The two thin sheets of paper fell to the ground, but they seemed to weigh a thousand jun, instantly attracting the attention of everyone in the hall. Cold laughter could be heard in the hall, and everyone could already see Li Heng's fate.
Li Heng said nothing. After a few moments of silence, he kneeled down and picked up the two sheets of paper.
These were two letters. One of them was from a border general of the Tang Dynasty, the Inspector General of Beiting, Zhang Yang. Anyone with an understanding of the border system of the Tang Dynasty would know that the northern part of the Tang Dynasty had a very long border.
The entire north belonged to the Beiting Protectorate and was under the control of Protector-General An Sishun. But beyond that, the Beiting Protectorate also had many forts on the long border, all of which were guarded by important generals.
These generals were not under the control of Beiting. They were only responsible for guarding their own routes and sending messages back to the Beiting Protectorate. If something happened, the Beiting Protectorate would immediately send reinforcements.
From this, one could see that these forts were essentially 'small courts' with their own political and military affairs.
It was for this reason that the border generals of these forts had very high status. Coupled with the importance of the area, the generals guarding these forts were all of extraordinary strength, all of them titled generals at the very least. As a result, the princes of the palace had always tried to rope them in.
This Zhang Yang was such a border fortress general.
This letter looked ordinary, discussing some battles on the border, but Zhang Yang's words expressed his admiration for a prince, as well as his intention to side with him.
After a few moments of silence, Li Heng turned to the second letter. But with just a glance, Li Heng's pupils constricted and his entire face paled.
"Unfilial son, look at that letter. Is it your notebook?"
The Holy Emperor's voice thundered through the hall.
"It truly is very similar to your son's."
Li Heng straightened his body and calmly said.
"Hmph, Fifth Brother, you're truly a stubborn duck. You even dare to deny it in front of Imperial Father. Do you not even recognize your own handwriting? "
With a cold laugh, Third Prince Li Ju took two steps forward, his face brimming with disdain.
"Fifth Prince, you'd better confess. Forming a clique for personal gain and colluding with the civil and military officials of the court is a serious crime, but lying in front of His Majesty is a crime of deceiving the Emperor. It's much more serious than forming a clique for personal gain. Why is Your Highness still deceiving yourself and refusing to admit it?"
The Third Prince's teacher, Yao Zongping, said.
"How can Li Heng admit to something he didn't do?"
Li Heng sternly said.
"Your Highness, you colluded with the fort patrolling general Zhang Yang, the two sides exchanging letters, this is already conclusive evidence. Even if you want to deny it, it's useless. Zhang Yang has already been relieved of his post by His Majesty. His Majesty has already given. His Majesty is actually giving you a chance! "
"Third" Li King's Li had said.
"I, the Prince," and "," Prince "Wang:" Li Wang, Prince, "Prince", ",", ",", "Heng", ".," This Wang "," Prince, Wang ",", ", Heng", "," Prince ",", "."
This was not a wise move.
He had originally had a good impression of this newly ascended Fifth Prince, but now, the last shred of that impression was gone.
"Grand Tutor, there is no need to say more. We will deal with it."
The Sage Emperor's voice was lofty and aloof, and there was not the slightest emotion on his face.
"Unfilial son, you colluded with the border generals and formed a clique for personal gain. There are letters as proof, and the evidence is clear. Since you are not willing to admit it, We will not force you. We ordered someone to search your study for this list. Do you recognize the handwriting?"
Before he could finish speaking, whoosh! A third letter flew through the air like a sharp blade toward Li Heng.
Li Heng stretched out his hands and caught the letter. In a flash, the mountainous energy on the letter vanished.
Li Heng lowered his head and saw one name after another on the letter. It was precisely the list of officials that he had given to Wang Chong for him to review and recruit.
"Zuo Honglin, Su Guosheng, Qi Haiqing, Wei Shaoyou, Cui Yi, Lu Jianjin, Li Han, and even the Wei Clan's Wei Lan and Wei Jian … Unfilial son, just what do you want to do?"
With that final sentence, the Saint-Emperor slammed his palm down, causing the entire hall to shake. All of the princes and teachers, even the Grand Preceptor and the grand tutors, looked on in shock, and didn't utter a single word.
After serving at the Holy Emperor's side for so many years, the Grand Tutor and Grand Tutor were well aware that the moment this happened, the Holy Emperor would truly be enraged.
If Fifth Prince Li Heng still refused to admit it, what awaited him would be a punishment far more severe than forming a clique for personal gain.
Not only would Fifth Prince Li Heng be imprisoned, his future would also be ruined. He might not even be able to live as an ordinary person. Even his teacher and the attendants in the palace might be punished.
In the worst-case scenario, Li Heng might lose his life.
And what happened next would depend on what Li Heng said.
"Imperial Father, this son knows that no matter what I say, you will not believe it. Moreover, Imperial Father said that this list was found in my study, and this son also knows that there is no mistake."
Li Heng's voice resounded in everyone's ears.
