Lin Mushen slowly bent his knees and knelt down on the cold, hard ground again.
With such a grand and dramatic display, how could the ministers present not understand the true intentions hidden behind his actions?
At this moment, Lin Mushen forcibly suppressed the burning hatred in his heart. However, this hatred was like a surging tide, constantly crashing against the dam of his reason.
Nevertheless, he did his best to conceal his hatred and not let it show easily, but a chillingly vicious glint flashed uncontrollably deep in his eyes.
"Father, since you are so heartless and unjust, then don't blame your son for being ruthless and retaliating in kind!" Lin Mushen secretly vowed in his heart.
At this moment, Emperor Rongsheng, sitting on the dragon throne, was furious and once again shouted, "Speak! Who exactly ordered you bunch of traitors to assassinate me?"
The assassin, trembling with fear, stammered, "Your Majesty... we were merely following orders and truly do not know who gave the specific instructions..."
Although he was not afraid of death, the thought of being slowly sliced to death sent chills down his spine.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Rongsheng's face grew even more gloomy, and his gaze, like two beams of cold light, shot straight at the assassin.
The assassin was so frightened that he quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze.
Just then, as if suddenly remembering something important, the assassin quickly added, "However... the leader possesses a token."
Upon hearing this, Lin Muheng, who was standing to the side, immediately walked quickly in the direction the assassin was pointing.
Without hesitation, he lifted the covers of the corpses and began searching them carefully. Before long, he indeed found a token on one of the dead.
"It's actually a palace entry token!" Lin Muheng exclaimed in surprise as he raised the token high and presented it to Emperor Rongsheng, who was seated on the dragon throne.
Emperor Rongsheng took the token, looked at it closely, and his brows furrowed tightly.
Finding out the origin of this token is not difficult. We just need to follow the clues and find out who took the token out of the palace. Then the identity of the mastermind behind it will be obvious.
Therefore, Emperor Rongsheng decisively ordered: "Investigate this matter thoroughly immediately!"
Then, Emperor Rongsheng turned to the eunuch, whose face had turned ashen, and threatened him in a chilling tone: "I'm giving you one last chance. If you still refuse to tell the truth, I will exterminate your entire family, ensuring that your whole clan suffers a terrible death!"
The eunuch trembled with fear, knowing he could no longer hide the truth, and confessed: "Your Majesty, all of this was done by Consort Zheng. I did not want to, but my family is under Consort Zheng's control."
He was afraid that the emperor would also utter the words "death by a thousand cuts," so he immediately confessed.
These words shocked the entire court.
Are these two, mother and son, really that impatient?
One poisoned, the other assassinated!
The ministers all looked at the Duke of Zheng.
No wonder he was trying to stall for time.
The Duke of Zheng's face turned pale, then flushed.
The Duke's Mansion is over.
Zheng saw that the imperial concubine's eyes were wide open, as if her eyeballs were about to pop out, and her face was full of anger, which made her originally beautiful face look somewhat distorted and ferocious.
She roared in a fit of rage, "You dog of a servant! When did I ever order you to poison me? Who on earth instructed you to fabricate such lies to frame me!"
Consort Zheng couldn't wait to shout her grievances.
However, when her gaze met Emperor Rongsheng's cold, icy eyes, she felt as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water, and she froze on the spot.
She opened her mouth, but it felt like something was blocking her throat, and she couldn't utter a single word of explanation.
After all, having been with the Emperor for so many years, how could she not understand his thoughts at this moment?
With just that one glance, she could clearly sense that Emperor Rongsheng already knew everything—that she had secretly poisoned him.
No matter what, she racked her brains but couldn't understand why the Emperor was so sure that she was the one who poisoned the body.
Is it really just based on that little eunuch's one-sided account?
"Enough, Consort, continue. Tell me you never poisoned me, nor did you ever harm me." At this moment, Emperor Rongsheng spoke slowly, his tone as calm as water, but the chilling undertones within it sent shivers down one's spine.
Upon hearing this, Consort Zheng trembled violently and immediately kowtowed to apologize, saying urgently, "Your Majesty, I have never committed such a treasonous act! Please, Your Majesty, investigate thoroughly and clear my name!"
She clenched her teeth, secretly calculating that as long as she stubbornly denied it, the emperor wouldn't rashly convict her based solely on the testimony of a eunuch.
Unfortunately, this time she miscalculated.
In fact, Emperor Rongsheng had no intention of thoroughly investigating the matter at all.
For him, the most important thing right now is to get things done quickly and resolve the matter as soon as possible.
Moreover, he knew that Consort Zheng must have already prepared a countermeasure if she dared to do such a thing.
Further investigation would likely only complicate the situation further and make it more difficult to manage.
Therefore, regardless of the truth, he decided to take down Consort Zheng first.
Finding irrefutable evidence is no easy task.
Just as the Taoist priest had pointed out, the medicine used to poison people was actually identified as being related to Lin Mushen.
However, as long as Lin Mushen denies it outright, this case will likely remain a perplexing and unsolved mystery.
Emperor Rongsheng knew that time was of the essence and that he could no longer afford to delay.
He knew in his heart that his physical condition was deteriorating and he could no longer hold on.
Although the poison he had previously been given had been neutralized, its effects had already deeply penetrated his body, eroding his life like a persistent carbuncle.
Emperor Rongsheng was acutely aware that his time was drawing to a close and that he had little time left.
But he absolutely could not let that mother and child have their way!
Today, he is determined to settle everything once and for all.
Only in this way can he find some solace when he goes to the underworld, and not leave with regrets.
His face darkened, his gaze sharpened, and he coldly uttered an imperial decree: "The Imperial Concubine dared to plot against me! Such a crime is intolerable to Heaven and Earth, and she shall be executed! As for Prince Jin, Lin Mushen, he has committed the heinous crime of treason. Effective immediately, he shall be stripped of his princely title, demoted to a commoner, and also sentenced to death!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Consort Zheng erupted hysterically. "Your Majesty! How could you treat me like this? This lowly servant is spouting nonsense."
Emperor Rongsheng said, "You know better than anyone whether it's utter nonsense or not. I'm sparing you face, so don't push your luck any further."
At this moment, Lin Mushen laughed loudly, "Father Emperor is as incompetent and tyrannical as ever, making arbitrary judgments without any evidence. How can someone like you still be worthy of sitting on the throne?"
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