GBP Chapter 469 Showdown
Chapter 469 Showdown
"Does His Majesty intend for the Prince to thoroughly investigate this case? It seems I am too incompetent and have disappointed His Majesty."
"It has been more than a month since the incident. It is understandable that His Majesty's patience is limited. After all, this matter has always been a thorn in His Majesty's side. He will suffer every day until it is removed."
"Yes, as a subject, it is my duty to share the burdens of His Majesty the Emperor. It is my lack of talent and experience that has caused the case to progress slowly."
Following Xuan Nan Wang's words, Jiang Xiaoqi readily admitted that he was not capable enough, but Xuan Nan Wang did not seem to believe that this was Jiang Xiaoqi's heartfelt opinion.
"Lord Jiang is too modest. You are only fourteen years old. You may lack experience, but you can hardly be called ignorant and unlearned."
The case has reached a stalemate. You should know where the root of the problem lies, but you're just unable to fully utilize your abilities due to certain pressures and limitations, aren't you?
Jiang Xiaoqi put down the white piece in his hand and looked directly at the Prince of Xuannan.
"So, Your Highness has come to assist me?"
Prince Xuannan raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps I'm not here to help you, but rather to hold you back."
Jiang Xiaoqi couldn't help but chuckle to herself. This prince was different from the intelligence reports. Was he pretending all the time, or was he pretending today?
Jiang Xiaoqi's lips curled up, but her eyes revealed a hint of wariness. "If Your Highness really wanted to hold me back, you wouldn't have come to my door so late at night."
I don't believe that the prince just suddenly got a sudden urge to play chess and happened to be unable to find a suitable opponent in the entire palace, so he chose to play against a low-ranking official of the sixth rank.
If that's the case, I can only praise Your Highness for your refined taste and unrestrained enjoyment.
Having just arrived in Beijing, exhausted from the journey, and already looking for someone to play chess without even having time to rest and freshen up—this must be a chess fanatic!
Jiang Xiaoqi unleashed a flurry of attacks, then dropped a white piece into the air.
The Prince of Xuan Nan chuckled, "You're quite the rascal. I certainly don't have that much free time. To be honest, I also want to investigate this case as soon as possible and reveal the truth to His Majesty."
I can offer you some conveniences, and you can use my name to do things your way, but you must promise me that you will inform me of the results of your investigation as soon as possible.
Jiang Xiaoqi cupped his hands and said, "If Your Highness is truly willing to help, I will naturally do my utmost. But I wonder what kind of convenience Your Highness is referring to?"
The Prince of Xuannan took out a token from his sleeve. "With this token, you can mobilize my personal guard, a full five hundred men."
Jiang Xiaoqi took the token, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes. "Personal guards? Your Highness, if I need troops, wouldn't it be the same if I asked His Majesty for them? Why use personal guards to protect Your Highness?"
"I thought you were pretty clever just now, but why are you saying such silly things now? If you really could use the Imperial Guard, why didn't you use it before?"
Hmph, alright, stop trying to play tricks on me. You don't trust the Imperial Guards, nor do you trust the people in the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review. You probably have some people of your own.
But it's not enough to support you in doing anything, and besides, I suppose most of your manpower isn't publicly available, is it?
Jiang Xiaoqi was slightly taken aback. Had the Prince of Xuannan secretly investigated him? No, that was impossible. A mere minor official wouldn't be so highly regarded by a prince.
So all of this was just Prince Xuan Nan's own deduction? This prince is actually a man who seems rough on the outside but is shrewd on the inside. Lord Chen's information was wrong!
Jiang Xiaoqi was secretly on guard, but remained respectful on the surface.
"Your Highness is wise. Since Your Highness is so frank, I will not hide anything. I truly dare not use the Imperial Guards, nor do I wish to use people from the Ministry of Justice or the Court of Judicial Review."
The court is a complex web of relationships, and I, being an official with no connections or influence, am very afraid of making a mistake at any moment, so of course I must be cautious.
The Crown Prince's case seems complicated, but it's actually quite simple. Once the source of those two groups of assassins is identified, the mastermind behind it will be largely determined.
"Oh? So you've already made some progress? Then why didn't you report to His Majesty sooner?"
The Prince of Xuannan couldn't quite understand the young man's actions. It seemed that he had some substantial evidence, but from His Majesty's perspective, it was actually making no progress. Otherwise, why would His Majesty have allowed a prince like him to get involved?
Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that His Majesty knew about the evidence and that his involvement with Prince Zi was merely a test to see if he still had any influence in the capital.
However, I really don't have any. That's why the guards I brought from my own fiefdom were used to make things convenient for Lord Jiang.
"Why wasn't it reported? Although it was done through someone else, the evidence was indeed presented to the Emperor."
However, His Majesty may not be satisfied with the results I have found, or these results may not be what His Majesty truly desires. Alas, it's difficult.
Jiang Xiaoqi deliberately put on a bitter and resentful look, making a miserable expression on his handsome face. It looked so disjointed, yet it also made people feel sorry for him.
This might be the added value of good looks, right? When an ugly person does this, it just makes them seem like an ugly person being pretentious, but when a beautiful person does this, it evokes feelings of pity and affection.
Jiang Xiaoqi had no idea how pitiful his expression looked in the eyes of the Prince of Xuan Nan; he was just trying to express his helplessness.
"Fourteen years old. My youngest grandson is two years older than you."
When Prince Xuan Nan suddenly uttered such a sentence, Jiang Xiaoqi was a little taken aback. What? This old prince's thinking is really quite unpredictable!
"Um, well... actually, I'll be fifteen soon after the New Year."
"That's still too small. His Majesty is being rather willful by throwing such a big case at you."
Haha, there's no way to respond to that~
You are the emperor's uncle, an elder, and a prince. It's fine if you say the emperor is willful, but if others agree or echo your sentiments, they're just asking for trouble.
Seeing that Jiang Xiaoqi was only stroking the chess piece in his hand and not saying anything, Prince Xuan Nan changed the subject without any abruptness.
"Does the evidence you presented point to members of the imperial family?"
"Since Your Highness has already guessed, why ask?"
"Isn't that just a guess? I need to confirm with you whether my guess is correct."
"That's right, just as Your Highness guessed, it does involve members of the royal family, and more than one."
This time, the Prince of Xuan Nan was somewhat surprised. "Oh? More than one? It seems I underestimated things. Lord Jiang, would you mind telling me who they are?"
Jiang Xiaoqi knew this would be the next question, so she wasn't surprised at all.
"Your Highness, putting aside others for now, are you aware that you are also within the scope of my investigation?"
The Prince of Xuannan threw down the black pieces in his hand and sighed.
"Sigh~ It must have been tough following you all this way, right?"
"It's not too strenuous, since I don't have to supervise it personally; my subordinates take care of everything."
"Hahahaha, you're so honest, you didn't even argue back!"