Chapter 120: Crazy
Yuan Lang sent people to investigate the sender of the gift, but he was not on good terms with the Fourth Prince Yuan Jian, and the Forbidden Cavalry Division always acted in secret. He was caught off guard and not only had he never seen the sender of the gift in person, he also had no idea how valuable the gift was. He had never even seen the gift list. His men investigated for six or seven days but could not find any useful information.
During this period, the Emperor of Southern Qi looked at him with increasingly unfriendly eyes.
Yuan Lang had been favored by the Emperor of Southern Qi since he was a child. This was the first time that he was obviously treated coldly by the Emperor. In addition, Yuan Yi stood in the court every day and had a close relationship with the Emperor of Southern Qi. The comparison between the two made Yuan Lang feel very uncomfortable.
He went to ask the Grand Princess for help: "Aunt, do you know who pretended to be my nephew to bribe Fu Tang and the other two, as well as my fourth brother?"
The eldest princess leaned on the pillow in a sickly manner, with white hair dotted on her temples. It seemed that with the burial of Huan Yanbo, her vitality was gradually disappearing.
She gently stroked the back of Yuan Lang's hand and said softly, "Didn't my aunt give you all the people? Go out and check them all. Ahem—" She covered her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed a few times, as if she was trying to keep herself awake, but her eyelids were fighting and her voice was light, "Think about it yourself, who have you made enemies with recently, and who wants to kill you."
Made enemies?
The first person that came to the second prince's mind was Tang Ying, but she looked like she didn't know anything about it. The second person was the current crown prince Yuan Yi. The two were naturally in a hostile position, and even if they were blood relatives, they would still fight to the death.
"Could it be... this kid Yuan Yi?" He found it difficult to regard his nephew as a rival. Apart from being favored by the Emperor of Southern Qi, this kid also had the legitimate right of succession. He himself was just a Zhao Kuo who talked about military affairs, with only lofty theories on paper but not necessarily the talent of an emperor. What's more, he was defeated by him in his previous life and burned himself to death in the palace after being forced to abdicate by him. What was there to be afraid of?
However, the Grand Princess gave him a new idea. He stood up suddenly and said, "It seems that it is really Yuan Yi. I underestimated him. Aunt, please take a good rest. I will go check it out now."
After Yuan Lang hurriedly left, a flash of resentment flashed across the old eyes of the Grand Princess, and she seemed to have strength suddenly in her body: "Yun Niang, help me up and bring me the medicine."
Yunniang brought the medicine over and drank it all in one gulp, muttering to herself, "Brother, you forced me to do this, so don't blame me for being cruel."
※※※
In the Imperial Cavalry Department, Fu Chen and Tang Ying sat across a table from each other. He was suspicious: "You said, is it true that the Second Prince secretly bribed to save his father-in-law's life?"
Tang Ying leaned back in her chair and sneered, "No matter if he did it or not, the other party is using the name of the Second Prince's Mansion. Doesn't this guy always like to promote his reputation? He is a good person to the end, so I will promote his reputation as well."
Fu Chen: "How?"
Tang Ying: "Just wait and see."
Fu Chen always felt that there was something sinister in this sentence, and he felt uneasy. The next day, when the two of them entered the palace to take turns on duty, he followed Tang Ying closely, fearing that the little girl would get into trouble if he was not careful.
It was unknown whether she had entered the palace on time. On the palace road, she met the Second Prince and several court officials who were leaving the court. Tang Ying was the first to greet them and said in a low voice, "Second Prince, I have a few words to say to you."
The adults following Yuan Lang pricked up their ears at the same time.
Fu Chen: “…” Are you looking for trouble?
Yuan Lang: "Master Tang, what do you want to say?"
Tang Ying looked embarrassed: "Well...how about Your Highness move away and we talk somewhere else?"
Yuan Lang really couldn't understand when Tang Ying had gotten so close to him that she had kept secrets from him. He became alert, fearing that this girl had prepared a condom for him, so he refused to go to the appointment alone: "There is nothing that cannot be told to others, Master Tang, just feel free to tell me."
