Celestial Commissioner Zong Zheng Si — —
After a day of trial, the case of Ning Wang plotting to kill Tenth Princess had just come to an end.
First, Kong Qi came out to testify against Ning Wang, saying that three years ago, he had been threatened by Ning Wang to seduce the Tenth Princess and marry her. Later, the Emperor had intentions of marrying the Tenth Princess to Xue Rui. Ning Wang had schemed behind the scenes and had Kong Qi incite the Tenth Princess to destroy this marriage. The Tenth Princess didn't know the truth and first tricked the young miss of the Xue family to the crime scene. Then she jumped into the lake from upstairs to frame the young miss of the Xue family. In the end, the Tenth Princess suddenly died. The Emperor was furious and vented his anger on the Xue family, causing Empress Rui and Xue Guifei to turn against each other.
Ning Wang refused to admit his guilt and couldn't be tortured. The Chief Justice of the Judicial Office, Guo Huaian, could only call in a second witness. It was a palace maid that served the Tenth Princess when she was alive. This palace maid revealed that the Tenth Princess and Kong Qi had exchanged private letters. They had all been passed on by a little taijian next to Ning Wang. Otherwise, Kong Qi, a foreign official, wouldn't have been able to deceive people and secretly communicate with the Tenth Princess who lived in the Imperial Temple. She then confessed that on the day of the crime, it was she who had taken the young miss of the Xue family to Guan Hai Tower to be alone with the Tenth Princess.
Then, Xue Rui and Xue Jinxun were brought to the court for questioning. They once again proved that on the day of the crime, the Tenth Princess had jumped down from upstairs herself and had nothing to do with Xue Jinxun.
Originally, it wasn't enough to convict Ning Wang based on the empty words of these people. But at the crucial moment, the palace sent in another piece of evidence. It was a handwritten note that Empress Rui had found among the belongings of the Tenth Princess. After verification, it was confirmed that it was written by the Tenth Princess herself. It clearly recorded how she and Kong Qi met and mentioned that Ning Wang had secretly played matchmaker. This contradicted Ning Wang's previous confession that he didn't know of the affair between Kong Qi and the Tenth Princess.
Guo Huaian questioned Ning Wang mercilessly: "Didn't wang ye say that you didn't know? Then how do you explain Tenth Princess' notes?"
Ning Wang's expression did not change as he said: "Even if Tenth Sister really wrote this, it only shows that ben wang knew of their affair, and does not prove that ben wang incited Kong Qi to coax her to commit suicide. The dead are the most important. Ben wang did not want to smear imperial sister's face, so he helped her conceal it. But who would have thought that Kong Qi would make such a big mistake. Not only did he not repent, he used it to frame ben wang, completely disregarding imperial sister's reputation after death. I want to ask, Kong Qi, who incited you to not let go of ben wang?"
Kong Qi did not fall for his provocation. Guo Huaian was aggressive. "So you admit that you know about the secret affair between the Tenth Princess and Kong Qi?"
Prince Ning could only nod in silence.
Guo Huaian seemed to be waiting for him to say this. He slammed the gavel in his hand and loudly called for the witness. "Come, summon the former Grand Hospital Medicine Judge Xu Shiliang!"
Even though Ning Wang looked calm on the surface, his suddenly tightened jaw revealed a trace of panic. Xue Rui stood not far from him and watched coldly.
Very quickly, Medicine Judge Xu, who should have died on the way back to his hometown three years ago, was limping as he was helped into the courtroom. He knelt on the ground and confessed his crimes. It turned out that he had been incited by Ning Wang to secretly tamper with Tenth Princess' prescription and add a strong medicine, causing Tenth Princess, who should have been saved, to die.
Not long after that, he left the Imperial Hospital. He did not expect to encounter bandits on his way back to his hometown. His boat sank to the bottom of the river. Fortunately, he was rescued by fishermen on the shore. He lost a leg but kept his old life.
Xu Shiliang's voice was full of tears. "I was blinded by greed and accepted a large sum of money from Ning Wang. After that, it was too late for regrets. I thought that I had done such a sinister thing for Ning Wang. How could he let me live? It was a pity that my entire family was brutally murdered. That group of bandits was obviously sent by Ning Wang in disguise! Even if I have to risk this old man's life, I will expose his true colors! "
"This is a load of nonsense!" Ning Wang scolded harshly. "I have never had any contact with you. When did I order you to poison the Tenth Princess? Your entire family was killed on the way. What does that have to do with me? "
Xu Shiliang looked like he was ready to risk everything. He stared at Ning Wang and took out something from his bosom. "Your Highness, do you think that I am not the least bit on guard? Open your eyes and see what this is!"
He was holding a piece of strangely shaped amber in his palm. He screamed, "That day, I was afraid that you would kill me after the deed was done. So before I poisoned the Tenth Princess, I asked for a personal item from Your Highness to protect yourself. You just thought that it sank to the bottom of the river with me. You didn't expect me to come back alive!"
When Ning Wang saw this item, his expression changed.
