latelenovela Chapter 827 Climbing and biting
Chapter 827 Climbing and biting
The incident of Jinglou caused a lot of uproar.
Emperor Qianwu did not deliberately conceal the truth, and for a time, all the candidates and old ministers involved felt insecure.
On the surface, Prime Minister Qin was personally in charge of the case, while in secret, eunuchs headed by the Jinyisi were conducting a secret investigation.
But no one expected that after all the investigation, the clues finally led to Xiao Tingshan.
This day, early morning court.
Xiao Tingshan dragged his sick body, his face pale, "Please understand, Father, I know nothing about this matter! Someone must have framed me!"
The Junior Official of the Honglu Temple stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "As far as I know, although the Eighth Prince is the one behind the Jinglou, the Sixth Prince is also implicated."
"Why do you say that, sir?" Xiao Tingshan's face darkened.
When Xiao Yuncheng was in trouble this time, he had thought about adding fuel to the fire and overthrowing Xiao Yuncheng as well.
But after thinking it over, he finally held back and did nothing.
After all, he no longer has the emperor's favor, his power is weak, and there are only a handful of people who want to surrender to him.
It is really not suitable to take action at this time.
What's more, Emperor Qianwu had many descendants, and Xiao Tingshan believed that there would always be someone who was more impatient than himself.
If he leaves any evidence behind, it will displease Emperor Qianwu. In this case, it is better to keep the troops in place.
But he didn't expect that instead of causing trouble for Xiao Yuncheng, he wanted to put the blame on himself!
Xiao Yuncheng took a step forward and said in a deep voice: "I think Sixth Brother has forgotten that when Uncle asked me to contribute money to build the Jinglou, he also asked Third Brother. Sixth Brother was also present at the time, and it was Sixth Brother who persuaded Third Brother to contribute money to build the Jinglou..."
"Eighth brother, did you remember it wrongly? Why have I never remembered this?" Xiao Tingshan said patiently with a wry smile.
Xiao Yuncheng looked calm: "Sixth brother is ill, it is normal that he doesn't remember. But I have the confession of the servants under the third brother, and also the proof that the third brother paid the money..."
Having said that, Xiao Yuncheng presented the evidence to Emperor Qianwu.
Xiao Tingshan said in a deep voice: "But these can only prove that the Third Brother is related to Jinglou, how can you prove that it is related to me?"
Xiao Yuncheng's eyes were full of meaning. "Everyone in the capital knows about the relationship between the Sixth Brother and the Third Brother. Besides, the Third Brother has never lacked money, so how could he be willing to co-finance with me to build the Beijing Tower?"
"The most important thing is that my uncle has admitted that it was my Sixth Brother who secretly persuaded him to come to me. In addition, in order to facilitate this matter, my Sixth Brother once gave my uncle a sum of money..."
Xiao Yuncheng's words were very convincing, and it was obvious that he had made extremely detailed preparations in order to put the blame on Xiao Tingshan.
Xiao Tingshan's face turned pale and he wanted to say something, but found himself speechless.
The reason is simple, because Xiao Heyu is already dead, and his men have been bribed by Xiao Yuncheng.
How can you prove yourself?
Xiao Tingshan said self-deprecatingly: "I don't have much time left. I have been weak since childhood. What do I need so much silver for? Eighth brother, you think too highly of me!"
Xiao Yuncheng did not back down: "That being said, why did Sixth Brother serve Third Brother so faithfully? Did Sixth Brother really know nothing about Third Brother's actions?"
This one sentence once again touched Xiao Tingshan's sore spot.
He had always been afraid that Emperor Qianwu would implicate him because of Xiao Heyu's affairs, but fortunately, Emperor Qianwu did not pursue the matter.
But even so, it does not mean that the emperor does not think so in his heart.
It’s really hateful that Xiao Yuncheng brought up the past again!
"It seems that Eighth Brother is determined to pin this crime on me no matter what? If so, I am willing to accept the punishment!"
Xiao Tingshan retreated to advance, kneeling on the ground and bowing his head very low.
