eurekapd Chapter 256 King Xiang is Dead
Chapter 256 King Xiang is Dead
Yun Shang did not return to his study.
Instead, they went straight to the washroom.
After being doused with two buckets of cold water, the surging heat within him was finally suppressed, albeit temporarily.
He then rubbed his temples and leaned back in a chair, trying to calm his heart, which was pounding like a drum.
Yu Wan must have sensed his restraint, which is why she deliberately came to seduce him.
After spending time together, he had gotten a general idea of Yu Wan's personality.
She's like a mischievous yet timid cat; when her feline overlord begs for her affections, she stubbornly refuses to give in.
But once her feline overlord becomes cold and distant, she will innocently approach him again.
Yu Wan has been restless these past few days. He could have easily taken advantage of the situation to deter her from provoking him so brazenly in the future, but...
He feared that with the arrow already on the bowstring, he would be the first to lose control.
Previously, he had never treated Yu Wan as his wife and could let her leave at any time.
But now, he can no longer let her leave.
His previous marriage was too hasty, and he was unwilling to take her in like that, as it would be too unfair to her.
Yun Shang raised his hand to press his brow bone and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
Fortunately, everything is almost ready, and it will only take another two weeks at most...
However, a message sent back to Shengjing from the imperial mausoleum three days later completely disrupted Yun Shang's plans.
King Xiang died.
Logically speaking, the fact that King Xiang could not bear the austere and lonely life in the imperial mausoleum and chose to commit suicide should not have caused much of a stir.
Unfortunately, King Xiang was murdered.
The young eunuch who came to inform the imperial tombs said that since arriving at the tombs, Prince Xiang had locked himself in his room all day, forbidding anyone to approach. He only allowed them to bring food to his door, but not to serve him personally.
The eunuchs at the imperial mausoleum were delighted with this, but just three days ago, the young eunuchs serving the prince noticed that the food placed at the door had not been touched. At first, they thought that the prince had lost his appetite, so they hurriedly had the food replaced.
But the next day, the food still hadn't been touched.
The young eunuchs who were serving him then realized something was wrong. They called for several strong men to break down the door and found the Prince of Xiang lying on the bed with several wounds on his chest and back. He was already dead.
The bedding beneath him was soaked in blood, which had turned black and dried, indicating that he had been dead for some time.
The most important thing was not that, but that when the eunuchs at the imperial mausoleum were preparing the remains of Prince Xiang, they discovered that he was clutching a token in his hand.
The token was made of black iron, and a single character was clearly engraved on it—"Chen".
It is the token of the guards of Prince Chen's residence.
Inside the palace, Emperor Wenjing stared at the black iron token placed on his desk, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
Liu Haifu bowed and served him at the side, not daring to utter a sound.
What kind of mess is this!
Prince Chen killed Prince Xiang? A falling out between brothers?
But Prince Chen has always been sickly and rarely even leaves his residence. There has never been any known conflict between him and Prince Xiang. How could he possibly kill Prince Xiang?
But how can we explain the fact that the token used by Prince Chen to mobilize the imperial guards would appear at the imperial mausoleum?
Emperor Wenjing pondered for a long time before finally speaking slowly: "Xu Haifu, summon Prince Chen to the palace."
Liu Haifu accepted the order and left in a hurry.
At that time, Prince Chen did not know the true cause of Li Ming's death; he only knew that Li Ming died in the imperial mausoleum.
Xu Haifu came to deliver the message. After receiving the imperial decree, he dared not delay for a moment and immediately went to the palace to meet the emperor.
After entering the hall and paying his respects, he noticed that Emperor Wenjing's gaze was somewhat strange.
Prince Chen remained calm and respectfully asked, "Father, has Your Majesty summoned me to the palace because you have something to instruct me to do?"
Emperor Wenjing stared intently at him for a long while before speaking in a low voice:
"Seventh Brother, do you know how your Fourth Brother died?"
Upon hearing this, Prince Chen felt a sudden sense of foreboding.
He lowered his eyes slightly and cautiously replied, "Your subject only just learned that Fourth Brother... Fourth Brother is proud by nature, and he must have been unable to bear the sorrow of being buried in the imperial mausoleum, which is why he couldn't think straight for a moment..."
