Shocking! Five men are in love with the same woman!

at the same time.

Inside the Second Prince's residence.

He Jingchuan and Lu Yanqing, dressed in black and masked, sneaked into the Second Prince's study and bedroom respectively.

They deftly searched for poppies.

They were to search for poppy flowers by following the image of poppies drawn by Lingyan, and to find the powdered poppies by following their scent.

The two found poppies and their powder in the dark room of the study and by the bedside in the bedroom, respectively.

Afterwards, he carefully searched other areas to ensure that nothing was missed, and then quietly left.

For two experts like them, it was very simple to avoid alerting the guards in the mansion.

When the two returned to the study in Prince Rui's mansion, Lingyan and Xiao Muyao had already returned as well.

He Jingchuan and Lu Yanqing each handed the items to Ling Yan.

Ling Yan reached out and took it, smiling as she said, "Thank you for your hard work."

At the same time, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

The reason why He Jingchuan and Lu Yanqing were sent to steal the poppies late at night was because this matter must not be exposed, otherwise, those with wavering minds might follow suit.

In the end, it will only cause more people to get infected with this stuff.

Secondly, the Tenth Prince will go to the palace to accuse the Second Prince early tomorrow morning. Although it is not about this matter, they are guilty and have done many bad things, so it is inevitable that they will transfer this thing in advance.

That will cause endless trouble in the future.

Therefore, they must steal this thing and eliminate it beforehand.

Even without this crime, they would have been dead a thousand times over.

Looking at the poppy flower and some powder in her hand, Lingyan understood some things.

If this thing is so useful to them, why did they only manage to control three officials in two years?

It turns out that there weren't many of these things, which is why they only controlled three people, all of whom were officials of the third rank or above.

Lingyan then walked to the brazier and gazed at the leaping flames.

Without the slightest hesitation, he threw all the poppies and powder in his hand into the fire, watching them struggle and writhe in the flames until they finally turned to ashes.

At that moment, an indescribable sense of ease and relief welled up in her heart, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

This thing has finally been eliminated.

It is the root of all evil.

Xiao Muyao, He Jingchuan, and Lu Yanqing stood aside, watching the flames gradually die down, their hearts filled with ease and peace of mind.

Now it's up to the tenth prince tomorrow morning.

………………

Early the next morning.

The tenth prince then had him carried into the palace, his face contorted with rage.

The palace maids and eunuchs along the way were all speculating about what was going on.

When they arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Study, Emperor Jingzhao had not yet left court.

Without a special order, he could not enter the main hall at will.

So he sat at the entrance of the main hall in the cold weather and waited.

It wasn't until half an hour later.

When Emperor Jingzhao returned from court, he saw the tenth prince sitting in a sedan chair, shivering from the cold, his face pale, but his eyes were firm and unyielding.

He was both angry and heartbroken.

He strode up to him and asked in a deep voice, "Why are you waiting here? Why aren't you going into the side hall, even though you're shivering from the cold?"

Upon seeing Emperor Jingzhao, the tenth prince's eyes instantly reddened, overwhelmed by a surge of grievance and anger.

He cried out, his voice trembling with emotion, "Father! I have come here to beg you to do me justice!"

Emperor Jingzhao was startled.

What injustice has this person suffered?

Seeing how cold the weather was, he said in a gentle tone, "Come into the palace with me, and I will take care of you."

After saying this, he stepped into the Imperial Study.

The tenth prince was overjoyed and immediately directed the eunuchs to carry him inside.

At this moment, Emperor Jingzhao was already seated at the head of the table, holding a cup of hot tea and drinking it.

The tenth prince was carried in by eunuchs and placed in the center of the main hall, after which he respectfully bowed and withdrew.

Emperor Jingzhao saw that the prince's teeth were chattering from the cold, so he signaled to the eunuch to place the brazier near the tenth prince.

The tenth prince felt the warmth, and instantly looked at Emperor Jingzhao with a face full of filial piety and emotion, choking back tears as he said, "Father..."

Emperor Jingzhao felt very gratified and pleased to see how close and dependent the tenth prince was on him, his father.

