question

When Sheng Ye entered the main hall, his expression remained calm, and his brows furrowed only briefly when he saw Zhang Dong.

Cheng Junshi keenly noticed this.

Soon Emperor Ming began questioning him. Faced with Tang Qi's accusations, Sheng Ye naturally denied them all, laughing as he said that Tang Qi was making up a story, while also mocking them for not being able to accept their own failure.

However, Tang Qi naturally expected him to deny it outright, so in response to his sarcasm, Tang Qi simply chuckled and said, "Has Your Highness ever heard the saying?"

Sheng Ye looked over, but Tang Qi smiled confidently at him, saying, "Anything that has existed will leave a trace."

“There are many people living around the Prince Qi’s residence,” Tang Qi said, raising his voice. “Is Your Highness so sure that you did something flawless and that no one saw it?”

He spoke frankly and his expression was so natural that even Sheng Ye unconsciously became nervous, as if Tang Qi really had some kind of leverage over him. But then Sheng Ye thought to himself that this person was just an unknown nobody. Although he didn't know where he had heard about this, he figured that Tang Qi couldn't possibly say anything true.

I almost got fooled by this person.

"Can anyone prove that what you said is true?" Sheng Ye asked Tang Qi.

They clearly didn't believe he could find any witnesses, but—

“I can prove it.”

Suddenly, a Taoist woman's voice came from outside the hall.

—He forgot that besides Tang Qi, who was already "dead," there was another person present at the time.

Princess Yun'an, Sheng Changge.

Upon seeing her, Sheng Ye was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode.

He simply couldn't understand why his foolish younger sister always went against him and tried to kill him every time.

Yun An knelt down beside Sheng Ye without any hesitation, and then bowed to Emperor Ming. From the moment he heard Yun An's voice, Sheng Ye's expression became strange. Only after she finished bowing did Sheng Ye turn his head and grit his teeth to ask, "What are you doing here?"

"Aren't you short of a witness?" Yun An looked at him, her eyes crinkling into a smile. "I can't let my good brother down."

She deliberately emphasized the words "good brother," which made Sheng Ye's eyes almost tear her apart. However, Yun An took it all in stride and didn't care about him at all.

"Stop kneeling, get up," Emperor Ming finally spoke.

"Little Five, come to me."

Tang Qi and the others had been kneeling for so long, yet Emperor Ming hadn't allowed them to rise. It wasn't until Yun An entered the hall that he seemed to suddenly remember the matter, beckoning everyone to stand up. Tang Qi even felt that Emperor Ming's expression had become more amiable.

He already knew that Emperor Ming doted on Princess Yun'an, but only now did he realize how blatant and hurtful the emperor's favoritism was.

Below, Sheng Ye stared at Yun An's retreating figure as she walked towards Emperor Ming. Jealousy in his eyes coiled around his neck like a venomous snake, making his breathing become rapid.

He hates it.

“Father, I can testify that Li Wuyuan was indeed imprisoned in the Prince of Qi’s residence.”

"You saw him?" Emperor Ming asked.

Yun An: "I saw it with my own eyes."

When did you go to Prince Qi's residence?

"Just when Father sent Qi...Tang Qi to Katyu."

Emperor Ming turned his gaze to Sheng Ye, and the moment their eyes met, Sheng Ye immediately lowered his head guiltily. Sheng Ye was usually arrogant, but he always felt a deep sense of inferiority when facing his father and the supreme emperor.

Perhaps it was because Emperor Ming had never shown him any affection, or perhaps it was because his father's gaze was always so cold. It seemed as if he were just an ordinary stranger.

If all royal relationships were this cold, he could live a life of quiet desperation, but unfortunately, he had Yun An by his side.

Among the royal offspring, he was the same age as Yun An, and coincidentally, Sheng Ye would unconsciously compare himself to his younger sister of the same age.

Unfortunately, Yun An is his opposite.

The darker he was, the more sunny Yun'an became.

He may be ordinary, but Yun'an is dazzling.

Even in Emperor Ming's eyes, Princess Yun'an was far more important than him.

Although Sheng Ye was reluctant to admit it, he actually disliked Yun An.

No, it should be called jealousy.

Because as long as Yun An is around, he will become a shadow. For a prince to behave like this is truly laughable.

"I'm giving you a chance to explain," Emperor Ming said, looking at him.

Sheng Ye kept his head down.

Emperor Ming's voice wasn't loud, but it was jarring enough. He had originally planned to deny it to the death, and had even prepared some reasons, but as soon as Emperor Ming spoke, Sheng Ye suddenly felt that all explanations were unnecessary.

He immediately lost his will to defend himself and decided to just go all out: "There's nothing to explain, I just arrested him."

Even Tang Qi was surprised that Sheng Ye would admit to it so bluntly. But that's fine too; at least he doesn't have to put in the effort to pressure him anymore. It seems the witnesses he prepared beforehand are no longer needed.

While his situation was very favorable, Deng Ning and Wu Shunyi's faces fell.

They were completely unprepared for Sheng Ye's sudden admission, and the two of them frowned when they looked at each other.

Zhang Dong, standing to the side, was even more frightened. Without Sheng Ye, it was as if he had lost his protection. Zhang Dong felt a tightness in his heart and suddenly felt that death was not far away.

