Why Not Mention Him? (Part One)
The cabinet’s final decision was to have the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Court of Justice jointly try this important case.
Because the second prince was His Majesty’s son born by the empress, and with a member of the imperial family joining the joint trial, Gu HuaiJiang, as a loyal and high-ranking subject, would be supervising the case.
For the sake of avoiding suspicion, Gu HuaiJiang handed this matter to Gu ShuBai to supervise. This was enough to quell everyone’s complaints.
As for Gu ShuBai, the first thing that he had to do was to personally visit the second prince.
“The second prince is being held in the imperial family’s prison. The Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Court of Justice started their joint trial, they have conducted many interrogations. All of the statements are here. Eldest brother, why do you still want to go and see him yourself?”
A large pile of statements was stacked on the desk. Under heavy scrutiny, who knew how many times the second prince had been interrogated. Each pile of testimony was half as tall as Yu Fu.
While Gu ShuBai was reading through the testimonies, she sat next to him and read along too and had nearly memorized what the second prince had said.
In truth, the entirety of the testimony boiled down to one thing. He said that his arrow had clearly been shot at the wild boar, but, for some reason that he did not understand, the arrow struck His Majesty and took his life. Even after he had been put in prison, he was still in a state of confusion.
None of this helped the investigation, and the second prince might know even less than they did.
Gu ShuBai, however, disagreed, “The second prince is the person at the center of this case. Though he cannot be considered smart, he has not been stupid when fighting with the eldest prince over the years, right? Think about it. He has been framed for killing his father and ruler. Would he really have no understanding of his current situation?”
He casually picked up a testimony and said with a smile: “It’s possible that the second prince knows that among the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Court of Justice, and the imperial family are people from the eldest prince’s faction, thus he does not dare to tell them about certain things.”
“Then among these people, who is part of the eldest prince’s faction?”
Yu Fu was a girl and could not attend court. She also could not recognize the court officials. More importantly, the situation in court had changed with His Majesty’s sudden passing. Most of the ones who had been firm in their choice of faction had now changed factions.
More than half of the officials supported the eldest prince in some way, believing that he was the one most likely to become the new ruler, thus they started currying favor with him early.
Who among the group now supported the eldest prince was something that not even Gu ShuBai could tell.
He shook his head, “It’s not like they’ll have the words ‘member of the eldest prince’s faction’ stamped on their head. It’s natural that we wouldn’t know. The second prince is the person at the middle of the situation, so he should know a little. That’s why it’s best if we go and ask him. The members of Marquis Gu’s Manor have always remained neutral. For this investigation into His Majesty’s trial, we must thank father for his support. The second prince might not trust others, but he will definitely trust us.”
Yu Fu said: “Then I’ll go with eldest brother. Although I didn’t really like the second prince, we are siblings in name. He seems to like me quite a bit, even giving me quite a few gifts. If I go with you, he might be more willing to speak.”
Gu ShuBai: “…”
It seemed that Yu Fu could never understand if others liked her in the way that an older brother liked a younger sister or in the way that a man liked a woman.
If not for Yin Shuo confessing to her on the day of his wedding, she might still be ignorant to the fact that he liked her.
Forget it.
Gu ShuBai did not say anything. The two arrived outside the prison at imperial family’s manor, and the guards, who had been informed about this by the cabinet, immediately opened the gates to let them in.
The prison in the imperial family’s manor was different from others because those that were locked up inside it were members of the imperial family and their relatives. Even the prison cells were kept clean. The second prince’s cell was just like a normal person’s room.
The only thing that revealed that it was a heavily guarded room was the presence of a heavy iron door.
There was a tab that could be pulled open on the upper half of the iron door. Normally, it was used by the jailers to deliver food. Gu ShuBai looked through and saw the second prince sitting on the bed in a daze.
The location of this tab was too high, and Yu Fu could not look inside. In the end, he had Yu Fu just open the door.
The second prince finally reacted, looking toward the door. Seeing Gu ShuBai and Yu Fu, his eyes lit up.
Gu ShuBai looked at the guard behind him, “You can leave for now. I have something to ask the second prince.”
“Yes, eldest young sir, princess, please give the order if you need anything. This lowly one will wait at the end of the hall.”
The guard bowed then retreated, and the second prince got up from the bed. Straightening out his clothes and hair, he tried to make himself look a little more presentable.
Yu Fu looked at him. He was still wearing the clothes that a prince would wear. It was beautifully embroidered, but there seemed to be a layer of dust that had accumulated on it from his time in this cell, and it would never shine again.
