Chapter 701
Who Should We Trust?
Chapter 701 Who Should We Trust?
Qin Siyuan spat out in disdain, "What does this have to do with my second sister!"
If it weren't for covering for Qin Yuan, he would have exposed this hypocrite's true colors long ago. Who knew this guy would collude with others to frame the Qin family? Enough already.
At this moment, while everyone was scolding Lin Ziqi, Wu, the scholar, tearfully pleaded, "Your Highness Prince Qi, Your Highnesses Princesses, I had no choice but to do such a despicable thing. Lin Ziqi is just taking advantage of being the son-in-law of the Chancellor of Qin..."
Before the entire basin of dirty water could even be poured, Qin Yuan interrupted it.
"If you were coerced by Lin Ziqi, how could you have taken advantage of his unpreparedness to leave behind my poems as evidence?"
Scholar Wu could not answer.
Princess Jiu raised her eyebrows: "Young Master Nantang is a recluse, how could he know about these people's schemes? This is just a way for the two of them to check each other."
The man surnamed Wu was worried that the man surnamed Lin would deny everything after the deed was done, so he used the old poem manuscript as blackmail. Now that things have failed, he's using it as evidence again.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Wu, the scholar, nodded hurriedly, like a chicken pecking at rice: “The Ninth Princess is indeed intelligent.”
It may sound harsh, but it's a plausible explanation.
The Ninth Princess raised her chin smugly: "What's this? It's just a dog-eat-dog game. I've seen it all before."
Wu Juren's face contorted for a moment.
Qin Yuan sneered: "Thank you for your explanation, Ninth Princess, but Scholar Wu, there is still one thing I don't understand."
Since you and Lin Ziqi both knew about the poetry manuscript, why did Lin Ziqi still coerce and entice you to smear him?
Comparing the two sides of this matter will prove that I and the Qin family are innocent. Why are you so certain?
"Could it be... could it be that you are so arrogant as to consider the princes, princesses, and everyone present as fools?"
The Ninth Princess's face also contorted for a moment.
"……this……"
Wu, the scholar, naturally couldn't answer.
The matter has already been ruined; how can we drag the important person down with us?
The crowd couldn't help but start discussing it.
"Yes, in all the commotion before, we overlooked this point. Lin Ziqi is a scholar, how could he not know the key points? To make such a big fuss, only to end up with a false accusation, isn't that just risking his reputation? Would anyone with a brain do such a thing?"
"So you mean Lin Ziqi was completely unaware? But considering how well they were acting together before..."
"Who nails themselves to a pillar alive? Did Lin Ziqi make such a big fuss just to force that Wu guy to turn against him?"
"Hahaha, could it be that I've been possessed by an evil spirit?"
"...That's the only explanation..."
"Pah! Long live the Empress Dowager! Don't say such unlucky things here."
……
Although it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, with the bright moon hanging high and the autumn wind carrying the fragrance of chrysanthemums, Wu, the scholar, was still sweating profusely and said, "How would I know what he's thinking? Didn't you all think that you would be framed for trying to cover for him?"
That makes a lot of sense.
Everyone looked at Lin Ziqi strangely, as if trying to figure out what was going on in his head. Lin Ziqi trembled all over: "You, you, you're talking nonsense! If I had seen the manuscript, would I have forced you to frame Qin Siyuan and my father-in-law? What good would that do me?"
Scholar Wu sneered, his hands clasped in his sleeves: "You're now denying everything we discussed in private, and I have no way to defend myself. But you insist you've never seen the poem manuscript, so where did that poem come from?"
"Yes, where did this poem come from?"
Everyone turned to look at Lin Ziqi.
Lin Ziqi closed his eyes, resigned to his fate: "Fine, fine, I'll tell you then. I was just confused and used the poem my wife got from a dream. I have never seen Young Master Nantang's manuscript, nor did I know that Scholar Wu had it. If I had known, why would I have done this? Wouldn't I have shot myself in the foot?"
"A poem in a dream?"
Everyone was stunned, never expecting to hear this reason.
After looking around, Scholar Wu scoffed, "Who would believe what you're saying? How could your wife have gotten a poem from a dream? Even if such a strange thing happened, why is it so similar to the poem by the young master of Nantang? Bah! You can't even make up a believable lie!"
Surrounded by pointing fingers, mocking and ridiculing the crowd, Lin Ziqi's face flushed red. After holding back for a while, he raised his right index finger and pointed at the full moon in the sky, swearing loudly: "If I, Lin Ziqi, have lied, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death."
Making a vow while pointing at the full moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival is almost the same as making a vow before the Buddha.
They were driven to desperation!
A hint of mockery appeared on Qin Yuan's lips.
As the noise from the crowd gradually subsided, Wu, the scholar, panicked and began to curse shrilly.
"You poetry thief! Qin Siyuan protected you, but you, feeling guilty, tried to frame others and even implicated me, refusing to admit your guilt. Heavens above, why don't you send down heavenly lightning?"
The voice was so sharp that King Qi frowned.
The Ninth Princess shook her head: "I never expected that Chief Minister Qin would have such a son-in-law and nephew. It seems that the upper beam is not straight, and the lower beam is crooked as well. As the saying goes, if one's virtue is not commensurate with his position, there will surely be calamities."
That's a harsh statement.
King Qi looked disgusted: "Why do you believe everything that Wu says? It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say you're biased and easily swayed."
The Ninth Princess was unconvinced: "Is what the man surnamed Wu said wrong? Young Master Nantang and Qin Siyuan clearly knew that Lin Ziqi had stolen the poem, yet they covered it up for him."
The Imperial Academy Chancellor Qin's poetry contest at the Imperial Academy might have been intended to quell the matter for his son-in-law. However, this son-in-law was utterly incompetent; driven by jealousy and resentment, he publicly slandered others, causing himself considerable trouble.
Princess Fuyun couldn't help but join the argument: "This is clearly all Wu Juren's side of the story. If he really had something on Lin Ziqi, how could Lin Ziqi have dared to coerce and entice him to frame Young Master Nantang and Qin Siyuan? Such an obvious flaw, and you still believe him."
The Ninth Princess huffed, "You siblings are of one mind, I can't argue with you. Brother Qi is acquainted with Marquis Dingbei, so naturally he'll side with the Qin family. Isn't Lin Ziqi's poem a clear flaw?"
The three argued back and forth.
The same applies to the onlookers.
Some people believed in Wu Juren, while others believed in Lin Ziqi.
Qin Siyuan hurriedly said, "Your Highness, I was also shocked when I heard about Lin Ziqi's poem. However, the poem had never been circulated before. Although I couldn't figure it out, I didn't dare to accuse Lin Ziqi of stealing the poem. I would never call it covering up."
With the Ninth Princess's support, Scholar Wu became even more reckless, sneering a few times and saying, "You say it wasn't spread outside, but who can testify to that?"
Lin Ziqi's wife is your cousin!
Besides, you noticed the similarity between Lin Ziqi's poems and those of the young master of Nantang. Isn't that also to protect your own interests?
Was it to cover up this matter that Marquis Dingbei conspired with Chancellor Qin to hold a poetry contest at the Imperial Academy, hoping to make the young master of Nantang famous?
This matter involves Qin Yuan and Qin Wan, and there are many things that are inconvenient to say openly, which gave him the opportunity to muddy the waters.