Guo Huaian asked someone to present the item. At first, he only thought that it looked familiar. But Xue Rui revealed the origin of this jade pendant. "If I am not mistaken, this is an item bestowed by the Emperor. A few years ago, when His Majesty was traveling to the south, someone offered him a piece of amber in the shape of a dragon. There was a strange insect in the amber. It had the body of a snake, antlers, scales, and claws. It looked very much like a dragon. His Majesty liked it very much. But because the dragon was missing one claw and only had four, he bestowed it to Ning Wang. "
With his reminder, many people at the scene recalled this incident. They passed the amber to each other and confirmed that it was an item bestowed by the Emperor. Even Da Tidian, who had always been protecting Ning Wang, had to admit that this was indeed something bestowed by Emperor Zhao Qing to Ning Wang.
Guo Huaian looked at the bewildered Ning Wang and sneered. "Your Highness, can you clear up my confusion? How did this item bestowed by the Emperor fall into the hands of an imperial physician who had no contact with you?"
Ning Wang gritted his teeth. "This is a frame-up. I lost this piece of golden amber years ago. I only found out today that it was stolen!"
Zhong Yong Bo said sarcastically, "You can even lose an item bestowed by the Emperor. Your Highness is too narrow-minded."
Ning Wang's face was ashen but he was powerless to defend himself. He couldn't help but raise his head to look at Da Tidian, who was sitting on the main judge's seat, hoping that he could exonerate him. But he was destined to be disappointed. Faced with such detailed witness and material evidence, all the evidence pointed to Ning Wang. Even Da Tidian could not distort the truth and blindly side with him.
"Ning Wang is indeed suspected of plotting to harm Tenth Princess." Da Tidian turned to discuss with Guo Huaian. "But there is some evidence in this that needs to be carefully verified before we can convict him. I think that we should temporarily imprison Ning Wang in the Imperial Household. After you and I have verified it, we can report to His Majesty in Huazhen Garden and ask for a judgment."
While Guo Huaian wanted to punish Ning Wang on the spot, he knew that it was impossible. Seeing that Da Tidian was making a concession, he nodded in agreement. The supervisors did not have any objections. This meant that Ning Wang was going to face an unprecedented imprisonment.
He resisted the urge to turn hostile on the spot and allowed Da Tidian to give the order. He was "invited" away. When he passed by Xue Rui, he paused in his steps and smiled coldly. He lowered his voice and said,
"Prime Minister Xue has good tactics. Let's see who will have the last laugh."
Xue Rui lowered his eyes and did not speak. He was not surprised by this result. Ning Wang thought that he had done everything flawlessly in the past. How could he have known that he had been exposed so early on? Xue Lingnan had dominated the Imperial Court for more than a decade. How could he be suppressed by a fledgling Imperial Prince to the point of being unable to fight back? It was only because of the Emperor's indulgence that Xue Lingnan lowered his head and showed weakness. This moment of forbearance caused Ning Wang to become arrogant and condescending. There was a saying that the higher one stood, the harder one fell.
.....
After the court was dismissed, Kong Qi and the other witnesses were taken away by Guo Huaian. The Judicial Office and Zong Zheng each kept a statement. Da Tidian returned to Tai Xi Lou. Ren Qiming followed closely behind.
After the miscellaneous people left, Ren Qiming smiled coldly. "I didn't expect that the Empress would not care about Tenth Princess' reputation in order to deal with Ning Wang. Right now, it is Prime Minister Xue and Count Zhong Yong who have joined hands to eliminate Ning Wang. Grand Secretary, if you continue to offend Ning Wang, they will turn around and target you next. "
Zhu Muzhao paced in front of the warm stove. Spreading his palms, he said as he warmed himself, "Even if I don't care about Ning Wang, they will make trouble for me sooner or later. No matter which one of them wants that position, they must first get through me. "
Ren Qiming walked closer to him and said in a low voice, "Ning Wang cannot defeat Prime Minister Xue, and Prime Minister Yin is still not willing to show up. It is impossible to keep the peace. Isn't it time for you to make a move and deal with the Xue family first? Otherwise, when Ning Wang falls, it will be too late for them to take over the Imperial Court in one go. "
"Hmm …" Zhu Muzhao muttered to himself as he flipped his palm over. The charcoal fire had turned his palm red. The palm lines that ran across his palm were very rare. However, if a master of palmistry saw this palm line, he would definitely recognize that it was a one-in-a-million "Fatal Palm". According to legend, the person who had this palm reading was either a talented general who could bring peace and stability to a country, or an ambitious and ruthless person who could bring chaos to the world.
Zhu Muzhao stared at the dancing flames in the stove and did not answer for a long time. Just as Ren Qiming was about to persuade him again, there was a sudden commotion outside the building. Then, the curtain was lifted up. Someone had beaten off the guards and barged in. It was Jing Chen who had just rushed back from Rising Cloud Monastery outside the city to the Celestial Commissioner.
"Stop." Ren Qiming shouted in a low voice and dismissed the guards. He turned around and said to Jing Chen with a straight face, "Do you have any rules? This is Taixi Tower. How dare you barge in?"
