amaotonovel Chapter 373: Ironclad Evidence, No Excuses
Chapter 373: Ironclad Evidence, No Excuses
The waiting process is very long.
The mansion of the Duke of Zhenguo was personally bestowed by the founding emperor. It has vast land and majestic buildings, and has been passed down for hundreds of years. In terms of specifications, it is no worse than the prince's mansion of the Prince An's Mansion.
Unfortunately, the population of the Zhenguo Mansion is now declining. The current Zhenguo Duke has only one daughter, Princess Pingning. With fewer masters, there are fewer people to serve. Unlike the Prince An Mansion, there are hundreds of servants. Every room has to be carefully checked, which really takes a lot of effort.
Therefore, although Prince An's Mansion was closer to the Imperial Palace, the Imperial Guards who were searching the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion returned first.
The leading imperial guard walked in from outside the hall, holding a stack of letter papers. He knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, these are the letter papers we found in the secret compartment of the Zhenguo Duke's study."
Li Shunquan took it quickly, ready to take it to Xie Rong for inspection. As he passed the guard, he straightened his back and took a look. Seeing the Chen Kingdom characters on it, he exclaimed excitedly, "That's right! That's right! This is it! This is it!"
"Your Majesty, everything your servant said is true! The Duke of Zhenguo has truly colluded with the enemy and committed treason!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the stack of letter papers was delivered to Xie Rong.
Xie Rong took only one glance and flew into a rage, "This is simply outrageous! You've wasted my trust!"
With a wave of his hand, the letter paper flew out of Li Shunquan's hand and fell to the ground.
When the ministers saw this, they were horrified.
The Duke of Zhenguo... The Duke of Zhenguo actually collaborated with the enemy and committed treason!
Shen Qionghua's pupils widened, her lips slightly opened, but her throat seemed to be strangled and she couldn't make a sound.
Fu Chen, who was kneeling at the end of the officials, had a look of shock on his face. He wanted to speak, but was covered by the mouth by the Minister of War who rushed out from among the officials without caring about the improper etiquette in front of the hall.
Luo Xiyao seemed to be unable to believe it. She crawled a few steps on her knees, picking up the letters while shaking her head and saying, "No... Impossible! This is not true! This is not true! My father would never collaborate with the enemy and commit treason!"
Seeing this, Xie Qian'an raised his lips slightly, and said in a kind and persuasive manner, "Princess Pingning, the evidence is here, it's as strong as a mountain, and there is no room for you to quibble. If you still have a conscience, you should confess everything you know after you are put in jail."
"No... Impossible... This is impossible!" Luo Xiyao cried bitterly, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! My father devoted his life to Dai Viet, carrying on the legacy of our ancestors and protecting Dai Viet his whole life. He would never do such a thing. This must be a frame-up!"
"This was found in the secret compartment of the Duke of Zhenguo's study. How dare you complain? Do you think I'm a fool?"
Xie Rong shouted angrily, "Come here, bring Princess Pingning to me..."
"emperor!"
Shen Qionghua shouted urgently, plopped down on the ground, and started to scramble to the ground, "Your Majesty, this letter is written in the language of the Chen Kingdom. Why not find someone who understands the language of the Chen Kingdom to read the contents of the letter and figure out the contents before convicting Princess Pingning. What if there is any misunderstanding?"
Xie Qi'an sneered, "The Princess of Jialin County has always had close relations with the Princess of Pingning. Now, under such circumstances, she dares to plead for the Princess of Pingning. Could it be that the Shen family is also involved in this crime of treason?"
"Speaking of which, the soil and water of Chen State are not as fertile as those of our Great Yue, and the resources are also scarce. Therefore, in the past, Chen State's invasions were often not able to hold out for long before we repelled them. However, this time, they are resisting particularly stubbornly. Could it be that... they have the financial support of the Shen family behind this?"
Shen Qionghua snorted coldly and said, "Your Highness Prince An thinks too highly of me. Donating silver and grain once, he's already squandered most of our Shen family's money. How can we have any money left to support the enemy?"
Then, she looked at Xie Rong and said, "Your Majesty, I am simply thinking that the Pingning County Magistrate is still crying out for justice. There are only two possibilities: one is that she has been kept in the dark, and the other is that she won't cry until she sees the coffin."
"It would be better to clarify the contents of the letter. If it's the former, then she'll understand. If it's the latter, then she won't be able to argue."
"Furthermore, if the Duke of Zhenguo really did collaborate with the enemy and commit treason, this letter might contain some useful information. Perhaps we can learn about the next plan of the State of Chen, and we can act accordingly."
The last sentence touched Xie Rong, and he nodded to Li Shunquan.
Li Shunquan immediately understood and took the letters from Luo Xiyao's hand. He then looked at the officials and asked, "Is there anyone among you who can understand the Chen language?"
"I can! I traveled to various countries when I was young and can understand some of the Chen language." A minister came out.
"I can do it too." said another minister.
Li Shunquan handed the letter to the first minister.
The minister took it and looked at it. At first he seemed quite relaxed, but as he read on, his brows furrowed more and more. After flipping through the letters one by one, his eyes were full of shock.
Xie Rong frowned upon seeing this and asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything wrong?"
The minister said, "Your Majesty, the contents of this letter are extremely inappropriate. Oh, no, it's... it's appropriate."
"Your Majesty, the content of these letters does not seem to be asking the Duke of Zhenguo for information about my country, Da Yue. Instead, it seems...it seems to be providing the Duke of Zhenguo with information about the State of Chen."
"Your Majesty! There may be something hidden behind the Duke's treasonous activities!"
what?
"This is impossible!" Xie Qian exclaimed.
When Xie Rong's gaze swept over, Xie Qi'an realized that his reaction was a bit too much. He quickly restrained his emotions and said, "Master Chen, did you see it wrong? Or are there some words that you can't recognize?"
"After all, so many years have passed. You are in Dai Viet, so it's possible that you no longer recognize some of the characters in the Chen language."
Lord Chen frowned, subconsciously wanting to refute, but his eyes met the emperor's and he paused before saying, "Since Your Highness Prince An doubts my talent, why not let Lord Zhang take a look as well?"
Lord Zhang is the other minister who just stood up and understands the language of the Chen State.
Master Zhang walked over to Master Chen, took the letter and looked at it. The next moment, his expression matched Master Chen's. The two looked at each other, then knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty! There is indeed something hidden in this."
This time, it was Master Zhang who spoke up: "Your Majesty, these letters were probably not written by the generals of the State of Chen. They were most likely written by the informants that the Duke of Zhenguo had placed in the State of Chen!"