Xie Qingxu leaned against the mountain wall, sweating profusely. He held his saber tightly in his hand, staring at Xiao Duo who was slowly approaching, and said with a hint of crazy laughter, "General Xiao, you really are haunting me. Do you really want to force me into a desperate situation?"

Xiao Duo sneered, his eyes like a torch: "Xie Qingxu, as an official appointed by the court, you smuggled military equipment. I don't need to tell you what the crime is. You have no way to escape!"

"Tell me, who is the person behind this? Such a method is not something that people like you can come up with."

Xie Qingxu's face darkened, but then he regained that cold smile, "Haha, Xiao Duo, even if I tell you, what can you do?"

Xiao Duo frowned slightly, and then a low roar suddenly came from the depths of the cave!

"General, the cave is unstable. It seems someone has set an ambush in advance!" The accompanying black-armored soldier shouted nervously towards the cave entrance.

Xiao Duo quickly looked back and said calmly: "Everyone retreat and seal the cave entrance!"

"General, but Xie Qingxu..." A soldier looked at Xie Qingxu hesitantly.

Xiao Duo's eyes became fierce, and his voice was low but unquestionable: "He can't run away!"

At this moment, Xie Qingxu suddenly jumped up, a ruthless look flashed in his eyes, and he stabbed Xiao Duo with his knife! "Xiao Duo, only one of us can walk out alive!"

Xiao Duo's eyes turned cold, and he swung his sword back, quickly resolving Xie Qingxu's attack. Then he swept horizontally, knocking Xie Qingxu's sword to the ground.

Xie Qingxu staggered back a few steps, staring at Xiao Duo with resentment on his face, "Why! Why are you so powerful! "

Xiao Duo slowly approached, pointing his sword directly at Xie Qingxu: "Go!"

Xie Qingxu suddenly laughed wildly towards the sky, with a hint of despair in his voice. After looking at Xiao Duo, he wanted to bite the poison hidden in his mouth to pieces!

The battle-hardened Xiao Duo had already seen through his purpose, so he directly removed his jaw to prevent him from committing suicide by taking poison!

After hearing this, Xiao Duo started to fight, then raised his hand to signal the soldiers behind him to capture Xie Qingxu.

"General, the cave is about to collapse, we must leave as soon as possible!" the soldiers of the Black Armor Army reminded loudly.

Xiao Duo took a deep look at Xie Qingxu, then said coldly: "Take him with you and retreat!"

The soldiers acted quickly, tied up Xie Qingxu, and helped the wounded evacuate the cave.

After he was brought out, he was sent directly to the Sky Prison.

The Minister of Justice was demoted from his position because of his involvement in this matter.

However, the emperor took into consideration his hard work and great contributions, so he allowed him to retire and return to his hometown with his family, and never allowed him to return to Beijing again.

There is solid evidence in Xie Qingxu's case, but unfortunately after he was imprisoned, he refused to give out the person behind the incident, no matter how much torture he was subjected to.

Until one day, Xie Qingxu said he wanted to meet Su Jinyue, and he was willing to tell her everything when he met her.

Xiao Duo didn't want Su Jinyue to see him, but after Su Jinyue learned about this, she still chose to meet him.

Inside the prison, the light was dim and the smell of blood was everywhere.

The jailer in front carefully led Su Jinyue into the prison.

"Ma'am, be careful."

The jailer whispered instructions and opened the iron door of the prison.

Su Jinyue nodded and followed him into the cell.

Xie Qingxu was locked in a corner of the cell. He looked pale and haggard because he had been tortured several times.

Seeing Su Jinyue coming, he raised his head and a hint of complicated emotions appeared in his eyes.

"I was right. You came after all." His voice was a little hoarse, but still revealed a sense of unwillingness.

Su Jinyue looked at him calmly, "I'm here, you can say whatever you want."

Xie Qingxu sneered, as if mocking himself, "You should be very happy to see me become like this"

Su Jinyue said calmly: "Just say whatever you want to say. I don't want to beat around the bush with you."

Xie Qingxu was silent for a moment, then closed his eyes, "If I tell you the person behind this, can you change the conditions?"

"Leave me alive, let me leave the prison, give me some money, and I will leave the capital forever, taking the Xie family with me!"

Su Jinyue lowered her eyes and looked at him, "Smuggling military equipment can be a big or small crime. Have you ever thought that if that person wants you to be a scapegoat, your entire family may be executed for this crime?"

Xie Qingxu's expression suddenly changed, and he looked up at Su Jinyue, "This man is the emperor's right-hand man! Someone you would never suspect! As long as you let me go! I will tell you who it is!"

"Your bargaining chips are not enough for me to let you go." Her eyes were calm and unwavering.

Xie Qingxu smiled bitterly, "I'm tired of living under the shadow of these people for so many years."

"Unfortunately, if you can't agree to my condition, then I can only shut up."

Su Jinyue's expression did not change. She looked at Xie Qingxu quietly. Her voice was calm but with a hint of oppression: "Xie Qingxu, you are wrong. You are not qualified to negotiate terms."

"Your only way out now is to explain clearly. Otherwise, you will not only fail to save yourself, but also fail to save the people of your clan."

Xie Qingxu gritted his teeth, struggle flashing in his eyes. He clenched his fists and said angrily, "Su Jinyue, are you holding a grudge against me because I broke off the engagement with you before? That's why you won't help me!"

Su Jinyue narrowed her eyes slightly, and her tone became a little colder: "It seems that I came here for nothing."

Xie Qingxu gritted his teeth and sneered, "Oh, you just want to come over to witness my miserable state!"

Su Jinyue turned around and said, "Since you don't want to, I'll leave. Just pretend that I didn't come to see you today."

Xie Qingxu finally couldn't hold on any longer, and leaned against the wall with a pale face, muttering: "I don't have a choice, right..."

Su Jinyue did not answer him. She walked without stopping until she reached the prison door and heard a man's voice behind her.

Xie Qingxu's eyes began to blurt out, and he whispered, "The person behind the scenes... is the Minister of Industry Wu Qichang."

"On the surface, he is a non-confrontational person, but in reality, he wants to create chaos through this arms case so that he can take advantage of the opportunity to support his cronies to take power, or even seek the position of crown prince!"

Su Jinyue's eyes narrowed, a hint of coldness flashed across them: "Wu Qichang? The Minister of Industry..."

"Yes." Xie Qingxu said weakly.

Su Jinyue pondered for a moment and asked, "Who does he plan to support as the crown prince?"

Xie Qingxu's voice was weak, as if he had run out of steam: "Wu Qichang has been operating in secret for a long time. He even colluded with other forces to recruit assassins for the new prince."

"Those weapons are used to arm this secret army. If the plan succeeds, they will have enough force to force the emperor to abdicate and replace the crown prince with the youngest eighth prince. They can then use the emperor to control the other princes."

After hearing this news, Su Jinyue turned around and said, "Do you know that what you are doing is equivalent to rebellion?"

Xie Qingxu's face turned even paler, and he smiled tiredly, "I know this is undoubtedly a life-or-death gamble, but those people won't let me refuse!"