Phoenix Cries Return to Court

Suddenly, everything fell silent. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Shen Jueyan rushing over in a tight-fitting outfit.

He looked at Fu Chen, who was lying on the ground at a loss, and nodded to him, as if to comfort him.

Then, he quickly walked to Fu Yanzhi's horse, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Fu Yanzhi nodded, his tone still icy. "Young Grand Secretary, you've come at the right time. You must be aware of today's events. The Crown Prince is suspected of plotting against the Third Prince and... me. You claim it wasn't him, but do you have any evidence?"

Shen Jueyan remained calm and composed, saying neither servile nor arrogant, "Your Majesty, I dare to guarantee with my life that His Highness the Crown Prince had no intention of harming the Third Prince. Today's events must have been framed by someone."

As he spoke, he looked at Fu Chen beside him, "Your Highness, may I borrow your quiver?"

Fu Chen nodded, hurriedly took out his quiver, and handed it to Shen Jueyan.

Shen Jueyan took it, his eyes sweeping over Mo Bai behind him. Mo Bai understood and brought out a water jug.

Shen Jueyan looked at Wang, the chief eunuch beside Fu Yanzhi, and said, "Eunuch Wang, would you please fetch some water?"

Eunuch Wang respectfully agreed and hurriedly left.

After making the arrangements, Shen Jueyan took an arrow out of his quiver, raised it high, faced the officials, and said loudly, "My lords, please look. The arrow used by His Highness the Crown Prince is specially made. Moreover, the pattern of the white eagle feathers on the arrow is consistent. They are all arranged in a pattern of two wide and one narrow. Furthermore, these white eagle feathers are coated with anthocyanin powder, which will turn purple when they come into contact with water."

After saying that, Shen Jueyan took the water jug ​​from the returning eunuch Wang and poured water on the arrow fletching, which immediately turned purple.

Then, he pointed to the arrow behind the Third Prince and said loudly, "The white eagle feathers on that arrow have a different forked pattern than those of the Crown Prince's, and it certainly won't change color when it gets wet."

As he spoke, he walked towards Shen Jie, bowing respectfully, "Third Prince, please forgive me."

After saying that, he gently splashed some water on the arrow feathers, and the feathers remained as white as jade, without changing color.

The officials all stepped forward to examine them, and indeed, as Shen Jueyan had said, the two arrows looked identical at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they were quite different.

The court officials, who had been indignant just moments before, all deflated, and upon seeing this, murmurs of discussion arose again.

Fu Chen looked at Shen Jueyan as if he had grasped a lifeline. He said in a trembling voice, "Young Grand Secretary is right! This wasn't my arrow! It really wasn't my arrow! Someone framed me!"

Fu Yanzhi's expression remained somber. He stared at Shen Jueyan, his eyes scrutinizing her: "How do you know the details of the Crown Prince's arrow? And how can you be certain that the arrow that struck Fu Jie wasn't deliberately switched by the Crown Prince?"

Shen Jueyan had anticipated Fu Yanzhi's question and calmly replied, "Your Majesty, half a month ago, I was invited by His Highness the Crown Prince to his residence to teach him archery. Coincidentally, this batch of bows and arrows ordered by His Highness the Crown Prince arrived at his residence. Knowing that I am quite knowledgeable about bows and arrows, His Highness invited me to go and examine them together. At that time, I carefully examined these arrows and was extremely impressed by the hidden patterns on the shafts and the material of the fletchings. I would never be mistaken."

He paused, then added, "Moreover, His Highness the Crown Prince is always cautious, and all his belongings are guarded by special personnel. His bow and arrows are kept close to his body. It would be no easy task to secretly replace his arrows."

Fu Yanzhi remained silent, the anger in his eyes seeming to have subsided somewhat. His gaze lingered on the two arrows, unable to make any judgment for the moment. Deep down, he believed Fu Chen was innocent, but royal families have always been ruthless, and one must be cautious at the pinnacle of power.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps approached, and Zhang Xingyun, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, along with several imperial physicians, rushed to Fu Yanzhi's horse and bowed respectfully.

"Don't stand on ceremony, quickly take a look at the Third Prince," Fu Yanzhi ordered in a deep voice.

Zhang Xingyun quickly walked to Fu Jie's side, carefully examined the wound on his shoulder, and then carefully inspected the arrow that had shot him. He then stood up, bowed, and reported to Fu Yanzhi, "Your Majesty, I have carefully examined the Third Prince's wound. Although the wound is deep, as long as he takes good care of it in the future, there will be no major problems."

He paused, then said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I have already heard about this matter when I came here earlier. Forgive my bluntness, but I believe that His Highness the Crown Prince is innocent."

"Oh?" Fu Yanzhi raised an eyebrow, and asked urgently, "Judge Zhang, what do you mean by that?"

Zhang Xingyun slowly explained, "Your Majesty, the Third Prince's arrow wound on his shoulder is extremely deep, with the arrowhead almost piercing through his shoulder. Such a deep wound could not possibly have been caused by a short-range shot. Just now, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince were only a few feet apart. Even if the Crown Prince had shot an arrow, it would have been impossible for him to have such a deep wound."

These words caused an uproar among the officials. Those courtiers who had just been stirring up trouble now turned red in the face and dared not utter another word.

Fu Chen finally relaxed, tears welling up in his eyes, but he held them back. If it weren't for the testimonies of Shen Jueyan and Zhang Xingyun, he would have been unable to defend himself and would have been doomed.

Just then, a guard in black rushed over, bowed, and whispered a few words in Shen Jueyan's ear.

Shen Jueyan's expression changed slightly. He suppressed his unease and raised his hand to dismiss the person who had come.

Then he quickly stepped forward, walked up to Fu Yanzhi, leaned down slightly, and whispered to Fu Yanzhi for a while.

Everyone held their breath and stared silently at the two of them. They saw Fu Yanzhi's expression gradually relax, and a look of relief flashed in his eyes.

A moment later, after Shen Jueyan stepped aside, Fu Yanzhi dismounted, walked to Fu Chen, reached out and personally helped Fu Chen up, patted his shoulder, and said softly, "Chen'er, your father has wronged you. Today's events were a misunderstanding. Someone was secretly plotting against you."

Upon hearing this, Fu Chen could no longer hold back his tears, which instantly streamed down his face. He choked out, "Father, I knew you would believe me. I truly did not harm my third brother..."

"Alright, stop crying." Fu Yanzhi patted his back gently. "This is not your fault. Father will investigate the matter thoroughly, clear your name, and give Fu Jie justice."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone present before turning to Shen Jueyan. He nodded and said loudly, "Issue my decree: order the Embroidered Uniform Guard to immediately mobilize and pursue the escaped assassin with all their might. They must be brought to justice, interrogated rigorously, and the mastermind behind them identified. There will be no leniency!"

"Your subject obeys the decree!" Shen Jueyan stepped forward, bowed, and accepted the decree. He then raised his hand to signal Mo Bai, who understood and immediately led a group of people away in haste.

Then, Fu Yanzhi's gaze fell once again on Li Zhong, the commander of the guards standing to the side...