Chapter 325 Life and death are decided by fate, obedience or rebellion is determined by one's own will
"Taking Su Fengyue's life is easy; killing someone is just a matter of beheading him."
Ji Qingwu looked up at him and said, "But we can't just kill him so easily. There are so many eyes watching. We need to come up with solid and reliable evidence."
Zhao Mingyan's lips tightened. He was not unaware of the importance of the evidence, otherwise he would not have risked coming here.
But sometimes, for the emperor, evidence is merely icing on the cake.
Having evidence to prove guilt and being able to kill someone legitimately is certainly good, but if he can't find any, killing someone outright is also within his consideration.
Seeing the murderous intent surging in his eyes, Ji Qingwu took another step closer and asked, "What if the censors question us?"
"Accountability?"
Zhao Mingyan said indifferently, "The world will only know that when Prime Minister Su learned of his beloved daughter's death, he was heartbroken upon returning home and died suddenly from a heart attack."
"And Prince Yong is the witness."
Ji Qingwu's hand, which was holding his arm, stiffened for a moment as she looked at his cold, hard profile.
In that brief moment, Emperor Wusu had already come up with a pretext.
She almost forgot that the person in front of her was different from her; he was an emperor, with the power of life and death, and could obey or defy her will.
If the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die.
Even without evidence, Su Fengyue's death could be covered up.
However, Ji Qingwu did not want Su Fengyue to die so hastily; he should bear all the infamy he deserved.
She released his arm, stood beside him, and spoke softly yet with undeniable strength.
“Your Majesty, but Prime Minister Su has committed too many evil deeds. Letting him die would be too lenient for him. I think I can obtain evidence of Prime Minister Su’s treason.”
Zhao Mingyan's murderous intent calmed down under Ji Qingwu's clear and gentle gaze.
Ji Qingwu pulled on his sleeve again and led him towards the backyard.
This time, he did not refuse.
*
The backyard, at the entrance to the woodshed.
There were guards at the entrance, but they were all dealt with by Sanchuan Sihai.
They had already searched the house, and when they saw Ji Qingwu and Emperor Wusu coming together, both of them lowered their heads.
Ji Qingwu went inside first; two candles were already lit in the room.
The timber and hay were neatly stacked to one side, and a hidden door appeared in the wall on the right, the secret of which had already been discovered by the guards.
Ji Qingwu held up a candlestick to light the way. As soon as he entered the dark room, there was an iron cage at the entrance.
She pulled the candlestick closer for a closer look and discovered that the cage was old, rusty, with leather chains lying haphazardly in the corner of the bars.
Further inside, there was a large, dark purple bed, with a golden nanmu wood shelf beside it.
Ji Qingwu glanced at the items above and then stopped in his tracks, not daring to go any further.
Sanchuan, standing at the door, said, "Master, I have searched the house and found a secret room, but I didn't find where the letters were hidden. However, there are some strange things inside..."
Sihai's eyebrows were furrowed, and when he heard the word "strange," he clutched his stomach and gagged.
Before the nausea had even subsided, he hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your subordinate has been disrespectful."
Zhao Mingyan stepped inside and walked all the way to the dark room. He immediately saw a figure standing on the west side, holding a candlestick.
Ji Qingwu recognized his footsteps and murmured, "Over the years, how many women have...?"
On the top shelf hung various earrings, each a single piece, all made of gold and jade, suggesting the status of the wearer.
Below are various styles of handkerchiefs.
Some have faded with age, but it is not hard to tell that they are all exquisite embroidered pieces, each bearing the ingenuity of a young lady in her boudoir.
But the handkerchief was stained with blood.
There's no need to think about what kind of blood it is.
Ji Qingwu originally thought this was where Su Fengyue hid letters of treason and collusion with the enemy, but he never expected that this was a place that recorded his lewd and pleasure-seeking deeds.
Su Fengyue must be very proud of his "achievements" to keep all these things.
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They were all instruments for people to torture and have fun with, made so lifelike yet so cold.
Just looking at him made Ji Qingwu feel a chill run down his spine.
A large hand supported her shoulder.
He covered her eyes with his other hand, turned her around, and held her in his arms, more like a silent comfort.
Zhao Mingyan tightened his arms, not wanting her to see too much filth.
He took everything in and said, "Let's go out."
But Ji Qingwu wasn't afraid. She wanted to see everything clearly, and even wanted to see through all the evil deeds Su Fengyue had committed.
She turned her head away from Emperor Wusu's embrace and said, "I'm fine."
Ji Qingwu approached the shelf, squatted down, and examined each item on the bottom shelf one by one. Each item was engraved with a crescent moon pattern.
It has the same shape as the key she found.
But these things don't have enough space to store letters.
At this moment, Sihai entered and knelt down, saying, "Master, news from the secret guards in the front hall is that the Prince and Prime Minister Su are fighting."
Ji Qingwu's eyes flickered.
Was Prince Yong not here to curry favor with Prime Minister Su, but to cause trouble?
However, this was at Su Fengyue's residence, so how could Prince Yong possibly gain any advantage?
"What's the situation now?"
Sihai said, "The prince angrily punched Prime Minister Su several times, knocking him to the ground, but he was quickly subdued by the servants in the mansion."
This matter was beyond Emperor Wusu's expectations. Although Prince Yong was unruly, he was not an impulsive person who disregarded the consequences.
At this moment, Su Fengyue was angered, which meant that something had happened that he could not tolerate.
Zhao Mingyan asked, "What happened?"
Sihai replied, "I heard that when Prime Minister Su took out an ornament, the Prince suddenly became agitated."
Ji Qingwu's gaze swept over the earrings on the shelf, indicating that Su Fengyue had more in private collections besides the ones in front of him.
In front of Prince Yong, Su Xiang took out something that should belong to Princess Yong.
Ji Qingwu gritted his teeth.
She shouldn't have stopped Emperor Wusu. Su Fengyue deserved to die. Every moment that such a person lived was an insult to the girls he had humiliated.
Although Ji Qingwu was emotional, he remained calm.
If Prime Minister Su dared to have his servants detain a prince, what else wouldn't he dare to do?
She turned her head and said, "This matter can only be handled by Your Majesty."
Zhao Mingyan had already intended this, and said, "The two of them will stay here to guard you. If anything happens, inform me immediately."
Ji Qingwu nodded.
After Emperor Wusu left, Sanchuan kept watch outside, while Sihai protected Ji Qingwu.
Sihai's face was still pale. He had seen bloodshed before, but he had never seen anything so filthy.
He thought the delicate Ji Qingwu wouldn't be able to handle it, but she remained calmer and more composed than anyone else.
She continued to look around the room.
Ji Qingwu didn't believe that the key in her hand was just for show. She had overheard Su Xiang's conversation with the butler and knew that this thing was extremely important to him.
However, it is still unknown where it can be used.
Ji Qingwu touched the wall, tapping it lightly with his fingers, not missing an inch within his sight.
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