Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4777 Royal Palace Condolences
As expected, Li Yuanjia wiped the scratches on his face, feeling angry and helpless: "He can take advantage of his age, but how can I be so ruthless? Let him go back first, and I will make a decision after I report to His Majesty."

In addition to the fact that the other party's family had to let him go because of the funeral, they also felt guilty. After all, it was not fair to randomly identify someone without finding the real murderer who killed Li Jingshu...

"Yes! Your Highness is indeed kind-hearted. I admire you from the bottom of my heart."

"Yes, we are all blood relatives, so let's be merciful... Don't exaggerate this matter when you go back, or else those members of the clan will be in trouble if Erlang gets angry. Remember that?"

"Well, I will keep it in mind."

Wang Xuance agreed, but he was secretly complaining in his heart: What do you mean by showing mercy when you can? You have no choice but to be magnanimous when dealing with Li Daoli now, otherwise why don't you forgive the other members of the royal family?
When Wang Xuance carried Li Daoli, who had fallen to the ground, out and sent him back to the Prince's Mansion, the hall suddenly became quiet.

The clerks quickly picked up the scattered documents on the ground and the overturned tables and chairs, mopped the floor clean, brewed some tea and placed it on the table, and then the three bosses sat down again.

Dai Zhou took a sip of tea and exhaled, still feeling angry: "This is simply ridiculous! As a member of the imperial clan, you should be abiding by the law, but you are so lawless and arrogant. If everyone follows this example and storms the court and criticizes the chief judge when they are dissatisfied, where will the dignity of the law be? You should be severely punished!"

Regardless of whether our case handling process is fair or not, your storming of the court because you are dissatisfied is a blatant disregard for the law and should not be tolerated.

Liu Xiangdao suggested: "It is better not to make things complicated at this time. Let someone quickly bring Chai Mingzhang and Wei Shuxia here, ask them to explain the reason clearly, enter the signatures and seals in the file, and ask His Majesty to judge it by imperial decree, so as to put an end to this matter."

The emperor's intention was to divide the small group of royal family headed by the Prince of Xiangyi, while ensuring the stability of the court. The inexplicable involvement of the Jingzhao Wei family led to different opinions and mutual suspicion within the "small group", and to a certain extent, the purpose of "division" had been achieved. Next, the chaos must be limited to a certain scope to avoid an all-out war between the royal family and the Wei family.

The key to this matter is naturally to get Wei Shuxia out of here...

Li Yuanjia said: "That's exactly what should be done."

……

Fang Jun stayed in the general's tent outside Mingde Gate for the whole morning, drinking tea and handling official documents. At noon, he got up and rode into the city with his personal soldiers and went straight to the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture. Li Yuanjia, Dai Zhou and Liu Xiangdao were already waiting there, either on horseback or in carriages. After meeting up, they went to the Dongping County Prince's Mansion together to pay their respects.

On the way, Li Yuanjia rode side by side with Fang Jun and asked, "Did you know that Li Daoli led people to cause trouble in Jingzhao Prefecture just now?"

Fang Jun nodded. Wang Xuance had already reported to him on horseback, so he asked, "What are your plans, Your Highness? If you can't swallow this anger and want to make amends, I can help you vent your anger. It's not difficult to find trouble with the Dongping County Prince's Mansion."

Li Yuanjia felt warm in his heart. Although this bastard brother-in-law would make him vomit blood from time to time, he could still tell the difference between inside and outside at the critical moment. He knew that since he was his brother-in-law, he had to be on his side.

However, he did not want to make a big deal out of this matter: "The rest of the people can be reported to His Majesty for severe punishment. As for Li Daoli, forget it. He is old and his son has died. It is meaningless to give him a light punishment. If we bully him too much, we will be ridiculed. Let him be."

He then whispered about the Wei family finding Chai Mingzhang to take the blame, and finally reminded him, "Chai Lingwu doesn't look like a man of courage. Even if the Wei family offers generous compensation, he won't dare to take it rashly. After all, if he offends the entire royal family, he will have to vomit out whatever he has taken. He may very well be targeting you, so you should be aware of this."

As for how Chai Lingwu set his sights on Fang Jun and how he made Fang Jun stand up to the pressure from the royal family and come forward to help the Chai family take the benefits given by the Wei family, Li Yuanjia did not say it explicitly, but he believed that Fang Jun himself understood that it was nothing more than a "honey trap"...

I couldn't help but glare at Fang Jun and warned him, "Don't rely on His Majesty's favor to do whatever you want. It's human nature to be lustful, but there are countless beautiful women in the world. Why do you have to focus on the princess? Stop it and don't keep causing trouble."

There is also a veiled implication in the words: It is a man's nature to be lustful, but you can't just allow yourself to do whatever you want and not let me try something new once in a while, right?

Fang Jun sneered at his little trick and ignored it, saying with a smile: "What do you think Chai Lingwu would do if I ate the beauty and then ignored his request?"

Li Yuanjia was speechless: "Although I have never thought that you are a gentleman, it is too immoral to do such a thing, isn't it? You are simply a beast!"

"It's just talk. How can I be that kind of person? Even if Chai Lingwu puts a beauty in front of my mouth, whether I eat it or not depends on his attitude. It seems as if I have no bottom line."

"Haha, do you have a bottom line?"

