Because of his lack of "common sense", he believed that he would find ways to save her. Therefore, in the short term, he didn't have to worry about her revealing him. However, this time would not be too long, so he had to seize the time.
Some of Kou's ideas were indeed correct, that is, she was very important to him, extremely important. Without her, it might be like losing an arm. However, Kou was not that important. After all, in many things, she was just the general manager. The people below had already learned what they needed to learn. Without her, the framework that had been built could not be crossed. At most, he could not build more frameworks.
Without Kou, he would be very sad, extremely sad, but it was just a physical pain, and it would heal slowly. It would be better to cut off the tail to survive. When he escapes this disaster, he will remember her sacrifice.
Concubine Kou probably didn't expect that when she proposed to intercept Xiaocao and when King Heng ordered "kill without mercy when necessary", she had already become the scapegoat in King Heng's plan. She was eager to use King Heng as a springboard to become the most noble woman in the world. Unfortunately, even if she had been successful in the workplace, the power center was still another matter. She couldn't handle it. There were some things that she shouldn't have intervened in from the beginning.
Fan Wuguo has never been a gentle man, so after bringing the person back, he started interrogating him directly.
In fact, Concubine Kou knew nothing about some things. Of course, she was also very clear that she could not say anything now. Even if she revealed just a little bit, the consequences could be unimaginable. Therefore, she, who had been a pampered person, had to endure the interrogation and kept repeating only three words: I don't know.
Don't know? It doesn't matter if you don't know. I will let her know.
Meanwhile, Prince Heng had immediately gone to apologize to Emperor Xuanren. This so-called apology certainly did not mean admitting his guilt. He even expressed at the very beginning that he did not know what had happened, what Kou had done, and even sent the Kaiping Guards out. However, no matter what she had done, it was all due to his failure to manage the household properly and his inability to discipline his children.
Emperor Xuanren looked indifferent. Even though Prince Heng was crying, he just continued to do what he was doing and was not affected at all.
Emperor Xuanren remained indifferent, but Prince Heng was not so calm, and sweat was already breaking out on his back.
Compared to Emperor Xuanren, Prince Heng was still a little naive. Of course, it was not just a matter of character, but also because Emperor Xuanren could easily control his honor, disgrace, life and death.
Prince Heng said all that he needed to say. Since Emperor Xuanren did not speak, he did not dare to continue. He just knelt there quietly. After a long time, his knees began to be unable to bear it, but he had to straighten his back, not daring to even slow down for a moment.
Even if he had made a plan to make Concubine Kou the scapegoat, whether it would succeed would still depend on Emperor Xuanren.
Fan Wuguo handled the arrest of Concubine Kou openly, so in the shortest possible time, everything that should and shouldn't be known was known. And the reason why she was arrested was probably conceivable. After all, since Fan Wuguo took over Kaiping Guard, he had only had such a thing on his hands. However, many people also felt that it was impossible, right? Concubine Kou was just a woman, and if it was really related to her, it must be Prince Heng who was behind it.
Because of this cognition, some people became excited, but there were also many people who became anxious.
The ones who were excited were obviously the enemies of King Heng. If King Heng went down, it would be good for them. He already had a lot of power and money in his hands. If they divided it up...
Needless to say, the most anxious ones are those who naturally side with Prince Heng. Each of them is in a hurry, especially Lord Ming, the Minister of War. He is anxious and angry. He had asked Prince Heng at the beginning, but Prince Heng completely denied it and it seemed that he didn't trust him at all. If he had known earlier, he could have helped him clean up the mess, but now... now there is nothing he can do. Whatever he does may be wrong and may become a handle.
Another most anxious person was Concubine Xian. As the highest-ranking concubine in the palace, although she did not hold absolute power in the harem, other concubines could not compare to her. Such a status naturally allowed her to be calm and composed at all times, but now it was no longer possible. She paced back and forth, and wanted to go directly to Emperor Xuanren to plead for mercy several times, but she backed off. After all, she was married to Emperor Xuanren for twenty or thirty years, so she naturally knew him a little bit. If she rashly got involved when the situation was unclear, she might end up making things worse, and lose everything that should not have been involved.
There was no other way, they could only have people pay attention to the situation on Emperor Xuanren's side. Of course, they didn't dare to send anyone close to inquire. They could only watch from afar to see whether Prince Heng had left, that was all.
Naturally, Concubine Xian was not the only one who was also paying attention to the situation here, but the feelings of the others were completely different.
Prince Heng knelt in front of Emperor Xuanren for two hours before Emperor Xuanren let him leave. Even so, he still said nothing. Prince Heng had no choice but to leave first. He limped with a dark look in his eyes. Without getting any results, it was like having a knife hanging over his head. He didn't know when the knife would fall, let alone how much damage it would do.
Prince Heng left the palace and returned to Prince Heng's Mansion. Not long after, the Minister of War came to his door. He shouldn't have come at this time, but he couldn't just sit there if he wanted to.
However, even so, Prince Heng still denied any involvement in the assassination of Princess Anguo. He said he did not know what Kou had done to attract the Kaiping Guards, but at least he looked very confident.
The Minister of War also knew his intention and looked at Prince Heng for a moment, "It's enough as long as Your Highness knows what's going on. I'll take my leave first." He really hoped that his grandson could know what's going on. After all, as Prince Heng's in-laws, if Prince Heng fell, it basically meant that they would fall as well. If the next emperor was not as broad-minded as Emperor Xuanren, then the Ming family would not be able to get up for at least decades. And after decades, who knows what the Ming family will be like, and whether there is anyone who can lead the Ming family back to glory.
