Compared to the warm chatter from Empress Jing'an, the Emperor and Marquis of Xiangyang were filled with the smoke of war. They were also drinking tea, but both were looking ahead.

A man lay on the ground ahead, and several others were torturing him. Of the few survivors, the leader was the most stubborn. He had already been tortured for the third time and still said nothing.

The rest were small fry, unable to find out anything, and simply claimed to have received orders from their leader. Upon learning that the Emperor was on board, they all said they wouldn't dare assassinate him even if they had the guts. The leader claimed the ship was occupied by wealthy merchants, and that robbing them would provide the brothers with food for three years.

Although the emperor's trip was indeed not a grand one, the well-informed powerful families knew that the emperor was floating on a boat. During the journey, they basically did not encounter any other boats. Occasionally, a boat like the Xiangyang Marquis's would kneel from a distance to see the emperor off.

Besides, General Gan and Sheng Ting had already rectified the canal transport system, and there hadn't been any merchant ship robberies on the inland river for a long time. Everyone knew that this assassination attempt must have been orchestrated by someone.

"Report." I was drinking my third cup of tea when the executioner's guard came forward to report.

When the guard saw the emperor nod, he immediately reported, "Your Majesty, we found a letter under the thief's feet."

Zhou Defa frowned, stepped forward to take the letter, unfolded it, took a look, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the sender of this letter seems to be the Third Princess."

The Third Princess? Didn't she marry far away in the Northern Frontier? The Emperor cast a puzzled look at him. Zhou Defa calmly read the contents of the letter, then lowered his head and waited.

After a moment, the emperor said, "Go, and execute him. If you don't tell the truth, you will be cut into pieces."

The Marquis of Xiangyang, sweating profusely, regretted not taking his leave. "Princess, this isn't just a royal family struggle; it might also be related to the Northern Frontier." Zhou Defa took the opportunity to wash his hands, and by the time the emperor turned around, he was already waiting by his side.

After much deliberation, the Marquis of Xiangyang finally bowed and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, it's late at night. It would be better to wait until the guards have finished their interrogation before questioning them. This will save you the trouble."

The emperor looked out into the dark night and said, "You may withdraw."

Upon hearing this, the Marquis of Xiangyang immediately stood up and said goodbye: "I'm leaving."

After being stabbed more than thirty times, the bandit leader finally couldn't bear it any longer and cried out in pain, "I confess, I confess everything."

The guard heard the bandit leader begging for mercy and ordered his attendants, "Stop the bleeding first." Then he pinned the bandit leader down and demanded, "Tell me everything. If I catch you talking nonsense, I'll continue to peel your flesh."

The blood-soaked leader nodded slightly and said, "I confess. I was forced to follow orders. Please forgive me, sir."

After slapping the bandit leader, the guard scolded him, "What nonsense are you talking about? Tell me, who ordered you to do this? What did they tell you to do? Who was the contact? Do you have any evidence?"

The leader of the bandits, whose head was knocked sideways, turned around and lowered his head to reply, "The third princess's wet nurse contacted me. The letter under my feet was stolen by me. That's the evidence. That wet nurse kidnapped my two children and would have killed them if I hadn't come here." He swallowed and continued, "That wet nurse told me to kill everyone on the boat and promised to make me a general in the future."

Afterwards, the bandit leader revealed the meeting place. With a pale face, he pleaded, "Please, Your Majesty, spare my life. I acknowledge my guilt, and only ask that Your Majesty spare my family."

No one dared to respond. How could he be given a light sentence for attempting to assassinate the emperor? Regardless of his motive, he had committed a crime and could only be dealt with according to the law.