My Lord, the princess doesn't want you anymore.

The next morning, Cui Hongjing discovered that all the gates of the capital had been guarded more strictly, and all people entering the city, whether officials, merchants, or poor people, had to undergo strict inspection one by one.

Having a travel permit is not enough; you also need a certificate issued within ten days by the local government where your registered residence is located.

Anyone without a pass will be arrested immediately.

Those who have travel permits but no official certificates will all be temporarily detained and released after their identities are verified to be normal.

The prince had been on the run for many days, and the matter could no longer be concealed. Rumors were spreading everywhere in the capital that the prince was going to lead his troops into the city, and people were in panic everywhere.

Under such circumstances, it is normal to conduct strict inspections on people entering Beijing.

At the morning court, Cui Qimo issued an order in front of all the court officials:

First, depose the crown prince!

Second, the queen was stripped of her title and given white silk.

Third, the Wei family’s property will be confiscated and the three clans will be exterminated, and severe punishment will be carried out after the rebels are wiped out.

Fourth, the prince's daughter was demoted to a commoner and exiled to the bitter cold north. The princess was given poisoned wine, and her mother's family and others were first detained and severely punished after the rebels were eliminated.

Although this was expected, there was still a sigh in the court.

After the court was adjourned, Cui Qimo asked several important ministers whom he trusted to go to the imperial study to discuss matters.

Unexpectedly, Cui Hongjing was also among them.

"Just now, I said in the court that I had transferred 50,000 troops from Huzhou to support Bingzhou, and ordered Qian Weimin to annihilate all the rebels at the border." Cui Qimo got straight to the point, "In fact, that was just a cover."

"Your Majesty, are you worried that there are accomplices in the court who are supporting the deposed crown prince?" Minister Wang of the Ministry of War asked cautiously.

Cui Qimo did not comment. "I received a secret report last night that 80,000 rebels have disguised themselves as various people in batches and attempted to sneak into the capital with evil intentions. Therefore, I have ordered people to strengthen the city defense overnight and strictly investigate all those entering the capital."

"Then, Commander Qian is in Bingzhou..." Prime Minister Mei said, "But is he worried about Xiling? However, I don't think Xiling would dare to send troops."

"I just said that the troops from Bingzhou are just a cover. The real battlefield waiting for that rebellious son is in the capital." Cui Qimo gave a wink, and Eunuch Li brought over a wooden box.

In the box, there was a human head, Wei Mengyun's head.

Cui Qimo sneered, "I also received it last night. Seven days ago, our Dazhen Lord Wei met with the Emperor of Xiling and asked Xiling to send 100,000 troops to support the rebellious son according to the previous agreement. But the Emperor of Xiling directly cut off the head of the traitor and sent it to me at full speed."

He looked down upon everyone and said, "A letter was also attached, stating that the previous contract with the prince was void. This head represents Xiling's apology."

"The Emperor of Xiling is a smart man," said Prime Minister Mei. "The Crown Prince started the rebellion too hastily and has no chance of success. How could the Emperor of Xiling help him?"

"It's a pity that my son is such a fool!" Cui Qimo's eyes became more and more fierce, "He even wants to kill the king and seize the throne. Oh, he is not that kind of person. Prince Xiao!"

"Your son is here!" Cui Hongxiao knelt down respectfully.

"I give you 100,000 men to guard the capital and the palace and wipe out the rebels! If you find the whereabouts of that rebellious son, you must tie him up for me. If he resists, you will be killed!"

"My sons and ministers accept the order."

"Minister Wang!"

"Chen is here!"

"Now, all the prince's followers in the capital have been secretly arrested. Jingzhao Prefecture has no prefect for the time being. The major city gates are under strict inspection. Many people have gathered outside the city waiting for inspection, which may easily lead to chaos. If there is chaos, the rebels may take advantage of it. I want you to maintain the security of the capital."

"I will never fail the Emperor's orders!"

Cui Qimo arranged some more things, none of which had anything to do with Cui Hongjing. But in the end, his eyes fell on Cui Hongjing.

"I have temporarily detained Zhu Shaoqing of the Dali Temple in solitary confinement. However, despite severe torture, he refused to say who had instructed him to help Wei Tianjie escape from prison and gave him the secret letter. He only said that he had long been aware of the prince's rebellion, but had not found any concrete evidence. Do you think this is credible?"

He glanced at Cui Hongjing, who had no expression on his face. "Humph, I'm not dead yet? You guys are thinking about getting credit for following the emperor? Haha, I'm surprised. Since he got the letter, he should just give it to me. I can even give him a credit. But why did he go to such lengths to help Wei Tianjie escape from prison and let Wei Tianjie inform on me?"

Cui Hongjing still had no expression on his face.