Emperor Ming's gaze had been fixed on Sheng Ye for a long time, and he kept his head down, like a criminal awaiting sentencing.

"His Majesty,"

However, at this moment, Deng Ning suddenly spoke up: "I have something to say."

Emperor Ming glanced at him and then nodded, signaling him to continue.

"Your Majesty, no matter how true this man's words may be, he has never been to Katyu. All of the above are merely his conjectures, and I believe they are unreliable," Deng Ning finally said, looking at Tang Qi.

"His elder brother served as a Wolf Warrior and died in Katyu. Therefore, he had different feelings for Wolf Warrior and Katyu, and it was precisely these different feelings that influenced his judgment of the truth. Once a person has a bias, it is impossible to face the facts objectively."

Dunning was clever; he used the fact that Don Qi was not in Katyu to his advantage.

Tang Qi was furious and wanted nothing more than to throw his face up, rush up to Deng Ning, grab him by the collar, and yell: Look closely, your grandpa is here in Katyu!

Of course, he wouldn't be that stupid.

"Isn't a person's heart naturally skewed?" Tang Qi laughed, looking at him and saying, "If you think what I said is all false, then please present your truth. Those grand principles can't exonerate you."

Unexpectedly, Deng Ning laughed, as if he had been waiting for Tang Qi to say those words.

"good."

He agreed very readily.

Ye Qian, who was standing beside him, vaguely sensed something was wrong. The next moment, he heard Deng Ning speak: "Your Majesty, during the battle of Katyu, besides General Wu and myself, there was another person present. It was this person who brought back the coffin of Tang Qi, the commander of the Wolf Strategy Southern Camp. Compared to those who were not on the battlefield, the words of those who were there in person are probably more convincing."

Deng Ning knelt down again and said solemnly, "Your subject requests the imperial decree to summon Ye Jin, the commander of the Xuanhe Army, to the palace to testify!"

Tang Qi was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Deng Ning to think of bringing Ye Jin over as a witness. He then looked at Ye Qian beside him, who also had a furrowed brow and looked uneasy.

Ye Jin had only recently returned to Jingzhou. When she received the news and entered the palace, she was stroking her warhorse.

Before entering the main hall, she was filled with anxiety, wondering why His Majesty had summoned her to the palace. After entering the hall, she became even more flustered—why were there so many people here?

After a simple bow, she stood up and faced His Majesty, but her eyes unconsciously drifted to Ye Qian standing to the side.

Ye Qian simply smiled at her and offered her some simple words of comfort.

"Don't worry too much. I summoned you here only to ask a few questions. Just answer truthfully."

"yes."

"Were you in Kachu when Langcejun died?"

Ye Jin nodded.

Why go to Katyu?

Ye Jin: "Your Majesty, we went to Katyu because we received a message from General Deng Ning requesting assistance."

"What did he say to you?"

Ye Jin: "They only said that the army was ambushed in Nanzhou and was trapped, hoping that we would send troops to rescue them."

After a few questions, Ye Jin frowned slightly, not understanding why His Majesty would ask these questions.

"What did you see when you went to Katyu?"

What did you see?

Ye Jin frowned, thought carefully for a while, and then looked up at Emperor Ming and said, "I saw that Shenghui Army and Langce are fighting together against Nanzhou Army."

Upon hearing this, Ye Qian felt a chill run down his spine. When he looked at Tang Qi again, he was frozen in place, as if he had lost all sense of reason.

"When I led my troops to provide support, Tang Qi, the commander of the Wolf Strategy, had already..." Ye Jin lowered her head and mentioned that time again. She still felt that it was because she arrived too late that Tang Qi died.

Because when she arrived, Wolf Strategy only had some remnants of its army left.

If she had arrived earlier, would Wolf Strategy have suffered such heavy losses?

"The Wolf Strategy was completely wiped out! Where are all those people you saw? Where are they?!" Tang Qi almost questioned, he never imagined that Ye Jin would see such a scene.

Ye Jin's gaze shifted to Tang Qi after he yelled at her. She frowned and said strangely, "The entire Wolf Strategy army was wiped out, of course, because they died on the battlefield."

“Although I led troops to provide support, the Southern Continent Army continued to attack more fiercely. It took our army and General Deng a long time to finally repel them. As for the Wolf Strategy…” Her tone softened: “The Wolf Strategy was already nearly wiped out, and several fierce attacks directly led to their complete sacrifice.”

Cheng Junshi sensed that something was wrong.

Tang Qi had been in the upper hand during the previous confrontation. From the military report to Li Wuyuan, everything he said was based on his insistence that Sheng Hui and Jin Bei were colluding with the enemy and betraying the country.

However, Ye Jin's appearance broke this foundation.

"Your Majesty, we are trapped in a desperate battle because our military information was betrayed to the Southern Continent, which has led to us being at a disadvantage in our confrontation with the Southern Continent army on several occasions." Deng Ning continued, "The person who betrayed the information is Li Wuyuan, whom we investigated before. It was for this reason that the Second Prince arrested him."

In just one sentence, Sheng Ye's behavior was made legitimate.

Cheng Junshi's heart was pounding. A strong sense of unease made him realize that Tang Qi was slowly starting to lose ground.