Chapter 131: The Plague Appears in Jiangnan

Prince An knelt in the middle of the Golden Luan Hall, with his forehead pressed to the ground.

“The Emperor sent the Shadow Guards to the Wang family residence for the safety of the birthday banquet, but I, for my own selfish purposes, misused them to deal with Ye Chutang. I have committed a crime and ask the Emperor to punish me.”

He was actually trying to shift the blame onto his daughter.

If it weren’t for that fool taking Ye Chutang’s place in the water, none of this would have happened.

But the Shadow Guards couldn’t take orders from Princess Anping, so he had to take the fall himself.

When Prince An confessed, few believed him.

The Shadow Guards were no fools. How could they possibly do his bidding just because he said so?

So, everyone knew that Prince An was taking the blame for the Emperor.

Naturally, no one dared to question it.

Seeing no one challenge him, the Emperor sighed in relief.

He had truly feared that he would be forced to issue a self-blame edict again.

“Prince An, how could you forge the imperial decree and harm an official’s family? Although nothing major occurred, the crime is unforgivable. You are hereby demoted to Earl, with the title of Yongning, and your salary will be cut for three years, without succession. Princess Anping is stripped of her title, and the title of Lady Yongning is also revoked.”

This result was even worse than what Prince An had anticipated, but he dared not refute it.

“The guilty subject receives the decree and thanks His Majesty for his grace.”

“From now on, the property of the Wang family residence is confiscated, and the Earl of Yongning will build a new residence at a different location. You may leave now.”

Prince An… no, now the Earl of Yongning, rose and withdrew.

As soon as he left, Ye Jingchuan stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, my daughter was attacked yesterday. The Ministry of Justice and the Jingzhao House have arrested many suspects, but they have found nothing. I demand an explanation!”

The Emperor had already learned of this incident the previous day and was quite angry.

With a grim expression, he said, “Minister Kang, Minister Zhang, I give you three days. You must find out who is behind this!”

The Minister of Justice and the Magistrate of Jingzhao quickly responded, “We obey Your Majesty’s command.”

Kong Qingyuan, hearing this, felt his heart drop to the bottom of the valley.

He had originally thought that with Prince An taking the blame, the case of Yunying Lake would be dropped.

But now Prince An had been demoted, and the Emperor was demanding a thorough investigation!

He didn’t understand why the Emperor wanted to kill Ye Chutang, yet wouldn’t allow anyone to touch her.

He absolutely couldn’t let the Ministry of Justice and the Jingzhao House find any clues, or the Kong family would be finished!

With this in mind, Kong Qingyuan grew frantic and hastily accused Ye Chutang.

“Your Majesty, I believe Ye Chutang is linked to the ‘Ghost Thief.’ I request that Your Majesty investigate this thoroughly.”

The Emperor gave him a confused look. “Minister Kong, why do you say this?”

“I…” Kong Qingyuan was about to explain that anyone who went after Ye Chutang would be targeted by the ‘Ghost Thief,’ but he realized that would be an automatic confession.

Because if they traced any thefts to the Kong residence, it would be proof that Ye Chutang’s incident at Yunying Lake was orchestrated by him!

Thus, he froze, unable to continue.

The Emperor, seeing that Kong Qingyuan had stopped after only speaking a word, impatiently pressed him.

“Why did you stop, Minister Kong?”

Kong Qingyuan’s back broke into a cold sweat, and he barely managed to come up with a flimsy excuse.

“I simply find it strange that the ‘Ghost Thief’ would save Ye Chutang.”

Prime Minister Qin Zheng, hearing this, sneered.

“So, Minister Kong, are you implying that my son and Prince Chen are also linked to the ‘Ghost Thief’?”

Kong Qingyuan understood that the Emperor wanted to deal with Prince Chen, so he calmly nodded.

“It is as such. It is not unreasonable for me to think so.”

The Emperor turned his eyes to Prince Chen, who had just entered the court after the incident, his gaze filled with pressure.

“Prince Chen, the ‘Ghost Thief’ appeared only after you returned from Nanjang. Do you have anything to say?”

Anyone could tell that the Emperor suspected that the ‘Ghost Thief’ was Prince Chen’s person.

Prince Chen met the Emperor’s gaze without fear.