Cui Qimo looked at him with a dark look in his eyes. "Why don't you give it a try, Prince Jing? Perhaps you have a way to get him to talk. If you can't get anything out of him, I will have no choice but to kill him!"

"Your son, obeys your order!" Cui Hongjing's eyes were calm.

Cui Qimo continued, "Also, after Wei Tianjie returned to prison, he actually started a hunger strike, and his mother is nowhere to be found. Does Prince Jing know where his mother went?"

"I don't know." Cui Hongjing was calm.

At this point in the situation, the shrewd Cui Qimo had already figured out that all of this was secretly done by Cui Hongjing.

The prince will not rebel unless he has no other choice. Because the crown prince is the foundation of the country, rashly abolishing the crown prince will cause turmoil in the court. Therefore, as long as the crown prince does not make a big mistake, the throne will be his sooner or later. Cui Qimo is no longer young, and the crown prince will not wait too long.

The prince was also aware of this truth.

But why was he so eager to rebel?

On the other hand, Cui Hongjing had been secretly investigating the prince for years. It could even be said that he knew everything the prince did. The case of the merchant's death was just an excellent excuse, and Cui Hongjing also found clues from it, and thus unraveled the mystery and thoroughly investigated the prince's dirty deeds behind the scenes.

Otherwise, why would he be so concerned about the case and investigate it despite the emperor's order? Could it be that he really wanted to redress the injustice of the deceased? Haha.

But at this moment, Mei Xueer suddenly became a different person, contrary to her usual behavior.

This gave Prince Jing a better cover-up.

Then, Cui Hongjing began to make plans.

First, he and Mei Xueer pretended to be very affectionate in order to anger the prince and the queen. The prince was a flamboyant person, and it was inevitable that he would do something wrong when he was angry, which would lay the groundwork for Cui Qimo to be dissatisfied with the prince.

Secondly, as the scapegoat of the crown prince, Wei Tianjie's biological mother was under house arrest by the crown prince. Naturally, he hated the crown prince and all the Wei family members. Cui Hongjing rescued his mother, asked someone to help him escape from prison, and encouraged him to file a complaint before the emperor. Wei Tianjie was naturally willing to do so, which can also explain why Wei Tianjie's words and deeds were so inconsistent. After doing these things for Cui Hongjing, he knew that he could not escape death. But Cui Hongjing helped him to avenge himself and saved his biological mother. Even if he died without a burial place, he was willing to make this deal with Cui Hongjing.

But an accident happened in the meantime. The fact that Zhu Shaoqing helped Wei Tianjie escape from prison was discovered by Cui Qimo's secret guards.

Zhu Shaoqing, who has always been neutral, is most likely Cui Hongjing's man!

Cui Hongjing didn't want him to surface, so after stealing the secret letter between the Prince and the Emperor of Xiling from Wei Mengyun's house, he asked Zhu Shaoqing to give it to Wei Tianjie and let Wei Tianjie take the lead.

The prince learned about Wei Tianjie's escape from prison and the theft of the secret letter before the emperor did. This was because Cui Hongjing deliberately let the prince know the news as soon as possible. His purpose was to force the prince to flee in a hurry.

Once he escaped, he could no longer turn back on the road of treason.

Cui Qimo remembered that when he asked Eunuch Li to reprimand the prince, Eunuch Li came back and said that the prince was already packing up his valuables.

He even suspected that his secret guards learned that the prince had private soldiers and it was Cui Hongjing who arranged for someone to deliberately reveal the information.

As for Mei Xueer being abducted by the prince, it was also a move made by Cui Hongjing. His only purpose was to remove himself from the matter.

"The prince and the princess are so loving. If it was really me who did all this, how could I have caused the princess to suffer?" This is the most irrefutable evidence.

If Cui Hongjing knew what Cui Qimo was thinking, he would definitely give his father a thumbs up and say, "Congratulations, you got it all right. But you have no evidence, so everything is just speculation."

Cui Qimo was filled with fear. When Cui Hongjing was born, the Imperial Observatory said that this child had the appearance of an emperor. The late emperor even intended to make him the crown prince.

Over the years, Cui Hongjing has remained unknown and seemed like an idle prince.

But Cui Qimo always believed that this was just an appearance.

What's more, there is a hurdle that cannot be overcome between this father and son.

That was the death of Cui Hongjing’s biological mother.

Cui Hongjing was so far-sighted that he easily overthrew the prince.

But after the whole thing, on the surface, everything had nothing to do with him.

This made Cui Qimo feel extremely frightened.

At the same time, he was angry inside.

Because he was being used.

Cui Hongjing used his hand to get rid of his political enemy, the prince.

This is something Cui Qimo absolutely cannot allow.

Therefore, he immediately named Prince Xiao as Prince Xiaoqin, and granted a marriage between Prince Xiao and Mei Qianyue, in order to restrain and warn Prime Minister Mei and suppress Prince Jing.