12dz Chapter 135 Betrayal
Chapter 135 Betrayal
"When you recommended Bai Yu to the Crown Prince, everyone in the Crown Prince's Palace saw it," Grand Tutor Gao said, making a startling statement.
The civil and military officials then realized that Bai Yu was actually the eldest princess's man. They had all thought that he was a force planted by the emperor, since it was obvious that the emperor wanted to give Bai Yu the position of Imperial City Envoy. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made Li Yun and Li Guangqi resort to such underhanded means to compete for it.
Seizing the opportunity, Li Guangqi brought up the old matter again: "I felt something was amiss with Zhou Gang's affair back then. Could it be that Bai Yu was lying as well..."
"It was Sun Haochong who pointed out Zhou Gang's wrongdoing that day!" This Li Guangqi was truly adept at misleading the public; he was shameless. Lu He cursed inwardly. "Are you trying to say that Bai Yu and Sun Haochong conspired to frame Zhou Gang? That's utterly absurd!"
“What’s impossible?” Li Guangqi opened his eyes and stared intently at Lu He: “Just like you, a loyal lackey of Li Cen…”
"Watch your mouth!" Li Cen raised her hand and slapped Li Guangqi across the face: "This is the education I, as your elder sister, should give you! Such vulgar language in court! Where is your dignity as the Crown Prince!"
The crisp sound of the slap echoed throughout the hall, startling the ministers who had been whispering amongst themselves.
The crown prince got slapped... and nobody dared to do anything about it...
A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of Li Guangqi's mouth. He gently wiped it away with his finger: "Fine, then I'll reason with you. Li Cen, you and Li Yun have been colluding for a long time. You've been scheming to help Third Brother ascend to the throne, so you've been framing me at every turn, just because I'm not the eldest son... Third Brother has always been jealous of me, and everyone in the court knows this!" He became more and more agitated as he spoke, his fierce eyes sweeping over Li Cen and Li Yun.
"Why can't you join forces? Yes, you already set me up during the selection of the Imperial Envoy. The third brother bribed the Golden Armor Guard back then! Has anyone mentioned the matter of switching the arrows?" Li Guangqi waved his hand, ordering someone to bring forward the Golden Armor Guard, who bore the marks of torture. He pointed at the man: "You exchanged Bai Yu's points for Sun Haochong, and then joined forces to kill Zhou Gang. Who are you trying to put on the throne? You truly have ulterior motives!"
Unexpectedly, Li Guangqi had this trick up his sleeve. He had prepared this person long ago, waiting for the right moment to use him to destroy Li Yun. He had really foreseen this! Li Yun felt a chill run down his spine. He thought the matter of the Imperial Envoy selection was long over, but he never imagined that someone had been holding a tight grip on him all along…
Li Yun looked at Li Guangqi as if he were a complete stranger. At this moment, he knew that he could not win against this younger brother by scheming. His cunning was so deep, and he could pretend to be a gentleman and weak in his daily life. Like a ferocious beast in the wilderness, he pretended to be sick and waited for other predators to approach him, and then he would show his fierce fangs and bite his neck... It was terrifying!
“It’s true that I recommended Bai Yu, but why didn’t you mention at all that you threatened him to let the assassins into the hunting grounds?” Lu He revealed the crucial information.
This Lord Bai was actually coerced by the Crown Prince? The new wave of information bombardment caught the ministers off guard. Apart from the factions of Li Yun and the Third Prince, the rest of the fence-sitters in the main hall were wavering, each side making sense.
"Your Highness, you are holding Nie Qing, the daughter of Minister Nie, in your residence. She is the very person Bai Yu admires. You are using this to threaten Bai Yu. How dare Bai Yu disobey you!" Lu He pressed on, "Your Highness, why don't you explain to everyone whether the assassins released into the hunting grounds were there to assassinate His Majesty and the Princess?"
If the Crown Prince is found to have indeed allowed the assassins into the hunting grounds, then regardless of the previous disputes, he will be unable to escape the charge of treason.
"Absurd! Now that Lord Bai is missing, you can't just say whatever you want!" Upon hearing this, Minister Nie was shocked to find that his daughter, Nie Qing, was involved, and he immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
“Lord Nie, you have spoken very little today. Is it because your daughter is in the Crown Prince’s residence?” Li Cen suddenly turned the tables on him again.
"Really! Nonsense. My daughter was just a guest at the Crown Prince's residence..." Minister Nie stammered. He glanced cautiously at Li Yun and Chao Ying, who were indeed glaring at him as if he were a traitor.
"Whether it's true or false, Your Highness, please invite Nie Qing to the palace! We'll know the answer as soon as we ask! Now that she's in your Crown Prince's residence, everyone can trust what she says!" Lu He pressed Li Guangqi again.
Li Guangqi's face darkened, and he could no longer smile. With all the civil and military officials watching, it seemed impossible for Nie Qing not to attend the ceremony. Before he could come up with a solution, Nie Qing had already been brought into the main hall.
"Heh, what a cunning scheme!" Li Guangqi glared at Lu He and Li Cen. It turned out that Nie Qing had been waiting outside all along. Looking at Nie Qing, who was already standing in the main hall, he was filled with self-mockery. He had originally intended to use Nie Qing to control Bai Yu, but unexpectedly, he was going to suffer a setback here! If he had known, he should have silenced Nie Qing after threatening Bai Yu!
Li Cen asked Nie Qing softly if those things were true, and waited patiently for her to answer the question about sentencing Li Guangqi to death.
"Reporting to everyone, this is not true!" Nie Qingqing replied clearly.
What?! Everyone's eyes widened, including Li Guangqi's.
"Did you hear what I just said?" Li Cen's voice wavered slightly, and it was clear that she was caught off guard.
“Your Highness, I have heard you clearly and answered you,” Nie Qing said neither humbly nor arrogantly. “There was no threat from the Crown Prince. My relationship with Lord Bai is completely innocent and there is no affair between us. The Crown Prince and I are in love.” As she spoke, she revealed a girlish side. “His Highness will soon marry me as his Crown Princess. We are indeed in love. There is no such thing as him detaining me.”
"Nie Qing! You! You're insane!" Lu He blurted out in disbelief.
"Hahaha, that's right! I have already informed my father that he is fond of Miss Nie Qing and that I wish to marry her as my Crown Princess. How can I allow you to slander her like this!" Li Guangqi seemed to have grasped a lifeline. He laughed with relief and stepped forward to block Nie Qing: "I hope you will not make things difficult for her, a mere young woman, and do not pin this unfounded crime on her!"