NFBE Chapter 190 Lifelong Imprisonment
Chapter 190 Lifelong Imprisonment
After Su Mu led the Imperial Guards into the West Courtyard, the guards quickly discovered the entrance to the secret chamber.
The switch for the secret room is located behind a painting or calligraphy scroll inside the room. Pressing the switch reveals a dark, gaping hole.
The secret passage extended downwards, completely dark.
Fengzhu closed her eyes in despair.
The secret room has been exposed, and everything is beyond repair.
Su Mu raised his hand and ordered, "Go in and search carefully. Don't destroy the evidence, and don't wrong Prince Xuan."
"Yes!"
Su Mu and the Imperial Guards entered the secret chamber one after another, and the scene inside shocked everyone!
The secret room was large, with dozens of wooden crates, each about half a person's height, piled up on one side, and a row of display shelves on the other. On the display shelves were many small crates, each about the size of a palm.
Su Mu approached and opened the boxes one by one, his expression suddenly changing.
The box contained mostly secret letters exchanged between Prince Xuan and other countries. Some of the contents were innocuous, while others concerned court politics and should not have been found.
Su Mu looked through them one by one, then glanced at other places.
In a corner of the secret room were some weapons. These weapons were exquisitely crafted but extremely insidious. Some of the arrowheads were an eerie blue, clearly coated with deadly poison.
There are also many special mechanisms and hidden weapons, which are ingeniously designed and extremely lethal.
Possessing weapons is a serious crime in Dazhao.
Su Mu and his men inspected each box one by one, pausing as they passed a particular box.
He stopped, bent down and opened the box. When he saw what was inside, his pupils contracted sharply.
……
Half an hour later, Su Mu and the Imperial Guards carried back to the palace the items they had found in the secret room of Prince Xuan's mansion.
Xu Haifu bowed and strode into the imperial study, reporting, "Your Majesty, Lord Su has returned."
Upon hearing this, the princes and ministers who had been waiting in the imperial study, who were somewhat drowsy, suddenly perked up.
Prince Xuan remained tense and restless throughout.
Upon hearing this, his gaze suddenly fell to the door, as if he wished he could penetrate the door in front of him.
He left Fengzhu at the mansion and instructed him to consult with the mansion's advisors if anything happened. He thought that Su Mu should not be able to discover the things in the secret room.
If all those things are found...
Prince Xuan's lips trembled, and he dared not think any further.
Emperor Wenjing sat up slightly, glanced at the panicked Prince Xuan, and said in a deep voice, "Summon him."
Su Mu strode in, bowed, and said directly, "Your Majesty, I have discovered a secret room in the Prince Xuan's residence, and found many things inside."
Upon hearing this, Prince Xuan nearly collapsed to the ground with weak legs.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Wenjing's eyes turned cold.
"go on."
"In the secret chamber of Prince Xuan's residence, I found letters exchanged between His Highness Prince Xuan and other countries, a large amount of gold and silver treasures, weapons and blueprints for forging weapons, poisons to control the secret guards, and..."
Su Mu seemed to think of something and paused.
Seeing his hesitant expression, Emperor Wenjing asked with displeasure, "What else?"
Su Mu lowered his head, his voice lower than before, "I also found an unfinished dragon robe in the secret room."
Upon hearing this, everyone except Prince Xuan looked on in astonishment.
A dragon robe? Li Yao actually kept a dragon robe in his mansion?
What is he planning to do? Rebellion?!
Emperor Wenjing was furious upon hearing this, "Li Yao, what do you want to do?! I'm not dead yet!"
Prince Xuan knelt down with a thud. "Father, please hear my explanation! I embroidered that dragon robe myself, intending to present it to you as a birthday gift! I have absolutely no intention of treason. I beg you to investigate!"
The dragon robe hidden in the secret room was indeed a birthday gift that Prince Xuan wanted to give to Emperor Wenjing. Even if he coveted that position, he wouldn't dare to do such a thing so openly.
