BVAHEDLA[W Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Ancient 35 – Only the Dead Won’t Offend My Eyes…

With Wang Ping’s on-the-spot accusation, the court officials were amazed.

Especially when coupled with Wang Ping’s miserable appearance and his tearful, sincere, and genuine cries, the effect was deeply rooted in people’s hearts, making them have to believe him.

After all, he was a General of the Third Rank; he wouldn’t put himself in such a state just to deal with the Crown Prince.

Not to mention that the Crown Prince had deep roots in the court and his mother’s family was also a force to be reckoned with. Wang Ping would have to carefully consider whether he had the guts to do so.

Moreover, if it was to help the Seventh Prince Lu Mo-chen to bring down the Crown Prince, this reason was even more untenable.

The Seventh Prince had not been favored by the Emperor for over a decade and was like an invisible man in the palace. How Wang Ping came into contact with the Seventh Prince was beside the point for now. Even if he helped Lu Mo-chen, what benefits could he get? The Seventh Prince, without the help of his mother’s family and being so neglected, what bargaining chips could he offer to win people over?

Or was it to get in touch with Prince Qin – Chu Li-fei? That was even more absurd.

The world said that beneath Prince Qin Chu Li-fei’s gentle exterior hid a decisive and ruthless heart. Those amorous peach blossom eyes added a touch of seductive gentleness, but also served as the best shield for his romantic affairs.

The events of that night at Yan Yue Pavilion were spread by someone, described in vivid detail as if he had witnessed it himself. Rumor had it that three beauties with different styles competed for the prince’s favor that night, while Chu Li-fei, the center of attention, remained unmoved like a aloof deity sitting high above the nine heavens.

Therefore, in the eyes of the ministers, even if the Seventh Prince and Prince Qin had been getting closer recently, trying to use the Seventh Prince to get closer to Prince Qin was a joke.

Moreover, there was one more point. The Crown Prince was, after all, the son of the Empress, with a noble status. If they could not strike a fatal blow to the Crown Prince’s faction and plunge them into eternal damnation, then one day, when he made a comeback, it would be Wang Ping’s death.

Wang Ping would have to be insane to do that. Where did he get the capital and courage to contend with the Crown Prince?

In this way, his testimony became even more credible.

Seeing the commotion in the hall, Li, the personal attendant of Lu Yuanjing, carefully observed the Emperor’s expression. Seeing his expression gradually become displeased, he coughed appropriately.

Hearing the sound, the hall returned to silence.

Silence was often more frightening. It was as if the air had solidified, and even the wind became stagnant. It was as if a sticky and damp tentacle was constantly climbing up everyone’s spine, making it difficult to breathe.

Lu Mo-lin lowered his head, his thoughts uncontrollably wandering.

Damn it, how could even such a small matter go wrong? And it was caught by Lu Mo-chen of all people.

He knew that his good brother had a lot on his mind.

Thinking of Lu Mo-chen, Lu Mo-lin’s teeth itched with hatred. He was just an unfavored prince. To him, he was like the cats and dogs he raised. He would casually tease them when he was happy, and kick them away when he was unhappy.

Just a beast.

Now he dared to challenge him and wanted to take away the power in his hands!

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

He would not allow such a thing to happen. Lu Mo-lin could not bear the thought of a plaything that he once trampled under his feet one day sitting in a position equal to his own.

As for worrying about whether he would be punished by the Emperor?

That was impossible.

He was the rightful Crown Prince, the only Crown Prince of Great Yan, and his mother’s clan was a famous and powerful family in Jinling.

What’s more…

He had already found a scapegoat, hadn’t he?

In the hall, everyone lined up in order of rank, quietly lowering their heads and waiting for the Emperor’s decree.

At the head were Chu Li-fei and Lu Mo-lin, one on the left and one on the right, standing at the very front of the officials.

Because everyone lowered their heads, no one noticed that Lu Mo-lin’s body was trembling slightly, and no one saw the malicious smile on his lips.

There were plenty of scapegoats. Lu Mo-lin thought to himself.

But he still had some regrets.

But what he regretted was not that he had done wrong, but—

That he hadn’t nipped it in the bud sooner.

That he hadn’t cleaned them up sooner.

Whether it was Wang Ping or Lu Mo-chen…

Only the dead wouldn’t offend his eyes.

Finally, before the officials’ necks became stiff, Lu Yuanjing finally spoke.

The twelve-stringedmiǎn guān made it impossible to see his expression. All that could be heard was his low voice, carrying the majesty of a storm about to break: “Qian Ming.”

Hearing the sound, Qian Ming immediately stepped out of the line and replied with a bow: “Your subject is here.”

“I order you to thoroughly investigate the case of Qi Lu privately storing armor, along with the case of the Cheng family from back then. You must not allow any mistakes.”

