As soon as the Second Prince said this, Emperor Mingxi and the other two were stunned.

What? Bai Zhou committed suicide out of fear of punishment?

Bai Zhou is the lowest-ranking envoy. Even if he's plotting something sinister, he's just a lackey. Even if someone truly needs to die to atone for their crime, it shouldn't be him!

Emperor Mingxi secretly gave his daughter a thumbs up in his heart, as he thought the same way.

"Your Majesty, this is Bai Zhou's last letter. Please take a look." The second prince presented the letter to Emperor Mingxi.

Emperor Mingxi unfolded the letter, and Xia Miaoyuan curiously leaned over to read it with him.

Xia Miaoyuan carefully examined the words on the letter. "Father, is this Bai Zhou's handwriting? Could it be someone else impersonating him?"

Emperor Mingxi stroked his beard and said, "This... is not impossible."

The Crown Prince suddenly had an idea: "Father, when the diplomatic corps first arrived in Daxia, they sent you a letter of greetings. That letter was written by Bai Zhou."

"Okay, find the letter quickly and compare it."

Before long, the letter was found.

The four people surrounded the two letters and carefully examined them.

After looking at it for a while, the prince said slowly, "Looking at the handwriting, it seems to have been written by the same person."

The father and his two sons all felt a little lost.

At this moment, Xia Miaoyuan shouted: "No!"

She pointed to the ink dot on the confession letter and said, "Father, brothers, look here."

"These ink spots were accidentally dropped from the tip of the pen while writing. These ink spots happen to be on the left side, which means that the writer is left-handed."

The second prince's eyes lit up: "That Lord Han is left-handed. I've seen him eat and write with his left hand."

"But Bai Zhou, I've never seen him do anything with his left hand."

Emperor Mingxi pondered: "So, this confession letter was most likely written by Han Lie."

The prince's eyes lit up: "It's possible that Bai Zhou didn't commit suicide out of fear of punishment, but was dragged out to take the blame."

At this moment, Debao reported at the door: "The coroner's autopsy results are out!"

Emperor Mingxi hurriedly said, "Bring it in quickly."

Emperor Mingxi examined the corpse as quickly as possible.

The prince and several others looked at Emperor Mingxi anxiously, waiting for him to announce the results of the autopsy.

Emperor Mingxi held the corpse and said indignantly, "Bai Zhou did not commit suicide. There is a needle hole on his neck. He died from a poison needle. He was hanged there after his death to disguise it as suicide."

The prince's eyes were firm. "It seems our speculation is correct. Bai Zhou is the one taking the blame. They want to use a small pawn to take the blame for everything, in exchange for the safe departure of the entire delegation."

The Second Prince gnashed his teeth and said, "The Dai Viet delegation, are you treating us like monkeys?"

"Father, Yao Jinse and Jiang are definitely still in the guesthouse. They might even be hiding in Han Lie's courtyard."

"Why don't we just take people over and search for them now? Find them and see what Han Lie and the others have to say!"

Xia Miaoyuan bit her finger and shook her head. "Actually, since Liang Chaozong has already escaped, it doesn't matter whether Yao Jinse and the old woman are captured or not."

Those two are stupid to begin with, complete idiots. Leaving them to the enemy is a good idea. They might even get Master Han killed.

[In this situation, it's not a good idea to be too drastic. After all, Daxia doesn't want to go to war with Daiyue.]

Hearing Xia Miaoyuan say this, Emperor Mingxi, his father and his son all showed approval.

Emperor Mingxi said sternly, "Let's ignore Yao Jinse and Jiang for now."

"Continue to seal off the guesthouse. If they ask, tell them it will take some time to thoroughly investigate the matter."

"Neither let them go nor won't they go."

"Let's hold our ground and wait and see what Dai Viet will do next."

When Xia Miaoyuan heard Emperor Mingxi say this, he clapped his hands in delight: "Daddy is so smart!"

[That's it. They're being detained under the pretext of investigating a case to make them anxious.]

…

Ten days had passed since Bai Zhou "committed suicide out of fear of punishment", and the Dai Viet delegation still had not received any news on the unsealing of the guesthouse, and they were all very anxious.

Inside the guesthouse, the eldest prince looked at Han Lie with a sullen face and said sarcastically, "Master Han, didn't you say that Daxia would let us leave soon? How come we've been waiting for ten days and there's been no movement?"

The eldest prince stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky, and said in a long tone: "Bai Zhou, Bai Zhou, your death is really unjust!"

After saying that, he walked to the opposite side of Han Lie, stared into Han Lie's eyes gloomily and said, "Master Han, do you regret it? If you had known this would happen, you would not have killed Bai Zhou."

Han Lie's expression suddenly changed. "My Lord, please be careful with your words. Lord Bai was willing to sacrifice himself in order to protect you, me, and the entire delegation."

"I didn't kill him. Don't slander him out of thin air."

Han Lie glared at the prince fiercely and thought to himself, it would have been better if you had "committed suicide out of fear of punishment" in the first place.

The prince sneered, "I'm sorry, Lord Han, I was just joking. Why are you so stingy?"

Soon, the room fell into silence. Han Lie sat down and drank tea, while the prince stood by the window and looked at the sky.

At this moment, the chief guard of the Dai Viet delegation ran in, breathlessly saying, "Good news. Good news!"

"The Empress Dowager and His Majesty personally wrote a letter to the Emperor of Daxia, asking him to let us go back."

As soon as these words were spoken, Han Lie and the prince stood up straight, their eyes shining.

"What did the Emperor of Daxia say after reading the letter?" the prince asked hurriedly.

The chief guard said, "We don't know yet. Let's wait a little longer."

…

Palace of Heavenly Purity.

Emperor Minh Hsi held the letter from Dai Viet in his hand and read it carefully.

The Crown Prince, the Second Prince, the Third Prince, as well as several important officials including Lord Yan and Lord Han, sat below with serious expressions.

After reading the letter, Emperor Mingxi chuckled. "This letter from Dai Viet says that, as a sign of sincerity, they are willing to keep their great prince in the capital to cooperate with the investigation."

"I only beg that the other members of the delegation be released as soon as possible."

As soon as the words fell, all the ministers showed surprised expressions.

The second prince was straightforward and was the first to speak: "This Daiyue actually offered to keep the eldest prince as a hostage?!"

Lord Yan said gently, "This great prince Yue Haoyun is feared by the Empress Dowager and the young emperor. Originally, he had no place as a great prince in this mission to Daxia."

"Lord Han and his men were worried that the Great Prince would take advantage of this opportunity to make small moves in the court, so they suggested that the Great Prince come along."

The prince pondered, "So, the Dai Viet court doesn't care about the life or death of the prince at all. They left him in Daxia as a hostage. If he died in an accident, it would be more to their liking."

Lord Yan nodded: "That's right."

Emperor Mingxi stroked his beard and smiled meaningfully: "Then we will take advantage of their wishes."