False accusation! False accusation!
Jing Yi, dressed in his court robes, walked in with an imposing manner.
He walked past Jing Hua and stood in front of Qi Zhen. He cupped his hands and bowed his head, "This son came late to the rescue. Please forgive me, Imperial Father."
Qi Zhen Emperor pressed a hand to his chest, panting. He didn't respond to Jing Yi's words. Instead, he looked at Jing Hua, who was kneeling on the floor, and slammed his palm on the table.
"Unfilial son!"
Qi Zhen was furious.
"We were thinking that if you still had a shred of remorse, we would have spared you and let bygones be bygones. But your stubbornness disappoints our hearts."
His voice grew softer and softer, weaker and older.
Jing Yi looked nervous as he ordered the eunuch at the door, "Summon the imperial physician."
"Yes."
The eunuch hurried away.
On the ground, Jing Hua was still in a daze. His face was pale from fright, and his eyes were filled with disbelief and endless fear.
He raised his head and asked Jing Yi, "Why?"
How could it be like this?
His plan was flawless. Today was his wedding day, and all the officials were gathered in the East Palace. Who would have thought that the host of the wedding would secretly leave and lead troops to kill his father?
Jing Yi's face darkened, "Jing Hua, you conspired with Yan Weiyi to murder Imperial Father and secretly transferred your East Palace guards to the palace. Even though today is your wedding day, and it is reasonable to transfer troops into the palace, don't forget that General An, who is guarding the palace gates, is not a fool. He already informed me of this beforehand."
"Even so, how could you …"
"How could you change the guards of the Eastern Palace before you even besiege the palace?" Jing Yi interrupted him.
"… …"
"Because Yan Weiyi has already confessed. He is currently in the Ministry of Justice's prison. If you want to confront him, I can bring him here."
"Yan Weiyi?" Jing Hua shook his head, "I don't even know this person."
"Is that so?" Jing Yi pointed at the bowl of medicine on the floor, "Yan Weiyi said that this bowl of medicine was laced with shiban poison. This poison was concocted by Yan Weiyi. The two of you have long been in cahoots."
His voice was loud and clear!
Finished speaking, Jing Yi turned to Qizhen Emperor and said, "Imperial Father, this son also found out that when Jing Rong left the capital to investigate the 'Lin Capital Case', Jing Hua secretly ordered Yan Weiyi to assassinate him several times, using Shiban poison. If Imperial Father does not believe me, you can summon Jing Rong and ask him. Also, that Teacher Ji also knows about this poison and that it was created by Yan Weiyi, but because there is no evidence, she could not report it to Imperial Father."
False accusations.
A blatant false accusation!
Jing Hua immediately retorted, "Nonsense! I've never sent anyone to kill Jing Rong. I don't admit to this crime!"
His body struggled agitatedly, but the guards on both sides still forcefully pressed him to the ground.
Jing Yi didn't respond to his rebuttal and sneered inwardly. Since I can frame you for one thing, I won't be afraid of framing you for another.
He then turned to Qi Zhen Emperor and said, "Not only that, the fire at Chengqing Hall was also caused by the Crown Prince."
What?
Jing Hua was sure that he had not misheard.
What did the fire at Chengqing Hall have to do with him?
Jing Yi's face turned red as he struggled to free himself. He shouted angrily, "This Crown Prince dares to take responsibility for what I've done. What Yan Weiyi? What Cheng Qing Hall's fire? It's all a lie! You're obviously trying to frame me! Jing Yi, you despicable bastard! If this Crown Prince can make a comeback, the first person I'll kill is you."
His eyes were bloodshot!
He even called himself the 'Crown Prince' over and over again. How shameless!
Qi Zhen Emperor listened to Jing Yi's every word and completely digested these events in his mind. He was no longer as angry as before, but calmed down and asked Jing Yi.
He asked Jing Yi, "Do you have any proof of the incident at Chengqing Hall?"
"Yes!"
He had a lot of proof.
Jing Yi gestured to the guard at the door, and the guard immediately brought the people from outside in.
The person who entered was none other than Zhang Bo.
Zhang Bo from the Dispatch Bureau.
He came in and knelt.
His voice trembled as he said, "This subject … greets Your Majesty."
Qi Zhen Emperor tried his best to open his eyes and look at Zhang Bo. "Do you know about the incident at Chengqing Hall?"
"Yes, this subject … knows!"
The Crown Prince, who knelt beside him, stared at him with bloodshot eyes. His face was filled with fear, sweat, and anger. He threw himself at Zhang Bo, shouting, "Zhang Bo, the incident at Chengqing Hall has nothing to do with this Crown Prince! If you dare to lie, you'll be lying to the Emperor!"
His voice was loud and dragged on the last syllable.
Zhang Bo shifted his body to the side, cautiously glancing at Jing Yi who was standing beside him.
Jing Yi warned him, "Lord Zhang, just tell us everything you know. His Majesty will be merciful and spare your life."
Zhang Bo's throat tightened.
The lives of more than a dozen people in his family were in Jing Yi's hands. If he did not do as Jing Yi said, he would not be able to walk out of Fuyang Hall alive.
He could only …
He bowed again and said to Qi Zhen Emperor, "Your Majesty, regarding the fire at Chengqing Hall, this subject only knew that the Crown Prince had swapped the lanterns that were transported from Fangshui City. The Crown Prince ordered this subject not to divulge any information, or else he would kill this subject. This subject did not know that the Crown Prince was plotting against Your Majesty. However, Prince Rong seemed to have received news of this and came to the Dispatch Bureau to swap out the lanterns that the Crown Prince had exchanged. However, he did not find out that the iron wire was the cause of the fire."
He hurriedly added, "This subject's words are all true. Your Majesty, please be merciful and spare this subject."
Qi Zhen asked, "You mean to say that Prince Rong already knew that there was a problem with the lanterns and secretly swapped them out? Then, he hid this matter for the Crown Prince and willingly went to prison?"
"Yes, Prince Rong ordered the lanterns to be swapped out and forbade this subject from divulging anything. However, I did not expect that the problem was with the iron wire and not the lanterns!"
Zhang Bo spoke with sincerity.
Jing Yi was very satisfied, but Qi Zhen Emperor was even more disappointed.
Jing Hua was shocked and angered at the same time.
"Zhang Bo, you're spouting nonsense! This is not the truth! This Crown Prince did not do it!" He roared angrily, "Did Jing Yi tell you to say that? Did he tell you to accuse this Crown Prince? Tell me, did he threaten you? Did he not? "
"Crown Prince, why would this subject lie at this time? You were the one who swapped out the lanterns sent from Fangshui and ordered this subject not to speak of it. Have you forgotten? "
"Pah! This Crown Prince did not do it!" He bitterly looked at Qi Zhen Emperor, "Imperial Father, you must believe this son!"
"Believe?" Qi Zhen Emperor wore a disappointed expression as he got up from the soft mattress. With Zhang Quan's support, he walked step by step towards Jing Hua.
"Today, you besieged the palace to force the abdication. If not for Jing Yi's timely discovery, we would have been killed by you. Tell me, how can I believe you?"
Jing Hua was so angry that his chest hurt.
Qi Zhen Emperor raised his hand, his eagle-like eyebrows furrowed.
"Give me the sword."
Hence, the sword that the Crown Prince had left outside and did not bring in was handed over to him.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
