As the morning court concluded, officials departed.
News of what transpired in the court quickly spread throughout the imperial capital. Ordinary citizens might not have been fully aware yet, or the news simply hadn't reached their ears, but the imperial clan members and nobles who had not attended the court received the information shortly.
They began to discuss it amongst themselves in private.
Some were so angered they threw basins and smashed bowls.
They were not foolish; these seasoned individuals could easily discern that the morning court session was a silent battle devoid of visible weapons. And by all appearances, Emperor Qianyu had gained a slight advantage. He had succeeded in making the officials and the imperial clan acknowledge that the Imperial Daughter also possessed inheritance rights.
This was a significant breakthrough compared to their previous outright opposition.
The subsequent disputes would likely shift from whether the Imperial Daughter was qualified to inherit the throne to whether she had the capability. The situation had undoubtedly become much more complicated than before, fraught with increased risks and complications.
Of course, compared to the private disputes of the common imperial clan members and nobles, the most unfortunate was undoubtedly the Prince of Qin.
He truly was a victim of circumstance, a scapegoat for something he had no hand in. Without having done anything, his entire princely estate was surrounded by the Imperial Guards. Then, the Minister of Justice personally delivered an imperial decree, instructing them to conduct their own investigation and prove their innocence while under siege by the Imperial Guards.
If they could prove their innocence, all would be well. But if they failed, the entire family would have to make a trip to the imperial prison for an investigation by the Ministry of Justice.
At this moment, the Prince of Qin likely regretted the most his actions years ago when he tried to solicit the Nine Dragon Palm technique from his father, the Emperor. He had intended to use the word "dragon" in the technique's name to subtly imply to officials and nobles that his father favored him as the Crown Prince.
While that subtle maneuver succeeded at the time, it hadn't brought him much actual help. The officials weren't so foolish as to believe that the late Emperor's bestowal of a technique containing the word "dragon" meant he favored him as Crown Prince and thus rushed to his support.
And now, centuries later, this very thing had brought him a major crisis once again.
However, given the circumstances, the Prince of Qin's faction could only quickly conduct internal investigations and gather evidence to prove their innocence.
Meanwhile, the mastermind behind framing the Prince of Qin, the Prince of Ning, was also not in good spirits. Framing the Prince of Qin's lineage was a minor matter to him. It would be great if it succeeded, but it didn't matter if it didn't. His true concern was the Imperial Daughter's life or death. A dead Imperial Daughter was a good Imperial Daughter, the one he needed most.
But now that the Imperial Daughter was alive, it was undoubtedly a terrible omen for him. Emperor Qianyu's explicit support for his daughter's ascension to the throne was an even greater omen. In fact, nothing that happened in court that day had brought the Prince of Ning any joy.
The next moment, he hurried into a secret chamber.
He also summoned the eunuch who had carried out the attack, reprimanding him for his incompetence and ordering him to recall precisely what happened during the attempt, whether the Imperial Daughter had seen his form, and if another attempt was possible.
The Grand Eunuch Xu Taiwei was also baffled by the Imperial Daughter's survival. He clearly remembered striking the Imperial Daughter with a palm that shattered all her meridians and internal organs, and he had double-checked before leaving. Theoretically, she should have been beyond saving.
Even the Creation Holy Land had no solution for such a situation.
Unable to comprehend it, they could only unanimously infer that Emperor Qianyu must have provided the Imperial Daughter with some secret life-saving method. This was the only way she could have survived. However, even if her life was saved, her foundation and lifespan were likely severely damaged, making any significant achievements improbable.
As for whether this life-saving method had any other effects besides preserving life, or if it could record the attacker's aura, they knew nothing and dared not guarantee anything.
Furthermore, a successful second attempt was impossible in the short term. Therefore, to be on the safe side, and to prevent any possibility of the Imperial Daughter's life-saving method recording the attacker's aura, the Prince of Ning immediately ordered Grand Eunuch Xu Taiwei to leave the imperial capital and flee to the farthest place possible.
Until this matter was completely resolved, he was not to return.
Unbeknownst to them, Ding Yun, through the blank copy of the Book of Life and Death, was fully aware of these developments. Emperor Qianyu's side, though slower, also roughly deduced around this time that an old eunuch from the former palace of Consort Yu had passed away yesterday.
And after sending people to inspect the body,
He immediately knew that the old eunuch was problematic.
The reason was simple: the autopsy results after exhumation indicated that the body was indeed that of a eunuch. However, his bone age was only ninety-three years old. That old eunuch had entered the palace with Consort Yu. Eighty years after entering the palace, Emperor Qianyu ascended the throne, and he had now reigned for over two hundred years. Therefore, theoretically, that eunuch should have been at least three hundred years old.
Only Grandmasters could live for three hundred years.
Celestial beings lived for five hundred, and Martial Saints for a thousand.
The body, in terms of both bone age and cultivation, did not match the deceased Grand Eunuch. There was no effect without cause in this world. A person who should have had a bone age of three hundred and a cultivation at least at the Grandmaster level could not inexplicably become an ordinary Xiantian with a bone age of only ninety-three. Although no other clues directly pointed to the killer or the Prince of Ning,
Emperor Qianyu did not require concrete evidence; his suspicion was enough to initiate an investigation.
However, considering that he had already made a drastic move against the Prince of Qin's lineage, initiating action against the Prince of Ning's faction, which had a good reputation in recent decades, without clear evidence, could easily be misinterpreted as him intending to move against all the imperial princes.
Therefore, Emperor Qianyu exercised a degree of restraint.
He only sent people to investigate discreetly.
But unfortunately, he discovered it a bit too late. By the time his dispatched personnel officially began investigating the Prince of Ning's faction, the Grand Eunuch had long since left the imperial capital, and the remaining fragmented evidence and clues had been swiftly eradicated by the Prince of Ning.
The few remaining scattered pieces of evidence
At most, they deepened suspicion but could not definitively prove that the assassination attempt on the Imperial Daughter was related to the Prince of Ning. Moreover, the Grand Eunuch had entered the palace too long ago; many clues and evidence had long since disappeared, making it difficult to trace his identity before he entered the palace. In short, the relevant investigation quickly reached a stalemate.
Emperor Qianyu could only order more people to keep a close eye on the Prince of Ning's faction.
He also hinted to the Minister of Justice that the scrutiny of the Prince of Qin's faction could be slightly relaxed, as long as they could provide some plausible evidence of their innocence.
After all, he had already guessed that this matter was likely related to the Prince of Ning, and the probability of the Prince of Qin's lineage being falsely accused and framed was as high as ninety percent. Furthermore, the Prince of Qin posed no threat to him. Therefore, there was naturally no need to pursue the matter relentlessly. By letting him off the hook now and subtly hinting that they might have been framed by the Prince of Ning,
A rather excellent
Weapon specifically targeting the Prince of Ning would thus be created.