Chapter 102 Worry
"Scold me?"
Qin Xiu raised a cold arc at the corner of his mouth, walked slowly to the edge of the sewage, and looked down at Wen Ziyi's embarrassed appearance from a high position.
"Should I call you Wen Ziyi or Ashina Yunyi? The Princess of Beidi has been lurking in our court for ten years, enduring humiliation and following a poor scholar to the capital, only to have her efforts thwarted today?"
Wen Ziyi's cloudy eyes suddenly burst into a terrifying light, and she stared at Qin Xiu, as if she wanted to tear him to pieces with her eyes.
"Qin Xiu, you will not die well!"
She screamed, her chains rattling. "Do you think you've won by ordering a confession from me? Hahahaha... Wei Zhai and Fu Boqian won't let you go. The Northern Di cavalry will eventually crush your filthy city. I'll be waiting for you in hell!"
"Wei Zhai? Fu Boqian?"
Qin Xiu raised his eyebrows slightly, his tone carrying just the right amount of surprise. "Remnants of the previous dynasty, stray dogs, are you worthy of being compared with the Northern Di cavalry? But..."
He changed the subject, his voice suddenly becoming bone-chillingly cold: "Thank you, Your Highness, for reminding me. It turns out that besides spies from the enemy country, there are also traitors hiding within our own realm. We can easily catch these traitors harboring evil intentions in one fell swoop."
"In this case, I still have to thank Her Royal Highness Princess Beidi for sharing everything she knows. I treat my subjects as my subjects. Thank you, Princess Beidi."
The sharpness in Qin Xiu's dark eyes and the ruthless methods he displayed made the Minister of Justice and the interrogators present shudder involuntarily.
Wen Ziyi's expression froze instantly, and a trace of disbelief and astonishment flashed in his eyes.
"Qin Xiu, how dare you cheat me!" Wen Ziyi's eyes were bloodshot.
Qin Xiu no longer looked at her, as if the person opposite him was already a corpse.
He turned to face the Minister of Justice, his voice returning to its usual cold, hard tone. "For the record, Princess Ashina Yunyi of the Northern Di clan sneaked into the capital and colluded with remnants of the previous dynasty, Wei Zhai and Fu Boqian, with the intention of stealing border maps and overthrowing our dynasty. The evidence is irrefutable, and she has confessed. After Your Majesty has reviewed her case, a date will be chosen for her execution."
"Yes, I'll ask someone to do it right away!"
The Minister of Justice was sweating profusely and quickly agreed.
Although the Minister of Justice was a second-rank official, Gao Qinxiu was an entire class higher.
But Hu Hua is very clear about his own position. He can reach his current position entirely thanks to the Qin family.
Now that His Majesty is very close to Prince Qin, if there is a failure in the Fengguo Mansion, it is hard to say who will get the position of Empress Lin in the harem and the position of Crown Prince.
Qin Xiu did not stay any longer and turned around to walk out of the dungeon.
What came from behind was Wen Ziyi's desperate and shrill curses and roars.
Xun Chen followed Qin Xiu's back, watching him leave with complicated eyes.
Imperial study.
The smell of ambergris was strong. Emperor Lu Bin sat upright on the dragon throne, his face looking a little older than usual, and deep in his eyes was fatigue and anger that could not be concealed.
Two memorials were spread out on the imperial desk in front of him.
One was a secret memorial from Qin Xiu detailing the Xiefangyuan incident and the preliminary results of the interrogation.
The other was a tearful petition by Crown Prince Lu Cheng defending Lin Heng and impeaching Qin Xiu for abusing his power, framing loyal officials, and attempting to stir up unrest in the court.
"Father!"
Lu Cheng knelt before the imperial desk, his eyes red and his voice filled with grief and indignation, "Lin Heng may have been responsible for negligence, but his crime is not punishable by death!"
"This bastard Qin Xiu is clearly exploiting this situation to eliminate dissidents. Without even a joint trial by the three courts, he arbitrarily mobilized the patrol battalion to round up the legitimate son of the Duke of Fengguo. He even used torture to extract a confession from a woman, and then framed her for colluding with remnants of the previous dynasty!"
