“Yesterday evening, Xing Shao and I were eating together in Room No. 3 of Chaling Tavern. Then, somehow, Lü Yuan found out I was there.”
“He came in with the waiter Meng Tian. Lü Yuan was drunk at the time, and the moment he saw me, he started hurling insults.”
“Xing Shao couldn’t stand it and spoke up sarcastically. Lü Yuan flew into a rage, grabbed a vase nearby, and smashed it directly onto Xing Shao’s head, killing him on the spot…”
“Once a life was lost, the tavern owner quickly reported it to the authorities. But I didn’t expect that Lü Yuan and Meng Tian would collude and push all the blame onto me.”
“And at that time, there were only the four of us in the room. Xing Shao was killed by them, Lü Yuan and Meng Tian were in cahoots—and I became the so-called murderer…”
Hearing this, Lü Yuan instantly flew into a rage, the veins on his neck bulging as he cut off Lou Changqing’s words.
“You’re talking nonsense! You made all this up! You have no evidence!”
After saying that, he lunged at Lou Changqing, trying to strangle him.
“Restrain him!” Shangguan Lin shouted angrily.
The guards reacted swiftly, pinning Lü Yuan to the ground so he couldn’t struggle.
【Lü Yuan is really so stupid… getting this worked up just exposes everything. I don’t know how the Marquis of Zhenbei ended up with such a foolish son.】
【At this point, the key lies with Meng Tian. If he tells the truth, Little Uncle will be cleared.】
Shangguan Lin nodded.
As expected of his daughter—her thoughts aligned perfectly with his.
Ignoring the madman-like Lü Yuan, Shangguan Lin turned his gaze to Meng Tian, who had remained silent.
“Meng Tian, you are the only witness in this case. Tell me—what did you see?”
Hearing this, Meng Tian immediately began trembling all over.
He still couldn’t figure out whether the Emperor stood with the Marquis of Zhenbei—or truly wanted to uncover the truth.
If he spoke the truth, the Marquis would surely not let him go…
Looking at the kneeling, silent Meng Tian, Shangguan Lin’s voice turned icy.
“Meng Tian, you should know—deceiving the Emperor is punishable by the extermination of nine clans.”
“Speak truthfully. With me here, let’s see who dares touch you!”
Hearing this, Meng Tian’s heart trembled. As if throwing caution to the wind, he pointed at Lü Yuan and shouted,
“Xing Shao was killed by Lü Yuan! It was him! And it was also him who made me lie and push everything onto Lou Changqing, making him take the blame!”
“Your Majesty, please see clearly! Everything was done under Lü Yuan’s orders!”
“You’re lying! You’re framing me!”
Pinned to the ground, Lü Yuan still shouted hoarsely in denial.
Meng Tian grew anxious. “Your Majesty, I have evidence!”
“Last night, Lü Yuan gave me two gold ingots to make sure I handled things properly. I still have the gold on me!”
“If it wasn’t from him, how could I possibly have so much gold?!”
As he spoke, Meng Tian pulled out two gold ingots from his sleeve.
The gleaming gold caught everyone’s eyes, and all were shocked.
Even Lü Yuan stopped struggling.
Shangguan Lin’s gaze swept over Lü Yuan as he barked,
“The evidence is conclusive! Witnesses and physical proof are all present! What else do you have to say?!”
“Untie Lou Changqing at once—and bind the murderer, Lü Yuan!”
【Father is wise and mighty! He uncovered the real culprit just like that!】
【Little Uncle is finally saved! That’s great!】
But when Shangguan Sui’s gaze fell on the gold on the ground, her smile faded, and she huffed unhappily.
【This Lü Yuan is quite rich—he can casually reward someone with two gold ingots. I don’t even have a single one yet!】
【Not happy! Very not happy!】
Hearing this, Shangguan Lin couldn’t help but chuckle.
Later, he would go to the imperial treasury and find some fine things for Suisui.
No matter who suffered, his Suisui must not.
Lou Changqing, who also heard her thoughts, fell into contemplation.
When he returned home, he would take out his personal savings—
and have someone deliver them to the palace, all for Suisui.
Seeing the situation turn bad, the prefect immediately rolled off his chair, knelt before Shangguan Lin and Shangguan Sui, and kowtowed frantically.
“It is all this official’s fault! This official failed to judge people properly and mistakenly trusted Lü Yuan, wronging Lou Changqing. Please punish me, Your Majesty!”
【Bah! You clearly colluded with Lü Yuan to frame my little uncle, and now you talk like you’re the victim. Truly shameless—thick-skinned on one side, completely without shame on the other!】
【Hate it! Hate it! So hateful!】
Shangguan Lin suppressed a laugh and gently patted the still babbling Shangguan Sui.
Suisui was just too adorable.
Her throat was already like this, yet she was still talking nonstop.
At this rate, who knew when her throat would recover?
“Your Majesty, the truth is not as the Prefect claims!”
Now freed, Lou Changqing cupped his hands and spoke in a clear voice.
Shangguan Lin’s brows shifted slightly. “Speak.”
【Yay! Little Uncle is about to tell the truth~】
【Little Uncle is so handsome! I like Little Uncle so much!】
Hearing Shangguan Sui’s praise, Lou Changqing pressed down the corners of his lips and said calmly,
“The Prefect was not ignorant of this matter. It was a scheme jointly devised by him and Lü Yuan. Just now in the hall, the Prefect ignored my defense and directly convicted me. The bailiffs present can all testify!”
Shangguan Lin had already fully believed Lou Changqing after hearing Suisui’s thoughts.
But he still pretended to glance around at the surrounding bailiffs, his voice deep and authoritative.
“Is that so?”
The bailiffs immediately knelt and nodded. One of them boldly spoke,
“Reporting to Your Majesty, it is true. The Prefect said there was no need to listen to Lou Changqing—that he could just be convicted directly. If anything happened, the Marquis of Zhenbei would handle it…”
Shangguan Lin let out a cold laugh.
“So it turns out that in this capital, it is the Marquis of Zhenbei who calls the shots.”
At these words, both the Prefect and Lü Yuan broke out in cold sweat.
At this moment, Lou Changqing completely understood the Emperor’s intent.
The Emperor no longer trusted the Marquis of Zhenbei as he once did…
Lou Changqing bowed deeply to Shangguan Lin.
And spoke the words he had long buried in his heart:
“Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble official wishes to accuse Captain Lü Yuan of wantonly taking innocent lives—”