frightfiction Chapter 294 They All Lied to Me
Chapter 294 They All Lied to Me
In the palace.
Emperor Jingde was discussing important matters with his trusted ministers in his study.
He was very pleased with the great victory at Wei River.
But before he could be happy for a moment, the second half of the report made his face fall.
In addition to reporting on the war at the front, the report also reported a piece of news that made him feel uneasy for a long time - Prince Jing was not dead, and appeared in the Beimang people's military camp.
Emperor Jingde's first reaction was suspicion.
He had seen with his own eyes the charred body of Prince Jing, and the blood-stained suicide note. He had finally come to terms with the fact that his beloved son was dead, so why was he now being told that Prince Jing was still alive?
How can it be?
"Your Majesty, if the truth is as Prince Su said, then the Marquis of Zhenbei was wrongly accused. The true traitor is someone else, and that person is none other than Prince Jing, who fled north."
The Duke of Yong said righteously,
"Prince Jing faked his own death to escape, a crime truly deceiving the emperor! Furthermore, he colluded with Beimang, leading the enemy into the pass and causing the fall of the northern border, plunging the people into war. This is unforgivable!"
"This old minister proposes that his crimes be immediately made known to the world, and that His Royal Highness Prince Su bring him back to the capital for trial. This will give an explanation to the millions of civilians who died in the northern border, and to the Zhenbei Army and the Zhenbei Marquis who perished in the border towns!"
Prime Minister Cui glanced at the gloomy Emperor Jingde and said slowly:
"Duke Yong, it's too early for you to say that. Claims that Prince Jing is still alive and collaborating with the enemy are just one-sided statements from Prince Su, and there's no evidence to support them."
"How can there be no evidence? His Royal Highness Prince Su said it in the military report. Su Zhe, son of the Marquis of Yong'an, and Song Ci, daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei, witnessed it with their own eyes in the northern border. Countless civilians who escaped from Liangzhou and Ganzhou can all testify to this!"
Duke Yong was spitting out anger.
Prime Minister Cui took a few steps to the side to avoid being sprayed by his saliva, and then said slowly:
"That can only be determined after they arrive in Shengjing and are interrogated one by one. Besides, even if it is really Prince Jing, this matter cannot be announced to the world."
"Why not? He did something so damning that everyone despised him, so why can't he tell the world? The people of the world have the right to know the truth. Prime Minister Cui, you can't tell right from wrong. What kind of prime minister are you?"
Prime Minister Cui lowered his eyes slightly.
"Duke Yong, don't forget that Prince Jing is the Emperor's son! If you make his crimes known to the world, where will the Emperor's dignity be? How will the people of the world view the Emperor and the royal family?"
"you!"
Duke Yong was furious.
At this time, Emperor Jingde, who had been silent for a long time, glanced at Prime Minister Cui and said:
"Then according to your opinion, what should we do?"
Prime Minister Cui bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, Prince Jing's actions are truly outrageous to both humans and gods. However, this matter concerns the dignity of the royal family and cannot be made public. It should be handled quietly."
"The emperor has issued a secret decree to Prince Su, ordering him to quickly apprehend Prince Jing and hand him over to the emperor. As for whether the emperor should execute or imprison him, it is all up to the emperor. As for the people of Beimang, I have my own way to silence them."
Emperor Jingde pondered for a moment and said:
"Let's do it as you wish."
……
In the Imperial Garden, Emperor Jingde was walking on the gravel path.
He felt depressed, and his soles hurt even more, so he walked with a grin on his face.
"Your Majesty, I will help you walk."
Seeing this, a beautiful woman hurried forward to support him. Her voice was as singing as a nightingale, and her figure was as swaying as a willow. She was full of energy under the spring sunshine and was very moving.
"You are still the most thoughtful."
Emperor Jingde smiled and touched the hand of his new beauty.
Among all the concubines in the harem, Concubine De has long disliked him. Concubine Jiang is now in charge of the harem affairs and is too busy every day to spare time. Concubine Li also has no idea what she is busy with all day long and only comes to accompany him occasionally.
As Emperor Jingde grew older, he felt more and more lonely as a solitary person.
