Tianliangyuan

Chapter 71 The Wronged Second Prince

Liu Huaien, the heir of the Duke of Su, never expected that the investigation would eventually lead to a servant in his household.

Although he was just a servant, he was indeed a member of the Duke's mansion, which was quite frightening.

The servant was taken away, and everyone in the Duke of Su's mansion was in a state of panic, especially Jiang Fu, whose intuition told her that this matter was probably related to her younger sister.

But she dared not say it, nor could she say it.

So, he hurriedly returned to his residence early the next morning to confront his sister.

Upon learning that a servant had been taken away, Jiang Ning's expression changed slightly, but she remained calm: "Elder sister, that person has nothing to do with me. No matter how capable I am, I could not possibly interfere in the affairs of the Duke's mansion. Besides, I was at the banquet the whole day and didn't go anywhere else."

Jiang Fu recalled carefully and found that she had indeed been very well-behaved and had not left the table halfway through.

"But this matter is really strange. The two dancers are indeed from the Duke's mansion, but I don't believe for a second that they committed murder."

How could two delicate and beautiful women possibly assassinate a prince?

This is simply unbelievable.

But that's just how reality is. Is there really no way the Duke's mansion can explain itself?

Meanwhile, Zhao Changqing, who was in charge of the case, solemnly entered the palace after conducting the autopsy.

After reviewing the testimonies and related evidence, Emperor Yong'an frowned: "You mean that these two women are indeed not skilled in martial arts, and are definitely dancers?"

"Your Majesty, what I have found so far is indeed the case. I have investigated their backgrounds and there is no evidence of fraud. Their relatives came to identify the bodies and repeatedly confirmed that they were indeed the same people and that no one had impersonated them. Furthermore, I have also found that one of the women died from internal bleeding caused by a punch that ruptured her internal organs, and the other, although she had a neck injury, did not appear to have had her throat slit; it seemed more like suicide."

Emperor Yong'an narrowed his eyes, as if he understood something, but then shook his head slightly, unsure.

"Have all the other witnesses been interviewed?"

"Your Majesty, they have all been questioned. Even the guards responsible for the Second Prince's safety and the young eunuch have been questioned. I dare to speculate that the two women's original intention was not to assassinate the Second Prince. They have come today specifically to ask Your Majesty whether you wish me to continue the investigation?"

Since even Zhao Changqing has said so, there's clearly no need to investigate further.

This case is most likely caused by a power struggle between several princes.

"This case is temporarily closed. Remember not to reveal any details to anyone."

"Yes, I obey the order."

No sooner had Zhao Changqing left than Emperor Yong'an ordered his men to summon Prince Zhong.

"Father, what brings you here to give me instructions?"

"I heard your second brother was assassinated at the Duke's mansion. Were your younger siblings frightened?"

Prince Zhong immediately replied, "Your Majesty, I was also at the Duke's residence at the time. Upon hearing of the emergency, I immediately ordered people to protect my younger siblings before going to the scene of the crime. At that time, the Duke of Su was already outside. My younger siblings did not go to the scene of the crime, so I believe they were not frightened."

"Yes, you did a good job. As the eldest brother, you should act like one."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will remember."

"Your second brother was injured. Have you visited him?"

"Your Majesty, I went to see him this morning. Fortunately, my second brother's injuries are not serious. With careful rest for a few days, he will recover. In fact, it is fortunate that my second brother was not completely drunk at the time, otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

"Yes, thankfully he wasn't completely drunk. Alright, you can go now. Go check on your other younger siblings later. Although you didn't witness the horrific scene, you did hear rumors. They're young, so please keep a close eye on them."

"Yes, I will go right away."

After Prince Zhong left, Emperor Yong'an sat in silence for a while before picking up his pen to review memorials.

After lunch, Emperor Yong'an personally went to visit the Second Prince, Li Jin.

He also wanted to see if his son would tell him the truth.

The children are all grown up, and each of them has their own thoughts and ideas.

He wouldn't stop them from wanting that position under his butt, but they couldn't overstep their bounds or make things too embarrassing. Otherwise, he wouldn't mind helping his sons teach them a lesson for their improper actions.

When Li Jin saw his father arrive, he couldn't help but ask his father to make a decision for him. Seeing that His Majesty's expression was not good, Li Jin knew that his previous guess was correct, so he simply dismissed everyone, but he dared not drive away the emperor's trusted eunuch.

"Father, I beg you to investigate thoroughly. It is true that someone was targeting me, but there are other reasons behind the assassination attempt."

Emperor Yong'an's eyes flickered slightly: "Oh? Tell me about it."

Li Jin recounted in detail the events that occurred after he got drunk. It wasn't until he witnessed one of the dancers commit suicide that he realized something was wrong. He kicked another dancer over, but by then one was already dead, and the remaining one kept claiming that he had killed her, clearly intending to escalate the situation.

Left with no other choice, he had to kill the dancer. In desperation, his personal guards arrived and quickly created the illusion of an assassin, even knocking out the eunuch outside the door.

“Father, I was truly forced into this situation. I was drunk at the time, and if I had really wanted to take a woman to bed, I wouldn’t have been afraid of the gossip outside. But these people directly framed me for killing someone after I couldn’t force myself on her. If this gets out, how can I still have the face to be your son!”

His words were sincere and heartfelt. Li Jin was both scared and aggrieved, just like a child who had been bullied outside and came back to his elders for help.

Believe it or not, Emperor Yong'an was really susceptible to this kind of thing at times like this.

"Yes, you were indeed wronged in this matter. But you should have dealt with those two. Why did you deliberately injure yourself?"

Li Jin said helplessly, "If we don't do this, how can we make them believe that I was assassinated? I can't be sure how many people are waiting to watch the show outside, let alone how many of them are after me. So, I have no choice but to resort to this tactic."

When she said the last sentence, there was even a hint of coquetry in her voice.

Emperor Yong'an saw that he was hanging his head, looking like a little child who had suffered a lot of grievances, and couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

The situation was indeed dangerous at the time. As he said, who knew what the situation was like outside?

If he hadn't been injured and made a big fuss about it, he might not have been able to get away so easily.

After all, there were many powerful figures in the Duke's mansion at the time, including several princes. They would all want him to prove his innocence. How could he do that?

It would be better to bleed a little first; that would shut everyone up.

"Get up! A prince of high status, acting all wronged, what kind of behavior is this!"

Li Jin was overjoyed. He knew he had successfully passed his father's test!

Moreover, he believed that he didn't need to do anything extra; his father would definitely suspect Prince Zhong of this matter.

That's it!