Chapter 188: Had a Clear Conscience

The Governor of Capital Guards said smilingly, “Your Highness, don’t worry. I’ve come to temporarily detain you on the orders of His Majesty. Please follow me to see His Majesty now. Please forgive me for my rudeness, Your Highness!”

Baili Jinze suddenly waved his arm to get away from the guard escorting him from behind, his eyes filled with impatience. “Lord Governor of Capital Guards, you are of such impressive power.”

The Governor of Capital Guards remained a smile. He lowered his head and cupped his hands, saying, “I don’t dare to be praised by you like that, Your Highness. Please come with me.”

“I can walk by myself.”

Baili Jinze slowly walked towards Baili Qingcang’s tent. However, he was pondering over various thoughts on his mind. Father Emperor would not look for him for no reason. This time, there was definitely something related to him, and he must have gotten deeply involved.

When the hunt started this morning, everything was still fine. Later, Father Emperor came back to the camp in advance because something happened to Shen Ninghua and the others. So it must have something to do with what happened to Shen Ninghua. However, none of his men had made a move yet. No matter what, they shouldn’t have found anything related to him.

In other words, someone had deliberately framed him and shifted the blame?

The light in Baili Jinze’s eyes constantly flickered. By the time he arrived at the entrance of Baili Qingcang’s tent, his expression had returned to normal. With a trace of confusion, he opened the curtain and walked in.

As soon as he stepped into the tent, an overwhelming pressure came to him. Baili Jinze was suddenly shocked. This kind of scene meant that the thing was definitely serious. He heard that Baili Jinchuan was also injured. Could it be that someone died of severe injuries?

Baili Qingcang looked at his fifth son who walked in and kept narrowing and opening his eyes. The veins on his forehead could be faintly seen. Was this gentlest son really as ambitious and bold as he had imagined?

In just a few short steps, Baili Jinze felt his back drenched in a cold sweat. His heart was beating wildly, but his expression was calm. “Greetings to Father Emperor.”

After a moment of silence, Baili Qingcang said, “Did you hear that Baili Jinchuan, Shen Ninghua, and Chu Junyi encounter an assassination today?”

“Reporting to Father Emperor, I’ve heard of it.”

“They were ambushed. There were about a hundred assassins who ambushed them along the way, causing serious injuries to Jinchuan and Chu Junyi. Ninghua was also injured and almost lost her life. Did you know that?”

Baili Jinze’s eyebrows twitched. “I heard that Second Royal Elder Brother and Princess Zhaohua were seriously injured. But I’m not sure about the specifics.”

Baili Qingcang narrowed his eyes and looked at Baili Jinze seriously. “You should be very clear about Panlong Villa, right?”

Baili Jinze’s pupils suddenly shrank, and he couldn’t help but shiver.

Seeing his unusual expression, Baili Qingcang’s eyes shone with a sharp light. He was indeed related to the Panlong Villa!

“Father Emperor, I’ve only met the men of sacrifice from the Panlong Villa. As for everything else, I don’t know. Were there men from the Panlong Villa among the assassins who ambushed Second Royal Elder Brother this time?”

“The assassination was done by the Panlong Villa!”

“Father Emperor, then we must investigate thoroughly and seek justice for Second Royal Elder Brother and Ninghua.” Baili Jinze lowered his head and cupped his hands.

“Jinze, I remember that you have the gentlest temperament and are the least fond of fighting amongst my sons. I had thought that when I would abdicate in the future, I would definitely arrange things in advance to ensure that you would live comfortably as an idle and wealthy prince.”

Baili Jinze raised his head, his eyes filled with surging emotions. “Father Emperor…”

“Your mother came from a lowly background, but she was an extremely good woman. She was a palace maid, but she had a strong personality. Back then, I had promised to let her out of the palace, but accidentally she was pregnant with you. That was why I let her stay in the palace. However, I didn’t expect that she would suddenly die in the end. When it comes to this, I really owe you and your mother.”

Baili Jinze clenched his fists tightly, and a wave of bitterness surged in his heart. His mother’s background had always been regarded as a stain by him, and most people rarely mentioned it in front of him. He never expected that Father Emperor would mention it today.