The prince born of the empress was previously full of mettle. Now, he had shaggy facial hair, and he had become much thinner. His cheekbones were now very noticeable.
Yu Fu suddenly remembered what Gu ShuBai had said. He said that Princess DanYang’s life in the prime minister’s manor was also quite bad. Not only was she thin and pale, but she had also been slapped by Yin Shuo in court.
As a princess of the imperial family, not to mention Princess DanYang’s usual temperament, even the officials who were still loyal to His Majesty could not bear to watch it.
She understood now that the siblings shared a fate.
With Emperor Ning’s death, they also fell from the heavens straight into the depths of hell. They were suffering even worse than normal civilians.
“ShuBai, Yu Fu, why have you two come? I didn’t kill father Emperor. I really didn’t kill father and ruler! Do you trust me?”
“If we didn’t believe you, why would we bother reviewing this case?”
Gu ShuBai saw the table and chairs to the side and motioned to him, “Your Highness, please sit. Let’s take our time and speak. We specifically came here today to hear Your Highness’ grievances.”
The second prince was a little shocked but smiled and nodded, “It’s no wonder the investigators have started being a little more polite to me in the past few days. I seemed to hear them say that uncle Gu has returned. Right now, aside from uncle Gu, who else would want to investigate the truth behind father Emperor’s passing? They’re just praising Ning YiZhao, thinking that by doing this, they would become subjects who have made important contributions!”
Gu ShuBai and Yu Fu also sat down. Yu Fu saw that the cell was rather tidy, but the blanket on the bed was thin, and there was no brazier, thus she said: “Head general was ordered by the cabinet to supervise this case, and he handed this case to eldest brother. The trial will not be a sham. They will definitely provide justice for His Majesty and second prince. Before we came out, head general had us bring some blankets and thick clothes. When I came in, I gave them to the guard to inspect. They will bring them to you later.”
Gu ShuBai glanced at her.
Gu HuaiJiang would not have considered such details. It was clearly a piece of Yu Fu’s kindness, yet she attributed it to Gu HuaiJiang in hopes that the second prince would think well of him.
It was no wonder people often said that the daughter was the one who cared most for their father. In the days since returning to the capital, Yu Fu’s actions have left him feeling inferior.
Sure enough, the second prince was also very moved, “I knew it, I knew it! In court, uncle Gu is the one who is most loyal to father Emperor. Aside from uncle Gu, nobody could stand up to speak up for justice! Uncle Gu even thought of bringing me blankets. My own little sister and brother-in-law haven’t even come to see me once… Please ask whatever you have to ask. I will tell you anything!”
The second prince truly was pitiful. If he knew about his younger sister’s current situation, he would not have blamed Princess DanYang for not coming to see him.
Princess DanYang needed Gu ShuBai’s help to even go into the palace. It was the as being confined to the prime minister’s manor. How could she have any chance to come and visit him here?
As for his brother-in-law… was it not Yin Shuo and the eldest prince who sent him to prison?
Gu ShuBai did not tell him about this. He just nodded, and Yu Fu brought out a brush and paper to keep a record and ensure that they did not miss any of the key information that the second prince provided.
“Second prince, please go ahead. Where did the lotus flower arrow in your quiver come from.”
“What lotus flower arrow?”
The second prince did not understand what was being talked about, “All of the arrows in my quiver were prepared by the servants. Were they different from the arrows used by the others at the hunting ground?”
Gu ShuBai furrowed his brow and exchanged a look with Yu Fu.
It seemed that the eldest prince and Yin Shuo had prepared this beforehand. As soon as His Majesty passed, the second prince was arrested. This led to the second prince being completely clueless to what was happening outside.
Gu ShuBai said: “Does second prince know that after your arrow hit His Majesty in the chest, His Majesty passed away before even reaching the camp at the bottom of the mountain? Because the arrow that you shot was a lotus flower arrow, the arrowhead contained a unique mechanism that completely destroyed His Majesty’s heart. This is the component that is left behind after the arrow is shot. Your Highness, please take a look.”
He handed the ring that Kun YuYang had given him to the second prince. The second prince received it and carefully examined it, finding it a little familiar, “This seems to be my arrow, but it wasn’t any lotus flower arrow. It was an arrow that improved accuracy. Yin Shuo said that he wanted me to stand out and introduced me to an expert from jianghu. That person from jianghu said that using this sort of arrow would allow me to improve my accuracy. After trying it out, I found that it was indeed true, but he did not say that the arrow could completely destroy someone’s heart!”
Gu ShuBai picked up on the key point of what he said, “What is the name of this expert from jianghu? Where is he now? Why did second prince’s testimony not mention this person from jianghu?”
