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Gu Jiao planned to transfer Dark Guard A to watch over Hua Xiyao. In response, Mo Qianxue snorted, "There's no need for such trouble, I can keep an eye on her myself... Just give her a bit more soft bone powder!"
Hua Xiyao: "..."
After settling Hua Xiyao, the group assessed the danger levels of the remaining relevant individuals, ranking them from least to greatest. They were Empress Xiao, the Emperor, and Minister Xing.
Empress Xiao was investigating the case, and the less she knew about the inside story, the safer she would be. As long as her direction of investigation was wrong, it served Princess Ning'an's desires.
However, once she realized who the real culprit was, her situation would become perilous.
This was why Xiao Heng decided not to disclose the inside information to her for the time being.
The Emperor was now in the hands of Princess Ning'an. His personal safety was difficult to guarantee, but if he died at this moment, Princess Ning'an's interests would also come to an end. Before squeezing out the Emperor's value entirely, Ning'an wouldn't harm him.
It was just that it remained uncertain how long this value could be exploited.
The first one to possibly face danger might be Minister Xing.
The next day, the Central Judicial Office began investigating Sun Ping's attempted assassination of the Emperor.
Minister Xing staunchly claimed Sun Ping was innocent, hoping the Central Judicial Office would give Sun Ping justice.
Minister Xing, being a second-ranking official, couldn't be severely tortured by the Central Judicial Office unless ordered by the Emperor himself.
However, this prolonged stalemate was not a sustainable solution.
Just as the Central Judicial Office was struggling to find concrete evidence for the case, a constable from the Ministry of Justice approached and claimed that a suspect in the Ministry of Justice’s custody held evidence related to this case.
The Central Judicial Office promptly summoned the person for interrogation.
Minister Xing was also present.
Minister Xing never expected the visitor to be Assistant Minister Li.
Assistant Minister Li was set up and framed while investigating the Heavenly Music House case, and he was now implicated in a murder without sufficient evidence to clear his name. Consequently, he had been temporarily detained at the Ministry of Justice.
About this, Minister Xing had a plan in mind. Once he brought down the Heavenly Music House, he would release Assistant Minister Li instantly.
"Two esteemed Lords." Assistant Minister Li bowed respectfully to them.
The Central Judicial Office’s high ranking official said, "No need for formalities. I heard Assistant Minister Li has some clues regarding this case."
"Indeed." Assistant Minister Li, without looking away, said, "I know who's behind all this."
"Oh?"
"Sun Ping is just a tool. The real culprit is someone else, and that person is..." Assistant Minister Li paused at this point.
A sense of foreboding welled up at the bottom of Minister Xing’s heart.
Assistant Minister Li steeled himself and continued, "Lord Xing, this official is sorry to disappoint you after all these years of nurturing, but this official can't keep this hidden for you any longer!"
Minister Xing looked at him incredulously, "Assistant Minister Li!"
Assistant Minister Li didn't meet his gaze. Instead, he took out several letters from his bosom and handed them to the Central Judicial Office’s high-ranking official, saying, "These are evidence of the private dealings between Lord Xing and Sun Ping and his cousin.”
“Sun Ping's cousin, Sun Jian, used to be a street thug. Once, when Lord Xing encountered some bandits during a trip, Sun Jian, who harbored a grudge against them, beat them up. This caught Minister Xing's attention, and he brought the two cousins into the Ministry of Justice to serve as constables.”
“While Sun Ping remained an honest individual, Sun Jian's bad habits persisted. Lord Xing paid off his gambling debts several times, which are all documented in these IOUs and repentance letters.” contemporary romance
“Just recently, Minister Xing gave Sun Ping a large sum of money to handle an important matter for him. This official overheard this accidentally outside the guardroom. Lord Xing instructed him that the matter was crucial, and that it must be kept confidential.”
“This official also heard Sun Ping saying, 'If I don't come back, please have the physician take care of my cousin. Although he has a gambling problem, he has been trying to change and has been doing so for a long time.'"
The Central Judicial Office’s high-ranking official asked, "Why didn't you speak up earlier?"
Assistant Minister Li said bitterly, "We are the Ministry of Justice, we often investigate confidential cases. This official thought Sun Ping was dispatched to investigate a potentially dangerous case, which wasn't my concern, so this official didn't pay much attention. It wasn't until this morning when the guard outside the cell mentioned that the Emperor was attacked and the culprit was Sun Ping that I remembered this incident."
The most hurtful blows always come from the cold arrows of comrades, not enemy swords.
"Why are you doing this?!" Minister Xing exclaimed.
"My Lord, am I not simply telling the truth?"
It was true, but not the whole truth.
Minister Xing did indeed ask Sun Ping to handle a matter for him and gave him some silver, but it was merely to look after the family of a deceased constable.
That constable was killed in retaliation by the murderer while investigating a murder case. Minister Xing had been feeling guilty, believing he hadn't protected his subordinate well enough.
Little did he know that such an event would occur before Sun Ping could even have the chance to deliver the money.
Indeed, when someone's luck turned sour, even drinking water could cause a toothache.
The Central Judicial Office’s high-ranking official looked at Minister Xing with a complex expression and asked Assistant Minister Li, "So, Minister Xing is the mastermind behind Sun Ping’s assassination of His Majesty?"
Assistant Minister Li replied, "Minister Xing did instruct Sun Ping, but he isn't the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on the Emperor. Minister Xing was merely doing someone else's bidding."
Upon hearing this, not only Minister Xing was dumbfounded, but even the Central Judicial Office’s high-ranking official was taken aback.
The high-ranking official asked solemnly, "Is there more to this? Who is the real mastermind behind the scenes?"
Assistant Minister Li closed his eyes with a pained expression, and, as if making a momentous decision, said, "It's Empress Dowager Zhuang!"
Minister Xing punched Assistant Minister Li, knocking him to the ground!
…...
Assistant Minister Li handed over some letters from Empress Dowager Zhuang to Minister Xing.
They weren't personally written by Empress Dowager Zhuang, but it was understandable.
Given Empress Dowager Zhuang's shrewdness, she wouldn't have left behind any handwriting that could be traced back to her. She wouldn't even use the handwriting of those around her.
However, if these letters were exposed to candle smoke, Empress Dowager Zhuang's seal would appear vividly on the paper.
The content of the letter confirmed Minister Xing's maneuvering between the Emperor and Empress Dowager Zhuang over these years, employing both overt and covert tactics. The last letter was sent seven days ago, where Empress Dowager Zhuang expressed her enduring patience with the Emperor's opposition over the years. She discovered that direct confrontation did not work against him, so she began to sway him with filial piety.
She thought the Emperor had truly forgiven her. She even relinquished the political power she had held for years.
Who would have thought that the Emperor was actually plotting to get rid of her recently.
Since the Emperor showed no mercy, then don’t blame her for acting unjustly.
She wanted the Emperor dead!
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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