"Oh?" Qi Junmu chuckled softly. He said: "What, does Prince Jin need to see the person before he will admit it? Perhaps I should give you a reminder—the journey to Qingzhou, and the female assassin incident."
Qi Junzhuo's body stiffened slightly. Before he could say anything, Qi Junmu clapped his hands and said: "Bring the female assassin in."
By now, anyone who still failed to see that the Emperor was deliberately provoking a fight was unfit to serve as an official. After all, this was supposed to be a banquet in honor of the Western Di envoy, yet the mysterious female assassin who had been held in custody all this time was already prepared.
The female assassin—the one whose name A Nian had been ordered by the Emperor to change—was quickly brought in. She was beautiful, but not in the gentle way of Da Qi; hers was a striking, breathtaking beauty. Just from her appearance, it was clear she was not from Da Qi.
Most importantly, this female assassin bore a certain resemblance to Qi Junzhuo—both had eyes with a faint hint of gold in them.
The moment he saw her, Qi Junzhuo froze.
The female assassin knelt on the floor and said not a single word.
Seeing this, everyone understood: the female assassin was from Yunhai. Qi Junzhuo's mother was also from Yunhai, and the two looked so much alike... Some things, once you started thinking about them, became terrifying.
So what exactly was Qi Junzhuo's relationship with this female assassin? And why had she injured the Empress's younger brother and the heir of Prince Ying?
Qi Junmu tapped the table. He said: "Prince Jin, have you nothing to say? Tell me now—do you know her or not?"
Qi Junzhuo knelt on the ground, his back ramrod straight. He pressed his lips together, then finally said: "Your subject does indeed know this female assassin, but I have no relationship with her whatsoever."
The warmth in Qi Junmu's eyes vanished instantly. He turned to look at the female assassin and said: "He won't speak. You speak. Why did you assassinate the heir of Prince Ying and Wen Yao?"
On the surface, the female assassin showed no signs of having been tortured, but upon hearing the Emperor's voice, she involuntarily flinched. That single motion easily made one imagine what she had been put through.
After a moment of silence, the female assassin spoke. Her tone was flat: "My original target was the Emperor. But the palace was heavily guarded, so I was ordered to assassinate other members of the imperial clan instead, to create turmoil in the Da Qi court. The Qingzhou assassination attempt on Prince Jin was also part of the plan."
At her words, Wen Zhuo jumped up and pointed at her, cursing her for being utterly vile.
Prince Ying frowned, his eyes filled with hatred.
"Ordered?" Qi Junmu repeated the word with a hint of amusement. "Ordered by whom?"
The female assassin lifted her head slightly, then lowered it again.
Qi Junmu was about to say more when Lin Xiao suddenly rose to his feet and said: "Your Majesty, this humble subject believes that this matter cannot possibly be related to Prince Jin."
Everyone was astonished at Lin Xiao's intervention.
Even Qi Junzhuo, kneeling on the ground, could not help glancing over at him. Lin Xiao ignored all the eyes upon him and continued: "Prince Jin was raised by Your Majesty's own hands. Your Majesty should know his true nature. From their features, the two do bear some resemblance, and it is only natural that Prince Jin, upon seeing her, would suspect she might have some connection to him. Your Majesty should investigate this thoroughly and not be deceived by others."
"I disagree with the Left Chancellor's words," Prince Ying finally jumped up, snorting coldly. "We all heard it just now—this female assassin's intention was to assassinate the imperial clan, to distract His Majesty so she could strike at him. Her malice is beyond measure."
"Prince Jin was assassinated on his trip to Qingzhou, yet he concealed the assassin's existence and never reported it. That shows he had no regard for His Majesty's safety whatsoever—and because of that, this woman was able to appear in the capital and harm Fan'er and Wen Yao. I say this is all Prince Jin's doing. I firmly believe he and this woman must be plotting something together."
Likely spurred on by seeing the one who had injured his son, Prince Ying spoke with great fervor and passion, and his logic was sound enough—surprising everyone quite a bit.
Lin Xiao naturally disagreed with Prince Ying's view. He firmly believed that Qi Junzhuo was innocent.
Prince Ying, on the other hand, insisted that Qi Junzhuo had sent this female assassin to kill Qi Fan and Wen Yao. The fact that Qi Junzhuo had let the assassin go back then was highly suspicious of harboring ill intent—one could even say it was a direct challenge to the emperor.
In short, as far as Prince Ying was concerned, Qi Junzhuo should take full responsibility for the injuries suffered by Qi Fan and Wen Yao. The two went back and forth like this for a while, and the onlookers felt that both sides made valid points, unsure which side to support.
Arlie and the other Western Di envoys sat to the side, watching the drama unfold. Occasionally, they exchanged glances, all thinking that the Da Qi imperial palace was quite entertaining. They could tell their king all about it as a good story when they returned to Western Di.
Qi Junmu sat at the high seat in the hall, watching their quarrel with a cold expression. Shen Nian could tell from his face that he was in a bad mood.
But given the occasion, there was no way for him to comfort the emperor. He would have to wait until later, in private, to properly console him.
After the argument died down, Wen Zhuo also rose and asked the emperor to seek justice for Wen Yao. When Wen Zhuo mentioned Wen Yao, his eyes turned red. Regardless of what connection this female assassin had with Qi Junzhuo, he loathed her to the bone and wished he could grind her to ashes.
Wen Yao had been stabbed straight through the chest by this woman and nearly died. Even after all these days of recovery, he was still lying half-dead in bed.
No matter who had brought this female assassin upon them, Wen Zhuo believed she deserved death.
When Wen Zhuo mentioned Wen Yao, the emotion on his face was clearly genuine. Wen Wan, seated above, saw this and her eyes also reddened slightly.
At this point, the scales had tipped decisively against Qi Junzhuo.
Finally, Lin Xiao looked at Qi Junzhuo and said earnestly, "Prince Jin, you know best what really happened. You should be truthful with His Majesty."
Hearing this, Qi Junzhuo looked up at Qi Junmu. His expression shifted, as if he had a thousand things to say, yet did not know where to begin.
Qi Junmu raised his hand and said, "Left Chancellor and Prince Ying, please both be seated. I will get to the bottom of this matter. But before that, there has been a question on my mind that I would like Arlie to help answer."
Arlie, who had been watching the show, did not expect to suddenly become part of it. He quickly stood up and said, "Please speak, Your Majesty."
Qi Junmu said, "I have always wondered: what exactly did Western Di offer Chang Sheng to make him betray Da Qi and cooperate with you?"
Arlie paused for a moment, about to say something, but Qi Junmu cut him off with a slightly cold tone: "Do not tell me that Western Di had no collusion with Chang Sheng. My eyes are not blind, nor are my ears deaf. The evidence of Chang Sheng's collusion with Western Di is solid. I let you talk nonsense earlier because I was in a good mood. Now I am not in a good mood, so Arlie, you had better choose your words carefully."
"Chang Sheng was a general. His collusion with Western Di, even if for money or women, ultimately amounts to high treason. But as far as I know, Chang Sheng was a man who valued his reputation. He would not have done this without reason. So I have been thinking—why did he do it? After much thought, only one possibility remains: he had someone backing him—and that someone was a member of the imperial clan."
"Arlie, does my speculation make sense?" Qi Junmu asked with a smile at the end.
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