"Where does this behavior put the law of the land? Where does it put the majesty of the emperor? What exactly does Qin Xiu want to do? I ask the emperor to understand and punish Qin Xiu severely, and give Lin Heng justice!"
Lu Cheng kowtowed heavily, his forehead touching the ground.
There was a dead silence in the imperial study. The eunuchs and palace maids standing there held their breath and dared not make a sound.
The emperor's gaze slowly lifted from the two completely different reports and fell on the prince kneeling below. There was disappointment, scrutiny, and a hint of deep fear in his eyes.
He was silent for a long time before he slowly spoke, his voice carrying the pressure of an emperor:
"Lin Heng failed to properly guard the items entrusted to him by the Crown Prince, allowing the enemy's spies to take advantage. They were caught red-handed, and the evidence is overwhelming. This is a serious dereliction of duty. How can you claim to have framed him?"
Lu Cheng suddenly looked up and said anxiously, "Father! How can we know that the assassin wasn't staged and directed by Qin Xiu himself? The identity of the female assassin is unknown, and her confession under torture is not to be trusted. The so-called "Yu from the previous dynasty" is nonsense. It is clearly Qin Xiu..."
“That’s enough!”
The emperor slammed the imperial desk, making a loud noise!
Lu Cheng was so frightened that his whole body trembled, and the rest of his words were choked in his throat.
The emperor's chest heaved, clearly furious. "I'm not senile yet! Qin Xiu's secret memorial contains all the evidence, witnesses, and evidence. The identity of the female assassin is confirmed by artifacts from the Northern Di royal court. As for the remnants of the previous dynasty..."
A cold light flashed in the emperor's eyes: "It is better to believe it than not to believe it. Qin Xiu did nothing wrong in this matter!"
"Father!"
Lu Cheng was struck by lightning and his face turned pale.
"Lin Heng will be temporarily detained in the Heavenly Prison until the Three Courts conduct a thorough investigation into his dereliction of duty and then decide his punishment!"
The emperor made the final decision, blocking Lu Cheng's way to plead for mercy.
He turned his gaze to Qin Xiu, who had been standing quietly at the side, and said in a slightly softer tone, "Qin Xiu, come forward."
"I'm here." Qin Xiu bowed.
"You will be in charge of this case, with the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple assisting you. You must thoroughly investigate the entire story of the enemy's spies' infiltration and uncover all the hidden assassins!"
"As for the remnants of the previous dynasty, Wei Zhai and Fu Boqian..."
The emperor's voice suddenly turned harsh, filled with murderous intent. "Issue an arrest warrant immediately. I want him alive or dead!"
"My lord, I obey the order!"
Qin Xiu responded in a deep voice, his voice sonorous and powerful.
Lu Cheng collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.
He knew that Lin Heng was finished, and the Fengguo Mansion would surely suffer an unprecedented blow.
Qin Xiu, the instigator of all this, not only remained unscathed, but gained even greater power.
He looked at Qin Xiu's stern face, and a surge of hatred instantly overwhelmed his reason.
He and Qin Xiu have an irreconcilable feud!
Night falls.
Ning Pavilion.
Jiang Qingning did not light the lamp and sat alone on the soft couch by the window.
The moonlight outside the window is like water, outlining the hazy silhouettes of the flowers and trees in the courtyard.
The Qin Mansion next door was silent, and Qin Xiu had not returned yet.
The emperor's attitude, the prince's hatred, the inevitable crazy counterattack of the Fengguo Mansion, and the hiding Wei Zhai and Fu Boqian.
All of this was like a heavy rock pressing on Jiang Qingning's heart.
She knew that Qin Xiu must have gone through a fierce battle in the court today. The emperor's words "there was nothing wrong with it" and the important task of entrusting him with the responsibility of handling the major case pushed Qin Xiu to the center of an even more dangerous vortex.
Jiang Qingning picked up the teacup that had already gone cold, and stroked the smooth porcelain wall with his fingertips, recalling Qin Xiu's question about whether he was worried about him.
Worry?
Jiang Qingning frowned slightly.
No, she just... didn't want this carefully arranged chess game to collapse because of the player's accident.
That's all.
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