"Of course, my bottom line is that it's consensual and I won't force you. If Chai Lingwu doesn't want to send me the beauty, I won't do it."

"...I have never seen such a shameless person!"

"Didn't you see it today?"

"hehe."

Li Yuanjia was too lazy to pay attention to this guy's shameless face. His face was full of disgust, but he was envious in his heart. When will I be able to do whatever I want like this?
But then he thought of the princess in the mansion, and sighed dejectedly. His own princess was too domineering. Her brother was allowed to do whatever he wanted. Whenever he talked about her, he looked proud of her. But when it came to her husband, he would stare at her like a dog...

It's not fair!

……

A white banner was hung high in front of the Dongping County Prince's Mansion. The entire mansion was in mourning. The streets in front of the gate were filled with all kinds of horses and carriages. People came to pay their respects in an endless stream. However, at this moment, they gathered in groups of three or four and whispered to each other. It was obvious that they were exchanging information and their opinions on how Li Daoli had led people to Jingzhao Mansion just now, but ended up being carried here...

When they saw Fang Jun and Li Yuanjia riding together, with Dai Zhou and Liu Xiangdao's carriages following behind, the discussions stopped abruptly and the streets were silent.

Then the royal family, nobles, and officials who came to pay their respects came forward to greet him. Those who knew him well smiled and said a few words, trying to find out what the explanation was for today's incident and how His Majesty would deal with it...

Fang Jun said, "I'm here to pay my respects this time, only to express my grief and not to discuss official business," and then he followed Li Shaokang, the eldest grandson of Li Daoli, who came out to greet him, into the gate. Li Yuanjia, Dai Zhou, and Liu Xiangdao followed closely behind.

Li Shaokang, dressed in mourning clothes, led the way with his back bent and small steps taken cautiously. Fang Jun smiled slightly and said calmly, "Your father has unfortunately passed away, but I wonder if the position of the crown prince will be passed on to one of your uncles, or will it be inherited directly by you?"

Li Shaokang was like a mouse seeing a cat when he saw Fang Jun. He trembled all over and even stammered: "This... the inheritance of the title comes from the will of the emperor. I dare not give it privately. I will wait for your majesty's decision. Everyone in my family will respect it."

He was feeling very anxious and worried. When his uncles and brothers had gathered together to discuss his father's funeral, they had speculated that his father's death might be related to Fang Jun. Because the two families had a feud due to the assassination of Fang Yizheng, Fang Jun had every motive to murder his father, while others lacked the motive to murder the son of a prince.

He personally presided over the assassination of Fang Yizheng, so Fang Er wouldn't kill him as well, right?
"You are not honest. The title is related to the prosperity and decline of the family. How can you passively accept it instead of actively fighting for it? Your family must have discussed it long ago, but they didn't tell me the truth. I am very disappointed."

Fang Jun patted Li Shaokang on the shoulder, scaring him so much that he shuddered and almost died.

With a bitter face, he said, "The family is in a mess right now. My father died and my grandfather was injured. It's really hard to describe it in words."

"The Prince of Dongping had a fight with His Royal Highness the Prince of Han at the Jingzhao government office and both of them were injured. Your family won't hold a grudge, will they?"

"No, no, no, when my grandfather came back just now, he said that he was angry and fought with His Royal Highness the King of Han, which was really wrong. He also said that after my father's funeral, he would take all of us to apologize to His Royal Highness the King of Han. I dare not complain."

As they were talking, they had already arrived in front of the mourning hall. Fang Jun stopped his verbal warnings and entered the hall one after another with Li Yuanjia, Dai Zhou and Liu Xiangdao to burn incense and bow. After receiving the greetings from the family members, they left and were placed in a cross-courtyard to drink tea. There would be a vegetarian meal later.

Although these people were strangers to the Prince of Dongping's Mansion and had no connections with him, since they had come to pay their respects, there was no point in just bowing and saying goodbye. So they went to the cross courtyard together to sit for a while, and then said goodbye after having the vegetarian meal in the evening.

Li Daoli didn't know whether he was really injured or not, and he didn't show up to entertain these important officials...

However, Li Yuanjia could not stay here. The matter of "finding the real murderer" Chai Mingzhang had to be reported to His Majesty as soon as possible. He and Li Daoli would lead people to make a scene at the Jingzhao Prefecture Yamen and wait for the imperial judgment. So he sat for a while, drank a cup of tea, and then said goodbye and left.

After a while, Li Xiaogong walked in with a tired look on his face. Fang Jun and the other two stood up to greet him and then sat down one by one.

Li Xiaogong took a sip of water and asked, "I heard that the culprit who caused Li Jingshu's death has been found?"

Dai Zhou nodded and said, "It was done by Chai Mingzhang, the son of Chai Qing. He didn't intend to murder Li Jingshu, but in a panic he stepped on his ribs, causing the ribs to break and pierce his heart and lungs. There is no way to save him."

"Chai Qing, 'Wall Dragon', I remember he was a talented person, he could climb walls and fly over rooftops, he was a rare person. But I don't know how he should be punished according to the law?"

"Because it was unintentional, the crime is not punishable by death. However, Li Jingshu has a special status. If he is released without charge, the royal family may stir up trouble, so your majesty's judgment is needed. You, the prince, are the pillar of the royal family. You should pay more attention to this matter and suppress the royal family. You can't ignore the law just because you are a member of the royal family."