Li Zanran felt a dryness in his throat, unable to even swallow his saliva. He desperately tried to organize his thoughts in his mind.
He glared at Mu Xinghe and kowtowed to the Emperor: "Yes, yes, that's how it is. Because there are too many foreign countries, and Xiufeng Kingdom is on the last page, I was busy reviewing the register for days and my eyes were dazzled, so I made a mistake. I did not mean to do it. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"But I've asked the relevant officials, and Xiufeng Kingdom, as a major power, is among the ones that absolutely cannot afford any mistakes. In previous years, it was always listed first, so why is it on the last page this year?" Mu Xinghe pressed on, staring intently at Li Zanran: "Lord Zhao and Lord Bai have both fallen ill one after another, and I was temporarily transferred from the Ministry of Personnel to the Court of State Ceremonial to take their place. It was all thanks to Lord Li's recommendation. I have no relation to Lord Li, yet he was willing to give me this favor. But then the register contained a major error, and so on. Is this all just a coincidence?"
Mu Xinghe's questions hit the nail on the head, and Li Zanran was drenched in sweat, his hair and forehead soaked with sweat.
He wiped his face with his sleeve, feeling his mind was a complete mess, because these questions were difficult to answer.
"There are no rules about which country must be placed in which position. The order will change every year when it is re-edited and bound, which is normal."
Li Zanran suddenly sneered, as if he had regained some ground: "Lord Mu, I recommended you to Lord Gu because I heard that you are steady and reliable and that I appreciate talent. Who would have thought that you would bite the hand that feeds you, not recognizing my good intentions, and actually think that I have ulterior motives and want to harm you."
Mu Xinghe avoided the emotional appeal and responded calmly: "Even if the binding order has changed, such an important country as Xiufeng Kingdom should not be placed last. There has never been such a situation in previous years. It's one thing to put it last, but Xuanhuo has become Heihuo. If it were arranged like this, can Lord Li imagine what the situation would be now?"
"When the time comes, will you try to pin the blame on Lord Gu and me?"
If the mission succeeds, both he and Lord Gu will be safe, and they can turn the tables on each other.
If things go wrong today, Lord Gu won't be able to escape, and neither will he. Li Zanran will take the opportunity to disrupt the situation and find a way to get away.
Lord Gu suddenly remembered something, and his expression changed.
"I remember that before Lord Bai and Lord Zhao fell ill, the three of you discussed the welcoming etiquette and had a private gathering. The two gentlemen are still not fully recovered, but it is related to you."
Such a question would seem abrupt and could be seen as an attempt to smear someone under normal circumstances.
But in this situation, it was quite fitting, like throwing a pebble at a broken window.
Li Zanran is already shrouded in suspicion and cannot be cleared of it. Speculating on the cause and effect, it is probably not normal for Lord Zhao and Lord Bai to suddenly fall ill.
Maybe it was all premeditated from the very beginning.
As the emperor listened to the arguments below, his cold expression calmed down at some point. In the end, it was just a matter of punishing a minor official. Every year, several powerful families would be destroyed for various reasons, and he was no longer bothered by it.
"You all go back first. Li Zanran has been imprisoned by the Dali Temple. This case will be jointly tried by the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate. We need to thoroughly investigate whether anyone is behind this."
Soon, imperial guards stormed into the main hall and captured Li Zanran.
Upon seeing this, Li Zanran was so frightened that he went limp and cried out that he was innocent, desperately expressing his loyalty.
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