it were the Consort herself, if you dislike her... and she has truly committed a grave offense, you can simply lead the Imperial Guards to arrest her." The Emperor waved his hand. "I gave you the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review precisely to make it easier for you to act."
Upon hearing this, Xie Jinghan glanced at the emperor in surprise.
He hadn't expected the emperor to say such a thing.
"What kind of look is that?" the emperor said irritably. "Do you think I am someone who forgets loyalty for the sake of beauty? To me, you and the empress are the most important, and the country and its people are the next most important."
"Besides, you wouldn't hurt her without a reason." The emperor was quite confident. "I know your character. You wouldn't have taken action unless she had really committed a heinous crime."
"Tell me, what have you found out this time?" The emperor's eyes were sharp; he was thinking of the assassination case.
Since his assassination three months ago, Xie Jinghan has been investigating the whereabouts of this group. However, despite his outstanding abilities, Xie Jinghan has not made any progress even after three months of investigation.
Thinking of this, he frowned deeply: "Jing Han, what exactly has happened?"
"It's nothing serious." As soon as Xie Jinghan spoke, the emperor's brow relaxed.
However, before the emperor could even smile, Xie Jinghan's quiet words drifted over: "It is only your humble servant who has discovered that whether it is the assassination, the cheating in the imperial examination, or these murder cases, they all seem to be related to a certain group of forces."
In an instant, the emperor's face turned as cold as ice, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Isn't this a big deal?"
The capital was heavily guarded. Not to mention the Imperial Guards patrolling everywhere, there were also hundreds or even thousands of Shadow Guards in the palace. It was already difficult for this group to penetrate deep into the palace and assassinate him.
At the same time, they also stirred up more than a dozen murder cases involving usury.
There was also cheating in the imperial examinations... and those involved were all from powerful families!
The emperor's pupils constricted, and he almost slammed his fist on the table, exclaiming, "Have they rebelled against Heaven?"
The thought that flashed through his mind in an instant ultimately narrowed his suspicions down to these aristocratic families.
The powerful families joined forces to assassinate him, clearly intending to seize the throne!
"Which prince colluded with them?" The emperor smiled sinisterly. "I'd like to know when such a capable person emerged among my princes!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down." Xie Jinghan's voice was calm, but he dropped an even more shocking message on the emperor's mind: "Perhaps the person behind this is not a noble family, nor your sons."
"Then who else?" The emperor's hawk-like eyes were fixed firmly on Xie Jinghan. "Tell me, who else could it be?"
"The reason why the aristocratic families organized this cheating in the imperial examination was to obstruct Your Majesty's reforms. They were after the continuation of their family's legacy," Xie Jinghan rationally analyzed. "Now that the country is peaceful and prosperous, Your Majesty governs the country well, and all military power is in my hands, they have no reason to rebel."
"These aristocratic families are masters of opportunism," Xie Jinghan sneered. "Now that the world is at peace, how dare they rebel?"
"And the princes..." Xie Jinghan sneered, his disdain obvious, "They probably don't have the guts or the ability to get the powerful families to give up everything to help them usurp the throne."
The emperor rubbed his temples and sighed deeply: "According to you, no one has a chance."
"No." Xie Jinghan's gaze was sharp as he looked directly at the emperor. "You've probably forgotten that you still have several good brothers who are alive."
Upon hearing this, the emperor's expression changed drastically: "Them?"
“Impossible.” He immediately denied it. “They have been well-behaved all these years. Even the Prince An, who used to be the most vocal, has been hiding in his mansion in Qingzhou and rarely sees anyone.”
He knew the character of his brothers very well: "The Prince of Xin is disabled and has a congenital disability. Even if he had the ability, he would not be able to sit on the throne."
Of all his brothers, Prince Xin was the least likely to rebel.
Xie Jinghan merely proposed a hypothesis, but seeing the emperor's certainty, he slowly shook his head: "Your Majesty, people change. Among these princes, there are those like Prince An who failed in the struggle for the throne, and there are those like Prince Xin who have always remained in hiding."
"If you underestimate them, you'll probably fall into their trap."
After Xie Jinghan finished speaking, the emperor's expression gradually became solemn.
He knew Xie Jinghan well; Xie Jinghan would never have said such a thing without solid evidence or certainty.
So he stared at Xie Jinghan and asked, "What did you find out?"
"The Duke of Su had that bewitching flower on his back," Xie Jinghan said. "The assassin from that day also had that bewitching flower on his waist."
"The Bewitching Flower is a specialty of the Western Regions, but it is very rare. Few people know of its existence. Only those who are very familiar with the Western Regions or have traveled there for a long time can describe its appearance so accurately."
"Unfortunately, of these princes, only Prince An and Prince Xin have been to the Western Regions."
"Prince An led troops to conquer the Western Regions many years ago, as for Prince Xin... he was traveling and studying."
The emperor subconsciously said, "The Prince of Xin's leg was broken during this study tour."
"You suspect Prince Xin?" The emperor blurted out his guess instinctively.