Happy Spring Every Year

Chapter 156 My Son

Zhao Huaizhang knelt upright in the hall. The ministers were frightened by this sudden scene and were unable to sit still. They stood still, unable to leave or stay.

Emperor Sheng sat at his desk and first took in everyone's expressions. Then his gaze fell on Zhao Huaizhang. His eyes, which were always gloomy, now revealed a hint of surprise.

Obviously, even Emperor Sheng did not expect this this time.

The next moment, everyone reacted and almost simultaneously looked at Prince Rong who was still sitting at the table.

At this moment, Prince Rong's eyes were wide open, his face full of disbelief, and it seemed that he had not expected the prince to do such a thing.

"Huai Zhang, what are you doing!"

Prince Rong stood up suddenly and spoke sternly.

Zhao Huaixiang slowly put down the wine glass in his hand. There was shock and confusion in his slightly lowered eyes, but it soon turned into teasing and amusement.

What is Huai Zhang doing?

Could it be... that you want to bring him down?

At this time, Emperor Sheng finally spoke and asked in a deep voice, "Huai Zhang, what do you mean?"

Before Zhao Huaizhang spoke, he first looked at Zhao Huaixiang who was sitting in the upper seat.

With just one glance, Emperor Sheng waved his hand at everyone, "Everyone, step back."

The court officials had been feeling very uneasy for a long time. After all, it was better not to watch some excitement. Upon hearing the words, they felt as if they had been pardoned. They all bowed and took their leave, even Jiang Xun was no exception.

Zhao Huaixiang's gaze fell on Jiang Xun's departing back, and he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.

Jiang Xun never tried to find a chance to stay?

He didn't believe that Huai Zhang suddenly turned against him and that Jiang Xun had nothing to do with it.

But now Jiang Xun left so abruptly. Was he certain that his father would call him back, or was he convinced that Huai Zhang alone was enough to handle everything?

Emperor Sheng's eyes were dim as he also looked at Jiang Xun.

But seeing that he had already stepped out of Qingyue Palace without looking back, Emperor Sheng finally spoke, saying calmly: "Xiuzhi, stay."

Jiang Xun paused, turned around respectfully, and walked into the hall again under the gaze of all the court officials.

At this moment, all the outsiders have left.

Emperor Sheng turned his gaze back to Zhao Huaizhang, "Huaizhang, you just said you wanted to apologize, but what crime have you committed?"

Prince Rong could no longer stand still and stepped out of the line. He went to pull Zhao Huaizhang and said respectfully to Emperor Sheng:

"Brother Emperor, I'm afraid Huai Zhang has lost his mind today. This humble servant——"

"Eh."

Emperor Sheng waved his hand with a smile on his face.

"Royal brother, since the child has something to say, why bother to stop him? Just let me listen, and you can go back and sit down."

Zhao Huaizhang also withdrew his hand at this moment and whispered to Prince Rong, "Father, I must say these words. For the sake of His Majesty, and for you, Father!"

Prince Rong frowned, his face full of worry, but he could only sit back down as instructed.

Zhao Huaizhang then kowtowed and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, I am guilty. My crime is knowing that His Royal Highness Prince Xiang was plotting to murder the Crown Princess in Prince Rong's mansion, but pretending not to know."

"Because of selfish motives, he chose to add fuel to the fire, which nearly led to a disaster."

"Because of my guilt, I was coerced by His Royal Highness Prince Xiang into framing the Anyang Marquis and his wife on the day of the welcoming banquet."

"Today, His Royal Highness Prince Xiang has resorted to the same old tricks again, asking me to plot against Miss Shen, destroy her innocence, and prevent the marriage between General Dingguo's Mansion and the Marquis of Anyang's Mansion."

"My conscience is afflicted, and I cannot bear the pain. I fear I will sink deeper and deeper into depravity, and ultimately be forced by His Majesty the Prince of Xiang to commit acts of disloyalty to Your Majesty. I now offer my sincere apology to demonstrate my loyalty, and I beg Your Majesty to forgive me!"

After Zhao Huaizhang finished speaking word by word, regardless of how others reacted, Eunuch Fushun shuddered.

Before the window paper was broken, everyone was confused but everything was fine. But now, Prince Zhao revealed everything in just a few words!

I don’t know how this will end today!

Fortunately, His Royal Highness Prince Rui left the table just now, otherwise the situation would have become even more chaotic.

and many more.

Eunuch Fushun suddenly raised his eyes.

The timing of Prince Rui's departure seemed rather subtle...

When Emperor Sheng heard this, there was no anger on his face.

However, Prince Rong had lost his composure and stood up again.

Emperor Sheng's gaze swept across everyone's faces before he looked at Zhao Huaixiang, who remained calm, and said in a cold voice:

"Third brother, what do you say?"

Zhao Huaixiang, who was named, hurriedly walked out from behind the desk, knelt beside Zhao Huaizhang, and leaned forward respectfully and said:

"Replying to Your Majesty, what Huai Zhang said is all nonsense. I have no knowledge of these matters."

Zhao Huaizhang's expression changed when he heard this, "Cousin!"

