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Sun Ping and Sun Jian were cousins, one barely in his twenties and the other twenty-three. They both worked under Minister Xing, holding relatively low positions, but they were always close to Minister Xing and received his favor.
When everyone heard that Sun Ping had committed such a treasonous act, their first reaction was disbelief!
If it had been Sun Jian, they might have somewhat believed it. Sun Jian was more cunning than Sun Ping, and occasionally abused his authority, but Sun Ping had always been an honest and straightforward person.
"Eunuch Su, where is Sun Ping?" Minister Xing asked.
"He"s dead." Eunuch Su said coldly.
Minister Xing gasped.
Eunuch Su asked in a mocking tone, "Who allowed Sun Ping into the palace?"
Xiao Heng stepped forward.
Minister Xing stopped him and said to Eunuch Su, "It was me!"
Eunuch Su raised his chin and said coldly, "Then may Minister Xing accompany this humble servant into the palace! Additionally, as this concerns His Majesty, the case of the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt will be handled by the Central Judicial Office with the cooperation of the Imperial Censorate."
Minister Xing politely said, "Please wait a moment, Eunuch Su, while I tidy up. I wouldn"t want to appear unkempt in front of the court."
"Fine." Eunuch Su replied nonchalantly, turning and leaving Minister Xing"s quarters with the palace attendants.
Minister Xing lowered his voice and said to Xiao Heng, "I don"t believe Sun Ping would a.s.sa.s.sinate His Majesty, Liulang, find out the truth."
Xiao Heng nodded solemnly.
As Minister Xing left, Xiao Heng immediately wrote a letter to Empress Xiao.
The letter stated that Sun Ping was sent by him, and the confession letter was also obtained through his interrogation, unrelated to Minister Xing. There were hidden circ.u.mstances regarding Sun Ping"s case.
However, after hesitating for a moment, he ultimately did not send the letter.
Minister Xing was brought to a side hall of the Huaqing Palace.
Empress Xiao sat upright in the main seat, coldly observing Minister Xing kneeling on the ground. She said, "Minister Xing, now that things have come to this, do you have anything to say? Was Sun Ping really sent by you?"
Minister Xing replied, "Responding to the Empress, Sun Ping was indeed sent by this humble official, but this humble official doesn"t believe he would attempt to a.s.sa.s.sinate His Majesty."
Empress Xiao asked, "Do you not believe it, or do you wish to distance yourself from this matter?"
Minister Xing answered, "Sun Ping is my close personal attendant. His innocent death requires me to strive to uncover the truth and bring him justice. Why would this humble official rush to distance myself from this?"
Empress Xiao narrowed her eyes. "So, you"re suggesting that this Empress is wrongly accusing you?"
Minister Xing replied with dignity, "This humble official dares not."
Empress Xiao said calmly, "This Empress also wants to believe you, but the evidence is conclusive."
Minister Xing looked up at her, "May I ask what evidence Your Majesty is referring to?"
Empress Xiao said sternly, "We have both witness and physical evidence!"
Eunuch Su approached with a tray. Upon it lay a piece of brocade cloth, and on top of the cloth were a b.l.o.o.d.y knife and an inkstone stained red with blood!
"These are Sun Ping"s weapons." Eunuch Su explained the sequence of events regarding the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on the Emperor.
Princess Ning"an and Eunuch Wei"s testimonies were consistent. Princess Ning"an"s biggest support was the Emperor, and there was ongoing debate in the court about whether to confer upon her the t.i.tle of Grand Princess, which the Emperor intended to bestow.
Her loss would be significant if something happened to the Emperor.
Therefore, from this perspective, she had no motive for the crime.
As for Eunuch Wei, he was an old figure by the Emperor"s side. Who would doubt his loyalty?
At this point, Minister Xing understood how pale his inference appeared in the face of two strong pieces of evidence.
Empress Xiao asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"
Minister Xing replied, "This humble official has nothing to say."
Empress Xiao said coldly, "Guards, escort Minister Xing to the Central Judicial Office!"
Minister Xing knelt on the ground, his back straight. He carefully removed his official hat and handed it to the attendant who came to escort him before he was taken away.
