Chapter 3793: Framing the blame
Fang Jun looked solemn, realizing that this was probably a frame-up plan aimed at him, but he didn't know who was behind the scenes.
And what’s quite tricky is how to dispose of Chai Lingwu’s body?
Cheng Wuting was a descendant of the noble family and had been very knowledgeable about such situations since he was a child. When he saw Fang Jun in trouble, he approached Fang Jun and whispered: "Commander, please ask His Highness the Crown Prince to send the palace physician to come and conduct an autopsy."
Chai Lingwu was the consort of the dynasty and the prince's brother-in-law. He died tragically. How could the prince send someone to conduct an autopsy and then leave on his own? The funeral affairs must be properly settled. There are some things that Fang Jun is inconvenient to do and it will be wrong no matter how he does them, but the prince can do whatever he wants.
Fang Jun glanced at him approvingly, nodded and said, "That's exactly what it should be."
Then he ordered Wang Fangyi to lead his men to protect the scene, and to take care of it together with Chai Lingwu's servants. After he reported it to the Ming Prince, he would deal with it as appropriate.
Then he got on his horse and rushed to Xuanwu Gate with a heavy heart. He entered the palace from Xuanwu Gate, arrived at the prince's residence at Neizhongmen, and met Li Chengqian.
……
In the study, Li Chengqian was dressed in a prince's robe, sitting upright with a solemn face, while Li Junxian stood on one side with his hands tied.
When Fang Jun entered, he first saluted Li Chengqian, then frowned and looked at Li Junxian.
The latter lowered his eyebrows and did not look at him.
Li Chengqian asked in a deep voice: "How is the situation?"
Fang Jun sighed and said gloomily: "Chai Lingwu went to the big tent to look for Wei Chen. He was shot dead by a secret arrow when he went out. He was only a few miles away from the camp gate... I rushed to check in person, but he was already dead."
Li Chengqian asked again: "What does Chai Lingwu want from you?"
Fang Jun glanced at Li Junxian and repeated Chai Lingwu's purpose and words, not daring to hide anything. Although Chai Lingwu had no real power, his status as the Prince Consort of the dynasty was real. From the day when Guanlong raised his troops to the present day, no nobleman of this status has died. It is conceivable that this incident will definitely cause an uproar inside and outside Chang'an. The impact is extremely bad.
In particular, the murderer's method was obviously to frame him, and he might have a back-up plan, so he had to deal with it carefully. At least he had to be unreserved in front of Li Chengqian, so as not to arouse Li Chengqian's doubts.
But as soon as the person over there died, he ordered the entire army to impose martial law and block the news. The prince here already knew it. How did the news come?
"Hundred Cavalry" naturally has this ability, but the time is too tight, almost as soon as Chai Lingwu died, the prince already knew that the message transmission needed to avoid patrolling scouts in Youtun Guard, even if "Hundred Cavalry" "Si"'s spy also takes a certain amount of time, how could it be so fast?
Li Junxian still bowed his head and remained silent.
Fang Jun's heart sank, and he guessed a very bad possibility...
There was no need to hide it from Li Chengqian, and besides, he was innocent about the whole incident. It was an innocent disaster, so he repeated Chai Lingwu's words when he went to the big tent exactly.
Li Chengqian looked at Fang Jun: "That's all?"
His eyes were rarely sharp.
Fang Jun nodded: "I have absolutely nothing to hide. I and Princess Baling were innocent last night, but Chai Lingwu probably didn't believe it, so he came to the door, hoping to fulfill my promise and make a big fuss." I thought. Although the matter had nothing to do with me, it was ugly after all, so I agreed to ask Chai Lingwu to plead with His Highness, and Chai Lingwu left. Unexpectedly, he was shot dead as soon as he walked out of the camp gate. "
As he said that, he looked at Li Junxian again.
Li Chengqian frowned tightly, puzzled: "Who would assassinate Chai Lingwu and put the blame on you?"
He naturally trusted Fang Jun very much. Since Fang Jun had not had an affair with Princess Baling last night, he naturally had no motive to kill Chai Lingwu. To take a step back, even if something happened between Fang Jun and Princess Baling, why would they send someone to kill Chai Lingwu just because he clamored to go to Zongzheng Temple to complain, just outside his own camp?
That doesn't make sense.
But who has the motive to kill Chai Lingwu and blame Fang Jun? In the absence of conclusive evidence, who can judge Fang Jun? It would be simply fanciful to think that Chai Lingwu's death would lead to the move to Fang Jun.
Therefore, the first thing to rule out is that the Guanlongmen clan was responsible. Although those people were ruthless, they would never do such useless things.
Apart from Guan Long, who else has such a deep hatred for Fang Jun that he would risk the life of a son of a noble family and the current prince-in-law to blame Fang Jun?
Confused.
The three of them were silent, and the atmosphere was heavy. There was the sound of footsteps outside the door, and the chamberlain came in to report: "Your Highness, Duke Guo of Song, Cen Zhongshu, Liu Shizhong, and the Prince of Jiangxia County want to see you."
