Chapter 621: Chapter 618: Logical_1 Chapter 621: Chapter 618: Logical_1 Seeing that Fu Ruoxi had made up her mind to follow his advice, Bai Qingyan then said, “Uncle Ping, take General Fu to rest first. Tomorrow morning, find a way to send General Fu out of the city. After settling General Fu, come back. I have instructions.”
“Yes!”
Lu Ping responded and took Fu Ruoxi away.
It didn’t take long before Lu Ping returned.
Bai Qingyan took a few steps towards Lu Ping and lowered her voice. “Uncle Ping, before dawn, I need a corpse with a severed right arm, dressed in Fu Ruoxi’s clothes, beheaded. Can you do it?”
The eldest daughter was going to fake Fu Ruoxi’s death. This would be tricky, as Fu Ruoxi’s right arm was severed, and it was a recent wound.
Lu Ping gritted his teeth. Fu Ruoxi would return on the fifteenth of October, so it was only a matter of bluffing for two days. It wasn’t impossible. He cupped his fists and replied, “Rest assured, eldest daughter. Lu Ping will get it done before dawn!”
After Lu Ping left, Qinghui Courtyard fell silent again, with only the sound of the wind remaining.
Chun Tao, standing under the lantern in the corridor, looked at Bai Qingyan with a frown and softly said, “Eldest daughter, sleep…”
“Yes,” Bai Qingyan responded. It was time to sleep, to gain enough energy for tomorrow. Tomorrow… would be the main event.
·
That night, it wasn’t just Bai Qingyan who couldn’t sleep. The Crown Prince, Master Tan, and Lu Jin also couldn’t rest.
The Crown Prince and Master Tan had just received Fu Ruoxi’s confession when suddenly the Court of Judicial Review’s prison caught fire.
Lu Jin immediately reacted, realizing someone had come to kill Fu Ruoxi. Everyone focused on dealing with the Hidden Guards trying to kill Fu Ruoxi and putting out the fire, while Lu Jin ordered reinforcements to transfer Fu Ruoxi. However… Fu Ruoxi disappeared.
Besides the bodies of those dead men, Lu Jin discovered two additional prison guards’ bodies. The other guards identified these two as not being from the Court of Judicial Review’s prison, almost causing Lu Jin to fall in shock.
The Crown Prince and Master Tan also looked grave. They realized the Empress and King Xin’s people had vast capabilities, making them more cautious. They immediately ordered a thorough check of the Court of Judicial Review’s guards.
“Since Fu Ruoxi’s confession is in hand, Your Highness needn’t hesitate… just arrest King Xin,” Master Tan decided. “Also, have the Patrol Camp search the entire city for Fu Ruoxi. Find her alive… or get her corpse!”
The Crown Prince tightened the hand hidden behind his back, appearing thoughtful but silent.
He wanted to overthrow the Empress and King Xin completely. But now, he only had Fu Ruoxi’s confession without material evidence. If in the future, King Xin and the Empress accused Fu Ruoxi of framing them once his father awoke, considering his father’s previous favoritism towards King Xin, he might still let them off lightly.
Plus, buying off the palace maid who had served the Empress, as suggested by Master Fang, involved imperial bloodline matters. If his father investigated and found out it was the Crown Prince’s doing…
The Crown Prince shuddered. He would become the Crown Prince who framed his brother, and his father might deposed him.
The Crown Prince understood his father. Only when King Xin threatened his father’s throne would he act against King Xin.
Therefore, to ensure the Empress and King Xin never recover, they must truly raise an army to force the palace, with irrefutable evidence.
Chaos in Dadu City would be best. Only then would his father realize the Empress and King Xin truly planned a rebellion, appreciating him as a good son.
Fortunately, there were still twenty thousand Anping Camp troops outside the city, and the Patrol Camp Commander Fan Yuhuai was his man.
“Master Tan, we only have Fu Ruoxi’s confession but no letter from the Empress to Fu Ruoxi proving the truth of Fu Ruoxi’s words. If we rashly detain King Xin, my father might blame us once he wakes up,” the Crown Prince frowned. “Although King Xin was demoted to a commoner, he’s still my father’s legitimate son. If I mishandle this, people will criticize me.”
Master Tan’s brow twitched. He was about to speak when Quan Yu rushed in from outside the Court of Judicial Review’s government office, bypassing the black sandalwood pillar to approach the Crown Prince. Covering his mouth with one hand, he informed the Crown Prince of Zhong Shaozhong’s meeting with his old subordinates in the brothel.
As expected, the Zhong family was rebelling.
The Crown Prince dared not delay, quickly informing Master Tan, “Master Tan… Zhong Shaozhong is gathering the imperial guards’ former subordinates in the brothel. Trouble is brewing!”
Master Tan’s grip on Fu Ruoxi’s confession tightened. “Your Highness, to prevent chaos in Dadu City, send people to arrest Zhong Shaozhong’s group!”
The Crown Prince, hearing this from Master Tan, nodded repeatedly, instructing Quan Yu to order the Patrol Camp to arrest them.
As long as they caught Zhong Shaozhong and his people red-handed, the Empress and King Xin couldn’t deny it.
·
Inside the brothel.
Zhong Shaozhong, seeing his trusted old subordinates had arrived, surprisingly lifted his robe’s hem and knelt before his former subordinates.
Zhong Shaozhong’s old subordinates hurriedly knelt, each panicking, “My Lord! What is this for!”
“Everyone, I invited you here today at the Empress’s request to save the Emperor!” Zhong Shaozhong then bowed to his old subordinates, tears in his eyes. “To tell you the truth, the public reason given for the Emperor’s forty-nine days of bathing and fasting to bless the Jin Kingdom is false. In truth… the Emperor fell off his horse and has been unconscious ever since!”
The imperial guard commanders were shocked.
There were no secrets in the world. Some had heard whispers about the Emperor’s fall from his horse.
Zhong Shaozhong gritted his teeth. “This was the Crown Prince’s doing! The Crown Prince, seeing the Empress was pregnant with another legitimate son and the Emperor had summoned King Xin back to Dadu City, felt his position threatened. Hence, he harmed the Emperor, intending to frame the Empress and King Xin. Aiming to kill two birds with one stone, eliminate the Empress and King Xin, and ascend the throne himself!”
“But… but this isn’t right! I heard the Emperor fell while the Crown Prince was in Dengzhou…” a commander said.
“That’s the Crown Prince’s brilliance!” Zhong Shaozhong already had counterarguments, tears seemingly flowing out, “The Crown Prince being far in Dengzhou, no one would suspect him. Instead, they’d suspect the Empress and King Xin, thinking they attacked the Emperor while the Crown Prince was away, seizing the chance to support King Xin’s ascension!”
“Think about it!” Zhong Shaozhong cupped his hands towards the Imperial Palace, “Who benefits most from the Emperor’s death? The Crown Prince! If the Emperor dies, the Crown Prince ascends naturally!”
Zhong Shaozhong’s old subordinate frowned tightly, looking around at his colleagues, the first to speak, “My Lord, I also heard Fu Ruoxi was brought back because she obeyed the Empress’s order to assassinate the Crown Prince!”
Zhong Shaozhong solemnly looked at his old subordinates. “If Fu Ruoxi was ordered by the Empress to assassinate the Crown Prince, why hasn’t the Crown Prince produced any evidence?”