Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 744: Heart to Heart
Just as Mother Jiang said, Miss Zhu Ying had indeed gone to the palace in the afternoon, and was indeed staying in the palace for dinner. However, she was not with the Empress Dowager in the Qingning Palace, but with the Emperor in the Qianqing Palace. She was not alone, but accompanied by another person, her fiancé, Zhang Shou, who would officially become her husband in a few days.
The other person called by the emperor to accompany him was the third prince who was the crown prince.
The emperor obviously didn't follow the rule of not talking while eating or sleeping. While eating, he asked with great interest about Zhu Tingfang's wedding yesterday, as if to make up for the regret of not being able to go there in person. So Zhu Ying talked about the decoration of the new house and her sister-in-law with great relish, while Zhang Shou added the various aspects of the wedding banquet outside, including the "early birth of a son" bestowed by the emperor, and there was laughter and joy for a while.
However, the Third Prince was obviously absent-minded and even missed what the three said several times, so that when someone mentioned him, he was completely bewildered and didn't know what to say. In the end, the little prince finally found that the surroundings had become quiet, and when he looked up, he saw that the emperor, Zhang Shou, and Zhu Ying were all looking at him.
After the initial daze, he knew that he could no longer hide his distraction, so he simply put down his bowl and chopsticks, stood up, stepped back and knelt down. Seeing this, Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying naturally couldn't sit still, and both stood up and stood behind the emperor. Anyway, neither of them was a restrained person. Although they had just talked with the emperor, they also ate a lot. Now they finally didn't have to stand on an empty stomach.
The emperor did not seem surprised by the Third Prince's behavior. He just put away his smile, put down his chopsticks, and asked calmly: "Sanlang, what are you doing? Is it difficult for you to have a good meal with me?"
"Your son..." The Third Prince also instinctively left the table and knelt down. Only then did he realize that he was really not good at observing the emperor's words and expressions when he suddenly made such a move when his father was having a rare and peaceful meal. However, he had spent a lot of time on the previous matter in addition to studying in the past few days. He did gain something, but he found it difficult to talk about it.
Therefore, he calmed down, held the letter horizontally and told the truth: "Father has been in a bad mood these days. I cannot share your worries, but I have disturbed your rare good mood. It is really against filial piety. However, I can't help it. Someone in the charity hall under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Department actually served the thief and almost brought disaster to the teacher's family. I have been ordered to investigate for a few days and have found the result."
Zhu Ying had originally thought that the Third Prince and the Emperor were always more like father and son than monarch and subject, so why was he suddenly so serious today... or perhaps very nervous and terrified. But when she heard someone talking about the unsolved case, she forgot her suspicion and focused entirely on the word "result" that the Third Prince had mentioned.
"Your Highness, have you really found out the result?"
"Hmm." The Third Prince hummed in a low voice, and his head unconsciously drooped. After a long while, he whispered, "Before, everyone said that those thieves were instigated by my eldest brother. Later, there was an incident in Huairou where thieves incited the people to surround the imperial farm. In addition, my eldest brother committed suicide. People outside couldn't help but say that this confirmed that the man behind the scenes was undoubtedly my eldest brother."
"I also heard that Master Zhu, who was in charge of the Five Cities Military Department, wrote a letter to apologize, saying that a fake messenger was at the city gate announcing the death of his elder brother. After he was caught, he personally interrogated the messenger, but the messenger said that his elder brother sent him, and that's why he suddenly died inexplicably."
Listening to the Third Prince stating these facts that were known to everyone, and even rarely addressing the First Prince as "Big Brother", Zhang Shou couldn't help but have a vague feeling that... the Third Prince, who was now becoming increasingly stable and reliable, could not help but lose his concentration during the meal. He then resolutely stood up and reported that what he was about to say was probably of no trivial importance.
However, Zhu Ying didn't think so much. She thought the Third Prince was keeping things a secret, so she couldn't help but ask anxiously, "Your Highness, can you tell me the point? You're really driving me crazy!"
Seeing Zhu Ying impatiently urging him, and Zhang Shou mumbling in silence, as if he had guessed something, the Third Prince wanted to look up and see what expression his father had at this moment, but he was more worried that he would not dare to speak after seeing it, so he forced himself not to peek, and instead revealed the answer directly.
"I investigated the Jimin Charity Hall layer by layer, followed the clues, and caught several rats in the Imperial Household Department. In the end, I proved the innocence of Qian Ren, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department."
