Chapter 328: Self-destruction 2

Following Ning Wanshuang's order,

Kang Yubin, accompanied by three guards, brought a man with a sack on his head to the hall.

After forcing the man to kneel down, Kang Yubin opened the sack on his head. Everyone was shocked.

The person who was "entertained" by Ning Wanshuang in this way was actually the deputy director of the Imperial Observatory, who was in the limelight in front of the emperor, and a donor?

When Tan Yue entered the palace for the morning court, he was tied up and brought to Yonghe Palace with his head covered for no reason. He was also confused at the moment.

"What is the intention of the Imperial Concubine?"

Xiao Jingheng's expression darkened a little, "What did the Imperial Concubine do to tie him up? Could it be that the person the eunuch bumped into yesterday was him?"

"No." Ning Wanshuang shook her head lightly, her eyes fixed on Tan Yuezhi, "But it is inseparable from him."

As he finished speaking, two eunuchs were seen escorting a blood-stained man staggering inside.

The man was thrown into the hall, but he struggled to crawl towards the donor, grabbed the hem of his court robe, and said in a hoarse voice:

"Master...save me..."

It was only after he came closer that the donor could distinguish his features from his dirty face and recognize his identity.

"Liu Chong? What's wrong with you?"

Ning Wanshuang said to Xiao Jingheng in a gentle voice: "Your Majesty, this man is called Liu Chong. He is Tan Yuezhi's only disciple and has been with him for more than a year."

Xiao Jingheng leaned forward slightly, looked at Liu Chong for a moment, and said slowly:

"It seems like I have some impression."

Ning Wanshuang said solemnly, "Liu Chong, you killed the heir to the throne and two innocent people. You will not be able to keep your life. But if you are willing to tell the truth, I may ask the emperor to show mercy and grant you a whole body."

When Liu Chong heard this, his pupils trembled violently, as if he was extremely frightened.

He slowly loosened his hand that was holding Tan Yuezhi's clothes, with a look of shock on his face, and muttered to himself:

"Dead? How could he be dead? Didn't you say that it would only make the heir to the throne uneasy? How could he be dead?!"

He suddenly became excited and rushed towards Tan Yuezhi.

Fortunately, there were guards who quickly pulled the two apart.

Xiao Jingheng heard the clue from his words and asked in a deep voice:

"You just said that it would only make the heir to the throne uneasy? What do you mean?"

Liu Chong seemed to have his spirit sucked out. His legs and feet went limp in an instant and he fell to the ground, crying:

"Your Majesty! I didn't mean it... Yesterday I deliberately bumped into the eunuch who was delivering food to the Zhaochun Palace, and took advantage of his unpreparedness to add a packet of powder into the teapot. That powder..."

He raised his hand tremblingly, pointed at the donor and accused:

"The powder was given to me by my master. I didn't know that it would put the life of the heir to the throne in danger..."

"Liu Chong!" Tan Yuezhi shouted angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about? When did I ever ask you to do these things?"

Liu Chong was also surprised and shook his head. "Master, didn't you say that you advised the emperor that the pregnant concubines in the harem would have bad babies, and you had to let the accident happen so that the emperor would trust the Imperial Observatory more?"

He was filled with regret and burst into tears, "I originally thought that the powder would at most make the heir to the throne uneasy, but I never expected that... if I had known that the drug would cause the two ladies to have miscarriages, I would not have dared to do such a damaging and sinister thing for Master even if I had eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's courage!"

At this point, Tan Yuezhi finally realized that he had fallen into a trap set by someone else.

Just like he had teamed up with Concubine Hui to plot against Song Zhao in the past.

Someone with ulterior motives carefully planned the situation in secret, and only waited until the game was foolproof before luring the person into a trap, leaving a dead end for the person to escape.

If he guessed correctly, the trap had been dug from the moment Liu Chong surrendered to him.

He stared at Liu Chong and said, "I never asked you to do what you said. You are accusing me of this out of thin air. Who instructed you to do that?"

"You were wrongly accused? You were instructed by someone?" Liu Chong sneered sadly, "I have always been loyal to you, but I didn't expect that now that the truth has been revealed, you want to clear yourself?

"Release the snakes during the Waking of Insects, the well water rises again, the koi fish turns upside down... Since you entered the palace, which of the strange phenomena that have occurred frequently in the palace was not caused by you? Didn't you arrange these disasters first, and then pretend to tell the emperor in advance about these inevitable things, so as to take credit for them?"

Upon hearing this, the donor was horrified and his heartbeat became frantic.

Everything Liu Chong mentioned was secretly arranged by Concubine Hui. Logically, Liu Chong should not know about this.

But why could he tell them all so clearly?

At this moment, Xiao Jingheng's eyes were full of hostility and murderous intent as he glared at Tan Yuezhi.

Tan Yuezhi tried his best to calm down and was about to confess his mistake when he heard Liu Chong shouting again:

"I have followed you for a year, and I respect you as my teacher, but what have you taught me? You taught me divination, but you made me think of ways to cause trouble every day. You said that only when the world is not at peace will the Imperial Observatory continue to be valued by the court, and you will continue to benefit from it!"

As he spoke, he suddenly turned around and kowtowed deeply to Xiao Jingheng, choking with sobs:

"I have killed the heir to the throne. I know my crime is unforgivable, and I am too embarrassed to ask for forgiveness from the emperor. I will end my worthless life and go to the underworld to make amends to the two young masters!"

After saying that, Liu Chong resolutely banged his head against the golden pillar with phoenix carvings beside him.

He died instantly.

Xiao Yinzi quickly carried the body away.

This time, it was the donor's turn to be speechless.

Just like he and Concubine Hui had teamed up to frame Song Zhao in the past,

This key witness is dead, and nothing can be found out from a dead person.

Therefore, Song Zhao had to endure this injustice in the past, and the same is true for the donors today.

Ning Wanshuang asked coldly, "You are the one who caused the chaos in the palace, which means your so-called divination skills are nothing but nonsense. Then I really want to know, since you don't have the ability to tell fortunes, how did you calculate that the emperor would be assassinated in Jiangnan? How did you calculate that there would be a flood in Jiangnan, causing endless disasters?"

She paused, as if she suddenly thought of something, and said in surprise:

"Or were you the one who caused the assassination of the emperor and the flood in Jiangnan?"

Ning Wanshuang's speculation is somewhat unreasonable.

He definitely would not be able to accomplish so many things on his own.

However, Xiao Jingheng thought of Xiao Jingyan's advice in the past.

In the past, Xiao Jingyan said that the floods in Jiangnan were all caused by the bursting of the Chidong Dam, but the bursting of the Chidong Dam was most likely man-made.

Xiao Jingheng connected many things together, and the doubts in his heart gradually became clear.

"You can't do this on your own. Tell me, where did you come from?"