Chapter 76: Witnesses and evidence, everyone is shocked (Part 2)
General Li stepped forward, cradling a yellowed scroll of secret letters in both hands, his fingertips rubbing the edges—the very same documents he had risked his life to seize from Northern Di spies, now finally seeing the light of day. "Your Majesty, these are secret letters between Prime Minister Shen and the Northern Di leader. Look at the date—Autumn of the 13th year of Yong'an, exactly one month before General Yun noticed Prime Minister Shen's unusual behavior and prepared to submit a memorial!"
The eunuch presented the secret letter to the emperor. The moment it unfolded, a chill seemed to settle on the bright yellow dragon-shaped desk. The words, "I am willing to exchange the defense map of Yanmen Pass for the Northern Di's assistance. Upon completion, I will cede three cities as a token of my gratitude," were written so powerfully that they could be seen through the paper. Prime Minister Shen's distinctive "hook-tail" brushstrokes were particularly striking on the word "three cities," and were identical to his usual handwriting on memorials.
"Impossible!" Prime Minister Shen suddenly got up from the ground and rushed to the dragon table, but was held down by the guards. His nails scratched two white marks on the gold brick. "This letter is a forgery! They imitated my handwriting! Your Majesty, please be careful!"
"Whether it's a forgery or not, we'll know once we verify it." Yun Zhi's voice was as cool as ice, and she turned her gaze outside the palace. "Your Majesty, I have another witness who can attest to the authenticity of this secret letter—Shen Fu, the former steward of the Shen family."
As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man in a coarse cloth shorts walked quickly into the hall, slamming his knees on the gold bricks. His voice trembled with years of suppression: "This old servant Shen Fu pays homage to Your Majesty! This old servant was the Shen family's housekeeper in the past. I saw Prime Minister Shen write this secret letter with my own eyes, and I also personally handed the letter to the spy from Beidi!"
Prime Minister Shen's pupils suddenly contracted, as if he had seen a ghost: "Shen Fu! Didn't you die of illness three years ago? Why are you here!"
"Died of illness?" Shen Fu sneered, pulling out a scarred left arm from his bosom. "I was nearly killed by the men sent by Prime Minister Shen! This scar is the proof! Back then, I discovered his collaborating secrets with the enemy. Fearing I would reveal it, he forged a document claiming I had died of illness and sent people to hunt me down. Fortunately, I was saved by an old member of the Yun family, and I'm still alive today!"
The whole hall was in an uproar again! The officials looked at the deep scars on Shen Fu's arms, and then looked at Prime Minister Shen's pale face. How could they not understand? This was not a forgery. It was clearly Prime Minister Shen who tried to silence the witness but failed, and left behind a living witness!
The emperor's fingers dug deep marks on the armrests of the dragon throne, and his voice was so cold it could freeze the air: "Chen Fu, what else do you know? Reveal them one by one!"
"Yes!" Shen Fu took a deep breath, his eyes swept over the trembling Shen Qingyue, and he said word by word, "This old servant also knows that Miss Shen's 'fall off the cliff' was fake! It was Prime Minister Shen who was afraid that General Yun would find out the truth, so he deliberately let Miss Shen fake her death and escape, hiding in a villa on the outskirts of the city! This old servant also helped deliver clothes and food, and this old servant still remembers the address of that villa!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Shen Qingyue stood up suddenly, her pomegranate-red skirt sweeping across the corner of the table, knocking a jade cup to the ground. "I was clearly pushed off the cliff by someone from the Yun family, and was fortunately rescued by a master! You, a slave, must have been bribed by Yun Zhi to deliberately slander me!"
Her voice was sharp, having lost its former gentleness. The panic in her eyes was like spilled ink, no longer concealable. Xiao Jin's heart sank as he looked at her like this. He remembered Yun Zhi's words in the enclosure, "Miss Shen asked about the study," and Shen Qingyue's "cold" during the spring search. Those details he had overlooked now pierced his heart like needles.
"Whether it's slander or not, I have evidence." Shen Fu pulled out a small piece of silk embroidered with orchid patterns from his bosom. "Your Majesty, this is a piece of skirt that Miss Shen accidentally left in my carriage when she was hiding in the other courtyard. The moon-white dress Miss Shen wore back then had this orchid pattern embroidered on the hem, exactly the same as the hairpin pattern she's wearing today!"
