Chapter 136 The Thief Cries Thief

Xie Wuqi, lying on the ground, felt as if the most poisonous scorpion's tail sting had pierced his skull, and his entire body shook violently.

He raised his head suddenly, his dilated pupils contracted violently, fixed on the paper in front of him!

There was only fear left in those once arrogant eyes.

"No...impossible...Shuangxi doesn't dare...he..." His throat seemed to be strangled by a pair of hands.

The entire government office was so dead silent that one could hear the faint hissing of burning candle wicks and the dripping sound of blood hitting the ground - it was unknown whether it was an injured yamen runner in some corner who was bleeding.

All eyes were focused on that thin piece of white paper.

Under the paper, there were scarlet fingerprints.

For the first time, the decisive and ruthless soldiers behind Marquis Wuwei froze in their movements.

When faced with the four words "sign and confess", it was as if he had hit an invisible wall.

Pei Ji's fingers, holding the confession, did not move at all.

Those two thin pieces of paper, like red-hot irons, burned into everyone's heart.

Xie Anfeng's chest heaved violently.

The next moment——

His face, which was ashen with rage, was distorted and hideous.

As he took a step forward, the thick blue bricks under his feet shattered and stone chips flew everywhere!

Xie Anfeng completely disregarded his status and propriety. With a calloused hand and a fishy smell, his five fingers spread out like a real tiger's claws, he grabbed Pei Ji's hand holding the confession!

But Pei Ji, this old fox, is very slippery.

He seemed to have anticipated Xie Anfeng's move. Just when the tiger's claws were about to touch the back of his hand, he suddenly shrank back, his toes scraping against the smooth blue brick floor. With a slight "swish" sound, he had retreated half a step.

He quickly turned his hand holding the confession back and hid the page behind him.

"Thank you, General!" Pei Ji's voice was sharp and cold, like an icy spike hitting a bluestone slab. "You're being violent in front of the emperor and showing contempt for the court. Do you still have any respect for the law? Do you still have respect for His Majesty?"

There was undisguised contempt and complacency on his face at this moment, as if he was watching a trapped animal struggling in vain.

"Dad!" Xie Wuqi's voice was almost heartbreaking.

He was the closest, his eyes fixed on Pei Ji's hand behind his back. At the moment when Xie Anfeng missed, Xie Wuqi did not rush directly into Pei Ji like his father did, but his whole body suddenly ducked and rushed forward like a shadow sticking to the ground!

The target was very clear, it was Pei Ji's wrist.

Pei Ji had never expected that the seemingly gentle son of the Xie family would have such a cunning and swift move.

He was concentrating all his attention on guarding against the furious Xie Anfeng, when he felt his wrist suddenly tighten and a huge force came, and the fingers holding the confession involuntarily loosened.

Xie Wuqi was waiting for this crucial opportunity. He didn't even try to grab the whole piece of paper. With his left hand, as fast as a ghost, he slashed at the corner of the paper that had slipped out.

“Swish!”

There was a crisp sound, extremely harsh, as if a jade bottle was smashed in the court.

A palm-sized piece of paper suddenly appeared in Xie Wuqi's hand.

He didn't even look at what was written on the piece of paper. He clenched his five fingers tightly and stuffed the paper into the front of his shirt, pressing it tightly against his burning heart.

The whole action was so fast that it only took a breath.

Most of the high-ranking officials in the court only saw a flash before their eyes. It seemed as if the Xie family kid had pounced on Lord Pei, and then...

The confession in Lord Pei's hand is missing a corner?

Pei Ji felt his hand lighten, and when he looked down, he realized that what he was holding was not a complete confession.

Only half a piece of paper was left, and the edges were jagged as if they had been torn by a wild dog!

"You...Xie Wuqi! You're so bold!" Pei Ji's voice changed its tone, so sharp that it could pierce the roof. "How dare you destroy the evidence in front of the emperor! This is adding crime to crime! Your Xie family..."

"Xiu'er? Xiu'er!"

A shrill cry suddenly interrupted Pei Ji's roar.

She is Xie Wuqi's mother, Mrs. Xie.

Everyone's eyes, including Xie Anfeng and the shocked and angry Pei Ji, subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound.

Xie Yingxiu, who had been supported by Madam Xie and her maid, collapsed limply. Her face, already as pale as paper, now lost all its color, becoming as transparent as porcelain, while her lips took on an extremely ominous bluish-purple hue.

Her long eyelashes covered her tightly closed eyelids, and her breathing was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.

