ebookland Chapter 222 Reshuffle the cards
Chapter 222 Reshuffle the cards
After half a month of in-depth investigation, Lu Zheng and Lang Ming finally uncovered the mystery of witchcraft and found conclusive evidence.
What is shocking is that the mastermind behind poisoning Luo Lingyue and attempting to harm the Queen Mother and the Queen through witchcraft was actually Xiao Xiao!
Once this astonishing result was announced, it immediately caused an uproar in the court. The ministers were shocked and began to advise, unanimously believing that "all this must be manipulated by Xiao Jingyi behind the scenes. He tried to set a trap to frame Prince Xiao!" Everyone was indignant and said that they must not let such a sinister and cunning person succeed. For a time, there was a lot of discussion in the court, and everyone was deeply angry and dissatisfied with Xiao Jingyi's behavior.
The virtuous king also said: "I think that after the marriage of Prince Xiao and Princess Luo, Xiao Xiao should be immediately escorted to Nanyi to be punished by Xiao Jingyi. Then Xiao Jinghan should take over Nanyi! In this way, we can not only demonstrate the justice of our dynasty, but also maintain the stability of the border."
Emperor Wen nodded and said, "I feel the same way! Besides, the wedding of Prince Xiao will be held in half a month. I will order the virtuous prince to take charge of the arrangements for Prince Xiao's wedding. It must be done in a grand manner to comfort the hearts of the subjects."
After all the ministers had left, Emperor Wen summoned Prime Minister Li Mingfu and Crown Prince Chu Chengli to the imperial study alone.
After the two entered the imperial study, they saw Emperor Wen's face full of anger, and knew something was wrong, so they knelt down and saluted. Emperor Wen angrily threw a stack of files at Li Mingfu, and the files hit him right in the face.
Li Mingfu was shocked, but he didn't dare to dodge. He could only lower his head and endure it silently.
Emperor Wen was furious, his eyes wide open, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Li Mingfu! You actually treated my harem as your own backyard! Look for yourself, how many secret agents you have planted in my palace! You! Are you planning a rebellion?"
Li Mingfu's face was trembling with tears, and he cried out in tears: "Your Majesty, please calm down! I am really wronged! I know nothing about these people! This is completely slanderous and fabricated!"
Emperor Wen smiled coldly, stared at the prince with a sharp gaze, and said sternly: "What about you, prince? Do you know anyone among these people?"
The prince pressed his forehead to the ground, trembling all over, and answered tremblingly: "I really don't recognize any of these people!" His voice was full of fear and grievance, as if he would collapse at any time.
After hearing this, Emperor Wen laughed out of anger: "Hahaha! You don't even know her? Then what about Bing'er? She is Li Jingshu's personal maid! She is also a servant in your Prime Minister's Mansion!"
Li Mingfu was already panicking at this time. He kept knocking his head and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty! This is all my fault for not disciplining the maid strictly, which allowed her to take advantage of the opportunity to contact the evil girl Xiao Xiao. Bing'er must have been bribed by Xiao Xiao. All this has nothing to do with Jingshu! It has nothing to do with our Prime Minister's Mansion! This old minister has taught this servant in a wrong way. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
Emperor Wen snorted coldly and said sternly: "In that case, I will fine you one year's salary! At the same time, you must reflect on your mistakes in the Prime Minister's Mansion for a month!"
Li Mingfu lowered his head, thinking to himself that Emperor Wen clearly wanted to take this opportunity to weaken his power in the court.
There was a vicious light in his eyes, and he cursed in his heart: You are so good, Emperor Wen, you actually punished me in this way and prevented me from attending court for a month. A month is enough time for him to suppress my power in the court! It is really abominable!
Although he was angry and resentful, Li Mingfu still replied respectfully: "I will obey the emperor's order!" He knew that if he dared to resist again, the consequences would be even more serious. He had no choice but to accept the punishment, hoping to calm Emperor Wen's anger as soon as possible.
After Li Mingfu left, Emperor Wen stared at the Crown Prince with an extremely cold look, his voice filled with anger: "Take a good look at the Crown Princess your mother chose for you! She was so bold and reckless that she dared to poison the Queen Mother and your mother! Just to put Luo Lingyue to death, she blindly obeyed Xiao Xiao's manipulation! She was used as a tool by Xiao Xiao! Who exactly is Xiao Xiao? Ah? Don't you have any idea in your mind?"
The prince lowered his head and replied in a low voice: "Father, please calm down! It is because of my negligence in disciplining the Crown Princess that today's disaster has occurred!"
Emperor Wen's eyes flashed with disappointment: "Calm down! If I hadn't tried my best to suppress him, you, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, would have been deposed long ago because of your Crown Princess! I suppressed Nan Yi in the hope that Xiao Jinghan and Luo Lingyue could subdue Nan Yi. Who was all this for? It was for you to sit firmly on the throne in the future! But you! You only listened to your uncle's nonsense! I am so disappointed!"
The prince was so frightened that he trembled all over. He knelt down hurriedly and said in a panic: "Father! It is indeed my son's fault!"
Emperor Wen looked exhausted. He rubbed his temples with his hands and said helplessly, "You must keep an eye on Li Jingshu! Don't let her get into trouble again! Okay, you should go back too! Think carefully about how you should move forward in the future!"
After hearing this, the prince nodded silently, but his heart was filled with anger and dissatisfaction. He turned and left the palace, and hurried back to the East Palace.
As soon as he entered the East Palace, the prince could not wait to rush straight to Li Jingshu's bedroom. His face was gloomy and his eyes were flashing with anger.
Li Jingshu was overjoyed to see the prince coming, and hurried forward to greet him. However, before she could say anything, the prince suddenly raised his foot and kicked her hard in the stomach. This sudden attack caught Li Jingshu completely off guard, and she lost her balance and fell to the ground.
Li Jingshu held her stomach tightly with both hands, and cried out in pain, "Cousin!"
The prince rushed forward and clamped her jaw with his fingers. His eyes were full of gloom and cruelty. He lowered his voice and cursed: "Bitch! How dare you be so bold as to poison the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother!"
Li Jingshu was in so much pain that tears kept flowing like a broken dam. She explained with trembling lips: "I also want to help His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! As long as Luo Lingyue dies... Xiao Jinghan can marry your confidant... In this way, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's power will be even stronger, right?"
However, the prince did not listen to her explanation at all, and raised his hand to slap her hard on the face. The slap was so powerful that blood immediately flowed from the corner of Li Jingshu's mouth.
The prince was furious and continued to curse viciously: "When have you ever done a good thing! You are a bitch with a heart as vicious as a snake. You will only ruin my plan! You are a narrow-minded, extremely stupid and ignorant woman!" His tone was full of disgust and resentment towards Li Jingshu.