Chapter 149 Survival by Amputation

After the Earl of Ping'an left, the Duke of Anguo turned to the Marquis of Wuding.

At this moment, Marquis Wuding had lost his previous confidence.

He has been following Duke Anguo for a long time, and Duke Anguo today is quite unusual.

It's normal for them to get angry and throw things.

Despite such a major incident, all that was asked was for the Earl of Ping An to send a message to his two sons who were already imprisoned.

This is very abnormal...

"Lord Duke..." Marquis Wuding wanted to say something.

"Marquis Wuding, do you know what the situation is like now?" Duke Anguo suddenly spoke.

Marquis Wuding was taken aback.

"Now? This..."

"Life and death are at stake. One careless move could lead to total defeat, not only for the Earl of Ping An, but also for you, me, the King of Qin, and even the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Concubine in the palace."

They will all become useless pieces in this game of chess.

Marquis Wuding, do you know what situation we are in now?

A venomous snake crawled onto my arm, its tongue flicking out in a show of force, and before we knew it, it suddenly bit my arm.

"Tell me, how should we survive?" Duke Anguo asked calmly.

Marquis Wuding hesitated for a moment before looking at Duke Anguo.

"My lord, what do you mean...?"

"The Earl of Ping An is no longer useful! It's time to cut off his arm and save his life."

"Before the snake venom spreads throughout the body, let's just throw away this arm!" said Duke Anguo.

Marquis of Wuding...

The two remained silent for a long while before Marquis Wuding finally stood up with his head down.

He and the Earl of Ping'an joined the Duke of Anguo's side together, before the imperial family had ascended to the throne...

Decades have passed, and I never expected that he would personally see the Earl of Ping An off.

"Do you know what to do? Think about the rest of us. He knows quite a bit, at least about that imperial edict from when we went to the North..."

"Lord Duke, rest assured, I will handle things properly."

"But... could we leave him an heir?" Marquis Wuding asked in a low voice.

Duke Anguo sighed.

"Keep an heir? I'd like to, but look around the entire Ping'an Marquis's mansion. Apart from two little girls under five years old, who else is worth keeping?"

It was only then that Marquis Wuding remembered.

It's impossible for him to have any descendants. Besides his three sons and two daughters, the Earl of Ping'an has no one left to carry on his lineage.

So when the four members of the Ping An Earl family were in critical condition, they consulted almost all the imperial physicians and doctors.

"Remember, leave no trace, the sooner the better!" Duke Anguo said calmly.

Marquis Wuding said nothing more, but simply nodded and left.

After Marquis Wuding left, Duke Anguo looked into the inner room.

The King of Qin slowly walked out from inside.

"Uncle, do you really think they didn't do this?" the King of Qin asked, frowning.

Duke Anguo shook his head.

"Even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to intercept and kill so many people."

Moreover, the heir of the Duke of Qi and the brother of the Crown Prince's concubine are among them. If they were the ones who did it, this would be a formal war with the Crown Prince's faction.

Who is the heir apparent of the Duke of Qi?

Someone who's been registered before His Majesty, the Empress's nephew, a true member of the imperial family.

"Who could have done it? This..." The King of Qin couldn't think of anyone who could have done it.

Duke Anguo sneered twice.

Who did this? Who else could have done such a ruthless thing besides Prime Minister Xu?

They're really good at playing the victim card, aren't they? That's how they made their daughter empress in the first place!

"Be wary of Prime Minister Xu and the Crown Prince in the future. Anyone who can use close relatives as bait is no ordinary person."

Your Highness, we have lost this round.

We have to take the blame for this; we can't get rid of it.

Whatever punishment Your Majesty may impose, I will accept it; however, I will find a way to deal with it.

"I refuse to believe that old geezer can keep winning!" Duke Anguo sneered.

The King of Qin looked at the Duke of Anguo with some concern.

"Uncle, what if Father doesn't want to give up this opportunity? What if he..."

"Don't worry, I'm not one to sit idly by and wait to die. His Majesty has wanted to get rid of me for a long time."

Is it movable?

I have my own plans; just take good care of yourself.

Remember, none of this is your business. You know nothing about it. Even if something happens, just push the blame onto me.

As for the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Concubine...

Go and tell them to keep a low profile lately. The Empress just lost her nephew, so she's definitely keeping an eye on the two of them!

"Just live a peaceful life and don't have any conflicts with the Empress. There's plenty of time in the future!" Duke Anguo comforted the King of Qin.

The King of Qin nodded in agreement.

The King of Qin also left, and the Duke of Anguo stayed alone in his study for a long time.

He had underestimated Prime Minister Xu before; he never expected that Prime Minister Xu would be capable of such a thing.

My own grandson! You just abandon him like that?

Indeed, no wonder people say that when scholars get ruthless, they don't even care about their own lives!

They'd give up their own lives, let alone their grandson's...

What a ruthless person! I wonder how the Duke of Qi and his wife will feel about you when they find out.

......

That evening, another major event occurred in the capital.

Fearing exposure, the Earl of Ping An committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

Before his death, he murdered his wife, numerous concubines and maids, and his youngest son.

After killing his youngest daughter, the Earl of Ping An hanged himself, wearing only his undergarments.

There was also a confession written in blood inside her clothes.

He confessed to the swapping of death row inmates, the incident at the Crown Prince's villa, and the ambush outside the capital.

Finally, after setting the study on fire, he hanged himself in the main hall. By the time the messengers from the Five Cities Garrison arrived, the study was completely burned to the ground.

The other houses were also partially burned.

It was at this time that the warrant for detaining everyone in the Ping'an Earl's mansion was delivered.

The remaining people of the Ping'an Marquis's mansion, numbering over a hundred, were all detained.

In addition, the officers of the Five Cities Garrison also discovered a secret passage in the Marquis of Ping'an's residence.

Several people dressed in black were lying haphazardly in the secret passage...

That very night, the two sons of the Earl of Ping An, who were imprisoned, confessed.

After signing the confession, both men died suddenly.

Everything seemed to have come to light.

But it was also within everyone's expectations.

The only thing that surprised the common people was how the Earl of Ping'an had the audacity to intercept and kill the Crown Prince at his villa and in the outskirts of the capital.

Nobody knows what the Earl of Ping An is thinking.

Those who truly know the truth have remained silent...

Soon, the cases of collusion between the Jiangning Imperial Textile Bureau, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple to switch death row inmates, as well as the two assassination cases in the capital, all came to a conclusion.

The report concluding the case was also delivered to Emperor Xiao Jing's desk...

"Is this the result of your investigation?" Emperor Xiao Jing asked calmly.

The person in charge of the trial lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise his head.

"Yes! That's what the investigation found."

It fits perfectly, leaving no room for doubt.

"Oh! Then I'll take a look first, and then give you my imperial approval in a few days!"