“I have never seen my mother before, but I heard from the nurse that she treated me very well.”

Baili Qingcang nodded. The coldness in his eyes became more and more obvious. “Yes, your mother was indeed very kind to you. Unfortunately, you did not inherit any of your mother’s advantages!”

“Father Emperor?”

“Baili Jinze, I really didn’t expect you to hide your true nature so deeply. As the noble prince of the royal family, you’re actually the secret master of the Panlong Villa. And you secretly gathered soldiers and made weapons… What do you want to do? Are you going to slaughter the monarch and seize the throne?”

Baili Qingcang’s eyes were filled with rage, like an enraged lion that vowed to tear all the aggressors into pieces.

Baili Jinze felt pain on his cheeks when the Emperor swept his gaze over. He quickly knelt on the ground, his face pale. “Father Emperor, I respect you as a heavenly deity. I don’t dare to have the slightest bit of disrespect. How would I do such a disrespectful thing? Master of Panlong Villa? What is that? I have nothing to do with any villa! Father Emperor, please investigate!”

The Panlong Villa incident had passed for so long. How could it be brought up again? Someone must have noticed something and intentionally made it go public again. Who exactly was it? Baili Jinchuan or Shen Ninghua?

The relationship between him and the Panlong Villa could be said to be extremely secret. Anyone who could investigate this matter could also be said to be very powerful. Logically speaking, it should be Baili Jinchuan, but for some reason, the first one that appeared in his mind was actually Shen Ninghua!

“Investigate?” Baili Qingcang sneered and threw over the jade pendant on the table. Baili Jinze hurriedly caught it.

“Then tell me, why is there a gold thread of your clothes on the jade pendant of the Panlong Villa?”

Baili Jinze was nervous to the extreme in his heart. A layer of cold sweat appeared and covered his face. He was almost unable to stay steady from shivering. “Father Emperor, the gold thread…”

You are reading story Phoenix Reborn: the Prime Minister's Scheming Daughter at novel35.com

“What, are you going to say that the gold thread isn’t from your clothes? Indeed, you’re not the only prince whose clothes are inlaid with gold threads. Unfortunately, you are the only one who has the gold thread pulled out from his clothes!”

Baili Jinze looked at the clothes the eunuch had brought in and felt that it was not helpful no matter what he explained. The jade pendant was his. But he kept it carefully all this time and never wore it. How would it have the gold thread from the clothes?

“Father Emperor, I really don’t know. Someone must have set me up. Please investigate, Father Emperor.” What he could do now was only refusing to admit it.

Baili Qingcang furrowed his brows and felt a twitching pain in his forehead. “Guards, take Fifth Prince back to his tent. He is not allowed to leave the tent for half a step without my orders. No one is allowed to visit him. Pack up and we’ll return to the palace tomorrow.”

After a long time, the noise was finally replaced by silence. Shen Ninghua pricked up her ears and listened for a moment, then she frowned and said, “What do you think Father Emperor will do to punish Baili Jinze?”

Chu Junyi applied medicine to the wounds on her arm. Then he wrapped her arm up in gauze. After that, he stained the gauze with some blood so that it looked like the wound was oozing blood. “Although the Emperor has become less energetic over the years, he is not a fatuous monarch. He will be angry that we encountered assassination, and he will also find a way to investigate the Panlong Villa, but he must have doubts in his heart if we tell him that Baili Jinze is the plotter of all this.”

Shen Ninghua nodded, “Since it can’t be 100% sure, Father Emperor probably won’t do anything to Baili Jinze. He will probably be temporarily imprisoned. If Father Emperor can’t find more powerful evidence, then he might firmly believe that Baili Jinze was framed.”

“That’s right. Although the Emperor has always paid attention to the Criminal Code and dealt with officials strictly, Baili Jinze is still his biological son. Besides, Fifth Prince has always been the gentlest and least ambitious prince, the Emperor is highly possible to believe that he has been framed.”

“Since that’s the case, we should offer him a little bit of evidence.”

