Miss Salty Fish's Cry
Inside the Hengwang Mansion, candlelight flickered in a secret room. Before Zongzheng Hengyu lay a dossier, densely packed with a shocking chain of evidence!
Yan Cheng hurriedly lifted the curtain and entered, clutching a white jade porcelain bottle tightly in his arms, still warm from the dust of his journey.
He hurriedly handed it to Zongzheng Hengyu and whispered, "It was delivered from Lin'an City by fast horse. We finally got the antidote from Night Hawk Pavilion before the poison took effect."
Zongzheng Hengyu took the medicine bottle, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. His lips were still bluish-purple, but his gaze was sharp as a knife: "I recognized the Night Hawk Pavilion as the culprit when the carriage was attacked that night."
He sneered, "The 'Dark Night Fragrance' quenched on the arrows—no one in the world but them could make such a vicious substance."
His tone suddenly turned somber, each word seemingly chilled by ice: "Zongzheng Mingchen, you've really gone to great lengths to take my life."
Yan Cheng knelt beside him and applied medicine with light and quick movements. In the candlelight, the area around the wound was tinged with an ominous blackish-purple.
When the powder was sprinkled, Zongzheng Hengyu didn't even flinch, but Yan Cheng couldn't help but say in a strained voice, "It's just that Your Highness has suffered so much... The pain of being poisoned for these three days is something no ordinary person can endure."
The marks of the Night Hawk Pavilion's villains, the secret transaction letters from the Northern Di tribe, the unusual troop movement map pointing to the strategic stronghold of Lin'an City... every line is like a poisoned vine, tightly wrapped around the name Zongzheng Mingchen.
Yan Cheng stood with his hands at his sides, clearly seeing his prince's tightly pursed lips, the curve of which was as cold and hard as an ice sculpture. His deep eyes were no longer as calm as a cold pool, but were brewing a storm that could tear the sky apart.
Zongzheng Hengyu's voice was low and hoarse, weak from blood loss, as he looked at the secret report, yet it contained a resolute and decisive killing intent: "Lin'an City... good, very good."
A cold, emotionless smile curved his lips, a smile that sent chills down Yan Cheng's spine. "Raising thugs of the martial world, colluding with foreign barbarians, plotting against key border towns… Zongzheng Mingchen, your appetite is far too large!"
He suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as lightning: "Make three copies of all the evidence! One copy will be secretly sent to Lord Zhang of the Censorate, one will be submitted to the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and the most detailed copy... I will personally present it to my father at the morning court tomorrow!"
Every word was like a steel needle chilled to ice, nailing to the Ming King's coffin lid. "Notify our people in Lin'an to proceed according to plan. Make sure to seize control of the Night Hawk Pavilion's key branches and capture him alive! I will ensure he has no way to defend himself!"
"Yes, Your Highness!" Yan Cheng accepted the order, his voice filled with suppressed excitement. After a long period of preparation, a thunderous strike was launched!
He knew that a storm powerful enough to shake the entire Great Entropy Dynasty was about to erupt in the imperial court the next day!
…………
The Prime Minister's Residence, Wanzhi Pavilion.
The atmosphere was completely different from the somber atmosphere of the Prince Heng's mansion, and was filled with... the burnt smell of salted fish about to be dried in the sun.
Jiang Wanzhi, like a salted fish that has lost its dreams, lay stiffly on the chaise longue covered with thick velvet, staring blankly at the canopy above her head embroidered with a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix.
Chuntao held up a bowl of dark, bitter-smelling medicine and earnestly urged, "Miss, please just drink a sip. The good doctor said this medicine is the best for calming the nerves and relieving fright. You've been scared out of your wits for three days. If you don't drink some, you might just drift off to the moon to keep Chang'e company..."
"Keep me company? Ha..." Jiang Wanzhi groaned weakly, her eyes vacant. "At least it's peaceful at Sister Chang'e's place. There are no princes who want to kill me at any time, no future emperor who speaks like he's talking in riddles, and no..."
She suddenly sat up, and the movement was so sudden that her vision went black again, which frightened Chun Tao so much that she almost dumped the medicine bowl on her head.
"Miss!"
"It's okay! I won't die!" Jiang Wanzhi clutched her buzzing head, her face filled with grief and indignation. "I just can't understand it! I just can't understand it! Chun Tao!"
