The emperor was also curious about one more thing. Who in the world was the man who dared hit a royal woman? They must not be strangers if he dared to hit her. Then, the logic followed that they must have some sort of relationship… The emperor became even more annoyed after thinking it through. His face slowly grew dark. Minister Lin noticed the signs and immediately started begging for mercy, “Your Majesty! Please forgive my daughter for being witless. She must’ve only wanted to seek revenge as she couldn’t forgive Princess Consort Li for her wicked deeds! Please be the bigger person and forgive my daughter for being reckless!”
“Wait a minute! Minister Lin, that didn’t sound right at all,” Long Heng quickly interjected. A tinge of a chill enveloped the surrounding air as the edge of his mouth moved upwards to form a smile.
“What’s wrong with my choice of words?” Minister Lin was no longer on good terms with Long Heng. He couldn’t help but think that things wouldn’t have gotten to this point if Long Heng had just married his daughter earlier. To him, Long Heng was just some useless man. Sure he was good at warfare, but he couldn’t even keep an eye on his own woman. Minister Lin’s tone of voice was a little unpleasant since his heart was filled with hate and disdain towards Long Heng.
The emperor and Long Heng were the only people who were seated during the trial. The two had very different auras around them, but they were both capable of making breathing difficult. “I find two flaws in her story. Firstly, there’s no way any ordinary person could sneak into the hunting grounds. It is rather well-guarded. If they did, the person who was arranged to beat up Miss Lin must be incredibly powerful. Not even I would be his match in my current state. Tell me, just how many people in the palace could possibly be that strong? Moreover, can a concubine from the royal harem possibly order that sort of person around? If it really is Minister Lin’s subordinate, please send him to the front right now. As long as he can defeat me in a fight, I will take it as proof that he is the owner of the handprint on Miss Lin’s face. So tell me Minister Lin, is there really such a person?”
Minister Lin was nearly dying of anger. Where was he supposed to find someone who could defeat Long Heng? He hadn’t dared bring too many martial art experts to the hunt, as he was afraid the emperor might be suspicious. People of the royal family were often very suspicious of others. The other ministers didn’t dare to bring too many experts with them either. In fact, Long Heng had only brought five of his most loyal personal guards. What they didn’t know was that even the servants brought by Long Heng were all experts in their own right. In fact, nobody present could tell.
“I will be the one to tell everyone about the second flaw. Excuse me, but when have I ever offended Noble Lady Qian? Why have I never learned of this fact?” Bai Xiangxiu’s expression was the very picture of being wronged. She gently leaned against Long Heng, and made it seem like she would break into tears or faint at a moment’s notice.
“Bai Xiangxiu… You despicable wretch!” Lin Qianzi finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. Bai Xiangxiu managed to slither her way out of her meticulously planned trap due to sheer luck. The emperor would surely pin the blame on her when they returned to the palace. If that was the case, why not use this chance to murder Bai Xiangxiu? It’d be revenge anyways. Upon arriving at such a conclusion, she quickly removed a golden hairpin from her head and lunged for Bai Xiangxiu, “Vengeance for my child!”
How would Bai Xiangxiu sit there and just take the fall? She immediately leaped away and ran in circles around Long Heng. “Noble Lady Qian must’ve gone insane! She was the one who dropped her own child, but she’s decided to pin the blame on me instead!”
“It was clearly your fault! Don’t bend the truth!”
The emperor had now grown so impatient that even the veins on his face were bulging out. This woman was making him lose an incredible amount of face. He’d clearly told her to never mention what’d happened before she entered the palace ever again. Unfortunately, the only assets this stupid wench had were her face and her body. Her brain was definitely in a desperate need of a makeover. “Hold her! Don’t let her do anything crazy.”
Finally, a few palace maids ran towards Lin Qianzi to hold her back. Her eyes were red with fury, her expressions distorting her face. This was no longer the same woman who’d been known as an elegant and graceful lady. This was the female lead. She was supposed to be the female lead! Bai Xiangxiu heaved a long sigh, to which Lin Qianzi quickly responded, “Stop with your crocodile tears! Sooner or later, the heavens will punish you for killing my son!”
Bai Xiangxiu looked at Long Heng like she’d been severely wronged. She was blaming him for not giving her a hand just now. Long Heng blinked a few times. It was better to let her show more of her ugly side. She couldn’t possibly have stabbed you anyways.
“Your Highness…”
Long Heng coughed. Her voice was too coquettish. It was even a few notes too high!
“Why don’t you help Noble Lady Qian solve the uncertainties in her heart, since she is still so adamant that it was my fault? I don’t want her to misunderstand anymore.”
Bai Xiangxiu sounded very gentle. It was so pleasant to the ear that Long Heng couldn’t help but squint in pleasure. However, he soon regained his composure and nodded, “The princess consort make a good point. Men, bring forth the prisoner.”
After some time, a man who was tightly trussed up was brought over by the guards on a cart. He was big, muscular and quite ugly to boot. There were signs of torture all over his body and his legs no longer seemed to function. However, one could easily tell that this was a soldier from the enemy nation from just his clothes alone. In fact, he could quite possibly be a general. He was thrown to the floor in front of the emperor. He threw his head back and began to scream, “Long Heng you black-hearted bastard! When will you relieve me from this suffering!? I no longer wish to live!”
His voice was a little rough as his mouth had been gagged previously. Nobody knew how long he’d been imprisoned. There was a foul stench emanating from his body, and there were even maggots crawling around the wound on his leg. No wonder he asked for death as soon as he saw Long Heng. He probably found it difficult to kill himself even if he wanted to!
Long Heng said, “I don’t have much to ask of you. I just want you to tell everyone about what happened to that woman from the beginning to the end, without missing a single detail.”
“That’s all? Fine. I will tell you everything.”
“He… he…” Lin Qianzi slumped into the ground. She clearly knew who this person was.
The man began, “I am one of the three most trusted tiger lieutenants of Commander Lu. The first time I saw that woman was probably a few months ago. Commander Lu kidnapped her from the capital city as he suspected that her son was…”
“No! AAHH!!…” Lin Qianzi was afraid that her past would be uncovered in front of a crowd, so she wrestled free from everyone’s grasp and tried to stab herself in the neck with the hairpin. Unfortunately, she didn’t succeed because Long Heng struck her acupoints from afar. She quickly dropped to the floor, unable to speak, but still able to think.
“Continue.”
“She’s now your emperor’s royal concubine right?” The man broke into raucous laughter. The emperor was now covered in cold sweat. He could tell that this man was looking at Lin Qianzi very differently, but he didn’t know why.
“That has nothing to do with you. Continue.” Long Heng’s brows twitched a little, which caused the man to shiver in fear. “Commander Lu suspected that her child was fathered by his little brother, Duan Yunying. However, she immediately changed her tone and said that the child wasn’t his when she was brought to the army camp. So, Commander Lu decided to separate mother and child and imprisoned them separately. It was at this time when the other woman beside you arrived. She was wearing men’s clothing and somehow managed to assassinate our strategist. Commander Lu tortured her to learn of her associates, but she didn’t yield. Not a word came from her mouth, even though her body was covered with wounds.
Long Heng clenched his fist hard. One could easily tell just how angry he was. The other ministers gasped in disbelief as well. They simply couldn’t fathom how this delicate-looking lady in a light blue riding dress could possibly bear so much punishment.
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