"I am innocent! It wasn't me, Father! Please investigate!"
Li Zhan desperately tried to break free from the soldiers escorting him, struggling to get inside and plead with the emperor for mercy.
Dressed in a red brocade robe, Qin Zhuo's face was cold, like an impartial judge: "Take him away!"
Li Zhan was bent over under the weight, filled with hatred: "Qin Zhuo, you idiot! Instead of catching the real murderer, what kind of skill is it to frame me?"
Qin Zhuo leaned forward, his gaze cold and wicked, his murderous aura palpable: "Sixth Prince, you laughed so loudly when you learned of the Crown Prince's accident the day before yesterday. Why aren't you laughing now?"
Looking at Li Zhan's angry gaze, Qin Zhuo said again, "I know it wasn't you, but all the evidence points to you. Instead of being powerless and furious here, you should think about who framed you for this crime."
"You want to stand by and watch the fire, gloating, but if the real culprit isn't found, you'll be the scapegoat!"
Upon hearing that the Crown Prince had been assassinated and was about to die, the Sixth Prince was overjoyed. Unfortunately, he laughed too soon and ended up getting burned.
Serves you right!
Li Zhan was dragged away, but this time he didn't scream. He had clearly realized that pleading was useless and that he had to save himself.
If he can't prove his innocence, he's really finished.
"My lord, it is King Zhao."
Qin Zhuo looked up and saw that in the distance, on the palace road, King Zhao was being pushed slowly in a wheelchair, which was in the direction of the East Palace.
King Zhao also noticed Qin Zhuo, but only glanced back at him from afar before disappearing around the corner.
Qin Zhuo narrowed his eyes slightly, a murderous intent appearing, but it was quickly suppressed.
He knew the assassin was King Zhao's doing, but he had no proof.
King Zhao had cultivated his influence over many years, infiltrating various families. He used a spy planted in the Han family to participate in the assassination, framing Li Zhan for the crime and completely extricating himself from the situation.
If Shen Ning hadn't pointed out King Zhao earlier, he probably wouldn't have noticed him.
King Zhao wanted to pit the Crown Prince against the Sixth Prince so he could reap the benefits; his plan was quite clever, but unfortunately, it didn't work out.
He could use King Zhao's schemes to bring down the Sixth Prince, and he could also turn around and send King Zhao to hell.
One of them bowed and approached Qin Zhuo before whispering, "Master, Miss Shen has woken up."
Qin Zhuo's tense expression suddenly relaxed: "I understand."
He wanted to go back to see her immediately. She had suffered this time, all because of that idiot Li Yan. He insisted on going to the manor, and ended up being robbed and killed, which also implicated Shen Ning.
He was thinking of Shen Ning while simultaneously cursing Li Yan, but he didn't go to either. He turned to look at the imperial bedchamber behind him, the light in his eyes slowly dimming, pointing straight to a deep and unfathomable depth.
He couldn't wait any longer; it was time to make a decision.
----
After taking a short nap, Shen Ning woke up again and realized that she was in Qin Zhuo's room. Qin Zhuo was still in the palace and had not returned, but that was not what she cared about most right now.
When Liu Ying and Yu Zhu arrived at the Qin residence, Qin Zhuo had already left with his men. Although the two hadn't been of any use on their arduous journey, they had at least returned safely.
However, Mo Lin and the remaining guards were not so lucky. All four servants died, and Mo Lin's whereabouts were unknown.
Shen Ning felt that he had most likely fallen into the hands of the Thousand-Faced Ghost Fox. After all, the Thousand-Faced Ghost Fox had entered and exited the Shen family many times under the identity of Tao Ji and recognized Mo Lin. It was not impossible that she spared his life for this reason.
But falling into Tao Ji's hands is tantamount to falling into King Zhao's hands.
"I want to go back to the Shen family."
When Shen Ning tried to leave, Lü Mei and Zi Yan naturally stopped her: "Miss, you've just woken up and you're still weak. The imperial physician said you need to rest in bed and not move around too much."
Shen Ning had no time to worry about self-cultivation anymore.
“It’s the same if I go back to the Shen family to recuperate. All my servants are dead, and Mo Lin is missing. I have to go back to arrange things.”
Green Plum and Purple Beauty exchanged a glance: "No, you can't go back. Young Master brought you here so that you could recuperate in peace and not be disturbed by others."
Zi Yan thought for a moment and said, "If you go back, you'll have to lie down and can only give verbal instructions to others. How about this, I'll call Liu Ying and Yu Zhu over. You can give them any instructions you need. Also, you can meet Miss Du and Princess Chang Le."
After thinking about it, Shen Ning agreed to the arrangement.
She didn't want to make things difficult for herself, but such a serious matter as a death required her to make the decisions and arrangements.
Green Plum went to inform them personally, and within an hour, she brought all four of them.
Finally seeing Shen Ning, the four of them felt both heartache and relief. They dared not cry and held back their tears, comforting her instead.
Liu Ying told Shen Ning about the dead servant. She had already given him a sum of money to appease him, and now it was up to Shen Ning to decide what to do next.
Shen Ning told Liu Ying about her plan and asked her and Yu Zhu to carry it out. Not only would they appease these people, but the Shen family would also have to recruit new guards.
Liu Ying was temporarily left to look after the shop. Fortunately, she had already finished planning the goods that Zhu Feng brought, otherwise she was afraid she wouldn't be able to handle it all.
As for Mo Lin... Shen Ning really can't do anything about it for now; she'll have to ask Qin Zhuo for help.
"Tell Xue'er that I will definitely bring her brother back."
Shen Ning was still exhausted after speaking for a while, and the four of them left when they saw this.
This wasn't the first time Green Plum and Purple Beauty had taken care of Shen Ning, and the sentry posts they saw on the way here proved the safety of the place, so the four of them weren't worried that Shen Ning wouldn't have a good time here.
--
Shen Ning was still worried about how to save Mo Lin, but unexpectedly, a major event happened that very night.
The emperor was poisoned and vomited blood, causing shock throughout the court and the country.
With the Crown Prince and the Emperor both getting into trouble, it's clear a storm is brewing.
The emperor vomited blood twice and his body weakened rapidly. The imperial physicians knew it was poisoning, but no one recognized the strange poison. They racked their brains but could only temporarily relieve the emperor's pain.
For three consecutive days, the crown prince's condition gradually stabilized, but the emperor was slowly walking towards the gates of death.
Suddenly, a battle report came from the border: the Western Liang and Northern Di had launched a simultaneous attack on the border of the Yan Kingdom and had already captured two cities. All the civil and military officials were thrown into a panic.
It was truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly; with both the crown prince and the emperor fallen ill, there was simply no one left to take charge.
Then someone pushed King Zhao forward.
King Zhao was the only prince to be granted the title of king, and he was also the eldest of all the princes. It was time for him to take on the main responsibility.
Some people initially had objections to King Zhao's lameness, but seeing how decisively he handled state affairs, the dissenting voices diminished.
Although King Zhao persuaded the civil and military officials, mobilizing troops still required the emperor's seal, so he had to seek the emperor's consent.
King Zhao sat in his wheelchair, facing his father with humility and respect, appearing completely non-threatening.
He explained the advantages and disadvantages to the emperor, emphasizing that sending troops was imperative.
However sincere or useful his words may be, at this moment the emperor only saw that King Zhao wanted to take his tiger tally and jade seal.
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