Princess and the General

Welcome, Your Highness (Part One)

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The eldest prince waited in his manor for a long time but never saw the arrival of Yin Shuo.

Only a servant came to report, “Eldest prince, someone from the prime minister’s manor came to report that Prime Minister Yin went out, and they don’t know where he went.
They also said that they will immediately tell Prime Minister Yin to come to the eldest prince’s manor as soon as he returns.”

“Heh, by the time that he returns, Marquis Gu will have already brought the witness before the court!”

The eldest prince was unable to hold back.
He was already completely dissatisfied with Yin Shuo’s recent failures.
Who knew that he would be missing at such a critical moment.

He repeatedly claimed to be someone who would serve the ruler, yet who was it that fled at the first sign of trouble? Did he think that he would be able to escape?

When it came down to it, Yin Shuo was the one who came up with the idea of assassinating Emperor Ning and framing the second prince.

“Forget it! Send more people to the area around Marquis Gu’s Manor.
As soon as they see Baibu Yang and his friend, kill them immediately.
We won’t wait for Yin Shuo!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

…

Everyone followed Gu HuaiJiang back to the main hall and saw Lin ShaoQing from the Imperial Court of Justice.
The latter immediately stood up to greet them.

“No need for formalities, let’s sit down and speak!”

Lin ShaoQing respectfully sat down, his face barely able to contain his joy, “This lowly official specifically came to report some good news.
Lord Marquis Gu had this official go and investigate the origin of the lotus flower arrow, and this official found it!”

He pulled out a red cloth back from his sleeve.
Carefully placed inside the bag was an arrowhead.
The mechanism contained within the lotus flower arrow had already been activated, and the eight hideous tendrils were out in the open.
It was a truly horrifying sight.

Lin ShaoQing held the arrow in both hands, “Lord Marquis and everyone else, please take a look.
The important part of the lotus flower arrow is the mysterious mechanism.
There are not many in Eastern Ling capable of making this arrow.
This official sent people to various parts of jianghu to investigate, and we finally found some clues.
This arrow was made in Jiangzhou by a successor to the Mohist teachings, Mo Di.
Using my status as a member of the court, this official had him arrested.
Only then did he finally admit that someone did indeed order a batch of lotus flower arrows from him.”

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Gu HuaiJiang said: “Who was it?”

Lin ShaoQing said: “The other party did not clearly state who they were, but the lotus flower arrow is no small matter.
Mo Di remained cautious of the other party.
The other party paid him with bank notes from Jiangzhou.
Based on what Mo Di said, the notes did not have the other party’s name on them, but he found a way to ask a criminal friend of his to enter the bank and write down the names in the ledger.”

Gu HuaiJiang nodded while running his fingers through his beard, a faint smile on his face, “The people of jianghu have their own ways.
This is the case for Baibu Yang, and this is also the case for Mo Di.
It’s easy for people with power to keep their names off of bank notes, but the numbers on the notes will have names attached to them in the records.
If this marquis’ guess is correct, those notes belong to someone in court?”

Lin ShaoQing solemnly said: “Correct, Lord Marquis, please take a look.
This Jia Ji is the chief scribe in the eldest prince’s manor.”

He handed the notes to Gu HuaiJiang, and Gu HuaiJiang’s eyes immediately lit up, “Good, with this evidence, the truth behind His Majesty’s murder will finally come to light.
Lin ShaoQing, go back and write a report on the investigation in Jiangzhou, so that it can be discussed during the trial at court tomorrow!”

“Yes, this official will go and take care of it immediately!”

Baibu Yang and the lotus flower arrow.

With all of this, the most important witness and material evidence were gathered.
With the second prince’s own testimony, the eldest prince’s crime of killing father and ruler would be completely exposed.

Gu HanMo joyfully said: “Father, this is great.
We can finally solve this case!”

The latter smiled and patted him on the shoulder; however, Gu ShuBai could be seen with his head down.
It seemed as if something was on his mind.

Gu HuaiJiang looked at him, “ShuBai, what’s wrong?”

Yu Fu also looked at Gu ShuBai.
Since leaving Baibu Yang’s place, his expression had felt a little off.

It seemed as if he was worried about something, conflicted.

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Hearing Gu HuaiJiang’s question, he finally regained his composure, “I was just lost in thought.
I just feel that something is a little strange.”

“What is it?”

“All of the evidence that we have gathered seems to point us toward the eldest prince.
Aside from the second prince’s testimony, none of the witnesses or evidence mentions Yin Shuo.”

…

The prison in the imperial family’s manor saw many people coming and going, and it was very lively.

Not only did people from the Imperial Court of Justice and the Board of Punishments visit, there were also people from Marquis Gu’s Manor supervising this case.
There were also members of the cabinet who would come to visit the second prince.

