Chapter 194 - Step by Step
“Master, this humble servant has checked. These things… these things were given to Third Prince by the Great King over the years. They are all recorded on the record.” The deputy reported in fear.
“Really?” Xue Tingwei snatched the book from his hand and flipped through it page by page. Compared to the items in the box, he was completely dumbfounded.
“This…” This time, he was in big trouble!
Xue Tingwei paced around the study room in frustration, his brows tightly knitted.
“Master, this matter… should we report it?” The adjutant knew what he was annoyed about. If he reported this matter, he would definitely offend Third Prince. If he did not report it, he might end up with a crime of not reporting his dereliction of duty.
It was indeed difficult!
Xue Tingwei sat down on his butt. He drummed his fingers on the table and thought for a moment. “Tell me, why did this Third Prince give Envoy of North Yue a gift for no reason?”
“This… I can't figure it out, but it's against the rules.”
“Not necessarily. You forgot that Third Prince's birth mother is a princess of North Yue. It's not surprising that they have some relationship.”
“Then… shall we not report this?”
“Report! Why not!” Xue Tingwei glared at him, “We are loyal to the Emperor and are focused on investigating the case. Any gains must be reported!”
“But Third Prince…” That person was not a magnanimous person. If they held a grudge, their lives would not be easy.
Although Wang Zixian was not the crown prince, he had quite a lot of influence in the court. Most importantly, he was ambitious and had a heavy heart. He did not know when he had been schemed against.
“I have a decree to investigate the case. Any clues should be submitted. We will only send the items to the Palace. As for the results, the King will naturally send someone to investigate.”
The adjutant secretly heaved a sigh of relief. “Your Excellency is the best!” In this way, they could only pretend that they did not know that these things came from Third Prince Prefecture.
After Xue Tingwei finished speaking, he immediately changed his clothes and entered the palace. The king only gave him a ten-day deadline, so he had to race against time.
As soon as he left the Imperial Advisor's Residence, the squad of guards he sent came back. “Master, we found something!”
“Speak!”
A guard walked up to him and whispered in his ear. Xue Tingwei frowned and his face tensed up.
“Let's go, follow me into the palace!” It seemed that this case would have some twists and turns.
In the Imperial Reading Room, King of South Jin was playing chess with Old Prince. It was rare for him to have half a day of leisure.
“Haha… Aiqing's chess skills are gradually growing!” King of South Jin had won half of his eyes. He threw Bai Qi aside and laughed.
“I am not as busy as the king. If I have time, I will play a few games with State Duke Lu. I have to make some progress.”
“You old people are relaxed. You still have time to play chess!” King of South Jin scolded with a smile, but he did not have any intention of getting angry.
These officials from the older generation all went through life and death with him. Naturally, their feelings were not ordinary.
Old Prince cleaned up the chessboard and divided the black and white pieces. He said casually, “Now it's the young people's world! We old people can't walk anymore. It's just a bunch of hooligans.”
In fact, they were not very old. It was just that their average life expectancy was only forty or fifty years. They were already at this age and could not be considered young.
King of South Jin's brows furrowed as he said, “Yes, they are all old…”
“The king is not old. He is in high spirits. It is not a problem for him to live a hundred years longer!”
“Haha… Let's not talk about that. Throughout the dynasties, there was no king who lived a long life.” Although he said so, King of South Jin was still unconvinced of his old age.
No one was not afraid of death. The more powerful a person was, the more greedy they were for power. They were also afraid that others would try their best to seize their power.
Old Prince smiled. “Fortunately, the princes are all adults. Crown Prince is also very outstanding. South Jin will be passed down for thousands of generations.”
King of South Jin frowned when he talked about his sons. Crown Prince Zhao was indeed capable. This could be seen from his recent help in handling government affairs.
Having such a capable son was both good and bad. King of South Jin did not want to reveal his conflicting feelings.
