Chapter 43: Quarrel in the Imperial Court
"Brother Song, I didn't... I don't know why they want to slander me..."
Liu Qingyin's face was covered with tears, her face was pale, and she held Song Tingchen's hand tightly. Her slender body trembled helplessly because of crying, "Brother Song, I'm sorry, because of me, Sister Su Tan misunderstood you so deeply, I..."
She closed her eyes tightly and rushed towards the city wall.
Song Tingchen groaned, his lips pale, and he clutched Liu Qingyin's arm tightly.
"You don't need to prove yourself, Qingyin, I believe you."
He covered his wound, his face three times paler than the fresh snow today. He stared at Su Tan without blinking. When she stabbed his heart with the sword, there was actually murderous intent in her eyes.
"Su Tan, no matter what prejudice you have against Qingyin, it ends here."
"She is not a tool for you to vent your anger."
Hearing Song Tingchen's cold tone, Su Tan didn't react much, just glanced at him indifferently.
"Even though she killed your own father, you still trust her like this?"
Liu Qingyin looked at her with red eyes, her fingers almost pinching her to bleed, "Su Tan! Stop slandering me!"
"What good will it do me to kill Uncle Song?"
She cried until her voice trembled and her throat became hoarse. She clutched Song Tingchen's sleeve with a fragile and helpless look on her face. "Brother Tingchen, if Uncle Song hadn't passed away unexpectedly three years ago, I would have married you a long time ago. Am I such a fool to do something that hurts others and does not benefit myself?"
"Believe me, I didn't hurt Uncle Song!"
Song Tingchen gave Liu Qingyin a soothing look, staring at Su Tan with a cold look in his eyes. Suddenly, he sneered, "Su Tan, don't think everyone is as vicious as you are."
At least Qingyin never stabbed his heart with a sword.
Su Tan wiped the blood off the sword with a handkerchief. People always have to pay a price for their excessive trust, just like her in the past and Song Tingchen now. "After all, I have reminded you that even if your family is destroyed in the future, you can't blame me."
Liu Qingyin stared at Su Tan with resentment in her eyes. Just as she was about to say a few more words, she suddenly felt her hand loosen. Song Tingchen had lost too much blood and fainted.
"Brother Song!"
…
After treatment by the imperial physician, Song Tingchen's wound had been bandaged.
Inside the Purple Palace, the imperial physician wiped the sweat from his face. "Your Majesty, the sword strike didn't hit any vital points. General Song's sudden collapse was due to excessive blood loss. You must take good care of yourself for the next few days. Avoid contact with water and avoid disturbing the wound."
"It's just that the wound on my hand was caused by an evil spirit. I am incompetent. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Emperor Qinglong nodded and said to the imperial physician, "I've troubled you to go to the Zhenbei General's Mansion several times over the past few days to treat Mr. Song."
The doctor leaned forward and stepped back, "Yes."
Emperor Qinglong flipped through the memorial in his hand nonchalantly. His eyes swept over the people in the Purple Palace, and he twitched his lips. "Didn't I send Song Qing and the Su family's daughter to exterminate the harmful water ghost in Sanzhi River? How come Song Qing was not only injured by the evil spirit, but also stabbed in the heart with a sword?"
Liu Qingyin's eyes rolled, and she immediately knelt down, tears in her eyes, and pointed her trembling fingers directly at Su Tan, "Your Majesty, it's her!"
"The guards at the palace gate all saw it. It was Su Tan who did it!"
She gritted her teeth, her eyes revealing resentment and hatred, yet also a hint of pride. Severely injuring an imperial official would cost Su Tan his life, even if he didn't die. "General Song is a hero who stood tall and proud in defending his country, yet Su Tan, driven by his own selfish desires, murdered him. He's truly vicious and cruel, unworthy of being a human being!"
"Yeah?"
Emperor Qinglong's voice rang out, but he didn't listen to Liu Qingyin's words. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Prime Minister Jiang who was standing beside him. "Prime Minister Jiang, is this what she said?"
Prime Minister Jiang's eyes gleamed with a faint light. "Your Majesty, I did see Miss Su stabbing General Song, but whether it was out of selfish desire or some other reason, I dare not speculate."
Liu Qingyin lowered her head, not daring to look directly at the emperor. She bit her lip and said, "No matter how serious the reason is, I cannot harm an official appointed by the imperial court!"
Tears welled up on her face as she looked at Su Tan with deep resentment in her eyes. "Su Tan, if you dare to stab General Song today, will you dare to stab His Majesty tomorrow?"
"Duke Dingguo's family is full of loyal and brave people. How could they raise a scum like you?"
Emperor Qinglong looked at Su Tan quietly with deep eyes. There seemed to be turbulent waves surging in his eyes, but also seemed to be calm and peaceful. "Su Tan, don't you plan to explain yourself?"
Su Tan's gaze slowly penetrated into Liu Qingyin's eyes.
Since she dared to attack Song Tingchen at the palace gate, she was already prepared to face Emperor Qinglong.
Liu Qingyin's plan to kill someone with a borrowed knife is likely to fail.
Su Tan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I'd have to ask Miss Liu why I attacked General Song."
"What's it got to do with me?" Liu Qingyin's eyebrows twitched, her eyes suddenly becoming sinister, and she squeezed out a few words from between her teeth, "I'm not as heartless as you, and I didn't ask you to kill anyone!"
Su Tan raised the corners of his lips, his eyes calm and unwavering, his gaze fixed only on Liu Qingyin's veiled face. "Excuse me, Miss Liu, is that horrific scar on your face caused by a water ghost in the Sanzhi River?"
