The journey from the Northern Lands to the Flame Capital City would take about ten days if one traveled day and night. Yet, Su Qing arrived at the Flame Capital City at this time.
How could the officials not be shocked?
Fang Zhengzhi had only been in the capital for about ten days. In other words, when Fang Zhengzhi stepped into the capital, Su Qing had already left the Northern Lands.
No matter how they thought about it, this did not seem possible.
Was it a coincidence that Fang Zhengzhi entered the capital and Su Qing left the Northern Lands? Or was it intentional?
More importantly, as the Chief of the Northern Lands Five Constabularies, Su Qing needed a reason to enter the capital. So, what was Su Qing's reason? What was his motive?
None of the officials could figure it out.
"Your Highness, since Su Qing has entered the capital at this time, should we … make some preparations?" One of the officials asked after some hesitation. He did not know if it was appropriate to ask this question.
However, he had to ask this question now.
Regardless of Su Qing's reason for entering the capital, Su Qing could not be allowed to live. He could not be allowed to meet the Emperor or enter the Ministry of Law.
"That's right, regardless of Su Qing's reason for entering the capital, Your Highness, please make a decision as soon as possible!"
"Your Highness, Su Qing cannot live!"
"Su Qing has already arrived at the capital. This means that he already knows about Fang Zhengzhi's intention to reverse the verdict. Your Highness, you cannot hesitate any longer!"
The dozen or so officials looked at each other and quickly gave their suggestions.
The Crown Prince clenched his fists. One wrong move could lead to many more mistakes in the fight for the throne. Every decision had to be carefully considered. Every decision could change everything.
He wanted to slowly think about the cause and effect of this incident. Or rather, he wanted to meet Su Qing and ask him why he was in Flame Capital City at this time.
However, he did not have much time left.
This was because this letter was sent by the Minister of Justice, Wen Chuan. If there were no accidents, the moment Minister of Justice, Wen Chuan, sent someone to deliver the letter, he had already started to take action. How could he continue to hesitate?
Just as he was about to speak, another official stepped forward.
"Your Highness, I have a feeling that something is not right …" The official frowned deeply, and his face was full of worry.
As courtiers who were attached to the True Dragon, they also had no way out. After all, if the True Dragon became a useless dragon, their days would not be good either.
"What's wrong?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong asked.
"In this official's opinion, it's impossible for Su Qing to enter the capital at this time. Even if he wanted to enter the capital, he would have informed His Highness the Crown Prince in advance and departed ten days ago. Is it possible …"
"Are you saying it's a trap?!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He was too confused right now, so confused that he couldn't think straight.
However, once he calmed down, he also realized that this matter was a little too strange.
Ten days ago, Fang Zhengzhi had just entered the capital.
At that time, Minister of Law Wan Chong had not been imprisoned. Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and the Minister of War had not been imprisoned either. Even the reversal of the verdict in front of the palace had not been finalized.
How could Su Qing have predicted all of this and entered the capital in advance?
"Yes, ever since Fang Zhengzhi came to the capital, we have been under his control. In my opinion, this might be Fang Zhengzhi's doing on purpose. His goal is to lure us into making a move, so that he can seize the opportunity to obtain evidence of our assassination!" The official thought for a moment, then spoke again.
"Official Wang is right. If not for Official Wang's timely reminder, we would have fallen for this shameless fella's trap!" Another official nodded when he heard this.
"Yes, yes, that was close!"
"In my opinion, it's better for us to send a message to the Northern Desert right now. It will be more appropriate for us to take action after we've verified it!" Lord Wang said again.
"I don't think we have enough time to send a message to the Northern Lands? What if the person who entered the capital is not a fake, but the real Su Qing, then we … "Another official frowned.
It would take at least two to three days to send a message from the capital to the Northern Lands, and then get a reply from the Northern Lands. However, the fact was that someone called Su Qing had entered the capital!
Was it real or fake?
No one knew!
"We just lost a battle at the gates of the palace today. If we act rashly now, Fang Zhengzhi and the Ministry of Law will have something on us. We will be in an even more passive position!" Official Wang argued.
