"You said... were the people who assassinated me and my twelfth brother that day really sent by the emperor's uncle? Did County Magistrate Yu really collude with the emperor's uncle?" Xiao Changyan stood under the eaves with his hands behind his back, looking at the slanting drizzle falling like broken strings.
"I dare not make any rash assertions." The aide bowed his head, "But Your Highness, the Prince of Yan was captured and poisoned and injured. We must tell His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess the whole story. How should we deal with it?"
How to deal with the aftermath? Xiao Changyan had also been thinking about this matter. Although he did not explicitly ask Xiao Changgeng to cover for him, since he and Xiao Changgeng had already become close friends, it went without saying that Xiao Changgeng would definitely protect him.
If the prince asked him further, Xiao Changgeng would probably say that he was in danger outside that night, and he went to look for him because he saw that he had not returned for a long time. Then they were both chased at the same time, so he would not need to lie anymore.
But Xiao Changgeng had been imprisoned there for half a month. If one wanted to completely erase all traces, they would have to blow up the mountain and turn everything into ashes.
Blowing up the mountain for no reason, especially at this critical juncture, is definitely not something that can be done by one person. If there are too many people, there is a risk that something will be exposed before the task is accomplished.
Although the rain here is not as heavy as in Wendeng County, it has been raining for nearly a month. The consequences of blasting the mountain are difficult to predict, so Xiao Changyan does not intend to destroy the evidence.
Since the evidence cannot be destroyed and cannot be prevented from being discovered, there is only one way... to pin the evidence on another person.
The prefect of Dengzhou County is qualified to be the culprit for kidnapping the prince. In such a small area of Dengzhou, kidnapping the prince is reasonable.
The staff saw the fierce look in Xiao Changyan's eyes and guessed his intention. He hesitated and said, "Your Highness, it may not be Yu County Magistrate..."
If they were wrong, they would have no way to continue investigating the real mastermind.
"Whether it is true or not, it doesn't matter. Our priority now is to clear ourselves." Xiao Changyan no longer had time to figure out the whole cause and effect. The most important thing was to reveal the disappearance of Xiao Changgeng in front of Xiao Huayong and especially Shen Xihe.
The aide paused. He also knew that this matter was urgent. If His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan was not rescued, there would still be time to turn things around. However, this request for help alarmed the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, and the matter became urgent.
Moreover, it is hard to convince anyone that someone dared to kidnap the prince and put the prince under house arrest. In the current disaster, even the toughest bandits can't be found to take the blame, and after much selection, only Yu Junshou is the most suitable.
“Your Highness, the Yu family is planning to form an alliance with Prince Zhao. If Your Highness attacks the governor of Yu at this time, it would be a declaration of war against Prince Zhao…” The staff still had some concerns.
"Him?" Xiao Changyan sneered, "The young king is not afraid of him."
Among so many brothers, the only one Xiao Changyan hated was his eldest brother. After the death of the eldest prince, this second brother acted like an elder brother everywhere, pointing fingers at them and always showing off his status as an elder brother under the pretext of disciplining them.
In those years, the eldest royal brother passed away, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stayed in a Taoist temple to recuperate, which made the brother, who was the eldest prince, very proud.
Later, when he was older, this brother learned to restrain himself, but his restraint made him even more disgusting. He was like a poisonous snake hiding in the grass, usually not showing its face, waiting for an opportunity to strike in secret. It was obvious that he was extremely eager for the throne, but he pretended to be a wise king, like a loyal minister who was dedicated to his work and did not care about fame or fortune.