A Scapegoat
Seeing that Yan Weiyi was frightened by his words, Jing Rong smiled in satisfaction. However, it was as if his smile was filled with tens of thousands of poisonous needles.
"Teacher Yan, you don't need to be alarmed. If this Prince really added shiban poison to the tea, you wouldn't be sitting here safe and sound right now." Then, he deliberately asked in a confused tone, "But, Teacher Yan, you were the one who planted the northern sentence tree. Even if it was poisoned, you should know how to cure it, right?"
Yan Weiyi only knew that he had fallen into Jing Rong's trap!
Everything he did was under Jing Rong's control.
He lifted his gaze from the cup of herbal tea and said, "Your Highness, if you have something to say, why don't you just say it?"
"Fine, if that's the case, then this Prince will get straight to the point." Jing Rong leaned forward and said, "Although this Prince and Teacher Yan have never had any dealings, this Prince has heard of your great name. In the past, you were also a civil official in my Great Lin court. Unfortunately, you were stripped of your position because of embezzlement."
"And then?"
"Not long after, your son, Yan Xu, became the assistant minister of the Ministry of War. It just so happened that at that time, this prince was tasked with investigating a case of concealed weapons. Who would have thought that this long string of clues would eventually land on your son, Yan Xu's head? In a fit of rage, the emperor convicted him of the crime of treason, and he was beheaded in public.
Jing Rong spoke the last four words very clearly.
As he spoke, he was also carefully observing Yan Weiyi's expression.
She had probably poked Yan Weiyi's weak spot. The anger and hatred that he had been restraining suddenly burst out from between his eyebrows.
Jing Rong continued, "Teacher Yan, you must be thinking that if this Prince didn't follow that trail of clues, Yan Xu might have been able to escape with his life. However, the heavens don't help us. Those who rebel must be punished. I'm sure Teacher Yan knows this better than I do. After all, you were once the Young Temple Minister of the Ministry of Justice."
On the other side, Yan Weiyi's face changed from anger to blue.
"Your Highness, after beating around the bush, what you really want to say is about the Liang Mountain incident, right?"
"Yes!" Jing Rong nodded with a smile.
"I believe that your Highness already knows everything, right?"
"Yes!"
Yan Weiyi heaved a sigh of relief and asked again, "Then, does Your Highness also want to send me to the Supreme Court's prison? You want to charge me with murdering a prince? "
"There's no need for that." Jing Rong smirked. "But I've already ordered Lu Jiang to bring some people to Teacher Yan's back garden. By this time, all the trees in the courtyard should have been uprooted."
"What?"
"Leaving such a poisonous thing in this world will only bring disaster. Just treat it as those trees taking the blame for you, Mr. Yan."
Jing Rong said it so casually.
But Yan Weiyi's face was as black as charcoal!
Although the northern sentence tree was used to make shiban poison, it was still his treasure. He had planted it for so many years, yet it was uprooted by Jing Rong with just a few words. It would be a lie if he said he didn't feel heartache.
He swallowed his saliva. His face was ashen.
But …
The smile on Jing Rong's face disappeared.
In a serious tone, he said, "Teacher Yan, you should know that there is a word called 'use', right? Between you and me, it's because of your son, so it's reasonable for you to want to kill me. But, why do you want to be someone else's scapegoat? "
'Someone else's scapegoat?
Of course it's Jing Yi's scapegoat! '
Yan Weiyi didn't say anything. He somewhat understood Jing Rong's meaning.
Jing Rong leisurely picked up the teacup in front of him and poured the cold tea on the ground.
He said, "Since you've become a scapegoat, there's no reason for me not to kill you, right? However, those northern sentence trees can be considered as your scapegoat, so I won't pursue this matter any further. Moreover, there's a saying that goes, 'kill the chicken to warn the monkey'. With this lesson, Magistrate Yan, you won't make the same mistake again, right? After all, someone wants to borrow Teacher Yan's hand to kill me. Although your goal is the same, neither of you is willing to become the other's pawn, right? "
Yan Weiyi understood the hidden meaning behind Jing Rong's words.
Jing Yi knew that Yan Weiyi wanted to avenge his son and kill Jing Rong. The two of them had the same goal, so naturally, they stood on the same side. Yan Weiyi, who was blinded by hatred, had worked for Jing Yi several times. In the end, he would be the one to bear the blame.
As for Jing Yi's hands, they were still clean!
"Many thanks … for Prince Rong's reminder." Yan Weiyi slowly said.
At this time, Jing Rong unhurriedly took out a circular jade pendant from his sleeve. He placed it on the table and pushed it in front of Yan Weiyi.
"I'll have to trouble Teacher Yan to pass on a message to the owner of this jade pendant. Next time, before doing something, it's best not to leave behind any evidence. Although this jade pendant doesn't represent anything, if it were to be presented to the Emperor, it would be hard to say."
That jade pendant was worn by the men who tried to assassinate him at the memorial hall.
Although he didn't know why Jing Yi's deathsworn would wear such an obvious jade pendant, he was able to trace it back to Jing Yi. He didn't know if Jing Yi had overlooked something, or if those deathsworn were too stupid!
Yan Weiyi accepted the jade pendant. His heart was in turmoil.
From the beginning to the end, Jing Rong didn't reveal everything. He didn't even mention a single word about Jing Yi!
But his words still left Yan Weiyi stunned for a long time.
With a heavy heart, he bowed and left the Peach Blossom Spring. Lang Po, who had been guarding outside the pavilion, walked in.
He cautiously asked, "Your Highness, why did you let him go?"
Jing Rong's ice-cold eyes looked at the peach blossom forest in the distance. His sword-like eyebrows knitted together. His thin lips faintly spilled out a sentence.
"The more ants there are around me, the harder it is to eliminate them one by one. The best way is to let those ants … bite themselves."
…
Yan Weiyi left the Peach Blossom Spring and went straight to Prince Yi's estate.
In a short period of time, news about Jing Rong and Ji Yunshu's safety, as well as the progress of the missing girls case, reached Jing Yi's ears.
The teacup in his hand fell from his fingers onto the table in front of him. It broke in half!
His seemingly calm face was actually extremely cold and stern.
"I didn't expect that they could escape from death and even dig up the missing girls case."
Miscalculation!
He coldly snorted. "What the hell is Yan Weiyi doing? He couldn't even kill them when there was such a good opportunity. Trash! "
Dou Quan stood at the side and remained silent.
At this time, a manservant outside reported, "Your Highness, Teacher Yan is here."
Jing Yi's expression darkened. He nodded.
After a short while, Yan Weiyi walked in with an expressionless face.
He cupped his hands and stood in the middle of the room.
"Teacher Yan's people are really slow. Such a good opportunity, but they still messed it up." Jing Yi snorted.
"It's my fault."
"Forget it. I don't want to blame you. Just treat this as a warning. Don't let it happen again."
'There will be a next time?'
Yan Weiyi was very unhappy. He had become Jing Rong's scapegoat. The trees he had painstakingly planted in the north were uprooted. He had nowhere to vent his anger, but Jing Yi actually said, "Don't let it happen again."
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