The eunuch presented the silk fragment to the emperor and then handed it to Xiao Jin. Xiao Jin took the fragment, his fingertips touched the rough cloth, and then looked at the red gold and kingfisher feather hairpin on Shen Qingyue's head. The orchid pattern on the hairpin pendant was exactly the same as the pattern on the fragment!
"And this!" Shen Fu pulled out another folded piece of letter paper. "This is the letter Miss Shen wrote to Prime Minister Shen in the other courtyard. It says, 'The old members of the Yun family are still pursuing us and need to be eliminated as soon as possible.' The handwriting is the same as the letters Miss Shen usually writes to the prince. Your Majesty, please compare them!"
This time, Shen Qingyue could no longer stand. She stumbled back, grasping the corner of the table beside her, her fingertips digging into the surface, blood seeping from between her nails. She looked at the letter, the hatred in Shen Fu's eyes, the inquiring gazes of the officials, and felt her world spinning. The "soft white moonlight" she had carefully disguised for three years was about to be destroyed by a former housekeeper!
"Qingyue..." Xiao Jin's voice trembled slightly, even though he himself was unaware of it. "Is what he said... true? Didn't you fall off the cliff that year?"
Shen Qingyue suddenly raised her head and looked at Xiao Jin, her eyes full of pleading: "Prince, please believe me! I didn't do it! They framed me! It was Yun Zhi, that witch, who teamed up with these people to harm me and my father!"
She wanted to pounce on Xiao Jin, but was interrupted by Yun Zhi's cold voice: "Miss Shen, you said that someone from the Yun family pushed you off the cliff, but the yamen runners who were in charge of the search and rescue said that there were only traces of a fight at the bottom of the cliff, no traces of your blood, and no fragments of your clothing. Instead, in the direction you mentioned 'the expert who saved you,' we found the tracks of a carriage from the Shen family's villa."
Yun Zhi raised her hand, motioning Xie Heng forward. Xie Heng, dressed in the official uniform of the Imperial Hospital, entered the hall carrying a medicine chest. He opened the chest, revealing a small porcelain bottle. "Your Majesty, this is the medicine bottle I found near the suburban courtyard after Miss Shen's 'fall off a cliff.' The remaining drug in the bottle is 'Fake Death Powder,' which, upon consumption, can cause a person to enter a state of suspended animation. This perfectly aligns with Miss Shen's description of 'help from a master.'"
"Fake Death Powder!" The emperor slammed the dragon table so hard that the teacups on it jumped up. "Shen Qingyue! How dare you use fake death to deceive everyone and help your father frame Zhongliang!"
Shen Qingyue's body completely went limp. If she hadn't been holding onto the corner of the table, she would have collapsed to the ground. She looked at the porcelain bottle in Xie Heng's hand, the letter in Shen Fu's hand, the secret letter in the hands of the three generals, and then at the emperor's furious face. She knew she could no longer argue - all the evidence pointed to her and the Shen family. Her "weak" mask was torn to pieces at this moment!
Prime Minister Shen slumped to the ground, his purple robes soaked with cold sweat, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word. He looked at everything before him, watching the power and reputation he had painstakingly cultivated vanish in the face of this pile of irrefutable evidence. He felt his vision go black and he almost fainted.
"Your Majesty!" General Li spoke again, his voice filled with grief and indignation. "When General Yun learned that Prime Minister Shen was collaborating with the enemy, he wanted to present the evidence to Your Majesty, but Prime Minister Shen got there first and slandered General Yun! All 173 members of the Yun family died unjustly! This old slave and I managed to escape, hiding our identities for three years, just to clear the Yun family's name today! I implore Your Majesty to severely punish Prime Minister Shen and his daughter, restore the Yun family's innocence, and restore justice to the world!"
The three generals kowtowed in unison, their foreheads clashing against the gold bricks with a dull thud. "Your Majesty, I beg you to punish us severely! Restore the innocence of the Yun family!"
"Punish severely! Clear the name of the Yun family!" The former members of the Yun family outside the hall and the upright officials who rushed over after hearing the news also shouted, and their voices were so loud that the beams and pillars of the Taihe Hall seemed to tremble.
