Chapter 160 Waiting
Among the ministers in the court, who doesn’t know Eunuch Lai Xi?
Before that, he was a famous figure in the Imperial Study, and his status was second only to the Chief Eunuch.
Later, he was beaten to death with sticks for stealing memorials from the imperial study.
Such a person who had been beaten to death several years ago was now kneeling alive in the Golden Palace.
The second prince's heart skipped a beat.
He didn't know anyone in the cage, but he knew Lai Xi. Looking at the expression of the Duke of Zhenguo, the Second Prince's heart sank.
The emperor was so angry that he picked up something at hand and threw it out.
Bang!
A jade bracelet was smashed onto the marble floor of the Golden Throne Hall, making a loud noise. "How dare you!"
The emperor's wrath was like a thunderstorm, and all the court officials fell to their knees.
Rong Que knelt on the ground and clasped his fists, saying, "This is what I caught from the bandits."
He paused for a moment and said, "Also, there is another person in this cage. I'm afraid Father also knows him."
The emperor's anger burned all over his body.
Rong Que stood up and dragged another person out of the cage.
The Duke of Zhenguo felt his temples throbbing, and seeing Rong Que dragging the man out roughly, the Duke of Zhenguo wanted to just stand up and kick Rong Que to the ground.
But he couldn't.
He thought quickly about how to save people, but in this Golden Palace, he had no idea at all.
Rong Que's cold voice sounded in his ears.
"Your Majesty, this man is the prince of Yuyang Marquis Mansion in Southern Liang."
boom!
The entire Golden Throne Hall was filled with simultaneous gasps and sounds of shock.
The prince went to suppress the bandits.
The living dead Lai Xi was hunted down, and the living dead Prince of Yuyang Marquis’ Mansion was hunted down.
Everyone knows that three years ago, the Yuyang Marquisate was exterminated by the Southern Liang royal family.
The two people who were supposed to die were now kneeling together in the Golden Throne Hall.
The emperor gritted his teeth and stared at the person on the ground, and finally his eyes fell on the Duke of Zhenguo.
The emperor knew very well how Rong Que took on the task of suppressing bandits this time.
First, there was an assassination attempt in the palace, then Rong Que was imprisoned for suspected regicide, and then there was a rumor that Su Yunhe was hidden in the Crown Prince's Mansion...
It was at that time that the prince was forced to take on the important task of suppressing the bandits.
The emperor didn't think there was anything wrong at the time, but after Rong Que left, he thought about those things carefully and gradually figured it out.
Which one of those things was not using him to get rid of Rong Que.
With a gloomy face, the emperor directly ordered the eunuch chief, "You accompany Huang Zhaozhong and interrogate him now!"
Huang Zhaozhong.
The mortal enemy of the Duke of Zhenguo.
Everyone present understood the emperor's intention. The Second Prince immediately looked at the Duke of Zhenguo, who was kneeling there with a pale face, not saying a word.
Huang Zhaozhong arrived in Kyoto one step earlier than Rong Que. He was wearing court robes at the moment. He stepped out of the line and received orders loudly.
The two people who were dragged out of the cage by Rong Que were stuffed back again. The eunuch chief led people to pull the cage away, and Huang Zhaozhong followed closely behind.
The emperor did not adjourn the court.
The meaning is clear. We have to wait for the result here today.
During this time, someone from the Empress Dowager's side sent a message saying that the Empress Dowager had a sudden illness, fainted and vomited blood. The Emperor did not move at all, but only said coldly, "I am not the imperial physician!"
As the former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice and current Prefect of Jingzhao, Huang Zhaozhong is very good at trying cases.
Although the prince of the Yuyang Marquisate of Southern Liang refused to utter a single word, Lai Xi could not withstand the torture and vomited everything out in a few strokes.
He raised more than 3,000 cavalry and infantry in Bashu for the prince of Yuyang Marquis's Mansion, and the person who ordered him to do so was the Duke of Zhenguo.
There were also several powerful generals in the cage who were deliberately released by Su Qingqing. They were all well-known generals in Southern Liang, and their testimonies also confirmed Lai Xi's words.
What surprised the eunuch chief the most was that he actually found Su Xiang among these people.
There was no need to use criminal law to interrogate Su Xiang. He confessed everything with just a whip . He was rescued on his way to exile, and the person who rescued him took him directly to the army.
Su Xiang gave a complete account of the size of the army. In his description, the combat effectiveness of this powerful force was no less than that of the soldiers led by his sister Su Qingqing back then. He also heard the generals and soldiers in the army mention many times that they wanted to build an army as powerful as the Su family army.
As to why he was rescued, no one has ever said it, but he was treated very well in the army, but he was not allowed to leave the camp at will.
The prince went to Bashu to suppress the bandits. The army received a secret letter ordering them to execute Rong Que on the spot.
When these confessions were sent to the emperor, he was so furious that he ordered his men to strip off the Duke of Zhenguo's hat and feather, and throw him into the Sky Prison to wait for his fate.
The entire Zhenguo Gong Party was struck by lightning in an instant.
The second prince was so anxious that he almost vomited blood on the spot, "Father, there must be a misunderstanding. How could the Duke of Zhenguo do such a thing? Someone must have framed him."
The emperor looked at the second prince coldly, the anger in his eyes made the emperor look extremely ferocious.
"Your brother almost lost his life, and you are here to complain for others? Where is your brotherhood?"
The second prince had thousands of words in his mind, but at this moment, he dared not say another word.
"Investigate. Anyone involved in this matter, one by one, investigate thoroughly!"
The Emperor handed the case over to the Minister of Justice and Huang Zhaozhong, asking them to jointly handle the case. The Chief Justice of the Dali Temple was so anxious that he was furious but he did not dare to make any decisions.
The emperor didn't use him because he obviously knew that he was close to the Duke of Zhenguo.
The emperor is going to completely cut off all escape routes for the Duke of Zhenguo.
As soon as the court was dismissed, the second prince gathered with several key figures of the Zhenguogong Party to discuss how to rescue them.
In the palace, the Queen Mother and the Empress were also in chaos.
No one had expected that Rong Que's trip to suppress bandits would lead to such a thing.
What’s infuriating is that they can’t put the blame on Rong Que and say that he framed them deliberately. After all, Rong Que was forced to go to suppress the bandits by the entire court.
After the court was dismissed, the emperor kept Rong Que in the imperial study to talk, and asked him in detail about the bandit suppression at that time. By the time Rong Que returned home, it was already mid-afternoon.
When winter comes, the weather turns cold.
Su Qingqing was wearing a fur-lined quilted brocade robe and was chatting and laughing with Jixiang in the yard. When Rong Que came in, Jixiang immediately retreated tactfully.
"Why is she running?"
Rong Que walked to Su Qingqing, lowered his eyes to look at the person in front of him, and held her in his arms.
Su Qingqing leaned against Rong Que's chest and asked, "Why did she run away?"
Rong Que laughed muffledly, bent down, picked the man up, and went straight into the main room, "You know how long I have been waiting for this day."
He put the man on the bed, his voice hoarse and suppressed.
Su Qingqing hooked her arm around Rong Que's neck without letting go, "I don't know how long you've been waiting, but I know that I've been waiting for a whole day. Ever since you entered the palace, I've been waiting to see when you'll come back."
Rong Que asked knowingly, "What are you waiting for me to come back for?"
Su Qingqing smiled slyly, and gently pinched Rong Que's chest with her fingers, "What do you think?"
