"Dongfang Yi, do you really think Leng Qiuling doesn't know who you are? She already knows your identity, and she'd rather die than let you down... You shouldn't betray her good intentions..."
"Impossible, impossible... She couldn't possibly know who I am. We were just using each other, Su Yan, you must be lying to me, right..."
Seeing that Dongfang Yi refused to accept the bloody reality, Su Yan shook her head helplessly. No one in this world can wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep.
Su Yan looked at Dongfang Yi and sighed with regret, "Dongfang Yi, you shouldn't have chosen this path..."
After saying that, he waved to the people behind him, signaling to arrest them.
Dongfang Yi did not resist and allowed others to tie his hands and feet.
At this moment, Vice Minister Meng suddenly jumped out and cursed at Su Yan.
"You bastard Su Yan, you deliberately messed with me! I'm going to report you to the Emperor!"
Meng Shilang overheard their entire conversation and only then did he realize that Su Yan had been toying with him for the past two weeks. A surge of anger rushed to his head, and he angrily cursed.
However, Su Yan showed no fear or apprehension whatsoever. Instead, she wore an expression of schadenfreude, arms crossed, and said, "Lord Meng, you should be thinking about keeping your position as Vice Minister of Justice. It's uncertain whether we'll still be able to serve in the same court in the future..."
Su Yan was not joking with Minister Meng. You must know that Yan Shuo lost his life because of Meng Heng.
Even if the Crown Prince doesn't pursue Meng Shilang's mistakes in the case, it doesn't mean the Yan family won't pursue them.
Furthermore, the Yan family is backed by the Empress Dowager, and the Emperor would not offend the Empress Dowager for the sake of Minister Meng.
This is why Dongfang Yi didn't choose to kill his father, but instead chose to involve the innocent Yan Shuo.
Once he loses his power and status, Vice Minister Meng is nothing more than a useless pawn.
Once abandoned, life will likely be difficult.
"What do you mean?" Vice Minister Meng did not understand the meaning behind Su Yan's words.
But Xie Yu, who had witnessed the whole thing, understood what was going on and quickly stepped forward to put his arm around Minister Meng, saying, "Minister Meng, please don't take offense. Su Yan is just like that. Someone, quickly take Minister Meng back to his residence to rest..."
Upon hearing this, the two constables beside him immediately stepped forward and helped Minister Meng down the mountain.
When Su Yan looked at the iron hook that had pierced Meng Shilang's ankle, she suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.
She remembered that on the day the Su family was wiped out, there were men in black at Dark Moon Pavilion who used this kind of hidden weapon.
He immediately called out to the two yamen runners who were about to escort Minister Meng, "Wait..."
After saying that, Su Yan went around behind Minister Meng and, ignoring his cries of pain, forcibly removed the iron hook.
"Ahhh..."
Minister Meng let out a pig-like scream, "Su Yan, what exactly are you trying to do...?"
The iron hook pierced through his heel; the injury wasn't serious, but the excruciating pain that swept through his entire body was unbearable.
Su Yan completely ignored Meng Shilang's shouts and focused intently on examining the hook.
Su Yan's sudden action startled Xie Yu, who was standing next to her. "Su Yan, what's wrong?"
However, Su Yan was completely immersed in the memories of the massacre of the Su family, and as she expected, the iron hook was exactly the same as the one that appeared on the day the Su family was wiped out.
Su Yan, as if possessed, pushed aside the person in front of her and ran towards Dongfang Yi, grabbing his collar and demanding fiercely, "Is this yours?"
Dongfang Yi was startled by Su Yan's sudden outburst of emotion and shook his head blankly, explaining, "This was given to me by a woman. She said that if this iron hook cuts the skin, the wound will slowly fester and never heal."
"Not yours?" Su Yan asked again.
Dongfang Yi nodded.
"Did she give you your petrified wood too?"
Dongfang Yi was stunned. "How did you know..."
That day, it was the end of last year, and heavy snow was falling from the sky. Dongfang Yi had not yet fully recovered from the grief of losing his mother.
Adding to the trouble, Meng Heng and Yan Shuo deliberately came to provoke him, so Dongfang Yi, unusually, fought back and punched each of them hard.
However, the consequence was that he was beaten even more severely and was thrown on a street corner by Yan Meng and the other man like trash, hoping that he would be killed by the cold wind.
In fact, Dongfang Yi was also thinking of ending his life, but he saw a woman dressed in red extend a helping hand to him and give him the ebony wood and iron hook.
And so, Dongfang Yi planted the seed of revenge in his heart.
Upon hearing Dongfang Yi's answer, Su Yan realized that people from the Dark Moon Pavilion were probably involved in this matter as well.
"Can you draw what that woman looks like?"
Dongfang Yi thought for a moment, then nodded without hesitation, "I can..."
After saying that, Su Yan and her group hurriedly descended the mountain.
Just after they all left, Ye Qingzhu emerged from behind the big tree.
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he watched Su Yan and the others descend the mountain.
"Su Yan, do you think you can investigate the Dark Moon Pavilion with just this little bit of information? Hmph... You're really overestimating yourself..."
After saying that, Ye Qingzhu turned and left the mass grave.
Soon after returning to the Oversight Council, Su Yan quickly found a pen and paper and asked Dongfang Yi to draw a portrait of the woman.
About half an hour later, a stunningly beautiful woman appeared on the paper.
Su Yan was deeply impressed by Dongfang Yi's painting skills, which were comparable to her own.
"Are you sure it was the woman in the painting who handed you the ebony and iron hook that day?"
Dongfang Yi nodded, "That's right, but it was five months ago. I haven't seen her since."
"She didn't reveal any information about herself to you?"
"No...it was just a brief encounter, and I don't know why she helped me..."
Su Yan looked at the woman in the portrait, stroking her chin thoughtfully.
If that's the case, the reason the Dark Moon Pavilion approached Dongfang Yi was probably because he was the illegitimate son of Minister Meng, and they wanted to use him to deliberately disrupt the situation in the court.
Su Yan thought for a moment, deciding to inform the Crown Prince about this matter, so she put away the portrait on the table and spoke to Dongfang Yi.
"Until that woman is caught, you will be temporarily detained in the Supervisory Council. As for His Highness the Crown Prince's judgment on your crimes, I'm afraid I have no power to do anything about it..."
Dongfang Yi smiled and said he didn't care, "It's alright. I, Dongfang Yi, have no relatives or friends in this life. Even if I die, no one will care..."
Su Yan could see that Dongfang Yi was determined to die, so she stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and comforted him, "Dongfang Yi, in my opinion, Dean Luo already regards you as his son."
"Impossible..." Dongfang Yi denied it without even thinking. "I failed the imperial examination twice, which has already disgraced the teacher."
"As for whether you've lost face, let the person involved tell you themselves."
Su Yan coughed a few times and said to the screen, "Dean Luo, please come out! It's best to say what you have to say in person..."
Dongfang Yi's gaze shifted to the screen, his eyes filled with panic, and he seemed very frightened.
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