"Using the status quo to deal with changes is the ancient truth. We need to remain calm. Even though it is urgent now, two to three days won't make much of a difference."
"Yes, even if the Ministry of Law wants to open a court, they will need time to prepare. Furthermore, the Emperor needs to approve the trial of the Governors of the Five Constabularies. The Ministry of Law can only temporarily detain Su Qing as a suspect. They cannot do anything to him!"
"That's right, I agree with Official Wang's suggestion. We should not act for now!"
The other officials nodded in agreement when they heard Official Wang's argument.
Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was in a dilemma. Just as the officials had said, there was no way to confirm whether the person who entered the capital was Su Qing.
If they acted rashly, they would be in an even more disadvantageous position.
Three days …
"Send a message to the Northern Lands immediately and verify if Su Qing has entered the capital!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong spoke after a full 15 minutes of silence.
The reason was simple. He had thought of one thing.
The messenger was the Minister of Law, Wen Chuan. In other words, King Duan had purposely let him know that Su Qing had entered the capital.
After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to bear with it for a few more days.
"Yes!" The officials nodded in unison.
…
Flame Capital City, King Duan's Residence.
Compared to the past, Duan Wang Fu was much livelier today. A banquet, more than ten court officials, their faces all slightly red.
"Congratulations, Your Highness. Now that the Crown Prince has been implicated in the Southern Region case, Your Highness's dream of ascending the throne has taken another step forward!" One of the officials raised his cup respectfully.
King Duan chuckled.
It was nothing new for officials to curry favor with the powerful. A year ago, King Duan's Residence was in a much worse state.
At that time, more than half of the officials had chosen to support the Crown Prince. However, there were also many who secretly supported King Duan.
But in just a year's time, King Duan's Residence was almost empty. It was only today that King Duan's Residence regained a sliver of its former glory.
But it was only a sliver.
"Official Li, it is still too early to say that. The case of the Southern Region has yet to come to a conclusion. Right now, everyone is still pointing their fingers at Su Qing. It has little to do with the Crown Prince." King Duan replied.
"Your Highness, you are too humble. Even if Su Qing is the culprit, there are some things that we can all see. Even if the Southern Region case does not topple the Crown Prince, the Emperor's trust in the Crown Prince will be greatly diminished. Isn't this the best time for Your Highness to return to the court?" Official Li smiled and bowed again.
"Is that so?" King Duan's eyes flashed.
He did not reply immediately. He knew that it was still too early to celebrate. However, he was confident that King Duan's Residence would only get livelier.
Furthermore, that day was not far away.
"Your Highness!"
At this moment, a guard in shining armor ran over from afar. Finally, he knelt in front of King Duan.
"What is it?" King Duan frowned slightly.
"The Minister of Justice, Wen Chuan, has sent someone to deliver a letter." As the guard spoke, he took out a sealed letter from his bosom.
"Wen Chuan?" King Duan was slightly taken aback. Then, he seemed to have thought of something. His lips curled into a bright smile. "Give it to me."
"Yes!" The guard immediately presented the letter with both hands.
When the ten or so officials saw this, they looked at each other and saw the smile in each other's eyes. Wen Chuan's letter was too obvious.
Today, Wen Chuan had openly suggested that the Southern Region case should be investigated. In fact, he had already represented Wen Chuan's position.
Now, he had sent someone to send a letter.
Naturally, there was no doubt about it.
When they thought of this, the ten or so officials felt more at ease. After all, they had chosen to surrender before the Southern Region case was concluded. They had taken some risks.
But now …
This risk was worth it. Because, once Wen Chuan surrendered to King Duan, it would definitely be a joyous occasion for the current situation.
King Duan was also a little excited.
After all, if Wen Chuan really surrendered to him, he would have the Crown Prince's throat in his hands. When that time comes, the cases of Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, the two Assistant Ministers, and the former Law Official Wan Chong would be easy to imagine.
Especially the former Law Official Wan Chong's case. That case implicated almost half of the Imperial Court. Once the trial began, each case would be linked to the next.
