Mo Junqian exclaimed in surprise, "How can this be...?"
Before he could even utter the words of refusal, the longsword vibrated violently, and Mo Junqian nearly dropped it in pain.
"...Alright, thank you for your appreciation, senior."
"That's more like it."
Qinghe raised an eyebrow as he listened to their conversation, finding the dragon quite interesting.
Mo Junqian: "Could you please tell me your name, senior?"
The dragon said indifferently, "I was born of heaven and earth, so I don't have a name."
Mo Junqian himself was terrible at naming things, so he looked helplessly at Qinghe.
Qinghe pondered for a moment: "How about calling it the Dragon's Roar Sword?"
Jiaolong: "Vulgar, no thanks."
Qinghe: "Long Yu".
Dragon: "Sissy, no way."
Qinghe: "Dragon's Lair".
Dragon: "Awkward, no."
Qinghe: "..."
She retracted her thought that the dragon was interesting.
A moment later, Qinghe said, "The last one is Long Batian."
This time, the dragon didn't object: "This one is great, it exudes domineering aura, let's take it!"
Little did it know how much of a disliked name it was in modern times.
Qinghe mentally gave himself a thumbs up for his wicked sense of humor.
Having been exposed by this incident, Mo Zhanli should first leave the palace to discuss plans with Li Jiang and the others.
After resting for a while, the two headed towards the palace gate.
Along the way, they found that there were very few people in the palace than before, and even the patrolling guards were nowhere to be found.
Qinghe stopped a maid and asked her what had happened. She learned that two days had passed since they were imprisoned in the secret dungeon. Because of the poisoning incident in the capital, Mo Zhanli was going to set up an altar at Lingyun Temple outside the palace today to pray to the heavens for good weather and a peaceful life for the people of Tianqi Kingdom. All the palace servants went with him.
Qinghe contacted Li Jiang in the Spirit Sea and learned that they had also gone to Lingyun Temple.
Qinghe said to Mojunqian, "Let's go and see what's going on."
Mo Junqian: "Okay."
*
Three hundred li northeast of the capital, there is a mountain peak, and Lingyun Temple is built on the mountain.
The temple is surrounded by mountains on three sides, standing halfway up the mountainside. The mountain mist is ethereal, and the hillsides are covered with blooming roses, making it a beautiful sight to behold.
People from the capital city would come here to pray during festivals. There was a thick southern locust tree in the temple, covered with red silk ribbons for making wishes, which was quite a sight.
At this moment, Li Jiang and the other two standing under the tree were impatiently waiting for the sacrificial ceremony to begin.
Not only them, but the temple was filled with people from the capital. The crowd made the already hot air even more sweltering, and as the wait went on, people naturally became irritable.
Mu Dong sat on a pile of bricks under the locust tree, stamping his feet and complaining, "Why hasn't it started yet? We've been waiting for two hours already. If we wait any longer, I'll melt away."
Li Jiang clutched her chest and said, "You've waited so long already, a little longer won't make a difference."
Mu Dong thought about it and agreed. He jumped off the brick and quietly whispered in Li Jiang's ear, "Do we really have to do this?"
Li Jiang glanced at him: "Of course."
Mu Dong hesitated for a moment: "No matter what, she is still a royal concubine. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to expose her in public?"
Li Jiang looked at him teasingly: "I didn't realize you were so chivalrous. I wonder if the people she poisoned would feel any chivalry. Besides, they have the right to know who poisoned them."
With his reasoning sound and evidence presented, Mu Dong fell silent.
Li Jiang's certainty was not without evidence; she not only had evidence but also a witness: Consort Cheng's younger brother, He Si.
As luck would have it, after losing contact with Qinghe that day, he went to Luofan to inquire about Qinghe's whereabouts.
Ke Luofan didn't know either, so he went into the palace to look for it himself. Unexpectedly, he overheard Mo Zhanli talking to a man in black. Unfortunately, he didn't hear any secrets, but he was discovered by the man in black. The man in black was more powerful than him. He thought he would be killed, but the man in black didn't use his full strength. He hit him once and disappeared. Li Jiang only suffered minor injuries.
After returning to the inn, He Si came to find him. He said that he had watched his sister walk step by step into the abyss over the years, and he felt very sorry for her. However, he did not want her to continue to harm people, so he simply told Li Jiang everything. He asked Li Jiang to expose Consort Cheng's conspiracy during today's sacrificial ceremony so that his sister could finally wake up and stop going on.
In fact, even without He Si, Li Jiang would have done the same thing. After all, it involved human lives, and his upright character, cultivated over so many years in the Qingyun Sect, did not allow him to turn a blind eye to this.
As the sun rose higher, just when Mu Dong was about to give up, Mo Zhanli finally appeared.
Mo Zhanli walked ahead, surrounded by a group of officials and monks, full of vigor. Although he concealed it well, Li Jiang could still detect a hint of arrogance in his footsteps.
Consort Cheng stood beside him, looking listless. Her face was covered in thick rouge, but it was still clear that she was not in good health.
Just as Mo Zhanli reached the altar and was about to launch into a grand speech, an untimely voice suddenly rang in everyone's ears—
"Consort Cheng has poisoned people, committed countless evil deeds, and is utterly devoid of conscience. We beg Your Majesty to make a wise judgment and give the people justice!"
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged bewildered glances, their gazes ultimately focusing on Li Jiang, who had spoken, wondering what he meant by such a statement.
Li Jiang didn't want to disrupt the ceremony, but it was indeed a good opportunity, and with so many people in front of him, he couldn't refuse even if he wanted to.
Upon hearing this, Mo Zhanli's face darkened. He shouted, "How dare you speak such arrogant words and slander my concubine!"
Li Jiang calmly said, "You haven't even heard me explain why, how do you know I'm slandering you? Why are you so eager to label me? Could it be that the king was also aware of the poisoning?"
Perhaps it was the first time someone had challenged his imperial authority, Mo Zhanli was furious and his hand trembled as he pointed at Li Jiang.
In contrast, Consort Cheng appeared much calmer, perhaps because she had long anticipated this day and was mentally prepared.
The officials watching from the sidelines quickly comforted Mo Zhanli: "Your Majesty, do not be angry. Since this young master speaks so righteously, why not listen to him? If we can find the culprit who poisoned us, it will be a meritorious deed."
Mo Zhanli had long known that the murderer was Consort Cheng, and he also knew that Consort Cheng was no different from a madwoman now. If this matter were confirmed today, there was no guarantee that she wouldn't reveal all her past deeds. He didn't want to get involved in this matter, but now that Li Jiang had stirred things up, he was in a difficult position.
"Alright, then tell me."
Everyone held their breath and waited, and then Li Jiang explained the whole story clearly.
After hearing this, everyone present was stunned. They looked at Consort Cheng with a completely different expression. They never expected that Consort Cheng, who was so gentle and kind, was so despicable behind the scenes.
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