Chapter 1861: Silence
“Could it be…” Was His Majesty trying to frame Princess Gu?
“Shh, you can’t say that! That’s the Emperor. How can we commoners talk nonsense? That would cause us to be beheaded.”
“Yes, yes, you’re right!” After being reminded by the person next to him, the head nodded violently like a rattle-drum.
Just as everyone suspected that the person was the Emperor, the Crown Prince picked up the gavel again and slammed it violently. He shouted sternly,” Silence!”
The crowd instantly fell silent. They watched and listened carefully.
The Crown Prince’s sharp gaze shot towards Second Brother Hu as he shouted,” How dare Second Brother Hu slander His Majesty? What crime should he be punished for?”
When Second Brother Hu and the others heard that the jade pendant belonged to the Emperor, their hearts tightened, and their bodies trembled violently.
They had never expected that the jade pendant was related to the Emperor.
If that jade pendant really belonged to the Emperor, then it meant that the person who came to them to frame Princess Gu was the current Emperor?
But how was this possible?
No one dared to believe such a speculation.
Under the Crown Prince’s strict questioning, Second Brother Hu kept kowtowing and defending himself.” I’m innocent, Your Highness. Even if I had a thousand guts, I wouldn’t dare to slander His Majesty!”
The Crown Prince said sternly,” According to your description, that jade pendant might be Imperial Father’s. However, Imperial Father is high and mighty. How could he condescend to look for you lowly people just to frame Princess Gu? Was there a need for Father to do this? Moreover, how could his jade pendant catch the eyes of a few lowlifes with no status? Moreover, Imperial Father has always been open and aboveboard. He dotes on Princess Guguo, so there’s no need for him to use such despicable means to frame Princess Guguo behind her back!”
At this point, he slammed the gavel violently again and questioned sternly,” Second Brother Hu, hurry up and tell the truth!”
Second Brother Hu was so scared that he started trembling. He kept kowtowing and said,” Your Highness, I’m innocent. I’m telling the truth. I don’t have the guts to lie. Please investigate!”
When the crown prince picked up the gavel and wanted to slap it again, Lin Yuelan stopped him.
She said,” Your Highness, why don’t you ask Second Brother Hu to draw the appearance of the jade pendant? Perhaps there are some areas that are missing in the description. We can check it again!”
The five Hu brothers might have inherited the craftsman’s legacy, but they all had good memories, especially when it came to carving architectural drawings. As long as they saw it once, they would have a deep impression of it.
Lin Yuelan continued,” I believe that the old emperor is not such a despicable person! Moreover, this jade pendant is obviously full of loopholes. We might be able to find some clues from it.”
When the Crown Prince heard this, he felt that it made sense. He nodded and said,” You have a point!”
Then, he asked,” Second Brother Hu, can you draw it? Do you want us to call the painter?”
Second Brother Hu immediately replied,” No need, I can draw it!”
The Crown Prince immediately asked someone to bring over a brush and ink for Second Brother Hu to draw.
After hearing Lin Yuelan’s suggestion, the eldest grandson’s heart tightened. He clenched his hand and then released it.
Then, he put down his hand and made an eight gesture. It was obvious that he was hinting.
However, he didn’t know who he was hinting at.
From the corner of her eyes, Lin Yuelan quietly observed the expression and actions of the eldest grandson.
When she said that she wanted Second Brother Hu to draw the appearance of the jade pendant, she noticed the hinting gesture of the eldest grandson. A ruthless light flashed in her eyes, and a faint mocking smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She raised her head slightly and nodded at Jiang Zhennan in tacit understanding.
Because of the Hu Brothers’ family heritage, they had good memories and could draw out the things they had seen.
However, they were born into a poor family and did not have the qualifications to study for the imperial examinations.
Later on, they made a fortune. Although it was a pity, they had already missed out on it. After all, they were not young anymore, so they could only start by nurturing the next generation.
Second Brother Hu drew the outline of the jade pendant on a piece of paper. Then, he began to draw the lines.
However, while he was drawing the lines, a flying needle shot out from the crowd outside, heading straight for the back of Second Brother Hu’s head.
At this moment, a figure flashed in the crowd, and the flying needle disappeared. Then, a figure flashed again and grabbed a seemingly ordinary young man from the crowd.
“Why did you capture me?”
Then, he looked around and immediately shouted,” Defender General, you can’t arrest anyone you want!”
Jiang Zhennan held the flying needle in one hand and the man’s collar in the other. He carried him into the court with a cold expression. Then, he threw the man to the ground and kicked him. He shouted sternly,” Kneel!”
With such a sudden change, everyone could not react at all. When they reacted, they saw Jiang Zhennan carrying a man and throwing him into the court.
However, the man cried out,” Is there any justice left? The Defender General actually arrested people so casually!”
When Jiang Zhennan heard this, his expression did not change. He only shouted at him,” You want to kill people on the spot to silence him. How dare you quibble!”
After saying that, he showed the flying needle in his hand.
This flying needle was glowing with a cold silver light, but everyone found that the tip of the needle was black, giving off a sinister coldness.
“This needle is poisonous!”
Jiang Zhennan then said to the man,” This flying needle was shot from your hand!”
When the man saw this, he rolled his eyes and immediately quibbled,” Do you think that’s true just because you said I did? Then, show me the evidence. Hmph, you are the Great General, so you can accuse people wrongly?”
The Crown Prince asked in puzzlement,” Great General, what’s going on?”
Jiang Zhennan said,” This person wants to silence Second Brother Hu!”
“What?” Boss Hu and the other brothers were terrified.” This… What’s going on?”
At this moment, they deeply felt that perhaps when they were about to betray Lin Yuelan, that person was already prepared to silence them.
Second Brother Hu stopped painting. His face was pale, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
He… He… he would become someone’s abandoned piece. Once his goal was successful, they would kill him to silence him.
However, something unexpected happened.
All of them had entered the court, and the five brothers had suddenly come to their senses. They had found their conscience and decided to turn over a new leaf, explaining everything clearly.
Therefore, those people did not have time to silence him.
However, when he was drawing the jade pendant, they didn’t care about the danger of being exposed and wanted to kill him.
What did this mean?
This meant that the jade pendant was not simple at all. Perhaps there was some secret hidden in the jade pendant, so he was not allowed to draw it.
“You… You’re accusing me!” The man refused to admit what he had done.” I’m just an ordinary person!”
Jiang Zhennan grabbed his hand and said sharply,” But your hand betrayed your identity!”