Chapter 57: Secrets of the Study, Shocking Discovery
Just as Xie Heng's dagger was pressed against the throat of the first guard who rushed up, there was a sudden "click" sound from the floor of the study - the floor tile under Yun Zhi's feet slowly sank, revealing a dark crack, and a pungent smell of smoke instantly filled the air.
"It's smoke! Hold your breath!" Xie Heng reacted very quickly. He pulled Yun Zhi over and protected her behind the bookshelf. At the same time, he took out two breathable medicine bags from his arms, put one in his mouth, and handed the other to her.
Yun Zhi bit the medicine sachet, but her eyes did not leave the desk - just now, in a hurry, she piled all the secret letters and documents she found on the table. Now the smell of smoke was getting stronger and stronger. If she didn't leave, these evidences would be destroyed by the guards!
"Get the evidence first!" Yun Zhi broke free from Xie Heng's hand and rushed back to the desk, shoving the secret letter and documents into her arms. Just then, her fingertips touched a cold iron box hidden in the bottom drawer of the desk, locked with a small copper lock.
"There's something else!" Yun Zhi didn't have time to think about it. She grabbed the iron box and stuffed it into her sleeve, then turned and ran out. Xie Heng had already dealt with three guards, but more guards rushed in from outside, waving their long swords, forcing him to retreat step by step.
"Go! Go through the window!" Xie Heng shouted at Yun Zhi, and at the same time kicked away the guards around him to clear a path for her.
Yun Zhi rushed to the window and pushed it open with force. Outside was the embassy's backyard. The wall was not high, but two guards were patrolling. She glanced back at Xie Heng, who was surrounded by four guards. He had several wounds on his body, and blood had stained his moon-white robe red.
"Thank you, brother!" Yun Zhi shouted anxiously.
"Don't worry about me! Run first!" Xie Heng forced the guards back with a sword, his voice panting, "Evidence is more important than anything else! You must take the evidence out and avenge the Yun family!"
Yun Zhi gritted her teeth, knowing now was not the time to hesitate. She climbed onto the windowsill and leaped down. Her knees gave way as she landed, and she nearly fell. Fortunately, she managed to grab onto the wall in time. The patrolling guard had spotted her and rushed over, shouting, "Don't let her get away!"
Yun Zhi didn't dare look back. Clutching the evidence in her arms, she ran desperately along the backyard wall. She remembered observing a dog hole in the northwest corner of the backyard, large enough for her to escape. But after a few steps, she heard the sound of an arrow piercing the air behind her. She quickly ducked, but the arrow grazed her shoulder and lodged in the wall.
At this moment, Xie Heng's muffled groan suddenly came from the study. Yun Zhi's heart tightened, but she didn't dare to look back - she knew that only by escaping with the evidence would Xie Heng's sacrifice not be in vain.
Finally, she saw the dog hole. The guards were already behind her, so she didn't hesitate, lying on the ground and crawling through the dog hole. The dog hole was narrow, scratching her arms painfully, and the evidence in her arms made her chest feel tight, but she didn't dare stop, crawling forward with all her strength.
After crawling out of the dog hole, there was a secluded alley outside. Yun Zhi stood up and just wanted to take a breath when she heard a familiar voice behind her: "Yun Zhi! Here!"
It was Liu Zhong! He was waiting at the alley entrance with two of his former subordinates, leading two horses. Before Xie Heng set out, he had arranged for Liu Zhong to meet him outside the embassy, just in case.
"Hurry up and get on the horse!" Liu Zhong helped Yun Zhi onto the horse's back and then climbed on himself. "Where's Doctor Xie? Didn't he come out with you?"
"He's still inside, surrounded by guards!" Yun Zhi choked up and looked back towards the embassy, "We can't leave him behind!"
"Going back now would mean death!" Liu Zhong grabbed the reins and said firmly, "Doctor Xie will definitely find a way to escape. Let's get the evidence to a safe place first, and then find a way to save him!"
