allonlinenovel Chapter 376: A Drama of Lure
Chapter 376: A Drama of Lure
This was a plan that had been prepared long ago, just waiting for the opportunity to fall into the trap and catch the turtle in it.
No wonder... No wonder Luo Xiyao clearly refused to allow the search of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and kept rambling about Xie Nanyuan's poisoning.
Then he changed his attitude in an instant and insisted that Prince An's mansion be searched as well.
This was because he had calculated his father's thoughts accurately. Luo Xiyao's panic and crying just now were just an act. She was playing him like a fool.
When Xie Qian'an thought about this, veins bulged on his forehead, but he couldn't care about Shen Qionghua at the moment.
Seeing Xie Rong was furious, he dropped to his knees and pleaded, "Father, Your Majesty, I am innocent. I am truly innocent. As a prince of Dai Viet, how could I possibly do such a thing? What good would it do me?"
Xie Rong kicked Xie Qian'an, knocking him to the ground. He pointed the letter at Xie Qian'an's face and said, "You unfilial son! How dare you cry out for justice! Look for yourself, this is your handwriting!"
Only then did everyone realize that the emperor had not thrown away all the letter papers, and still had one in his hand.
Xie Qian'an looked at the letter in front of him, and his mind went blank for a moment.
This... this is indeed his handwriting. Even if it was him, if he was not sure that he had not written this letter, he would probably believe it.
These letters were written by Shen Qionghua and Luo Xiyao, but how could they copy his handwriting so closely?
But what matters right now is not the handwriting, but the content...
Xie Rong said angrily, "I thought you were truly elegant and humble, respectful to the wise and humble, but I didn't expect you to be so vicious behind my back."
"Your third brother is seriously injured and missing, and his life or death is unknown. Not only did you not try to find him, but you colluded with the State of Chen, intending to strangle Yuan'er together. You are so cruel and heartless, and you don't care about your relatives. You are worse than an animal!"
The scoldings hit Xie Qian'an like a whip of torture.
The invisible Earl of Yongning, who had been following Xie Qian'an's instructions, finally lost his patience and knelt on the ground to plead, "Your Majesty, this was definitely not done by Prince An. Someone must have deliberately framed him. Please investigate!"
Looking at the two people kneeling on the ground in mourning, Shen Qionghua felt indescribably happy.
In his previous life, Xie Qian'an had Gao Lei, the son-in-law of the Duke of Zhenguo, as his helper. The letters he secretly put into the study to frame him were not written in the Chen language, but directly in the Dai Yue language.
Among those letters, there was also a letter whose handwriting was exactly the same as that of the Duke of Zhenguo. Gao Lei said that it was a letter written by the Duke of Zhenguo but had not yet been delivered.
It was this letter that completely pinned the accusation of treason on the head of the Duke of Zhenguo, leaving no room for argument.
And now, among those letters that were originally used to frame others, there is also a letter written in the tone of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
Since Xie Qian'an loves to use this trick so much, she should give something back.
In her previous life, she had been with Xie Qian'an for a period of time. Later, when he led his troops to war, she copied his calligraphy in her spare time when she was alone guarding Prince An's Mansion.
Now, this comes in handy.
The handwriting on this letter is 80% similar to Xie Qian'an's own. The letter asks the other party to abide by the agreement and find Xie Nanyuan before anyone else. If he is alive, he should be strangled immediately and a generous reward will be given in the future.
The evidence is conclusive, she wants to see how Xie Qianan can argue!
Xie Qi'an forced himself to calm down. He faced the emperor and said, "Father, I really didn't do it. If I had done it, how could I have dared to agree to search Prince An's mansion?"
"You will certainly try to obstruct me in every possible way and make excuses. The fact that I have agreed to this is proof that I have no regrets, Father!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Xiyao quickly spoke up, "Your Highness Prince An, what you said is not true. You didn't just agree to it, you kept making excuses. If it weren't for the Emperor's wisdom and decisive order, you would still be making excuses. How can this not prove that you are guilty?"
"You!" Xie Qian was furious.
The excuses and guilty conscience he showed just now were just for Luo Xiyao to see, in order to make her believe that there was really poison left in Prince An's mansion, so as to prevent her from changing her mind again.
Little did he know that this was a conspiracy jointly set up by Luo Xiyao and Shen Qionghua. Now he was deeply trapped in the conspiracy, and his previous behavior of pretending to shirk responsibility became the ironclad evidence of his guilty conscience. This was nothing short of shooting himself in the foot!
