jdhmnovel Chapter 371 Searching Prince An's Mansion
Chapter 371 Searching Prince An's Mansion
The man was already in a panic at this time. He knew that if Prince An did not admit it and the culprit could not be found, he would have to bear the emperor's wrath alone.
The man shouted, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I would never dare to deceive Your Majesty. The reason I knew that man was His Royal Highness Prince An's man was because I was panicked after taking on this matter."
"One time, while I was running around on the street, I happened to run into that man. I subconsciously hid myself and quietly followed him. I found that he entered Prince An's Mansion through the back door."
"I have now concluded that it was His Royal Highness Prince An who ordered me to poison His Royal Highness Prince Rui."
"Your Majesty, everything I said is true, Your Majesty!"
Xie Qianan sneered and said, "Even if what you said is true, it doesn't prove that it was me who did it."
"Since that person was able to sneak into Prince Rui's Palace, he can naturally find a way to sneak into my Prince An's Palace."
"How did it happen that you were seen entering Prince An's mansion? How could this not be a means of framing me? Their purpose is to pin this incident on me."
He looked at the emperor and said, "Father, I am truly wronged. The people in Prince An's mansion are all recorded in the register. If you don't believe me, I am willing to let this person identify everyone in my mansion to prove my innocence!"
Since he said so, that person must not be on the personnel roster of Prince An's Mansion.
Furthermore, each noble family would train some secret guards or death squads to do some shady things in secret, so the so-called personnel list could not be trusted at all.
Xie Qian'an knew this truth, all the officials knew it, and the emperor knew it even more.
But what Xie Qianan wanted was to express his attitude.
Luo Xiyao was almost amused by Xie Qian'an's shamelessness and said, "There are so many people coming in and out of Prince An's Mansion every day, how can we be sure that the person is definitely inside? Your Highness Prince An's words are not credible at all."
Xie Qi'an snorted coldly and said, "Then what should we do according to what Princess Pingning said? Why not ask this person if he has any other evidence? If he only relies on words, he can't frame me."
"You wouldn't be so brave as to help someone poison the prince without leaving any evidence, right?" Xie Qian'an said, with an almost unnoticeable curve at the corner of his mouth.
The man with the scruffy beard was dumbfounded.
It was the first time for him to do such a thing. He was so nervous when he agreed to it that he didn't even think about keeping any evidence.
Hearing this, Xie Rong looked at the man and asked in a deep voice, "Do you have any other evidence?"
"No... I didn't..." The man's neck felt as if it was being strangled. "But Your Majesty, everything I said is true! I really saw that person enter Prince An's Mansion!"
The man was full of panic, but Xie Qian seemed to have received some kind of protection.
He looked at Xie Rong again and said, "Father, I don't think this person's words are credible at all. Perhaps all of this was directed by someone else, who poisoned my third brother and then framed me."
"His purpose is to sow discord between my third brother and me, in order to achieve his hidden agenda."
"I remember that when my third brother was young, we had a very good relationship. But after he went to the military camp with the Duke of Zhenguo, our relationship went from bad to worse."
"I'm not sure how many times I've used this method..."
The implicit meaning of these words was that he wanted to flatter the Duke of Zhenguo and sow discord between Prince Rui and Prince An, causing the brothers to become alienated and the father and son to become suspicious, so as to instigate Prince Rui to seize the throne of the crown prince.
How could Luo Xiyao tolerate this? She could no longer maintain her noble demeanor and was about to kick Xie Qian'an.
He cursed loudly, "You're talking nonsense! All you know how to do is to slander others!"
"You have a bad relationship with His Royal Highness Prince Rui. Don't you know why? And you're putting the blame on my father. How shameless!"
Xie Qi'an dodged Luo Xiyao while speaking in a firm tone, "Princess Pingning, as a woman, you actually dared to punch and kick me in front of my father. This is so disrespectful and ignorant of etiquette. Do you still have my father in your eyes? And me!"
Luo Xiyao was so angry that she chased after him relentlessly, and the scene was once in chaos.
Shen Qionghua caught a glimpse of the slight annoyance in the emperor's eyes and hurried forward to protect Luo Xiyao before the emperor could say anything. She whispered in her ear, "Don't let him make you lose your mind and forget about the important things!"
Luo Xiyao's body stiffened and her hands and feet lost strength, and only then did Shen Qionghua let her go.
Xie Qianan stopped dodging, plopped down on his knees, and said to the emperor: "Father, what I said is what I think in my heart."
"The Duke of Zhenguo is suspected of instigating disunity among the princes and brothers, and of collaborating with the enemy and committing treason. This is truly suspicious. To be on the safe side, I request that the Emperor search the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion."
After all this commotion, Xie Qian'an did not forget to get back to the point, pointing his sword directly at the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
He knelt, and Luo Xiyao also knelt.
Luo Xiyao raised her head and said stubbornly, "Your Majesty, I feel this is unfair."
"Oh, how is it unfair?" Xie Rong's voice was indifferent, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry, as if he was not affected at all.
But Li Shunquan felt that the emperor must have been so angry that he lost his mind, and he remained calm and composed in the face of the difficult situation, neither sad nor happy.
Luo Xiyao said, "If they want to search the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, I think Prince An's Mansion should also be searched."
Xie Qian'an narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of anger on his face, and warned: "Princess Pingning, please don't be too presumptuous. How can I search my palace at will?"
Luo Xiyao retorted bluntly, "Prince An's Mansion cannot be searched at will, but my Zhenguogong Mansion can be searched at will?"
"We both only have witnesses and no physical evidence. Why do you, Prince An, say this person is untrustworthy? You said you wanted to search the Zhenguo Mansion, so you must search it. Can't you just make up the truth?"
"It's impossible that Prince An insists on searching the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion but refuses to allow anyone to search Prince An's Mansion. This is too much."