GBP Chapter 534 The Eastern Palace's Secret Game
Chapter 534 The Eastern Palace's Secret Game
Qin Zhongshan's heart sank; as expected, the Third Prince had struck first.
He immediately took out account books and a secret letter from his sleeve and presented them with both hands: "Your Majesty is wise! I have indeed obtained some evidence today. It is not something I have kept to myself, but irrefutable evidence of the collusion between the Third Prince and the Prince of Rongyang!"
"They intend to assassinate the Crown Prince at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet and overthrow the court. Your Majesty, please take a look!"
The eunuch took the account books and the secret letter and presented them to His Majesty. His Majesty frowned and carefully read through them, his expression growing increasingly grim.
Upon seeing this, Shen Jinyu immediately stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and cried out in tears, "Father, please investigate! Your son is innocent! Lord Qin is slandering me! Your son has always been law-abiding and devoted to assisting Father, how could I have done such a treasonous thing?"
"These ledgers and secret letters must have been forged by Lord Qin. He wants to help the Crown Prince eliminate his political opponents and consolidate his position!"
"Your Highness, do you think this old minister is spouting nonsense?"
Qin Zhongshan roared, "This evidence was found in the private post station of Prince Rongyang, and there's also the token of his personal guard as proof. How could it be forged? Your Highness, what kind of man are you if you dare to do it but not admit it!"
"Lord Qin, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!"
Shen Jinyu raised her head, her eyes filled with grievance.
"You say the evidence was found at Rongyi, but are there any witnesses? Who can prove you didn't frame me?"
Qin Zhongshan was taken aback. He had forgotten that Cui Jiu had already sacrificed himself, and more than half of the guards had also been killed or wounded. The survivors were with Cui Zhihao and could not come to testify immediately.
Seeing this, Shen Jinyu immediately pressed his advantage: "Father, I suspect that Lord Qin was acting on the orders of the Crown Prince."
“The Crown Prince has recently felt that I am a threat to his position and has repeatedly made subtle remarks to me.”
"Now that Lord Qin has suddenly produced this 'evidence,' he clearly intends to use Father Emperor to get rid of me!"
Shen Yuxi's face darkened further. He looked at Qin Zhongshan, his suspicion growing stronger: "Qin Zhongshan, tell me honestly, did the Crown Prince order you to produce this evidence?"
"His Majesty!"
Qin Zhongshan stamped his feet in frustration, "I am innocent! I acted entirely out of public interest and was not instructed by anyone! His Highness the Crown Prince is benevolent and has never had the intention of eliminating dissidents. This is all a conspiracy by the Third Prince!"
"Father, look!"
Shen Jinyu immediately said, "Lord Qin keeps praising the Crown Prince's benevolence, but he has clearly been colluding with the Crown Prince all along! Your Majesty, I implore you to thoroughly investigate this matter, clear my name, and restore peace to the court!"
Shen Yuxi remained silent for a long time, and the atmosphere in the hall was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
Looking at His Majesty's unpredictable expression, Qin Zhongshan felt increasingly cold inside.
He knew that what His Majesty feared most was princes forming factions, and Shen Jinyu's words hit His Majesty's sore spot.
Sure enough, a moment later, Shen Yuxi slammed his hand on the dragon throne and shouted sternly, "Qin Zhongshan! As the Imperial Censor, you do not think of serving the country loyally, but instead collude with the Crown Prince to frame a prince! Guards, throw Qin Zhongshan into the Imperial Prison to await his fate!"
"Your Majesty! I am wronged!"
Qin Zhongshan shouted anxiously, trying to step forward to explain, but was held down firmly by the Imperial Guards and dragged away.
Watching Qin Zhongshan being led away, a hint of smugness flashed in Shen Jinyu's eyes, and the smile on her lips deepened.
When Qin Zhongshan was being escorted out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he happened to run into the Crown Princess Lin Chuying, who had come to deliver ginseng soup.