All of them were people with great power and influence.
In terms of their status, even the workers in the imperial family’s manor needed to treat them with respect.

Today, another important person came.

“Everyone, serve them properly.
Do you know who it was that just came in?”

A group of prison guards gathered outside the prison and started gossipping with one saying curiously: “Ever since the second prince was locked up, which noble have we not seen? Is there any need to be so cautious?”

“This is different.
This was Prime Minister Yin, Yin Shuo.”

“So what if it’s Prime Minister Yin? All of the court’s power is now with the cabinet.
What is a prime minister worth?”

Though he said this, he still kept his voice down.
These guards did not dare to disrespect the court.

Whether the cabinet held power or the prime minister held power, the situation could change overnight.
How could they possibly have a grasp on the situation?

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Their best option was to avoid offending anyone.
This was also the case with the second prince.
It was possible that if the case was tried fairly, he might end up the new ruler!

Inside the prison, the second prince snorted with contempt, “Prime Minister Yin still remembers to come and see this prince? You’re only coming to see me because Marquis Gu is about to uncover the truth behind this case, right? Vile parasite, as soon as this prince fell, you rushed to support Ning YiZhao.
You even dared to hit my little sister?”

As the situation surrounding the case gradually progressed, the treatment that the second prince received in prison also significantly improved.
As a result, there were prison guards who would tell him about what was happening in court.

Yin Shuo walked over to the table and looked at the plain chair next to it.
Its surface was quite clean.

It was clear there that quite a few people had been coming to see the second prince in recent days, especially people from Marquis Gu’s Manor and the cabinet.

He sat down, and the second prince frowned but decided to simply ignore him.

Yin Shuo said: “Second prince, you really are not very smart.
If you were a bit smarter, I would not have needed to put in so much work.”

The second prince immediately became alert, “What do you mean?”

Yin Shuo pointed at a chair nearby, gesturing for him to sit down for a conversation.
The second prince looked him over and thought to himself that he would not dare to do anything to him inside the imperial family’s manor’s prison, thus he casually walked over.

“Could it be that second prince still doesn’t understand? From the very beginning, the expert that I recommended to you, Baibu Yang, was part of the eldest prince’s plot.
He was certain that you would want to stand out during the autumn hunt, thus he had Baibu Yang win your trust and give you the lotus flower arrows.
At the hunting ground, he would then control the lotus flower to kill His Majesty.”

Yin Shuo smiled calmly, and the second prince nearly leapt up, “You… You’re finally admitting it? It was you and Ning YiZhao who framed me.
It was you two who framed me! Guards! Come quickly!”

“Shush…”

Yin Shuo helplessly shook his head.
Watching the guards rush in with their blades drawn, he simply shrugged.

The guard at the front said: “Second prince, second prince, are you alright?”

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The second prince pointed at Yin Shuo, “He just admitted to killing father Emperor.
It was he and the eldest prince who worked together to kill father Emperor.
Quickly arrest him!”

The prison guard looked at the second prince with a troubled look before looking at Yin Shuo.
Yin Shuo waved his hand, and the guard retreated.

He turned to look at the second prince, “Second prince, if making empty accusations was enough to determine a person’s guilt, you would already be dead.
Would you even be alive to hear the results of Lord Marquis Gu’s investigation?”

The second prince was still shaken.
Thinking back to what he had just done, it had truly been reckless.
He should not have called out.

Even if he said it, nobody would believe him.
Yin Shuo might say the truth in front of him, but he would not be stupid enough to say it in front of others.

He forced himself to calm down and sit back down next to Yin Shuo, “Then tell me what exactly is your goal? Why are you telling me the truth?”

Yin Shuo picked up a cup of tea.
The tea in the cup had very little color and did not have much fragrance.

“No matter how good the tea in the imperial family’s manor’s prison might be, it’s not as good as the tea in the palace.
This tea isn’t even as good as the tea in my manor.”

He still forced himself to take a sip before putting down the cup and smiling at the second prince, “Second prince, what I told you is not the whole truth.
If you want to hear the whole truth, calm down a little.
I will tell you everything.
Don’t call the guards over, or I guarantee that you will regret it.”

He spoke in a faint tone with a threatening demeanor; however, it did not look like he had any intention of admitting any wrongdoing.

The second prince was utterly confused.
He decided to follow his instructions and quietly sat down, listening to Yin Shuo recount everything that happened from beginning to end.

After he finished speaking, Yin Shuo smiled and said: “Like this, does Your Highness understand?”

The second prince’s mind had been muddled into a mess by Yin Shuo’s words, and he was only able to organize some of his thoughts after a long pause.
In a daze, he pointed at Yin Shuo, “You are frightening.
You’re truly too frightening…”

Yin Shuo stood up and patted his robes, “I have said what I came to say.
During morning court tomorrow, Yin Shuo will welcome Your Highness to the palace.”