Yun Zhi knew Liu Zhong was right, but her heart ached like a knife. She clutched the evidence in her arms, stared at the embassy, and vowed to herself: "Brother Xie, you must be safe. I will definitely rescue you!"
The horses galloped away, quickly leaving the alley and heading for the dilapidated temple on the outskirts of Beijing. Upon reaching the temple, Liu Zhong immediately closed the door and lit a torch. Yun Zhi impatiently pulled the secret letter and documents from her bosom, placed them on the ground, and flipped through them one by one in the light of the torch.
The first secret letter was from Prime Minister Shen to Batu, dated three years ago—exactly one month before the Yun family was raided. It read, "Yun Xiao has learned of the rations issue and must be eliminated as soon as possible. Qingyue has obtained the Yun family's defense map and can forge a letter of treason to pin the blame on the Yun family."
"It's Prime Minister Shen! It's really him!" Yun Zhi's hands were shaking, tears falling on the secret letter, blurring the words, "My father was framed by him! He not only wants my father's life, but also wants the entire Yun family executed!"
Liu Zhong also came over and looked at the secret letter, shaking with anger: "This old fox! I felt that something was wrong with the Yun family's case back then, but I didn't expect him to be so cruel!"
Yun Zhi continued to look through other secret letters, which were full of evidence of collusion between Prime Minister Shen and Batu - there were documents promising to cede three border cities, the time and place agreed upon for a surprise attack on the Daqi military camp, and accounts of Prime Minister Shen using his power to secretly sell military rations to the enemy country!
"Collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country! How dare he do that!" Yun Zhi's voice was filled with raging anger as she slammed the secret letter to the ground. "I must hand this evidence to the Emperor and have him chop Prime Minister Shen into pieces!"
At this moment, she remembered the iron box in her sleeve. She took it out, used Liu Zhong's dagger to pry open the copper lock, and opened it. Inside was not a secret letter, but a yellowed diary with the words "Shen Qingyue" written on the cover!
"It's Shen Qingyue's diary!" Yun Zhi's heart began to beat wildly, and she opened the diary tremblingly.
The contents of the diary completely overturned everyone's cognition——
"Today, I heard my father say that he was going to frame Yun Xiao for collaborating with the enemy, but I felt nothing. Yun Xiao blocked my father's path, and also blocked my path to marrying Xiao Jin. Damn it."
"The plan of falling off the cliff is a brilliant one. It will not only allow me to escape, but also make Xiao Jin hate the Yun family to the core. When my father takes power, I will return to the capital and I will be Xiao Jin's only wife."
"Although Batu is crude, he is a helper to my father. Once the task is accomplished, it will not be too late to get rid of him."
"Yun Zhi? She's just a plaything between Xiao Jin and me. Her child? It's better for her to die so she won't get in the way in the future."
Every word was like a knife, piercing Yun Zhi's heart. She had always thought that Shen Qingyue was innocent and was implicated, but she never expected that she was a participant in all this conspiracy, an accomplice in the murder of her father and her child!
"Shen Qingyue..." Yun Zhi's voice was icy cold, filled with tearful determination. She clutched the diary tightly in her hand, her knuckles turning white. "You deserve to die, just like your father!"
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves and voices suddenly came from outside the dilapidated temple: "Search carefully! The Prime Minister has ordered that Yun Zhi must be found and the evidence recovered!"
It was Prime Minister Shen’s men who were chasing us!
Liu Zhong immediately blew out the torch and lowered his voice: "Miss, let's go out the back door and hide in the cave in the back mountain!"
Yun Zhi nodded, stuffed the secret letter and diary back into her arms, and followed Liu Zhong out the back door. But her steps were resolute—she knew that she now held the evidence of Prime Minister Shen and Shen Qingyue's crimes. As long as she could survive, she could avenge the Yun family and clear her father's name!
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