Why Not Mention Him? (Part One)
The cabinet’s final decision was to have the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Court of Justice jointly try this important case.
Because the second prince was His Majesty’s son born by the empress, and with a member of the imperial family joining the joint trial, Gu HuaiJiang, as a loyal and high-ranking subject, would be supervising the case.
For the sake of avoiding suspicion, Gu HuaiJiang handed this matter to Gu ShuBai to supervise. This was enough to quell everyone’s complaints.
As for Gu ShuBai, the first thing that he had to do was to personally visit the second prince.
“The second prince is being held in the imperial family’s prison. The Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Court of Justice started their joint trial, they have conducted many interrogations. All of the statements are here. Eldest brother, why do you still want to go and see him yourself?”
A large pile of statements was stacked on the desk. Under heavy scrutiny, who knew how many times the second prince had been interrogated. Each pile of testimony was half as tall as Yu Fu.
While Gu ShuBai was reading through the testimonies, she sat next to him and read along too and had nearly memorized what the second prince had said.
In truth, the entirety of the testimony boiled down to one thing. He said that his arrow had clearly been shot at the wild boar, but, for some reason that he did not understand, the arrow struck His Majesty and took his life. Even after he had been put in prison, he was still in a state of confusion.
None of this helped the investigation, and the second prince might know even less than they did.
Gu ShuBai, however, disagreed, “The second prince is the person at the center of this case. Though he cannot be considered smart, he has not been stupid when fighting with the eldest prince over the years, right? Think about it. He has been framed for killing his father and ruler. Would he really have no understanding of his current situation?”
He casually picked up a testimony and said with a smile: “It’s possible that the second prince knows that among the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Court of Justice, and the imperial family are people from the eldest prince’s faction, thus he does not dare to tell them about certain things.”
“Then among these people, who is part of the eldest prince’s faction?”
Yu Fu was a girl and could not attend court. She also could not recognize the court officials. More importantly, the situation in court had changed with His Majesty’s sudden passing. Most of the ones who had been firm in their choice of faction had now changed factions.
More than half of the officials supported the eldest prince in some way, believing that he was the one most likely to become the new ruler, thus they started currying favor with him early.
Who among the group now supported the eldest prince was something that not even Gu ShuBai could tell.
He shook his head, “It’s not like they’ll have the words ‘member of the eldest prince’s faction’ stamped on their head. It’s natural that we wouldn’t know. The second prince is the person at the middle of the situation, so he should know a little. That’s why it’s best if we go and ask him. The members of Marquis Gu’s Manor have always remained neutral. For this investigation into His Majesty’s trial, we must thank father for his support. The second prince might not trust others, but he will definitely trust us.”
Yu Fu said: “Then I’ll go with eldest brother. Although I didn’t really like the second prince, we are siblings in name. He seems to like me quite a bit, even giving me quite a few gifts. If I go with you, he might be more willing to speak.”
Gu ShuBai: “…”
It seemed that Yu Fu could never understand if others liked her in the way that an older brother liked a younger sister or in the way that a man liked a woman.
If not for Yin Shuo confessing to her on the day of his wedding, she might still be ignorant to the fact that he liked her.
Forget it.
Gu ShuBai did not say anything. The two arrived outside the prison at imperial family’s manor, and the guards, who had been informed about this by the cabinet, immediately opened the gates to let them in.
The prison in the imperial family’s manor was different from others because those that were locked up inside it were members of the imperial family and their relatives. Even the prison cells were kept clean. The second prince’s cell was just like a normal person’s room.
The only thing that revealed that it was a heavily guarded room was the presence of a heavy iron door.
There was a tab that could be pulled open on the upper half of the iron door. Normally, it was used by the jailers to deliver food. Gu ShuBai looked through and saw the second prince sitting on the bed in a daze.
The location of this tab was too high, and Yu Fu could not look inside. In the end, he had Yu Fu just open the door.
The second prince finally reacted, looking toward the door. Seeing Gu ShuBai and Yu Fu, his eyes lit up.
Gu ShuBai looked at the guard behind him, “You can leave for now. I have something to ask the second prince.”
“Yes, eldest young sir, princess, please give the order if you need anything. This lowly one will wait at the end of the hall.”
The guard bowed then retreated, and the second prince got up from the bed. Straightening out his clothes and hair, he tried to make himself look a little more presentable.
Yu Fu looked at him. He was still wearing the clothes that a prince would wear. It was beautifully embroidered, but there seemed to be a layer of dust that had accumulated on it from his time in this cell, and it would never shine again.
