After leaving the Great Prison of the Ministry of Justice, Longhua hurried straight to the Imperial City, crossing the White Stone Imperial Avenue, and finally arrived at the Taiji Hall.
The empress, since ascending to the throne, has worked diligently, sitting in court every day. In the early years, it was hard for those ministers. They had to get up earlier than chickens and sleep later than dogs. They also worried about the empress abolishing their positions due to the rise of the imperial examination system.
Half a year ago, the Empress became obsessed with martial arts, changing the morning court to every ten days. This also indirectly gave many ministers a chance to rest. However, today, before the tenth day had passed, the Empress notified all officials of an early morning court. This couldn't help but arouse speculation: Was something significant happening?
Longhua arrived at the Taiji Hall, looked around at the many ministers, felt a jolt in his heart, and cautiously glanced up at the woman on the dragon throne before quickly lowering his head again.
"Rumors have it that the Prince of Ning intends to rebel and has been brewing demonic men to oppose the Zhenwu Commandery. This news has spread throughout the capital, and now Your Majesty is convening an early morning court with all officials. Is it because of this?"
"The news from the rickety newspapers cannot be trusted. Perhaps someone is deliberately smearing the Prince of Ning, throwing cold water on him. Your Majesty should not believe these rumors."
"If others say it, I would not believe it, but the article was written by Xu Lao. I think it's not just a rumor. Perhaps Your Majesty is summoning the Prince of Ning's son to face the music."
……
The murmurs around him made Longhua's expression increasingly grim. He bowed with his hands together, gently looked up to gaze at the Empress seated on the dragon throne behind the curtain in the center of the great hall, and tried to remain composed as he said, "The Marquis of Ning's son, Longhua, pays homage to Your Majesty. I wonder what important matter Your Majesty has called me for."
The curtain was raised high, obscuring the Empress's appearance on the dragon throne. The officials could only see a faint figure. Their slender jade hands supported their cheeks, and the cold voice came from behind the curtain, "Longhua, is the matter of rebellion truly or falsely?"
Why is she so direct?
The Empress's words caused not only Longhua but also all the officials to be greatly surprised.
Longhua immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I am wrongly accused. My father has been diligent and faithful for over twenty years, serving as the commander of the northern frontier. How can he have any disloyal thoughts? This is slander, someone is slandering my father."
"Your Majesty, please reconsider and do not believe the slanderous words of the evil. This is surely someone who wants to divide our Tianlong Dynasty and cannot be trusted."
"That's right, the Tianlong Dynasty is united in heart and purpose, growing prosperous day by day. There must be someone who cannot bear this prosperity and wants to separate the Marquis of Ning from Your Majesty, causing a rift between you two. If Your Majesty lightly believes such things, it will surely lead our Tianlong Dynasty to an irreversible decline."
……
Ning Wang is a patron of court officials in the imperial court. If he falls, those patron officials will inevitably be affected. At this moment, the Empress interrogates Longhua, and these patron officials can't sit still any longer. They stand up one after another to praise Ning Wang.
The Empress behind the curtain did not respond, instead calling out loudly, "Summon Li Xiao of the Zhenwu Commandery and Pei Jiangnan."
As soon as the words fell, Longhua's eyelids twitched. At this time, what the officials of the Zhenwu Commandery were doing, were they really holding crucial evidence?
Impossible, he had hidden so well……Chen Mo, could it be that Chen Mo really knows something? Earlier, their plan to break out of the prison was flawless, and only the confidants of the Prince of Ning were involved. The news could not have leaked out, but it was still intercepted by Chen Mo. This has always been a thorn in Longhua's mind.
Now, with the Zhenwu Commandery moving out again, Longhua began to feel uneasy.
Li Xiao, wearing black robes with phoenixes embroidered on the chest, hurriedly walked in with Pei Jiangnan. They first bowed and then respectfully said, "Your Majesty, yesterday the humble servant searched three locations fifty li outside the city and found that they were exactly like the demonic people refining places within the imperial capital…"
Boom
Hearing this, Longhua felt like a thunderbolt hit him, his mind went blank. How could they find these three hidden locations so easily? The Zhenwu Commandery had so many informants in the Prince of Ning's household, yet he didn't receive any news last night.
Executing actions despite having spies in place, and executing them so quickly and decisively…
Longhua looked at the woman behind the curtain in terror, his fear growing. At this moment, he felt as though every move he made was known to her. An ominous premonition surged through his mind.
"What have you found?"
The Empress spoke in a calm tone.
Li Xiao nodded slightly and said, "I inspected two locations, which are similar to the refining places in the imperial capital. I did not find the person behind it, but my subordinate Pei Jiangnan found some clues."
Pei Jiangnan stepped forward and bowed, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the humble servant found a letter at the location. It bears the seal of the Prince of Ning's household. In addition, I discovered a special seal used by the Prince of Ning's son..."
As he spoke, Pei Jiangnan presented the letter and seal one by one.
The Empress gently waved her hand, and an old eunuch hurried down to take the letter and seal. He walked around the great hall and handed it to the officials. All the officials turned their gaze towards the letter and seal.
At that moment, the atmosphere in the entire grand hall was suppressed to its limit.
Longhua's eyes fixated on the letter and seal, his body shaking with fear, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this is slander, it must be someone slandering me, my brother…"
"Slander? The letter has the seal of the Prince of Ning's household. The token is your special token. These were found at the checkpoint. Or do you think that the Zhenwu Commandery, under my authority, cannot be trusted?"
"How can this be…?"
Longhua stammered, and for a moment he was at a loss for words. The few officials who had spoken in his favor saw the concrete evidence and immediately fell silent.
"Longhua is suspected of treason. He will be detained by the Zhenwu Commandery and wait for judgment. Order the decree to go down, commanding the Prince of Ning to come to the capital alone to prove his innocence. If not… cough"
Before the Empress's words were finished, her body suddenly went rigid, and blood mist erupted from her mouth, staining the bead curtain in front of the dragon throne red.
In an instant, the entire hall was chaos, and the old eunuch holding the letter and seal suddenly let out a scream, "Quick, quick, summon the imperial physician…".
Squeak——
Suddenly, the door of the Ministry of Justice prison was opened, and Chen Mo, lying on a ragged straw mat, looked up at the door and smiled, "Pei brother, you're finally here."
Pei Jiangnan smiled and said, "We were lucky to fulfill our mission."
"Did you find anything at the place I asked you to search last night?"
"Yes, as you said, we searched all three locations, and as it turned out, you were right. We seized the letters from the Prince of Ning and the seal of the Marquis' son from the most suspicious place. Today at the early morning court, I presented both items to Your Majesty, which has already counted as convicting the Marquis' son. Your Majesty also ordered that the Prince of Ning come to the capital to prove his innocence, but…"
"What is it?"
"The Emperor suddenly fell ill, causing chaos in the court"
"What?"
Chen Mo immediately jumped up, staring at Pei Jiangnan in disbelief, "The Emperor is ill?"
"That's right, he vomited blood and fainted on the spot"
"This is impossible."
Chen Mo's eyebrows twitched, his expression complex. He remembered that Long Ao Tian had taken the Jin Chan Grass and asked him about how to repair damaged meridians that day.
Did Long Ao Tian not present the Jin Chan Grass to the Empress?
