There is a god in the sky

Chapter 325 Doubt

The crown prince was not surprised to hear news from the palace while he was under house arrest.

In his eyes, Eunuch Huang was just a servant; wouldn't it have been the same if it were anyone else?

Anyway, they'll all have to be replaced once he ascends the throne.

One emperor and one courtier.

“Grandfather, you said I was framed, but that person didn’t fabricate any substantial evidence, and Father only confined me to my quarters. Isn’t the other party targeting me?”

Tong Shanzhang looked at him with a hint of sympathy.

His grandson was made crown prince at a young age and had few decent competitors. His path was too smooth, so he wasn't ruthless enough.

"If it's not targeting you, then is it targeting Consort Xie? A mere palace concubine, who would target her?"

"Perhaps it is a concubine in the harem, such as Consort Li, or the newly favored Consort Lin."

The crown prince thought about it and realized it made perfect sense.

"It must be Consort Lin! That bitch, I heard she's pregnant. On the day I had my accident, she was even promoted by the Emperor. The beneficiary is naturally the mastermind behind it all!"

This deduction is reasonable, but Master Tong still doesn't believe that a woman in the harem would dare to scheme against the Crown Prince.

"Consort Lin, is that the female official famous for her dancing?"

"It was her. She possessed a captivating charm that even bewitched Father."

Tong Shanzhang scoffed, "Your father is already this old, what kind of stunningly beautiful women hasn't he seen? How could he be easily bewitched by beauty?"

He felt that his grandson was really naive.

Given the emperor's age, he could favor whomever he wanted, regardless of anything else.

Even if he didn't genuinely like Consort Lin and wanted to elevate her to a high position, who could object?

"As for the pregnancy you mentioned, perhaps someone is deliberately lying to you. If it were true, your father would suspect her instead."

The Crown Prince felt much more at ease. "Yes, I also think that Father Emperor's interest is just temporary and he will definitely get tired of her soon."

"You don't need to worry about your father. Even if she is pregnant, she won't threaten you. On the contrary, you need to be wary of the second prince, who is now an adult."

"The second son? How could a fool like him have such thoughts? Even if he has ambition, it doesn't matter. He has no foundation, what can he use to fight me?"

Tong Shan sighed and pressed down on his shoulder, telling him to put away his arrogance.

"He doesn't need to be particularly capable; all he needs to do is die, and he'll be the heir!"

Tong Shanzhang added, "Also, once you are disliked by your father and deposed as crown prince, he will naturally become the new crown prince."

Do you think all the civil and military officials in the court are loyal to you and can't do without you?

The crown prince's eyes turned cold. "I know they're all opportunists, but as long as I'm alive, I won't let this happen."

"Don't be careless. The more critical the moment, the more vigilant we must be."

Previously, the Emperor was in good health, and there were no unusual movements from any faction. But as far as I know, the Emperor's energy has recently begun to decline, and there must be someone secretly gathering strength.

"So what Grandfather means is... why don't we just go all the way and kill the second son directly..." The Crown Prince gestured a killing motion.

"Rude!" Headmaster Tong scolded.

"As the crown prince, you shouldn't be so direct in resolving issues. He didn't do anything wrong. If you kill him, won't that only make the emperor dislike you even more?"

The crown prince felt agitated.

"This won't work, that won't work, what exactly do you mean, Grandfather?"

"Just keep an eye on him, especially during your confinement period, and don't let him take advantage of any loopholes."

“This is a small matter, Grandfather, you can just send someone to handle it. I spend so much money supporting those people every year, it’s time for them to give back.”

When this matter came up, Headmaster Tong had to tell him, "Some time ago, someone went missing in the mountains, neither alive nor dead."

The crown prince asked in confusion, "They escaped?"

"Impossible, no one could escape from those mountains."

"That means it was eaten by wild animals."

Tong Shanzhang didn't want to talk to him anymore and started to think on his own.

His most suspected person was still Xiao Ji, but unfortunately, his presence was never discovered in the Xiao family.

"Don't trust Xiao Ji too much."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a servant came to report from outside the door: "Your Highness, Chief Justice Xiao of the Ministry of Justice requests an audience."

Say Cao Cao and Cao Cao will arrive.

The Crown Prince and Headmaster Tong exchanged a glance, and only after receiving the latter's approval did the Crown Prince loudly announce, "Let him in!"

"Grandfather, you even doubt Xiao Ji? Then do you think he would be a threat to me?"

Last time, Xiao Ji found an assassin for him, and the Crown Prince still remembered that favor. Now, however, his maternal grandfather told him to be wary of Xiao Ji, which made him feel that his maternal grandfather was a bit too easily frightened.

Xiao Ji entered dressed in official robes and saw a genuine smile on Tong Shanzhang's face.

"Greetings, Your Highness. Greetings, Headmaster. I was unaware that you were here. I apologize for disturbing you both."

"Haha, no problem at all. You have official business to attend to, how can it be considered a disturbance?"

Headmaster Tong remained as kind and approachable as ever, treating Xiao Ji even more warmly than he had treated the Crown Prince earlier.

But Xiao Ji dared not be careless in the slightest, and he had to carefully consider every word before speaking.

"Yesterday, I heard from Coroner Shen about Guard Zhou's case, so I came here specifically to offer His Highness the Crown Prince some ideas for solving the case."

The case doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Judicial Commissioner, and I shouldn't overstep my authority. However, Your Highness could consider some of my ideas; they might be helpful.

The Crown Prince doesn't necessarily need to find the murderer, but if someone is making trouble right under his nose, he has to find them.

"I am all ears, Lord Xiao, please speak."

"According to the autopsy report, Guard Zhou died after being defeated in a fight. The other side had a large number of people and had laid an ambush beforehand, so even a master would have had a hard time escaping."

The case doesn't reveal much from the corpse; we might as well start by investigating the local swindlers in Bianjing.

It's not easy to gather so many martial arts masters in the capital. Perhaps the other party is from a martial arts sect and is just doing things for money.

It's also possible that Guard Zhou made his own enemies. He's highly skilled in martial arts and has been in the martial world for many years; it's impossible he didn't have enemies. That's a good starting point.

It's unlikely that any martial arts sect would become enemies with the Crown Prince without a reason, but the possibility of them becoming enemies with Zhou Ru is much greater.

"You mean they might be Zhou Ru's enemies?"

“It’s possible that you suspect the little monk was after you, but he tricked and killed Guard Zhou. You’ve known him for a long time, so he had many opportunities to harm you, but he didn’t.”

Therefore, I dare to guess that this person originally came for Guard Zhou.

The prince suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. This reasoning makes sense."

Tong Shanzhang listened quietly from the side, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

After the two of them finished speaking and Xiao Ji took his leave, he said, "Xiao Ji is very smart."

"Yes, he's a real genius at solving cases. He can solve many cases very quickly, much better than that old fox Zhao Kaizhi."

"His intelligence lies not only in solving cases, but also in winning people's hearts."

"what?"

"How a case is solved and who the murderer is often determined by the judge. Evidence can be one-sided or even false."

"Did your maternal grandfather suspect him of forgery?"

"It's not uncommon for smart people to get involved in officialdom."