However, it was really inappropriate for this dragon robe to be brought out at this time.
The Prince of Xiang said sarcastically, "Birthday gifts? Fifth brother, do you think we're all three-year-old children? You hid these things in a secret room—letters, weapons, poison—every single one of them is evidence of treason!"
"Shut up!" Prince Xuan roared angrily without turning his head.
King Xiang retorted, "You dare to do this but you don't dare let anyone say it?"
Emperor Wenjing looked at the two men locked in a fierce confrontation, his eyes darkening.
Sensing Emperor Wenjing's displeasure, Prince Xuan and Prince Xiang both fell silent.
Prince Xuan crawled a few steps toward Emperor Wenjing, kowtowing repeatedly, "Father, I am utterly loyal to you. Those letters were just normal correspondence!"
The King of Xiang scoffed, "You are a prince of the Great Zhao Dynasty. What is it that you absolutely must say and need to communicate with people from other countries?"
"Don't tell me you're plotting to betray your country and collude with the enemy."
This time, Prince Xuan only turned his head and glared fiercely at Prince Xiang before looking at Emperor Wenjing with a pleading expression.
"Father, I have indeed done many wrong things, but I have absolutely no intention of rebelling!"
Emperor Wenjing's face was gloomy, and his eyes swept over Prince Xuan like knives. "What exactly is the content of the letter? Su Mu, present it to me."
Su Mu respectfully responded and handed the neatly arranged letter to Xu Haifu.
Xu Haifu held it up and presented it to Emperor Wenjing.
Emperor Wenjing quickly glanced through the letters, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. "Although these letters do not explicitly contain any word of treason, they involve state secrets. How do you explain this?"
Prince Xuan's forehead was covered in cold sweat. "Father, I... I only wanted to know more about the situation so that I could better share your burdens. I had no intention of leaking anything."
"What a fine way to share my burdens!" Emperor Wenjing laughed angrily.
He slammed his hand on the table.
The shock made the teacups on the table shake.
"How do you explain the weapons and poisons filling your secret room?!"
“Father, those weapons were acquired by chance. I intended to hand them over to the court, but due to negligence, they have been left in a secret room. As for the poison…”
Prince Xuan explained hastily, his eyes filled with fear.
"poison……"
"No need to say anything more," Emperor Wenjing interrupted him directly.
He rose from the dragon throne, his gaze cold and indifferent. "Issue my decree: Prince Xuan harbors ill intentions and acts improperly. Effective immediately, his title is revoked, and he is to be confined to his residence. Without my decree, he is not to step out of the residence even a single step!"
Prince Xuan's pupils contracted. "Father, I know I was wrong—"
However, Emperor Wenjing had already strode away from the imperial study, showing no intention of stopping.
Prince Xuan was struck dumb and collapsed to the ground.
The other princes had different expressions; some were secretly pleased, while others remained expressionless, each with their own thoughts.
The cheating case ended with Prince Xuan being imprisoned.
After Prince Chen left the palace, he sent someone to invite Yun Shang to his residence.
He ordered his servants to bring out the finest tea in the mansion—Sparrow Tongue.
This tea is produced on the mountaintop shrouded in clouds and mist. The tea trees are nourished by the clouds and mist all year round, and the buds are tender and plump, resembling sparrow tongues.
A servant brought out the tea. In the exquisite teacup, the tea leaves stood upright, slowly unfurling as the hot water was poured in.
Yun Shang picked up his teacup, glanced at it, and immediately understood. He took a sip and asked, "Your Highness, how did the Emperor deal with Prince Xuan?"
"Abolish his title, confine him to the royal palace, and he shall never be released without a special pardon."
After he finished speaking, he frowned. "Since Father has already convicted Prince Xuan, I'm afraid we won't be able to use this matter against Prince Qi."
Yun Shang put down his teacup, his expression indifferent, but a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "Has Your Highness forgotten? The most important incriminating evidence we found on those assassins is still in our hands."