Zhao Huaixiang slowly straightened his upper body and tilted his head to look at Zhao Huaizhang beside him. A hint of indifference appeared on his usually gentle face.

"Huai Zhang, although the relationship between you and me as cousins ​​in the past may not be very deep, we have always been brothers and sisters."

"I don't know who ordered you to slander me today, even at the cost of eight hundred lives."

"Cousin, let me ask you, do you have any evidence for what you just said?"

Zhao Huaixiang's voice was very calm.

The "adulterer" at the flower-viewing banquet had been killed by a knife, and everything else, whether it was leading away the maids or ordering the eunuchs to drug the cakes, was passed down through layers of communication.

All the people involved had no idea who was behind it.

As for the welcoming banquet that attracted the Anyang Earl and his wife, that was even simpler. Huai Zhang was the only one who took care of the whole thing.

Huai Zhang said that he was coerced by him?

Words are not enough, just show us solid evidence.

Zhao Huaizhang opened his mouth immediately upon hearing this, but looked at Emperor Sheng.

"Your Majesty, I am the evidence! Last night, my cousin met with me at the palace and asked me to take advantage of Huaizhen's friendship with Miss Shen."

Before Emperor Sheng could speak, Zhao Huaixiang chuckled and tilted his head, saying, "Huai Zhang, you are the complainant. How can you take the complainant's words as evidence?"

Zhao Huaixiang said this, and suddenly turned his head to look at Jiang Xun who was standing silently beside him, and said in a calm voice:

"Lord Jiang is the most skilled judge of cases. Please ask, is there any truth to this?"

Zhao Huaixiang's words instantly drew everyone's attention to Jiang Xun.

Emperor Sheng frowned and asked, "Xiuzhi, haven't you been investigating the flower viewing banquet? Have you found the culprit?"

Jiang Xun stepped out upon hearing this, shook his head, and said truthfully, "Your Majesty, please forgive my incompetence. The case of the flower viewing banquet has not yet been solved."

When Zhao Huaixiang heard this, a hint of sarcasm flashed across his lips, and it was obvious that he had expected this.

He knew that the flower viewing banquet was organized by him, and everyone must have known it.

But as long as they can't produce any evidence, my father will naturally be happy to see them fight to the end.

Besides, Huai Zhang is still stupid...

Just now he had suspected that what happened today was Jiang Xun's plan, but now looking at it again, such a vulnerable move was really not like Jiang Xun's level.

Prince Rong's existence is a thorn in my father's side. I didn't expect Huai Zhang to commit suicide today. So, why not give my father an opportunity to resolve this major concern?

This way, he actually got the advantage.

Thinking of this, Zhao Huaixiang turned back to look at Zhao Huaizhang, whose face was pale, with a cold look in his eyes, and said in a deep voice:

"Huai Zhang, you slandered and wronged me today. I can let it go and not pursue it, but as a member of the royal family, how could you be so ignorant and foolish as to be easily deceived and used by others?"

"and--"

"When you apologized just now, you mentioned the word 'selfish'. I'm very curious. You dared to condone the evildoers to murder the Crown Princess in Prince Rong's mansion. What... selfish motives did you harbor?"

When Emperor Sheng heard this, his eyes narrowed immediately.

His left hand carelessly stroked the wine glass on the table, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly, revealing a faint smile.

Zhao Huaizhang suddenly raised his eyes and saw the unpredictable expression on Emperor Sheng's face. He could no longer hide the panic on his face. It seemed that he did not expect that Zhao Huaixiang not only bit him back so neatly, but now he was deliberately picking on his mistakes.

How could he...how could he talk about his selfish motives? Now he could only avoid the important issues and focus on the trivial ones—

"Your Majesty, every word I have said is true. The flower viewing banquet was indeed orchestrated by my cousin. He is...ambitious about becoming the crown prince. He schemes and plans at every step, and his methods are ruthless."

"I, your humble servant, simply do not want to be constrained by my cousin and be disloyal to Your Majesty, so I took the risk and stood up today. I hope Your Majesty will investigate!"

When Emperor Sheng saw that Zhao Huaizhang was defeated step by step by Zhao Huaixiang's counterattack with just a few words, he curled the corners of his mouth almost imperceptibly.

My father was so keen on my younger brother being the crown prince, but wasn't he the one who sat on the throne in the end?

Now, the emperor's younger brother's son is far different from my son, and his schemes and methods are even more different.

"Huai Zhang, what's going on? You can't even produce a single piece of evidence?"

"Then do you know what the crime is for slandering and wrongfully accusing the prince?"

Zhao Huaizhang looked up suddenly when he heard this, his face full of bewilderment. He was so anxious that he knelt down and took two steps forward, mumbling something over and over in his mouth but could not say anything.

When Prince Rong saw this, he couldn't help but show despair.

He walked out of the case again, bent his knees and was about to kneel down to plead with Zhao Huaizhang, but at this moment a report came from outside the hall:

"Your Majesty, Princess Xiang is seeking an audience outside!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhao Huaixiang, who felt that he had already won, suddenly turned his head to look outside, and frowned slightly.

Ah Yin...?