Who put the yellow robe on me?

Emperor Liang sat upright on the dragon throne, scanning his ministers with sharp eyes. Civil and military officials gathered in the court with solemn expressions.

"Where is the Ministry of Justice? In yesterday's traitor case, were the traitors found out?" Emperor Liang asked Bai Binggong.

The Minister of Justice stepped out and knelt respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice has not yet received the suspect that the Sixteenth Prince mentioned."

After hearing this, Emperor Liang frowned slightly: "Jiang Chen, what's going on?"

The sixteenth prince Jiang Chen remained expressionless as he walked forward steadily and was about to speak.

The Ninth Prince Jiang Yu took the opportunity to step forward and said, "Father, I believe that Sixteenth Brother has failed to catch the traitor and is clearly deceiving the court."

Jiang Chen glanced at Jiang Yu out of the corner of his eye, then bowed to Emperor Liang and said, "Father, I'm sure we haven't caught the traitor, but..."

Seeing this, Jiang Yu's eyes flashed with pride, and he continued to take advantage of the opportunity to attack: "Sixteenth brother, deceiving the emperor is a serious crime. Not only will you be beheaded, but in serious cases, you will also..."

Jiang Chen sneered and jokingly asked, "What else do you want to do? Kill all nine clans?"

The Ninth Prince was speechless for a moment after hearing what Jiang Chen said. His face flushed red and he had nothing to say. He could only glare at Jiang Chen angrily.

Kill the entire clan? Isn't that equivalent to killing Emperor Liang and himself together...

Emperor Liang's eyes became sharper, and his tone was unhappy: "Jiang Chen, what is going on?"

Jiang Chen bowed calmly and said firmly, "Father, although I haven't caught any traitors in the enemy army, I have confirmed that there are important officials in the court who are secretly in contact with the traitors."

After hearing this, the ministers began to discuss in low voices, speculating on the Sixteenth Prince's intentions. There was an uproar in the Wanhe Hall, and the atmosphere was tense.

Jiang Yu sneered and continued questioning, "How can we confirm that a high-ranking official was in cahoots with a traitor without even catching him? Sixteenth brother, are you exaggerating?"

Emperor Liang's expression gradually became dissatisfied, and his brows furrowed. "Jiang Chen, tell me in detail. If you say anything false, I will not forgive you."

Jiang Chen was waiting for these words. He smiled faintly and said, "It happened over a month ago. Zhong Xiaodan, the second son of the Zhong family, accidentally heard in the capital that the Western Regions were planning to deal with the Zhong family."

"Zhong Xiaodan then followed them to the outskirts, hoping to learn more about the details, but was accidentally discovered and was poisoned and seriously injured. However, he heard that the traitor was colluding with a senior official in the court..."

Having said that, Jiang Chen slowly walked towards the Minister of Works Xu Jingzhu and the Left Vice Minister of Works Zheng Jiangcheng, staring at Xu Jingzhu.

Xu Jingzhu was extremely nervous under his gaze, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

When the ministers saw Jiang Chen staring at Xu Jingzhu, they couldn't help feeling suspicious.

Jiang Chen looked at Xu Jingzhu and smiled slightly, then turned to look at Zheng Jiangcheng.

"This person should be you, Zheng Jiangcheng, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works."

After hearing this, a huge stone in Xu Jingzhu's heart fell to the ground instantly.

There was an uproar in the court, and all the ministers turned to look at Zheng Jiangcheng, and there was constant discussion.

"Is the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works a traitor?"

"Isn't this impossible? Minister Zheng has always been loyal..."

"I feel like the Sixteenth Prince is framing Zheng Jiangcheng."

……

Zheng Jiangcheng looked pale, nervous, and his eyes were wandering, making him look extremely uneasy.

At this moment, the Minister of Justice Bai Binggong was the first to jump out and object, his voice was sonorous and powerful:

"Everything requires evidence. Does Your Highness Sixteenth have sufficient evidence to prove that the Minister of Works is a traitor?"

Jiang Chen replied calmly: "There are three pieces of evidence."

He held up a finger and said firmly, "First, the Ministry of Works' horses were ridden out of the capital on the day Second Master Zhong was murdered, and were seen outside the city talking with people from the Western Regions."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Binggong immediately questioned: "Can you conclude that he is the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works based solely on a horse?"

"The Ministry of Works has a large staff. Isn't this too much of a joke, Sixteenth Prince?"

Jiang Chen smiled slightly and continued, "Master Bai is absolutely right. This can only be considered to be the work of someone from the Ministry of Works, but we cannot confirm that this person is the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works."

Jiang Chen extended his second finger and said to Emperor Liang, "Secondly, after Zhong Xiaodan's accident, I went to Tianlu Palace and looked through the records."

"Oh?" Emperor Liang frowned. "I remember you went to Tianlu Palace to look for information related to the Autumn Examination."

Jiang Chen was shocked, thinking that this old man had a really good memory, but he had to pretend nothing happened:

"Yes, Father, I did look for information related to the Autumn Examination and informed the General, the Imperial Hospital, and others to prepare for the Autumn Examination."

"However, I also looked up the relevant borrowing records of the Ministry of Works documents that day."

"Five days before Zhong Xiaodan's accident, it was discovered that Minister of Works Xu Jingzhu, Left Vice Minister of Works Zheng Jiangcheng, and Right Vice Minister of Works Cheng Zhusheng had all borrowed important documents from the Ministry of Works."

"And the content of this information is exactly the city defense information of the important checkpoints in the Western Regions."

Xu Jingzhu clasped his hands together and explained to Emperor Liang, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works borrowed these materials because a month ago, there were unusual changes in the defenses of the Western Regions. We went to inspect the defense checkpoints in the Western Regions, and three of us borrowed materials from three different prefectures and counties to strengthen the defenses. This is our duty, Your Majesty!"

Jiang Chen looked directly at Xu Jingzhu. "Oh? Then, may I ask, Lord Xu, do you know what materials the Left Vice Minister of Works borrowed?"

Xu Jingzhu answered confidently, "I know that. According to our internal discussions at the time, he borrowed the 'Liangzhou City Gate Structure Diagram'."

Jiang Chen sneered and said sharply, "Master Xu, the document borrowed by the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works was not the 'Liangzhou City Gate Structure Diagram', but the 'Liangzhou Tower Design Drawing'."

"Ah?" Xu Jingzhu was shocked after hearing this.

The ministers were confused and didn't know the difference and connection between the two.

General Zhong Wenbin stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Liangzhou Tower is Liangzhou City's greatest strength. It has defended against numerous invasions from the Western Regions. Its combination of offense and defense makes it Liangzhou City's most powerful defensive weapon."

"The Liangzhou City Gate has not been repaired since Emperor Shengzu ascended the throne, and it is a hidden danger to Liangzhou City."

Jiang Chen struck while the iron was hot and added, "If you borrow the 'Liangzhou City Gate Structure Diagram,' you can be considered considering the people of Liangzhou City. But borrowing the 'Liangzhou Tower Design Drawings' is tantamount to personally destroying Liangzhou City's most powerful weapon."

Emperor Liang's expression grew increasingly gloomy, and he stared coldly at Zheng Jiangcheng. However, he suppressed his anger and said to Jiang Chen, "Go on."

Jiang Chen cupped his hands and replied, "Yes, Father."

He held up a third finger and continued, "Third, this is the most direct evidence of the Left Vice Minister of Works colluding with the enemy!"