Chapter 233 - Traitor

The three of them slipped into the study like a wisp of smoke. The study was luxuriously decorated, with ancient books and antiques aplenty, but none of them had the heart to admire them.

"Search separately! Pay attention to the trap!" Xie Zhao whispered.

Luo Hongyi's gaze swept over the various jades and porcelains on the antique display shelf, a faint venomous mist emanating from her fingertips, sensing the subtle differences in the materials. Su Tang, on the other hand, carefully scanned every inch of the walls and floor with her image stone, searching for any potential energy gaps or mechanical structures.

Xie Zhaoze walked directly to the massive rosewood desk, his gaze sweeping over every item on it. Penholder, inkstone, paperweight… His fingers seemingly casually brushed against these objects, but in reality, he was sensing their weight, temperature, and the faintest fluctuations of spiritual energy.

Suddenly, his fingers paused on a seemingly unremarkable bronze paperweight carved with a Suan Ni pattern. This paperweight… seemed heavier than ordinary paperweights, and… there was a faint warmth to the touch, a sensation of frequent touch, unlike the coldness of other objects.

He tried rotating it left and right, but nothing happened. He tried pressing, but still nothing happened.

"Isn't it?" Xie Zhao frowned.

At this moment, Luo Hongyi's voice was heard: "The ashes in the incense burner here smell wrong. In addition to the incense for concentrating the mind, there is also a very faint smell of burning evil-attracting wood." Evil-attracting wood is usually used to cover up or activate certain evil formations or mechanisms.

Xie Zhao's heart moved, and his gaze fell back on the Suanni paperweight. Suanni is a dragon son, who likes to smoke and sit. He tried to lift the paperweight slightly, then gently pushed it towards the incense burner.

An extremely slight mechanical sound came from under the desk!

The huge wall behind the desk, inlaid with jade reliefs, silently slid open, leaving a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through! A cold, gloomy smell of stale paper and a faint rust emanated from it!

"Found it!" Su Tang whispered from a distance.

The three of them looked at each other and slipped in without hesitation.

The secret room wasn't large, containing several bookshelves stacked with files. But Xie Zhao's attention was immediately drawn to a box in the corner, crafted from black iron and covered in runes.

"This box... its defense and self-destruction formations are quite powerful." Xie Zhao carefully observed the runes on the box's surface, his brows furrowed. "If we force it open, I'm afraid it will immediately alert Prince Jing and even destroy the contents."

Luo Hongyi stepped forward, a nearly transparent poisonous mist condensing from her fingertips as she slowly approached the keyhole of the box. "Try this. Soul-Corroding Gold Powder, specifically corrodes spiritual energy and metal structures. It might be able to silently disintegrate the core of the formation within, but it will take time, and there's no guarantee of complete success."

As Luo Hongyi carefully performed her "fine manipulation," Xie Zhao's eyes were drawn to a seemingly ordinary copy of "The Analects of Confucius" on the bookshelf. It looked out of place there. He pulled it out and flipped through it. It was hollow! Hidden within it was a black iron token and several yellowed letters!

He took out the token, which felt cold and heavy. The front was engraved with a coiled dragon, and the back bore the private seal of Prince Jing's mansion! He quickly unfolded the letter, took a glance, and his expression changed drastically!

"Senior Sister! Look at this!"

Luo Hongyi and Su Tang came over immediately. When they saw the specific content of the letter, which discussed the negotiation with the barbarian leader about ceding territory and helping him usurp the throne, as well as the clear seal of Prince Jing at the end, even someone as cold and beautiful as Luo Hongyi's pupils suddenly contracted!

"Collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country... a thief who stole the country!" Luo Hongyi squeezed out these words from between his teeth, with murderous intent in his eyes.

"Quick! Put it away! We must leave immediately!" Xie Zhao quickly put the token and letter into the storage bag.

At this moment, footsteps and voices suddenly came from the study outside the secret room!

"Don't worry, Your Highness. The secret room is absolutely safe. No one knows about it except you..." said a flattering voice.

Prince Jing is back! He brought people with him!

The three people's expressions changed!

"Let's go!" Xie Zhao activated a high-level escape talisman that he had prepared long ago without hesitation!

With a flash of light, the three figures disappeared from the secret room without a trace in an instant!

Almost the next second after they disappeared, the door of the secret room was pushed open, and Prince Jing and his trusted staff walked in. Prince Jing seemed to have sensed something, and suddenly looked at the black iron box in the corner, then glanced at the bookshelf, and his expression suddenly changed drastically!

"Someone has been in!!!" He roared in shock and anger!

However, Xie Zhao and the other two had already fled far away, leaving behind only a box with a small part of the lock core quietly corroded, an empty book box, and Prince Jing's boundless fear and anger.

What they took away was ironclad evidence that was enough to plunge him into the abyss!

Carrying the ironclad evidence of treason obtained from the secret room of Prince Jing's mansion, which was enough to doom Prince Jing, Luo Hongyi, Xie Zhao and Su Tang successfully broke through the numerous blockades of Kyoto and quickly returned to the Burial of Gods Abyss.

Upon returning to the sect, the three immediately presented the evidence they had obtained to Chu Linyuan and the others. When the secret barbarian letter and token bearing Prince Jing's personal seal were produced, a deathly silence fell in the meeting hall, followed by an outburst of intense indignation.

"Collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country! Raising a private army! And even trying to frame loyal officials! It will be unjust if this beast is not eliminated!" Xie Zhao slammed the table and stood up, his peach blossom eyes full of anger.

Tie Niu's eyes were red with rage, and his Guixu Dragon Spine Hammer was humming: "I'm going to smash that dog prince's head!"

Su Tang was so angry that her face turned red: "This is a scumbag! He must be exposed!"

Luo Hongyi looked at the evidence with a cold look in her eyes, but she seemed calmer than simply angry.

She took a deep breath, looked at Chu Linyuan and Xie Zhao, and proposed a more thorough plan that could completely overthrow Prince Jing:

"While directly disclosing the evidence could lead to a conviction, there's no guarantee his followers wouldn't become desperate and resort to violence, potentially affecting the people. During my investigations within the palace, I heard that Imperial Censor Zhang Qiyuan is a man of integrity, deeply trusted by His Majesty, and who has always held politically divergent views from Prince Jing."

"We can transcribe this evidence and send it anonymously to Censor Zhang. Having an upright minister like him raise the issue in the court, contact other loyal officials, and legitimately file an impeachment, will be the greatest deterrent to the villains and stabilize the court."

"At the same time..." Luo Hongyi paused, a complex yet determined light flashing in her eyes. "If the time is right, perhaps... I can let that Censor Zhang accidentally learn of my life story, and have him reveal to Your Majesty that I'm Concubine Jin's daughter and that I've been living among the common people."

Xie Zhao's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood Luo Hongyi's intention: "Great! In this way, His Majesty will never let Prince Jing go, both publicly and privately! Publicly, Prince Jing is guilty of treason; privately, he is very likely one of the culprits who killed His Majesty's beloved concubine and made the princess exile among the people! And if you, senior sister, can recognize your identity and return to the palace... with your means, those evil spirits in the harem will be easily captured?" He seemed to have already seen the scene of Luo Hongyi killing everyone in the harem.