vstars Chapter 614 Deposing the Crown Prince
Chapter 614 Deposing the Crown Prince
When Su Heng saw Sima Changfeng grabbing the person by the hair and lifting him up, he was immediately shocked. He wanted to stop him, but Xiao Changshi had already spoken.
"What's going on?" Xiao Changshi looked at Sima Changfeng with a puzzled expression.
Su Heng's face, which was on the verge of despair, instantly softened, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the crown prince didn't say anything.
Sima Changfeng said, "This woman is named Chu Yin. She is the mistress you brought back the day before yesterday. The steward of the Crown Prince's residence has already told you everything."
"What's wrong with her?" A bad feeling welled up in Xiao Changshi's heart.
Looking at Chu Yin again, her hair was disheveled, and she had lost a leg. She swayed precariously in Sima Changfeng's hands, like a lifeless rag doll.
Sima Changfeng said coldly, "This woman is named Chu Yin. She is an advisor under Huyan Ping, the King of Linchuan of the Xiongnu, and also the leader of the Xiongnu's spies in the capital."
After saying that, he let go and threw Chu Yin to the ground. With a "thud," Chu Yin's head hit the ground, but she couldn't make a sound and could only watch helplessly as everything happened.
Xiao Changshi collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide and his expression blank.
"Impossible! How could it be? She's just a helpless woman with no relatives or friends."
Xiao Changshi couldn't believe what he was seeing, but everything indicated that Chu Yin was a spy, and the maid who assassinated the emperor was likely related to Chu Yin.
Realizing what had happened, Xiao Changshi knelt before the emperor, grabbed his robe, and hurriedly explained, "Father, I only thought she was an ordinary orphan girl. I originally intended to take her into my household as a concubine. I truly did not know she was a Xiongnu spy!"
He turned abruptly and pointed at Chu Yin, who lay on the ground like a broken rag doll, and said bitterly, "It's her! Father, she deceived me. I beg you, Father, to immediately tear her apart by five horses or even execute her by slow slicing."
The emperor looked at Xiao Changshi's fear, unease, and attempts to explain, his gaze calm and unwavering, as if looking at a struggling ant.
"Father, I..."
Xiao Changshi offered a long explanation, but when he met the emperor's expressionless face, the rest of his words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say anything more.
His father didn't want to hear his explanation, nor did he care about it, just as he didn't care about him.
Xiao Changshi sat weakly on the ground, his hand that had been gripping the emperor's robe loosened, and he stared blankly at the emperor, awaiting the final judgment.
The emperor glanced at Xiao Changshi, who was kneeling on the ground, and finally spoke coldly: "If you had listened to me, it would have been a matter of course for me to hand over this country to you after my death. But you insist on going against me."
"If your strategies and schemes were superior to mine, I would accept being forced to relinquish the throne. But you defied me and accomplished nothing, utterly disgracing me!"
Xiao Changshi didn't look at the emperor, nor at anyone else; he stood like a clay statue, accepting judgment from the Emperor of Da Ning.
Everyone present, even staunch supporters of the Crown Prince like Su Heng, dared not utter a word at this moment, kneeling on the ground like everyone else, listening to the Emperor's final decree.
The emperor sat on the dragon throne, looking down at Xiao Changshi, and said sternly, "The crown prince has committed treason and is disobedient and unfilial. He is hereby stripped of his title as crown prince and imprisoned in the imperial prison. Further decisions will be made after the matter has been investigated!"
"Somebody come!"
"Take it!"
"Yes!"
Liu Fang received the order and signaled his men to detain Xiao Changshi and take him away.
"Duan Xu, Zhang Zhong, I order the two of you to work together to investigate the Crown Prince's affairs, and you must not make any mistakes!"
"Yes."
"You all step back! Everyone else, step back too."
Duan Xu and Zhang Zhong, along with the constables and Chu Yin behind them, left the wedding hall, and the others also left one after another.
*
As Jiang Fu and Jiang Siyuan watched the people from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review leave, they turned around and saw Su Lingyue with tears streaming down her face.
The two panicked.
Jiang Fu came over, looked down at her, and asked, "Yue'er, what's wrong?"
Remembering that Su Lingyue had been engaged to Xiao Changshi, she assumed that Su Lingyue still had feelings for the Crown Prince, so she asked, "Are you worried about the Crown Prince? He harbored spies and deserved his punishment. Don't be sad."
Su Lingyue shook her head, crying and laughing at the same time.
Jiang Siyuan could tell that Su Lingyue was genuinely happy when he saw her smiling and the sparkle in her eyes.
