Chapter 48

Prince Kang pretended to count the number of his guards, then walked to the bodies of the two guards, examined the heads for a moment, and then came to the front of the imperial carriage. He knelt on one knee, clasped his hands over his head, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, these two assassins are not my guards. I do not recognize them."

"Hmm?" Song Xingtian raised an eyebrow, saying sarcastically, "Prince Kang, since they rushed out from your guard, how could you not recognize them?"

"Your Majesty, I just counted the number of my guards, and there are exactly thirty-two. These two assassins must have infiltrated my guard, attempting to assassinate Your Majesty. Their intentions are truly despicable! Your Majesty, I am also an innocent victim," Prince Kang, Song Xingyun, said with tears and a voice full of grievance.

The emperor inwardly sneered, thinking, What are you pretending for? How could I not know that these two are your dead loyalists? However, although he knew this in his heart, he could not say it openly.

Although Song Xingyun did not have the military power of Song Xingguang, he was the top strategist under the Loyal Prince and held the three special service agencies, with a deeply entrenched power base. Without ironclad evidence, moving against him would have adverse consequences.

Song Xingtian waved his hand, and two Golden Feather Knights walked to Song Xingyun's guard and began to call out names according to the list. According to the laws of the Holy Lion Empire, princes could have their own guards, but the number was limited, and the names, portraits, and detailed information of the guards had to be submitted to the emperor for review at any time. In essence, this was a measure to suppress the armed forces of the princes and protect imperial power. One of the duties of the Golden Feather Knights was to supervise the guards of the princes, so they had detailed lists, information, and portraits of the guards of each prince. Now they were verifying the guards of Prince Kang's household. After calling out all the names, the thirty-two guards were indeed all accounted for. The two Golden Feather Knights then went to the two assassins and compared their portraits with those of Prince Kang's guards, ultimately confirming that the assassins were not from Prince Kang's household.

The two Golden Feather Knights reported their findings to the emperor.

Song Xingtian's expression did not change, and he merely nodded slightly. In his heart, he was clear that these two assassins were definitely from Prince Kang's household. There were always countermeasures to policies. You limit the number of guards the princes can have, but do they really only have that many people around them? Especially someone like Prince Kang, who is in cahoots with the Loyal Prince and has ulterior motives, would not follow the rules. When a prince travels, who would notice if there were two extra people in his guard? At critical moments, these two people could play a surprising role. And afterward, he could easily wash his hands of it.

If it weren't for Song Xinghai's quick reaction today, perhaps the brocade box would have been taken by these two assassins. Whether they destroyed the box on the spot or fled with it, it would have been enough to ruin the emperor's carefully laid plans.

Thinking of this, the emperor could not help but feel a cold sweat. He glanced at Song Xinghai, who, despite his previous appearance of weakness and incompetence, now exuded a newfound authority. Song Xingtian nodded inwardly, realizing that his decision to support the sixth prince was correct. At critical moments, the sixth prince was a reliable person.

"Alright, Prince Kang, you may rise. Since it has been confirmed that the assassins are not your guards, I will not hold you responsible," Song Xingtian waved his hand, signaling Song Xingyun to stand and speak.

"Your Majesty is wise. I thank you for your grace," Prince Kang performed a kowtow and quickly stood up, with an expression of deep gratitude.

Song Xinghai's face was calm, but his heart was filled with emotion. He now truly understood the cruelty of the political arena. Even with his limited political acumen, he could see that Prince Jing was eliminating witnesses, and Prince Kang and the two assassins were definitely involved. Yet, Prince Jing was easily exonerated in front of the emperor, and Prince Kang managed to clear himself in a seemingly unfavorable situation.

Was it that Song Xingtian could not see through their schemes? Nonsense. Even a political novice like Song Xinghai could see through them, so how could the shrewd emperor not? The reason he backed down was not because Prince Jing and Prince Kang were well-prepared, although their countermeasures were almost flawless and did play a part. But this was not the fundamental reason.

The fundamental reason was that their power was too vast, and any move against them would have far-reaching consequences. The emperor could not afford the risk.

At this moment, the Golden Feather Knight who had searched the Huang residence handed the brocade box to the inner court official, who then presented it to the emperor.

Song Xingtian slowly opened the brocade box, which contained a dozen or so read letters, all with broken wax seals. He carefully read each letter one by one. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the emperor's face, trying to discern the content of the letters from his expression. As Song Xingtian read, his frown deepened, and Huang Tingxuan's face turned from pale to purple, his court robes drenched in cold sweat.

