Looking at those very similar facial features.
Yuan Gui was a little dazed. He seemed to see the face that would appear before his eyes every time he woke up in his dreams at midnight.
He actually has a secret...
He kept this secret in his heart for more than 30 years and never told anyone about it.
That year he went to Beijing to take the imperial examination. As he came from a poor family, he was beaten and bullied by the children from rich families.
Fortunately, a woman spoke up to protect him. After a quick glance that day, there was a person living in his heart.
Unfortunately, it was three years later when they met again, and the woman had already married.
He was unwilling to accept this. Who on earth could have the company of such a beautiful woman?
It was not until he heard that although the man was a warrior, he had never taken a concubine that he was able to suppress his resentment.
But this unwillingness did not dissipate with the passage of time. Instead, it became stronger and stronger. Jealousy constantly eroded his rationality until...
That year, Daqi and Xiyue fought a great war, and Li Da led his troops to the battle. She brought her children back to her hometown to worship their ancestors, but did not bring many guards.
He knew that this might be his only chance!
He accepted Xiyue's bribe and leaked some information to them. In exchange, he asked Xiyue to send someone to kidnap her.
As for those children? Humph! What does it have to do with him? ! Unexpectedly, the Xiyue people suddenly changed their minds and wanted to take them away as well to threaten Li Da!
What was even more unexpected was that it actually cost her life.
The man slowly approached and then knelt on the ground, "Li Wanming pays respect to His Majesty!"
Hearing this name, many old officials exclaimed.
"He is actually the youngest son of the Marquis of Zhenxi?!"
"I met Madam Li several times many years ago. They are exactly like her."
…
Li Wanming spoke of the past with an indignant tone.
"Your Majesty, I heard with my own ears from the Xiyue soldiers that it was Deputy Envoy Yuan Gui who leaked the news to them!"
"You're lying!"
Yuan Gui calmed his mind and regained his sanity.
Hearing this, he subconsciously refuted.
"Your Majesty, if this man is really the son of the Marquis of Zhenxi, why hasn't he shown up and returned home in all these years?"
He pointed at Li Wanming and said, "As soon as he appeared, he slandered important officials in the court. Your Majesty, this person's identity is really suspicious!"
Hearing this, many ministers nodded secretly.
But some people also said frankly that the man looked similar to Mrs. Li back then.
Yuan Gui sneered at those people, "How many similar people are there in this world?!"
Seeing that he was still quibbling, Li Wanming curled his lips and sneered, rolled up his sleeves, revealing three red moles under his armpits.
He looked at Old Tutor Zhou standing beside him.
"Do you remember these three moles?"
As he spoke, a hint of warmth appeared on his face.
"Mother mentioned that during the junior's third-year baptism ceremony, you said in public that these three moles are quite interesting. Who knows, the Li family may produce a genius who can pass the imperial examination."
Old Master Zhou took a closer look and nodded, "Yes, this person is undoubtedly Li Wanming."
As soon as he said this, the old ministers in the hall nodded one after another.
"Indeed, I was there that day."
Seeing that everyone seemed to be certain that this person was Li Wanming, Yuan Gui began to feel a little uncomfortable.
"So what?!"
He acted like a scoundrel.
Anyway, you can't produce any evidence, so I won't admit it! "Even if he is really Li Wanming, he was just a ten-year-old boy back then. It's normal for him to remember things wrongly after being frightened!"
She seemed to be shocked by his extremely shameless appearance.
The corner of Zhenxihou's mouth twitched slightly, and his movement of picking up the things froze for a moment.
"Your Majesty, this is the secret letter from that year!"
As he spoke, he presented the bamboo tube and a letter.
Seeing the familiar-looking bamboo tube, Yuan Gui's relatively calm expression began to become stiff.
Emperor Qixuan opened the bamboo tube. Although he had roughly guessed the truth from what had just happened,
But after reading the note and the letter, he still couldn't help but get furious.
No wonder there were so many casualties in that battle! "Colluding with the enemy, leaking military intelligence, framing loyal officials, and killing the families of loyal officials, what a courage!"
Emperor Qixuan crumpled up the note and the letter paper together and threw them at Yuan Gui.
"The handwriting on this note is exactly the same as yours back then. What else do you have to say?!"
Looking at Yuan Gui’s pale face, Marquis Zhenxi lowered his eyes and sneered.
It is indeed difficult to convict him based on just a piece of paper.