Jing Chen ignored him and rushed to the front of Zhu Muzhao. He said to him coldly, "My father has taken Yu Shu hostage. He wants you to bring the Chun Jun Sword to exchange with him within two hours. Otherwise, he will kill her."
Zhu Muzhao turned around without changing his expression. He stared at Jing Chen. His eyes were like torches, making it impossible for people to hide. It seemed that he was judging whether Jing Chen was telling the truth or not.
Seeing this, Jing Chen took off the Zhuge Tong from the secret pocket on his waist without saying anything and stuffed it into Zhu Muzhao's hand. He faced him and repeated what he just said.
Zhu Muzhao naturally recognized Yun Hua's personal belongings. He knew that Jing Chen did not lie this time. He turned over the Zhuge Tong in his hand and frowned. After a while, he said,
"Wait here for a moment. I will go get the sword."
"No!" Ren Qiming stopped him. "How can the Chun Jun Sword fall into the hands of such a traitor? Please think twice."
Jing Chen looked at Zhu Muzhao who had turned around to look at him. His expression hardened and he said fiercely, "If you are not willing to exchange the Chun Jun Sword for her life, once my father kills her, I will kill myself to apologize to her."
Zhu Muzhao's face suddenly darkened. He turned around and went upstairs without hesitation.
"Qiming, come with me."
Ren Qiming angrily glanced at Jing Chen and followed Zhu Muzhao upstairs. After a while, he came down alone. He ignored Jing Chen and hurried out of the door.
If the Commissioner wanted to take the Chun Jun Sword out of the capital, he must send more people to guard it, just in case. In less than half an hour, a large number of soldiers and horses gathered in front of the Celestial Commissioner's gate. Hundreds of torches lit up the night sky. The five carriages of the Commissioner were surrounded in the middle. As soon as the driver gave the order, they drove to the city gate in a mighty manner.
Such a big movement naturally could not be hidden. Before tomorrow morning, the news would reach some people's ears.
.....
Jing Chen sat in the carriage with Zhu Muzhao, listening to the heavy hoofbeats outside the carriage. The rumbling sounds were like muffled thunder pounding on his chest. He looked at the unfamiliar man opposite him who was holding the sword box, and in his heart, he was weighing the possibility of snatching the sword from the man's hand and escaping. But the man raised his head and glanced at him lazily, saying softly,
"I advise you to get rid of the idea in your mind. Don't do stupid things."
Jing Chen involuntarily clenched his fists. Although he had never seen this man, he had felt this man's breath more than once in the Taixi Tower. Sometimes it was long and sometimes it was mighty. That was the performance of the Perfection of Inner Strength, so he was very clear that he was no match for this man.
He looked at Zhu Muzhao in frustration. How could Zhu Muzhao not know what he was thinking? Zhu Muzhao shook his head and said, "Jing Chen, there is no perfect solution in this world. If you don't want me to catch your father, you shouldn't have asked me to save her."
Jing Chen was speechless.
The carriage sped along, and not long after, they were out of the city gate. During this time, someone approached the carriage, knocked on the window, and said a few words to the carriage. Zhu Muzhao only responded with a "hmm" and did not give any further instructions. Jing Chen was suffering at this time, so he did not pay attention to this detail. He did not know that not far behind them, a carriage quietly followed.
***
When it was almost nine o 'clock, the noisy Rising Cloud Temple was shrouded in a strange silence. It was supposed to be the time to turn off the lights and sleep, but there was a ball of light in the backyard. In the small courtyard near the cliff, outside the door of a guest room, there were layers of shadows, firmly trapping the people inside the room.
Yu Shu sat next to Yun Hua. Although Jin Ke did not strangle her again, he did not let her leave his grasp. She had no doubt that if she dared to stand up and run outside, he could smash her skull with a raise of his hand.
So she did not try to escape from the devil's clutches. Instead, she sat there obediently and waited for Jing Chen to come and save her. This situation made her want to cry, but she could not. It was not that she did not try to communicate with Yun Hua, to move him with emotion and reason, but no matter how many flowery words she said, Yun Hua just ignored her, as if she was a mass of air.
Seeing that the time limit of two hours was almost up, but Yun Hua had not arrived yet, she was secretly anxious. She was afraid that Yun Hua would really be ruthless and kill her. So, she persisted, licked her dry lips, and continued to persuade him.
"I say, why are you so muddle-headed? When the Great Enlightenment comes later, even if you get the Chun Jun sword, it will be difficult for you to escape. If he catches you, even the Book of Fantasy Fairy's Six Rens can't be kept. While they haven't arrived yet, you'd better run for your life. Where there is life, there is hope. What's the use of killing me? In another hundred years, who knows who will be the ruler of the world. "
Hearing her rebellious words, Yun Hua was finally willing to turn his head to look at her, but his eyes were cold.
"If I can't escape, then I won't. Once I get the Chun Jun sword, I will immediately destroy the Book of Fantasy Fairy. In short, I will have no regrets in this life. "
From his words, Yu Shu heard the will to die. Her heart trembled, and she suddenly forgot to save herself. She lowered her voice and shouted at him, "Are you crazy?"
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