"Тhis is imрossible!"
Хiе Lаnqing wаs thе first to reaсt, rising urgеntly: "Hоw could I роssiblу sеnd mу оwn son to bе an assassin?! Your Majеstу, plеasе sее сleаrlу!"
"Оh," Реi Wenхuan laughed аs hе saw Хie Lanqing stand uр, "Minister Хie is in goоd hеаlth, аblе tо stаnd so quicklу?"
"Тhe Imреriаl Son-in-Lаw jests," Li Rоng glаnced bасk at Рei Wenxuаn, "Minister Xiе wаs injurеd in the аbdomen, not thе lеgs—hоw cоuld hе nоt stаnd? Мinistеr Xiе, dоn’t be аnxiоus. Pleаse listеn tо mе cаrеfullу."
Аs she spokе, Li Rong used her fan to lift Lin Fеibai’s facе and addrеssed thе сrowd: "Еveryone, take a closer look. Doesn’t this young man’s features bear some resemblance to Minister Xie’s?"
No one dared to speak. Li Ming carefully observed and realized that Lin Feibai’s eyes were indeed identical to Xie Lanqing’s.
Xie Lanqing had been a famous beauty in Huajing in his youth. Though his appearance was no longer discernible in old age, Li Rong’s reminder prompted everyone to recall Xie Lanqing’s youthful looks. After carefully examining Lin Feibai, they momentarily hesitated to respond.
"Your Highness, is this why you claim the assassin and Minister Xie are father and son?"
Su Rongqing suddenly spoke up. Li Rong was surprised, not expecting Su Rongqing to interject at such a moment. She turned to meet his gaze.
Su Rongqing’s eyes were cold, as if he were struggling to restrain something. His icy gaze resembled a whirlpool, seemingly concealing a multitude of emotions. Li Rong couldn’t help but pause on those eyes for a moment until Pei Wenxuan lightly coughed, snapping her back to reality. She smiled and said, "Naturally, it’s not just for this reason. This matter traces back to the assassination attempt on the Imperial Son-in-Law over half a month ago."
"On the day of the Imperial Son-in-Law’s assassination, Deputy Director Su Ronghua of my bureau had some conflict with me. He questioned Deputy Director Shangguan’s use of torture to extract a confession from Chen Guang. That same day, under Deputy Director Su’s supervision, I personally interrogated Chen Guang. After Chen Guang confessed, I received a threatening kite inscribed with the word ‘stop’ in cinnabar. That afternoon, someone attempted to assassinate the Imperial Son-in-Law. They injured him, but the blade was not poisoned, clearly intended only to intimidate me. Deeply unsettled, I ordered a thorough investigation."
As Li Rong spoke, she gestured with a wave, and Shangguan Ya stepped forward, respectfully presenting the kite they had received: "By Your Highness’s order, I thoroughly investigated this item and discovered that the cinnabar used on it was exclusively sourced from Huimingxuan, a stationery shop in the capital that caters to nobles. I examined Huimingxuan’s account books for the past six months and found that among the twenty households that purchased this cinnabar and still have it remaining, the Xie residence was one."
"However, Minister Xie had no apparent connection to this case," Li Rong continued, "so I didn’t suspect him. These people clearly wanted me to stop investigating, especially regarding Chen Guang. Yet, justice and conscience compelled me to disregard my own safety, and I persisted despite the risks. As days passed, my unease grew, so I decided to lure the snake out of its hole. I deliberately went on an outing with the Imperial Son-in-Law, leaked the information, and set an ambush at Butterfly Gorge, using myself as bait to capture a group of assassins alive, including this young man, Lin Feibai."Li Rong stopped beside Lin Feibai. Everyone turned their gaze toward Lin Feibai as Li Rong calmly stated, "After investigation, it has been confirmed that Lin Feibai is the deputy hall master of the Seven Stars Hall, the foremost assassin organization in the martial world. The Seven Stars Hall has always maintained an undefeated record, but to protect themselves and ensure long-term survival, they never target the nobility. Given the Chen family's capabilities, it would be impossible for them to invite Hall Master Lin here. Thus, I began to suspect that someone else was behind the Chen family. At this point, I interrogated Hall Master Lin and discovered something on his person."
