Before the Lantern Festival, the princes finally left the capital one after another.
They originally thought they were just returning to Beijing to celebrate Emperor Longqing's birthday, but they were trapped in the capital for two or three years and had enough of the days of fear. Now that they were out of the capital, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The Prince of Jin was particularly frightened. He did not dare to accept any banquets hosted by officials along the way. He went straight to his fiefdom after leaving the capital, for fear that he would get into trouble on the way and be recalled to the capital.
Although I haven't suffered any abuse in the past two or three years, to be honest, who would want to live in fear all day long
But sometimes, some things just happen to be what you fear. He was less than halfway there when the boat docked at the pier. The servants went to replenish their food and supplies when they received a report from the court delivered at full speed.
It clearly stated on it that Chu Jingqian of the Prince of Jin's Mansion colluded with Wang Gongfeng, a relative of the Princess of Jin's maternal family, in an attempt to murder the Fourth Prince but failed. They then framed Chu Jingqian, the Crown Prince of Jin, and he has now been imprisoned by the Imperial Guards.
When the news came, Prince Jin was having a drink with his favorite cousin, the concubine. In order to avoid trouble, he rejected all visits and invitations from officials along the way, and simply listened to the concubine singing little songs to relieve his boredom.
However, he could not hear a word of the little tune that usually sounded like heavenly music to him this time. After glancing at the official report, his face changed drastically and he asked someone to call for his chief secretary in a gloomy manner.
The Chief Clerk of the Prince of Jin's Palace used to be in the Hanlin Academy in the capital. In fact, he was a contemporary Jinshi as Xia Song's son, but he rose rapidly all the way and became a prefect with the help of his father's influence. He was waiting to be promoted when his father stepped down. However, he was dismissed from office because he was involved in the Guangdong case that year.
Later, he worked as an aide to the Prince of Jin's Palace and became the Chief Clerk of the Prince of Jin's Palace.
The Prince of Jin had always trusted him and entrusted him with tasks such as drafting memorials.
Although this person could not make it in officialdom, his handwriting was very beautiful and his rhetoric was gorgeous. The memorials he wrote were very much to the Emperor Longqing's liking.
The King of Jin relied on him a lot. When he arrived, he slapped the official report in front of him and said in a panic with an ugly face: "How long have we been out of the capital? Such a thing has happened!"
It was clearly written in the official newspaper that this matter was entirely planned by Chuchu Jingmeng and he pinned the blame on his brother in order to replace him...
But how can it be that simple
King Jin sneered: "This is clearly a false accusation! He is deliberately trying to cause trouble to remove the roadblock."
Xue Changshi took a serious look at it, then turned to ask King Jin: "The letters we received recently didn't reveal any news..."
Yes.
Prince Jin immediately understood what he meant.
It was clearly stated in the court bulletin that the so-called murder of the Fourth Prince referred to the time when the Fourth Prince suddenly fell ill and suffered from epilepsy.
If that’s the case, and since the Jinyiwei had already been investigating for so long, why did they only find out now that it was the Prince of Jin’s Mansion
Why did they wait until he left the capital before arresting both children, and then released one? !
How could this be considered murder of the Fourth Prince
It was obvious that Emperor Longqing just wanted to deal with the Prince of Jin's Mansion.
Prince Jin was so angry and frightened that he sat down on his chair and was unable to recover for a long time.
Xue Changshi also knew that he was timid to begin with, so he waited until he calmed down before analyzing his face and saying, "When the Fourth Prince fell ill earlier, our family had nothing to do with it, but as soon as he left the capital, he was remembered..."
As he spoke, his expression couldn't help but look a little ugly: "Even if the young master didn't do it, he has done it now."
He sighed and looked at Prince Jin: "Your Majesty, do you understand what I mean?"
The lips of the King of Jin were dry and cracked. The once beautiful river view now seemed boring to him. He was very anxious: "I know, he was eager to find evidence against us to pave the way for his sons. Now that he really has evidence, he will definitely let this happen."
That's what I mean.
Xue Changshi nodded: "You understand. Right now, what we are most worried about is not the safety of the prince and the young master, but our..." He reminded King Jin: "We are not in the fiefdom yet."
He could be caught and sent back to the capital at any time.
When the Prince of Jin heard this, he felt the hairs on his body stand up. If this matter was further expanded, or if Emperor Longqing wanted to use this matter to cause trouble for him, it could be said that he was the mastermind behind this matter, and that he had masterminded his son to murder the Fourth Prince...
If he is caught and brought back to the capital, he may very likely die on the way back!
Thinking of this, he felt terrified, and even forgot how to save his son. The anger he had just felt had completely dissipated, and he asked anxiously and impatiently, "Then what should I do in this case?"
The other staff members were all on the boat at the back, and now only Xue Changshi was the one he could discuss things with.
Moreover, he really trusted Xue Changshi the most. Xue Changshi's interests had long been inseparable from his. His entire family was in his fiefdom, and Xue Changshi's son even married the daughter of the Princess of Jin's sister.
Xue Changshi thought for a while, and quickly said: "Your Highness, the most urgent thing is to go back to our fiefdom in Xi'an." He paused, his face extremely ugly: "Otherwise, we may not be another Ming family!"
Another Ming family? !
Back then, the Ming family encountered so-called robbers in Fuyuan County on their way to the capital for trial before they were convicted, and the entire family was killed!
Even if decades have passed and the case has been overturned, what does it matter? !
Can people still survive?!
He felt goosebumps all over his body and nodded quickly: "You are right, you are right..."
He felt a little terrified as he spoke: "But now I have even received the imperial report, and I am sure that there will be an imperial decree soon. If I openly disobey it, it will be disobeying the imperial decree..."
There is still a possibility that he would be charged with disobeying the order along the way and be killed on the spot.
"It's not that there is no way." Xue Changshi hurriedly asked him to calm down: "After all, what we have received now is just the imperial report. Hasn't the imperial decree come down yet?"
Seeing that the Prince of Jin was concentrating, he quickly stood up and said, "Let's say... the princess is seriously ill and must travel overnight..."
King Jin was a little anxious: "This is of no use..."
"Yes." Xue Changshi coughed and said solemnly: "If the princess leaves first, you should stay at the dock... things will be much easier... Anyway, you rarely show up during this trip..."