Chu Junyi smiled slightly and brought the bowl over to Shen Ninghua. He swept his gaze across her pale face and the dark blue bruises on her chin. A cold light shone in his heart. “Ninghua, I said I would let him pay for it, so leave the rest to me. Don’t worry.”

Shen Ninghua paused for a moment and nodded slightly. “Alright, but you must not go too far. Going too far is as bad as not going far enough.”

“I understand.”

The next day, just as Shen Ninghua opened her eyes, Qing Que came in and reported, “Miss, Second Prince woke up and fainted again.”

“Woke up and fainted again?”

“Yes, it’s said that after he woke up, he found out the tendons in his right hand were damaged and he wouldn’t be able to draw a bow or use a sword, so he fainted again from being unable to stand the stimulation.”

Shen Ninghua paused, then a cold smile flashed in her eyes, “Okay, I know. Since His Highness has woken up, it’s time for me to wake up as well. Qing Que, change my clothes for me. I’ll go to pay respects to Father Emperor.”

After changing her clothes, Shen Ninghua had just been helped out of the tent door and met Baili Anning who was walking over. She stopped.

“Princess Anning?”

Baili Anning was also stunned for a moment, then quickly returned to normal, “Ninghua, you’re awake… Why didn’t you rest a little longer?”

“I’m fine. I heard from Qing Que that Father Emperor personally led the guards to save us yesterday. I don’t feel at ease in my heart and can’t just lie there. So I want to pay my respects to Father Emperor first.”

“Oh, you can go. I still need to go to see Second Royal Elder Brother.” Baili Anning’s expression was a little blank. After all, she and Second Prince were biological brothers and sisters. Although she did not agree with him on the way he did things in the past, by this time, worries had already overshadowed everything else.

Shen Ninghua nodded and walked past Baili Anning.

After taking a few steps away, Shen Ninghua stopped again. She turned around and saw Baili Anning quickly leave. She lowered her head slightly and closed her eyes.

“Miss?”

“Nothing. I’m fine. Let’s go.”

Shen Ninghua suddenly remembered what Chu Junyi had said back then. He was selfish and gave up Xiao Huanxi for her, and she was also selfish and plotted against Baili Jinchuan without considering Baili Anning. They were both fighting back to protect themselves, but in the end, some innocent people were implicated for no reason. They could only comfort themselves that they had a clear conscience.

She did not plot against innocent people. She did not ignore their lives. She did her best to repay all the favors she owed to others and to compensate for their losses. In this way, even if she had to step on layers of corpses to succeed, she could still walk steadily and sleep peacefully!

Baili Qingcang looked like he hadn’t slept all night, and his expression was rather tired. When he saw Shen Ninghua enter, he was very surprised, “Ninghua, why did you come here without resting for healing?”

“Father Emperor, I’m here with the special intention of thanking you. Thank you very much, Father Emperor, for personally leading guards to save me yesterday. Otherwise, Ninghua might not be able to return.”

Baili Qingcang smiled and looked at her with a gentle gaze, “You are always such a sensitive girl. You are my daughter, so how would I not save you? Don’t think nonsense. You should heal your wounds first.”

“I still have to thank you for saving my life, Father Emperor.”

“What a fool of you…” Baili Qingcang felt much more relaxed. “Since you’re here, you can have some food with me.”

“Alright.”

Just as Shen Ninghua agreed, a eunuch ran in out of breath and said in a shrill voice with a face full of fear.

“Your Majesty, this is an emergency. Fifth Prince committed suicide!”

You can find story with these keywords: Phoenix Reborn: the Prime Minister's Scheming Daughter, Read Phoenix Reborn: the Prime Minister's Scheming Daughter, Phoenix Reborn: the Prime Minister's Scheming Daughter novel, Phoenix Reborn: the Prime Minister's Scheming Daughter book, Phoenix Reborn: the Prime Minister's Scheming Daughter story, Phoenix Reborn: the Prime Minister's Scheming Daughter full, Phoenix Reborn: the Prime Minister's Scheming Daughter Latest Chapter