Before the house was raided, the maidservant of the Prime Minister's residence absconded with t

"Father, your son..."

Xie Jingxing hadn't expected the emperor to see through his thoughts so clearly, and for a moment he was speechless!

"Shut up!" the emperor interrupted him. "I don't want to hear your nonsense!"

Third brother, when did you become so stupid?

How could I have given birth to such a stupid son as you?

Now that the Crown Prince is the King of the North, he poses no threat to you anymore. Can't you be a little more tolerant?

The most important thing right now is what that little girl Liu Tao'er has, do you understand?

If it weren't for the fact that the fewer people who know about this, the better, he would definitely have replaced this idiot!

Xie Jingxing opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

The emperor looked down at him, his eyes filled with disappointment.

"Father, I have been utterly foolish. Please punish me..."

"snort!

That self-righteous bastard!

You heard everything Jiang Zhen said.

The crown prince was assassinated, Wang Meng died, and the crown prince was poisoned and is now missing.

Don't think I don't know what you're thinking when you hear all this!

Xie Jingxing dared not answer.

Are you thinking that Jiang Zhen has no evidence and can't identify you?

Are you thinking that even if the crown prince dies, the investigation won't trace it back to you?

You didn't expect Jiang Zhen to not only return to the capital to file a complaint, but also bring evidence, did you?"

Xie Jingxing's body trembled slightly, and he became more and more alarmed as he listened.

He cursed inwardly: Those idiots, how could they leave any evidence against them!

"Are you still thinking that once the Crown Prince dies, you'll have no powerful rivals, and this position will be yours sooner or later?"

The emperor bent down and looked at his son who was lying on the ground.

"Third son, let me tell you, the Northern King is my son, and you are also my son."

I can tolerate your disputes, I can tolerate your fighting, I can even tolerate your internal strife, but what I cannot tolerate is your utter lack of principles…”

Xie Jingxing suddenly raised his head: "Father, I didn't...

This time, it was really because he was provoked...

"Third Prince, I thought you would take the initiative to admit it and confess, but what happened!"

You lie all the time and don't even have the courage to admit your mistakes!

You have utterly disappointed me!

You won't admit it unless I present the evidence to you.

You don't just know you're wrong; you have no way to escape.

The emperor's eyes suddenly sharpened, and he spoke each word clearly.

Xie Jingxing's face turned deathly pale instantly.

The emperor straightened up, walked back to his desk, and sat down again.

"I know that you have always been resentful and jealous of your eldest brother."

You think I'm biased, that I only love the Crown Prince and not you.

But have you ever considered why I love him so much?

The emperor's voice was much softer than before, but it carried a hint of weariness as he rubbed his temples.

Xie Jingxing lay prostrate on the ground, without uttering a word.

"Because he was the eldest son, and because he knew from a young age what it meant to be the eldest brother."

He's always been very tolerant of you brothers; you could say he's done a great job in every way!

The emperor's voice echoed in the empty hall.

"And you? All you know is to fight, to snatch, and to use the cruelest methods to deal with your own brothers."

The hall fell silent.

Xie Jingxing knelt there, his back soaked in cold sweat.

After a long silence, the emperor spoke:

"By imperial decree, Prince Cheng, Xie Jingxing, has made a mistake in leading troops to suppress bandits, resulting in heavy losses. He is hereby confined to his residence for one month to reflect on his mistakes!"

No one may leave without my decree; no one may visit without my permission!

Xie Jingxing suddenly looked up: "Father!"

After announcing the imperial decree, the emperor walked over to Prince Cheng and handed him a slip of paper.

Xie Jingxing looked at the emperor in surprise, only to see the emperor wave his hand and say, "Third brother, go down!"

"I'm tired..."

Xie Jingxing bowed and expressed his gratitude, saying, "Your subject takes his leave now, Father, please take care of your health!"

"King Cheng, please!"

"This servant will escort you out..."

Li Defu bowed and said.

"Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Li..."

Xie Jingxing returned to the side hall of the East Palace and immediately sent Eunuch Zhao to summon Liu Wei.

He then opened the note his father had given him, and immediately broke into a big smile, saying: "As expected, the old fox is the wisest!"

Before long, Liu Wei strode into the side hall of the East Palace.

The first thing he asked was, "Your Highness, Eunuch Zhao told me that His Majesty summoned you. Has the matter concerning the Crown Prince been discovered?"

Your subordinate heard that His Majesty has also placed you under house arrest.

"Liu Wei, you guessed right, Father already knows about our assassination attempt on the Crown Prince."

Jiang Zhen did not die. Not only did he survive, he also presented the evidence to his father, the Emperor.

My father did indeed reprimand me and confine me to my quarters for a month.

Xie Jingxing readily admitted it.

Liu Wei observed the prince's expression and wondered why the prince didn't seem unhappy about being punished today, which was quite strange.

In the past, at this time, the master would fly into a rage, his anger reaching its peak, and take it out on his subordinates.

"Your Highness, His Majesty punished you, how come you aren't angry at all?"

Liu Wei asked curiously.

"What's there to be angry about? I sent an assassin to kill the Crown Prince. Although I was scolded by my father, I didn't lose anything. It was just a few mild reprimands."

He didn't make this matter public either, and the only reason I was punished was for failing to suppress the bandits, which shows that he didn't really care about the Crown Prince's life or death.

However, he still had to put on a show, so he had to punish me; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to explain it to the Crown Prince, and that wouldn't be right.

Xie Jingxing was indeed terrified in the Hall of Peace, but he did not expect that his father would only take it up high and put it down lightly.

He wasn't worried at all anymore.

"What about the Crown Prince? Should we...?"

Liu Wei then asked.

"No need, he's not the most important person, and he's just a stray dog ​​now, nothing to fear. We'll deal with him slowly when we have the chance later."

Moreover, he is poisoned, and whether he will survive or be found is another matter entirely.

Furthermore, with the Emperor assigning Jiang Zhen several more experts, we were completely unable to get involved.

We have more important things to do now.

Liu Wei nodded in agreement. "Your Highness, shall we then focus our attention on Liu Tao'er and that young master?"

Do you have a better plan?

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been in such a hurry to summon him.

"Okay, pack your things. You don't need to bring too many people, just two attendants. We'll set off tonight."

Go and thoroughly investigate the Xiao family and all of Old Madam Xiao's relatives; do not overlook any.

That old man must have left a way out for Liu Tao'er and the others.

Xie Jingxing made the arrangements.

Liu Wei asked in confusion, "Your Highness, do you mean you want to go out of the palace to find them yourself?"

But didn't His Majesty issue an order for you to stay at home and reflect on your actions for a month?

If His Majesty finds out, wouldn't you be deceiving the emperor?

"Otherwise, I'll send someone to look for someone. You can stay in the palace and recover."

Liu Wei kindly offered his advice.

"This is the Emperor's decree. You'll understand once you see this."

King Cheng threw the note to Liu Wei.

Liu Wei understood immediately upon seeing it.

"So that's what Your Majesty is thinking... I understand!"

"Understood, then hurry up and get on with the task!"

King Cheng waved his hand and added, "Remember, the carriage you find must be lined with thick animal hide blankets..."

Liu Wei cupped his hands in farewell, "Your subordinate understands, your subordinate takes his leave..."

At midnight, a fine carriage drove out of the city gate, heading straight for the Chen family in Yunnan.