The prince born of the empress was previously full of mettle. Now, he had shaggy facial hair, and he had become much thinner. His cheekbones were now very noticeable.
Yu Fu suddenly remembered what Gu ShuBai had said. He said that Princess DanYang’s life in the prime minister’s manor was also quite bad. Not only was she thin and pale, but she had also been slapped by Yin Shuo in court.
As a princess of the imperial family, not to mention Princess DanYang’s usual temperament, even the officials who were still loyal to His Majesty could not bear to watch it.
She understood now that the siblings shared a fate.
With Emperor Ning’s death, they also fell from the heavens straight into the depths of hell. They were suffering even worse than normal civilians.
“ShuBai, Yu Fu, why have you two come? I didn’t kill father Emperor. I really didn’t kill father and ruler! Do you trust me?”
“If we didn’t believe you, why would we bother reviewing this case?”
Gu ShuBai saw the table and chairs to the side and motioned to him, “Your Highness, please sit. Let’s take our time and speak. We specifically came here today to hear Your Highness’ grievances.”
The second prince was a little shocked but smiled and nodded, “It’s no wonder the investigators have started being a little more polite to me in the past few days. I seemed to hear them say that uncle Gu has returned. Right now, aside from uncle Gu, who else would want to investigate the truth behind father Emperor’s passing? They’re just praising Ning YiZhao, thinking that by doing this, they would become subjects who have made important contributions!”
Gu ShuBai and Yu Fu also sat down. Yu Fu saw that the cell was rather tidy, but the blanket on the bed was thin, and there was no brazier, thus she said: “Head general was ordered by the cabinet to supervise this case, and he handed this case to eldest brother. The trial will not be a sham. They will definitely provide justice for His Majesty and second prince. Before we came out, head general had us bring some blankets and thick clothes. When I came in, I gave them to the guard to inspect. They will bring them to you later.”
Gu ShuBai glanced at her.
Gu HuaiJiang would not have considered such details. It was clearly a piece of Yu Fu’s kindness, yet she attributed it to Gu HuaiJiang in hopes that the second prince would think well of him.
It was no wonder people often said that the daughter was the one who cared most for their father. In the days since returning to the capital, Yu Fu’s actions have left him feeling inferior.
Sure enough, the second prince was also very moved, “I knew it, I knew it! In court, uncle Gu is the one who is most loyal to father Emperor. Aside from uncle Gu, nobody could stand up to speak up for justice! Uncle Gu even thought of bringing me blankets. My own little sister and brother-in-law haven’t even come to see me once… Please ask whatever you have to ask. I will tell you anything!”
The second prince truly was pitiful. If he knew about his younger sister’s current situation, he would not have blamed Princess DanYang for not coming to see him.
Princess DanYang needed Gu ShuBai’s help to even go into the palace. It was the as being confined to the prime minister’s manor. How could she have any chance to come and visit him here?
As for his brother-in-law… was it not Yin Shuo and the eldest prince who sent him to prison?
Gu ShuBai did not tell him about this. He just nodded, and Yu Fu brought out a brush and paper to keep a record and ensure that they did not miss any of the key information that the second prince provided.
“Second prince, please go ahead. Where did the lotus flower arrow in your quiver come from.”
“What lotus flower arrow?”
The second prince did not understand what was being talked about, “All of the arrows in my quiver were prepared by the servants. Were they different from the arrows used by the others at the hunting ground?”
Gu ShuBai furrowed his brow and exchanged a look with Yu Fu.
It seemed that the eldest prince and Yin Shuo had prepared this beforehand. As soon as His Majesty passed, the second prince was arrested. This led to the second prince being completely clueless to what was happening outside.
Gu ShuBai said: “Does second prince know that after your arrow hit His Majesty in the chest, His Majesty passed away before even reaching the camp at the bottom of the mountain? Because the arrow that you shot was a lotus flower arrow, the arrowhead contained a unique mechanism that completely destroyed His Majesty’s heart. This is the component that is left behind after the arrow is shot. Your Highness, please take a look.”
He handed the ring that Kun YuYang had given him to the second prince. The second prince received it and carefully examined it, finding it a little familiar, “This seems to be my arrow, but it wasn’t any lotus flower arrow. It was an arrow that improved accuracy. Yin Shuo said that he wanted me to stand out and introduced me to an expert from jianghu. That person from jianghu said that using this sort of arrow would allow me to improve my accuracy. After trying it out, I found that it was indeed true, but he did not say that the arrow could completely destroy someone’s heart!”
Gu ShuBai picked up on the key point of what he said, “What is the name of this expert from jianghu? Where is he now? Why did second prince’s testimony not mention this person from jianghu?”
