freenovelworld Chapter 705 It's always better to vent than to keep it inside.
Chapter 705 It's always better to vent than to keep it inside.
"Such ruthless methods." Zhao Chen'an clenched his fist in his sleeve. "But since they dared to make trouble in the court, they must have made thorough preparations. They probably have no shortage of witnesses and physical evidence."
“A lie can never become the truth,” Qian Zhenyun said calmly. “As long as Your Highness trusts me, I have a way to make them lift a stone only to drop it on their own feet.”
Seeing his calm and composed demeanor, Zhao Chen'an's agitation gradually subsided.
He nodded and said in a deep voice, "Alright, I trust you. Just tell me what you need me to do."
Zhenguogongfu.
Gu Qingchen had just returned from the horse farm when his maid, Xiao Cui, rushed in with the news.
"Miss! Something terrible has happened!"
"News has come from the palace that... that Young Master Qian is under investigation by the Censorate for embezzlement! Now the entire court is impeaching him, and even His Highness the Crown Prince has been summoned by the Emperor for a reprimand!"
Embezzlement?
The riding whip in Gu Qingchen's hand fell to the ground with a "snap".
Her mind went blank for a moment, then went completely blank.
How could this be? How could it be embezzlement?
A few days ago, he even hinted that Lin Jiayou's official position was bought with money, which made her angrily accuse him of being blinded by jealousy.
In the blink of an eye, he himself was imprisoned for accepting bribes.
This is such a huge irony!
No, not possible!
A thought raced through her mind. She knew Qian Zhenyun better than anyone else what kind of person he was.
He may be dull, he may be tongue-tied, and he may even be a bit stubborn at times, but he is definitely not a greedy person!
If he were greedy, he wouldn't have saved all his pocket money when he was a child just to buy her a jade hairpin that she casually mentioned.
Someone must have framed him!
It's the Third Prince! It must be that Third Prince, whose heart is smaller than a pinhead!
Gu Qingchen's heart clenched instantly, and he turned and rushed out.
"Prepare the horses! I'm going to the East Palace!"
The area outside the East Palace Gate was heavily guarded.
Gu Qingchen dismounted and, lifting her skirt, tried to rush inside, but was blocked by two crossed halberds.
"Get out of my way! I want to see the Crown Prince!" she shouted angrily, her almond-shaped eyes wide open.
The guard at the gate replied expressionlessly, "Miss Gu, His Highness has ordered that no one be seen today."
"He's afraid to see me!" Gu Qingchen blurted out in anger. "Qian Zhenyun worked for him, and now that something's happened, is he going to cower like a coward?"
The captain of the guards frowned, stepped forward, and said in a fairly polite tone, "Miss, please watch your words. His Highness is dealing with important matters. Please leave."
"Important tasks? What important task could be more important than the lives of our own people!"
Looking at the tightly closed vermilion gate, Gu Qingchen felt a surge of anger rush to her head, burning away all her reason.
She knew the Crown Prince was avoiding her. He was afraid that if she acted recklessly and made things worse.
But she just couldn't swallow this insult!
She took two steps back, pointed at the palace gate, and began to curse with all her might.
"Zhao Chen'an! Come out here right now!"
"Are you even a man?! You can't even protect your own people, all you do is weigh the pros and cons all day long, what kind of prince are you?!"
"Let me tell you, if anything happens to Qian Zhenyun, I, Gu Qingchen, will be the first to not let you off the hook!"
Her clear yet tearful curses carried far, drawing the attention of the surrounding palace servants, but no one dared to step forward to stop her.
Inside the gate, Crown Prince Zhao Chen'an stood by the window, listening quietly.
The chief eunuch behind him bowed and whispered, "Your Highness, Miss Gu...should we send someone to persuade her?"
Zhao Chen'an raised his hand, indicating that it was unnecessary.
Hearing the loud, forceful curses outside the door, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.
"Let her curse."
He spoke softly, a faint smile playing on his lips that went unnoticed.
"It's better to vent than to keep it inside."
Outside, Gu Qingchen's cursing was already a little hoarse, but she still showed no sign of stopping.
Just as she was about to take a breather before continuing her rant, a gentle voice came from behind her.
"Qingchen, shut up."
Lin Jiayou arrived at some point, and he quickly stepped forward and grabbed Gu Qingchen's arm.
"What are you doing? This is not a place for you to cause trouble outside the East Palace Gate! Come back with me at once!"
He tried to pull her away, but Gu Qingchen was like a tree with its roots firmly planted, completely unmoved.
She shook off his hand, her bloodshot eyes fixed on him.
"Go back? Why should I go back? Qian Zhenyun is about to be murdered, am I going to go back and wait to die?"
"But what good will your loud outburst do, other than embarrass His Highness and make things worse?"
Lin Jiayou frowned and lowered his voice to advise, "There must be more to this than meets the eye. We should consider this carefully instead of acting impulsively."
"Long-term plan?"
Gu Qingchen seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. She pointed at herself and then at the tightly closed palace gates, her laughter tinged with tears.
"By the time you've finished your plan, his head will be rolling on the ground!"
She looked at Lin Jiayou, at his face that always wore the expression of "putting the big picture first," and the scene from the poetry gathering flashed through her mind.
That day, when Qian Zhenyun was being harassed, he stood by in the same way, offering useless words of concern.
A profound sense of disappointment suddenly overwhelmed the anger.
"Lin Jiayou, you should leave." Her voice turned cold. "We have different paths, so we cannot work together."
A crack finally appeared on Lin Jiayou's gentle mask.
"Qingchen, what are you saying? I'm doing this for your own good!"
"Thinking of me?" Gu Qingchen turned her head away, no longer looking at him, her gaze returning to the palace gate.
"All I know is that I will protect my people. Even if it costs me my life, I will never stand by and watch them get into trouble while I hide behind them, calculating the pros and cons."
Lin Jiayou's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, his face turning pale and then red.
Gu Qingchen ignored him. She was tired of cursing him. She knew in her heart that she couldn't break in by brute force alone.
She wiped her face, turned around and walked to her horse, mounted it swiftly and decisively.
Before leaving, she turned back and gave Lin Jiayou a cold glance.
"You don't need to follow me."
After saying that, she squeezed the horse's flanks with her legs and galloped away.
Lin Jiayou was left alone, standing awkwardly outside the East Palace Gate, becoming a laughing stock in everyone's eyes.
Zhao Chen'an turned around, sat back down in the main seat, picked up the tea that had long since gone cold, and took a sip.
"This girl's temper is exactly the same as when she was a child."
He put down his teacup, his gaze falling on Qian Zhenyun. "Now, you can speak. How do you plan to make them shoot themselves in the foot?"
Qian Zhenyun stepped forward, his expression remaining calm.
"Your Highness, since they have set up this scheme, they must have already prepared witnesses and evidence."
"The so-called witness should be the 'wealthy merchant' who gave the gift. The physical evidence is the rumored ancient inkstone from the previous dynasty and a box of gold bars."
Zhao Chen'an frowned: "The Censorate has sealed off your official residence in the Ministry of Revenue and searched your residence, but found nothing."
"Their next step will definitely be to try every means to pin this so-called 'stolen goods' on you."
"good."
"Therefore, I would like to ask Your Highness for a favor."
"You said."