“I do not know the ‘Ghost Thief,’ nor do I know why he saved me, so I have nothing to say.” As long as there was no solid evidence, the Emperor could not hold him accountable.

As for the suspicion that the ‘Ghost Thief’ was connected to Ye Chutang, there was no need to share that with the Emperor.

Thinking this, he calmly said to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, since Minister Kong suspects that the ‘Ghost Thief’ is related to me, Miss Ye, and Young Master Qin, he should investigate further and clear our names.”

The Emperor had already investigated this and found nothing.

He thought that having one more person investigate wouldn’t hurt, so he nodded in agreement.

“Prince Chen is right. To avoid anyone always claiming that the ‘Ghost Thief’ saved someone, it should indeed be investigated thoroughly.”

“Your Majesty is wise. Minister Kong is the Minister of Justice, and he is best at handling cases. Three days should be enough.”

Kong Qingyuan was about to refute, but Prince Chen intervened again.

“Minister Kong should not think that I am giving you too little time. I can’t keep bearing your suspicions if you keep failing to find the truth.”

Ye Jingchuan also didn’t want Ye Chutang to be tied to the ‘Ghost Thief.’

He quickly agreed, “What the Prince says is absolutely right!”

Prime Minister Qin Zheng, who had been in the officialdom for decades, immediately understood the underlying message in Prince Chen’s words.

He hurriedly spoke, “No matter what the truth is, the longer the investigation takes, the worse it will be for the reputations of the three victims. Since Minister Kong dares to accuse Prince Chen, he must have evidence. Three days should be more than enough.”

The Emperor also thought that Kong Qingyuan couldn’t have made an unfounded accusation about the ‘Ghost Thief.’

He decisively said, “Minister Kong, after three days, I want a result.”

Kong Qingyuan was forced to comply.

“I obey the decree!”

After Kong Qingyuan accepted the decree, Prime Minister Qin Zheng spoke again.

“Minister Kong, if the investigation shows that the ‘Ghost Thief’ is not connected to Prince Chen and the others, what will you do?”

Kong Qingyuan immediately understood the deeper meaning of the question and felt a sinking sensation in his heart.

He forced a smile and said, “If the suspicions against the Prince and the others are cleared, then that would be a good outcome for everyone.”

Suddenly, Prime Minister Qin Zheng knelt in front of the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, even if the investigation proves that Minister Kong’s accusations were a misunderstanding, I would still not be happy!”

The Emperor immediately understood what Prime Minister Qin was about to do.

Sure enough, Qin Zheng followed up with, “Your Majesty, although my son is unruly and insignificant, he should not be slandered for no reason, especially not when he has helped recover the Southern Border and written the remedy for the plague.”

Prince Chen nodded in agreement.

“Prime Minister Qin is right. If Minister Kong finds nothing, then he has slandered me, undermining the royal authority. He must be severely punished, or else others will dare to trouble me in the future!”

Kong Qingyuan had never expected that one evasive remark would land him in such a passive position.

He couldn’t come up with a rebuttal and could only grit his teeth and agree.

“If my suspicions turn out to be wrong, I am willing to be demoted two ranks.”

Being demoted was no big deal; with some effort, he could climb back up in a few years.

Prince Chen shook his head.

“Not enough. You must also apologize in the streets.”

“Your Highness…”

Prince Chen interrupted Kong Qingyuan, whose face showed anger.

“Minister Kong dared to slap me in front of the Imperial Court, so I will make you lose face in front of the world. This is only fair!”

The Emperor wasn’t interested in hearing their back-and-forth verbal sparring, so he agreed to Prince Chen’s request.

“Do as Prince Chen said.”

Kong Qingyuan dared not say anything else and respectfully replied, “I obey the command.”

The officials thought the court was about to adjourn, but the Emperor suddenly asked Prince Chen.

“Prince Chen, if Minister Kong finds that you are connected to the ‘Ghost Thief,’ what will you do?”

“I am at Your Majesty’s disposal.”

Upon hearing this, the Emperor’s eyes flickered with calculation.

He glanced at the eunuch beside him.

The eunuch sharply called out, “If there is nothing else to report, the court is dismissed!”

Prince Chen, recalling the secret letter he received from Xize the night before, said, “Your Majesty, a plague has broken out in Jiangnan.”