"What do you mean by 'you'! Your Highness Prince An, I advise you to admit it honestly. So many adults in this hall have witnessed it, and you have no room for quibbling!" Luo Xiyao continued, speaking very eloquently.
After she finished speaking, she glanced around and found Shen Qionghua winking at her. Suddenly, she remembered something and looked at the imperial guards, saying, "Oh, by the way, besides this, did you find anything else? Like poison or something?"
The imperial guard said respectfully, "In reply to Princess Pingning, we did find a box with a white porcelain bottle inside. As for whether it was poisonous, we can't tell."
Xie Rong snorted coldly, staring at Xie Qian'an, and said, "Since you can't tell the difference, then go find someone who can. Doctor Pei once cured Yuan'er of the poison, so he must be able to tell the difference. I want to see what my good son has done without telling me!"
"Lee Soon-jeon!"
"The slave is here!"
"Go find Doctor Pei!"
"Yes!"
Li Shunquan turned around and was about to look for him when Pei Liangchuan came up hurriedly. "Ah, alas, no need to look for me, I'm right here!"
No one knew from which corner he had squeezed out, and his clothes were a little disheveled.
Originally, the emperor ordered the fifth prince to return to his bedroom to recuperate, and Pei Liangchuan should have followed the fifth prince.
But he was watching a big show unfold, how could he resist turning back halfway?
The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion was accused of treason and collaborating with the enemy, and Prince An was accused of poisoning Prince Rui. It was extremely exciting.
Although he didn't know what Luo Xiyao and Shen Qionghua were up to, he knew it must be something serious.
Others may not know, but how could he not know when he and Eunuch Fu were staying with the Fifth Prince?
How could the Fifth Prince know what was happening in the hall when he stayed in his bedroom and was not allowed to go out? He saw clearly that someone had contacted Eunuch Fu and asked the Fifth Prince to go to the hall at the right time.
Apart from Luo Xiyao, no one else could pass the message to the Fifth Prince through Eunuch Fu and make the Fifth Prince do as he is told.
And Luo Xiyao always listens to Shen Qionghua.
What kind of person is Shen Qionghua?
The most shrewd thing.
There is no possibility of doing useless work.
So he knew that things would never be that simple.
So after the emperor ordered the fifth prince to go back, the fifth prince did go back, but he stayed quietly.
Hiding among the officials, he watched Luo Xiyao and Shen Qionghua playing musical instruments and singing... Oh, no, they cooperated with each other and performed a big drama of luring the enemy into a trap.
I have to say, it was really wonderful, so wonderful that he almost clapped his hands in applause.
And after what happened just now, he finally understood everything.
The Fifth Prince's plea for the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion was fake. His real purpose was to use the excuse of pleading to bring up the poisoning incident, divert attention, and target Prince An in order to achieve the purpose of searching Prince An's Mansion.
No wonder... No wonder Shen Qionghua asked him if he had the poison that Xie Nanyuan was poisoned with, and even spent a huge price to buy it.
He was still wondering at the time, muttering in his heart that Shen Qionghua bought the poison from him in order to poison someone.
It turned out that it was not poisoning, but a frame-up.
The matter of the Duke of Zhenguo collaborating with the enemy and treason and the poisoning of the fifth prince were two different things, but Luo Xiyao insisted on combining the two.
The fifth prince is the key figure connecting these two things.
Only with the incident with the fifth prince could this drama really go on.
It's a pity for Prince An, he was plotted against so badly, but he deserved it. It was because he had evil intentions and was so cruel and vicious.
Pei Liangchuan was thinking this when Li Shunquan's voice reached his ears, "Doctor Pei? Doctor Pei!"
Pei Liangchuan came back to his senses instantly. In front of him was Li Shunquan's wrinkled smiling face. "Doctor Pei, please help me with my diagnosis."
If you can't laugh, don't laugh. Forcing yourself to laugh will only make you look ugly.
Pei Liangchuan complained silently in his heart.
He took the box calmly, looking at the familiar-looking white porcelain bottle inside. He already had the answer in his mind, but he still opened it and pretended to examine it carefully.
Suddenly, Pei Liangchuan's face changed and he said excitedly: "That's right, Your Majesty, this poison is exactly the same poison that Prince Rui was poisoned with!"