Free Web NovelChapter 403: Chapter 403: What Does the Princely Heir Mean
The question struck like a clap of thunder, a muffled explosion ringing in everyone’s ears!
’Your Majesty is certain that someone was pulling Xu Jie’s strings!’
’But who could it be?’
Everyone bowed their heads, deathly silent.
The identity of the person behind the scenes was, in a way, both easy and difficult to guess.
Across the entire imperial court, only a handful of people had the authority to command Xu Jie. It wouldn’t be difficult to pinpoint the culprit by looking for someone among them who held a grudge against Huo Yucheng.
But therein lay the problem. In life, Huo Yucheng was a military general—frank, magnanimous, a man who had spent his entire life at war.
Military generals trusted and respected him. Civil servants, though they occasionally disagreed with his policies, mostly feared and respected him as well.
At least on the surface, Huo Yucheng had no enemies who would go to such lengths to ensure his death.
’So how could they possibly narrow it down?’
"Your Majesty, I have something to say."
A deep voice shattered the dead silence. Everyone turned, only to see that the one who had spoken was none other than Feng Zhang.
This Lord Master of the Imperial College, who relied on his powerful family background, was usually extremely indolent.
He couldn’t be bothered to build relationships with other officials, spending most of his time within the confines of the small Imperial College.
No one expected him to speak up at a time like this.
Feng Cheng frowned.
"This is no place for you to speak! Step down at once!"
Emperor Muwu raised a hand. "He so rarely speaks. Mr. Feng, let’s allow him to continue."
Feng Cheng bowed his head. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Feng Zhang knew his elder would try to stop him. Anyone could see that the situation was already a quagmire; nothing good could come from getting involved.
But he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. After all, in this matter... he had been involved from the very beginning.
Feng Zhang fell to his knees. "I am here to confess my crimes!"
Everyone was stunned, wondering what crime he could possibly be confessing to.
But Feng Zhang’s next words left everyone utterly stunned.
"My first crime: On the eve of the Battle of Tongtian Pass, I received a message from General Huo but failed to recognize it as a forgery. I thus missed the crucial window to send reinforcements, leaving General Huo isolated and helpless, which led to his disastrous defeat at Tongtian Pass!"
"My second crime: After the incident, I fell into despair and failed to promptly investigate the truth, allowing the treacherous villain to escape justice and gloat to this very day!"
"I know my sins are grave and dare not ask for anything more. I only beg Your Majesty to posthumously exonerate General Huo! Punish the villains and clear General Huo’s name! Whatever punishment Your Majesty deems fit for me, I will accept it without complaint!"
He delivered the speech rapidly, his voice ringing with conviction. Before the crowd could even process it, they were left reeling from the impact.
After a moment of dead silence, a wave of sharp gasps swept through the hall.
’Feng Zhang has gone mad, too!’
He was voluntarily confessing, taking responsibility for the defeat at the Battle of Tongtian Pass all those years ago!
More importantly, his words implied that someone had deliberately obstructed him!
’Combined with everything that came before, this meant...’
"First, he was poisoned. Then, he was deliberately tricked into believing provisions were ample, leading him to advance with his troops. And finally, an inside man replaced Huo Yucheng’s call for help, causing reinforcements to arrive too late... What an elaborate setup!"
Standing near the front, Chen Songshi, who usually couldn’t be bothered with court politics, could no longer contain himself. He was shocked and utterly furious.
"This had to be deliberate! Someone laid an inescapable trap to take Huo Yucheng’s life!"
Faced with a powerful enemy on the outside and traitors on the inside, even a man of supreme ability was doomed to die!
"What kind of deep-seated hatred could this person have for Huo Yucheng to be so vicious, to want him completely annihilated!"
Feng Zhang straightened up and cast his gaze toward the front right.
"Lord Murong, the younger brother of the man who delivered that message back then seems to be in your service. Do you have nothing to say about this?"