She grabbed Chun Tao's arm, her eyes burning with accusation, filled with the cruel irony of fate. "Tell me! Did I blow up the Milky Way in my past life? Or did I rip up the Jade Emperor's palace? Huh? How did I end up in this lousy book! And to make matters worse, I'm just cannon fodder! And then the plot... it... collapsed! Ah!"
She waved her arms excitedly, as if confronting an invisible plot: "The female lead in the original novel! Su Yuyue! It's clearly written in the book that she's gentle, kind, intelligent, and magnanimous, a match made in heaven with the male lead, Prince Zhao! And what happened? Guess what? She was arm in arm with that scheming Prince Ming, smiling like a trumpet flower! And her eyes were all drool! Drooling, you know what drooling is?!"
"Where's the male lead's halo? Where's the female lead's halo? Did they get eaten by a dog?! Is this book a pirated copy?!"
Chun Tao was so dizzy from being shaken that the medicine bowl in her hand was about to fall, and she could only offer dry words of comfort: "Miss, perhaps... perhaps Miss Su was just blind for a moment? After all, His Highness Prince Ming... cough... is quite handsome?" She herself didn't have much confidence in saying this.
"Dignified appearance? Bah!" Jiang Wanzhi spat. "He's a venomous snake in human skin! And with a built-in beauty filter! Danger level SSS+!"
She slumped back down, deflated. "The most outrageous one is me! Me! A time traveler with a God's-eye view and the script in hand! I was thinking of clinging to the male lead, King Zhao, and defying fate, but what happened? He just played games with me!"
She grew angrier the more she thought about it, grabbing a soft pillow next to her and pounding it twice. I couldn't very well tell him, "Hey, Your Highness, I actually came from another world. I know you'll be the emperor in the future, and that Prince Ming is a villain who's colluding with the Northern Di to attack Lin'an. Go and kill him!"
Jiang Wanzhi shivered and hugged herself tightly: "No, no, this road is blocked! Absolutely blocked!" She scratched her hair in frustration, feeling her already dwindling brain cells screaming in despair.
"Does this mean... I'm really destined to just lie down and be a couch potato, waiting to be crushed by the plot? Or... should I try to cling to Zongzheng Hengyu, whose leg seems thicker but will eventually turn evil and kill me?"
She imagined herself trying to please Zongzheng Hengyu and immediately felt a chill. "Forget it, I'm afraid I'll be frozen into an ice sculpture and used as a decoration in the palace before I even get a chance to hug him! The way he looks at me, what's the difference between him looking at me and him looking at a roadside stone? Oh, the difference is that the stone won't get angry or try to run away..."
She was completely absorbed in her miserable transmigration life when she heard the cautious voice of the maid Qiuju outside the door: "Miss... Master has returned from court, and his complexion... seems not very good. Please go to the study."
Jiang Wanzhi jolted awake, her expression instantly shifting from a slump to a frantic state: "Dad's looking for me?"
Prime Minister Jiang, that's a cunning old fox in the court, a man who wouldn't flinch even if Mount Tai collapsed before him. What could possibly make him look bad...? Her heart skipped a beat. Could it be something related to Prince Heng...?
The Prime Minister's study was filled with the gentle fragrance of incense, yet it couldn't suppress the heavy atmosphere.
Prime Minister Jiang sat upright in his armchair, his brows furrowed, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table with a dull thud. Seeing Jiang Wanzhi enter, the solemnity on his face did not dissipate; he simply beckoned, "Zhi'er, come and sit down."
"Father, what's wrong? Has something happened at court?" Jiang Wanzhi sat down obediently, her heart pounding in her throat.
Prime Minister Jiang sighed heavily, his voice filled with unprecedented exhaustion and a hint of fear: "This morning's court session... was turned upside down!"
He lowered his voice, as if afraid of disturbing something: "The Ninth Prince Heng... presented overwhelming evidence in front of His Majesty and the entire court! He directly accused the Second Prince Ming of colluding with the 'Night Hawk Pavilion,' the most notorious gang in the Jianghu who entrenched himself in Lin'an City, to secretly communicate with the Northern Di tribes, to mobilize troops and plot treason, and to overthrow the important town of Lin'an!"
"What?!" Jiang Wanzhi suddenly covered her mouth, her eyes wide open like saucers!
"The evidence is conclusive!" Prime Minister Jiang said urgently.
