The Queen’s faction breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Even those relatives and ministers who had reservations dared not oppose Ye Siheng at this mont.
The Prince Zhuang did not attend the autumn hunt, but the Fifth Prince, Prince Qing, did.
In a cold and eerie tone, he suddenly spoke, "Ninth brother, with so many relatives and important ministers present, even if you were to assu the role of regent, I would not utter a word. But as for the Crown Prince...whether he cos to assu regency or ascend the throne in the future, I will not stand for it!"
Prince Qing was different from his fourth and eighth brothers.
His birth mother was the most beloved consort of the late emperor, and he was known for his intelligence from a young age.
While the late emperor was still alive, he had been the one who clashed the most fiercely with Emperor Muwu.
He had also tried to win over Ye Siheng, but Ye Siheng remained loyal only to the late emperor and was unmoved.
Later, Emperor Muwu gained the upper hand and suppressed Prince Qing ruthlessly, stripping him of his eligibility to contend for the throne and reducing him to a re idle bystander.
Now, Prince Qing boldly uttered these words, causing various reactions and sparking discussions among the crowd.
Empress Xie’s face turned cold as she was the first to inquire, "What do you an by this, Fifth brother?! My son was personally appointed as the Crown Prince by the emperor himself, destined to inherit the throne. It is unalterable principle!"
Prince Qing walked forward slowly, tilting his head slightly and revealing a disdainful expression.
"Indeed, the Crown Prince was personally appointed by our late brother. But the Crown Prince practices sinister and wicked arts, plotting against our late brother. What qualifications does he have to assu regency and inherit the throne?"
His words landed like a stone thrown into a lake, creating a huge splash.
Ye Siheng furrowed his brows slightly.
Pri Minister Lu was shocked.
"What?!" Marquis Zhenbei was furious.
"Prince Qing, do you realize the consequences of slandering the Crown Prince?!"
"I am not slandering; there are eyewitnesses!" Prince Qing brushed his sleeve.
"If I were to bow down to such an unfaithful and unjust Crown Prince, I would rather die!"
Many courtiers wore uncertain expressions.
Emperor Muwu had been in good spirits earlier in the morning, but suddenly beca unwell.
There was indeed sothing suspicious about his illness.
It was possible that he had been hard by sinister and wicked arts.
"This is simply a baseless accusation!"
Ye Chengyan’s forehead veins bulged as he spoke.
"Previously, the Crown Prince invited Master Xue to set up defensive formations, specifically to guard against evil influences! Everyone knows that Miss Chu possesses profound knowledge in Daoism, and she personally inspected the area, finding no issues!"
Prince Qing sneered. "Is the Crown Prince insinuating that Miss Chu helped cover up the truth? Ninth brother, you were also present yesterday. I just want to ask you one question: are you and the Crown Prince colluding to harm our brother?!"
Ye Siheng remained composed, neither anxious nor impatient, as he replied, "Fifth brother, your words sounds serious. However, I inspected the area with A’li and found nothing amiss. If she overlooked sothing, I will take responsibility."
Prince Qing took a step back.
"I trust your character, ninth brother. As for the Crown Prince... bring him in!"
He had made preparations in advance, and with a shout, a mber of the Imperial Guards escorted a soldier into the hall.
The soldier dared not lift his head, trembling as he spoke, "I did see it with my own eyes. The Crown Prince, accompanied by that Daoist, dug up the ground in Changqiu Hall and placed sothing inside. At first, I didn’t pay much attention, but when the Emperor suddenly fell ill today, I beca suspicious and thought it over. That’s why I reported this matter to Prince Qing."
"Such a thing never happened! How dare you, a lowly soldier, slander the Crown Prince?!"
Ye Chengyan angrily retorted.
"Buried underground? No wonder Miss Chu failed to detect it,"
Ye Chengbo interjected.
"Elder Brother Crown Prince, please don’t be angry. If we dig it up and take a look, the truth will be revealed, won’t it?"
