The Truth Exposed (Part Three)
It was Baibu Yang, Qianli Yun, and Mo Di.
Right now, the most important matter was not whether or not Yin Shuo would be able to avoid responsibility for his crimes, it was getting the truth.
Gu ShuBai said to the three: “The assassination of His Majesty is not a trivial matter. You three are of a lowly background. Just relying on your testimony would not be enough. That’s why I brought you to the imperial palace for you to tell everyone the truth.”
The three cupped their hands and recounted everything that happened. With everyone’s fragmented story was pieced together, the full truth was uncovered.
When Mo Di brought out the bank note that had Jia Ji’s name written on it, there was no longer any doubt.
“He is the head historian of the eldest prince’s manor. If it wasn’t the eldest prince who wanted the lotus flower arrow, why would he have someone from his manor pay the craftsman?”
With everything starting to become clear, the eldest prince had no chance to deny it; however, Gu ShuBai was unable to feel happy.
Did they really have no choice but to allow Yin Shuo avoid being implicated?
The eldest prince was arrested by the imperial guards. His arms and legs were restrained, and his head drooped. He was being judged by everyone’s gazes and being held in contempt.
Since time immemorial, there were many examples of sons killing their fathers and rulers, but when it came to ascending the throne, only the victor would be venerated.
For him, as someone who had lost, he would be stigmatized and looked at with scorn for thousands of years.
He suddenly raised his head, “I did all of this because I was influenced by Yin Shuo. It was because he wanted to seize power from the cabinet that he sought me out to assassinate father Emperor. It was him!”
As the eldest prince spoke, everyone turned to look at Yin Shuo.
Between the two, one said that it was the eldest prince who had threatened him, and one said that it was Yin Shuo that had influenced him. It was hard to say which was true.
The eldest prince was completely hysterical, while Yin Shuo’s expression remained calm.
He turned to look at the eldest prince and said with a smile: “I understand very well that eldest prince wants to pull someone down with him. When I decided to pretend to help eldest prince, I was resolved to give up my life.”
He then looked at senior cabinet minister Chen, “In this great hall, I pretended to struggle for power with the cabinet for the sake of gaining eldest prince’s trust. Senior cabinet minister Chen, think about it. If I really wanted to fight for power, would I have given you the power so easily? The cabinet had not yet been established, so it could have been torn down with just a few plans.”
Senior cabinet minister Chen did not look at him, and Yin Shuo turned to look at the other officials, “When I struck Princess DanYang in this hall, the pain that it caused her also caused my heart to ache. But if I did not do this, I would have no way of winning the eldest prince’s trust. It was the only way for me to gather enough evidence of his murder of his father and ruler. Everyone, could it be that you thought that I, Yin Shuo, would really be so frivolous as to dare to strike the princess of our Eastern Ling in this hall?”
With him saying this, the officials felt like there was a bit of logic to this.
Only Gu HuaiJiang and his son knew the truth behind this and that this was a complete lie.
If Yin Shuo had only struck Princess DanYang as a last resort, why would he have her placed under house arrest in the Eastern Courtyard, and why would he set a trap for Gu HanMo?
Gu ShuBai thought back to everyone’s testimony and all of the evidence. A flash of light went off in his mind, as he recalled a flaw in Yin Shuo’s argument.
He stepped forward and said: “If what prime minister said is true, Baibu Yang said that it was the eldest prince’s people who sought him out to teach archery to the second prince, but the second prince’s testimony said that it was Prime Minister Yin who told him to seek out Baibu Yang, how can this be resolved?”
The Ministry of Punishments, the Imperial Court of Justice, the members of the imperial family’s manor, and the cabinet ministers had all seen the second prince’s testimony. It was not just them, as all of the court officials had taken a look into this case, whether it was done openly or in secret.
After all, the second prince had testified many times, so it was very easy for them to check this.
With Gu ShuBai saying this, the officials finally remembered that the second prince had indeed said that it was Yin Shuo who had told him to seek out Baibu Yang.
Did this prove that Yin Shuo was lying and that he had been working with the eldest prince from the start?!
Yin Shuo had no way of answering Gu ShuBai’s questioning.
But the one who should respond to this question was not him.
“This prince’s testimony does indeed say that it was Yin Shuo who recommended Baibu Yang to me.”
A voice suddenly came from outside the hall, and everyone turned to look. They saw the second prince walk in. With his shackles, he looked very imposing.
The corners of Yin Shuo’s lips curled up, and he slowly lowered his head.
The second prince cast a fierce glance at the eldest prince and then said to the officials: “Everyone knows that Prime Minister Yin is married to this prince’s younger sister. He only recommended me to Baibu Yang because he hoped that I would be able to have a good showing in front of father Emperor. In truth, he never met Baibu Yang. He only knew that this person was skilled in archery. Who knew that eldest imperial brother knew about it and secretly arranged for someone to seek out Baibu Yang.”
