The Duke's Daughter is Reborn

The gilded teacup with coiled dragon pattern trembled slightly between the fifth prince's fingers, and ripples appeared in the green tea soup. A few drops of amber liquid splashed onto the bright yellow carpet, slowly spreading like a bloodstain.

He lowered his eyes to hide the sinister look in them. The rim of the gilded cup was knocked three times, creating a tiny echo in the dead silent hall.

"Father!" The fifth prince suddenly stood up. The golden dragon on his navy blue brocade robe flickered in the sunlight, as if trying to break free from its restraints and soar into the sky.

"The Xihu war report may contain hidden secrets! I just received a secret letter recently." He deliberately dragged out the ending tone, causing the air in the hall to suddenly freeze. "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is secretly colluding with the second prince of Xiluo, Kueryong!"

Before he finished speaking, the letter thrown from the Fifth Prince's sleeve cut through the stagnant air and "snap" onto the gold brick in front of the emperor.

The cinnabar seal on the parchment was as red as blood, and it glowed with an eerie luster in the sunlight.

"This is a secret letter written by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Kulyong!" The Fifth Prince's voice suddenly rose. "The Crown Prince promised to provide three years of grain and grass in the south of the Yangtze River in exchange for the 100,000 cavalrymen who were captured from the west and marched south!"

The hall suddenly became dead silent.

Yang Qi felt cold sweat oozing from the back of his neck, his fingertips dug deeply into his palms. From the corner of his eye he saw that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was still standing with his hands behind his back, the golden dragon on his black python robe flowing in the sunlight.

However, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War quietly moved to the side of the Fifth Prince without anyone noticing.

Song Hongwen and the old lady leaned against the back pillar and held their breath.

The Duke's Mansion has been like being caught in a whirlpool over the past six months - as soon as the affair between Yang Lan and the Fifth Prince was confirmed, the Fifth Prince was detained in the mansion and was not allowed to go out. Now, Prime Minister Bai and Lord Nianchuan have been imprisoned one after another. They had hoped that Yang Qi would climb up the tree of the Crown Prince, but who knew that the Fifth Prince would fight back at this moment!

If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince really lost today, Song Hongwen and the old lady didn't dare to think about what would happen in the Duke's Mansion in the future.

"Present it!" The emperor stood up suddenly, his bright yellow dragon robe rustling, and his sleeves embroidered with golden dragons drew sharp arcs in the air.

The eunuch beside the fifth prince knelt forward to take the letter, and presented it to the emperor with both hands. Every step he took seemed to be stepping on everyone's heart.

After quickly reading the contents of the letter, the emperor stared at the prince kneeling at the banquet, and said in a voice that seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth: "Yuan Ruiyuan, take a look for yourself!"

The emperor's hand holding the letter suddenly stopped, and his knuckles turned white from the force.

With a "swish" sound, the bright yellow letter, filled with anger, smashed towards the prince's face!

The sharp edge cut the prince's cheek, and a blood mark ran diagonally down from the cheekbone.

Yuan Ruiyuan didn't even frown and slowly picked up the letter.

Blood dripped from the fingertips onto the parchment, making the words "going south" look even more hideous.

"Father, please understand." The prince's voice was terrifyingly calm. He took out the wax-sealed private seal from his bosom and said, "The private seal on this letter is a fake. My son's real private seal is here. You will know the truth after careful inspection."

When Concubine Hua saw the Crown Prince responding so calmly, the sneer on the corner of her lips instantly froze on her face. She glanced at the Queen's calm face out of the corner of her eye and felt more uneasy. Could it be that news of today's incident had leaked out?

Then, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince raised his eyes and looked around the hall. His gaze was like a knife blade, sweeping across the slightly uneasy face of the Fifth Prince. "I have another secret letter in my hand--"

The unfolded paper pages rustled in the sunlight, the Fifth Prince stumbled back and knocked over the table, and the jade cup shattered with a sharp sound.

