Sure enough, within a quarter of an hour, Xiao Tuo came back and said, "He confessed. He confessed with just one finger. He said that the one who asked him to steal the blood antelope horn was Zhang Quanlong, his cousin, who entered the palace in his early years and now serves in the East Palace."
Murong Jie was a little surprised. He thought it would be her man. "Well, take him back to the government office."
"Yes!" The captain took the order and left.
Zi'an was also a little surprised, "It turned out to be someone from the Crown Prince's side?"
Murong Jie said calmly, "He was used by someone. Liu Yue stayed at Yuelai Inn for two days, but Zhang Qi only went there today. This proves that this person only found out the function of the blood antelope horn today."
"There is no reason for the prince to do this. Why would he want to harm Zhuangzhuang at this critical moment? This is very disadvantageous to him."
Murong Jie shook his head. "I'm afraid he didn't want to harm Zhuangzhuang, but Ah Xin. If I'm not mistaken, the man who attacked him told him that only the blood antelope horn could save Ah Xin, so he took it. Moreover, after he took the blood antelope horn, he would definitely destroy it. He would not let Ah Xin have a chance to live."
Zi'an thought about it and felt that what he said made sense, and his heart sank immediately.
The noble concubine had been ordering people to monitor them. She should have known long ago that the blood antelope horn could save Zhuangzhuang, but she did not try to get it because she knew Liu Yue was very powerful. If she failed, she would expose herself instead. She couldn't expose herself now. After all, King Nan Huai hadn't returned yet. If she exposed herself too early, it would be detrimental to her plan.
So, she told the prince that the blood antelope horn could save King Liang. The prince hated King Liang so much, how could he let him live? So, he immediately sent people to act.
If he had a plan in advance, he should have been lying beside Liu Yue a long time ago, but no, Zhang Qi only went there today.
However, the other person who checked out, the one who brought the official certificate, was most likely Noble Concubine's man, because he moved in when Liu Yue moved in. After learning that Liu Yue had gone out, he immediately notified Noble Concubine, who also took action immediately. If the prince had failed, he would also have stolen the blood antelope horn, but because his official certificate was real, it would not be difficult to track him down, so he would not take action unless it was absolutely necessary.
She brought this idea up to Murong Jie, who said, "I have also thought of what you said. You should go to the Liang Palace first. I will summon the ministers to discuss the matter."
"What do you want to do?" Zi'an's heart tightened.
Murong Jie looked at her and said, "Do what I have wanted to do for a long time."
Zian pulled him aside and said, "I know what you want to do, but this is a serious matter and I'm afraid you don't have the power to make the decision."
Murong Jie shook his head, "I have said before that the emperor gave me the power to depose the crown prince, and it was not just empty words. The emperor did give the order."
"Is there a clear order?"
"No, oral instructions."
"The officials may not believe it unless the Queen Mother agrees with you."
Murong Jie smiled faintly, "Do you think that I really want to depose the crown prince at this time?"
"What do you mean?" Zi'an looked at him in confusion.
Murong Jie said: "The Crown Prince is useless, but now is not the right time to depose him. I just want to remind the Queen and the Crown Prince that they should restrain themselves."
Zi'an thought about it and understood. If the Crown Prince and the Queen restrained themselves, he could focus on dealing with the next crisis, which was Prince Nan Huai and his mother.
"But I'm afraid Master Liang won't be scared by you."
"Then accept him first." Murong Jie said coldly, "He is the prince's grandfather and also serves as the prince's tutor. If the prince makes a mistake, he cannot escape responsibility."
"But if we want to bring him down, I'm afraid this alone won't be enough."
"I am not so naive as to think that I can overthrow him with this one opportunity. His power is intertwined and growing stronger day by day, and his character is becoming more and more arrogant. If I don't slap him in the face now, he will not stop. This slap can at least buy us some peaceful days. I have several policies to implement, and this is the time to do it."
Zi'an hugged him and sighed softly, "I won't be the regent anymore. Whoever wants to be the regent can do it. This is not a life for human beings."
Zi'an has to deal with the schemes of many parties, promote favorable national policies, and distract himself from dealing with the ambitious people around him. Now it's even worse, he also has to worry about family matters. Zi'an really feels that he is useless and can't help in anything.
"Silly boy, a man is born to defend his country. I am Murong Jie's man, so it is my duty." Murong Jie smiled.
"Go ahead, I'll take care of it here." Zi'an sighed softly, "Every time I face these conspiracies, I feel tired and want to leave, but seeing how active and hardworking you are, I feel like I can hold on for a while longer."
Murong Jie kissed her forehead and said affectionately, "I promise you, when all this is over, I will take you away."
"Okay, I'll wait for you." Zi'an said softly.
But I know in my heart that this may be a long way off.
After Murong Jie entered the palace, he ordered officials of the third rank and above to be summoned to the meeting room in the front hall, and also invited royal family members.
The palace in the harem naturally knew about Murong Jie's grand move. The queen had just left the palace and arrived at Prince Liang's mansion. Before she even entered, she heard the news from the palace servants, so she immediately returned to the palace.
There are always officials on duty in the conference hall. All the officials of the three provinces and six ministries and above, who are of the third rank, are in the conference hall every two or seven days. As for the three officials of the Menxia Province, Zhongshu Province, and Shangshu Province among the three provinces, most of them are in the conference hall.
Today is the seventh day of the first lunar month, so people from the six ministries are here too. Murong Jie also summoned the Censorate and the nine ministers to enter the meeting room.
Many royal relatives of the Murong family actually do not hold official positions, so if it is a general matter of state affairs, there is no need to summon them, unless the matter is extremely urgent or related to the Murong royal family, then they will be summoned.
Today, the head of the Murong family is the emperor, and the deputy head is Prince Baoan. Prince Baoan is the son of Emperor Hui's brother, and Zhuangzhuang's cousin. He is already 68 years old this year. He does not take care of state affairs, but only manages the royal descendants.
Murong Jie also invited him into the palace.
In such a situation, before Murong Jie could say anything, the ministers began to discuss it.
Taifu Liang happened to be in the conference room as well. He had a nonchalant look on his face, as if whatever Murong Jie had to say had nothing to do with him and he could handle it.
But he was secretly anxious in his heart. The Murong family's actions must mean that they had something important to announce. Even inviting Prince Baoan into the palace might be for just one reason, which was to depose the crown prince.
He also knew that the prince had kidnapped the woman, but if Murong Jie wanted to use this incident to depose the prince, he would be too naive.
But is Murong Jie such a naive person? He is not, could it be that he has some leverage over the prince
Taifu Liang felt a little uneasy. While some ministers and royal relatives had not yet entered the palace, he sent someone to Jingning Palace to find the Queen. He then sent someone to the East Palace to ask the Crown Prince if there was anything else he didn't know so that he could take countermeasures.
(End of this chapter)