"Xiu'er! My Xiu'er!" Mrs. Xie was terrified. She hugged her daughter's limp body tightly, tears streaming down her face. She was shaking like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind.

"Yingxiu!" Xie Wuqi was terrified and didn't care about the piece of paper on his chest. He rushed to his sister's side.

Xie Anfeng's raging anger seemed to be frozen in an instant, as if a basin of ice water had been poured over his head.

His burly body froze in place, his tiger eyes fixed on his daughter's lifeless face, his eyeballs almost popping out of blood.

The thunderous momentum just now was instantly seized by a huge fear.

The deathly silence in the courtroom was completely broken, and exclamations, gasps, and the clashing of tables and chairs were heard in a chaotic mess.

"Imperial Physician! Send for the Imperial Physician!" The Emperor, seated on the Dragon Throne, finally spoke in a deep voice, his brow furrowed. He hadn't anticipated the situation taking such a sudden turn for the worse. Several young eunuchs tumbled and crawled out.

Pei Ji held the half-broken confession in his hand and looked at the sudden chaos before him. The shock and anger on his face slowly subsided, and that chilling sinister look reappeared.

The corner of his mouth twitched ever so slowly. The opportunity had arrived.

"General Xie, Young Master Xie, look at what you've done! You were so brazen in front of the Emperor, not only disturbing him, but now Miss Xie is in this court... Humph, I'm afraid your Xie family has done so many sinful things that even Heaven can't stand it and is punishing you. This heinous crime of murdering a royal relative, coupled with your previous disrespect for the court and destruction of evidence, I think your Xie family is truly finished!"

The eyes of many officials in the hall flickered, and the atmosphere suddenly became more oppressive.

"Bullshit!" Xie Anfeng raised his head suddenly, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Pei Ji, as if he wanted to eat him alive. "If anything happens to my daughter, I'll tear you apart first!"

"Dad!" Xie Wuqi firmly held down his father, who was about to explode again. He took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently. The piece of paper stuffed into his arms was like a branding iron, burning his heart and causing pain.

No, we can't wait any longer! If we wait any longer, the Xie family will be doomed!

He stood up straight abruptly, his right hand reaching into his arms without hesitation.

When he pulled it out again, there was something extra in his hand - it was the piece of paper he had just torn off.

But at this moment, the originally white piece of paper was stained with a large area of ​​sticky dark red!

That blood... was from when he pounced on Pei Ji just now. In the chaos, someone's nail or something else scratched the back of his hand. The blood flowed down his wrist and soaked the piece of paper he was pressing tightly against his chest.

Blood is hot, but also cold evidence.

"Master Pei!" Xie Wuqi's voice trembled slightly with anger. "You keep saying that my Xie family murdered the royal family and deserves death! Very well! Then please, Your Majesty, and all the lords, open your eyes and see clearly!"

He held up the blood-stained piece of paper high, exposing the glaring dark red to everyone.

The piece of paper was not big, with torn edges and only a few lines of words on it. However, the last few words, which were stained the deepest with blood, were like a red-hot iron, burning everyone who saw it and causing the pupils to suddenly contract!

Those four words are: ordered the poisoning!

"Did you see clearly?" Xie Wuqi's voice suddenly rose. "Master Pei! This is the most shameful thing in the complete confession! This is the truth you have tried so hard to cover up! Who is actually murdering the royal family? Who is crying thief? You, Pei Ji, know best!"

The air seemed to solidify into a heavy block of lead, making it hard to breathe.

Countless eyes, some horrified, some inquiring, some in disbelief, were all focused on the blood-stained scrap of paper held high by Xie Wuqi.

The sinister and complacent look on Pei Ji's face disappeared in an instant, leaving only a pale look as if he had been skinned and dismembered in public.

He opened his mouth, but only a "ho ho" sound came out of his throat and no word came out.

I subconsciously wanted to take a step back, but my feet seemed to be rooted and I couldn't move.

The emperor, sitting high on the dragon throne, had a gaze as sharp as an eagle, fixed on the piece of blood-stained paper. No emotion could be seen on his face, but his knuckles on the hand resting on the throne were clenched white.

Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps broke the silence.

Two imperial physicians arrived breathlessly, carrying medicine boxes, followed by an old imperial physician with a serious expression, who was the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

"Hurry! Come and see my daughter!" Mrs. Xie cried out as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw.

The imperial doctors did not dare to delay and immediately surrounded the unconscious Xie Yingxiu.

Mrs. Xie and her maid carefully laid her flat on the cold floor of the courtroom.

The old lady hospital judge squatted down, stretched out three skinny fingers, and placed them firmly on Xie Yingxiu's wrist, which was so thin that it almost broke if bent.

