Chapter 1466: Chapter 1442 Prince Guangping
Lord Tang smiled and said, "Because I may need Manbao to enter the palace, and perhaps you too might need to be added now."
Lord Tang only brought the family of that craftsman this time, because the craftsman had died long ago.
Besides the people, those stones were also brought back. Knowing that those things were poisonous and having seen their effects, even Yin Li specially kept a distance, and the people were particularly arranged in the side courtyard here.
Lord Tang said, "Lord Yin has entered the palace, and it might not be long before the palace summons. This poison was discovered by you and treated by you, His Majesty might inquire about it then."
The main thing is, as soon as the people arrived in the capital, they released the news without specifically hiding it, and they also openly sent people to fetch Zhou Man. By now, it should have already startled the snake.
When people are panicked, they often make mistakes, especially since Hou Ji doesn’t seem very smart, so Lord Tang felt it safer to keep Zhou Man under his eye.
At this moment, Manbao was still a bit unresponsive, having just listened to such a dramatic tale of feuds and vendettas.
Bai Shan had already asked, "What did His Highness the Crown Prince say?"
Lord Tang: "...His Highness the Crown Prince did not expect it." Thus, after investigating Hou Ji, they could not continue further, so they quietly kept an eye on Hou Ji.
The Crown Prince never thought it was Hou Ji’s private vendetta; he thought Hou Ji had unknowingly defected to Third, conspiring with the Third Prince to harm him.
In his view, he did not like Hou Ji, even to the point of aversion, but the two things he did were based on the affair, not the person. If there were no mistakes, how could he bump into him?
After the matter passed, he basically forgot. Mainly, Hou Ji had not lingered in front of him in recent years.
If talking about hatred, he probably hated Wei Zhi, who scolded him from time to time, more. He hadn’t done anything to Wei Zhi either, right?
So he felt that Hou Ji might be lacking in intelligence.
At this moment, he was sitting under the Emperor’s seat, listening to Yin Li report all the matters he found out. Currently, all the evidence pointed to Hou Ji and marked it as a private vendetta, which made the Crown Prince very angry.
"Just because the orphan does not like him, he dares to risk the crime of extermination of his clan to harm the orphan?"
Yin Li said, "Your Majesty, the one who planted the knife in Zhou Man’s carriage was also him."
The Emperor frowned, "Then who was the one who made Zhou Man’s carriage overturn?"
Yin Li said, "It wasn’t him."
The Emperor narrowed his eyes, suddenly turned and said to the Crown Prince, "You personally take people to the Hou Family, invite Hou Ji to the palace, I want to personally interrogate him."
The Crown Prince’s suspicious gaze shifted between the Emperor and Yin Li. If it were in the past, he would definitely have exploded, claiming the Emperor was protecting the Third Prince.
But at this moment, he said nothing, rose with a sullen face, and left directly.
Seeing him leave, Gu Zhong also bowed and retreated, leaving only the Emperor and Yin Li in the study.
The Emperor then let Yin Li sit and talk, but Yin Li said he was more comfortable standing, after all, what they were about to discuss might not please the Emperor.
Yin Li bowed his head and said, "This official has been keeping an eye on the Marquis Mansion. Checking back, I discovered he had sent people to Luozhou."
The Emperor’s face darkened and he asked, "What did he send people to Luozhou for?"
"The people sent were not caught, but two days ago he sent another group out, and I have had people follow, news should come back soon."
The Emperor’s lips tightened into a thin line, and after a moment’s silence, he asked, "Do you suspect this matter is related to Prince Gong?"
"Sending gems to the Crown Prince side should have no relation to Prince Gong, but whether Prince Gong knows or not, I am not aware," Yin Li said cautiously. Without evidence, he would not directly conclude, he said, "Prince Gong is familiar with the palace. If he were behind this, he would not be easily found out."
By then, even if suspected, it would be difficult to catch evidence.
Last time, regarding Ms. Liu, the concubine in the East Palace, Minister Feng failed to find conclusive evidence, relying only on some clues to infer.
The implicated people all died along the way. If not for the Emperor’s hidden spies, they wouldn’t have known it was the Prince of Yizhou instigating Prince Gong.
But this time, though Hou Ji also killed people, they caught the thread and followed it, pulling out all those involved. Evidently, he did not clean his tracks well, and due to unfamiliarity with the palace, he left many traces.
After a moment’s silence, the Emperor asked, "Then what about the Crown Prince’s drinking case? Prince Gong said he didn’t do it."
Yin Li paused for a moment and said, "Perhaps Your Majesty could ask Prince Guangping."
The Emperor: ...
Prince Guangping was his fourth son, whose fief was in Xiangzhou, and he went to his fiefdom upon reaching adulthood.
After a pause, Yin Li said, "This official has investigated, and a purchasing eunuch who came into contact with the wine before the New Year bought a house in the outskirts of the capital."
The Emperor expressionlessly said, "I know, Gu Zhong said he is a person of Prince Gong."
"Yes, he has always been close to Prince Gong, got the purchasing job because of the head eunuch beside Prince Gong, but I had people investigate the house and found he was from Jiannan. About five years ago, his nephew came to the capital, saying his family perished in floods and fleeing from disaster."
Yin Li and Tang He conducted thorough investigations. Besides Hou Ji, Prince Guangping, and Prince Gong as suspects, they captured everyone else involved.
Recently, the court was very restless, and they were discreet. Otherwise, the matter would have erupted long ago.
Yin Li said, "His nephew received kindness from the Qian Family on his way to the capital. Since the eunuch was from the palace, the Qian Family later paid for a house for him. His nephew was raised in that house. By chance, the daughter-in-law of the Qian Family had a sister serving as a wet nurse in the Prince Guangping Mansion."
This big loop would be impossible to trace if Yin Li hadn’t governed the capital prefecture and Tang He enough patience.
Gu Zhong had previously suspected the Qian Family, but no abnormal reactions appeared, so how could he pay attention to the seemingly timid Qian Family daughter-in-law bowing her head?
This revelation opened one case, making another easier to investigate. Yin Li said, "The one who caused Zhou Man’s carriage to overturn in the busy street, and threw heart, liver, and kidneys to scare her, was also Prince Guangping’s retainer, though he tangentially linked to Prince Gong."
Hence, it was clear why Prince Guangping did this.
If the Crown Prince remained childless, Prince Gong certainly wouldn’t give up the fight for the throne, as the struggle between the brothers would only intensify, leading to unknown outcomes.
But if the Crown Prince were deposed, the Emperor and ministers likely wouldn’t choose Prince Gong.
Prince Gong was too caught up in it, but outsiders like Yin Li and Wei Zhi would strongly oppose him.
Not because they were fond of the Crown Prince, but they didn’t support or like Prince Gong.
And once Prince Gong ascended, the Crown Prince would surely perish, which might cause the Emperor to hesitate.
With hesitation, if not necessarily requiring the eldest son as heir, the chances for the Fourth Prince would be great.
Because the Second Prince was not of good disposition and uninterested in the throne, whereas he had the right age and talents, the Fourth Prince’s prospects for success were significant.
Provided he wasn’t found out.