"Recently, I received a secret report that my fifth brother secretly sent Han Renyuan, the legitimate son of the Minister of Revenue, to Xiluo to conspire with Kueryong.

These are the secret reports between the fifth brother and Kulyong in recent years. The fifth brother used the grain from Jiangnan as bait in exchange for 3,000 war horses from the Western Hu.

And, conspiring to forge a letter to frame my son and minister for treason.

He raised his eyes and looked around the hall, his gaze finally falling on the pale face of the Fifth Prince.

The Fifth Prince staggered back half a step, his heart beating very rapidly. When did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince know all these things? He even discovered the affairs of Han Renyuan.

Could it be that Han Renyuan's trip to Xihu this time was under the surveillance of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?

There were gasps one after another in the hall. Today's events were indeed full of twists and turns.

No matter which prince is guilty of treason, once it is confirmed, he will be killed without a burial place.

The emperor laid several secret letters side by side on the table, and pressed his fingertips heavily on Yuan Ruiyin's private seal. "Han Renyuan!" The emperor slammed the table and stood up. "Send him to the palace immediately!"

Han Renyuan currently holds no official position and is not qualified to participate in such an occasion today.

The fifth prince suddenly kowtowed heavily, his forehead hitting the bluestone slab and blood spurting out: "I also ask your Majesty to investigate carefully. Han Renyuan and I...were just singing poems together!" His voice trembled, "There is absolutely no act of collaborating with the enemy or selling out the country!"

"Poetry and prose?" The prince sneered, "Earlier, my uncle wrote to me and said that the weapons of the Western robbers were improved, and they seemed to be made by the Jiangnan Lei family."

He glanced at the ministers in the hall who were in an uproar, "Fifth brother, do you really think--" His voice stopped abruptly, and his bloody fingertips suddenly pointed in the direction of Concubine Hua: "The Lei family's joining you, I'm afraid it wasn't Concubine Nian who was in charge, right?"

The Jiangnan Lei family was originally just a gangster force, and was always famous for forging weapons.

A few years ago, Nian Chuan suddenly married his wife's younger sister to the head of the Lei family, but the matter was handled in a low-key manner, and not many people knew about it unless they deliberately investigated.

However, the emperor knew it, and so did the powerful officials present!

Hua Fei's golden phoenix hairpin broke with a "click", and the oriental pearls fell to the ground.

She stood up suddenly, her golden skirt sweeping the fruit plate on the table: "How dare you!" Her nails stained with nail polish pointed directly at the prince, "The emperor is here today, how can you speak nonsense!"

"Shut up!" The emperor was so furious that the paperweight on the desk was swept down and shattered.

The Queen's fan snapped shut, and the jade pendant jingled. "Hua Fei, be careful with your words."

She walked forward slowly, the pearls hanging from her phoenix crown covering the cold light in her eyes: "I remember that the Lei family's assets were taken over by the Fifth Prince's Mansion a long time ago?"

The fifth prince curled up on the ground, hearing his own violent heartbeat.

The grain from the south of the Yangtze River, the war horses from the west of the Hu, the forged letters...it turned out that all the chess pieces had been seen through long ago. He looked up tremblingly and saw the bright sunlight reflected in the prince's eyes, like a poisoned blade.

It's over, it's all over. Looking at the emperor with his already cold eyes, Hua Fei knew that she and the fifth prince would probably become the emperor's abandoned children.

Over the years, the emperor has always turned a blind eye to Rui Yin's private actions. Even when he stationed troops near Xihu in the name of bandits, the emperor did not reprimand Rui Yin much.

They were worried that if Rui Yin lost power in the court, the Crown Prince would become the only one in power and the original balance would be lost.

But now, the emperor is the emperor of Tianyuan after all, and Rui Yin's actions have already stepped on the emperor's bottom line. After this game, Rui Yin has no chance of winning.

Hua Fei suddenly laughed shrilly, the broken pieces of the golden hairpin scratched her fingertips: "Your Highness, you have a good trick."