Moreover, given Yuan Gui's level of caution, changing the handwriting is not enough, he will definitely destroy all previous traces.
But he left out the letter.
Thanks to Yaoyao's voice, they were able to think of this.
as well as……
He glanced coldly at the bewildered person and continued.
"If Lord Yuan feels that this is not enough, please ask the emperor to order someone to go to the Imperial Academy to get Lord Yuan's exam papers from that year!"
Yuan Gui only felt a "boom" in his head, and everything in front of his eyes went blank.
Finished!
It's all over now!
Li Wanming squatted beside him and whispered, "Actually, my mother mentioned you before she died."
"Is she..." Yuan Gui looked up and stared at him.
Did she regret helping me? Did she wish she had never met me?
Seeing the regret in his eyes, Li Wanming smiled sarcastically and moved his thin lips slightly.
"My mother said that she would never regret anything she had done, but if she could do it again, she would definitely choose to stand by and watch."
“Hahaha…I don’t regret it…”
Yuan Gui suddenly raised his head and laughed. As he laughed, the corners of his eyes gradually became moist.
Soon, he became unusually calm, knelt upright again, and kowtowed deeply to the ground.
"Your Majesty, I plead guilty, but I have another piece of evidence to hand over!"
As he spoke, he raised his head slightly and glanced somewhere intentionally or unintentionally.
"The evidence is hidden in the secret compartment of the guilty minister's study."
Back then, he was discovered to be collaborating with the enemy by Marquis Pingyang. In order to protect himself, he has been secretly collecting evidence of the crimes of Marquis Pingyang over the years.
Now that the truth has been revealed, he will surely die, and there is no point in keeping that thing.
Over the years, I was forced by Marquis Pingyang to do many wrong things against my will.
When he was about to die, he dragged that fellow down with him to relieve his hatred! Emperor Qixuan immediately ordered: "Li Wanjing, take people to get it!"
"Yes!" After receiving the order, Li Wanjing stood up and walked out.
Before being taken away by the Imperial Guards, Yuan Gui gave Marquis Pingyang a meaningful look.
Meeting his gaze, Marquis Pingyang felt inexplicably frightened and stared at him nervously until he was pulled out of the hall, then he breathed a sigh of relief.
But after being disturbed like this, he no longer had the energy to continue finding fault.
Forget it. Today’s mission was not going well. Let’s talk about it another day.
Thinking of this, he prepared to retreat back to the team.
Sensing his movements, Old Master Zhou knocked the ground hard with his dragon-headed cane.
“Boom boom boom!”
"Wait a minute!"
The sound was like the sound of an executioner sharpening his knife, which made him shudder and sweat profusely.
"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Pingyang, out of his own selfishness, actually slandered my last disciple, Princess Qiyuan."
"He has a sinister heart, is extremely vicious, and is simply outrageous!"
Hearing this, Emperor Qixuan nodded secretly.
If you mess with our Yaoyao, you will hit several iron walls.
The next moment, he suddenly came to his senses.
Just now...what did the old tutor say? He didn't pay attention, but the other court officials heard it clearly.
Everyone immediately bowed and congratulated, "Congratulations, old master, for accepting another excellent disciple!"
Many ministers also sighed and lamented, as the old tutor had just made it very clear.
He is the last disciple.
Alas, their children and grandchildren have no chance!
Emperor Qixuan: ...
This is outrageous! In just a short while, my daughter has become my junior sister?! The key is, why did I know about such a big thing together with these outsiders?! The more the court officials discussed, the louder their voices became, from the date of the apprenticeship ceremony to what kind of gift to send...
The more he talked, the more outrageous it became. After a while, he was already talking about how his great-great-grandson was about the same age as the little princess, and that he might be able to work hard to become a prince consort...
Emperor Qixuan could no longer hold back, but he couldn't get angry at the old tutor.
He could only vent his anger on Marquis Pingyang.
“What a courage!!!”
Pingyang Hou was so frightened by the sound that his body trembled, his legs subconsciously went weak, and he knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, the people who just accused the little princess of being a demon were clearly Yuan Gui and his cousin. It had nothing to do with me."
He spoke sincerely, "What I just said was all for the safety of Daqi and Your Majesty!"
"I have a sincere heart, Your Majesty, please understand!"
Old Tutor Zhou glanced at him calmly and asked quietly.
"I never said that the incident at Yuanma Temple had anything to do with you. Marquis Pingyang is so eager to jump out to defend himself, but are you feeling guilty?"