There is a god in the sky

Chapter 340 Revenge 9

"Dead? How could that be?" Zhang Qisen felt a chill run through his body.

Shen Lan didn't say much, but turned to the emperor and knelt down straight. "Your Majesty, please seek justice for the people of Guli Town who died unjustly!"

At this moment, Commander Zhao brought Liu Engui in.

Upon seeing this scene, Liu Engui immediately cried out for help: "Your Majesty, save me! Someone is trying to harm me!"

Zhao Jinxiao grabbed him, took a few steps, and pushed him to the ground, where they landed right in front of the painting.

Liu Engui met the eyes of a dead man and screamed in fright.

The emperor's gaze swept over Liu Engui, then glanced at Tong Xiuqing. These two probably knew where the prescription was.

If we let them tell us today, the secret will no longer be a secret.

"Liu Qing, do you remember this place?"

"I don't know."

Minister Tong accused Shen Lan, "Your Majesty, this woman kidnapped a high-ranking official, abused her power, and tortured him into confessing. Her words are not to be trusted!"

Xiao Ji chimed in with a smile, "Minister Tong is right. Why don't we hear what Lord Liu has to say?"

Tong Xiuqing felt that Liu Engui was unlikely to confess. With the Emperor present, if he told the truth, wouldn't he be implicating the Emperor?

The emperor glanced at Zhao Jinxiao, who quietly nodded and then stepped aside.

Liu Engui turned around and knelt down properly.

The emperor asked, "Minister Liu, how many years have you been in Qingmu County?"

"More than ten years."

"Hmm, you've been a county magistrate for ten years, and you've never even been to Guli Town?"

Liu Engui lowered his head and replied, "I...I've been there."

"Take a closer look at this painting. Can you recognize this place?"

Liu Engui mustered his courage and moved over, refusing to look at the half of the picture that resembled a living hell.

He naturally didn't remember a small town.

But he could guess where the place was and when the scene in the painting took place.

He was outside the town when it was massacred. Although he didn't participate in it personally, he could hear the commotion inside.

Suddenly, a man rushed towards Liu Engui, pinned him to the ground, and forcefully choked him.

"It was you! You killed my family! I'll make you pay with your life!"

Zhang Qisen was thin and frail, the opposite of Liu Engui in physique, yet Liu Engui was so heavily suppressed that he could not move.

"Cough...Release...Release..."

Zhao Jinxiao stepped forward and dragged Zhang Qisen away, but was bitten by the other party.

He raised his hand and tapped Zhang Qisen on the back of the neck, causing the latter to faint.

The emperor, high above, asked, "Liu Engui, Shen Lan has accused you of murder to steal the Shen family's medicinal formula. Do you plead guilty?"

Liu Engui clutched his neck, rolled over, got up, and knelt down to kowtow.

He sobbed, banging his head against the ground with great force each time.

He wanted to beg for mercy, he wanted to explain, but he never uttered a single "no".

The emperor closed his eyes briefly and asked again, "Shen Lan accuses you of doing this on Tong Xiuqing's orders. Do you admit it?"

"No, I did it myself; no one instructed me to do it."

These words stunned not only the court officials but also Shen Lan.

She didn't expect Liu Engui to admit it so readily.

What happened to him in just a few hours?

Before Shen Lan decided to beat the drum to appeal for justice, she specifically instructed Shen Zhiyuan to hide the witnesses and evidence in the cellar where she had stayed the previous night.

Zhao Jinxiao must have brought the person out from there just now.

In such a short time, what did he figure out? Was it to sacrifice a pawn to save the king?

Tong Xiuqing's eyebrows twitched, but she didn't look at him or rush to clear her name.

"Your Majesty, I have found evidence of Liu Engui bribing Minister Tong over the past ten years."

Shen Lan opened the box containing the evidence and discovered that the confession she had made Liu Engui sign and affix his fingerprint to was missing.

The only person most likely to have access to this statement is Zhao Jinxiao.

It seems I was wrong; it was the emperor, not Tong Xiuqing, who sacrificed the pawn to save the king.

Liu Engui immediately explained, "The gold and silver bribes were given out by me in order to get promoted, and Lord Tong did not accept them."

"That's not how it's written in your ledger."

"That was...that was something I just remembered randomly."

This reason doesn't hold water.

The emperor waved his hand, "The bribery matter will be investigated later."

He walked beside Liu Engui with his hands behind his back and asked, "Where is the prescription you took from the Shen family?"

Shen Lan stared intently at Liu Engui, pondering his response.

He wanted to take the blame, but the prescription wouldn't just disappear for no reason.

"That prescription... I was just curious at the time. I heard that the Shen family had this miraculous prescription and wanted to take a look. Then a plague broke out, so I wanted to use Guli Town to make a name for myself. As for the prescription, I couldn't find all the ingredients afterward, so I threw it away."

Yuan Shenxing was straightforward and couldn't stand his attempt to fool people. "You would be willing to throw away such a treasure?"

He now believes Shen Lan's words.

Liu Engui would do anything for his career advancement. He bribed the Tong family, so it's impossible that he didn't include that precious formula as a gift.

Minister Zhao found himself utterly useless.

Moreover, at this point, it would be inappropriate for him to continue helping Minister Tong to exonerate himself.

If it's true, he'll be contradicting himself.

At this point, the only officials who would speak up for Tong Xiuqing were the core members of the princeling faction.

Most officials remain bystanders and no longer express their opinions freely.

Some people thought of their deceased relatives, and if they had that prescription, it might actually save their loved ones' lives.

Who wouldn't want a miracle drug to save their life?

Some people were secretly observing Minister Tong, trying to figure out whether he had taken the Shen family's medicine.

Everyone was curious: was the Shen family's prescription really that miraculous?

Looking at Minister Tong alone, one can't see anything particularly special about him.

Liu Engui raised his head slightly, not daring to look at anyone, and said firmly, "It's just a prescription, it's not as miraculous as the legends say. I think it's useless, so I threw it away."

"Even an ordinary prescription from the Shen family is not useless. If you have taken it before and it was ineffective, it only means that the medicine was not suitable for your condition."

Although I've never seen the recipe, I'm certain that a recipe that the Shen family treasures must have something special about it.

Prescriptions for prolonging life are usually more suitable for the elderly and those with weak constitutions. Are Lord Liu's parents still alive?

"No more."

"Are Minister Tong's parents still alive?"

Everyone suddenly realized.

If we follow this logic, the prescription most likely ended up in the hands of Headmaster Tong.

"On another note, every time I met Headmaster Tong, I felt that he was much younger than his actual age, and his energy was exceptionally high."

After Xiao Jiyi's reminder, the officials who had recently met with Headmaster Tong all fell into deep thought.

"Xiao Qing, you can't speak carelessly. Headmaster Tong is a highly respected figure; how can he be confused with a thief?"

The emperor gave Xiao Ji a mild reprimand.

Tong Xiuqing quickly clarified: "My father takes good care of himself and cultivates his character throughout the year. What's wrong with him looking a little younger?"

Xiao Ji looked at him with sympathy, "How long has it been since Lord Tong last saw your father?"

Tong Xiuqing hadn't actually calculated it carefully before, and was momentarily stumped by the question.