Inside the hall.
Jing Rong was merely testing the waters but Qiao Zheng had already drawn a clear line in his relations.h.i.+p with Peng Yuanhai. Instead of clarifying matters, his actions conveyed a suspicious sense of ‘nothing to see here!’ and highlighted his willingness to abandon others when difficulties arose.
As an official that had served for many years, he had naturally learned to be crafty. Qiao Zheng knew that the incident involving the Ministry of Personnel was getting out of hand. It not only involved Prince Rong, but also a Ministry, a department, and even the royal family. Therefore, he had elected to evade whatever responsibility he could manage.
Countless th.o.r.n.y traps lay within that abyss. If he were to take a step inside, there was a chance that his entire family would be executed, ending in a pitiful state. Amongst all the officials in court, there were probably very few as astute as he.
Jing Rong did not believe Qiao Zheng’s words. This old fox cannot be underestimated. Narrowing his deep, dark eyes, Jing Rong sternly scrutinized this tight-lipped person before him. “Lord Qiao, you are an intelligent person, so you should be able to understand the meaning behind this prince’s words.”
“Pray enlighten me, Your Highness.” Qiao Zheng continued to play the fool.
“This prince shall believe in your claim that you did not have a close relations.h.i.+p with Peng Yuanhai for now. But in that case, how would you explain someone without any backer like him having the gall to pet.i.tion this prince immediately after your resignation? How did he have the capability to have the a.s.sistance of the entire Office of Transmission? This incident is not as simple as it seems! I wonder if Lord Qiao would be able to provide this prince a reasonable explanation.”
Qiao Zheng’s expression froze. He hastily raised his hands and lowered his posture into a bow. “This absolutely has nothing to do with this official. I had no idea that something like this could even happen!. If I could have foreseen this, I would have given my all to stop Peng Yuanhai.”
“Very well, then let this prince ask you this. If this incident has nothing to do with you… then what about Prince Yi?” Are you affiliated with him? To put it bluntly, are you conspiring with Jing Yi? Jing Rong glared at Qiao Zheng with blazing eyes. No matter what, he must have some of his questions answered today.
Deep down, Qiao Zheng knew that he was already on the hook, as vulnerable as a piece of meat hanging from a rack. He really regretted coming over. Why did he have to willingly take the bait? Isn’t this just seeking death? Now, he was just peachy. Stuck like a piece of fishbone in the throat with neither a way forward nor backwards.
Noticing the complicated look on Qiao Zheng’s face and his shaken spirit, Jing Rong continued probing. “You should know what this prince wants to know and hear, don’t you? If you are able to give answers that this prince wants, I will definitely not put you in a spot and let you leave here safely.” It was a blatant threat.
Qiao Zheng knew that he would be unable to leave today unless he gave Jing Rong some useful information. He might as well...
Qiao Zheng ground his teeth together and finally replied, “I beg for your impartial judgment, Your Highness. Before that Peng Yuanhai joined the Ministry of Personnel under my guidance, he was but a mere civil official in Hanlin Academy. At that time, he had already had a good relations.h.i.+p with his former schoolmate, Lord Qu, who would later work for the Office of Transmission. Afterwards, Lord Qu was appointed Envoy for the Office under Prince Yi’s recommendation while Peng Yuanhai entered the Ministry of Personnel under me. Since then, the two no longer had any form of contact and few people knew about their past relations.h.i.+p. I would never have imagined that the Ministry of Personnel’s pet.i.tions against Your Highness was secretly accomplished with the help of Lord Qu from the Office of Transmission. His actions are a mystery to me as well.”
Jing Rong merely replied.“This was not what this prince wanted to hear.”
Qiao Zheng could only take a deep breath and lower his head even further. “Qu Jiang and Peng Yuanhai… are the Crown Prince’s men.”
Eh? The already deceased Crown Prince?! With that, the mystery was now resolved.
As expected, it would have been impossible to get such information from him without exerting some pressure on him.