As she spoke, Li Rong crouched down and used her fan to press against the hem of Lin Feibai's robe. Lin Feibai quickly grabbed her fan and angrily demanded, "What are you doing?!"
"Don’t be hasty, Young Master Lin. Don’t you want to know the truth?"
Lin Feibai hesitated for a moment before watching as Li Rong slipped her fan beneath his clothing and fished out a pendant necklace from around his neck. "Do any of you recognize this necklace?"
As the necklace was revealed, the expressions on everyone’s faces shifted. Every noble family had distinctive items to identify their members in case of emergencies. These items were usually small and easily carried on one’s person. Some northern families used tattoos, while southern families often used jade pendants, necklaces, or similar objects.
Most of these items bore the family crest along with a name. Ordinary people were largely unaware of such things, but among the nobility, it was essential to study the relationships between families, and they were extremely familiar with each other’s crests.
At this moment, the hollow-carved magnolia pendant made of Kunshan white jade caught everyone’s eye, and their expressions grew uneasy.
"Where did you steal this from?!" Xie Lanqing exclaimed in alarm. "How could you have something like this?"
Lin Feibai remained silent, his face pale. Li Rong smiled and reached out to flip the pendant over, revealing the character "Qing" engraved inside.
"Coincidentally, I once saw a similar pendant on a young lady from the Xie family, which drew my attention to this item. Lin Feibai bears some resemblance to Lord Xie, and with this pendant as evidence, along with the cinnabar’s connection to Lord Xie, I couldn’t help but wonder. So, I directly ordered an investigation into Xie Lanqing’s past and discovered that Minister Xie, in his youth, had a romantic affair that caused quite a stir in the city. It was said that Lord Xie fell in love with a woman from the martial world, but his family disapproved and arranged his marriage to his current wife. On the wedding day, this woman from the martial world brandished a sharp sword, cut off Minister Xie’s ceremonial crown, and left in a huff."
"Afterward, I investigated the founding date of the Seven Stars Hall, which was two years after this romantic affair and one year after Young Master Lin’s birth. So, I pretended to know the location of the Seven Stars Hall and told Lin Feibai that it was within the Xie family’s territory. Young Master Lin was visibly shocked, and I knew I had guessed correctly."
Li Rong set down the necklace, stood up, and smiled as she looked at Xie Lanqing. "This explains why the Seven Stars Hall, which never involves itself in the affairs of the nobility, took action. Because the hall master of the Seven Stars Hall is none other than the woman from the martial world who once loved Lord Xie. I suspect that the events of that year must have unfolded like this.""When Lord Xie was young, he fell in love with a woman from the jianghu, but due to family opposition, they could not be together. The woman left while pregnant and gave birth to Lin Feibai. After Lord Xie married, he found this woman again, provided her with shelter, and helped her establish the Seven Stars Hall. For various reasons, the hall master was unwilling to become Lord Xie’s concubine and did not want her child to return to the Xie family, so she left Lin Feibai behind and raised him as the successor within the Seven Stars Hall. For reasons unknown, Lord Xie agreed to this arrangement."
"You’re talking nonsense!" Xie Lanqing roared angrily, then clutched his wound in pain. Li Rong tapped her small fan against her palm and said with a smile, "Whether I’m talking nonsense can be proven with a single test. Someone, bring a bowl of clean water!"
Li Rong raised her voice, and Xie Lanqing’s face instantly turned extremely pale.
Lin Feibai stood there in a daze. Before long, a servant entered with a bowl of clean water. Li Rong turned to Xie Lanqing and said, "Minister Xie, as the Minister of Justice, you are familiar with the Blood-Dropping Kinship Test. Let’s give it a try."
