Chapter 101: The Trump Card

Chapter 101: The Trump Card

The Second Prince hastened towards the Ministry of Justice, slowing his pace as he neared its entrance to appear less anxious.

The officials of the Ministry, upon seeing him, hurriedly paid their respects. He responded with a nonchalant hum and casually inquired, "I've heard that an escapee was apprehended, the daughter of Liu Yushan?"

The officials kept their heads down, silent. They had no wish to get entangled in a feud between princes.

Observing their silence, the Second Prince huffed and pointed at an official in his twenties, "You."

The young official, newly appointed after pulling some strings, was already on edge on his first day. Being singled out by the prince left him too flustered to speak. Thankfully, a colleague came to his aid, explaining, "About half an hour ago, Lord Qi indeed brought in a female prisoner, said to be surnamed Liu."

"Lord Qi," the Second Prince repeated the name, then inquired, "Qi Tianlei?"

"Yes," the official confirmed.

The Second Prince snorted. Qi Tianlei was the son-in-law of the Grand Tutor, and thus, the cousin-in-law of the Crown Prince.

"Where is she?" the Second Prince demanded.

"Interrogation room Jia-Er."

The Second Prince strode towards the room, no longer feigning calm. If Qi Tianlei had forced a confession, it would spell big trouble. But he was a step too late. As he approached the interrogation room, he saw Qi Tianlei exiting, instructing someone, "Find a place to bury her."

Upon noticing the Second Prince, Qi Tianlei hastily bowed. The Second Prince pushed past him into the room, only to find a beautiful woman lying on the ground with a dagger in her chest. Her hands were tightly clutching the weapon, suggesting suicide.

"She... she did this..." the Second Prince turned to Qi Tianlei, incredulous. He hadn't expected Qi's men to be so ruthless as to kill the witness after obtaining her testimony.

"Surely the Second Prince is acquainted with this lady?" Qi Tianlei retorted.

The Second Prince felt panicked and confused. He didn't know what testimony Qi Tianlei had extracted. After all, with the Liu family's daughter dead, whatever she said before dying could now be dictated by Qi Tianlei.

He composed himself and pointed accusingly at Qi Tianlei, "Qi Tianlei, how dare you! You've murdered a witness. Was this the Grand Tutor's doing, or my elder brother, the Crown Prince?"

Qi Tianlei, a man in his thirties seasoned by years in bureaucracy, was unimpressed by the Second Prince's ploy. He responded respectfully, "Your Highness, I'm not sure what you're implying. I was merely conducting a standard interrogation. How does this relate to the Grand Tutor or the Crown Prince?"

The Second Prince gave him a piercing look, then left with a cold snort. He needed to return to the palace immediately to devise a plan with his mother, the Empress Dowager.

Upon entering the palace and seeing Consort Liang, he slumped into the chair, defeated, and said with a sigh, "Mother, I can't fix the mess my uncle has made this time."

Consort Liang's face, too, lacked its usual composure. She asked, "Why has the Marquis of Yongning suddenly stirred up such trouble?"

"I'm not sure either," said the Second Prince. "I suspect it's due to lingering resentment from a previous incident, coupled with the desire to rid themselves of the burden that was the girl from the Liu family."

Consort Liang's brow furrowed deeply. She instructed someone to fetch the Second Lady from the Liang household to inquire about the situation, then turned to the Second Prince and said, "Don't panic. If all else fails, we may have to play our trump card."

The Second Prince's eyes brightened, "Mother, do you have a trump card?"

Consort Liang chuckled, leaned in close, and whispered to the Second Prince, "The affair involving Consort Ming was orchestrated by Consort Min, and I have evidence."

Consort Min was the mother of the First Prince.

The Second Prince's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets. Consort Ming had once been unrivaled in the imperial harem, but at the height of her favor, a scandal broke out about her illicit relationship with a guard, supported by undeniable evidence. The emperor, in a fit of rage, had her executed on the spot. If not for the uncanny resemblance between her son, the Seventh Prince, and the emperor, the child might have been branded illegitimately born.

The incident had sent shockwaves throughout the court and capital. It was unthinkable that it had all been a setup.

"Mother, if you have such incriminating evidence against her, why didn't you..."

"Foolish!" Consort Liang cut him off, adding, "Have you not considered how your father, the Emperor, would feel if he knew Consort Ming had been wronged? What would become of the Seventh Prince?"

Realization dawned on the Second Prince, "Father would surely feel indebted to him, perhaps even..." Perhaps he would grant him the throne.

"I observe that, although young, the Seventh is capable of patience and calculation. If the Emperor starts to favor him more, he will undoubtedly become a significant threat in the future," Consort Liang sighed. "Hence, this evidence that could lead to Consort Min's downfall—I won't reveal it unless absolutely necessary."

At this moment, the Second Prince's expression turned fierce, "Why not just deal with the Seventh now..."

"Wait," Consort Liang interrupted. "That little brat is not yet a threat. Let's resolve the current situation first."

Just then, a report came from outside that the Second Lady of the Liang family had arrived. Consort Liang permitted her to enter. Upon entering, the Second Lady paid her respects to Consort Liang, who, unlike usual, did not immediately ask her to rise but instead watched her coolly until she could hardly stand any longer before allowing her to get up.

"Have you done something to the Marquis of Yongning's household again?" Consort Liang asked.

The Second Lady of the Liang family didn't dare sit and stood straight as she reported how Liang Jian'an had been encouraged by Kong Wenzhe to entice Princess Changping and take Xiao Yuchen as a favored concubine. Hearing this, Consort Liang, enraged, grabbed a cup from the table and smashed it to the ground.

"I've told you not to provoke the Marquis of Yongning's household again. Why don't you listen? Do you think that just because Xiao Huai has died, you can trample over the Marquis of Yongning's household as you please? Look around the entire capital; apart from you, who else has dared to step on them since Xiao Huai's death?"

"I... I didn't know about this matter before!" The Second Lady felt aggrieved. This matter had nothing to do with her. Why should the Consort chastise her for it?

But she heard Consort Liang say, "You think you're wronged, don't you?"

Lady Liang the Second, by her silence, tacitly consented. Consort Liang, in a fit of rage, hurled another cup with such force that it struck Lady Liang directly on the forehead, drawing blood instantly. Lady Liang uttered a cry of shock, but before she could utter another word, Consort Liang spoke again:

"My Liang family had no quarrel with the Marquis of Yongning's household; had it not been for your instigation, would we have forged such enmity?"

It wasn't that she feared the Marquis of Yongning; rather, having no strong foundation in the capital, she saw no need to antagonize a well-entrenched noble. Yet because of this woman, she had been goaded into making a mortal enemy of the Marquis’s household.

It would have been well had they been capable of besting their foes; while Xiao Huai was alive, they couldn't, and now with Xiao Huai deceased, it remained the same.

"And you," Consort Liang turned her fierce gaze to the Second Prince, "What grudge did you hold against Xiao Huai to bring things to this pass?"