Baibu Yang just stood in the middle of the hall. Upon hearing the second prince’s words, he nodded. It had been the eldest prince’s people who had sought him out.
As for Yin Shuo recommending him to the second prince, he did not know about this.
Gu ShuBai said: “Second prince, how do you know about who sought out Baibu Yang?”
The second prince said: “It was Prime Minister Yin who told this prince. In truth, he was always helping this prince. Everything that he did with the eldest prince was for the sake of today. More importantly, Baibu Yang is here. Shouldn’t it be very clear who sought him out?”
Everyone turned to look at Baibu Yang, and the latter clenched his fists and bowed, “I followed those people back, and they did indeed enter the eldest prince’s manor before disappearing. Also, some of them were wearing waist tags that belonged to the eldest prince’s manor.”
Now, everyone understood. It seemed that the eldest prince did indeed seek out Baibu Yang to trap the second prince and then use the lotus flower arrow to assassinate His Majesty.
The eldest prince angrily pointed at Baibu Yang, “You’re lying! This prince has never seen you before. How could I have sent anyone to look for you? This prince only heard Yin Shuo mention that he had found someone skilled in archery to deceive the second prince. I had no clue who this person even was!”
Yin Shuo laughed and said: “If it really is as eldest prince says, and I was the one who sought out Baibu Yang, and I was the one who framed the second prince, why is it that eldest prince was the one who sought to have Baibu Yang killed? Why were the ones waiting to assassinate Baibu Yang outside of Marquis Gu’s Manor also eldest prince’s people? If I sought out Baibu Yang, should I be the one in a hurry to silence him?”
His answer was completely flawless. The eldest prince froze and then suddenly started laughing.
The crowd was shocked, as they wondered to themselves if the eldest prince had gone crazy?
The eldest prince looked up toward the heavens and laughed, “Yin Shuo, the great Yin Shuo! It’s no wonder you’ve been more and more useless recently, leaving things like killing Baibu Yang and other such matters to me. It turns out that you’ve been thinking of backing off. You already made up your mind to sell out this prince to save yourself! Yin Shuo, oh Yin Shuo, you’re so full of resentment towards Marquis Gu’s Manor, but now that Marquis Gu has returned, haven’t you become docile again? Hahaha.”
Gu HuaiJiang furrowed his brow but did not say anything. Yin Shuo glanced at him with a smile on his face.
He turned to look at the eldest prince, “I, Yin Shuo, naturally have my own considerations; however, I am not afraid of Marquis Gu’s Manor. As the second prince’s brother-in-law, I naturally trust him more. Fortunately, I did not make a mistake. Sure enough, the second prince did not assassinate His Majesty, it was you, eldest prince!”
“Alright, there’s no need to deal with his nonsense. He just wants to drag someone else down with him, so why don’t you drag this prince down?”
The second prince mockingly looked at the eldest prince, giving a signal to the imperial guards, “Why haven’t you come and removed this prince’s shackles?”
The soldiers immediately stepped forward and removed the shackles from his body. The eldest prince’s guilt had been determined. The truth behind the second prince being framed had come to light.
The ruler at the top and the prisoner below, the positions between the two had instantly been flipped.
Gu ShuBai still wanted to speak, but Gu HuaiJiang reached out to stop him, whispering into his ear: “The second prince already completely trusts Yin Shuo. In addition to this, all of the ones that he views as having contributed are standing by his side. You must not be rash.”
Gu ShuBai had never felt as rash as he did now.
They had worked so hard to finally uncover some clues and find witnesses and evidence, but in the case of His Majesty’s assassination, it seemed that they were about to gain a complete victory; however, at the last moment, Yin Shuo managed to clear his name and even stole all of the credit.
He did not care about the credit. What he cared about was the whole truth.
As long as one of the culprits was still at large, this could not be considered the truth. Emperor Ning would not be able to rest in peace.
He desperately wanted to bring Yin Shuo to justice but could not.
In front of all of these officials, he was smiling. He was pretending as if there was nothing wrong.
With his shackles removed, the second prince turned to Gu HuaiJiang, Ji DaoGong, and senior cabinet minister Chen and saluted, “Many thanks for maintaining your impartiality, remaining dedicated to the truth, and providing this prince with justice. Also, thank you for allowing father Empror to rest in peace. Also, Yin Shuo, there’s no need for thanks between us.”
The second prince looked at Yin Shuo with a warm gaze, and this look his eyes caused Gu ShuBai to feel tormented.
Senior cabinet minister Chen was a little disappointed. He did not know if Yin Shuo was truly innocent or not, but it was clear that the second prince believed in his innocence more than he was thankful for the cabinet.
The second prince would soon become the new ruler. At that time, when it came to this incomplete cabinet…
Would it be able to survive?