Time passed minute by minute, and every breath seemed as long as a century.

The old doctor closed his eyes, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, his face so solemn it looked as if tears were about to drip out. Xie Anfeng and his son Xie Wuqi stared at the old doctor's face without blinking, their hearts in their throats.

Finally, the old doctor slowly opened his eyes and withdrew his hand. He didn't speak immediately, but took a deep breath before turning toward the throne. His voice was as heavy as a death knell: "Your Majesty, Miss Xie's pulse is irregular, her breath is weak, and her lips and nails are blue and purple. This is a sign of a severe poison invading her heart!"

The word "highly poisonous" hit everyone's heart like two hailstones.

Madam Xie's vision went dark and she fainted. The maids hurriedly supported her.

"Poison?" Xie Anfeng's teeth were chattering, and his muscles were bulging, like a completely enraged lion.

He turned his head suddenly and glared at the pale-faced Pei Ji, then glanced at the officials in the hall who had just been taking advantage of the situation, and finally, his gaze settled on the dragon throne.

"My daughter..." Xie Anfeng's voice was terribly low, "If she doesn't survive..."

He no longer looked at anyone, but suddenly bent down, and with gentle movements, he carefully picked up his daughter who was as light as a feather on the ground.

Xie Yingxiu's head leaned weakly on his weathered shoulder armor. Her little face was pale, and her purple lips looked even more glaring against her father's bronze skin.

Xie Anfeng held his daughter in his arms and straightened his back.

His arms around his daughter were as steady as a mountain, but his eyes looking towards the throne were red as blood.

"...None of you will survive!"

After saying this, he ignored everyone, held his daughter in his arms, took big steps, and like a volcano about to erupt, he stepped out of the suffocating Golden Palace step by step, with great weight.

Xie Wuqi helped up his mother who had just been strangled awake and was still crying. He glanced at Pei Ji's distraught face and quickly followed.

The heavy palace door slowly closed behind the Xie family, isolating the world inside and outside.

Inside the hall, deathly silence descended once again, thicker and colder than before.

Pei Ji stood there, cold sweat already soaking through his official uniform on the back. He stared at the remaining fragments of the confession on the ground, as if he was looking at a death warrant.

The emperor sitting on the dragon throne had a deep gaze and tapped his fingers slowly on the armrests of the throne, making a dull and regular sound.

The chief judge of the Imperial Hospital stood by with his hands hanging down, his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, but deep in his slightly trembling eyelashes, there was a hint of indescribable fear.

The poison that Miss Xie was poisoned with was definitely not ordinary. This muddy water is terrifyingly deep.

…

The night fell heavily, so thick that it could not be dispelled.

In Xie's house, the light emitted by those exquisite and elegant lanterns in the past now seemed dim and weak. The dim halo could only barely tear open a small piece of darkness, and was soon swallowed up by the deeper night.

Xie Yingxiu's boudoir was filled with a strong and pungent smell of medicine, mixed with a faint sweet and fishy smell.

A few candles flickered on the small table beside the bed, and the light and shadow cast distorted and swaying shadows on the wall, like ghosts.

Xie Yingxiu was placed in a brocade quilt. Her little face was so white that it was almost transparent under the candlelight. The purple color on her lips did not fade, but became a little darker.

She was motionless, with only the faintest rise and fall of her chest proving she was still alive.

Mrs. Xie had cried herself dry. At this moment, she just held her daughter's cold hand tightly. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she stared at her daughter's face blankly, like a sad stone statue.

Xie Anfeng stood like an iron tower in the deepest shadow corner of the room.

The candlelight could only illuminate half of his hard profile, while the other half was completely hidden in the darkness.

He still had his armor on, and he said nothing. Only his eyes, flickering in the shadows, like two burning charcoal flames, stared at his dying daughter on the bed.

The imperial physicians discussed the matter in low voices, their foreheads covered in sweat. They prescribed medicine, administered medication, and performed acupuncture, but Xie Yingxiu's condition showed no improvement at all.

With every pulse check, the old lady doctor's brow furrowed a little deeper. The poison, wicked and ruthless, was eroding this young life at a terrifying rate.

The door was gently pushed open and Xie Wuqi walked in.

He changed out of the bloodstained brocade robe he had worn in the courtroom and put on a plain blue shirt. His face was filled with fatigue, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, like cold stars quenched by fire.

He walked to the shadowy corner and stopped beside his father. Without looking at his father's face, he whispered, in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Dad, besides instructing the poisoning, what else was written on the front of that piece of paper? Who was it?"