Faced with Hua Qingcheng's questioning, Gong Yanan avoided her gaze and did not dare to look her in the eye.
Hua Qingcheng stared at Gong Yanan closely, as if she could see through this woman's eyes and see her true thoughts.
Facing Hua Qingcheng's scorching gaze, Gong Yanan moved her lips slightly, as if she wanted to say something but was hesitant.
"What? You have nothing to say?" Hua Qingcheng's lips curled up into a half-smile, as if all of Gong Yanan's disguises were nothing but ridiculous attempts to cover up the truth in front of her.
Then, Hua Qingcheng continued to tempt her: "Gong Yanan, have you thought it over? If you tell the truth, then in this illegal iron ore mining incident, you are at most an accomplice, and the crime is not punishable by death..."
Having said this, Hua Qingcheng paused for a moment, then abruptly changed the subject and said sternly, "However, if you continue to be stubborn, or if you stubbornly attempt to aid the evildoers and cover up for the mastermind behind the scenes, then... I will have no choice but to sentence you to death."
Upon hearing this, Gong Yanan's body couldn't help but tremble slightly. She lowered her head and thought for a moment, then slowly raised her head, gritted her teeth, and looked solemn as if she had made a difficult decision.
"Okay, I'll tell you!" Gong Yanan's voice was filled with fear and determination. "Guo Dongbing instructed me to do this! He promised to pay me a large sum of money to help me oversee the mining of iron ore and the smelting of weapons."
Hearing Gong Yanan's words, Hua Qingcheng's eyes flashed with surprise, but she quickly regained her composure. She exchanged a glance with Mu Lige, then said to Gong Yanan in a serious tone, "Gong Yanan, do you know what you're talking about? Guo Dongbing is the eunuch chief and has the Queen Mother's trust. If you speak out like that, you'll probably be charged with slander!"
Facing Hua Qingcheng's questioning, Gong Yanan, fearing death and having already made her choice, remained resolute, showing no sign of evasion. She spoke clearly, "Your Highness, I'm not lying. Everything I said is true." Her tone was resolute, as if she were declaring her innocence to the world.
Gong Yanan then recounted to them all of Guo Dongbing's evil deeds in detail. Her tone was heavy, and every word seemed filled with condemnation and disgust for Guo Dongbing's actions.
Gong Yanan first described Guo Dongbing's extreme desire to regenerate his penis, then went on to explain how Guo Dongbing was willing to pay any price to fulfill this unrealistic fantasy, even collaborating with Wang Zhenyi to find virgins to use in refining the Anti-aging Elixir. Guo Dongbing believed that if he took one hundred Anti-aging Elixirs, his penis would be reborn. This insane obsession chilled everyone present.
Gong Yanan then explained how An Zihao had traded iron ore and Wang Zhenyi for one hundred elixirs of eternal youth, hoping to achieve eternal youth. Unfortunately, before An Zihao could enjoy the elixirs, disaster struck at the Xiangyang Taoist Temple, and he was imprisoned, his dream of eternal youth shattered.
Gong Yanan also recounted how, after Wang Zhenyi's arrest, Guo Dongbing, in an effort to prevent him from betraying him, poisoned him in the Dali Temple's prison, resulting in the fake Taoist's death, leaving even the Ministry of Justice's most formidable coroner unable to uncover any clues. Following Wang Zhenyi's death, Guo Dongbing secretly seized the iron ore Wang Zhenyi had siphoned off from An Zihao.
However, Guo Dongbing's official identity was that of a eunuch in the palace, and he was also the chief eunuch. He could not leave the palace for too long on weekdays, so he needed to find a reliable helper. So, Gong Yanan, who was wanted by the court, came into Guo Dongbing's sight.
And Gong Yanan did live up to Guo Dongbing's expectations. After taking over the Wujishan Iron Mine, she had mined a large amount of ore in just a few months, and the weapons she cast were of extremely high quality.
When Guo Dongbing in the capital received the weapon samples brought back by Gong Yanan, he was very satisfied and asked his men to pass a message to Gong Yanan, asking him to increase the progress of iron ore mining and the speed of weapons smelting.
Throughout the whole process, Gong Yanan tried her best to make her expression look serious and sincere, without any trace of joking on her face.
After listening to Gong Yanan's confession, Hua Qingcheng and Mu Lige's expressions became extremely solemn.
Hua Qingcheng said angrily, "I never thought Guo Dongbing would be so audacious! How dare he do such a cruel thing behind the Queen Mother's back!"
Then, Hua Qingcheng asked again: "Gong Yanan, do you know why Guo Dongbing asked you to mine iron ore and smelt weapons?"
Gong Yanan pursed her lips and continued, "Reporting to Her Royal Highness, Guo Dongbing divided the refined weapons into three parts. He kept one for himself, and the other two went into the hands of Ran Qiyue, the Imperial Preceptor of Zhaoyang State."
Hua Qingcheng frowned slightly when she heard this. She really didn't expect that this matter was actually related to Zhaoyang Kingdom's national teacher Ran Qiyue.
She looked at Gong Yanan sharply and asked, "So, those weapons in the secret room underground in the mine were all kept by Guo Dongbing himself?"
Gong Yanan shook her head. "Reporting to Her Royal Highness, Guo Dongbing's weapons have already been secretly transported to the capital. As for the weapons in the basement, they are all for Zhaoyang State's Imperial Preceptor Ran Qiyue. However, the government is now strictly inspecting goods entering and leaving important checkpoints. Since we haven't found a suitable transportation channel yet, we can only put them there for the time being."
Hua Qingcheng narrowed her beautiful eyes and sneered, "Haha, this is what they call the vastness of Heaven's net, leaving nothing untouched! Guo Dongbing actually resold the weapons to the Imperial Preceptor of Zhaoyang State. His heart is truly damnable!"
Then, Hua Qingcheng's eyes suddenly turned cold, and she looked at Gong Yanan with a critical look, and her words became sharper. "Guo Dongbing must have sold the weapons to make money, but he also left behind a lot of weapons. What's his intention?"
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