The Truth Exposed (Part Three)
It was Baibu Yang, Qianli Yun, and Mo Di.
Right now, the most important matter was not whether or not Yin Shuo would be able to avoid responsibility for his crimes, it was getting the truth.
Gu ShuBai said to the three: “The assassination of His Majesty is not a trivial matter. You three are of a lowly background. Just relying on your testimony would not be enough. That’s why I brought you to the imperial palace for you to tell everyone the truth.”
The three cupped their hands and recounted everything that happened. With everyone’s fragmented story was pieced together, the full truth was uncovered.
When Mo Di brought out the bank note that had Jia Ji’s name written on it, there was no longer any doubt.
“He is the head historian of the eldest prince’s manor. If it wasn’t the eldest prince who wanted the lotus flower arrow, why would he have someone from his manor pay the craftsman?”
With everything starting to become clear, the eldest prince had no chance to deny it; however, Gu ShuBai was unable to feel happy.
Did they really have no choice but to allow Yin Shuo avoid being implicated?
The eldest prince was arrested by the imperial guards. His arms and legs were restrained, and his head drooped. He was being judged by everyone’s gazes and being held in contempt.
Since time immemorial, there were many examples of sons killing their fathers and rulers, but when it came to ascending the throne, only the victor would be venerated.
For him, as someone who had lost, he would be stigmatized and looked at with scorn for thousands of years.
He suddenly raised his head, “I did all of this because I was influenced by Yin Shuo. It was because he wanted to seize power from the cabinet that he sought me out to assassinate father Emperor. It was him!”
As the eldest prince spoke, everyone turned to look at Yin Shuo.
Between the two, one said that it was the eldest prince who had threatened him, and one said that it was Yin Shuo that had influenced him. It was hard to say which was true.
The eldest prince was completely hysterical, while Yin Shuo’s expression remained calm.
He turned to look at the eldest prince and said with a smile: “I understand very well that eldest prince wants to pull someone down with him. When I decided to pretend to help eldest prince, I was resolved to give up my life.”
He then looked at senior cabinet minister Chen, “In this great hall, I pretended to struggle for power with the cabinet for the sake of gaining eldest prince’s trust. Senior cabinet minister Chen, think about it. If I really wanted to fight for power, would I have given you the power so easily? The cabinet had not yet been established, so it could have been torn down with just a few plans.”
Senior cabinet minister Chen did not look at him, and Yin Shuo turned to look at the other officials, “When I struck Princess DanYang in this hall, the pain that it caused her also caused my heart to ache. But if I did not do this, I would have no way of winning the eldest prince’s trust. It was the only way for me to gather enough evidence of his murder of his father and ruler. Everyone, could it be that you thought that I, Yin Shuo, would really be so frivolous as to dare to strike the princess of our Eastern Ling in this hall?”
With him saying this, the officials felt like there was a bit of logic to this.
Only Gu HuaiJiang and his son knew the truth behind this and that this was a complete lie.
If Yin Shuo had only struck Princess DanYang as a last resort, why would he have her placed under house arrest in the Eastern Courtyard, and why would he set a trap for Gu HanMo?
Gu ShuBai thought back to everyone’s testimony and all of the evidence. A flash of light went off in his mind, as he recalled a flaw in Yin Shuo’s argument.
He stepped forward and said: “If what prime minister said is true, Baibu Yang said that it was the eldest prince’s people who sought him out to teach archery to the second prince, but the second prince’s testimony said that it was Prime Minister Yin who told him to seek out Baibu Yang, how can this be resolved?”
The Ministry of Punishments, the Imperial Court of Justice, the members of the imperial family’s manor, and the cabinet ministers had all seen the second prince’s testimony. It was not just them, as all of the court officials had taken a look into this case, whether it was done openly or in secret.
After all, the second prince had testified many times, so it was very easy for them to check this.
With Gu ShuBai saying this, the officials finally remembered that the second prince had indeed said that it was Yin Shuo who had told him to seek out Baibu Yang.
Did this prove that Yin Shuo was lying and that he had been working with the eldest prince from the start?!
Yin Shuo had no way of answering Gu ShuBai’s questioning.
But the one who should respond to this question was not him.
“This prince’s testimony does indeed say that it was Yin Shuo who recommended Baibu Yang to me.”
A voice suddenly came from outside the hall, and everyone turned to look. They saw the second prince walk in. With his shackles, he looked very imposing.
The corners of Yin Shuo’s lips curled up, and he slowly lowered his head.
The second prince cast a fierce glance at the eldest prince and then said to the officials: “Everyone knows that Prime Minister Yin is married to this prince’s younger sister. He only recommended me to Baibu Yang because he hoped that I would be able to have a good showing in front of father Emperor. In truth, he never met Baibu Yang. He only knew that this person was skilled in archery. Who knew that eldest imperial brother knew about it and secretly arranged for someone to seek out Baibu Yang.”