Xie Lanqing dared not speak, his eyes fixed on the bowl of water. Li Rong then looked at Lin Feibai and asked, "Young Master Lin?"
Lin Feibai seemed somewhat disoriented. He lifted his gaze to Li Rong. Shangguan Ya sighed beside him and said, "Traveling thousands of miles to Huajing, pregnant before marriage, only to be cruelly abandoned. On the wedding day, she angrily cut off the groom’s ceremonial crown, and for nearly twenty years since, she has lived alone. How pitiful, how tragic. As a child, do you not feel even a trace of sorrow for your mother?"
"Lord Xie," Li Rong urged Xie Lanqing, "Your hesitation—is it because it’s inconvenient for you to come over, or because you don’t dare?"
Xie Lanqing remained stiff and unmoving. Lin Feibai suddenly stood up, walked over to Li Rong, raised his hand, and used a sharp blade to cut his finger. Blood dripped into the bowl. He looked up at Xie Lanqing and said coldly, "Come here."
Xie Lanqing did not move. Lin Feibai stared at him coldly. "Minister Xie, come here."
Hearing the warning in Lin Feibai’s tone, Xie Lanqing stiffened. Finally, he stood up and walked rigidly to the table, hesitating as he extended his hand. Seeing his hesitation, Lin Feibai grabbed him abruptly. With a swift motion of the blade, he cut Xie Lanqing’s finger amidst his startled cry, squeezing the finger to let the blood drip into the bowl!
Two drops of blood spread in the water, met, and slowly merged.
Watching the blood drops merge one by one, Xie Lanqing panicked and exclaimed, "Impossible! Someone is framing me! Your Majesty, I request another test, another—"
"What more is there to test?"
Pei Wenxuan laughed. "Does Lord Xie think this jade pendant is fake, Young Master Lin’s eyes are fake, or the two drops of blood in the bowl are fake? Lord Xie, you attempted to assassinate Her Highness the Princess, then colluded with your own son to falsely accuse her. Now, instead of confessing your crimes and seeking His Majesty’s and Her Highness’s mercy, you persist in making excuses and defying the law. I truly wonder who gave you the audacity to disregard His Majesty, ignore the law, defy the principles of ruler and subject, and trample upon justice and morality!"
"Pei Wenxuan, you slanderous brat!" Xie Lanqing roared angrily, pointing at Pei Wenxuan. "It was you! You incited Her Highness to engage in all these messy affairs, and now you’re colluding with assassins and bribing palace attendants to frame an old minister like me! I have served the state and the sovereign diligently for thirty years, and today I must suffer false accusations from these two youngsters. I beseech Your Majesty to see the truth clearly!""Father," Li Rong listened to Xie Lanqing's words and also knelt down. She bent her back, bowing respectfully. "Your daughter comes to beg for forgiveness."
"What crime are you begging forgiveness for?"
"Your daughter knows that in truth, during this period, I have been causing trouble and adding to your burdens."
"Your daughter is now presiding over these two cases, which involve many noble families. Among them, two death row prisoners are connected to the Xie family. For Your Majesty to permit me to take on these cases, you must have endured immense pressure. In investigating these cases, I should also be prepared to risk my life. I have thought countless times that perhaps not investigating this matter would be better for me. After all, I am just a woman—it would be better to stay at home, serve my husband and raise children, enjoying the favor of my father and husband, living a stable and wealthy life. That would be better for both me and Your Majesty."
"But I cannot bear it. I cannot bear to see the Qin family wronged, nor can I bear to see the military provisions, the foundation of our nation, being eroded by parasites. So I still stepped forward. As a princess, supported by the people of the world, I cannot only wear fine silk robes without caring for the silkworm farmers. This path is arduous. I feared that Your Majesty would bear too much pressure, so I never reported the various difficulties I encountered."
