Jing Yi looked at the words he had written, imagining the Emperor's expression upon reading these sentences in two days, and silently sighed.
"They were all poisoned—by Devil's Snare. Their minds were addled, completely unaware of their actions."
While the others were digesting this statement, Chu Chu took out needle and thread, swiftly stitching up Xue Qin's widely opened abdomen. She deftly flipped Xue Qin over on the stretcher, back facing upward, revealing a long knife wound on his back.
Ashina Suwu's eyebrows twitched slightly. He remembered this wound—it was one he had personally inflicted with his scimitar.
Chu Chu pointed at several festering sores around the knife wound. "All four of them had malignant sores while alive. The poison was administered through medicinal applications on these sores."
Xiao Jin Yu calmly turned his gaze to Wu Chen, who had been terrified by Chu Chu's recent Corpse Examination. "Wu Chen... according to my investigation, you were responsible for preparing and applying medications for these four individuals' malignant sores. Do you recall which prescription was used?"
Wu Chen stared at the four corpses laid out before him, his face pale as death. "N-no... I don't remember."
"There are only a few prescriptions for treating malignant sores in the military camp... Have you remembered now?"
"No..."
"All these prescriptions contain dung beetles. If you hadn't been careless, allowing one to accidentally come into contact with poison and nearly causing the death of a wounded soldier who gambled on dung beetles, I wouldn't have traced this back to you so quickly... Have you remembered now?"
"N-no... no."
Xiao Jin Yu gave a cold smile. "Chu Chu, tell him."
"Yes! The prescription they used involved drowning live dung beetles in honey broth, then burning them to ashes, mixing them with vinegar, and applying the mixture to the sores. During the Corpse Examination, I detected a faint vinegar scent," Chu Chu glared angrily at Wu Chen, pulling out a small knife. "If you won't admit it, I'll excise one of the sores and roast it over fire for you to smell—you'll definitely still detect it!"
Wu Chen felt his scalp crawl, every hair on his body standing on end. "N-no need... I... I remember now, I remember..."
Xiao Jin Yu gave a shallow cold smile. "What else have you remembered? Speak."
Wu Chen pressed his pale, dry lips together, his gentle brow sinking heavily. His gaze toward the four corpses shifted from fear to cold severity. "I remember... these four were all scoundrels, worthless scum, sons of bitches!"
Before Xue Ming and Leng Peishan could jump up, Xiao Jin Yu slammed the magistrate's gavel heavily on the table. "Speak properly."
Wu Chen sneered, "They didn't act like humans—how can I describe them in human terms?"
Leng Peishan's face turned iron-gray. "You damn..."
"General Leng!" Xiao Jin Yu shot him a sharp look, enunciating each word clearly, "Those who disrupt court proceedings will be executed immediately."
Leng Peishan clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, his fierce eyes glaring at the smirking Wu Chen as if wanting to carve pieces from him with his gaze.
"General Leng," Wu Chen curled his lips toward Leng Peishan, "You should open your eyes wide and take a good look at your precious generals. You treated them like sons, but they treated you like a fool... You certainly didn't know that these brave commanders of yours have long been watchdogs for the Turkic tribe."
Xue Ming froze, while Leng Peishan's face darkened instantly. "Nonsense!"
Xiao Jin Yu didn't glare at Leng Peishan again, but instead frowned deeply while watching Wu Chen.Wu Chen sneered with utter mockery in his eyes, "You only know they spent money to send letters home through Liangzhou Post Station, but have you ever checked where those letters were actually sent?" Watching Leng Peishan's stunned expression, Wu Chen's laughter grew colder. "I doubt General Leng even knows the postmaster at Liangzhou Post Station has been replaced?" He then turned to Xue Ming, "Prefect Magistrate Xue?"
"Impossible!" Xue Ming's face darkened as he slammed the table and stood up. "Since taking office, I have visited Liangzhou Post Station every ten days without fail. The postmaster submits daily reports to the Prefect Magistrate's Office, and during military emergencies, five or even ten reports a day are normal. Every urgent military dispatch has been accurately delivered to the capital without error. I've seen him more times than my own father—how could I not recognize if he were an imposter?"
Wu Chen listened calmly until Xue Ming finished shouting, the curve of his lips deepening. "Of course Magistrate Xue wouldn't notice, because this person was secretly replaced before you even took office."
Xue Ming stiffened, staring in shock at this mild-mannered young man. "You... how do you know?"
"I know much more... Magistrate Xue, I can also tell you that while the postmaster accurately delivered those urgent military reports to the capital, he simultaneously sent copied versions to the Turks."
Wu Chen watched with amusement as Leng Peishan's face turned pale and flushed by turns. "General Leng, since you've been feeding and housing me, I might as well tell you—if you don't believe me, search these four traitors' quarters. If you find any letters, wet them with water and take another look... Then you'll understand why, despite your military experience and troop numbers, you can't crush those Turkic scum. You discuss battle plans with them, but they immediately turn around and discuss them with the Turks!"
Leng Peishan instinctively touched his chest—a letter from home was tucked inside his armor...
"If I'd told you this before they died, I'd be the one lying in this hall right now."
Xiao Jin Yu's brow furrowed deeply. "Why did you kill them?"
Wu Chen sneered, slowly tracing a circle around his lips. "Learning from Prince An—eliminating scourges for the people... Tell me, what punishment should be given for rooting out such treasonous scum from the military camp?"
Xiao Jin Yu's face turned icy. "Wu Chen... who are you?"
"Who am I?" Wu Chen burst into laughter as if hearing the funniest joke, bending over and clutching his stomach. After laughing for a long while, he finally looked up. "I thought Prince An had already investigated eight generations of my ancestors... Prince An, you're still too green. Better return to the capital and learn a couple more years from your esteemed mentor. Otherwise, you won't be able to protect his son, and you'll completely disgrace his reputation!"
After speaking, Wu Chen stared at Ashina Suwu and laughed loudly. But after just three laughs, he suddenly spat blood, collapsing to the ground in violent convulsions. As guards moved to approach, Ashina Suwu, who had remained silent until now, suddenly shouted with a grim expression, "Don't touch him!"
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