Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 734 - 731: Deep Friendship_1

The Crown Prince furrowed his brow upon hearing these words.

"Until the criminal exited from King Liang’s mansion, the person who saved the criminal called him to a house. Later, the elder and the gentleman from the Crown Prince’s residence arrived. That person asked me to tell the two gentlemen from the Crown Prince’s residence my name, and then had me taken out. After that, I was brought to the Crown Prince’s residence again. This is all I know!" Wang Qiulu finished speaking and kowtowed once more. "The criminal knows, the criminal’s sins are unforgivable. I dare not deceive the Crown Prince any further." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"Is it possible... that it was the Princess of Zhen who saved you? Did you say this to avoid implicating the Princess of Zhen?" the Crown Prince asked.

"Returning to the Crown Prince, the criminal truly does not know if it was the Princess of Zhen who saved the criminal! If Your Highness does not believe me, you can ask the two gentlemen from your residence. Who exactly claimed to have saved the criminal and handed me over to the two gentlemen from the Crown Prince’s residence? The criminal is also eager to know!"

The Crown Prince sat up straight, gazing at Wang Qiulu, who was kowtowing at his feet. His fingers stroked the armrest of the chair.

The prison guard and the gambler from Shuoyang, both tied up tightly, trembled in fear. Kneeling there, they didn’t dare to breathe deeply.

"What about you two... what do you have to say?" the Crown Prince looked at the prison guard and gambler.

The two only trembled with their heads bowed, not knowing the Crown Prince was calling them. Quan Yu took small steps over and kicked the prison guard down, shouting sternly, "The Crown Prince is asking a question, answer quickly!"

The prison guard knocked his head against the ground, causing loud bangs. "Your Highness! Please spare my life! I... I was influenced by my cousin. My cousin brought me eight hundred taels of silver notes. I was blinded by greed and helped with the switch of the death row inmate! Please, Crown Prince, spare my life!"

The gambler copied his cousin’s actions and kowtowed hard, causing his forehead to turn red. He hastily pleaded with the Crown Prince, "Your Highness! Your Highness! Someone gave me five hundred taels of silver, promising another three hundred after the deed was done! That’s why I asked my cousin for help! I... I really don’t know anything else!"

"Who gave you the silver? Was it the Princess of Zhen... or someone from her residence?" the Crown Prince asked.

"I don’t know! I really don’t know! That person came with their face covered... Please, Crown Prince, spare my life!" The gambler continued to kowtow until he fainted.

The prison guard was so scared he nearly cried, closed his eyes to endure, and shook even harder.

"Speaking of the Princess of Zhen..." Quan Yu seized the opportunity to hand the Crown Prince a cup of hot tea. "Earlier, I heard the nanny beside the Crown Princess Consort say, it seems the Princess of Zhen is not well today. Her sister, Mrs. Qin, came personally to ask the Crown Prince to send the Imperial Physician to see her."

Quan Yu chose this moment to speak because he noticed the Crown Prince’s suspicion of Bai Qingyan, hoping to remind the Crown Prince of Bai Qingyan’s act of saving him and to dispel any doubts about her.

"The Princess of Zhen is not well? How so?" The Crown Prince glanced at Quan Yu.

"Your Highness, I went with you into the palace and am not clear about the details!"

"And the Imperial Physician? Did the Crown Princess Consort send them to the Princess of Zhen?" the Crown Prince asked urgently.

Quan Yu nodded. "The nanny said the Crown Princess Consort is kind-hearted and sent both a nanny and the Imperial Physician from the Crown Prince’s residence to the Princess of Zhen’s residence."

The Crown Prince clenched his palm, a vision of Bai Qingyan pushing him away while taking an arrow to her chest flashed before his eyes.

The Crown Prince grew anxious, "Quan Yu, go to the Princess of Zhen’s residence yourself. Take several Imperial Physicians with you. Make sure nothing happens to the Princess of Zhen!"

"Yes!" Quan Yu responded, quickly leaving the main hall to summon the Imperial Physicians and head to the Princess of Zhen’s residence.

"Bring in Mr. Fang and Ren Shijie!" The Crown Prince picked up the hot tea beside him and told the eunuch standing in the main hall.

The eunuch responded and took small steps to invite Mr. Fang and Ren Shijie back.

Since Mr. Fang and Ren Shijie had been sent out earlier, they didn’t know what Wang Qiulu had said to the Crown Prince. They could only retell the entire incident truthfully to the Crown Prince.

"Li Mingrui first approached me. He told me he had evidence that Princess of Zhen saved a treasonous criminal. I thought such a matter was significant and didn’t dare to report it to the Crown Prince without thorough investigation, for fear of damaging the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Princess of Zhen. So I informed Mr. Fang!" Ren Shijie explained, looking at Mr. Fang. Mr. Fang nodded and continued.

"Upon learning about this, I found no clear evidence. So I sent someone to Shuoyang to investigate the Bai Clan. Unexpectedly, I stumbled upon this gambler. The gambler got drunk and blurted out the matter. Upon investigation, I found he recently cleared his gambling debts, bought a house, and took a concubine. I then investigated his cousin, who works as a prison guard at the Court of Judicial Review. Coincidentally, I found that this prison guard recently bought a house and was spending lavishly. This connection matched."

Ren Shijie nodded as well, "Today, Li Mingrui invited me and Mr. Fang to meet, saying he would hand Wang Qiulu over to the Crown Prince’s residence. Coincidentally, the Crown Princess Consort was in labor. Mr. Fang and I didn’t dare disturb the Crown Prince, so we went to see Li Mingrui ourselves and took over Wang Qiulu and the prison guard from him!"

"Right..." Ren Shijie seemed to recall something. He told the Crown Prince solemnly, "Li Mingrui also said he would let us take credit for this matter because we needed to earn merit before Your Highness more than he did! He mentioned that his younger brother had his legs broken by the Princess of Zhen. He wanted revenge, but Left Prime Minister Li Mao wouldn’t allow him to seek vengeance against the Princess. He didn’t want the Left Prime Minister to know he disobeyed. So he urged Mr. Fang and me not to mention him before Your Highness!"

"Indeed!" Mr. Fang echoed, speaking with righteousness to show loyalty, "But Mr. Ren and I are loyal to the Crown Prince. We are always honest with Your Highness. How could we deceive the Crown Prince in such matters?"

Ren Shijie glanced at the earnest-looking Mr. Fang. If he didn’t know Mr. Fang well, he might have believed him!

The Crown Prince squinted. "I recall... Li Mingrui went with King Liang to Yanwo for disaster relief, seemingly helping King Liang a lot. Later, Li Mingrui openly associated with King Liang. When King Liang was confined in his mansion, his servants were beaten and sold off. Yet Li Mingrui secretly visited King Liang, sending people to serve him."

"My father ordered me not to interfere in this matter. I thought it was my father’s way of maintaining fatherly love, letting Li Mingrui care for King Liang. So I instructed the Hidden Guards to turn a blind eye to Li Mingrui’s people delivering things and people to King Liang’s mansion. It seems now, King Liang and Li Mingrui have a close relationship indeed."