"Indeed, ever since our late brother moved into Changying Hall, the Imperial Guards were stationed there and no one could have buried anything during that ti," Prince Qing stated.
Pri Minister Lu and the others nodded in agreent.
Even if the object was not buried by the Crown Prince, since the Crown Prince was responsible for preparing everything in the hunting palace, any mistakes made would be considered negligence and should be punished.
And the one with the greatest power in this matter was none other than Ye Siheng.
However, he was not in a hurry and called for Nanli to be brought forward.
Upon the emperor’s misfortune, the masses retreated to their respective abodes, while Nanli resided in the hunting palace, so it naturally took her little ti to arrive. However, as soon as she stepped into the Changqiu Hall and cast her gaze upon the courtyard, her brows furrowed tightly.
Ye Siheng, observing her expression, knew that indeed sothing was amiss within the hall.
He inquired, "Is there truly an issue?"
When Nanli ca, Qing Feng had already briefed her on the general situation.
This matter implicated her and Ye Siheng, and now she had to completely absolve herself of suspicion.
Ye Siheng’s public inquiry indicated that he must have shared the sa thought.
That foolish Crown Prince, they could no longer protect him.
"Yin energy is strong, particularly nacing at night. If one were to spend two nights here, their yang energy would undoubtedly be greatly depleted."
Nanli produced a compass, its needle incessantly swaying, revealing that this gathering place of yin energy was not limited to one location.
Empress Xie was filled with alarm.
Zhenbei Marquis, his face pale, knew that Nanli had saved him twice before and was well aware of her abilities.
Thus, at this mont, he did not question the veracity of her words.
He abruptly turned his gaze towards Ye Chengyan, feeling as if he were being fried in oil.
Regardless of whether the Crown Prince was aware or not, trouble had now befallen them!
The others also wore expressions of astonishnt.
anwhile, Ye Chengbo remarked, "Why didn’t the Sixth Miss notice it yesterday but only today?"
The finger of bla pointed towards Nanli, insinuating that she might be in cahoots with the Crown Prince.
Nanli, however, remained unperturbed and calmly replied, "So sinister formations lie hidden in the depths, only revealing themselves when activated. Crown Prince, I did ask you yesterday if you had dug into the ground. At that ti, both the Imperial Guards and the accompanying palace attendants heard it, didn’t they?"
Ye Chengyan’s mind had gone blank, standing there dumbfounded with no reaction whatsoever.
It was still Qing Feng who recognized the people and brought them over to vindicate Nanli’s innocence.
Night Chengbo’s gaze dimd slightly as he said, "So it seems that the Sixth Miss truly had no knowledge of it."
Empress Xie, however, exclaid, "I also stayed in the Changqiu Hall for two nights, why haven’t I experienced anything?!"
Ye Siheng was also sowhat puzzled by this.
He looked towards Nanli for an explanation.
Nanli clarified, "Because this sinister entity does not target won, only n who have fallen asleep. The Imperial Guards and eunuchs keep watch and do not sleep, so their yang energy remains unhard."
Only Emperor Muwu, who slept the deepest, suffered the most severe depletion of yang energy.
Empress Xie gritted her teeth and retorted, "This is an absurd claim."
Prince Qing leisurely interjected, "Empress, whether it is true or not, it will beco clear soon enough."
They had already wasted enough ti, and Pri Minister Lu urged, "Ninth Prince, quickly order soone to dig out those sinister entities!"
The others hastened to agree.
They were all uneasy, knowing that this place harbored sinister entities.
Ye Siheng instructed Qing Feng to lead the way.
"The formation has already been revealed, and the closer one gets, the easier it is to be hard."
Nanli did not let the Black Armor Guards take action; instead, she called upon a few palace maids for assistance.
The palace maids never expected that their duties of serving the nobility would extend to digging up such malevolent objects. They were terrified, trembling as they held their tools.
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