kvmb Chapter 337 Closing the Net
Chapter 337 Closing the Net
The Imperial Tutor noticed Shen Qingtan's gaze and turned to look at him.
With a loud "bang," it sounded like an explosion in the sky.
Everyone looked up, but could see nothing but large patches of dark clouds.
Upon hearing the sound of the signal flare, Lin Yi knew that the guards he had sent out had accomplished their task.
"When the Prince of Guangling went to Yingcheng to deal with the plague, the Imperial Tutor arranged for him to have many guards, right? He should have quite a few guards with him when he comes to the capital this time."
"It's really strange. If the Prince of Guangling were alive, he would have appeared to deny the rumors when news of his funeral was first spread."
"If he falls ill and dies again on the way back to the capital, shouldn't the guards arranged by the Imperial Tutor go to the capital to report the death?"
"Now the Prince of Guangling has disappeared without a trace, and even his guards have vanished without a trace."
Lin Yichao, the Imperial Tutor, challenged: "When the Prince of Guangling got into trouble, your first thought was to contact his guards. If you couldn't reach them, didn't you arrange for someone to investigate the reason? Or did you know about the Prince of Guangling's situation from the very beginning?"
This statement is almost explicitly stating that the Imperial Tutor killed Zhao Yi.
Sure enough, Qiu Zhentian glared at the Imperial Tutor with his tiger-like eyes, but said to Shen Qingtan, "Princess, whoever dares to harm the Prince Consort, our Great Zhou will definitely seek justice for the Prince Consort."
When Lin Yi heard this, he pretended to be puzzled: "Back then, when the Imperial Tutor brought the Prince of Guangling back to Northern Qi to recognize his ancestors, the Prince of Guangling had not yet entered the capital to pay homage to His Majesty when the Imperial Tutor sent him to Yingcheng to deal with the plague."
"Throughout history, the task of dealing with plagues has always been the responsibility of the Imperial Medical Academy or a minister of the court. No prince has ever been appointed to deal with plagues."
"The Imperial Tutor bypassed His Majesty and arbitrarily sent the Prince of Guangling to Yingcheng. In retrospect, this was neither reasonable nor justifiable."
At this point, Lin Yi pressed on, "Could it be that the Imperial Tutor harbors ulterior motives?"
“Indeed, there was a selfish motive.” The Imperial Tutor frankly admitted: “I sent the Prince of Guangling to Yingcheng to deal with the plague because he has the blood of both countries. The officials of the Great Zhou will be on good terms with him and work together to better deal with the plague.”
Lin Yi sneered.
The Imperial Tutor changed the subject, asking in return, "Does Lord Lin not know where the Prince of Guangling is?"
Lin Yi's heart tightened, almost thinking that the Imperial Tutor knew the truth.
He looked warily at the Imperial Tutor's face, his expression unchanged, his clear eyes calm and unwavering, revealing no clue whatsoever.
Lin Yi rejected this idea. If the Imperial Tutor knew the truth, he would have exposed him long ago. Why wait until now?
"If I knew the truth, why would I ask you?" Lin Yi said unhurriedly, "Since entering officialdom, the Imperial Tutor has been invincible. His only stain is that during negotiations with the Great Zhou, he ceded a city to the Great Zhou and was eventually tricked by the Prince of Guangling into providing money, grain, and manpower to the Great Zhou to control the plague."
This statement implies to everyone that the Imperial Tutor was tricked by Zhao Yi and suffered a silent loss, which is why he harbored resentment and took action to eliminate Zhao Yi.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the mourning hall, and the steward of the Prince of Guangling's mansion appeared: "Something terrible has happened, there's been an accident at the shack where the patients are being housed."
Lin Yi felt increasingly smug, just waiting for the person he had arranged to come out and accuse the Imperial Tutor at this moment.
If it is confirmed that the Imperial Tutor set fire to the sick civilians, it will provoke the anger of the people of Northern Qi. Even without strong evidence, the people will believe that the Imperial Tutor murdered Zhao Yi.
Because the truth no longer matters.
The people could not tolerate the emperor's cruel and inhumane tutor.