Then, with a rather loving and gentle tone, he asked, "Tell me, what do you want your father to decide for you?"

Upon hearing this, the tenth prince seemed to have found an outlet for his emotions.

Overwhelmed with emotion, he cried out angrily, "Father! The grudge of losing my leg was not committed by bandits, but by my second brother! It was my second brother who sent people to harm me in secret, Father!"

Upon hearing this, a fierce glint flashed in Emperor Jingzhao's eyes.

Then, his tone became more cautious and calm as he pressed further, "How can you be so sure it was the second brother? Do you have any solid evidence to support your conclusion?"

Upon hearing this, the tenth prince's eyes hardened even more. He quickly took out a letter from his robes and said with a determined look, "Father will understand everything after reading this letter."

Upon seeing this, the eunuch standing nearby quickly stepped forward and respectfully took the letter from the tenth prince with both hands.

Then she walked quickly and lightly to Emperor Jingzhao's side, lowered her head and carefully placed the letter on the dragon table.

Seeing that the tenth prince was so confident and had so much evidence, Emperor Jingzhao was already somewhat convinced.

After he opened the letter and read it from beginning to end, he believed it to some extent.

Every word in the letter was so reasonable and in line with human nature.

If the second brother really did this, then such a ruthless person who disregards brotherly affection is a deeply hidden venomous snake.

They've kept it hidden so well all these years.

How many other things did he do behind the scenes that he didn't know about?

Thinking of this, he was filled with anger and his face darkened.

He then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm the turmoil in his heart.

When she opened her eyes again, her gaze sharpened as she looked at the Tenth Prince and asked in a deep voice, "Who wrote this letter? Have you investigated its origin?"

The tenth prince said blankly, "Your subject does not know. This letter appeared out of thin air on my desk when I got up this morning."

Emperor Jingzhao frowned upon hearing this, his tone stern: "Based on just a letter of dubious origin, you are so certain of accusing your brother? Don't you have even the slightest suspicion?"

Upon hearing this, the Tenth Prince became extremely agitated and protested with a look of indignation, "Your subject also does not want to believe this is true, but both of my legs are broken, and I have become a cripple. This is the nightmare of my life. I just want to know the truth of the matter, so I came to the palace to ask Father to thoroughly investigate this matter, seek the truth for me, and seek justice for me."

Looking at the Tenth Prince's face, twisted with anger and resentment, and his eyes, which seemed particularly empty due to the loss of his legs.

Emperor Jingzhao knew that this encounter was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for him, and it would not be surprising if he reacted excessively.

After all, Xiao Shi was reckless, impulsive, and foolish, and the broken leg was a huge blow to him. The letter was also very reasonable, well-founded, and detailed.

It's not surprising that he impulsively believed this and came to complain.

Looking down at his son, whose legs were broken and who had become a cripple who could only be carried around, he felt guilty and heartbroken.

This matter must be thoroughly investigated to give Xiao Shi an explanation.

Even if it turns out that the second son was the one who did it, he will never tolerate it.

So he said in a gentler tone, "It is too early to draw conclusions about this matter. I will order the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to conduct a thorough investigation. They will definitely find out the truth. Just wait and see."

Upon hearing this, the tenth prince immediately shook his head and said, "Father, my second brother is a prince. When the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review investigate cases, they will inevitably be constrained and hampered. Therefore, I ask Father to find someone who can suppress my second brother in terms of status, and who is also outstanding in ability and upright in his conduct."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingzhao realized that the man was referring to the sixth prince.

That's right, it's most appropriate for Lao Liu to investigate this matter.

So he agreed, saying, "You've certainly thought this through. In that case, I'll leave this matter to your sixth brother. Are you satisfied?"

Upon hearing this, the Tenth Prince was overjoyed and said with gratitude and respect, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your wisdom! Sixth Brother is known for his virtue, outstanding ability and impartiality. I am confident that he will be able to get justice for me by investigating this matter. I will wait for your good news."

Emperor Jingzhao nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

The tenth prince immediately lowered his head and wiped his sweat where Emperor Jingzhao could not see, feeling extremely frightened.

He succeeded in doing this, and hopefully they won't try to get back at him.