"Father, my cousin is probably crying tears of joy. Isn't that right, cousin?"
Su Lingyue choked up and couldn't speak, she could only nod vigorously.
Seeing Xiao Changshi being taken away was the happiest thing for him since his rebirth.
Finally, the person who used her and destroyed everything she cherished in her past life has finally received his just deserts.
She raised her hand to her chest.
She will never have to experience the excruciating pain again, and her uncle's family will be safe and sound.
it's all over.
Seeing her young mistress laughing so happily, Caiyi, influenced by Su Lingyue, also began to laugh and wipe away tears at the same time.
*
At this moment, the wedding hall was completely silent, with only the emperor, Liu Fang, and Sima Changfeng remaining.
He still doesn't know the reason, purpose, or what Sima Changfeng has been away for so long. He doesn't trust Sima Changfeng, so he left Liu Fang behind just in case.
The emperor said with a stern face, "Sima Changfeng, dereliction of duty is a capital offense. What have you been doing these past few months?"
Even though Sima Changfeng was a ruthless killer, he had no choice but to bow his head in the face of the emperor's oppressive power.
"Your Majesty, before Longhua Temple, I sensed something unusual in the capital. But my position is too high, and I cannot see many things, so I had no choice but to fake my death. Only Your Majesty's true reaction can conceal my true intentions."
What kind of anomaly are you referring to?
"The Xiongnu spies. After six months of investigation, I have discovered that they have become virtually ubiquitous, infiltrating almost every household of high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital. The one who infiltrated the Crown Prince's residence is none other than Chu Yin, the leader of the Xiongnu spies."
The emperor squinted, scrutinizing Sima Changfeng.
"So, according to you, all these matters concerning the capital and the Xiongnu are also related to you?"
"No, I found Chu Yin through these matters."
"Tell me in detail." The emperor leaned back in his chair, resting his chin on his hand, waiting for Sima Changfeng to finish his sentence.
Sima Changfeng relayed the pre-arranged conversation between himself and Yunting to the emperor. He was unaware of many of these details until Yunting informed him.
The emperor only knew a little about these things, and when he heard Sima Changfeng describe them in such detail, his gaze became less scrutinizing.
However, these facts alone have not completely dispelled the emperor's suspicions.
"I heard you chased Xiao Yu and jumped off a cliff. What happened between you two at the bottom of the cliff?"
Xiao Yu and Sima Changfeng were adversaries, and under normal circumstances, it was impossible for them not to clash at the bottom of the cliff. Moreover, Xiao Yu knew about Sima Changfeng's faked death, and logically, Xiao Yu should have reported this to the emperor.
But Xiao Yu didn't.
The emperor couldn't help but suspect something between Sima Changfeng and Xiao Yu.
Sima Changfeng knelt upright, meeting the emperor's gaze, and said, "I made a deal with Xiao Yu. He will help me keep my faked death a secret in exchange for me investigating the Xiongnu spies."
The emperor frowned and asked, "What benefits did you promise him?"
“The result of what I did was to grant him benefits. People like Xiao Yu, who are only interested in fame and reputation, always talk about benevolence and morality. What I did was beneficial to Your Majesty and the people. Moreover, Chu Yin was the one who made him a defeated opponent seven years ago. How could he not want to get rid of him?”
After hearing what he said, the emperor's scrutiny lessened somewhat.
A moment later, seemingly to confirm Sima Changfeng's feelings one last time.
The emperor stared into his eyes and asked, "Why did you do this? Even if you noticed, you could have notified the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review; that's their job."
Sima Changfeng's lips curled into a disdainful sneer, "The people from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review can handle ordinary cases. But these Xiongnu people have powerful figures backing them. For the people from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to deal with them is like throwing an egg against a rock."
He didn't make his words too clear. The emperor naturally knew who this powerful figure was, but Sima Changfeng roughly understood the relationship between the emperor and Su Heng. Even if Su Heng was involved in this matter, the emperor would definitely protect him in the end.
Having said all that, Sima Changfeng felt it was enough. The emperor's suspicions couldn't be dispelled immediately; all that remained was time to prove whether he was still trustworthy.
The emperor looked at the person kneeling before him, who showed no remorse whatsoever, and thought of Han Feng, who might have already betrayed him. If something were to happen in the future, perhaps Sima Changfeng could replace Han Feng.
"From today onwards, you will resume your role as a shadow guard. However, wherever you go, you must be accompanied by someone I designate."
Sima Changfeng cupped his hands and said, "Yes!"