Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 374 Do you think there is no evidence of secret communication?

Chapter 374: Chapter 374 Do you think there is no evidence of secret communication?

The people of the Imperial Palace didn’t expect that Imperial Noble Consort Qin, who was extremely favored, would return from the Traveling Palace only to become a prisoner at the foot of the stairs.

Shocking everyone, she had been in an illicit affair with a young guard for at least a year.

Of course, matters within the palace walls were never simple, and whether Imperial Noble Consort Qin actually had an affair would have to be personally investigated by the Emperor.

Still, the fall of Imperial Noble Consort Qin from the heights of favor to the depths of disgrace was truly a cause for sighs.

The Young Prince was still unaware of the situation.

There were not a few in the palace who took advantage of the situation to speak ill, which showed just how unpopular Imperial Noble Consort Qin was.

The Second Prince and the Third Prince suspected that the Fourth Prince had private dealings with the Western Regions and even speculated that the Young Prince might actually be the seed of the Fourth Prince and Imperial Noble Consort Qin. Now with Imperial Noble Consort Qin in trouble, both sides were waiting to kick her while she was down.

If the Fourth Prince dared to show his face in the matter of Imperial Noble Consort Qin, they would use this opportunity to strip him of his hide even if it didn’t kill him.

The Fourth Prince had not acted rashly, but inside Prince Jing’s Mansion, there was a silence as cold as ice; the servants dared not make a sound when moving about, fearing that the Fourth Prince would chop them down to vent his fury.

Lately, everything for the Fourth Prince seemed to go awry, with many allies suddenly turning their backs on him. His favorite son was still in the hands of the Second Prince, and although he had expended manpower and lost several good men, the child remained under the control of the Second Prince. His young son was still in the palace, oblivious to the situation.

He twirled his Buddhist bead bracelet furiously, but his murderous aura was simply impossible to suppress. Finally, grinding his teeth, he ripped off the bracelet hatefully and looked at the fire burning confidential letters beside him, tempted to throw the bracelet into the flames.

"Murong Jiu! The thing I regret most is not killing you!"

The person he hated most in his heart was none other than Murong Jiu.

Although he believed that it was impossible for Murong Jiu to know things she shouldn’t, subsequent events and various signs indicated that Murong Jiu knew far more than he had imagined.

He also regretted being too complacent and reckless back then, startling the snake by striking the grass. If he hadn’t abducted Murong Jiu, perhaps she would never have known that he, too, had been reincarnated.

He thought this way because before that incident, Murong Jiu had been in the light while he lurked in the shadows, always taking precautions against her, without her or Prince Ling’s Mansion ever suspecting him.

The Fourth Prince admitted to himself that his judgment had been clouded, thinking that everything was within his control and that he could manipulate outcomes. After half a year of observation, he mistakenly believed Murong Jiu to be a woman he could use. He was indeed once attracted to Murong Jiu, thinking she was different from the rest.

He even thought that their mutual reincarnation was a sign from the heavens, suggesting that he and she were a predestined match.

Now it seemed, such thoughts were naively ludicrous to the extreme.

He should have ordered Mo Yu to kill her in the moat that day instead of abducting her and heading towards the direction of the Western Regions.

By doing so, he not only exposed himself, but also lost Mo Yu, an unparalleled expert in Qinggong.

With Mo Yu, she was able to enter and exit the Imperial Palace without detection and pass messages between him and Consort Qin. Yet Mo Yu met a tragic end at the hands of Murong Jiu.

Murong Jiu was not his predestined match, but someone that came to thwart him!

The more the Fourth Prince thought about it, the more he hated her, but Jun Yuyan protected Murong Jiu too well, leaving him no opportunity to strike.

The assassination attempts he had orchestrated were cut short; the assassins known as Dead Soldiers were surrounded and shot upon entering the estate, none ever returning alive.

Furthermore, Murong Jiu had the protection of a powerful Silver Wolf by her side.

Indeed, this time at the Traveling Palace would have been the perfect opportunity, but the Fourth Prince never expected Jun Yuyan to suddenly remove many of his people, rendering Na Keqin and Imperial Guard Zheng Min utterly useless.

Now, he faced framing by Jun Yuyan and Murong Jiu, which led his father, the Emperor, to believe the two were involved.

Given the Emperor’s suspicions, Imperial Noble Consort Qin’s good days are about to come to an end.

The Fourth Prince is concerned about the Young Prince; once the Young Prince is deemed illegitimate, he will never inherit the throne, even if all other members of the Imperial Family perish.

Moreover, there’s the matter of Na Kesi, which made the Fourth Prince’s expression grow even grimmer.

"Someone! Have you found Master Hui Jue yet?"

He asked angrily.

"Your subordinate is incompetent, there’s still no trace of Master Hui Jue. It’s as if he has evaporated from the face of earth. The people of Prince Ling are also searching for him."

"A bunch of trash!"

The Fourth Prince clenched the Buddhist bead bracelet in his hand, fighting the urge to throw it into the fire, and instead, he put it back on his wrist.

This bracelet was treasured by Murong Jiu; it must have special qualities.

He had previously learned that Murong Jiu was once plagued by nightmares and it was a monk named Master Hui Jue who solved the issue for her, possibly possessing real skills.

The Fourth Prince wished to find this person.

Unfortunately, nothing was going as hoped!

"Then seize the monks from his temple. For each day he does not show up, kill one monk, until none are left!"

The Fourth Prince cared nothing for karmic virtue; he only knew that becoming Emperor had become his greatest obsession. He had returned to this point with an early advantage and could not possibly fail to achieve his goal! The death of more people was a trivial price to pay!

The confidant knelt on the ground: "My lord, I have considered this method, but the monks from the temple have also fled. It seems to be Prince Ling’s doing, as he is likely guarding against us making such a move."

"Damn it!"

...

The Emperor sat on his high chair, looking indifferently at the tied-up Imperial Noble Consort Qin and Imperial Guard Zheng Min, who were kneeling on the ground.

Behind them, there were several other similarly bound guards, eunuchs, and palace maids.

These people readily confessed, claiming they had aided Imperial Noble Consort Qin and Zheng Min by signaling and passing secret messages for them.

Both of them, with their mouths gagged, upon hearing this, their eyes widened in panic, struggling frantically to speak.

The Emperor’s eyes flickered, and the eunuch immediately removed the cloth stuffed in their mouths.

"Your Majesty! I have been wronged! These people have been instructed to frame me! There has been nothing improper between Guard Zheng and myself, we are innocent!"

"Your Majesty, I am wronged as well! I can swear to heaven, I have never harbored indecent intentions towards the Imperial Noble Consort, please discern the truth! These palace maids and eunuchs are slandering Guard Zheng and the Imperial Noble Consort, they are baseless accusations with no evidence!"

Zheng Min shouted loudly, aware that he must not give in, must not admit to anything. Otherwise, he would surely have no place to be buried. His entire family was under the Fourth Prince, and he had witnessed the Fourth Prince’s extraordinary mentality and methods. He believed that the Fourth Prince would definitely find a way to clear his and the Imperial Noble Consort’s suspicion.

Next to him, Jun Yuyan spoke in a flat voice, "Guard Zheng, do you believe that there’s no evidence of your affair with the Imperial Noble Consort?"

"Impossible! There can’t be any evidence; we are innocent. Any supposed evidence must be forged. Your Majesty! You must not be deceived by Prince Ling!"

The Emperor’s face darkened immediately, and he asked Jun Yuyan, "What is the evidence? Present it to me now!"

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