Once he had executed the Crown Prince's entire faction, who would dare to surrender to the Crown Prince?
As he thought of this, King Duan's smile widened. He tore the letter open with a flick of his hand. Then, the smile on his face froze.
Because …
The letter did not contain the contents of the negotiations. It was a short sentence written in a handwriting that did not belong to Wen Chuan. The content was simple and clear.
"Su Qing has entered the capital!"
In an instant, King Duan frowned. He held the letter in his hand, and there was no longer a trace of a smile on his face.
When the officials saw this scene, they were all puzzled.
Could it be that this was not Wen Chuan's letter of surrender?
"Your Highness, what does the letter say?" One of the officials asked carefully.
"Su Qing has entered the capital!" King Duan looked at the official who asked the question, then at the other officials who were all looking at him expectantly. He took a deep breath and answered.
"What?!"
"Su Qing has entered the capital?!"
"How can he be so fast? Shouldn't he be in the Northern Lands? "
When the officials heard this, they were all extremely shocked.
Mr. Hua, who was dressed like a scholar, had a complicated expression on his face when he heard Lin Xinjue's words.
"Your Highness, this is a trap!" Mister Hua replied quickly after thinking for a while.
"What do you think, Mister?" When King Duan heard this, he nodded slightly. Then, he turned to Mister Hua and humbly asked for his opinion.
"If I'm not wrong, this is probably Fang Zhengzhi's plan to lure the snake out of its hole. His goal is to lure the Crown Prince into action. Wen Chuan probably sent this letter to us so that we can restrain the Crown Prince!"
"Restrain the Crown Prince?"
"Yes, and there are two possibilities. First, Fang Zhengzhi wants to use our power to catch the Crown Prince and his men. Second …" Mr. Hua's eyes narrowed as he said this. He was about to say something, but he stopped himself.
"What is the second possibility?" King Duan asked subconsciously.
"If it were anyone else, it would be very unlikely. However, if it were Fang Zhengzhi, it is very possible. That is, it is a fake act for real!"
"A fake act for real? What do you mean?"
"Fang Zhengzhi wants to use this fake Su Qing to convict the Crown Prince. Then, he will use this to disrupt the Crown Prince's temperament and cause him to panic. Then, he will finally reach a verdict!"
"Hiss!"
When the officials heard Mister Hua's words, they all took a deep breath. Sending someone to impersonate Su Qing and then accuse the Crown Prince in public.
Something like that …
They did not even dare to think about it.
After all, this was equivalent to deceiving the Imperial Court. It was a crime of deceiving the Emperor. However, if the person was Fang Zhengzhi, it was possible.
"However, if the Emperor sends someone to the Northern Lands, will Fang Zhengzhi's plan succeed?" One of the officials asked after some thought.
"Before today, how could we have imagined that Fang Zhengzhi could overturn the verdict?" Mister Hua looked at the officials and replied. Then, his eyes glowed, "Don't underestimate Fang Zhengzhi. He has never been one to do things logically!"
"Mister Hua is right!"
"Then, what should we do now?"
"Should we help him?"
When the officials heard this, they looked at each other and nodded.
"Of course, we will help!" King Duan smirked, "No matter what the outcome is, this has nothing to do with us. So, why shouldn't we help him?"
"Your Highness is wise!"
"That's right, if we succeed, we will take credit for it. If we fail, we will push all the blame onto Fang Zhengzhi. This is a win-win situation for us!"
"That's right!"
The officials nodded again.
At this moment, another guard rushed over from afar with a panicked look on his face.
"Your Highness, Your Highness …"
"What is it now?" King Duan kept the letter in his hand and his gaze turned cold. He had already told the officials that there was no need to report if there was nothing important.
"Your … Your Highness, the Governors of the Five Constabularies are requesting an audience!"
"Governors of the Five Constabularies? Which Five Constabularies? "
"The Northern Lands Five Constabularies' Governor, Su Qing, is requesting an audience!"
"Su Qing?! Come to this Prince's residence? "
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