Chapter 176 - 177: A Dead Heart
According to regulations, the Crown Prince’s coffin was supposed to lie in state at the Crown Prince Mansion for seven days.
However, since the Crown Prince’s coffin had already traveled for many days, and the climate was still relatively warm, a putrid odor could already be detected around it.
If it were left for a few more days, it was feared the entire mourning hall would be filled with a foul stench.
Thus, on the second day, the Emperor ordered the funeral to proceed.
The civil and military officials escorted the Crown Prince’s coffin to the Imperial Mausoleum. The Crown Princess Consort, leading the women of the household, wept until she was breathless, and every household in the city hung white banners and white lanterns.
As his parents, the Emperor and Empress could not attend the funeral procession. They could only face the direction of the Imperial Mausoleum and shed silent tears.
Although the Crown Prince had been buried, the investigation into the cause of his death was still ongoing.
The three bandits Prince Zhao had brought back were investigated and interrogated relentlessly by the Ministry of Justice and the Secretariat. They were tormented to their limits before the questioning finally ceased.
As the Crown Prince’s favored concubine, Lin Qingzhi naturally did not escape this ordeal. She was imprisoned and subjected to questioning.
Even Bian Ziming, the General of the Brave Cavalry, was thrown into prison and interrogated several times over.
If Prince Zhao had not been gravely injured and ordered by the Emperor to remain confined to his home in reflection, it was likely he too would have been "invited" for a visit to the Ministry of Justice Prison.
Though he was spared imprisonment, officials from the Secretariat still came to Prince Zhao’s residence to question him about the incident.
Three days later, the Minister of Ministry of Justice entered the palace to report the results of the investigation to the Emperor.
The Emperor read through the stack of written testimonies placed before him, one by one.
The Minister of Ministry of Justice carefully observed the Emperor’s expression but could not discern anything from it.
Having occupied the throne for many years, the Emperor had long mastered the art of betraying no emotion, making it difficult for his ministers to guess his true thoughts from his expression.
The Minister of Ministry of Justice spoke cautiously.
"When the Crown Prince was killed, Prince Zhao and his trusted aides were indeed not present. Not only can the General of the Brave Cavalry attest to this, but all the soldiers of the Tiger Roar Camp can as well. It is undeniably true."
The Emperor casually placed the stack of testimonies on the desk and asked.
"Have you identified the origins of the bandits who assassinated the Crown Prince?"
The Minister of Ministry of Justice answered truthfully.
"This minister sent men to cross-reference the arrest warrants issued by the various regional prefectures and found the wanted notices for those bandits.
"They are bandits who were holed up in the Kai Feng Mountain area, making a living by robbing passing merchants.
"They have also plundered several villages—burning, killing, and looting. There is no evil they haven’t committed.
"The disaster relief funds and grain that the Ministry of War dispatched an escort for were ambushed and stolen by them. The two accompanying Imperial Censors were also killed by their hand."
The Emperor frowned slightly. "Such vicious bandits, and the local prefecture did nothing?"
The Minister of Ministry of Justice explained sheepishly.
"These bandits are extremely cunning. They specifically target small, remote villages. After looting them, they burn the villages to the ground, leaving no one to report the crime to the authorities.
"By the time the prefecture learned of these incidents, the bandits had long since vanished, making them impossible to catch.
"With no other options, the prefecture could only issue the arrest warrants in the hope of finding some trace of them."
’Now that these bandits have been completely wiped out,’ the Minister of Ministry of Justice thought, ’it could be said that a great menace to the court has been eliminated.’
’It’s just that the price paid was tragically high.’
He didn’t dare to voice this thought, only lamenting it silently in his heart.
The Emperor’s index finger tapped lightly on the desk, his thoughts unreadable.
After a moment, he slowly asked.
"How did those bandits come to target the Crown Prince? And how did they know his movements?"
The Minister of Ministry of Justice answered truthfully.
"When the bandits attacked the Crown Prince, Lin Liangyuan was also present.
"She said the bandits’ families—the old and the young—had all been killed. They believed the Crown Prince had sent men to do it, so they came after him, desperate for revenge.
"The Crown Prince’s movements were no secret; anyone could have found them out with a little digging."
The Emperor asked, "Who killed the families of those bandits?"
The Minister of Ministry of Justice replied, "Men have been sent to investigate. There are no definitive results yet."
The Emperor said coldly.
"Continue the investigation."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After the Minister of Ministry of Justice departed, the Empress emerged from behind a screen.
The Emperor had someone hand her the stack of testimonies and said slowly.
"You heard all of that, I presume. Based on the clues we have so far, this matter is unrelated to Prince Zhao."
The Empress quickly read through all the testimonies, her brow furrowed. She was clearly dissatisfied with the results of the investigation.
"The Crown Prince never ordered anyone to kill those bandits’ families.
"Someone must have killed the bandits’ families, then framed the Crown Prince to incite the bandits to attack and assassinate him.
"The only person capable of all this is Prince Zhao!"
The Emperor calmly retorted, "Do you have proof?"
The Empress replied, "If we just arrest Prince Zhao and everyone around him and torture them, we will certainly find proof."
The Emperor stared at her.
"Arresting a high-ranking minister of the court without proof is not the act of an enlightened ruler."
The Empress didn’t care about what an enlightened ruler should or shouldn’t do. In her heart, at this moment, nothing was more important than revenge.
She took a step forward, staring at the Emperor with her red-rimmed eyes, and enunciated each word.
"I know you favor Prince Zhao, but this is about the truth of our son’s murder! As his father, should you not seek justice for him?"
Zuo Ji spoke up with a reminder, "Empress, please mind your tone when speaking to the Saint."
Ordinarily, no one had the right to interrupt a conversation between the Emperor and Empress.
But the Emperor did not reprimand Zuo Ji for speaking out of turn.
This was enough to show that the Emperor tacitly approved of Zuo Ji’s words.
The Empress’s expression darkened.
She frowned and snapped, "This is not your place to speak."
Zuo Ji did not grow angry. He just gave a helpless smile and calmly tried to placate her.
"This servant knows you are grieving the Crown Prince’s passing.
"In truth, the Saint’s grief is no less than yours. There is no need to take your anger out on him.
"Forgive my bluntness, but the dead are gone, and the living must go on."
’There are countless examples in history of a Crown Prince dying unexpectedly,’ he thought. ’But never has a dynasty thrown the entire court into chaos over it.’
’After all, the Emperor has more than one son.’
’Without this Crown Prince, another can be appointed.’
The Empress looked to the Emperor, but he remained silent.
She understood his stance at once.
Suddenly, she laughed. She kept laughing until tears streamed down her face.
"Your Majesty has many children, but I only had one—Cheng’er. He was my very life.
"Now that he has been killed, my heart has died along with him."
With that, she turned and walked away, not sparing the Emperor another glance, looking utterly like a lost soul.
The Emperor closed his eyes.
Silence fell over Hanzhang Hall.
Zuo Ji wanted to comfort the Emperor but did not know what to say.
After a long while, he heard the Emperor mutter as if in a dream.
"This is all... retribution..."
Zuo Ji’s heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly lowered his head, pretending he hadn’t heard a thing.