Murong Yang had a bad feeling the moment Feng Zhang stepped forward, but he never expected Feng Zhang to call him out so directly.
His heart leaped, and he immediately fell to his knees. "Your Majesty, I swear! That man was dismissed for a mistake two years ago! I truly know nothing else!"
Feng Zhang suddenly smiled.
"Lord Murong, I haven’t even said who the messenger was, yet you guessed immediately. How impressive."
The color drained from Murong Yang’s face.
The way the officials looked at him shifted, becoming charged with suspicion.
Shen Yanchuan raised an eyebrow, remarking casually, "Lord Murong followed General Huo for many years and was his trusted confidant. It seems only natural that he would know who the general would dispatch with a call for aid, wouldn’t it?"
The corners of Feng Zhang’s lips lifted into a cold sneer.
"The Princely Heir is correct, but he forgot one thing: Lord Murong did not accompany them to the Battle of Tongtian Pass!"
’How could Murong Yang, who was thousands of miles away, know such minute details!?’
’Besides, Feng Zhang had only just mentioned it, and he immediately knew who he was talking about. Who would believe he wasn’t complicit?’
Murong Yang’s heart plummeted, and a chill swept through his entire body.
’He finally realized—Feng Zhang had come prepared today!’
Murong Yang gritted his teeth and pressed his forehead to the floor.
"General Huo favored and promoted me! How could I possibly commit such a treacherous act of betrayal!"
Feng Zhang let out a sudden, mocking scoff and said breezily:
"In that case, you should ask Lord Xu Jie. He seems to be quite an expert on the subject."
"You!"
Having been dragged back into the conversation only to be insulted, Xu Jie was overcome with rage.
If they weren’t in the grand hall, in the presence of His Majesty and all the court officials, he would have stormed over and punched Feng Zhang right then and there!
’Of course, whether he could actually win that fight was another matter entirely.’
’A civil servant like him, who had risen through the imperial examinations, would be a dead man if he fell into the hands of a brute like Feng Zhang.’
Feng Cheng gave Feng Zhang a warning look.
"Have you no sense of propriety!"
Though his words were a reprimand, he had no intention of actually punishing him. It was clear he also thought his young relative had a point.
Besides, now that he had issued the reprimand, it would be inappropriate for anyone else to comment.
Jiang Zhao Yuan’s face turned ashen, and he forced himself to swallow the words on the tip of his tongue.
Xiao Chengxuan’s mind was in turmoil, and he kept shooting desperate, pleading glances at him.
Jiang Zhao Yuan was growing more and more agitated.
’It wasn’t that he didn’t want to intervene; it was that he couldn’t!’
’With things having blown up to this extent, how could His Majesty possibly let the matter rest?’
’He feared the entire imperial court was about to be washed in blood!’
And indeed, high on the Dragon Throne, Emperor Muwu’s expression was grim as he watched the farce unfold with cold eyes.
’Judging by today’s events, Huo Yucheng had truly been wrongfully killed.’
In truth, it wasn’t just him, or the hundreds of members of the Huo Family, or the tens of thousands of soldiers who died needlessly at Tongtian Pass. Many others were implicated as well.
The number of lives changed by this incident went far beyond just them.
There were Huo Yucheng’s subordinates who had fought so valiantly, and there was Ye Zheng, who had been demoted for pleading his case.
And there was...
Ye Chutang, who at fourteen saw her family destroyed, barely escaping with her life and her younger siblings to face a life of hardship.
Shen Yanchuan’s expression was serene, but deep within his dark, narrow eyes, a chill that seemed to seep into his very bones was gathering.
He spoke slowly, word by word:
"After so many years, the truth is finally coming to light. Though General Huo died unjustly, the fact that his name can be cleared today should bring some comfort to his spirit. And furthermore, it can finally clear the Second Prince’s name as well."
Xiao Chengxuan, who had been mentioned so abruptly, flinched. He spun around, wary and panicked. "Princely Heir, what do you mean by that?!"