Empress Xiao then called the officials of the Central Judicial Office and led them to the scene of the crime to collect evidence. The palace attendants who had been previously questioned were also questioned again.
Empress Xiao was busy until late at night and finally couldn"t hold on any longer, leaning back in the chair in the side hall and falling asleep.
The night was quiet.
The candlelight in the bedchamber flickered.
Eunuch Wei knelt on the footstool of the dragon bed, silently wiping away tears.
A ghostly figure quietly entered, her beautiful dress trailing elegantly across the clean floor.
As Eunuch Wei cried, he suddenly saw a huge shadow cast upon the dragon bed. Startled, he shivered and was about to turn around when a gentle hand lightly rested on his shoulder.
Eunuch Wei tensed up.
"Eunuch Wei, are you cold?" The person behind him asked softly.
Eunuch Wei swallowed hard and suppressed his fear, whispering, "In response to, to the princess, this servant is not cold."
"If you"re not cold, why are you trembling?" She asked.
Eunuch Wei forced himself to stop trembling.
"Has the Emperor awakened?" She asked, parting the bright yellow curtains and sitting down at the edge of the dragon bed.
Eunuch Wei glanced uneasily at her and said, "Not yet."
She reached out and gently caressed the Emperor"s cheek, "Imperial brother has truly suffered."
Eunuch Wei remained silent, bowing his head.
"Eunuch Wei, who do you think harmed the Emperor like this?"
"Sun... Sun Ping."
"Sun Ping?" She was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. She was laughing so hard that she bent over, the eerie laughter echoing throughout the bedchamber.
Eunuch Wei shuddered. He quietly turned to look at the palace attendants kneeling in the bedchamber, only to find that they were all asleep on the ground.
Eunuch Wei shuddered even more.
After she laughed enough, she wiped away the tears of laughter with her fingertips, "Eunuch Wei, isn"t it me? I ran headlong into death to prove my innocence, only for His Majesty not to believe me? So I "accidentally" harmed His Majesty?"
Eunuch Wei didn"t know how to respond. If he said the wrong thing, he feared she might go mad, but if he said the right thing, he still feared she might go mad.
She said, "Eunuch Wei, you truly are a cunning person. I let you serve me, and you really betrayed the Emperor just like that. Are all of you rootless people so spineless?
She spoke with clenched teeth, and then kicked Eunuch Wei to the ground with one foot.
Eunuch Wei was not as old as Eunuch Qin, but he was not young either. This fall almost shattered all the bones in his body.
Was this still the princess he knew? Clearly, she was a violent lunatic!
Whoever was with her was really unlucky!
She sneered, "Imperial brother, open your eyes and see, this is the eunuch you trust. Nevermind that the body isn’t intact, but even the heart is rotten. They have no loyalty to speak of."
"Imperial brother, I didn"t plan to act against you so soon, but why don"t you trust me? Haven"t you always trusted me the most?"
"Is it because I didn"t drug you, so you don"t love me as unconditionally as you did imperial concubine mother?"
"But I will give it to you now." Princess Ning"an said, taking out a small bottle from her bosom.
Eunuch Wei"s expression changed drastically!
He wanted to stop her, but if she could deal with even the Dragon Shadow Guards, rushing over would just be throwing his life away, no?
He had never realized that this princess had been hiding so deeply!
"Hah." Princess Ning"an saw through Eunuch Wei"s dilemma. She didn"t care about the suspicion and disgust of a mere ant. She just found it amusing. She laughed a few more times before turning to look at the Emperor on the dragon bed. "Rest a.s.sured, it"s not a drug that controls your mind. You"ve taken too many of those. If you take more, you"ll become an idiot. How could I bear that? I still hope that you, my dear imperial brother, can witness everything I do from now on clearly."
Princess Ning"an pried open the Emperor"s mouth and poured the liquid into it.
Before long, the Emperor"s eyelids began to twitch slightly.
This was a sign of his consciousness returning.
However, although his consciousness had returned, his body became even more immobile.
He would know everything Princess Ning"an had done, bearing all her betrayals in a state of utmost clarity.
He felt like his heart was being cut by a knife, his lungs burning, yet he was powerless to change anything.Raz P."s Thoughts
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