GBP Chapter 145 Who is the mastermind?
Chapter 145 Who is the mastermind?
Shen Dongfeng was also quick-witted, and he quickly found a way to smooth things over.
He managed to transform himself from a suspected accomplice of the Prince of Li into an official loyal to His Highness the Crown Prince, which made Hai Yu chuckle.
If he is loyal, then what about myself? What about the Qiao family?
Isn't that a joke!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but frown.
Although he was impulsive, he was not brainless. Chi Yunjing and Shen Dongfeng were not the first or the last group they interrogated. About 70% of the officials were quite surprised to find such a spy in their homes.
They all stated that they had no connection with King Le and knew nothing about the old servant's behavior.
Therefore, he and Haijin exchanged a glance and both felt that their words could not be completely believed, but they could not be completely disbelieved either. So they waved their hands and ordered their men to take Aunt Shi and Nurse Hong back, but they showed no intention of releasing Chi Yunjing and Shen Dongfeng.
"You're going to detain us?"
Seeing that he had no intention of releasing the person, Chi Yunjing immediately questioned him.
"He's not confused now."
"You have no right to do that! I am a fourth-rank official, not a low-ranking one. You can't just detain me like that. Even if the Crown Prince himself came, there would be an explanation!"
Shen Dongfeng's official position is not as high as Chi Yunjing's, but at this time, standing by Chi Yunjing's side is more likely to win than standing by the Hai brothers. After all, even if he wanted to stand by them, they might not have to!
Therefore, the one with the stiff neck responded with a shout.
“Minister Chi is right. Although I am insignificant, my loyalty to Da Long is as clear as the sun and moon and as verifiable as heaven and earth. If we are detained without authorization, who knows how many people will be disheartened! Therefore, Lords Hai, it would be best to release us as soon as possible!”
One is spineless pretending to be tough, and the other is tough even more so. Haiyu snorted coldly and then said.
"It's not your place to question the actions of the people from the Crown Prince's Palace. If you are truly innocent, your names will be cleared. But if anyone is trying to take advantage of the situation, don't even think about escaping! Guards, take them into custody and we'll interrogate them the next day!"
"Yes!"
Soon, people came forward and took Chi Yunjing and Shen Dongfeng away.
The two struggled and refused to give up, but their opponent didn't give them a chance. He knocked them unconscious with a chop to the neck and took them away. The scene became much quieter in an instant. After they were taken away, Haiyu asked Haijin a question.
"What does the eldest brother think?"
"The innocent make up 80%, but the remaining 20% is unknown."
“I think so too. All they arrest are old servants from officials’ homes. They can’t even find the person in charge. I don’t believe that Mei Gu, who is disguised as the Third Princess, is the only culprit in such a large capital city. No matter how capable she is, she can only stir up trouble in the harem. How can she interfere in the affairs of the court?”
Haiyu's analysis was very logical and insightful.
But even now, they haven't caught any high-ranking mastermind behind it all.
These old servants are, frankly speaking, just the eyes, but the ones who are truly using their brains are definitely observing from behind the scenes, they just haven't realized it yet.
Those who can support King Li's ascension to the throne must be in high positions and have great power. Ideally, they should be able to rally countless people to their cause with a single call. There must be such people in the capital, but those with such abilities have long been under surveillance, yet they cannot find a single flaw.
So the two brothers found themselves in a dilemma: who was the mastermind behind it all?
unknown.
"Forget it, thinking about it is giving me a headache. I'd better tell His Highness about the situation. He's smarter than me, so he might figure it out soon."
Haiyu was ready to give up entirely, but Haijin was still reasoning in his head.
If they can't find anyone in the capital, could it be someone from outside the capital?
This idea coincided perfectly with that of the Crown Prince.
Inside the study of the Eastern Palace.
The Hai brothers, Qiao Er, and He Lingyi were all present, and the five of them discussed the matter together. Originally, it was inconvenient for He Lingyi to appear, but the Crown Prince had Xia Jing invite her, stating that she was the first person to discover that the Third Princess was acting strangely, so she should be involved in the matter.
There was no idea that women should not be involved in politics; on the contrary, they brought her before their confidants to discuss and study the matter together.
He Lingyi originally wanted to decline, but when she thought of Consort Qin's ashen face, she felt that she had no choice but to take responsibility. The Third Princess was dead, but Mei Gu was not the only one who killed her, so she showed up.
"How many people have been arrested so far?"
He Lingyi asked a question, and Haiyu immediately picked up the conversation.
"We've screened all the families of officials of the sixth rank and above in the capital. There are currently thirty-two people detained in the East Palace dungeon. The highest-ranking official is Chi Yunjing, the Vice Minister. The rest were only suspected, so we let them go, but we have people monitoring them around the clock. We even searched the stone lions at the gates of the four major dukes' mansions, but we only caught some long-serving servants with solid foundations. They bit one after another, and we caught one hundred and ninety-two people. If we go down, there will probably be no more than three hundred. These should be all the spies that Prince Li has planted."
It's not surprising that spies were planted, but what's remarkable about King Li is that these old servants were all veterans who had worked in their respective households for decades, yet they were still managed to be turned against him. That's quite an impressive skill.
"Then we don't have much time left. Although the capital is far from Hengzhou, once the news is cut off, they will probably find out. King Li is not stupid. He won't believe that the Third Princess is recuperating at the palace and that such a large-scale search in the capital is to arrest the remnants of King Jin's faction. So, Your Highness, if King Li really rebels, what are the chances of annihilating him?"
It has been less than half a year since they discovered King Le's ambition, but King Le has been preparing for it for decades. So from this point of view, they are not at an advantage.
However, the Crown Prince has been cultivating his power for many years and is no ordinary person, so when two tigers fight, one of them will surely be injured.
He Lingyi certainly hoped that the Crown Prince would win, but now they couldn't even find out who was the biggest supporter of the Prince of Li in the capital. They were somewhat nervous about fighting this battle.
"Princess Consort, do not worry. My father and elder brother are all ready. They are just waiting for Your Highness's order to launch a large-scale attack on Hengzhou and capture the rebel King Li in one fell swoop!"
Qiao Er had complete faith in his father and brothers' abilities, but He Lingyi had a different idea.
“I have never doubted the abilities of General Qiao and his son, but I am thinking, what if King Li is using unorthodox methods? Or what if he has never considered Hengzhou as his base of operations, but has been operating within the capital all along without our knowledge? In that case, even if General Qiao and his son take Hengzhou, they may not be able to send reinforcements. And that is what King Li wants. What should we do? Mei Gu can impersonate the Third Princess, and similarly, King Li can impersonate someone else! Right?”