"Good, good... Your Excellency is determined to abandon me, this pawn. But please don't forget, Your Excellency, the birth dates of the Emperor and Empress Dowager were all given to me by you."
"Otherwise, how could a lowly bandit like me possibly know about the affairs of the imperial family? Sir, you are so cruel..."
What he said was all true. Even a seasoned shrew like Zhang Bingzhi, who had been in officialdom for decades, couldn't help but panic when faced with the truth.
"You wicked monk! How dare you spout such nonsense before His Majesty!" Zhang Bingzhi's face turned red and then blue, so angry that he could no longer maintain any composure or dignity.
He fixed his gaze on the soft sword at Song Ting's waist. "I am an innocent man who has devoted myself to the Great Yan Dynasty. How can I allow a wicked monk like you to ruin my reputation! I will kill you today and prove my innocence with my death!"
Originally, Song Ting stood silently, watching this dog-eat-dog drama. When he saw that the old man was about to take the sword, he stepped aside and didn't let the old man touch him at all.
"Why the rush, Grand Secretary?" he said calmly, lifting his eyelids slightly. "We haven't finished speaking yet."
"Yes, sir, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid I will produce evidence?" Kongxing said, taking a deep breath, and looked at the emperor and Song Ting. "Your Majesty, under the ginkgo tree outside my meditation room, there are letters between me and Lord Zhang... Lord Zhang."
"The entire plan is detailed above, and there's even the Grand Secretary's seal as proof. Since the Grand Secretary is so ruthless, don't blame me for being unjust..."
"Nonsense! Nonsense! Who sent you to frame me!" Zhang Bingzhi was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, jumping up and down in the cellar. "I am loyal to His Majesty and the Empress Dowager, how dare you slander me!"
Kongxing glared at him angrily and desperately: "If you haven't done it, then who have been corresponding with me these past few years? Could it be that someone has been impersonating you for the past three years and can steal your personal seal at any time?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Zhang Bingzhi was a civil official, and even when he was extremely angry, he could only repeat this one sentence over and over again. He kicked Kong Xing hard, "I'm going to skin you alive!"
—It really looks like a big, squeaking gray rat.
If it weren't for the young emperor, Song Tingzhen would have liked to call Huaixu over to watch the spectacle; perhaps Huaixu would have been pleased.
Kongxing, who was already barely clinging to life, coughed up a mouthful of black blood after being kicked by Zhang Bingzhi. His body convulsed for a moment, then he stopped moving.
Song Ting stepped forward, checked Chu Minghuan's breath, and shook his head: "Dead."
"Dead?" Zhang Bingzhi's chest heaved, his whole body trembling with anger. "Could he be faking it?"
Upon hearing this, Song said, "He is indeed dead."
"Your Majesty." As soon as Kongxing mentioned that there were letters buried under the ginkgo tree, Song Ting ordered people to investigate. The guards quickly dug out a wooden box under the tree.
Just as Kongxing had said, there were indeed more than a dozen letters in the wooden box, each bearing Zhang Bingzhi's private seal.
Only then did Zhang Bingzhi panic, hastily kneeling at Chu Minghuan's feet: "Your Majesty! This old minister is utterly loyal to Your Majesty and to the Great Yan, as the sun and moon can attest! This, this is all false! Someone is slandering this old minister!"
"Your Excellency, please rise." Chu Minghuan helped the man up. "I trust Your Excellency. Let's examine this so-called evidence first."
The letters span a period of three years, with the first one written three years ago in winter and the latest one written two months ago, the night before the carriages departed for the east.
The letter contained fewer than ten words: "The mission has begun; be prepared."
The words were ambiguous, but for Chu Minghuan, who already knew what had happened, the meaning behind them was crystal clear.
In particular, the personal seal stamped on the letter directly identified the person who was communicating with the person in the letter.
"Your Majesty, please understand! This old minister has never written such letters. I have the trust of Your Majesty and the Empress, and I am eager to serve the Great Yan with all my heart. How could I possibly think of plotting against Your Majesty and the Empress!"
You damned bandit!
Afterwards, Zhang Bingzhi wanted nothing more than to drag the old monk out and whip his corpse to vent his anger. He had long instructed the monk to keep the letters private and to burn them after reading them, but he never expected that the man would be so audacious as to set him up.
But the old monk wouldn't suddenly betray him. The only possibility is that Song Ting already knew about their relationship and had privately contacted the old monk.
The two reached some kind of new deal, which caused the old monk to turn against him and target him...
But this shouldn't be the case. This bandit had a son late in life and doted on his precious son to the point of risking his life. He had taken this into account when he got the bandit to obey him.
Could it be that Song Ting's people found the child and took him away?
But if that's the case, his people will definitely send him a message immediately.
Unless... all his men were killed by Song Ting, and the news couldn't get through.
Thinking of this, Zhang Bingzhi's heart sank heavily, and his back was already soaked with cold sweat.
This time, he was too complacent, thinking that Chu Huaixu's face was enough to kill Song Ting ten thousand times over.
Little did he know that both the young emperor and the empress dowager were gradually slipping out of his control and siding with Song Ting.
The dog he had personally trained was now daring to bully him. Zhang Bingzhi simply couldn't swallow this insult.
He should be the one who rules the world and manipulates events. How could it be that dog, Song Ting?
Dogs should lie prostrate on the ground, only worthy of wagging their tails and begging for mercy from people.
Zhang Bingzhi was truly unwilling to accept this. His gaze involuntarily fell on Song Ting, who naturally noticed and looked back at him with her eyes open.
Zhang Bingzhi glared at him resentfully, but Song Ting's lips curled into a cold smile.
In Zhang Bingzhi's view, this was Song Ting, that dog, showing off his victory and mocking him.
How dare you, you brat!
"I also find this matter suspicious." At this moment, Song Ting withdrew his gaze and slowly spoke, "If it were truly the work of the Grand Secretary, he certainly wouldn't have left his own identification information on the secret letter. Wouldn't that be superfluous, as if he were afraid others wouldn't know who he is?"
"With your intelligence, Your Excellency would never do something so foolish. Therefore, in my opinion, it is more likely that someone forged the letter and Your Excellency's personal seal to frame you."
Zhang Bingzhi never expected that Song Ting would not kick him while he was down, but instead speak up for him.
It's clear that this whole situation was set up by this person, and he's fallen right into their trap. Shouldn't Mr. Song strike while the iron is hot and kill him? Why is he still speaking up for him?
Although he felt something was strange, he didn't have time to think further and immediately said:
“The commander is right. In my opinion, this villain is clearly trying to sow discord. First, he poisoned the Empress Dowager and ruined the prayer ceremony. Then, he used witchcraft to frame Young Master Huaiyue, thus putting Commander Song in a dilemma.”
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