Chapter 297 Surprise
Chapter 297 Surprise
The second prince clenched his fists tightly, not caring at all about why they couldn't put out the strange fire, but Liang Kunxing put it out as soon as he arrived.
Besides, except for a few treasures that were kept in the warehouse, the rest were hidden in the secret room. How come they were all moved to the warehouse now?
His mind raced as he tried to think of a way to escape.
The second prince's face was gloomy, his eyes flashed with cold light, and he suddenly shouted angrily, "Come here! Jinyiwei Commander Hu Yong has evil ambitions. He took advantage of his position to embezzle money and privately forge weapons in an attempt to overthrow our country. Such a traitor should be executed. Capture him immediately and put him in the prison!"
The second prince appeared to be righteous on the surface, but secretly signaled to the chief guard, indicating that he should take the opportunity to silence Hu Yong.
Unfortunately, he wanted to push Hu Yong out as a scapegoat, but Hu Yong bit him back.
Just as the chief guard led his men to arrest Hu Yong, Hu Yong suddenly rushed out, pointed at the Second Prince, and shouted, "Sir Liang, I am innocent. It was the Second Prince who wanted to rebel! Although I embezzled those treasures, it was the Second Prince who threatened me with the lives of my family members and forced me to embezzle them.
As for the weapons, they were also forged privately by the Second Prince. The Second Prince wanted the Emperor to make him the Crown Prince, but the Emperor was reluctant to agree. The Second Prince held a grudge, so he secretly planned to force the Emperor to revolt! "
These words were like a bombshell. Everyone was shocked and turned their eyes to the second prince.
The second prince stabbed Hu Yong with a dagger-like gaze, "How dare you! You are just a commander, yet you dare to slander me. Considering that you once saved my life, if you honestly confess your crime to the emperor, I can plead with the emperor to spare the life of your young son.
But if you dare to slander me again, your entire Hu family will be executed!"
Hu Yong knew that the Second Prince was threatening him, offering to sacrifice his young son's life in exchange for him taking the charge of treason.
Hu Yong was very tempted, but unfortunately he couldn't help himself. Xie Lan had cast a mantra talisman on him, so he couldn't control his mouth at all.
"Second Prince, those treasures were embezzled by me. I plead guilty. No matter how the emperor wants to punish me, I will not complain! But I have never thought of rebelling. I will not admit to anything I have never done!"
The second prince looked sinister, "Hu Yong, although your youngest son was born to a concubine, he is very intelligent. He could recognize the Thousand Character Classic at the age of three. Even the teacher praised him for his intelligence.
You have many wives and concubines, and you got this child with great difficulty. Have you really thought it through? Are you willing to give up his life just to slander me?
You are so disloyal and unfilial, are you worthy of your Hu family ancestors?!"
Seeing Hu Yong's tangled face, Xie Lan sneered, "Master Hu, your Hu family has long been extinct. Your only child is not your flesh and blood at all.
You have always been lustful and favored your concubine over your wife. You may not know that after your wife finally got pregnant but your concubine gave her a miscarriage, she gave you a sterilizing drug.
Your concubine secretly cheated on you and made you a cuckold."
After Xie Lan revealed the news, he turned directly to Liang Kunxing without caring whether Hu Yong believed it or not.
"Sir Liang, this matter is of great importance. If we don't make a decision, we will suffer the consequences."
Liang Kunxing secretly cursed in his heart that he was unlucky. He was not stupid and had long seen that it was the second prince who was plotting a rebellion. He did not want to get involved in this matter at all, but he also knew that since he had discovered those things, he had no choice but to report it to the emperor truthfully.
"Your Highness, I'm sorry!" Liang Kunxing waved his hand at his confidant, signaling him to enter the palace immediately.
The Second Prince's eyes were about to burst out, and he subconsciously wanted his guards to kill everyone to silence them.
But he suddenly remembered that he ordered the captain of the guards to take people to capture Hu Yong, but since Hu Yong was not killed, it meant that something must have happened to those guards.
The Second Prince had come secretly to check the accounts and had brought few people with him. Now there were only two guards left with him, so he was no match for Liang Kunxing.
The Second Prince was still thinking of a solution, but Xie Lan knew that he was doomed. If it was something else, it would be fine, but treason was the emperor's Achilles' heel. Even if the Second Prince was favored on weekdays, he couldn't get away today.
Sure enough, after Liang Kunxing's confidant entered the palace, someone came from the palace within a quarter of an hour.
Seeing the commander of the imperial guards leading the imperial guards in heavy armor surrounding him like wolves and tigers, the second prince looked as pale as death.
He just couldn't understand how it was that this big event, which he had carefully planned for many years, with every link arranged extremely meticulously and the confidentiality work done to be foolproof, was exposed without any warning?
But when he saw Xiao Jin suddenly appear, the Second Prince's pupils suddenly constricted and disbelief and anger flashed in his eyes.
"Xiao Jin, you bastard, you are the one who is hurting me, right? Don't think that you can get what you want by pulling me down! You are just a bastard of unknown identity. The emperor will never make you the crown prince. You can forget about inheriting the throne!"
The second prince roared hysterically, his facial muscles twisted with anger and veins bulging on his forehead.
The house was not big to begin with, and it became even more crowded after the imperial guards came in. There were quite a few people present, but apart from the Second Prince's hysterical curses, there was no other sound, and the whole house seemed to have fallen into a dead silence.
Everyone knew that Lord Xiao's identity was sensitive, but no one dared to mention it. Even the commander of the imperial guards, Qin Zhongwei, did not expect that the second prince would expose the matter in public.
Xiao Jin pursed his lips tightly. The Second Prince's scolding did not cause any ripples in his heart. However, he saw Xie Lan's surprised face out of the corner of his eye, and his fists clenched unconsciously under his wide sleeves.
Qin Wei Zhong couldn't see through his thoughts, but he regretted very much that he had not taken the second prince away earlier.
The second prince had always been favored. Even if he was plotting treason, the emperor should have let the three judges hold a joint trial and convict him only after it was proven to be true. But there was no family affection in the royal family. As soon as the emperor learned that the second prince was plotting treason, he showed no mercy and directly ordered him to lead the guards out of the palace and bring the second prince back to the palace.
Concubine Xue had been favored for many years, and upon hearing the news, she immediately rushed to the imperial study to appeal for the second prince. However, the emperor not only ignored her, but even banished her to the cold palace in front of several important ministers.
Even Concubine Xue's brother, the Minister of Works, Pingyang Hou, was implicated, and all the people in the mansion were thrown into the prison.
"Second Prince, I am sorry for your injustice!" Qin Weizhong stepped forward and pressed the second prince's mute point, and quickly took him away. As for the things in the warehouse, along with Hu Yong and the servants in the house, they were also escorted into the palace.
Seeing that everyone had left, Yang Feng, who was hiding in the dark, showed up. He wanted to ask Xiao Jin if he would return to the Ministry of Justice, but he could only retreat silently when he saw Xiao Jin walking towards Miss Xie without saying a word.
Xiao Jin's eyes wandered around Xie Lan's face. Seeing that she didn't say anything, he pursed his lips and said, "Do you have anything to ask me?"