The same applies to court officials.
At that time, he would leave another clue so that the Prince of Zhenbei could find out the "truth" about the Imperial Tutor's plot to murder Zhao Yi.
Even if the Prince of Zhenbei doesn't send troops to attack Northern Qi, he'll probably take advantage of the public's discontent to fuel the flames from behind.
Thinking this, Lin Yi's expression became even calmer as he waited for the messenger to enter. Suddenly, his expression froze, and he looked at the person who had come in with disbelief.
Prefect Jiang, his expression filled with grief and indignation, said, "Imperial Tutor, Lord Lin sent men to set fire to the sick people. Please, you must do justice for the people of Yuncheng!"
Lin Yi was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events.
Only now did he suddenly realize that Prefect Jiang's backer was the Imperial Tutor.
His collaboration with Prefect Jiang was tantamount to walking into a trap, directly handing over incriminating evidence to the Imperial Tutor.
"You're spouting nonsense!" Lin Yi's face darkened, both anxious and angry. "I am an imperial envoy sent by the court to control the plague. How could I have set fire to the patients?"
“I interrogated your men, and they confessed that as long as the people suffering from the plague are burned, the plague in Yuncheng will be quelled.”
Prefect Jiang said, "You swore before all the civil and military officials that if you failed to control the plague within a month, you would remove your official hat. To save your official position, you disregard the lives of the people. You are utterly devoid of conscience."
"Nonsense! You're talking nonsense!" Lin Yi pounded his chest in anger. "You said the prescription given by the Prince of Guangling was effective, and that after taking a dozen or twenty more doses of the decoction, I would be fully recovered. That was right within the one-month deadline. How could I be so inhumane as to burn the people alive?"
Before Prefect Jiang could speak, he said angrily, "I have no grudge against you, why are you framing me with such a fabricated crime?"
Prefect Jiang still wanted to argue.
The Imperial Tutor spoke up at the opportune moment: "Lord Jiang, you cannot accuse Lord Lin of arson based on your own conjecture. You must first produce evidence. If there is no evidence, then you are falsely accusing Lord Lin."
This statement has a double meaning. On the one hand, it is a reminder to Prefect Jiang to produce evidence to suppress Lin Yi. On the other hand, it implies that Lin Yi's accusations against him are all based on personal conjecture and slander.
Prefect Jiang immediately ordered his guards to be brought in.
Lin Yi's face was ashen, but when he saw the guards, he felt a glimmer of hope. These guards were his servants, loyal to him and would never betray him.
Prefect Jiang said, "These men are Lord Lin's guards. They sneaked into the shantytown and set it on fire, but were caught by our patrolling constables."
The Imperial Tutor looked at the guards who were bound hand and foot and asked, "Is what Lord Jiang said true?"
The guards dared not look at Lin Yi, and said with their heads down, "We were ordered by Lord Lin to set fire to the people and then frame the Imperial Tutor."
Lin Yi's expression changed drastically; he had never expected his guard to betray him so easily.
He quickly realized that these guards had betrayed him because Prefect Jiang must have held their weaknesses in his hands.
Lin Yi vehemently denied it: "They were coerced and lured into confessing by you, and they are deliberately slandering me!"
“Everything we said is true, we did not slander you.” The guard’s face was pale, and he said something shocking again: “You ordered us to assassinate the Prince of Guangling in Yingcheng. We met the Prince of Guangling on his way to the capital a hundred miles away and intercepted him.”
Lin Yi understood that the Imperial Tutor's swift decision to send him to Yuncheng to manage the plague was a trap set for him.
No wonder the Northern Qi emperor designated Yuncheng and Panshicheng as Zhao Yi's fiefdoms.
No wonder the Northern Qi emperor arranged for Zhao Yi's funeral to be held in Yuncheng.
All of this was orchestrated by the Imperial Tutor.
Lin Yi realized that everyone in the mourning hall was the other side's manpower. Arguing any further would only make things worse for him.
He gave his guards a wink, and they blocked the people in the mourning hall for him, so he took the opportunity to walk quickly out.
Suddenly, a slender figure appeared in front of him.