As Li Rong spoke, her voice grew hoarse: "Minister Xie is a pillar of the court and has done much good for the government. Even if he made things difficult for me once or twice, I should not have persisted in this stalemate with him. But I..."
Li Rong choked up as she spoke: "I truly had no other choice. I can risk my life, but the Imperial Son-in-Law is innocent. Today, I do not seek punishment for Minister Xie’s assassination and false accusations. I only hope that the esteemed officials can stand up for the Imperial Son-in-Law. The matter of his assassination should at least be addressed... If they humiliate me, so be it—after all, I provoked Minister Xie. But what about the Imperial Son-in-Law?"
By the end, Li Rong was weeping openly, appearing as if she had truly been driven to desperation.
"Your Highness," Xie Lanqing panicked upon hearing this and hurriedly said, "You are a princess. Investigating the Qin Shi case and the military provisions case is your duty to the nation and the people. How would I dare to make things difficult for you, let alone resort to assassination and false accusations?"
"Is she falsely accusing you then?!"
Li Ming suddenly roared. Looking at Li Rong kneeling on the ground, her voice hoarse as she begged for forgiveness, the helplessness he had felt over the past decade of being suppressed by these old ministers surged within him. Anger burned in his heart, and he recalled Xie Lanqing’s earlier accusation that Li Rong had colluded with palace attendants, as well as the white magnolia hairpin on Hua Le’s head. In that moment, he felt that the bullying Li Rong endured was not just directed at her—it was Xie Lanqing trampling him underfoot.
"She is a princess," Li Ming pointed at Li Rong, "my eldest daughter, the Empress’s legitimate daughter! You repeatedly accuse her of falsely accusing you, of scheming against you. How could a child not yet nineteen years old outmaneuver you, a seasoned veteran who has been in the court for over thirty years?!"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger," Xie Lanqing knelt on the ground, pleading urgently. "Your Majesty, there are many misunderstandings in this matter."
"Misunderstandings? What misunderstandings? You’re just bullying me, thinking I dare not do anything to you! If there were no evidence today, I would have swallowed my anger. But now the evidence is clear. If you have misunderstandings, go explain them in prison! Guards," Li Ming shouted, "drag him away and send him to the Censorate to be tried by Pei Wenxuan!"
"Your Majesty..." the Minister of Justice, Jiang Zheng, hastily interjected, "Pei Wenxuan is the princess’s Imperial Son-in-Law...""What? When you handle matters, you can ignore whether someone is a relative or not, but when I handle matters, I must consider avoiding suspicion? Let Pei Wenxuan preside over the trial!"
Li Ming angrily declared, "Today, anyone who dares to say another word will be dragged down and tried together!"
Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances. Pei Wenxuan stepped forward and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. It is indeed inappropriate for this humble official to preside over the trial. It should be handed back to the Ministry of Justice."
"Hand it back to the Ministry of Justice?" Li Ming sneered. "Who in the Ministry of Justice would dare to try him?"
"This humble official would like to recommend someone," Pei Wenxuan calmly spoke. Hearing Pei Wenxuan's words, Li Ming said slowly, "Speak."
"The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Pei Liming. He is my uncle, a man of integrity and impartiality. He has worked in the Ministry of Justice for many years, is well-versed in criminal law, and I recommend him without avoiding familial ties. I am willing to recommend Vice Minister Pei to investigate this case."
Li Ming fell silent, instinctively glancing at Su Rongqing.
Logically, as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Su Rongqing would be much more suitable to handle this case than Pei Liming. However, if the case were sent back to the Ministry of Justice without letting Pei Wenxuan's relative handle it, he feared that Xie Lanqing's case would once again be left unresolved.
But directly appointing Pei Liming to handle the case seemed unreasonable, and he worried the Su family would object. As Li Ming hesitated, he saw Su Rongqing step forward and respectfully say, "I second the motion. This humble official also believes that Vice Minister Pei is the most suitable candidate at present."
OpenNovel