The emperor looked at the cheers in the hall, the pile of hard evidence in his hands, and the miserable state of Prime Minister Shen and his daughter. His face turned pale and he gritted his teeth and said, "Prime Minister Shen framed loyal officials and colluded with the enemy for treason. His crimes are extremely heinous! Shen Qingyue collaborated with her father to fake her own death and deceive the emperor, aiding and abetting the tyrant. Her crimes are equally unforgivable! Come!"
"I'm here!" The commander of the guards stepped forward and bowed to receive orders.
"Capture Prime Minister Shen and Shen Qingyue and throw them into the Sky Prison! Seal off the Shen Mansion immediately and thoroughly investigate all the Shen family's accomplices. Don't let any of them go!" The emperor's voice echoed in the Hall of Supreme Harmony with thunderous fury.
The guards immediately stepped forward and lifted up the limp Shen Qingyue and Prime Minister Shen. Shen Qingyue struggled, looking at Xiao Jin, her voice filled with tears: "Prince! Save me! I was forced by my father! I didn't mean to do this! Please save me!"
Xiao Jin stood there, his body frozen as stone. He watched Shen Qingyue being dragged by the guards, saw her makeup smudged, saw the pleading and madness in her eyes, and then thought back to the three years of care he had given her, the torture he had given Yun Zhi, and the ruthlessness he had shown towards the Yun family...
An indescribable wave of regret and panic washed over him like a tide. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Only now did he realize that the "white moonlight" he had protected for three years was actually a vicious and cruel person; the "daughter of a guilty minister" he had hated for three years was actually a family wronged; he had destroyed with his own hands the true love he once might have had; what he had firmly believed in was actually a complete lie!
Yun Zhi looked at the Shen father and daughter being dragged away, at Xiao Jin frozen in place, at the shocked officials in the hall. Her eyes held no trace of joy, only a cold calm. She slowly knelt and kowtowed before the emperor, her voice clear and firm: "Your Majesty, the Shen father and daughter have been apprehended, but the injustice of the Yun family remains unresolved. The officer who oversaw the execution of the Yun family was a disciple of Prime Minister Shen. He deliberately destroyed the evidence that exonerated the Yun family. I implore Your Majesty to conduct a thorough investigation and bring justice to all 173 members of the Yun family!"
The emperor looked at the woman before him, dressed in thin, plain clothes but standing tall with her back straight, and a trace of admiration welled up in his heart. He nodded and said, "Your request is granted! I will investigate thoroughly and clear the Yun family's name completely!"
All eyes in the hall were focused on Yun Zhi—some with admiration, some with sympathy, some with guilt. But Yun Zhi looked at no one else. Her gaze fell on the sky outside the hall. There, the dark clouds had dispersed, revealing a faint ray of light. It was a perfect reflection of the Yun family's current situation, a glimmer of hope finally emerging from the darkness.
But this hope comes too late and is too heavy.
Xiao Jin remained frozen in place, his fingers unconsciously clenched, his nails digging deep into his palms. He stared at Yun Zhi's back, the wrinkles on her plain dress, the scattered hair on her forehead from kowtows, and suddenly remembered Yun Zhi three years ago, in her wedding dress, looking at him with eyes full of anticipation—back then, with a light in her eyes, and him in her heart.
But now, that light has gone out, and that feeling has been crushed by his own hands.
His heart felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand, the pain was so severe that he could hardly breathe. He finally realized that the mistake he had made was heavier than a mountain, deeper than the ocean, and could never be made up for.
At this moment, Shen Qingyue was being dragged out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony by the guards. She suddenly broke free, looked back into the hall, and shouted hoarsely: "Xiao Jin! You can't do this to me! I faked my death for three years for you! I did so much for my father for you! How could you watch me get caught! That bitch Yun Zhi stole your heart, why are you still helping her!"
Her roar echoed in the palace road, but it did not make Xiao Jin look back.
Inside the hall, Yun Zhi slowly stood up, her gaze calmly sweeping across the room. A long-simmering storm of evidence finally came to a close in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and the trial of the Shen father and daughter had only just begun.
But no one noticed that Xiao Jin's face had turned as pale as paper. When he looked at Yun Zhi, his eyes were filled with unprecedented panic and regret for the first time - he vaguely felt that what he had lost was far more than he had imagined.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
