Chapter 14 Setting a Trap

Jiang Chen's eyes lit up.

He clapped his hands and said, "Excellent! Very reasonable!"

"To frame Xu Changqing, the person behind the scenes has used many hidden agents. The previous palace investigations didn't uncover these people with abnormal identities, which shows that their identities are very important, and they may even be hidden trump cards."

"Following these clues, we will be able to find the person behind the scenes and clear Xu Changqing's name... Afterward, I will throw this mastermind into the imperial prison and order the most experienced executioner in Great Wei to take care of him!"

Hearing this, Xu Mu, who was still kneeling on the ground, breathed a sigh of relief.

His Majesty's tone seemed less angry, and he had finally saved his life.

Just as he was secretly rejoicing, he noticed that Jiang Chen's tone had become cold again, even with a hint of killing intent.

"Jing Yue, send someone to keep an eye on Wang Min, observe her movements, and see if she is doing anything behind my back!"

Jing Yue knelt to accept the order, but a trace of doubt appeared on her pretty face as she hesitated,

"Your Majesty, the number of secret guards is limited. Shouldn't the most important thing at this time be to investigate the origins of those palace people to find the person behind the scenes? Why waste manpower monitoring Consort Mei?"

Jiang Chen shook his head and explained, "Of course, we must investigate the person behind the scenes, but the most important thing now is to find evidence to clear Xu Changqing's name!"

"I promised Yun'er that they would see each other within seven days."

"If we can't find the truth within the time limit and give an explanation to the court, I'm afraid those royal family members will rise up and force me to execute Xu Changqing."

Hearing this, Jing Yue frowned even tighter, "Your subordinate is dull and doesn't understand how this relates to monitoring Consort Mei."

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes and said, "The inner palace is an important place, and ordinary people can't enter."

"But this time, when Xu Changqing was framed, so many spies took action, and even a mysterious person wearing a hood appeared, leading him to the heavily guarded forbidden area of the ancestral temple."

"All of the above leads me to suspect that there may be someone in the palace who is controlling these spies, and this person must be of noble status and have enough power to arrange things in the inner palace."

Jing Yue was not stupid. As the commander of the secret guards, her敏锐 (mǐnruì – sharpness) and wisdom undoubtedly surpassed many people.

It was just that she was confused by concern, and those involved were often the most perplexed.

Now, after Jiang Chen's guidance, she immediately reacted and said, "It's... Consort Mei!"

"This woman was previously the most favored in the six palaces and even temporarily took charge of the phoenix seal, governing the affairs of the six palaces... If it were her, it would make sense that the palace has been infiltrated to this extent."

Jiang Chen's expression was cold as he nodded, "I'm just suspicious and can't be completely sure, so I need to find someone to keep an eye on her."

"If Mei Ruoying is really the mastermind, she will definitely take action to stop this after knowing that I want to overturn Xu Changqing's case!"

"So, what I have to do now is to spread the word and wait for the prey to take the bait!"

Jing Yue's beautiful eyes lit up slightly, and her indifferent voice gained a bit of fluctuation, "Your Majesty, do you want to...?"

Jiang Chen curled his lips into a cold smile, "I'm going to announce to the public that a palace servant couldn't withstand the torture and confessed."

"The things in the ancestral temple were not destroyed by Xu Changqing. The real culprit is a mysterious person wearing a hood, and this palace servant happened to see the black-clothed man's face. I'm going to search the entire city based on the portrait and catch the culprit!"

"In this way, the real mastermind will definitely not be able to sit still and will come to steal the portrait and kill to silence the witness!"

After listening, Jing Yue did not immediately agree but pondered for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, although your plan is very meticulous, can this reason really lure the mastermind to take the bait?"

"Of course!" Jiang Chen was very sure.

"As long as this mysterious person wearing a hood really exists and is not Xu Changqing's hallucination, the mastermind will definitely react!"

"After all, infiltrating the palace, destroying the ancestral tablets of the Great Wei emperors, and framing the current Great General... None of these things are easy to do. The person behind the scenes has put in so much effort and will definitely not watch Xu Changqing escape punishment. They will definitely take action!"

Only then did Jing Yue nod, a faint curve appearing on the corner of her mouth as she accepted the order and left.

Only after she had completely disappeared did Jiang Chen turn his gaze to Xu Mu.

At this time, Xu Mu was already in a daze.

Jiang Chen's intelligence and wisdom had completely shocked him.

Such a tricky dead end was actually resolved by His Majesty in a few words, and in just a few breaths, he found a way to counter the enemy!

His Majesty is truly a dragon among men and will surely establish unparalleled achievements in the future!

Unaware of what Xu Mu was thinking, Jiang Chen ordered indifferently, "Get up, and summon the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review!"

"Also, spread the word that there has been a new discovery in this case, that the culprit who destroyed the ancestral temple is someone else, and the secret guards have found a witness. The next step is to conduct a city-wide search!"

...

Several hours passed.

Everything was arranged according to Jiang Chen's plan.

In particular, Su Wen, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Jiang Chen repeatedly checked the details with him. Although the Minister of Justice had also abandoned the darkness and turned to the light, showing his loyalty to him, Jiang Chen secretly still preferred Su Wen, who had no blemishes and was always loyal to the emperor.

At this time, the secret guards and the Five City Patrol Battalions also took action, ambushing near the target.

In this way, a tight net was gradually completed, ready to be tightened at any time to capture the prey for Jiang Chen!

Evening.

All the civil and military officials and members of the royal family received the news.

The Cautious Punishment Department had interrogated clues, and a palace servant had identified that the culprit who destroyed the ancestral temple was not Xu Changqing but a mysterious person wearing a hood, and General Xu was framed!

The Court of Judicial Review had already drawn a portrait of the murderer based on the palace servant's description, and Su Wen, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and the Minister of Justice were organizing manpower to conduct a city-wide search, and even the palace was no exception!

As soon as the news came out, it caused a huge stir.

And the manipulator of all this, Jiang Chen.

At this time, he abandoned the disturbances of the imperial capital and the palace and came to the desolate and silent imperial prison.

After all, Xu Changqing was almost certainly framed, so the broken ancestral tablets in the ancestral temple could not have been done by him.

And Jiang Chen, in the heat of the moment, kicked his unfortunate brother-in-law several times, so it was only right to come and appease him.

In the dark and gloomy imperial prison.

Xu Changqing was wearing a white prison uniform, sitting cross-legged on a loose straw mat, leaning against the wall, looking dejected.

Anyone who saw his disheartened appearance would not believe that this was the rising star in the court, the highly regarded Divine Might General!

"Cough, Brother-in-law, I've come to see you!"

Jiang Chen greeted him while observing the surrounding environment.

Well, this prison cell is not bad, there are no strange smells or bloodstains, and the living utensils are all new. This warden is quite observant, a talent, and can be considered for promotion.

"Your, Your Majesty, is that you? Am I dreaming?"

Xu Changqing leaned forward, his tiger eyes fixed on Jiang Chen, full of disbelief.