As for the other sons, the eldest and third son were also highly valued. But now it seemed that they were slightly inferior.
“Hmph! That kid Li Xu actually fought for the sake of a man, and he lived half his life in the belly of a dog!” King of South Jin became angry when he thought of this. A dignified prince actually did such a shameful thing to the royal family.
Old Prince looked at the other party's expression and sighed deeply. “Yes. This official was also shocked when he heard the news. He thought about how outstanding Wang Zixu was back then. He was lively and active, filial and polite. After not seeing him for a few years, he had somewhat lost his sense of propriety.”
“Who wouldn't say that? I don't know how he has lived these past few years either!” King of South Jin's brows relaxed slightly. There was a nostalgic look on his face. He must have thought of Wang Zixu's past matters as well.
After all, he was the eldest son. He had been paid attention since he was young, and the children were innocent and cute. Naturally, he liked them.
Old Prince saw this and added: “Young people are bound to make mistakes. In my opinion, Wang Zixu's nature is not bad. It's just that he was forgotten by the Great King these few years and has somewhat abandoned himself.”
Blaming Wang Zixu's mistake on his own. Although it would disappoint King of South Jin, it would also remind him of his negligence towards his eldest son over the years.
In short, it was his own forgetting that made him abandon himself. If it wasn't for this, would he still be that innocent and cute child?
King of South Jin coldly snorted, “That's also because he made a mistake before. He actually dared to…” He actually dared to commit adultery with the male pet of the harem. This kind of mistake was already considered a great favor if he didn't die.
“What you said is right. If he made a mistake, he should be punished, but every child is the heart of the parents. When this official thought of Tangxi who married far away, he could not sleep peacefully all night… If she can be by this official's side, even if this official has made a mistake, this official will definitely teach her with care.”
After County Princess Tangxi's matter had passed for a long time, King of South Jin gradually forgot about those matters back then. Thinking that it was Old Prince's only daughter, he felt a little guilty in his heart.
“If you miss your daughter, in a few years, I will order the husband and wife to come back and take a look.”
Old Prince was crying tears of joy. He got up and knelt down. “Thank you for the king's grace!”
King of South Jin saw how excited he was. He was a little moved. “Alright, stand up. I will give you a few more beautiful women. You are not very old. Maybe you will be old enough to have children.”
“Thank you for your reward, my king!” Old Prince did not decline. He could not refuse such a reward. However, after he was sent to the mansion, he would decide what to do with it.
“As for Chen-er… I will punish him to go to the ancestral temple to cultivate for a month and pray for the good fortune of the common people.”
Old Prince praised, “The king is kind. I think Wang Zixu will enter after this.”
“I hope so.” King of South Jin sighed. He picked up a chess piece and said, “Come, let's play another game.”
Old Prince had just taken his seat when a servant came in with a bow and reported, “Reporting to the king, the captain of the court is outside asking for an audience.”
“Oh? Could it be that the case has been investigated?” King of South Jin threw down his chess piece and waved his hand. “Xuan!”
“Xuan… Lord Tingqi Xue greets…”
A moment later, Xue Tingwei walked in quickly with a box in his hand. He was not surprised to see Old Prince at the scene. After greeting, he presented the item to the king, “King, this item was found in the room of the messenger in the inn. This official saw that there was a seal of the palace on it and did not dare to deal with it privately. Hence, he brought it into the palace and handed it to the king to deal with.”
King of South Jin frowned slightly. He asked in a slightly surprised tone, “Envoy of North Yue found something in the palace in his room?”
This discovery made people think deeply about it.
“Give it to me!”
“Yes, sir.”
When the box was opened, King of South Jin's frown deepened. He picked up a red hairpin and looked at it for a long time. “A woman's item… did the envoy bring any women with him?”
“No.” Master Xue answered honestly.
“Eh…” Old Prince stared at something and was surprised.
King of South Jin asked directly, “Do you know this thing?”