Xiao Yuncheng looked calm, "Sixth brother, you are wrong. The evidence is in front of you. And you were also there when you talked with Third brother that day. Can Sixth brother honestly say that he knew nothing about it?"
As soon as Xiao Yuncheng finished speaking, the court officials started arguing.
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the Eighth Prince is probably being used by someone this time."
"The matter has not been clarified yet, so I think we should not jump to conclusions!"
"The Third Prince has committed countless evil deeds. I think this matter is related to the Third Prince. It is possible."
"..."
"Okay, let's discuss this matter later. The person who leaked the test questions has not been found yet. When the truth comes out, the truth will come out naturally." Emperor Qianwu spoke in a cold voice, his mind unpredictable.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
After the morning court session, Xiao Tingshan felt exhausted.
Until he met Xiao Yuncheng at the palace gate.
"Eighth brother is so calculating. Do you think I'm a dying man and therefore act so recklessly?" Xiao Tingshan spoke slowly.
Xiao Yuncheng smiled and said, "I don't understand what Sixth Brother is talking about."
Xiao Tingshan smiled, turned and left.
Xiao Yuncheng stared at his back, his mind racing.
Without mentioning anything else, what Shen Shuyi said was correct. If he wanted to minimize his guilt, he had to muddy the waters.
After all, although he could not withstand investigation, Xiao Tingshan could not withstand investigation either, and neither could many court officials.
The most urgent task at the moment is to make those great scholars and old officials who participated in the leak of the test questions shut up, but this matter has always been kept secret and is not so easy to investigate.
*
After Xiao Tingshan returned, he lost his temper and was so angry that he fainted for three days.
Shen Shuyi didn't know whether he was really fainting or pretending, he just felt that he fainted at a very good time. In this way, Emperor Qianwu's suspicion was alleviated a lot.
She sent someone to give Shen Jingyu a few pills. The quantity was not large, but it was enough to seduce Xiao Tingshan.
At night, Xiao Tingshan opened his eyes and struggled to get up several times, but failed.
He did not attend court in the past two days, but Xiao Yuncheng was constantly on the move.
Xiao Tingshan knew very well that if he continued like this, he would be beaten to death by Xiao Yuncheng sooner or later in this matter.
He forced himself to stand up, but felt dizzy again.
At this moment, Shen Jingyu pushed the door open and said, "Your Highness, Princess Mingzhu sent someone to give me a pill. If you can't hold on..."
Shen Jingyu didn't say anything else, but just placed a pill in front of Xiao Tingshan.
Xiao Tingshan's Adam's apple moved. If he waited a little longer, he would be able to wait for Li Tian to come back.
At that time, you won’t have to be controlled by others.
But...looking at the medicine prescribed by Li Tian these days, he has not had any effect at all.
"Why doesn't Your Highness eat? Are you worried?" Shen Jingyu spoke slowly. She naturally knew what was going on in the court.
But right now, Xiao Tingshan didn't trust her, and she didn't have the ability to help him do more.
"Your Highness, it's obvious that the Eighth Prince was the one throwing dirty water at you. Why do you care so much about it?" Shen Jingyu sat on the edge of the bed and spoke slowly.
Xiao Tingshan sneered: "You make it sound easy, but I can't refute it now, how can I not care?"
Shen Jingyu said slowly: "Your Highness, why bother to prove yourself? Even if you prove yourself to the end, you won't get any benefit. Arguing will only make His Majesty annoyed with you and the Eighth Prince."
Xiao Tingshan said nothing, because Shen Jingyu was right.
Moreover, he was not as important as Xiao Yuncheng in Emperor Qianwu's heart, so he was naturally the one who suffered the most.
"What ideas do you have?" Xiao Tingshan asked weakly.
Shen Jingyu curled her lips and said, "Your Highness has been favored for so many years, how can he be clean? Why don't you start from other places?"
"For example?" Xiao Tingshan seemed to be thinking about something, and it was obvious that he had already made a plan.
Shen Jingyu said slowly: "For example, the poems, calligraphy, paintings, jade and porcelain bottles that the Eighth Prince loves."