"Just now, the imperial physician said that the wound on General Song's hand was caused by an evil spirit."
Liu Qingyin frowned and glared at Su Tan fiercely, "What does this have to do with you hurting General Song? Stop talking about other things here."
Su Tan smiled and said, "Since the water from the Sanzhi River alone could have injured Miss Liu and General Song so severely, and I've been battling that water ghost for so long, my mind has been disturbed, so it's no wonder that it attacked General Song."
"As for what you said about me assassinating the emperor someday—"
Su Tan paused, his eyebrows raised. "Your Majesty is a true dragon emperor, blessed with great fortune. I just stepped into the Purple Palace, and the foul aura that lingered around me suddenly dissipated."
"How could he be disturbed by evil spirits and do something to harm the emperor?"
"Don't you think that the palace, which is protected by the Emperor's dragon energy, can't even dispel the slightest evil spirit?"
Liu Qingyin gnashed her teeth in hatred. Su Tan's words were so vicious. She said that if she dared to answer no, she would probably be left dead in the wilderness one day.
She pinched her palm and said bitterly, "Miss Su is very eloquent, so whatever you say is what you mean!"
"You said you were troubled by an evil spirit, so you attacked General Song. What can I do?"
Emperor Qinglong took a sip of the ginseng tea on the table and glanced in Su Tan's direction. "The water ghosts in the Sanzhi River are really difficult to deal with. It's already very difficult for you and Song Qing to come back alive."
Su Tan did not comment.
Emperor Qinglong put down the teacup in his hand. "But you just said that besides the evil spirit's invasion, your attack on Song Qing was also related to Liu Qingyin. What's going on?"
Liu Qingyin's heart skipped a beat.
Sure enough, the next moment, Su Tan looked over with a half-smile in his eyes.
She repeated to Emperor Qinglong what she had said to Prime Minister Jiang before, and concluded, "I believe General Song must have told Miss Liu how dangerous this trip was before he left. Why did you ignore his advice and insist on going your own way, giving that water ghost an opportunity to take advantage of you?"
Liu Qingyin gritted her teeth, "Your Majesty, this is just what the Su Tan family says!"
"She is jealous of me, so she deliberately said such things to make me the target of public criticism!"
Cui Wan, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke up, rolling her eyes. "That's right, that's right. Junior Sister framed you, and even the water ghost that had been fighting her was willing to join forces with her to harm you. Miss Liu is so detestable."
"you--"
Liu Qingyin had tears in her eyes and she almost fainted from anger. This was the first time she felt like she couldn't defend herself. How could she know what was wrong with that water ghost!
She stared intently at the floor tiles beneath her feet, and suddenly said, "Your Majesty, the two of them are singing the same tune, and this subject has nothing to say."
"But the most urgent thing is to get rid of the harmful water ghost."
She stared at Su Tan gravely, a sinister glint suddenly appearing in her eyes. "Duke Dingguo's family is full of loyal and brave men. Miss Su is the descendant of a loyal minister and a good general. She should sacrifice her life for the people of Dongchu."
"That water ghost is doing evil. If Miss Su sacrifices her life, she will definitely be able to kill the water ghost on the spot."
Su Tan put her in a situation where everyone would hate her, so she would return it intact!
If Su Tan's death can bring peace to the people of the entire city, then this bitch will have no choice!
Prime Minister Jiang lowered his head.
If Su Tan's death could ensure the safety of his wife and daughter, that would be perfect.
But—"Does Miss Su have that ability?"
Prime Minister Jiang asked this.
Without waiting for Su Tan to answer, Liu Qingyin immediately said, "Of course not. She said before that if she hadn't given the water ghost an opportunity, she would have killed it long ago."
"It's only been a short time!"
Su Tan knows too much. If he lets this person continue to live in the world, he will sooner or later become a serious problem and destroy everything that is about to be within his grasp.
Whether for himself or for others, Su Tan must die.
Emperor Qinglong's scrutinizing gaze fell on Su Tan, "Is that so?"
"Your Majesty, Qingyin is young and ignorant, and is just talking nonsense."
Song Tingchen walked into the Zichen Palace with a pale face, and looked at Liu Qingyin with deep and complicated eyes.
He never thought that Liu Qingyin would easily let Su Tan die in front of the emperor today.
Liu Qingyin was startled. How come Song Tingchen woke up so quickly?
She clutched the handkerchief tightly in her hand, but she didn't care about much else. She only thought about not letting the effort go to waste. "Brother Song——"
Song Tingchen frowned and frowned at her for the first time, interrupting her and saying, "Killing the water ghost is not as easy as you think!"
Song Tingchen knelt on the ground and bowed to Emperor Qinglong, saying, "Your Majesty, that water ghost is extremely vicious. Even if Su Tan sacrificed his life, it would be of no use."
Cui Wan snorted. She hadn't expected Song Tingchen to speak human language. She glanced at Liu Qingyin with disgust and said, "Fool, why do you think my junior sister didn't bring me along when she was going to get rid of the water ghost this time?"
"It's just that she had already prepared to die with the water ghost, but it's a pity that you messed it up."
"Jiang Nian is filled with deep resentment, and the waters of the Sanzhi River can provide her with countless Yin energy. Not to mention my junior sister, even if all the talented people in the capital were combined, they would just become a dish for that thing."
Cui Wan knelt on the ground and said to Emperor Qinglong, "If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you can issue an imperial decree to have all the talented people in the capital rush to the Sanzhi River to kill the water ghost. If we die, it will bring peace to the people of the capital, and it will be a worthy death."
Emperor Qinglong flipped open the memorial in his hand, the sound of wind and snow rustling in his ears. "What if you are no match for that water ghost?"
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