Old Prince looked hesitant. Under the anxious gaze of the other party, he braced himself and replied, “Did the king forget? Last year in the middle of autumn, did you reward Third Prince with that jade pendant?”
King of South Jin threw away the red hairpin and took out the jade pendant from the box. After looking at it several times, his eyes gradually darkened.
The atmosphere in the Imperial Reading Room was stagnant. Xue Tingwei secretly wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. It seemed that he had sent the jade pendant to the Palace correctly. Otherwise, if something happened in the future, he would not be able to bear the consequences.
“Men, please invite young master Zhan into the palace… no, go and call the doctor!”
Someone outside replied. The Imperial Reading Room quieted down. King of South Jin no longer had the leisure to relax. He waved his hand to let Old Prince leave first.
Not long after, the doctor asked him to see him. King of South Jin gave the box to him. “Investigate! Find out who these things belong to within two hours!”
The doctor was stunned for a moment. He saw that the things in the box had familiar marks on them. He carefully took the things and left.
He waited for a full hour and a half. When he saw the doctor running over in big strides, Xue Tingwei secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
“King, this item was given to Third Prince by the palace, but the time is different. This official spent more time to verify it.”
King of South Jin was silent for a long time before he said, “I understand. Withdraw!”
When only King of South Jin and Xue Tingwei were left in the Imperial Reading Room, King of South Jin finally spoke. “What else do you know? Let's talk about it together.”
“Yes… This official found out that Wang Zixian and Envoy of North Yue are in contact with each other, but he did not find anything unusual. As it involves His Highness, this official does not dare to make a decision on his own.”
“I order you to investigate the murder of the messenger. I do not want you to find out who is in contact with Envoy of North Yue.” King of South Jin slapped the table and stood up. “Don't you know the relationship between Li Xian and Bei Yue? ” Will he kill Envoy of North Yue?”
Xue Tingwei's back was wet with sweat. He knelt on the ground. “King, please calm down! …I didn't mean that. I just found this thing. Should I give it back to Envoy of North Yue?”
“Humph! How can I give this item to the people of North Yue?” King of South Jin threw the box on the ground with one hand and shouted, “Men, burn this thing!”
“Even if it is destroyed, I will not let it into the pockets of the North Yue people!”
Xue Tingwei knew that he was very angry when he heard this. He quickly knelt down and left the Imperial Reading Room.
As for what kind of storm would arise inside, he didn't care.
The news in the palace soon spread out. Although they did not know what exactly happened, many people knew that the king had been furious today because Xue Tingwei had sent something into the palace.
The only one who knew what had happened was Old Prince. He sent a message to First Prince, telling him to go to the ancestral temple and cultivate in peace for a month. When he returned, the situation in the court would probably change.
“What do you think the king will do next?” After Tang Yue heard the news, he asked Crown Prince Zhao.
He did not know King of South Jin well, but Crown Prince Zhao must know his father very well.
“He will definitely send someone to investigate in secret.” Crown Prince Zhao curled his lips. “He is getting more and more suspicious. How can he tolerate such a thing? If this happened alone, maybe he will quit his job first.”
“Is it that serious?” Tang Yue was the first to mourn for Wang Zixian for a few seconds. With this suspicion, as long as he casually placed something in Third Prince's residence, he would lose his life.
Should he take this step?
Tang Yue hesitated for a moment. He raised his head and looked at Crown Prince Zhao. The corner of his mouth slowly curved up. “Everyone says that you cannot live with your own sins. If you don't continue to take this step, won't you be a little foolish?”
Crown Prince Zhao turned his head to look at him and clenched his fist tightly. The cold touch made him know that Tang Yue was definitely not calm at this moment.
“There's no need. You already said that you brought this upon yourself. After all, there is a loophole in framing someone. Instead, it is easy to expose it.”
“Then…”
“Wait!” Crown Prince Zhao decisively appraised, “You don't want to gamble, do you? That's good.”
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