Tang Ying thought to herself: That’s what you said!
She said with concern, "It is said that Your Highness is loyal and righteous. I didn't take it seriously at first, but I realized it when Your Highness's father-in-law, Lord Qin, was imprisoned. Your Highness sent people to my house and Lord Fu's house to send valuable gifts several times, hoping to save Lord Qin's life. With such generosity and kindness, I think the princess must be grateful to Your Highness. Your Highness and his wife have a deep love, and Tang admires it deeply, but the country has its own laws. Lord Qin committed the crime of corruption, and the Imperial Cavalry Department has no right to show leniency, otherwise it would be disloyal to Your Majesty."
The Second Prince: "You...you..."
Seeing his flushed face, Tang Ying knew that he was angry because she had intercepted him on the palace road, but she was not going to let this "virtuous" Second Prince go, and said in panic: "Your Highness, calm down! It's not that I don't want to help you, but this is the will . I have an idea for you. If you really want to save Lord Qin's life, you might as well go directly to His Majesty to ask for help, which is better than sending gifts to us secretly."
Fu Chen smiled, but his face was selfless. He said, "Master Tang is right. I am in a difficult situation. I hope Your Highness will not send me expensive gifts. My colleagues in the capital all know that I never accept bribes."
After he said this, he walked forward first. Tang Ying did not wait for the Second Prince to explain and hurriedly followed him: "Master Fu, wait for me." The person who came to watch the show suddenly came on stage to act, and Tang Ying could not ignore his kindness.
The second prince's face turned pale as paper, and he said stiffly: "I am not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!"
Unfortunately, Fu Tang and the other two had already gone far away.
Yuan Lang wanted to drag Tang Ying back and beat her up so that she could clarify the matter.
He knew that at this sensitive time, once rumors started, they would spread all over the imperial city like wings and could not be stopped. Even if he wanted to dispel the rumors, there would probably be people who would be happy to spread them secretly for him.
The officials who were a few steps behind were doubtful and looked at each other .
——In order to please the princess, the second prince disregarded the law and secretly gave expensive gifts to the two masters of the Imperial Cavalry Department?
——Are Fu Tang and the other two rejecting the Second Prince in person?
They recalled the Second Prince's past actions and felt that they were reasonable.
The Second Prince has always had an excellent reputation. If he avoided his father-in-law's family, he would not be the Second Prince.
Didn’t you see that Lord Qin’s imprisonment did not prevent him from marrying Miss Qin as his princess?
When an elderly official heard the news, he secretly discussed with his friends, "Although the Second Prince used to be courteous to the wise and humble, he made a mistake this time. It was a big mistake. Your Majesty wants to rectify the corruption in the army and leave a clean court for the Crown Prince. He must kill a group of people to stop this trend. Minister Qin's family can't be saved. He wants to go against Your Majesty. How can he end up well?"
"Can't the Second Prince see through this? He has never done such a stupid thing before. Could it be that someone has framed him?"
"The Second Prince has never been married before. Maybe it was the princess who persuaded him, and his new wife cried and begged him. Even if the Second Prince has a heart of steel, I'm afraid he can't stand his wife's crying and begging."
"You make it sound as if you lived in the Second Prince's mansion and saw the princess begging with your own eyes?"
"Nothing else, it's just human nature. It's something that everyone can think of. Otherwise, why would the Second Prince be so crazy as to go against Your Majesty?"
“…”
Various discussions circulated among the court officials.
The second prince was so angry that he almost vomited blood when he heard the rumors flying everywhere. He entered the palace and knelt in front of the Southern Qi Emperor and cried: "...I am stunned when I heard these words. I don't know who is framing me and bribing others in my name. This is really not my fault. Father, please believe me!"
The Emperor of Southern Qi had never seen his son in such a miserable state, and he was considering the possibility that he had been framed.