"But this son can confess to Imperial Father that this list was not written by this son. I do not know who was framing this son, nor do I know how he managed to enter my study and place this list inside. But no matter how much thought he put into it, no matter how thorough his plan, even a wise man will make a mistake, leaving behind a loophole. "
"Oh?"
Li Heng's words immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the hall. The solemn atmosphere in the hall began to ripple, and the princes on the two sides of the hall began to show a hint of unease.
"Are you saying that this list and letter are forged?"
The Holy Emperor's voice was pensive.
Obviously, this was something that no one had expected.
"Correct!"
Fifth Prince Li Heng straightened his back and raised his head to look at that dignified figure in the hall, his expression relaxed and unflinching.
"Buzz!"
The Fifth Prince's words immediately caused an uproar in the hall. Even the stern and unsmiling Grand Tutor and Grand Preceptor to the Holy Emperor's left and right glanced at each other, their stern faces beginning to show signs of loosening.
Although the Holy Emperor could not have made a mistake, Fifth Prince Li Heng's expression did not seem to be fake. Moreover, the princes of the Imperial Palace would often frame each other, something that had happened in every dynasty.
In that instant, the Grand Tutor and the Grand Tutor both looked towards the Third Prince, Li Ju, who was standing outside the great hall.
"Li Heng, you're lying! You dared to do it, but you don't dare to admit it! "
Li Ju's face instantly turned red.
"Since you dared to do such a thing, why don't you dare to admit it?
"So, all of this was Third Imperial Brother's doing, right?"
Li Heng looked at Third Prince Li Ju. If he hadn't been clear at the start, the moment the Third Prince stepped forward, Li Heng was certain that the mastermind behind all of this had to be Third Prince Li Ju.
Third Prince Li Ju's expression froze as he realized that he had misspoken, but he quickly began to sneer.
"Fifth Brother, whatever you say now is useless. Everything will be decided by Imperial Father."
As Li Ju spoke, he turned his head and gave a deep bow to the Holy Emperor. He wasn't worried about being exposed and being hated by Li Heng, but if the Holy Emperor mistakenly accused him of framing his brother, it would be no small matter.
The Holy Emperor said nothing, not even glancing at Li Ju. His gaze remained fixed on the kneeling Li Heng.
Li Ju's face reddened as he hurriedly retreated to the side and closed his mouth.
"Speak!"
The Holy Emperor only said two words, his voice neither loud nor soft, but they resounded clearly in everyone's ears, exuding a supreme majesty.
"Imperial Father, Third Brother framed me for colluding with Fort Patrolling General Zhang Yang. I have nothing to say, nor can I prove my own innocence. But Third Brother forged this list of colluding with the ministers of the court. If it were true, your son would admit it, but one's own cleverness can be the victim of one's own cleverness. No matter how meticulous it was, no matter how much effort was put into it, there was still a flaw. "
Li Heng's lips perked up into a confident smile.
"Li Heng! Don't slander me! You colluded with the ministers of the court to draw up this list! What does it have to do with me? "
Li Ju was instantly infuriated that Li Heng was framing him. If not for the fact that the Holy Emperor was present, he would have already charged forward.
"Hmph, a straightforward person doesn't do shady things. You know very well whether you did it or not."
Li Heng raised his head to his elder brother and sneered. If it was in the past, perhaps he would restrain himself a little and admit it, but it was different this time. Since they harbored evil intentions and wanted to kill him, there was no need for him to give in at all.
"Continue!"
The Holy Emperor's voice was as tranquil as an ancient well, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
"Yes!"
Li Heng gave a deep bow and then raised his head to continue.
"Court Minister Zuo Honglin, Minister of the Left Servant She Su Guosheng, Border Cavalry General Wu Yanqing, Minister of Justice Cui Yi, Transport Commissioner Wei Shaoyou, Wei Lan and Wei Jian of the capital's Wei clan … your son has nothing to say about these names. Alas, even the wisest person is bound to make a mistake. No matter how cautious the person who drew up this list was, they still made an irreparable mistake. The last name on this list is Secretary Chen Wenxiao!
"A few days ago, Teacher Xu happened to be speaking to your son about the Secretary Chen. If your son remembers correctly, of the twenty-four officials of the Secretary Chen, there is no one called Chen Wenxiao."
With these last words, Li Heng straightened his back and his expression grew more confident. For a moment, everyone in the hall couldn't help but be captivated by his expression.
The princes to his left and right and the teachers of the princes couldn't help but widen their eyes, especially Third Prince Li Ju, whose face paled.
The Secretary Chen was a minor official of the lower third rank. He did not have a very high status in the court and did not have the authority to participate in politics. As a result, no one in the court would pay any attention to him, much less the Secretary Chen Wenxiao.
But no matter how they paid attention, they would never have imagined that Chen Wenxiao didn't even exist on this list. If Chen Wenxiao didn't exist, then this list couldn't be trusted.
On the other hand, someone was maliciously framing Li Heng.
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.