Baibu Yang just stood in the middle of the hall. Upon hearing the second prince’s words, he nodded. It had been the eldest prince’s people who had sought him out.
As for Yin Shuo recommending him to the second prince, he did not know about this.
Gu ShuBai said: “Second prince, how do you know about who sought out Baibu Yang?”
The second prince said: “It was Prime Minister Yin who told this prince. In truth, he was always helping this prince. Everything that he did with the eldest prince was for the sake of today. More importantly, Baibu Yang is here. Shouldn’t it be very clear who sought him out?”
Everyone turned to look at Baibu Yang, and the latter clenched his fists and bowed, “I followed those people back, and they did indeed enter the eldest prince’s manor before disappearing. Also, some of them were wearing waist tags that belonged to the eldest prince’s manor.”
Now, everyone understood. It seemed that the eldest prince did indeed seek out Baibu Yang to trap the second prince and then use the lotus flower arrow to assassinate His Majesty.
The eldest prince angrily pointed at Baibu Yang, “You’re lying! This prince has never seen you before. How could I have sent anyone to look for you? This prince only heard Yin Shuo mention that he had found someone skilled in archery to deceive the second prince. I had no clue who this person even was!”
Yin Shuo laughed and said: “If it really is as eldest prince says, and I was the one who sought out Baibu Yang, and I was the one who framed the second prince, why is it that eldest prince was the one who sought to have Baibu Yang killed? Why were the ones waiting to assassinate Baibu Yang outside of Marquis Gu’s Manor also eldest prince’s people? If I sought out Baibu Yang, should I be the one in a hurry to silence him?”
His answer was completely flawless. The eldest prince froze and then suddenly started laughing.
The crowd was shocked, as they wondered to themselves if the eldest prince had gone crazy?
The eldest prince looked up toward the heavens and laughed, “Yin Shuo, the great Yin Shuo! It’s no wonder you’ve been more and more useless recently, leaving things like killing Baibu Yang and other such matters to me. It turns out that you’ve been thinking of backing off. You already made up your mind to sell out this prince to save yourself! Yin Shuo, oh Yin Shuo, you’re so full of resentment towards Marquis Gu’s Manor, but now that Marquis Gu has returned, haven’t you become docile again? Hahaha.”
Gu HuaiJiang furrowed his brow but did not say anything. Yin Shuo glanced at him with a smile on his face.
He turned to look at the eldest prince, “I, Yin Shuo, naturally have my own considerations; however, I am not afraid of Marquis Gu’s Manor. As the second prince’s brother-in-law, I naturally trust him more. Fortunately, I did not make a mistake. Sure enough, the second prince did not assassinate His Majesty, it was you, eldest prince!”
“Alright, there’s no need to deal with his nonsense. He just wants to drag someone else down with him, so why don’t you drag this prince down?”
The second prince mockingly looked at the eldest prince, giving a signal to the imperial guards, “Why haven’t you come and removed this prince’s shackles?”
The soldiers immediately stepped forward and removed the shackles from his body. The eldest prince’s guilt had been determined. The truth behind the second prince being framed had come to light.
The ruler at the top and the prisoner below, the positions between the two had instantly been flipped.
Gu ShuBai still wanted to speak, but Gu HuaiJiang reached out to stop him, whispering into his ear: “The second prince already completely trusts Yin Shuo. In addition to this, all of the ones that he views as having contributed are standing by his side. You must not be rash.”
Gu ShuBai had never felt as rash as he did now.
They had worked so hard to finally uncover some clues and find witnesses and evidence, but in the case of His Majesty’s assassination, it seemed that they were about to gain a complete victory; however, at the last moment, Yin Shuo managed to clear his name and even stole all of the credit.
He did not care about the credit. What he cared about was the whole truth.
As long as one of the culprits was still at large, this could not be considered the truth. Emperor Ning would not be able to rest in peace.
He desperately wanted to bring Yin Shuo to justice but could not.
In front of all of these officials, he was smiling. He was pretending as if there was nothing wrong.
With his shackles removed, the second prince turned to Gu HuaiJiang, Ji DaoGong, and senior cabinet minister Chen and saluted, “Many thanks for maintaining your impartiality, remaining dedicated to the truth, and providing this prince with justice. Also, thank you for allowing father Empror to rest in peace. Also, Yin Shuo, there’s no need for thanks between us.”
The second prince looked at Yin Shuo with a warm gaze, and this look his eyes caused Gu ShuBai to feel tormented.
Senior cabinet minister Chen was a little disappointed. He did not know if Yin Shuo was truly innocent or not, but it was clear that the second prince believed in his innocence more than he was thankful for the cabinet.
The second prince would soon become the new ruler. At that time, when it came to this incomplete cabinet…
Would it be able to survive?