"Qian Ren has only been in charge of the Imperial Household Department for a short time. He has never been aggressive with the world and has no connection with the elder and second brothers. However, he is too old and too honest. He is only in name only. His subordinates just treat him like a bodhisattva on a shrine and do whatever they want. They don't listen to him at all. He doesn't even know the existence of the charity hall."
"Those guys who were actually thieves in the charity hall pushed all the blame onto my eldest brother under torture, but after I personally went to question them, I felt that their statements were not entirely true, so I asked the military department to bring back the guard named Shi who was beside my eldest brother, and the book boy named Mo Hai who was beside my second brother."
"I ordered someone to wash the guard surnamed Shi, have him put on makeup, and dress him in clean clothes. I also painted Mo Hai's face black and dressed him in rags that looked like they had been torn after a fight. Then I tied them up and brought them to the thieves. As a result, they all said in unison that the guard surnamed Shi was Mo Hai, and that Mo Hai was the guard surnamed Shi."
When the third prince talked about this scene, Zhang Shou finally couldn't help but blurt out an exclamation of praise. Then, as if he had just realized that this was the Qianqing Palace instead of the Ciqing Palace, he bowed to the emperor with an apologetic look on his face.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I just didn't expect that His Royal Highness, at such a young age, could use such a trick to attack people's hearts. Compared with torture, this trick is indeed a brilliant one." Having said this, he smiled and looked at the Fourth Prince and said, "Did those thieves insist that the so-called guard named Shi they identified was the one who contacted them on the orders of the First Prince and instructed them to sneak into my palace through the secret passage?"
"That's right. Since they can mistake the people, then the so-called instructions are of course nonsense!"
The Third Prince had never expected that his simple trick would be praised by Zhang Shou. After a moment of hesitation, he said with some embarrassment: "Teacher, you are too kind. I just came up with this idea on a whim..."
He hesitated for a moment, but did not say anything in the end. It was because when he was personally interrogating them, he saw that the thieves who tried to sneak into Tiangong Workshop through the secret passage were covered with bruises, which were obviously caused by severe torture. He could not bear it for a while. Even though he knew that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen, and he did not have to face such a cruel scene in person, he still hoped to fight with wits rather than strength.
However, the Third Prince knew that he had no time to be happy about his teacher's affirmation, so he just said humbly and said in a deep voice: "So, it was proved that the eldest brother's instructions were false. I questioned them strictly, and the eunuch Chu who followed me listed ancient and modern tortures as a threat, which really scared them to death."
Of course, even he was scared to death when he heard it at that time...
Zhu Ying couldn't help but laugh when she heard this: "Your Highness the Crown Prince was trying to deceive the world, and Eunuch Chu was just bluffing. You two really coordinated well. After being scared, did those people tell the truth?"
This time, the Third Prince finally mustered up the courage to look up at his father. Seeing that the Emperor was still sitting there quietly, with no joy or anger on his face, and it was even unclear whether he had already known the situation due to the report, he could not help but sigh in his heart.
"These people were exposed for their lies and tortured by Eunuch Chu, so they told the truth. They said that someone had held something against the charity hall and threatened them, so they had no choice but to follow someone's instructions and sneak into Zhang Garden. They were going to set fire and leave, but who knew they would run into a trap. Eunuch Chu asked them sternly who was holding the evidence against them, but they couldn't tell me."
This was a very normal result - after all, if the person who was holding the blackmail was found out, wouldn't it be a joke? Zhang Shou had this thought in his mind, and was just thinking whether the emperor would feel better because of the first prince's crime. Who knew that the third prince would suddenly change his tone after clearing the first prince of a crime.
"But I later transferred a few tutors from Jiuzhang Hall to audit the accounts of Silijian. I found a large amount of funds from Jiminshan Hall that were unknown. But I found that some of the old people from Silijian died of illness or returned home. I couldn't verify it in a short time. Fortunately, Master Zhu found out another thing, saying that the book boy Mo Hai was from Jiminshan Hall."
"And Mo Hai claimed that he was still studying in the inner school hall, but because of his appearance, he was given to my second brother by a certain eunuch. I asked Eunuch Chu to check the inner school hall of the Imperial Household Department, and there really is such a person. Moreover, Mo Hai is indeed... indeed a eunuch."