"This is outrageous!" Song Xingtian finally finished reading the letters, his face flushed with anger. He slammed the brocade box shut and waved his hand. The inner court official understood his intent and loudly announced, "By the decree of His Majesty, the imperial procession is returning to the capital!"

The imperial carriage moved, music played, and the Golden Feather Knights, in their bright armor, escorted the emperor back to the capital.

The ministers, some on horseback and others in sedan chairs, followed the emperor's procession back to the capital. The people along the way avoided them, and the streets buzzed with speculation about what major event had occurred to warrant the emperor's personal involvement.

Back in the Golden Hall, the emperor sat on the dragon throne, looking down at the ministers. Having refrained from an outburst at the minister's residence, he now slammed his hand on the throne and roared, "Huang Tingxuan, I ask you, among the officials in this hall, is there anyone with a higher rank or more power than you?"

Huang Tingxuan, already trembling with fear, saw the emperor's fury and quickly stepped forward, kneeling and kowtowing, "Your Majesty, I am the chief of the five grand secretaries of the cabinet, without the title of prime minister but with the power of one. In the court, I am second only to the emperor, above all others!"

According to the system of the Holy Lion Empire, the chief cabinet secretary indeed held great power, being the administrative head of the empire, second only to the emperor. Although princes and dukes had higher titles, they had no real power according to the laws of the Holy Lion Empire. However, the current situation was special, as the late emperor had granted real power to several dukes to maintain balance among his sons. The Loyal Prince, Prince Jing, and Prince Kang all had more power than the chief cabinet secretary, but this was an exception. According to the system, the chief cabinet secretary was the second most powerful person in the court.

"Very well, at least you know your place!" The emperor narrowed his eyes, his voice rising sharply, "Since you have reached the pinnacle of power, why are you still not satisfied? Why did you collude with the prime minister of the Lambis Kingdom to plot against the Holy Lion Empire?"

"What?" Huang Tingxuan realized the situation was serious, but he did not expect it to be this serious. Treason and plotting against the Song dynasty were crimes punishable by the extermination of nine generations! How could this be? Why was the brocade box in his residence? He already knew what the letters in the box contained: they must be forgeries of his correspondence with the prime minister of the Lambis Kingdom. He had only met the prime minister, Zahir, once, during the signing of the last ceasefire agreement, and they had only exchanged sharp words. How could he have conspired with that enemy?

"Your Majesty, I am innocent!" Huang Tingxuan pounded his head on the ground, crying out, "This brocade box is not from my residence, and I have never seen it! It must be a frame-up. As you said, I am the left chancellor of the Holy Lion Empire, at the pinnacle of power. Why would I need to conspire with anyone? What could I possibly gain?"

"Huang Tingxuan, you are truly a remarkable person. Caught red-handed, you still try to argue. You say someone framed you, but who is that person? Do you have any evidence? But the evidence I have shows that you had close ties with the enemy prime minister and conspired to attack the Holy Lion Empire from within and without. Here is a secret decree from the King of Lambis, promising to make you the Duke of the Holy Lion and grant you half of the Holy Lion Empire's territory as your fiefdom. Is this not a grand scheme?" The emperor slammed the letter on the dragon desk, his voice stern and fierce.

Prince Kang's face turned green. The content the emperor mentioned was exactly the same as the charges he had prepared to frame Wen Liren, only the name had changed from Wen Liren to Huang Tingxuan.

What a vicious move, using the same tactic against him!

They had planned to eliminate the emperor's top confidant, Wen Liren, and also deal with the rising power of the Duke of Hai. They never expected the emperor to see through their plan and use the same tactic to frame Huang Tingxuan. Who was Huang Tingxuan? He was the Loyal Prince's most solid ally in the court, the chancellor of the empire. If he were eliminated, it would be a significant blow to the Loyal Prince.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I am innocent!" Hearing the emperor's words, Huang Tingxuan was terrified. He thought, What nonsense about being made the Duke of the Holy Lion and receiving a secret decree from the King of Lambis? I have never even dreamed of such things, let alone conspired with anyone! But his political acumen was top-notch, and he knew his future was ruined. No matter how he explained himself, the emperor would not believe him. Even if he did, he would pretend not to. Why would the emperor let him off when he, the chief cabinet secretary, was aligned with his mortal enemy, the Loyal Prince?

So Huang Tingxuan stopped defending himself. There was no way to defend himself. How could he prove that the brocade box was not from his residence? If he said someone framed him, where was the evidence?

Huang Tingxuan could only kowtow and cry out his innocence.