Jing Rong summarized Qiao Zheng’s revelations. “That means that Lord Peng and Lord Qu were the Crown Prince’s men even before they had taken up their current positions. In order to pull Lord Qu to his side, Prince Yi personally recommended him to the Office of Transmission. Having received such a huge favor, Lord Qu jumped s.h.i.+p and defected to Prince Yi’s camp. You, on the other hand, brought Peng Yuanhai into the Ministry of Personnel with the same intention of pulling him over to ally with Prince Yi. However, he couldn’t care less about your intentions and therefore parted ways. Is that the case? ”
“Yes!”
“So in order to avenge the Crown Prince, Peng Yuanhai began to submit pet.i.tions in order to pin the culprit responsible for this prince’s a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on Prince Yi?”
“Yes!”
“So you resigned from your position because you were aware of his intentions and did not want to get involved?”
“Yes!” At least his replies seem to be made in earnest.
However, Jing Rong still had doubts. “Didn’t Lord Qu already pledge his loyalty to Prince Yi? Why would he betray him now? You are also one of Prince Yi’s people. When you knew that Peng Yuanhai intended to do this, why didn’t you inform Prince Yi about this?”
“This official...” Qiao Zheng stammered.
“Since you have already disclosed this much already, don’t bother hiding anything and just say everything. The Imperial Palace’s power does not extend to my grounds. Everything you say here will be kept to myself once you step out from this place and not a single word you say will make it out of here.”
This prince was really greedy. It seems like he will not give up until every single one of his secrets have been made known to him.
Qiao Zheng grit his teeth. Since I’ve already stepped into the tiger’s lair, then I’ll stake everything I have. “Actually, ever since Your Highness left the capital, the guards within and around the capital have been secretly replaced with Prince Yi’s men. As a veteran official, I can read the political movements and antic.i.p.ate the repercussions. In the past, this official was a student of Old Master Luo Chongyang and has naturally learnt a thing or two. Prince Yi was originally a single step away from taking the throne but is just a tad too hasty. The Emperor has reigned for twenty years, knows that better than anyone. This official still has parents and children to care for, so I chose to resign and return home before Prince Yi can consolidate his power. I am also worried about what would happen...when the truth came out.”
The truth has come out! It was evident that this old fox did not believe that Prince Yi would take the throne at all. Qiao Zheng said was true, Jing Yi was too hasty!
Qiao Zheng continued. “I believe that Lord Qu has been thinking the same thing as I am, which was why...” He betrayed Prince Yi and teamed up with Peng Yuanhai once more.
What was the saying again? A true victory may not actually be victorious.
Jing Yi ah Jing Yi, never in your wildest dreams would you think that a p.a.w.n that you have kept so dearly would be a fence-sitter! Jing Rong was very satisfied with Qiao Zheng’s response. The corners of his lips rose as he spoke. “You are a smart man, Lord Qiao.”
Qiao Zheng remained silent.
“You can wait patiently at your residence. Rest a.s.sured, this prince will not say anything about today’s conversation. This prince will not forget this favor either.”
“Many thanks, Your Highness.”
“This prince ought to thank you instead.”
“This official doesn’t dare.”
“It’s getting late, you should bring Young Master Qiao back home. However, I’m counting on Lord Qiao’s cooperation should anything related to the case come up.”
“Yes.” Qiao Zheng obediently agreed and bowed his way out. Walking outside, he let out a long sigh. His eyes appeared bloodshot due to the stress he had endured.
He lifted his sleeve to wipe away the sweat on his forehead, his heart was still thumping away. In the past, he had believed Jing Rong to be a man of few words, and one who could be easily manipulated. One, he had little power. Two, he had no followers. Jing Rong was no different from that sickly Prince Xian.
However, on this day, he had finally experienced Jing Rong’s overwhelming and relentless personality, which had slowly forced him to reveal the whole truth. Looks like the position of Great Lin’s next Emperor is not yet set in stone!