Li Chengqian frowned more and more. Not long after Yuwen Shiji left, these people came together, obviously not for peace talks...
"Xuan."
"Here."
The chamberlain exited, and not long after, several civil and military ministers filed in, stepped forward and bowed to salute.
After the ceremony, Li Chengqian nodded and said: "My dear friends, please take a seat... I wonder what is important?"
The four of them looked at each other, then glanced at Fang Jun, and Liu Jie said: "Your Highness, you are aware of this. Just now, I suddenly learned that there are rumors inside and outside the palace that Chai Prince Consort was killed by the Duke of Yue. Rumors are spreading everywhere, and the words are scorching." , I didn’t know whether it was true or not, so I ordered it not to be disseminated, and then I specially reported it to His Highness, asking for instructions on how to deal with it.”
Li Chengqian was stunned there. How long had it been before the news had spread inside and outside the palace?
How is that possible?
Fang Jun said nothing and kept looking at Li Junxian.
Li Junxian still lowered his head, but the muscles in his cheeks squirmed a little, and there was a faint hint of sweat on his forehead. Although Fang Jun said nothing at the moment, the momentum and pressure were too great, and he couldn't bear it. He was worried about Fang Jun's next moment. Then he suddenly activated and chopped him with a knife...
This matter could not be concealed from the prince, because the prince did not know the details and could not figure out the stakes, but it was not difficult for Fang Jun to guess the reason. He must be so angry that he might become a punching bag.
With Fang Jun's strength, he has no confidence that he can survive three moves...
Li Chengqian didn't pay attention to the eye interaction between the two people, and frowned: "Chai Prince Consort was indeed sniped outside the Youtunwei camp, but the murderer was not the Duke of Yue. I have sent people to do an autopsy, and we will do it later." Results are presented.”
Liu Jie and others were shocked at first, obviously not expecting that Chai Lingwu was really dead. Then they pondered and shook their heads and said: "We also believe that it was not the Duke of Yue who did it, but at this moment, there are rumors outside that there is something serious about it. It’s Fang Jun who is the leader of Qiao State The duke's position forced him to molest Princess Baling. Chai Lingwu was angry and came to ask for an explanation, but the Duke of Yue killed her and silenced her... Three people become tigers, and everyone's talk makes money. This matter needs to be handled carefully. "
It doesn't matter whether Chai Lingwu was killed by Fang Jun or not. In fact, Liu Ji didn't believe that Fang Jun would do such a crazy thing, but there are some things that no one needs to believe, not even the truth.
The essence of the matter is that there is no conclusive evidence to identify Fang Jun as the murderer, but things have already happened, and Fang Jun's suspicion cannot be escaped. This is enough.
For ordinary people, "the five punishments are subject to pardon, and the five punishments are subject to pardon, and the trial will overcome them." For suspected crimes, the principle of never pardoning is adopted. This is the essence of justice that has been handed down since ancient times. There is a law in "Xia Shu" that "it is better to be innocent than to kill an innocent person". Rather than causing an unjust case, it is better not to achieve the effect of law enforcement, that is, it is better to indulge than to be in vain.
But for people like Fang Jun who are about to reach the pinnacle of being a minister, this kind of suspicion is a fatal flaw. When there is suspicion, it is inevitable that someone will frame and criticize it. It means that the moral aspect is not perfect, and it is difficult to become a prime minister. The leader, the leader of hundreds of officials.
This is the situation that the East Palace civil service system is most willing to see...
Xiao Yu didn't wait for others to refute, and said at the right time: "Chai Lingwu became the emperor's consort in time. He also has meritorious service, and has royal blood. His status is not the same. After the autopsy, he should be buried and suitable ministers should be sent to take care of the funeral, so as to avoid "
There is no mention of thoroughly investigating the murderer and clarifying the rumors...
Li Chengqian nodded and said: "That's right. Later, I will ask the imperial guards to escort Chai Lingwu's body back to Chang'an Mansion. I will also ask Changle, Jinyang and other princesses to rush there first to comfort Baling and prevent him from being too sad. Then let me know. Zongzheng Temple, please ask the King of Han to take charge of Chai Lingwu’s funeral.”
Then he said to Fang Jun: "I will send someone to investigate this matter thoroughly and bring justice to the Duke of Yue. Don't worry too much."
Fang Jun nodded, that was all he could do.
Whether a rumor can be spread widely does not depend on whether its authenticity is difficult to distinguish, but on whether it caters to the public's mentality. Once the rumor is popular with the public, the public will be willing to believe its authenticity, and otherwise it will naturally be self-defeating.
At present, the damage of this rumor to Fang Jun is extremely limited. He has a very good reputation among the people, and not many people believe this. However, the rumor itself has caused his moral character to be questioned among a certain class. One day he will If you want to reach the top of the human ministers, this is a huge thunder, which may explode at any time.
He looked at Li Junxian again, his eyes deep... (End of chapter)