But the bad thing is that the Second Prince used to be well -known for being courteous to the wise and humble to the humble, and many people praised him for that. But if you really want to find someone who has a mortal feud with him, it's hard to find one.
"You said you were framed, do you have any evidence?"
The second prince hinted: "I am afraid that I was framed because I blocked someone's way."
The Emperor of Southern Qi immediately understood the meaning of the Second Prince's words. Could a prince really stand in the way of court officials?
He was alluding to the Crown Prince, but he didn't point it out explicitly, leaving it to his biological father to figure it out?
The Emperor of Southern Qi originally felt sorry for Yuan Yi, who lost his father at a young age, and he transferred his fatherly love to Yuan Yi. When he heard that the Second Prince implied that Yuan Yi had framed him and dared to slander his grandson, he looked cold and said, "It's better for you to have evidence, my son. Don't speculate without any evidence." He was even more disappointed with his son.
It would be fine if she just pretended in front of him on weekdays, but at the critical moment she actually dared to set her sights on the Crown Prince. Did she want to frame him?
When he was alive, he bullied the Crown Prince because he was young. What if he died a hundred years later?
The Southern Qi Emperor thought long-term, but he didn't want the Second Prince and the Crown Prince to fall out at this time: "Let me ask you, even if the person who sent the gift was not from your family, it was not your idea to bribe the Imperial Cavalry Department to secretly save your father-in-law's life. Now tell me honestly, do you want me to punish your father-in-law according to the law or do you want me to save his life?"
Yuan Lang: “…” What kind of weird question is this?
Although he married the youngest daughter of the Qin family, he had originally stood by and watched the corruption case. Even though the newlywed Qin Xinmei really came to him crying and begged him several times to think of a way to save Qin Huan's life, he persuaded her back with kind words and made up her mind not to take any action.
But in front of the Emperor of Southern Qi, if he refused to save her, he would be cold-blooded and heartless; if he saved her, he would be ignoring the law. Love and law cannot coexist. Which one should he choose?
"Tell me, do you choose to save him or not?"
Yuan Lang knelt on the cold golden brick floor in the palace. It was clearly summer, but cold sweat was already dripping down his forehead.
"Your son...your son..." He knew that the Southern Qi Emperor was partial to him, so he gritted his teeth and answered, "Your son is a prince, and I know the law well. I cannot break it knowingly."
Suddenly, someone behind him interrupted, "Yes, Your Highness pretends to be righteous, but secretly breaks the law and bribes me. Isn't this putting me in an unjust situation? The Imperial Cavalry Division is loyal to Your Majesty, but we cannot break the law, let alone accept bribes to run errands for Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will forgive me!"
He turned around in disbelief and discovered that Fu Chen, Tang Ying, and the fourth prince Yuan Jian were standing behind him.
The three men were holding thick files in their hands, and no one knew why they came to see the emperor, but they happened to see this scene.
Yuan Lang turned his head in a daze and looked at Tang Ying. He was kneeling on the ground, and Tang Ying was looking down at him with a smile on her lips, which was extremely strange.
"This king did not bribe!"
"Yes, Your Highness did not bribe openly, but secretly sent people to bribe, so he can naturally deny it."
“…”
Yuan Lang rushed over like a madman, holding Tang Ying's shoulders tightly, and said madly: "Tang, why did you frame me?" He has been frustrated everywhere recently. He had ascended to the supreme position step by step smoothly in his previous life, but everything went wrong in this life. He was even thrown dirty water on by others. He couldn't even prove his innocence in front of the Emperor of Southern Qi. He was so angry that his heart was broken. What's more, the one who contributed a lot to this was his wife in the previous life.
He couldn't bear it any longer and started to question.
Tang Ying cried out in injustice: "I am extremely poor. All the valuables in my home were given by Your Majesty. How could I have the extra money to frame Your Highness? How can you slander me? Your Majesty, please stand up for me..." Her clear and aggrieved voice echoed throughout the palace.
