Chapter 25 Father, this is slander!
what's the situation?
How did I become a murderer?

Li Chengqian looked at the letter in his hand and felt a little puzzled.

He thought he was seeing things, so he rubbed his eyes and continued looking.

As a result, the content on the letter remained unchanged.

The text on the letter was very short, only a dozen or so words.

"Zhuo Ziling was killed. Your Highness is the murderer. Please know this."

Li Chengqian looked at the letter again and again, but still couldn't believe what was written on it.

In fact, he doesn't care at all whether Zhuo Ziling lives or dies.

But when did he become a murderer?

Could it be that he hit Zhuo Ziling too hard that night and killed him?
It shouldn't be.

He just kicked him a few times, but it didn't kill anyone. At most, he just broke a few ribs.

Li Chengqian pondered for a moment and felt that this matter was a bit strange, so he quickly found someone to take a look.

At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the hall, like a ghost, and stood in front of everyone.

Hong Sixiang!
Li Chengqian was startled when he saw the person coming.

Isn’t this the master who serves as the emperor’s envoy?
How could he suddenly...

Hong Sixiang bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty has asked me to come over."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "May I ask Eunuch Hong, do you know why my father asked me to come over?"

Hong Sixiang shook his head and said, "I am only responsible for hiring people, and I don't know about other matters."

"Is that so?" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Then I will clean it up first."

Hong Sixiang shook his head again and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor's order just now is for you to leave immediately."

Li Chengqian frowned, then immediately reacted and said, "Okay, please ask Eunuch Hong to lead the way. I will be there soon."

However, Li Chengqian vaguely felt that something was not right.

Normally, if the emperor wanted to pass him over, he would just need to find a young eunuch, and would rarely send Hong Sixiang.

Could it be that something happened...

and many more! ! !

Li Chengqian suddenly thought of something.

At this time, Hong Sixiang urged again: "Your Highness, it's time to leave. His Majesty is still waiting."

……

A little while ago, in the side hall of the imperial palace.

Emperor Qing sat in front of the desk, still repeatedly beating the iron block in his hand to make it thinner. In the hall in front of him stood a young man in a black official robe.

"You mean, the second prince killed the man?" Emperor Qing asked.

The young man bowed and said, "Your Majesty, judging from the clues left at the scene, it is indeed true."

"However, from my humble point of view, this matter is a bit strange."

Emperor Qing lowered his head to polish the iron block and nodded, "Speak."

The young man continued, "Although the words 'The murderer is the second prince' were written on the clothes of the deceased, after checking with others, I found out that this person was killed by a quick sword that cut off his head."

"If that's the case, then there's no way he could have written these words after his head was cut off."

"However, we found a purse in the deceased's arms. The materials used were all high-quality. It should have been something from the palace."

"Also, the deceased had signs of being beaten before he was killed. He must have been beaten up before he was killed."

"The most important thing is that the deceased was a guest of the Crown Prince before his death. He appeared in the 'Meiyun Tower' that night and had offended the Second Prince."

Emperor Qing asked again: "And then?"

The young man said, "After verification by the Ministry of Justice, it was discovered that the Second Prince was shopping with Prince Jing when the accident happened. Miss Ye can testify at that time."

Emperor Qing stopped what he was doing and looked up at the young man: "Are you talking about Ye Zhong's daughter, Ye Ling'er?"

The young man nodded and said, "Yes, it is her."

Emperor Qing pondered for a moment and said, "Anything else?"

The young man said, "Someone can prove that the deceased was severely beaten by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince because he failed to successfully frame the Second Prince."

Emperor Qing pondered for a moment and said with a smile: "Really?"

"This is interesting." Then, he looked at Hong Sixiang next to him and said, "Go and bring the prince over."

"Remember, ask him to come immediately."

"Yes, I understand." Hong Sixiang nodded in agreement, then turned and left.

……

Li Chengqian was very nervous at this moment because he had just thought of something.

It is the letter sent by the Minister of Justice.

Although Zhuo Ziling was just an ordinary person with no background, he would be dead if he died.

However, he always felt that this matter was not that simple.

Originally, Li Chengqian wanted to ask Hong Sixiang so that he could be mentally prepared.

However, this old man's mouth was as hard as pliers and he wouldn't open his mouth no matter how we asked.

Soon, Li Chengqian walked into the hall and saw Emperor Qing sitting at the table. He immediately bowed and said:
"My son has met my father!"

Emperor Qing, who was originally grinding the iron block repeatedly, looked up at Li Chengqian and said expressionlessly:
"Prince, what did you do the night before last?"

Li Chengqian immediately replied: "I did nothing."

"Hmm?" Emperor Qing continued to look at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian felt his hair run down his body when he was looked at, and he said, "Oh, I remember now."

"At that time, I went to attend the poetry banquet at Meiyun Tower. I took my people back to the palace before it was over and then went to sleep."

Emperor Qing asked, "What about Zhuo Ziling?"

Zhuo Ziling!
Li Chengqian was suddenly shocked.

Is it really because of him?

"Father, I don't know what you mean."

Emperor Qing sneered and threw a package in front of Li Chengqian.

"open to take a look!"

Li Chengqian hurriedly opened the package and found a piece of clothing and a purse inside.

On the clothes, the words "The murderer is the second prince" were written in blood.

Moreover, this money bag looked very familiar. It was the one he gave to Zhuo Ziling as a reward.

"Father, this...this..."

"Kneel down!" Emperor Qing suddenly snorted coldly.

Although Li Chengqian didn't know the reason, he still knelt down obediently.

Immediately afterwards, Emperor Qing snorted coldly: "Tell me, what do these things represent?"

Li Chengqian looked at the clothes and money bag in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and said: "This... Could this be done by my second brother?"

Emperor Qing said: "Are you still not telling the truth?"

"Did you kill the person, or did the second brother do it?"

Li Chengqian quickly waved his hands and said, "Father, I am innocent."

"I didn't kill him, I really didn't!"

Emperor Qing said angrily: "You are still quibbling even now!"

"Come in!"

As soon as Emperor Qing finished speaking, a young eunuch walked in quickly from outside the hall and immediately knelt on the ground.

"This slave has met Your Majesty."

When Li Chengqian saw the person coming, he discovered that it was the eunuch who followed him, and he felt even more uneasy.

Emperor Qing shouted, "Tell me, what's going on!"

The young eunuch nodded and said, "This is what happened. That night, the Crown Prince hired someone to slander the Second Prince, and when that failed, he beat him up."

"After leaving, he still felt unsatisfied, so he returned and had someone chop off his head. He also wrote on his clothes, "The murderer is the Second Prince," in an attempt to frame the Second Prince for murder."

After hearing what the young eunuch said, Li Chengqian hurriedly said in horror: "Father, this is slander!"

"He is slandering me, he really is slandering me!"

(End of this chapter)