eurekapd Chapter 123 Cen Xiang is just a scapegoat
Chapter 123 Cen Xiang is just a scapegoat
"Since the Imperial Concubine is unwell, she should return to the palace and rest properly."
The people in the hall were still somewhat taken aback. Had His Majesty made such a judgment so easily?
Just based on a single sentence from the eldest princess?
Even if the Imperial Concubine is innocent, the fact remains that she was entangled with an outsider, which is undoubtedly damaging to the royal family's reputation. How could His Majesty let it go so easily?
Even Shen Sangwan, who was standing to the side, felt that her younger brother's judgment was too arbitrary.
One second Cen Zhouyuan was on the edge of a cliff, feeling like he was about to fall at any moment, and the next second he felt as if he were walking on flat ground, feeling very safe.
"Your Majesty, my son—"
"Drag him out and execute him immediately."
The Imperial Guard captain immediately understood that His Majesty wanted to protect the Imperial Concubine, so he considerately covered Song Qingwan's mouth and dragged her out of the palace.
Cen Luoyan smiled bitterly and bowed to Shen Yuchen before leaving Xuyang Palace, looking somewhat dejected.
"What kind of mess is this? We haven't even found the culprit behind the assassination of my sister yet, and all they do is stir up trouble for me. I really want to chop off the heads of all these troublemakers. They're driving me crazy! They're driving me crazy!"
After silently fuming, Shen Yuchen tried to calm himself down, and once his emotions had stabilized, he asked about what had happened earlier.
"Commander Cen, have you found any other clues?"
"Your Majesty, someone saw Lord Yuan of the Military Command meet with Cen Xiang before the banquet officially began, and they talked for quite a while."
Everyone turned their attention back to Cen Zhouyuan.
"Your Majesty, this old minister was only discussing the patrols outside the palace with Lord Yuan, and did not mention anything else."
Although Shen Yuchen also suspected that Cen Zhouyuan was the one behind it all, he was certain that Cen Zhouyuan had the motive and the ability to do so.
But tonight's events are rather strange; it feels like everything is pointing towards the Cen family.
One incident is one thing, but two or three in a row are related to the Cen family, so there must be something fishy going on.
"How come I overheard Lord Cen instructing his guards to put something in the food being served at the banquet?"
"Lord Qi, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."
Although Cen Zhouyuan had something to hide, he knew perfectly well that Qi Su's words were fabricated.
After all, he had already made it clear before entering the palace, so how could the other party have overheard him after he entered the palace?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he realized that there was a spy in the mansion who had overheard the conversation.
"Then I would like to trouble Prime Minister Cen to summon the guards who accompanied me to the palace today to the hall for a confrontation."
Cen Zhouyuan wished he could sew Qi Su's mouth shut with a needle and thread. Qi Su always loved to gossip, and today he was like a mad dog, relentlessly attacking him.
He also wanted to know where the guard was now.
"Prime Minister Cen, don't try to fob His Majesty off with something like 'the person disappeared after the fire at the warm pavilion.'"
"Qi Su, are you trying to pressure me by saying that I had someone drug the Princess and then assassinate her by setting fire to the fireworks display?"
Cen Zhouyuan's chest heaved as he pointed at Qi Su and roared.
"The commander of the Imperial Guards is your son, Prime Minister Cen. When the arsonist was found, he had just been killed. Lord Yuan happened to be there, and was brought here by Commander Cen, but unfortunately, he was poisoned and died. Who knows what happened..."
"you--!"
Faced with Qi Su's aggressive approach, Cen Zhouyuan, unable to vent his pent-up anger, fainted from anger.
Seeing this, Shen Yuchen asked Fu'an to fetch the imperial physician.
Shen Sangwan looked at Wen Yunhe and Qi Su with some confusion.
One of them usually colluded with him, while the other always loved to gossip. Today, Wen Yunhe remained silent, while Qi Su persisted in his attack.
It looks very strange no matter how you look at it.
If Wen Yunhe was the mastermind behind this, he would probably say a few words in Cen Zhouyuan's defense to distance himself from the situation. If he wasn't manipulating things behind the scenes, he would have stepped in to help his partner when he saw him being smeared.
Shen Sangwan couldn't quite figure out why he was keeping quiet like this.
"What is your opinion on this, Prime Minister Wen?"
Cen Zhouyuan was helped to a side hall. After the imperial physician made a diagnosis, Shen Yuchen asked Wen Yunhe, who had been silent all along, to answer the question.
"You old fogies, if you weren't involved, I won't believe a word of it."
"They're becoming increasingly brazen; assassins are even breaking into the palace."
"Your Majesty, we cannot listen to the words of Lord Qi alone in this matter. I urge Your Highness to investigate thoroughly."
Wen Yunhe had not seen any of his secret guards come to report, and he was somewhat afraid that his own people would not clean up the mess, so he did not dare to step forward and only said a very official sentence.
Seeing that the old fox was unwilling to waste any more words, Shen Yuchen turned to Shen Sangwan and asked, "Sister, where is General Mo Feng now?"
"The recruits trained alongside Mo Ran in the new recruit camp."
"Immediately issue an imperial decree to temporarily appoint General Mo Feng as the commander of the Imperial Guards. Cen Qingyu is suspected of plotting against court officials and is to temporarily return to his residence to avoid trouble. A decision will be made after the Dali Temple has investigated tonight's events."
"Wei Chen accepts the order."
Cen Qingyu knelt on the ground, took out the leader's token from his pocket, and presented it with both hands.
"As for the matter of the guards that Lord Qi mentioned, Lin Chaoli, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, step forward to receive the decree."
"Wei Chen is here."
"Today's assassination attempt on the Princess is no small matter. Whether the guard is real or not, investigate him immediately. If he is indeed involved with Prime Minister Cen, you must not show favoritism or cover it up. I am giving you ten days. If you cannot give me and the Princess an explanation, you may no longer be able to hold your position as Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."
"Wei Chen accepts the order."
When Lin Chaoli stood up, he glanced at Shen Yujing, which Shen Sangwan, who had been paying attention to the situation inside the hall, happened to see.
She then realized that she seemed to be unconsciously ignoring this person all along.
Although Shuyun had been instructed to increase surveillance of the Ming Prince's residence, things had remained calm and his presence was barely noticeable.
"Xiaotong, tell me, do you think Cen Xiang did this?"
【Master, please don't ask me to do things that require thinking; I don't know how. Thank you.】
〖Oh--〗
So what do you think of Shen Yujing?
Master, do you have amnesia?
〖ha?〗
[As mentioned before, this person is quite strange, and may even be using Gu poison to control his body.]
This person gives off a sinister, two-faced vibe; they definitely have two different personalities.
Master, I've discovered you're a complete liar.
"Hmm? Is your skin itchy again?"
Hearing Shen Sangwan raise her voice, Xiao Tong wisely chose to shut up.
[When we get back, I need to have Shuyun thoroughly investigate this person's background. If he uses Gu poison, he's definitely connected to the Northern Witchcraft Sect.]
[Master, there's a new task.]
Ever since that incident, Xiaotong has been reminding people of any new tasks that come up.
To avoid his master pulling another trick to save him from a desperate situation.
His fragile heart can't take it too many times.