Lin Chuying, dressed in an elegant palace gown and carrying a brocade box, stopped immediately upon seeing Qin Zhongshan being escorted by the Imperial Guards, his face pale, and asked softly, "Lord Qin, what's going on?"
Qin Zhongshan looked at her, his eyes filled with anxiety: "Your Highness, the Third Prince has colluded with the Prince of Rongyang and is planning to attack His Highness the Crown Prince at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet!"
"I have evidence, but Your Majesty has been misled by the Third Prince and has imprisoned me! Please tell His Highness the Crown Prince to be extremely careful and make preparations in advance!"
Lin Chuying's heart skipped a beat, and she almost dropped the brocade box in her hand.
She forced herself to remain calm and nodded: "Don't worry, Lord Qin, I will inform His Highness immediately. Please take care."
Seeing Qin Zhongshan being escorted to the prison, Lin Chuying lost all interest in serving the ginseng soup and turned to walk quickly toward the East Palace.
Her skirt swept across the fallen leaves on the palace path as she hurried along, her heart filled with worry.
In the study of the Eastern Palace, Shen Yanzhou was staring intently at a map.
The map marked the troop deployments in and around the capital. He frowned slightly, feeling that the recent troop movements of the Prince of Rongyang were somewhat unusual, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.
"Your Highness."
Lin Chuying pushed open the door and entered, her breathing unsteady and her face full of panic.
Shen Yanzhou turned around and saw that her expression was not right, so he immediately got up and went to greet her: "Ying'er, what's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?"
"Your Highness, something happened!"
Lin Chuying grabbed his hand, her voice trembling slightly, "Lord Qin has been imprisoned by His Majesty!"
Shen Yanzhou was taken aback: "Lord Qin? What did he do wrong?"
"It wasn't Lord Qin who committed the crime; he was framed!"
Lin Chuying quickly relayed what she had overheard outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation to Shen Yanzhou: "Lord Qin found evidence of collusion between the Third Prince and Prince Rongyang and wanted to present it to His Majesty, but the Third Prince turned the tables and accused Lord Qin of colluding with the Crown Prince and framing him! His Majesty believed the Third Prince's words and imprisoned Lord Qin in the Imperial Prison!"
Shen Yanzhou's face instantly darkened, and his fingers gripping the map tightened slightly, his knuckles turning white.
I never imagined that the Third Prince would be so audacious, not only colluding with foreign officials, but also daring to distort the truth in front of the Emperor and frame loyal officials!
"Mid-Autumn Festival Imperial Banquet..."
Shen Yanzhou muttered to himself, as some details from before suddenly flashed through his mind.
The Third Prince has recently been using disaster relief as a pretext to win over local officials;
Prince Rongyang, under the pretext of guarding against barbarians, secretly transferred troops to the outskirts of the capital.
These seemingly unrelated actions, when put together, form a deadly conspiracy!
"Your Highness, what should we do now?"
Lin Chuying looked at him, her eyes filled with worry, "Lord Qin has been imprisoned, and the evidence has fallen into the hands of the Third Prince. We have no evidence whatsoever, so even if we wanted to defend ourselves to Father, we wouldn't know where to begin!"
Shen Yanzhou took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Panic won't solve anything; we must find a solution as soon as possible.
"Ying'er, don't panic."
Shen Yanzhou grasped her hand, his tone steady, "Lord Qin won't be framed for nothing. Since he can find evidence, he must have a backup plan."
"Moreover, the Third Prince and Prince Rongyang's conspiracy will not succeed so easily; we still have time."
He turned and walked to his desk, picked up a pen, quickly wrote a few words, and handed them to Xiao Luzi, who was standing nearby: "Xiao Luzi, take this immediately and go to the Shi residence to find Shi Wanxia and Cui Zhihao, and tell them to come to the East Palace for a meeting as soon as possible."
"Remember, be careful on the road and don't let anyone follow you."
Xiao Luzi was Shen Yanzhou's personal eunuch. He was quick-witted and reliable.
He took the note, carefully hid it in his hair, and bowed, saying, "This servant obeys!"