webnovelfull Chapter 1113 The prince is missing
Chapter 1113 The prince is missing
"Yes, yes, it must have been done by the common people. You can't blame us for that." The ministers nodded in agreement.
Destroying the peace between the two countries is a capital crime punishable by beheading. The ministers were terrified, fearing that they would be charged with an unwarranted crime and their entire clan would be executed.
The emperor narrowed his eyes, stared at the ministers fiercely, and asked...
"Let me ask you one more question. Is it really not you who did it? If you admit it now, I can spare your lives. But if I find out, it will be a heinous crime that will kill all nine generations of your clan. I will definitely execute you without mercy."
The ministers looked at each other, then shook their heads and said that it was not them who did it.
No one noticed that there was something wrong with the prince's face, but he forced himself to remain calm, stood where he was, and shook his head with the ministers, saying that it was not him who did it?
"Okay, very good, you all don't admit it, right?" The emperor became furious when he saw this.
The ministers lowered their heads and dared not speak.
Because they knew very well that as a king, the emperor also had his own sources of information.
Since he spoke so confidently, maybe he really found out some information?
Just when the ministers were feeling uneasy, a spy hurried into the hall, knelt on the ground and reported to the emperor that the matter had been investigated clearly.
The emperor was overjoyed and asked him what was going on.
Suddenly, the spy turned his head and looked at the prince, pointed at him, and said, "Your Majesty, I have already found out that the one who sold the grain to the Moli Kingdom's army was the prince. He hated Youzhou for destroying our army of hundreds of thousands last time, so this time he specially supported Moli Kingdom to avenge them."
When the ministers heard this, they were dumbfounded.
Doesn’t the prince know that Youzhou Kingdom is now very powerful and is the leader of the four countries? It would only take a few minutes to destroy them. In order to save Dayao Kingdom, the emperor has given many rare treasures to the King of Youzhou.
With His Royal Highness the Crown Prince causing such chaos, won't the two countries become enemies again?
When the ministers thought of this, cold sweat dripped from their foreheads.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is really too ignorant. In order to save his dignity, he disregards the lives of the people of Dayao Kingdom.
Nor did he think about the future of the Dayao Kingdom.
If the Dayao Kingdom was destroyed because of him, he would be a sinner for all eternity.
At this time, the emperor was so angry that his whole body was shaking. He pointed at the prince and asked tremblingly...
"Evil beast, is what he said true?"
His Royal Highness's face turned pale, his legs softened, and he knelt on the ground, saying, "Father, this is unjust. I have done nothing wrong to the Great Yao Nation. Someone must have deliberately wronged me."
Finally, he pointed at the spy and asked angrily, "Tell me, who is so vicious that you said that? Are you trying to alienate the relationship between me and my father?"
The spy never dreamed that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was so shameless that he turned the tables after the truth was revealed. He immediately laughed out of anger and said...
"Your Highness, the truth has already been revealed. Stop struggling in vain. It's useless."
The Crown Prince looked at him fiercely as if he wanted to eat someone, and said word by word...
"There is no evidence. How can you say that I did it? And I still say that you did it?"
The spy snorted coldly and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, everything I said is true, and there is evidence from both witnesses and evidence. The witnesses are outside the palace now."
When the prince heard this, his head went blank and he thought, Oh no, I'm really doomed this time.
How do those idiots actually do their job?
Not only did they not clean up the evidence, they also left some evidence behind.
The emperor nodded and said...
"Call the witnesses into the temple."
Soon, an old man in his 60s, dressed in brocade, walked in with great fear. When he saw all the civil and military officials and the emperor on the dragon throne, his legs softened and he knelt in the middle of the hall, kowtowed and said...
"I pay my respects to His Majesty. Long live the emperor."
The emperor's dragon eyes glared, and he slammed the dragon table hard, asking loudly: "Who are you? Why are you slandering the prince for selling food and grass to the army of Moliguo?"
The old man was so scared that he trembled all over. He lay on the ground and said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, I am the storekeeper Fan of the grain store. I don't know the prince, and I have never slandered the prince for selling grain to the army of Mo Liguo."
Oh my god, in his mind, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a god-like existence, how dare he slander him?
Unless he doesn't want to stay in the Dayao Kingdom anymore.
It turned out that Manager Fan was doing business in the store just now when a group of soldiers came with a portrait in their hands and asked him if he had seen it before. He said yes, and that the man was a big customer of the store and had come to buy a lot of grain a few days ago. Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished answering, he was taken to the palace by the soldiers.
He didn't even know what was going on?
Upon hearing this, the ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. Could it be that the spy had really made a mistake?
When the prince heard this, he seemed to come back to life, pointing at the spy and cursing...
