Chapter 59

Yang Qing looked at the empty house, somewhat dumbfounded. Yesterday, he still saw Deputy Commander Yang Yi working in the office, but today, he had vanished without a trace.

Stepping into Yang Yi's study, he could still smell a burnt odor. In the brazier beside the desk, there was still a large basin of black ash. Yang Qing squatted down and carefully sifted through the ashes, finding some unburned fragments, which he collected as if they were treasures.

"Call people in to search! Scrape the ground, he left in a hurry and might not have cleaned up everything thoroughly." An Ruhai just looked around the door and then turned to leave, appearing to be deeply troubled.

In the courtyard stood a peach tree, in full bloom. The peach blossoms were still as beautiful as ever, but the people were gone. Looking back at the gate, An Ruhai's face was extremely grim.

"Commander, we found it. As you expected, there are still many things in the study. He left in such a hurry that he didn't burn everything." Yang Qing came out of the house, holding a stack of items.

It was already deep into the night, but the Inner Guard Office was brightly lit. In a very short time, the Inner Guard had arrested nearly twenty people in the capital, and all of them were members of the Crown Prince's faction.

An Ruhai did not participate in the interrogation, leaving it all to Yang Qing. He himself walked out of the office alone, walking the streets somewhat despondently.

Unconsciously, he found himself in front of Yang Yihuo's residence. He walked towards the gate several times but finally stopped, sighed deeply, and turned to leave.

As the sky began to brighten, Yang Qing pushed open the door to An Ruhai's office. "Commander, the interrogation is complete. According to the secret letters we found from Yang Yi, we secretly arrested one of the Crown Prince's secretaries. An hour ago, he confessed."

An Ruhai looked up at Yang Qing. "What did he confess?"

"Yang Yi learned about Liu Zhen and, using his special status, entered the imperial prison to interrogate Liu Zhen. He then erased this record. He reported this matter to the Crown Prince, and Yang Yi's contact with the Crown Prince was always through this secretary. In other words, from the beginning, what we thought was a highly secret matter was already known to the Crown Prince's side."

"Did he confess to anything else?"

"No, he said that after reporting this matter to the Crown Prince, he knew nothing about what happened afterward. In the Crown Prince's inner circle, he was only responsible for the Yang Yi line," Yang Qing said.

"Brilliant!" An Ruhai muttered.

"Commander, what did you say?" Yang Qing looked at An Ruhai, who seemed distracted.

"Oh, nothing, nothing!" An Ruhai stood up.

"Commander, it seems that the leak must have come from the Crown Prince's side." Yang Qing's face showed anger. "To make the Second Prince stumble, did they really have to use the lives of sixty thousand brave border troops?"

"Yang Qing, remember your place. This conclusion, not even I can make lightly." An Ruhai sternly said, "Seal all the archives and prepare to report everything to the Emperor."

"Yes, Commander." Yang Qing bowed his head.

"Tell all the Inner Guards involved in this matter to keep silent. If I hear even a word about this case, I will not show mercy." An Ruhai emphasized.

"Understood, Commander."

That night, many people did not sleep, including Yang Yihuo. The Emperor did not allow him to intervene, but that did not mean he was unaware of the developments. As the Inner Guard arrested multiple officials in the capital, most of whom were part of the Crown Prince's faction, Yang Yihuo knew that the worst scenario he had feared had indeed come to pass.

"Left Chancellor, the Crown Prince has come to see you personally." The butler, who had not slept all night, with dark circles under his eyes, entered the study.

"Tell him I'm not here." Yang Yihuo was startled, standing up. "Tell the Crown Prince that I left before dawn."

"Yes!" The butler had just turned around when a commotion came from outside. The Crown Prince's angry shouts could already be heard. Yang Yihuo sighed and waved his hand. "Go ahead."

The Crown Prince Min Ruocheng barged in.

"Left Chancellor, are you going to kick me when I'm down?" Standing outside the study, the haggard Min Ruocheng glared at Yang Yihuo.

"Crown Prince, please come in and speak." Yang Yihuo shook his head, walked out of the study, and bowed to Min Ruocheng.