The Minister of War was terribly gloomy. After returning to the Ming family, even though many people were concerned about what was going on, they did not dare to ask.
Of course, the ones who felt the most fear were naturally Concubine Kou's family. They had no idea what a heinous crime Kou had committed, and no matter whether they could get out of it in the end, they would inevitably be implicated. They were filled with fear and deep hatred at the same time.
For the next two days, there was no movement. Without Emperor Xuanren's orders, the people below naturally had to do what they were supposed to do. However, this was only a superficial phenomenon. In fact, everyone was nervous.
You know, this kind of atmosphere is the most unbearable. Prince Heng is also waiting for the news of Kou's death. The longer the time goes, the deeper the fear in his heart. His nerves are more tense than anyone else. The slightest movement may provoke his sensitive nerves. Therefore, he is naturally very angry. He has dealt with more than one group of people. The entire prince's mansion is cautious.
Knowing his current state, Wei Tingyu just smiled.
Concubine Kou was actually dead. The cause of death was actually a bit dramatic, and of course, it made Fan Wuguo a bit angry.
Before giving birth, Concubine Kou was too worried and did not take good care of herself, which resulted in premature birth and serious damage to her body. Even so, she still did not take good care of herself and worried about all kinds of things. Her plans were completely disrupted, and she became depressed and irritable. She spent the whole day thinking about killing the baby who was pregnant with her plan, which made the situation worse. She still has lochia to this day. She was dragged into prison and under torture, her condition suddenly worsened. Because Fan Wuguo did not take it seriously, time went on and she died.
This saves the people arranged by King Heng from being exposed and seeking death again.
Before she died, she cursed and said some incomprehensible words, but there were two points that Fan Wuguo heard clearly: why Emperor Xuanren did not die on a certain day, and why there was a Wen Renxuan who ruined her good deeds. Because of these two points, Fan Wuguo almost whipped her corpse!
It was too easy for her to die like this. However, since she was dead, there was nothing she could do. Fan Wuguo did not go to the palace immediately, but first asked someone to find Wei Tingyu and explain everything to him. Then, Wei Tingyu understood what Fan Wuguo did not understand. This Kou family came from the future. The emperor was supposed to die, but was saved by Xuan'er. So, Xuan really changed history.
Wei Tingyu asked Fan Wuguo to keep his troops in place. He went to the palace. However, Concubine Kou did implicate Prince Heng before her death, but she did not say anything substantial. After all, she knew nothing about Prince Heng's arrangements, but Prince Heng knew her affairs very well. Therefore, if Prince Heng wanted to put the blame on her, he would definitely do so.
However, even if there was no conclusive evidence against Prince Heng, those who should have known about it knew about it, including Emperor Xuanren.
How does it feel to have your son want you to die for the throne? Only Emperor Xuanren himself knows the answer, but he still doesn't show it on his face. In this matter, he really doesn't express his joy or anger.
"Investigate the Ming family thoroughly. I want evidence of the Ming family's crimes." This was the order given directly to Wei Tingyu by Emperor Xuanren.
Just from these words, Wei Tingyu understood that Emperor Xuanren would not touch Prince Heng for the time being, but he actually wanted to weaken his power. Therefore, after Concubine Kou no longer made money for him, Emperor Xuanren would cut off his greatest reliance.
On the other hand, Prince Heng also had no chance of becoming the emperor. He wanted Xiaocao's life, so Wei Tingyu naturally wanted to kill him, but he was not in a hurry. Revenge was not something that needed to be rushed.
The death of Concubine Kou was temporarily put on hold in order to create greater psychological pressure on Prince Heng. From this point of view, Emperor Xuanren was also cold-blooded and ruthless.
As Prince Heng was waiting tremblingly, he was on the verge of collapse. The result finally came out and the evidence of Concubine Kou's guilt was made public. However, what no one expected was that the Ming family was actually "involved" in it.
The entire Ming family felt as if they had been struck by lightning. Even the Minister of War was pale with shock. Before this, he probably never thought that this incident would happen to the Ming family, and he cried out that it was injustice!
However, the "evidence is conclusive" and it is useless to cry out for injustice, especially at this time, Prince Heng stood up and accused his own relatives with tears in his eyes, asking how they could be so cruel. He then apologized to Emperor Xuanren, saying that it was his negligence that allowed the Ming family to commit such a heinous act, and asked for punishment.
The Minister of War looked at his grandson, speechless, and then he seemed to be drained of energy and spirit, and immediately became depressed. The person who had tried his best to help him stabbed him back at this time, and even sacrificed the entire Ming family. This was more than just an ungrateful person...
In fact, the Minister of War had no idea about the matter at all, and in the end the blame fell on the famous family. It is not difficult to guess that this was probably the emperor's intention. He would not touch his own son, but he would not let it go so easily. There would always be a price to pay.
The Minister of War was taken into custody, two important officials of the Ming family were dismissed, and the Ming family was searched. However, because they were Prince Heng's in-laws, no one died and the Minister of War was only exiled.
Well, in this case, everyone can see that the Ming family is taking the blame for Prince Heng, otherwise, the entire family might be executed.
At the same time, Concubine Xian was also demoted to the position of imperial concubine, and all that Concubine Kou had previously managed was confiscated and put into the national treasury. Prince Heng's salary was also reduced by half to only 5,000 dan, the same as that of a prince.
The losses were so heavy that it seemed even worse than that suffered by Prince Dun.
Prince Heng didn't care how much hatred and pain he felt. He clenched his teeth and said nothing.
Emperor Xuanren watched coldly, unable to tell how he felt about his son.