"Did you hear that? Shopkeeper Fan said that I didn't do it, but you dared to slander me. Do you know that slandering the royal family is punishable by death?"
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Shopkeeper Fan recognized him, pointed at him and said to the emperor...
"Your Majesty, the person who bought the common people's food was him, not the prince."
In this case, what else do people not understand? It turns out that the prince helped the army of Moliguo buy food in order to retaliate against Youzhou.
The emperor was so angry that he was shaking all over and wanted to depose the prince immediately.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was so happy that he wanted to slap himself a few times. Who made him so talkative? Why did he jump out at this time? Now he was recognized by the shopkeeper. Now he was doomed. What should he do?
Just when the prince didn't know how to end the situation, his henchman, Lord Zhao, came out and said to the emperor...
"Your Majesty, I think that even if the prince went to Shopkeeper Fan's shop to buy food, it cannot be said that the prince supported the army of Mo Liguo."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince nodded vigorously as if he had grasped a life-saving straw and said...
"Yes, yes, it was not me who did it. I did not send food to the army of Mo Liguo."
The spy smiled coldly and said...
"As far as I know, the amount of food purchased by the Crown Prince is huge, enough to feed hundreds of thousands of soldiers for ten days or half a month. Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not send it to the army of Mo Liguo, then may I ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince where is this batch of food now?"
“This…” His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was speechless.
The sources of every batch of food and fodder for the army of Dayao State were recorded very clearly. Even if he wanted to say that he gave it to the army, he couldn't get away with it, after all, there was no record.
The spy raised his eyebrows and asked aggressively, "What's the matter? Your Highness the Crown Prince can't tell it, right?"
His Royal Highness: "Don't go too far."
The spy said: "Your Highness, what you said is serious. I am the one who earns your salary, so of course I must be loyal to you."
What he meant was that he was the emperor's man and of course he had to work for the emperor.
However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince knew clearly in his heart that the spy was not only the Emperor's man, but also the Second Prince's man, who had long wanted to kick him off the throne and replace him.
Of course, these things cannot be brought up in the open, because there is no evidence and the emperor will not believe them. It would be bad if he were to dislike them.
As a result, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was suspected again.
The emperor gnashed his teeth in anger and asked harshly...
"Evil beast, tell me the truth, where did the food go? Did you give it to the army of Moli Kingdom? Do you know that doing this will lead to the destruction of our Dayao Kingdom?"
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince turned pale and his body collapsed to the ground.
When he did this, he did not think about the consequences. He just wanted to use the Moli Kingdom's army to teach Youzhou a severe lesson.
After all, they had previously wiped out an entire army of hundreds of thousands.
Hundreds of thousands of troops!
Their blood dyed all the rivers in Youzhou City red.
What a shame!
What is there for everyone to not understand about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s reaction?
Obviously, it was he who delivered the food and fodder to the Moli Kingdom’s army.
The emperor was so angry that he immediately had the Crown Prince tied up and said he would send him to Youzhou to apologize to the King of Youzhou in person.
When the Crown Prince heard this, he was dumbfounded and shouted, "Father, I won't go. I won't go even if I die."
The emperor sneered and said, "Well, you are quite courageous, worthy of being my son. How about this, I will give you two paths, and let you choose."
When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince heard this, he was delighted. He thought the Emperor had let him go, and hurriedly asked which two paths they were.
The emperor said grimly: "The first way, I will give you a cup of poisoned wine. After you die, I will send your body to Youzhou to ask for forgiveness."
"The second way is for you to go to Youzhou alive and plead guilty to the King of Youzhou. It's your choice."
When the Crown Prince heard this, he was struck by lightning. There were two paths, and no matter which one he chose, he would die. His father was too cruel to him. Did he forget? Was he his biological son?
"Father." His Royal Highness the Crown Prince lay on the ground and cried inconsolably.
The emperor sighed and said, "Prince, don't blame me for being cruel. Although I am a father, I am also a king. I bear the lives of the people of the country on my shoulders. In order to protect them, I have no choice but to do this."
"My dear ministers, please leave the court. I am tired."
The emperor looked haggard and stood up tiredly. With the help of his personal eunuch, he left the hall.
"Father, father, please spare my life, father." The prince lay on the ground, crying and shouting.
Upon seeing this, the ministers sighed and left the hall in groups of three or five.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had such an end, it was all his own fault, he cannot blame anyone else.
The next morning, when the emperor sent people to the prince's palace to send him to Youzhou State to apologize to the King of Youzhou, he discovered that the prince was missing?
"Where is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" General Qian was sent by the Emperor to send His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to Youzhou State.
The maid shook her head and said in panic, "General Qian, I don't know. Last night, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was still in the bedroom. I was guarding the door, but the Crown Prince didn't come out all night. I don't know why he disappeared."