These men were newly hired by Zhang San and his group after they joined the army. Most of them were disheveled, wearing undergarments, and looked like they were asleep, completely unaware of what had happened.
Now that their sweet dreams had been disturbed for no reason, they couldn't help but exchange glances and whisper among themselves.
"What's going on? Why are you waking us up in the middle of the night instead of sleeping properly?"
"Sleep, sleep, all you do is sleep. Just now, a group of assassins came from somewhere and went on a killing spree in the attic. You didn't even wake up from such a commotion. You're such a fool."
...
Chu Yi's gaze swept over everyone, his eyes as cold and venomous as a viper, sending chills down their spines.
Seeing the crowd whispering amongst themselves, he frowned impatiently and gave a wink to the guard beside him.
The guard immediately understood, and with a whoosh, he drew the sword from his waist, held it in front of him, and loudly threatened the men.
"Shut your mouth if you don't want to die!"
"Assassinating His Majesty is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. Look carefully, everyone. If anyone is not present, immediately state their name. Anyone who knows about the assassination but fails to report it will be guilty of the same crime and shall be executed according to the law!"
Upon hearing this, everyone shuddered, instantly losing all sleepiness.
They sized each other up, not daring to miss a single detail.
Suddenly, someone in the crowd cried out.
"Wang Yi, Wang Yi is gone!"
Upon hearing this, the guards quickly pushed through the crowd and found the speaker.
He grabbed the man by the collar and dragged him in front of Chu Yi.
Chu Yi put his hands behind his back, narrowed his eyes, stared straight at him, and asked a question.
"Who is this Wang Yi you're talking about?"
“He’s a shop assistant in our store. He usually does odd jobs in the front hall and serves customers. But he seems very honest to me. He just keeps his head down and works hard. He rarely talks or takes a break. He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would assassinate His Majesty!”
The man frowned, thinking carefully.
Perhaps out of fear, his body trembled like a leaf.
Seeing his pale face and his incoherent speech, Chu Yi couldn't help but feel suspicious and gave a cold snort.
"Do you know that the crime of deceiving the emperor is punishable by death?"
Upon hearing this, the waiter knelt down with a thud, shaking his head repeatedly and arguing with snot and tears streaming down his face.
"Your Majesty, you are wise to judge. Everything I have said is true. I would never dare to deceive Your Majesty!"
Seeing this, a hint of disgust flashed in Chu Yi's eyes. He took a step back imperceptibly, covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, and gave an order to the guard beside him.
"If that's the case, then go check the room where Wang Yi is."
"And Su An too!"
"Such a thing happened in her shop today. Even if she was unaware of it, she is still guilty of negligence and should give me an explanation. Go and summon her here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Fu Zhun's eyes turned cold.
He subconsciously tightened his grip on the handle beside him, and his handsome phoenix eyes glanced at Chu Yi with some hostility, letting out a sarcastic remark.
"Your Majesty is quite something. It was Your Majesty who insisted on staying here, but now that something has happened, you want to shift the blame onto the woman. It's truly despicable."
"Don't think that just because you saved me you can question my decision. I almost lost my life here today. If this matter isn't thoroughly investigated, no one is leaving!"
Chu Yi looked down at Fu Zhun, then abruptly flicked his sleeve and said angrily.
The guards dared not delay and quickly found Su An's room, roughly dragging her out.
Su An twisted her arms restlessly, her face full of dissatisfaction.
He insisted on staying there, but now that something's happened, he's blaming her instead.
It is often said that emperors have always been heartless, and this is absolutely true.
Forced to stand in front of Chu Yi, Su An frowned, rubbing her aching wrist as she protested.
"I am not a criminal. Your Majesty, are you not afraid that the people will be disheartened if you allow your subordinates to treat ordinary people like this?"
"Now that the assassin's whereabouts are unknown, I must be more cautious in my actions. As the saying goes, it is better to kill a thousand innocent people than to let one guilty person go free. I believe Miss Su can understand this."
Chu Yi glanced at her with a half-smile, his tone devoid of any warmth.
Before Su An could reply, a guard hurriedly stepped forward and handed her a stack of letters and an exquisitely patterned accessory with exotic features.
"Your Majesty, we did not find any trace of Wang Yi in his room, but we did find some accessories that Hu people use daily."
"In addition, I also found these letters in Miss Su's room."
What letter?
How could she not know that she had a penchant for collecting letters?
Upon hearing this, Su An's eyelids twitched violently, and a vague sense of unease crept into her heart.
Chu Yi took the letter from the guard, opened it, and examined it carefully.
The further down he looked, the more ashen his face became.
Finally, he tightened his grip, crumpling the letter in his hand, and shook it out, demanding an explanation in a stern voice.
"Su An, Su An, I trusted you so much, yet you secretly colluded with the Northern Barbarian rebels, plotting to take my life! That Wang Yi must also be a pawn you deliberately planted in this shop. Su An, I underestimated you!"
"Now that we have both witnesses and physical evidence, what else do you have to say?"
No, she just took a nap, and they've already thrown a huge accusation at her.
She was even more wronged than Dou E!
Su An was completely bewildered, unsure whether to be angry or amused.
Before she could speak, Fu Zhun took the lead, pushing his wheelchair forward. His eyes were filled with desolation as he confronted her coldly.
"This is absolutely impossible. Miss Su has no grudge against His Majesty, so what reason would she have to commit such a treasonous act?"
"If it's about gold and silver, Miss Su is already incredibly wealthy. Why would she take such a risk to cooperate with others? If it's about power, Miss Su is far removed from the court. Even if His Majesty dies, what benefit could she possibly gain?"
"This is clearly someone deliberately framing Miss Su. Can't Your Majesty see that?"
Every word and phrase resonated deeply with me.
"That's right! That's right!" Su An was almost in tears, nodding frantically at Fu Zhun like a chicken pecking at rice.
Then, she turned her head and looked at Chu Yi as if he were an idiot, and pouted in defense.
“Your Majesty, if you think about it carefully, you will know that this could not have been done by me.”
"Even if we were to concede that I did indeed have some connection with the Northern Hu, the letters we exchanged would certainly have been hidden very well, even if they weren't burned. Why would I have laid them out and deliberately waited for His Majesty's men to search them?"
As she spoke, she felt increasingly justified, and her tone became more assertive.
With her peach blossom eyes narrowed, she looked Chu Yi up and down, and suddenly uttered a doubtful remark.
"No, Your Majesty thinks you can frame me based on just this letter? Could it be that you planned this all along? Could it be that Your Majesty sent someone to put this letter in my room so that you could use this opportunity to murder me? Your Majesty is truly cunning!"
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