"You forced us to do it, you forced us to betray you."

Zhang San's words were so forceful they seemed to clench his teeth; his face was already red, and even his eyes were red.

He was really angry.

After he finished speaking...

It felt like all the strength had been drained from my body.

Suddenly, he let out a desperate sigh.

It was as if all the frustration and despair that had been bottled up inside for so long was finally being released at this moment.

The officials in the court were completely silent, including Zhu Yuanzhang and the father and son from Chechi Kingdom; they were all stunned.

This seemed to give everyone present a new perspective.

After a long silence, Fu Youde slowly stepped forward and spoke:

"I understand now, Your Highness, it was your Chechi Kingdom that sent these assassins to kill you. Afterwards, you thought all the assassins were dead, but these two assassins survived."

In this situation, your Chechi Kingdom, in order to prevent the news from spreading, ordered the murder of all the assassins' families in order to conceal the information.

So when the two surviving assassins found out, they chose to betray him and reveal the truth. Therefore, there is only one truth: you killed the Crown Prince.

"What else does your Chechi Kingdom have to say in your excuses?"

The King of Chechi Kingdom immediately spoke:

"No, that's not the truth. He's talking nonsense. Our Chechi Kingdom absolutely did not kill His Highness the Crown Prince. Let me explain. Here's what happened: they were indeed assassins from our Chechi Kingdom."

But I am certain that they have been bribed by someone to deliberately frame our Chechi Kingdom.

Their goal is to incite war between the Ming Dynasty and the Chechi Kingdom, thereby destroying our greatest power in the west. It's incredibly insidious, absolutely insidious! You mustn't fall for it.

Lan Yu then spoke up:

"Actually, it's quite simple to find out whether this matter is true or not."

Everyone immediately looked at him, and then Lan Yu continued:

"The assassin said that his family, including the families of the other assassins who participated in the murder of the Crown Prince, were all dead, killed by the King of Chechi Kingdom to silence them."

"Then all we need to do is investigate whether the families of these assassins from Chechi Kingdom were truly murdered, and we'll find out the truth."

The prince of Chechi Kingdom still shook his head:

"This doesn't prove anything. No one can prove that the one who killed His Highness the Crown Prince was an assassin from our Chechi Kingdom."

Why must their deaths be linked to the assassins of our Chechi Kingdom?

His words once again plunged everyone into a stalemate. Indeed, even though many of the assassins from Chechi Kingdom had died, the families of those they killed had also been dealt with.

But that doesn't directly prove that these assassins were there to kill Zhu Yunwen, does it?

There is no evidence for this. Although two assassins have come forward to testify, the possibility that they were indeed manipulated or bribed by others cannot be ruled out.

At this point, Lan Yu became somewhat angry and said:

“You mentioned evidence before, and now that you’re presenting evidence piece by piece, you’re saying that this evidence is unreliable. So what kind of evidence is credible?”

Must His Highness the Crown Prince come back to life and stand here, personally testifying, for this to be considered evidence? Only then will it be convincing?

Upon hearing this, the officials in the court all showed bitter expressions.

Yes, they said they needed evidence, and they have indeed produced some evidence, but this evidence can always be cleverly refuted.

It seems that it cannot play a truly proven and foolproof role.

The King and Prince of Chechi Kingdom were truly adept at sophistry.

They frequently create stalemates, and in the current situation, even if they present other evidence, they can obviously use other excuses to refute the issue.

It seems that no matter what, the situation is unlikely to improve.

At this moment, Prince Zhu Gang of Jin also spoke:

"Because the evidence itself is not very sufficient, it cannot achieve the effect of solid proof. It is rather strange that the Duke of Liang is in such a hurry to frame Chechi Kingdom and the others."

Moreover, in the current situation, there is no evidence to prove that Chechiguo was the one who did it.

"I'm afraid it's truly as you say; only if His Highness the Crown Prince were to rise from the dead and personally testify would it have any credibility."

Zhu Gang's words angered Lan Yu, but she didn't know how to refute them for a moment.

Just then, outside the main hall, another voice slowly rang out:

"Since so much evidence still can't prove anything, and you insist on me coming forward, then I'll have no choice but to come in person and testify on the spot."