allonlinenovel Chapter 276 Who ordered you to do this?
Chapter 276 Who ordered you to do this?
However, the most important question now is, why did Mingkong do this? Who instructed him?
Wang Ling is almost going crazy.
His Highness Prince Yong ordered him to frame Yu Wan, but things went completely off track. The person being framed changed from Yu Wan to himself, and everything fell into chaos.
He clearly only bribed a fat monk at Huangjue Temple to carry out the whole plan, and never had any contact with the abbot of Huangjue Temple from beginning to end!
Mingkong must be lying!
Wang Ling screamed in his heart, but it felt like something was choking him, and he couldn't make a sound.
How should he begin?
Was he going to tell the Emperor that he originally intended to frame the eldest daughter of the Duke of Anguo's family, but he didn't know what went wrong and the person who was supposed to be having an affair with the little monk changed from Yu Wan to him?
For the first time, Wang Ling experienced the feeling of being unable to express his feelings.
For a moment, he really didn't know how to defend himself, so he could only secretly turn his gaze to Prince Yong with a pleading look.
But at this moment, Prince Yong had no time to pay attention to him.
His heart sank to the bottom.
Why would such a simple matter involve Mingkong?
If Mingkong accidentally says something he shouldn't, then he...
Prince Yong gritted his teeth in secret, regretting it to the core.
If he had known Wang Ling was such a useless piece of trash, he shouldn't have let him do this job!
Emperor Wenjing looked at Wang Ling, Mingkong, and the others kneeling on the ground in a disheveled state, and his anger grew even stronger. His gaze darted back and forth between Wang Ling and the monk Mingkong, and his voice was icy:
"Mingkong, who is instructing you?"
Mingkong is a highly accomplished monk; he would not do such an absurd thing for no reason.
Mingkong trembled, his lowered eyes filled with fear and struggle. After a long while, he stammered, "Your Majesty... this old monk... this old monk was acting under the orders of Prince Yong..."
Upon hearing this, the surroundings fell silent.
The entire hall seemed to be paused, and everyone held their breath.
All the princes and ministers turned their gazes toward Prince Yong, their eyes filled with shock and confusion.
Prince Yong's expression changed drastically. He knelt down with a thud, his disbelief genuine. "Father, it wasn't me!"
"Mingkong is slandering me! He's deliberately trying to frame me to exonerate himself. Why would I do such a thing?!"
Emperor Wenjing remained silent.
His face was expressionless, making it impossible for anyone to discern the emperor's thoughts.
Mingkong did not look up. He could hear the Prince Yong's questioning voice, which sounded suspicious and uncertain, but he pretended not to hear it.
He took a deep breath and said in a weak but resolute voice, "I have evidence."
“I have been in private dealings with His Highness Prince Yong for a long time. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you may send someone to my room to retrieve the wooden box hidden under the bed.”
"The wooden box contains the letters that this old monk has exchanged with His Highness Prince Yong over the years."
Upon hearing this, Prince Yong felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
My mind went completely blank for a moment.
Has Mingkong gone mad?!
He confessed, so he can't escape either!
Emperor Wenjing frowned slightly, glanced at Prince Yong, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes, and ordered the commander of the Imperial Guards beside him: "Take men to retrieve the wooden box."
After receiving the order, the commander of the Imperial Guards quickly left with several guards.
The atmosphere inside the hall was extremely tense; everyone held their breath, waiting for the Imperial Guards to return.
A moment later, the commander of the Imperial Guards hurriedly returned, carrying an ancient wooden box in his hands.
He presented the wooden box.
Liu Haifu stepped forward and carefully took the wooden box, a hint of caution on his face.
He opened the wooden box and saw a stack of letters neatly arranged inside.
He hesitated for a moment, a questioning look in his eyes, and looked at Emperor Wenjing. Only after receiving Emperor Wenjing's permission did he pick up the top letter and slowly open it.
After glancing at it quickly, Liu Haifu's expression suddenly changed.
Seeing his reaction, Emperor Wenjing reached out and took the letter. After just one glance, his face darkened.
Mingkong's voice rang out at the opportune moment. He slightly raised his head, and though his voice was not loud, it echoed clearly throughout the hall:
"The letter at the top was received by this old monk three days ago. His Highness Prince Yong instructed this old monk to secretly deliver a sack to the Buddha statue in the main hall on the day of the winter festival, and then His Highness would have others arrange the rest."
Prince Yong trembled with rage, his facial muscles contorted in pain. He laughed in a fit of rage and roared:
"Nonsense! I have never written you such a letter! You are slandering me!"
Mingkong merely glanced at Prince Yong and continued, "Your Majesty, please continue reading."
This letter is not the key point.
Sure enough, Liu Haifu opened the other letters one by one, his eyes filled with what could be described as terror.
Emperor Wenjing read through the letters one by one, his eyes filled with a chilling coldness like three feet of ice, growing ever more piercing.
There were sixteen letters in total, each instructing Prince Yong to have Mingkong secretly perform a religious ceremony for him.
The letter ended with two birth dates and times.
It appears that in a recent letter, there is a handwriting style that is distinctly different from that of Prince Yong.
Emperor Wenjing recognized that it was Mingkong's handwriting.
He stared at the phrase "haunted by vengeful spirits" written by Mingkong on the letter for a long time, then looked up at Mingkong and said, word by word, "What does this mean?"
Mingkong slowly closed his eyes, his eyes filled with pain and helplessness. "His Highness Prince Yong asked this old monk to perform rituals two years ago."
The string in Prince Yong's mind snapped instantly.
His eyes were wide open, filled with madness and despair, and he lunged straight at Mingkong, yelling, "Shut up! Don't say a word!"
Emperor Wenjing roared, "Stop him for me!"
Immediately, imperial guards stepped forward and pulled Prince Yong away.
Prince Yong struggled desperately, waving his hands in the air, but he could not break free from the imperial guards' restraints.
Before his hand could even touch Mingkong's clothes, it was already firmly grabbed by the Imperial Guards.
Mingkong seemed oblivious to the enraged Prince Yong, and continued, "The first time, along with Prince Yong's letter came two skeletons. One skeleton belonged to a young lady, and the other was the skeleton of a fetus about nine months old..."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall instinctively shivered.
A chill permeated the entire hall.
"For the next two years, each letter that arrived contained two skeletons."
"At first, I thought they were pregnant women who died unjustly. His Highness Prince Yong was kind-hearted and collected their remains and prayed for their rebirth."
Mingkong shook his head slightly, his eyes filled with regret.
"But on one occasion, on my way down the mountain, I stumbled upon a group of people abducting a pregnant young woman. I followed them and watched them enter the Yong Prince's mansion. Only then did I understand how the skeletons His Highness Yong Prince sent came about."
"Amitabha--"
Mingkong clasped his hands together, chanting Buddhist mantras, his face filled with sorrow.
"Your Majesty, after performing a ritual to guide these remains to the afterlife, I buried them in a valley behind Huangjue Temple. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you may send someone to dig them up."
"Over the past two years, a total of thirty-eight skeletons, large and small, have been found there."
The crowd could almost piece together the truth of the matter from Mingkong's words.
Prince Yong secretly abducted pregnant young women and did something to them. Afterwards, perhaps to atone for his sins, he sent their remains to Huangjue Temple and had the abbot, Mingkong, perform a ritual to help them pass on to the afterlife...