The two entered the study, and Min Ruocheng's previous anger vanished in an instant.

"Left Chancellor, I didn't do it." He looked at Yang Yihuo and said, "Before Zuo Lixing's troops set out, I had no idea they had changed their plan."

Yang Yihuo stared at Min Ruocheng for a long time before saying, "Crown Prince, the key is not whether I believe you, but whether the Emperor believes you."

Min Ruocheng slumped into a chair. Now, all the evidence pointed to him. When he learned of this, he was both shocked and angry, but with no time to react, everything had already happened.

"Crown Prince, the one who secretly interrogated Liu Zhen was Lu Zhenghao, who was Yang Yi's confidant. Now, Lu Zhenghao is dead, and Yang Yi has fled. Almost everyone in the capital knows that Yang Yi is your man. More importantly, we found some secret letters from you to him. Just the contents of these letters alone are enough to make the Emperor furious. Your secretary confessed before dawn, admitting that he reported this matter to you."

"No, he never told me about this." Min Ruocheng shouted.

"He is one of your trusted confidants. Do you think others will believe you?" Yang Yihuo stared at Min Ruocheng and slowly said, "Although none of the confessions directly accuse you, all the evidence points to you. You are in a difficult position."

"Left Chancellor, I didn't do it. Why would I do it?" Min Ruocheng shouted, "Father is not well and won't last long. I am the Crown Prince and don't need to do anything; I just need to wait for Father to pass away and take the throne. Why would I be in a hurry? The one in a hurry is someone else." He looked up, suddenly realizing, "Left Chancellor, the one in a hurry is the one who set this up. This is a frame-up, a frame-up against me."

Yang Yihuo looked at the completely disheveled Min Ruocheng with pity. Yes, it was a setup, but this setup had left the Crown Prince completely defeated.

"I can't help you, Crown Prince." Yang Yihuo closed his eyes and no longer looked at Min Ruocheng.

"Left Chancellor, you know I am innocent, don't you? You know it." Min Ruocheng clutched his head and sobbed, "Why won't you speak up for me?"

"Words alone are not enough. How can I tell the Emperor that? What can I use to refute the evidence from the Inner Guard's interrogation?"

"An Ruhai is out to get me!" Min Ruocheng became angry again.

"It's not An Ruhai who is out to get you." Yang Yihao shook his head. "It's your own carelessness. Yang Yi and that secretary were your confidants, and they are the ones who betrayed you."

"Yes, Yang Yi fled, but the secretary is still in the Inner Guard's custody." Min Ruocheng's eyes lit up. "Left Chancellor, if we interrogate the secretary harshly, we can find evidence."

Min Ruocheng clung to this hope, waving his hands excitedly.

Yang Yihao shook his head. "It's too late. If I'm right, that secretary is already dead. His purpose was to say what he said, and once he said it, he had no reason to live."

"Dead? How could he be dead? He was in the Inner Guard's prison; how could he die?" Min Ruocheng was stunned.

"If someone wants to die, who can stop them?" Yang Yihao sighed.

"Left Chancellor, save me!" Min Ruocheng's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground before Yang Yihao.

"Crown Prince, you must not do this. As your subject, I cannot allow the hierarchy to be disrupted." Yang Yihao was startled, jumped up, and tried to help Min Ruocheng up.

Min Ruocheng did not move, holding onto Yang Yihao's hands and looking up. "Left Chancellor, you and Father are childhood friends. For decades, no one has been as trusted by Father as you. Others say An Ruhai is the most trusted, but I know An Ruhai is just a dog at Father's side. Only you are seen as a friend. If anyone can save me, it is you. Left Chancellor, can you stand by and watch me be framed? Can you stand by and watch a man with the blood of our great Chu warriors on his hands take the throne? It is unjust! Sixty thousand lives! And Ruo Xi, he doesn't even care about Ruo Xi's life. Such a heartless and ruthless person will lead our great Chu to ruin. Left Chancellor, you are the pillar of our great Chu. Can you stand by and watch the prosperity you and Father have built over decades be destroyed?"

Yang Yihao's body trembled, and he closed his eyes in pain.