Chapter 111 - 94: My Son Has the Potential to Become a Saint!!

Chapter 111: Chapter 94: My Son Has the Potential to Become a Saint!!

However, right now he still needed to add some fuel to the fire.

Zeng Shilin took his time, slowly raising his head as he drew out his words. "Your Majesty, simply send someone to search Prince Qi’s Mansion for Agarwood, and the truth will be clear."

"You!" Hearing this, Prince Qi couldn’t hold back anymore.

As the Northern Commander of the Imperial City Department, he naturally knew exactly what Zeng Shilin meant. A search for Agarwood? That sounded innocent enough! But they were all officials; whose hands were completely clean? If they actually found something else during the search, he would be completely ruined today!

"Your Majesty, I purchased the Agarwood from a merchant years ago," Prince Qi said, stepping forward.

Though he didn’t understand the intricacies of court politics, he knew one thing for certain: parents rarely punished children harshly if they confessed to their mistakes first. He decided to just step up. He had passed the point of caring and decided to brazen it out.

Sure enough, everyone’s expression changed the moment he said that.

Zeng Shilin frowned. Prince Qi’s attitude made his intentions clear—he was cutting his losses to save his own skin. He was implicitly admitting that his son had tried to plot against Zeng Shilin’s. He was even admitting to possessing the Agarwood. However, he absolutely denied having any collusion with the Profound Array Department!

"The Agarwood is kept in a secret compartment in my home." Prince Qi knelt on the floor and kowtowed to Emperor Jianhong. "Fortunately, it did not lead to a disaster. However, my failure to maintain strict discipline is my fault. I beg Your Majesty for punishment."

His tone was exceedingly sincere. He was subtly pointing out that although Wang Qianzhi had tried to frame Zeng Anmin, he hadn’t succeeded, and Zeng Anmin was perfectly fine.

Emperor Jianhong looked at him impassively and spoke slowly, "Wang Qianzhi... is stripped of his position as Crown Prince’s Tutor and confined to his home for three months.

"For his failure to maintain strict discipline, Prince Qi is fined one year’s salary."

Having announced the punishment, the Emperor slowly looked up at Zeng Shilin. "My beloved Minister Zeng, do you have anything else to say?"

Clearly, this was exactly as Zeng Shilin had expected. The Agarwood couldn’t serve as hard evidence, and Emperor Jianhong wouldn’t conclude that Prince Qi was colluding with disciples of the Profound Array Department just because of some incense. In the Emperor’s eyes, Prince Qi was still his loyal, good brother.

In the Court, many were already waiting to make a laughingstock out of Zeng Shilin. After going through so much trouble, he hadn’t achieved any real results. It seemed that Zeng Shilin, being new to the bureaucratic circles of the capital, severely lacked experience.

The matter seemed destined to end right there. But what they didn’t know was that the real show was only just beginning!

Zeng Shilin stood expressionless. He bowed slightly, holding his Jade Ruler high. "Your Majesty, I accuse Prince Qi of colluding with Qi Xianlin of the Profound Array Department to frame a loyal official, causing the Earl of Zhongyuan’s household to suffer a gross injustice for seven years! To this day, their names have not been cleared!"

His words were sonorous and powerful, echoing heavily through the hall.

As soon as he said this, a collective look of speechlessness washed over the officials’ faces. They all felt that enough was enough. Who was the Earl of Zhongyuan? Some didn’t even remember the Earl whose estate had been confiscated by the Court seven years ago.

But the moment these words left his mouth, Emperor Jianhong’s eyes flashed with a terrifyingly sharp glint.

Qi Xianlin, the outcast of the Profound Array Department! Not only did Emperor Jianhong know this man, but he had even been played for a fool by Celestial Master Xu because of him!

"You old fool, I have already admitted my mistake, and His Majesty has punished me. Yet you still relentlessly hound me. What is the meaning of this? Do you really think my sword isn’t sharp enough?!"

Hearing this accusation, Prince Qi didn’t feel a single ripple of panic in his heart; in fact, he almost wanted to laugh. He felt that Zeng Shilin was like a mad dog, biting at anyone and anything he could catch. The civil servants also looked like they were watching a good play, waiting to see Zeng Shilin make a complete fool of himself.

But to their surprise...

"Minister Zeng, what do you mean by this?" Emperor Jianhong asked, his expression blank as his voice resonated throughout the grand hall.

The moment Emperor Jianhong spoke, any courtier with half a brain sensed that something was terribly amiss. The Emperor hadn’t dismissed the claim outright, which meant he was suspicious!

Several civil servants sharply raised their heads to look at Zeng Shilin in the center of the hall, their faces filled with doubt and shock.

Zeng Shilin unhurriedly smoothed out his official robes. He slowly lifted his head, his chin raised, an air of sheer arrogance faintly showing on his face.

Only Prince Qi remained completely unbothered. He might have had a guilty conscience regarding the Agarwood, but colluding with Qi Xianlin? Who was Qi Xianlin anyway? Why would he collude with him? And to frame the Earl of Zhongyuan? Ha! It was sheer nonsense!

This was the one thing he had an absolutely clear conscience about. Therefore, his expression was completely placid and unconcerned. After all, a clear conscience fears no false accusations!

"Seven years ago, during the Yin Wu battle to exterminate demons, Prince Qi leaked the Earl of Zhongyuan’s marching route to the Demon King, Bi Xuan. This led to the Earl being brutally murdered by the Demon Race. Yet, Prince Qi turned around and falsely accused the Earl of cultivating the Demon Blood Martial Dao..."

At this point, Zeng Shilin’s face was filled with profound grief. He fell to his knees with a heavy THUD and cried out loudly for justice, "Have pity on the Earl of Zhongyuan’s family, who were all loyal and brave, yet were framed and wronged by this scoundrel! I implore Your Majesty to seek justice for the Earl of Zhongyuan!"

"What a joke!" Prince Qi laughed out loud right there in the Court. His face showed nothing but absolute innocence as he spoke with utmost confidence. "Leaving aside the fact that I had no grudge against him and no reason to frame him, I wasn’t the only one on the battlefield who witnessed him cultivating the Demon Blood Martial Dao!

"Furthermore, the battlefield is ever-changing," Prince Qi said, looking at Zeng Shilin with a superficial smile. "The Earl of Zhongyuan led his troops to lure the enemy. I had absolutely no idea what his marching route was, so how could I have leaked his whereabouts to the Demon Race?"

At this point, Prince Qi genuinely felt as if the old buffoon in front of him had been kicked in the head by a donkey. He wondered how on earth this man expected to frame him with such flimsy lies. Furthermore, he couldn’t help but wonder if that kid, King Jiang, had lost his mind from playing around with women too much to actually be defeated by an old fool like this.