At this moment, Zhang Shou suddenly saw that the emperor's face, which had originally seemed stern... or indifferent, finally revealed some anger that could no longer be concealed. Especially when the third prince said that the person was actually a eunuch, the emperor finally couldn't help but slapped the table hard, and in anger, he swept a cup in front of him to the ground.
"It's so audacious... so ridiculous!"
When the Third Prince said this, and seeing his father so furious, he finally mustered up the courage to say, "In fact, after the investigation, Eunuch Chu told me that he suspected that my second brother was still alive."
At that moment, even Zhu Ying couldn't help but widen her eyes. Zhang Shou laughed in his heart. He didn't think it was true, but... a person whose life or death was difficult to confirm, whether he was really the mastermind behind the scenes or was thrown out as a scapegoat, it was very suitable.
The emperor, who had just been listening quietly to the Third Prince's words without interrupting, finally asked, "That's what Chu Kuan said. So, Sanlang, what do you think?"
"Your Highness... Your Highness feels that what Eunuch Chu said is taken for granted!" The Third Prince finally summoned up his courage and looked fearlessly at the Emperor's suddenly fierce gaze. "My elder brother and second brother did a lot of wrong things in the past, and they can't be considered good brothers. Even now, your Highness still feels resentful about the past, but..."
"But I feel that they have made one mistake after another and have been severely punished by the emperor. If they were truly loyal followers, they should have stayed by their side instead of stirring up trouble in secret. Because doing those things costs money. After the emperor was furious and killed or expelled the people around them, and then confiscated all their private property, my eldest and second brothers were left with no money."
"Without status and money, how can you do those things? To seize the weak spots of the Charity Hall and force the people inside to work for it, you don't necessarily need money, but why save such a handle to use now? If you use it earlier, both the eldest brother and the second brother will be able to better grasp the emperor's mind and not often anger him, right?"
"Maybe it's because everyone is pushing the issue down, maybe someone wants to curry favor with me... Or maybe someone has ulterior motives, so they simply set up traps and put the blame on my eldest and second brothers who already have so many faults..."
He himself felt that he was becoming more and more incoherent, so he simply stopped speculating, lowered his head and said, "I am so terrified that I failed to get to the bottom of this matter, and instead I made myself very nervous. I have failed my father."
Zhu Ying finally woke up from her dream. She was about to speak, but someone grabbed her sleeve. When she turned her head, she found that Zhang Shou, who was supposed to be standing on the other side of the emperor, had come around to her side.
Seeing the young lady casting a doubtful look at him, Zhang Shou shook his head and then said softly: "It is said that young people do not know the taste of sorrow, and they force themselves to express sorrow in order to compose new poems. But the Crown Prince's sorrow is not just something he thinks too much about. Your Majesty, I have actually wanted to say this a long time ago, whether it was when I and Yingying were assassinated in the bamboo forest in the village, or the various things that happened later..."
"Some of them may have been done by the eldest and second princes, but some may not be done by them. It's just that they have done so many wrong things that even if they refuse to admit it, some cases will be blamed on them if there is no result. Of course, if the emperor asks for any evidence, I can only say that I don't have any. I just feel that some things are not so natural."
Seeing that the emperor's sharp gaze finally shifted from the third prince to him, Zhang Shou looked back calmly.
Anyway, he had never directed or acted in any drama, and he had never done anything wrong. Even if he had cheated the eldest and second princes a few times, he had always been open and aboveboard, and had already told the emperor about it. Since he had done nothing wrong, why was he afraid of the emperor's wrath?
Zhu Ying had never expected that the eldest and second princes, who were brothers who were clearly dead, would now bring up such a lot of disputes. Especially when she saw the third prince still kneeling on the ground with an indescribable sadness on his face, although Zhang Shou was calm, the emperor's eyes seemed to want to kill her, and she finally couldn't help but cough heavily.
"Whether it's Ah Shou or His Royal Highness, they are not experts in investigating cases. There are many experts in this world who are good at investigating difficult cases. Since there are doubts, we should send such experts to investigate!"
"No matter whether the eldest and second princes are dead or alive, shouldn't we get to the bottom of it before we can feel at ease?"
Hearing this Zhu Ying-style suggestion, the emperor thought he would get angry, scold Tian Nai, and blame this for being a hindsight. However, he had been in a bad mood for the past few days, and he couldn't help laughing: "Yingying, among the people in the capital who are good at this kind of chaos, there is your eldest brother. Do you still want him, a newlywed, to get involved in this kind of muddy water?"
