Upon hearing Su Yi's words, some ministers were terrified and rushed forward to ask him, "How could our Emperor have been assassinated? The royal hunting grounds are heavily guarded; how could assassins have infiltrated to commit such a treasonous act?"
Su Yi's gaze swept across the assembled ministers, finally settling on Lin Zhengyong and his cronies. He said coldly, "Indeed, I also want to know who is so depraved as to dare to commit such a treasonous act as assassinating the Emperor!"
Another minister stepped forward and asked, "How badly is His Majesty injured? May we return to Bianliang to see him now?"
Su Yi said, "The person who plotted the rebellion is still unknown, but I believe that this person must be among you. Therefore, I cannot reveal the extent of the Emperor's injuries."
Lin Zhengyong and Su Yi looked at each other for a moment, then Lin Zhengyong took a few steps forward and walked up to Su Yi.
"Yesterday, only the young prince and the emperor entered the inner area together, but now only you and your Moon Shadow Guards are seen coming out of the inner area. The emperor and the imperial guards are nowhere to be seen."
"You keep saying that the Emperor was assassinated, so the Emperor was assassinated? That's too much of a coincidence, it's hard not to be suspicious."
"It's hard to say whether the Emperor was really assassinated. Even if he was, it's uncertain whether, as you say, a group of assassins appeared inside!"
A cold smile crept across Su Yi's lips as he retorted, "General Lin, what do you mean by this?"
"I don't mean anything by it, it's just that the thief crying 'stop thief' is a common occurrence in this world!"
Before Lin Zhengyong could finish speaking, Su Yi's Moon Shadow Guards all drew their swords, the tips pointing directly at him. At the same time, Lin Zhengyong's bodyguards also drew their swords and stood protectively in front of him.
The atmosphere on the field instantly became tense, and the women were so frightened that they turned pale and began to sob.
Su Yi looked at Lin Zhengyong, his expression unreadable: "General Lin, are you planning a rebellion?"
Lin Zhengyong paused for a moment, but did not reply. At this moment, Lu Changwei and some ministers stepped forward to persuade the two to talk things out and not hurt their relationship.
Su Yi and Lin Zhengyong then raised their hands, signaling the guards beside them to put down their swords.
"This general is loyal to the Southern Shu Kingdom and the Emperor, how could I dare to have any rebellious intentions?"
"But just now I noticed that the young prince kept staring at me and talking about the emperor's assassination attempt, which made me think that the young prince had some misunderstanding about me."
Su Yi looked at Lin Zhengyong with a sharp gaze and a half-smile: "Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, we'll have to wait until we get back to Bianliang and severely torture those assassins who tried to kill the emperor to find out."
A minister stepped forward and said, "Does Your Highness mean that the traitor who attempted to assassinate the Emperor is still alive?"
Su Yi sneered: "How could I let such crucial witnesses die so easily? I will make them reveal the mastermind behind it all, and then I will skin them alive, grind their bones to dust, and torture them to death."
Lin Zhengyong wanted to say something more, but Lu Changwei, who was standing next to him, quickly pulled him back and winked at him, signaling him not to act impulsively.
The people present were all shrouded in sorrow because of the emperor's assassination attempt. They speculated about the emperor's injuries and looked at each other to see if the people around them were involved in the assassination attempt.
In fact, the most suspicious people are Lin Zhengyong and Su Yi. After all, Lin Zhengyong has been arrogant and domineering in the Southern Shu Kingdom for the past few years, and he has a large army. It is expected that he will be accused of rebellion.
Although Su Yi was the emperor's grandson, he was also a prince of the Eastern Yue Kingdom. It was not impossible for him to kill his maternal grandfather and seize the throne.
But who would dare to speak their mind? Neither Lin Zhengyong nor Su Yi were people they could afford to offend.
Since the emperor had been injured and returned to Bianliang ahead of schedule, there was naturally no need for everyone to stay at the hunting grounds. Su Yi and the other officials also rushed back to Bianliang because they were concerned about Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Dynasty.
After everyone had left, Su Yi moved to Mu Jin's side. He looked slightly tired, but tried to keep his voice gentle: "How was everything yesterday?"
Mu Jin nodded in acknowledgment. She had originally intended to inquire about Emperor Gaozong's situation, but considering the many people around and the potential for complications, she changed her words to: "Would you like to have some breakfast before returning to Bianliang?"
Su Yi rubbed his temples and said wearily, "No need, let's return to the city immediately." However, he naturally understood what Mu Jin was thinking, so he gently squeezed her hand and whispered, "Everything is fine, no need to worry."
Mu Jin looked at Su Yi with a face full of astonishment, but Su Yi smiled in response and then turned to the Moon Shadow Guard beside him and ordered, "Return to the city."
Because Su Yi was covered in blood and sweat, he was worried that it would bother Mu Jin. So this time, he did not ride in the same carriage as Mu Jin on the way back to the city. Instead, he chose to ride a horse and stand guard beside Mu Jin's carriage.
Mu Jin sat alone in the carriage, her thoughts churning like a surging tide. Outside, the procession continued its relentless march towards Bianliang.
After what happened in the hunting grounds yesterday and today, Mu Jin seemed to have suddenly realized something.
This Xia Miao event was from the start a royal affair rife with intrigue, but initially no one knew that Emperor Nan Gaozong would be entering the inner palace. Therefore, this conspiracy was likely orchestrated for Su Yi's benefit.
However, Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Dynasty and Su Yi learned of their conspiracy in advance, so Emperor Gaozong decided to play along and also entered the inner area.
Ultimately, this hunt was a game of strategy between Emperor Gaozong and the Lin family's cronies. It's not impossible that Emperor Gaozong's injuries were part of a larger plan to mislead and confuse the public.
Mu Jin thought to herself, if that's really the case, then everything makes sense.
A large group of people returned to Bianliang. Except for the women who were escorted back to their residences by guards, all the high-ranking officials of the first rank and above entered the palace.
Outside the Dragon Saliva Palace in the Southern Shu Kingdom, a group of ministers stood waiting to enter the palace to visit the assassinated Emperor Gaozong.
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