jdhmnovel Chapter 148 Testing
Chapter 148 Testing
"But Prince Xin never participated in the struggle for the throne from beginning to end," the emperor murmured. "And I have never sensed any disloyalty in him."
Otherwise, why would he keep Prince Xin in the capital?
Prince Xin is the only prince who, besides Xie Jinghan, is allowed to remain in the capital.
Could it be that he has been misjudging people all these years?
The emperor couldn't help but feel surprised and suspicious, looking at Xie Jinghan repeatedly: "Do you have any evidence for your guess?"
"Of course...no."
Xie Jinghan's pause dashed the emperor's hopes.
The emperor said helplessly, "If that's the case, how can you be so sure it was Prince Xin who did it? He's been lame for decades."
However, a cold glint appeared in Xie Jinghan's eyes. He looked at the emperor and suddenly smiled.
Seeing this, the emperor had a guess in his mind and asked incredulously, "Jing Han, what do you want to do?"
"Why don't we try it and see?" Xie Jinghan retorted. "If we want to know whether Prince Xin is the mastermind behind these events, why not try to see if his leg is really broken?"
Xie Jinghan's words do make some sense.
The thought popped into the emperor's mind. He stared at Xie Jinghan for a long time, and finally said in a low voice, "If that's the case, then you might as well give it a try."
Xie Jinghan got the answer he wanted and smiled with satisfaction.
But just as he was about to leave, the emperor asked in a low voice, "What if he was faking it?"
"Then let's turn the fake into the real," Xie Jinghan sneered. "Your Majesty, don't blame me for being ruthless then."
"How could that be?" The emperor immediately waved his hand. "Ten Princes of Xin combined are not as important as one of your fingers, not to mention that he is a treacherous minister who is trying to usurp the throne."
The emperor always clearly distinguished between those who were close and those who were distant.
Upon hearing this, Xie Jinghan nodded: "With Your Majesty's words, I can proceed with the task without hesitation."
"Jinghan." The emperor called out to Xie Jinghan, who was about to leave.
Xie Jinghan paused and turned to look at him.
There was worry in his eyes: "No matter what, preserving oneself is the most important thing."
"If what you say is true, and he has hidden himself so well," the emperor sighed, "then the power he has amassed behind him is probably beyond all our expectations."
"Be careful. If there is solid evidence, or if you have seen it with your own eyes, I will order you to lead the Imperial Guards to surround and annihilate him with just one word from you."
The emperor's words were full of concern for Xie Jinghan.
"Alright." Xie Jinghan nodded solemnly. "I will keep your words in mind, Your Majesty."
Seeing Xie Jinghan leave, the emperor leaned back on his dragon throne and sighed deeply.
"How come I never noticed Prince Xin's ambition all these years?" The emperor rubbed his temples. "Yingyi, do you think his broken leg was really an act?"
“Prince Xin lives a secluded life, and his subordinates rarely see him either, making it difficult to make a decision.” Behind the emperor, a figure quietly appeared; it was none other than Shadow Guard Commander Shadow One.
He bowed beside the emperor and continued, "However... it is precisely because Prince Xin lives a secluded life that few people have noticed anything amiss about him."
The Emperor nodded: "That makes some sense. Since he wants to conceal his intentions, it would be best for him to stay in his residence. I just don't know what excuse Jing Han will use to lure him out of his residence this time."
“During the last Mid-Autumn Festival family dinner, he used the excuse of being unwell to stay home.”
"Your Highness is wise and intelligent; you will surely find a way to achieve the best of both worlds."
……
After leaving the palace, under Si Qing's watchful gaze, Xie Jinghan, his expression unchanged, ordered, "Send a few to Prince Xin's residence."
"The Prince Xin's residence?" Si Qing was taken aback upon hearing this. After cautiously glancing at Xie Jinghan's expression, she asked in a low voice, "Does Your Highness intend to stay at the Prince Xin's residence..."
"Set a few fires," Xie Jinghan continued.
Si Qing was stunned for a moment.
He never expected that Xie Jinghan would ask him to do this.
He stared blankly at Xie Jinghan: "Your Highness, are you ordering me to lead men to set fire to the Prince Xin's residence?"
“That’s right,” Xie Jinghan said. “The bigger the fire, the better. Ideally, it should be a fire that can burn down the entire Prince Xin’s mansion.”
Si Qing's eyelids twitched. Why would someone set fire to the Prince Xin's mansion out of the blue?
But since Xie Jinghan had given the order, he was determined to do it perfectly.
In Si Qing's mind, a map of the Prince Xin's mansion had already appeared, and he was already thinking about where to set fire to make the fire spread the fastest.
"The east wind is blowing tonight, at the eastern corner gate..."
"After the fire starts, send more people to keep an eye on Prince Xin's leg," Xie Jinghan added. "Check whether he can run or jump with that broken leg."
Si Qing suddenly understood: "You want to use this fire to test whether Prince Xin is really crippled?"
Seeing Xie Jinghan nod slightly, Si Qing was filled with energy: "Since Your Highness has given such instructions, I will definitely get things done tonight."
It was just setting a few fires, much easier than infiltrating Prince Xin's mansion to assassinate him. "Si Qing was full of energy and drove the carriage back to the mansion."
Upon arriving at the Prince's residence, he accompanied Xie Jinghan back to the main courtyard. The first piece of news he heard from Granny Qi was that "Prince Xin colluded with the Duke of Wen and his wife to murder Chu Wanqing."
"Why did Prince Xin kill the late Lady Wen?" Si Qing felt like her mind was going blank. "What benefit did he gain from interfering in the Wen State Duke's family affairs?"
"I heard..." Granny Qi said in a low voice, "that it was Lady Wen who discovered Prince Xin's secret."
Upon hearing this, Si Qing subconsciously looked at Xie Jinghan.
Xie Jinghan narrowed his peach blossom eyes slightly: "A secret?"
Granny Qi nodded: "This is the information we have so far, but as to what the specific secret is... we have no idea."
Si Qing slapped his forehead: "If tonight's plan succeeds, then we'll know what the Prince Xin's hidden secret is!"
Granny Qi was still completely baffled; she had no idea what kind of riddle the two of them were playing.
But compared to Si Qing, Granny Qi was much better at reading the room.
Seeing Xie Jinghan walk towards the bedroom, Si Qing, oblivious to the danger, followed him, chattering incessantly. Granny Qi grabbed Si Qing and pulled her back.
"Are you blind?" Granny Qi sneered. "Don't you even know where the Prince is going!"
Upon hearing this, Si Qing was stunned. When he looked in Xie Jinghan's direction, his mouth gaped open, and after a long while, he could only manage to squeeze out, "Doesn't Your Highness usually stay at Qingzhu Garden?"
Why did you go to the princess's bedroom today?
Granny Qi rolled her eyes at him: "You've served the Prince for so many years, yet you can't even guess what he's thinking."
"I'm innocent!" Si Qing cried out. "Granny, how was I supposed to know that the Prince's attitude towards the Princess would change so drastically in just one month!"
"Clearly before..."
Previously, the prince had avoided the princess at all costs!