Not long ago, several young and beautiful beauties were presented to him. Looking at them every day, he suddenly felt that he had become much younger.
The one in front of him is the beautiful lady he loves the most recently.
The beauty Shu was only seventeen or eighteen years old, at the age when she could be squeezed to produce water. Upon hearing this, she giggled and clung to Emperor Jingde and acted coquettishly.
"Your Majesty, they say a smile makes you look ten years younger. You're always frowning, and that doesn't look good."
The garden was bright and beautiful, and with the beauty beside him, Emperor Jingde was coaxed into a slightly happier mood.
"Is the Emperor worried about the war in the north?" Lady Shu pouted.
Emperor Jingde was startled, and looked down at the beauty in his arms.
"Do beauties also understand this?"
The beautiful lady smiled charmingly, "Your Majesty, how could I possibly understand this? I only heard it from the eunuchs and palace maids. They say that the rumors are spreading like wildfire, saying that His Royal Highness Prince Su is the god of war who has descended to earth and will definitely defeat the people of Beimang and reclaim the entire northern border."
Emperor Jingde felt relieved after hearing this and chuckled twice. Prince Su had indeed made considerable progress in the past two years.
When Prince Su asked to go north, he was worried that he would be too arrogant. But the facts proved that he did a good job.
"Guo'er is indeed good."
"Yes!" Lady Shu continued, "They all say that His Royal Highness Prince Su is strict in military discipline and has great prestige within the army. It is said that all the soldiers in the army obey his orders. Moreover, he is also respectful to the wise and knows how to appoint people to the right positions. It is said that he can win every battle because he has a white-robed strategist by his side."
"White-robed strategist?" Emperor Jingde had never heard of him.
"That's right! How could the Emperor not know about such a formidable figure?" Beauty Shu's expression was exaggerated. "That white-robed strategist is called Su Yanzhi. I heard he's a master of military strategy, not only that, but he's also handsome and talented in both civil and military matters. I thought there was only one person like him in the world."
"Who?"
"That must be General Pei Heng! If I hadn't known that General Pei Heng was recuperating in Lin'an Prefecture, I would have mistaken Su Yanzhi for him."
"Su Yanzhi?" Emperor Jingde frowned, as if thinking about something. He wanted to ask something else, but Lady Shu had already changed the subject.
"Your Majesty, there's a colorful butterfly over there. Look! Is it beautiful?"
Emperor Jingde had no intention of looking at the butterflies at the moment. He responded vaguely and his thoughts drifted away.
Su Yanzhi?
How come I have never heard of such an amazing talent before?
Is he really a hidden master?
Or maybe it's simply...
A sudden thought struck Emperor Jingde. Was it such a coincidence that Pei Heng had gone to Lin'an Prefecture? Was it such a coincidence that he had been attacked, causing a relapse of his old injuries? Was it such a coincidence that a man so similar to him, Su Yanzhi, had appeared in the northern border at almost the same time?
Is this a coincidence?
Or was it someone who did it on purpose?
If it was intentional, then who is Pei Heng from Lin'an Prefecture?
If Su Yanzhi is really Pei Heng, then...
Emperor Jingde picked up the military report that he had read over and over again, and Prime Minister Cui's words rang in his ears.
Prince Jing's matter was a matter of great importance to the royal family's reputation. Prince Su could have submitted a secret report quietly, but he chose to go public with the military report.
As a result, everyone in the Ministry of War and the Cabinet who had been involved in the matter knew about Prince Jing's affairs, and Emperor Jingde could no longer cover it up.
This military newspaper did this on purpose.
Given Pei Heng's hatred for Prince Jing, he could definitely do it.
How dare they team up to deceive him!
Emperor Jingde hadn't considered their successive victories. His mind was now filled with the thought that they were deceiving him! This was a crime of deceiving the emperor! It was absolutely intolerable!
Pei Heng forced one of his sons to rebel and flee, and now he is instigating his other son to deceive the emperor!
"Somebody come!"
Thinking of this, Emperor Jingde became furious. He suddenly closed the military newspaper and called the imperial guards over.
"Take my order and go to Lin'an Prefecture immediately. Bring Pei Heng back to me... Please. I want to see what kind of drama they are performing!"