“Qi Lu, return to prison and await further judgment after the results of the case come out.”

Lu Yuanjing’s gaze silently swept across the hall for a long time, and finally fell on the woman in the center, full of pride.

His eyes were deep, making it impossible to fathom what he was thinking: “As for Cheng Yuan… just confine her with the remaining female members of the Qi family in the Marquis of Zhongyi’s residence for now.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace.” Several weak voices overlapped, with some lingering cries of relief.

Hearing the result, Feng Rao and the others breathed a sigh of relief, tears welling up in their eyes. Qi Lu, who had just snatched a life back from the King of Hell, knelt silently on the ground as if he had lost all his strength, as if he hadn’t realized what had happened yet, covered in a cold sweat, his whole person as if he had been fished out of the water.

And Cheng Yuan could no longer control the tears when she heard Lu Yuanjing order Qian Ming to thoroughly investigate the case of the Cheng family from back then.

It was as if the heavy burden that had been weighing on her for more than a decade had suddenly disappeared at a certain moment. She became at a loss, like a helpless child.

She had finally waited for this day. Cheng Yuan thought of the faces in her memory, smiling as she raised her hand to wipe away her tears.

But the tears were already out of her control, as if a dam had collapsed, like the pouring seawater, unstoppable.

Cheng Yuan had no choice but to keep wiping with her sleeve.

She should have been happy.

Just then, a plain white handkerchief suddenly came into her view.

The owner of the handkerchief had a pair of slender jade hands, the nails were trimmed round and clean, and along the arm, one could see that the owner was dressed in plain clothes and had an elegant posture.

It was Feng Rao.

Cheng Yuan was a little confused, her eyes widened slightly, her eyes still stained with tears looking blankly at Feng Rao, as if asking the other party: Is there something wrong?

Seeing Cheng Yuan’s dazed look, Feng Rao couldn’t help but sigh amusingly, retracted her hand, and pinched the handkerchief in her hand.

Then, she raised her arm again.

In Cheng Yuan’s eyes, Feng Rao’s hand holding the handkerchief kept zooming in, getting closer and closer to her.

She subconsciously took a step back, but was suddenly pulled by an irresistible force. Then, a gentle force landed on the corner of her eye.

Feng Rao gently wiped away Cheng Yuan’s tears.

Cheng Yuan was stunned, a far cry from her usual appearance, as if everything was half a beat slower. It wasn’t until she reacted that she embarrassedly said, “…Thank you.”

Then, as if she had realized something, she regained control of her body, took the handkerchief from Feng Rao’s hand, and cleaned herself up in a rough and hurried manner.

Her movements were rough, as if she was completing some task, leaving a red mark on the corners of her eyes instead.

Qian Ming on the side took a deep breath, finally waiting for the result he wanted.

He closed his eyes deeply, holding thehù bǎn in both hands and bowing: “Your subject obeys the decree.”

Lu Yuanjing was a little tired from the successive events of today, so he waved his hand, signaling that it was over for today.

Having received the meaning, Eunuch Li dragged out his high-pitched voice and shouted:

“Retreat—”

But that word was stuck in his throat, only half said.

The reason was that another sudden voice interrupted him.

Only to see Lu Ying, who was originally standing quietly next to Feng Rao, suddenly jumped out, ignoring the surprised gazes of the crowd, passed over the few people in front of her, and then knelt down with a “thump.”

She said loudly: “I beg Your Majesty to give my parents justice!”

“Qi Fu and Crown Prince plotted to seize my Lu family’s property, causing my parents to die unjustly—”

“I beg Your Majesty to decide and send someone to thoroughly investigate this matter!”

Yo ho, another accusation against the Crown Prince. The officials below seemed to be able to calmly accept the facts that were rare in the past.

But they wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads and made a few swallowing sounds.

It seemed that the weather was about to change.

Another moment of silence.

But it was much shorter than the last time.

“Qian Ming.” Lu Yuanjing said in a deep voice.

Qian Ming was about to answer “Yes,” but was immediately interrupted by Lu Yuanjing.

“Forget it.” Lu Yuanjing sighed almost imperceptibly, his dark pupils reflecting a cold light, like the first ray of light breaking through the dawn, “Convey my decree—”

“Crown Prince Lu Mo-lin is confined to the Crown Prince’s residence. Until everything is cleared up, without my decree, no one may visit him.”

Lu Mo-lin raised his head in shock, his eyes full of disbelief.

However, the next few sentences made him clench his fists even tighter, not knowing that his nails had pierced deeply into his flesh.

“Seventh Prince Lu Mo-chen is named Prince Jin and is responsible for thoroughly investigating these three cases, with Qian Ming assisting.”