Emperor Wenjing picked up the token from his desk and, with a cold expression, threw it at Prince Chen's feet.
"Can't see the light? If he's just having trouble seeing the light, then how do you explain this?"
Prince Chen looked down and saw the token; his expression changed abruptly.
This is the token for Prince Chen's mansion to mobilize the guards!
How could a token from the Prince Chen's residence end up in the imperial mausoleum?!
There's a traitor in Prince Chen's residence!
Prince Chen was greatly alarmed, and a look of shock and astonishment appeared on his face. "Father, this is my guard token. Why is it in your hands?"
Emperor Wenjing stared at him and said in a deep voice, "This token was found next to your fourth brother's body. He did not commit suicide, but was murdered."
"He was stabbed multiple times, and his flesh was a bloody mess."
Prince Chen looked at the token at his feet, then looked up and stared directly at Emperor Wenjing. His face showed no panic, only shock.
It certainly looks like they were unaware.
He said, "Father, this token is indeed from my residence."
"I really don't know why this token appeared next to my fourth brother, but I dare to swear on my life that this matter has nothing to do with me."
"Your subject has never had any grudge against Fourth Brother, and besides, your subject is frail and sickly, and since the weather turned cold, you have been even more preoccupied with your own health, cough cough—"
As he spoke, Prince Chen suddenly clutched his chest and coughed violently.
His cough was alarming, and Liu Haifu, who was standing next to him, looked on with pity.
Emperor Wenjing looked at Liu Haifu and said, "You have no sense at all. Don't you know how to pour Prince Chen a cup of hot tea?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Haifu quickly went to pour himself a cup of hot tea.
After drinking a cup of hot tea, Prince Chen's coughing subsided somewhat.
But he had coughed so hard that all the color had drained from his face, making him look extremely pale.
Prince Chen continued, "Your Majesty, I am not well and have neglected many affairs of the household. The loss of the token was indeed due to my poor care. I am at fault."
"But I have absolutely no intention of harming my fourth brother. I hope that Your Majesty will investigate this matter thoroughly."
After saying these words, it seemed that Prince Chen had exhausted all his strength. He swayed and, if Liu Haifu hadn't caught him quickly, he would have fallen to the ground.
Emperor Wenjing felt a pang of pity upon witnessing this scene.
His brows remained furrowed as he scrutinized Prince Chen. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke: "Considering your frail health and the fact that you have never overstepped your bounds in the past, I will trust you this once."
"But this matter cannot be kept from the court officials. If you want to prove your innocence, you must produce evidence."
"Thank you, Father Emperor, for your wise judgment and for giving me the opportunity to thoroughly investigate the truth! I will definitely find the mastermind behind this, give my fourth brother justice, and clear the name of the Prince Chen's mansion."
Prince Chen pushed Liu Haifu's hand away and slowly knelt down to express his gratitude.
After leaving the palace, Prince Chen got into his carriage, and his expression immediately became serious.
He instructed Mingwei, "Send someone to invite Yunshang to the Prince's residence."
The carriage sped back to Prince Chen's residence.
As soon as he stepped into the mansion, he forced himself to summon all his trusted confidants, stewards, and the commander of the mansion's soldiers to the council hall, despite his weakened state.
He then ordered Mingwei to search the entire Prince's residence.
Soon, a large stack of silver notes was found in the room of Yan Hong, a servant who served Prince Chen.
Mingwei, his face dark, threw the silver note at the servant Yan Hong's face, his anger barely contained. "When has the Prince ever mistreated you? You betrayed His Highness for such a small amount of money?!"
Yan Hong's face was as pale as paper. Perhaps he felt guilty, or perhaps the evidence was conclusive, he stopped arguing and just said with a bitter smile, "This servant is sorry, Your Highness."
Prince Chen looked on calmly and said gently, "Kill him with a cane."
Therefore, when Yun Shang arrived at the Prince's Mansion, he happened to witness the scene of the servant Yan Hong being beaten bloody and on the verge of death.