"There are confessions and signatures from Nighthawk Pavilion assassins, secret letters between them and the Northern Di tribes, and even a secret order from the Ming King's confidant to mobilize private troops in Lin'an! Every single one of these points directly points to the Ming King! His Majesty was furious on the spot! He even shattered the imperial desk!"
Jiang Wanzhi was deeply moved and couldn't help but ask, "And then? Did the Prince of Ming confess his crimes?"
"Confess?" Prime Minister Jiang gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "Is Prince Ming someone to be trifled with? He denied it on the spot and even turned the tables! He said that His Highness Prince Heng framed him! That he was afraid of Prince Ming's outstanding military achievements and wanted to eliminate dissidents! Even..."
Prime Minister Jiang's voice lowered even further, tinged with lingering fear, "He even tried to implicate your father, me!"
"Huh?!" Jiang Wanzhi was stunned. "Claiming something on you? Why?"
"He said that those so-called secret letters of treason were forged by someone imitating his handwriting! And that someone who had access to the style of the Northern Barbarian documents had plotted to frame him..."
A sharp glint of anger flashed in Prime Minister Jiang's eyes. "Besides His Highness Prince Heng, there is only... your father, as Prime Minister who oversees all official correspondence across the six ministries! He implied that your father and His Highness Prince Heng conspired to fabricate this injustice!"
"I (censored)!" Jiang Wanzhi couldn't help but blurt out a curse, then awkwardly covered her mouth under Prime Minister Jiang's shocked gaze, "Cough cough... I mean... he... he's spouting nonsense! Utterly shameless!"
"His Majesty is in a fit of rage, and with the Ming King's accusations, the court is thrown into chaos."
Prime Minister Jiang rubbed his throbbing temples. "His Highness Prince Heng argued forcefully and sharply, pointing out several fatal flaws in Prince Ming's testimony that defied explanation. However, Prince Ming's supporters were no pushovers either, and the two sides engaged in a fierce verbal battle, neither willing to yield..."
"Finally, His Majesty ordered that Prince Ming be temporarily confined to his residence and not allowed to leave without imperial decree! All those involved in the case, including the leaders of the Night Hawk Pavilion arrested in Lin'an City, will be imprisoned in the Imperial Prison for joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices! A thorough investigation will be conducted!"
"Confinement?" Jiang Wanzhi blinked. "They didn't just throw you in jail and behead you?"
“A prince’s rebellion is no small matter!” Prime Minister Jiang glared at her. “It involves too many people. Although the evidence points to Prince Ming, it still needs to be reviewed by the Three Judicial Offices to prevent any wrongdoing or oversight. Moreover, Prince Ming also has a strong base in the army. Your Majesty’s move is only to temporarily stabilize the situation and prevent the court from completely splitting apart and chaos from breaking out on the border.”
Jiang Wanzhi pouted and asked, "Then... what about His Highness Prince Heng? He was so badly injured, and after causing such a scene at court... is he alright?"
She regretted asking as soon as she did. Ugh! Why care about him? He's the villain! But the image of his pale yet upright back, shielding her from view, kept flashing in her mind.
Prime Minister Jiang glanced at his daughter with a complicated expression: "Your Highness Prince Heng, since the assassination attempt on the carriage that night, your wound has not healed. I heard it was caused by poison on the arrow... so you coughed up blood in court due to emotional distress."
"Coughing up blood?!" Jiang Wanzhi's heart clenched, and she instinctively stood up. "How serious is it? What did the imperial physician say?"
"I forced myself to confess my crimes, my mind was in turmoil, my internal organs were affected, and my wounds even reopened."
Prime Minister Jiang sighed, "His Majesty ordered the imperial physician to accompany him and send him back to the Prince's residence to recuperate. I'm afraid he won't be able to exert himself for a while."
He paused, looking at the undisguised worry on his daughter's face, and his tone deepened, "Zhi'er, the court is in turmoil, and a storm is brewing. Although Prince Ming is under house arrest, his followers are still around and will certainly not give up. You are engaged to His Highness Prince Heng and are also involved in the assassination attempt, so you are now in the eye of the storm. During this period, you must be careful with your words and actions, stay in the manor, and do not go out easily! I will send more people to protect Wanzhi Pavilion."
"I know, Dad," Jiang Wanzhi replied listlessly.
Damn it! Another house arrest! My time-traveling life has been one of either running away or being locked up.
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