FIMA Ch59: Emergence

Early the next morning, just as the sky turned bright, the main gates of the County Lord Mansion were knocked upon.

A servant immediately ran to the main courtyard to find Gu Siyuan, saying someone from the Ministry of Justice had arrived with a matter of utmost urgency.

Gu Siyuan rolled over and sat up from the bed.

Xie Changyue was also woken by the commotion. He rubbed his small face against Gu Siyuan’s waist and thighs, mumbling: “Husband, later you must make the Emperor promote you and raise your salary. What kind of way is this to work…”

Gu Siyuan reached out and pinched the flesh of his cheek, saying coldly: “No rubbing around.”

Xie Changyue’s eyes snapped open. Lifting his head, he deliberately rubbed against the middle of his thighs a few more times.
Then, a smug smile hooked on the corners of his mouth as he looked at a certain spot and said: “Husband, you’re so excited. But now you have to rush to the Ministry of Justice, right? How pitiful…”

Gu Siyuan looked at him quietly, a storm seemingly gathering deep within his pupils.

Xie Changyue’s heart trembled, and he chickened out.
Gripping the quilt with both hands, he began to silently shrink toward the foot of the bed.

Seeing this adorable appearance, Gu Siyuan gave a light chuckle and beckoned with his finger: “Come here.”

Xie Changyue shook his head and said haltingly: “Husband, you should get going.”

Gu Siyuan narrowed his eyes, stretched out a long arm, pulled the person over, and pinned him in his embrace. He lowered his head and bit down fiercely a few times on those dark red lips, then moved down to bite his neck a few times as well.

A moment later, the corners of Xie Changyue’s eyes were flushed as he pitifully touched his neck: “I can’t go out again today.”

“No,” Gu Siyuan shook his head.

“…” Xie Changyue glared at him: “Husband, I really need to talk to you. You are truly getting more and more that. Do you intentionally want to force me to wander around outside looking like this?”

Gu Siyuan nodded: “En, I am just this bad and this perverted.”

“…” Xie Changyue puffed out his cheeks.
How convincing.
To be perverted so openly and honestly…

Gu Siyuan couldn’t help but laugh. He gently caressed the marks on his neck and whispered: “Having you go out is for proper business. Listen well, after you finish breakfast later, go to…”

A long while later, Xie Changyue nodded: “I will do as you say. Be careful yourself too.”

Gu Siyuan kissed his fair forehead, directly threw off the quilt, got dressed, and left the room.

Upon arriving at the Ministry of Justice, Gu Siyuan learned what had happened. He was told that Kou Yuanwu had left a final message on the wall early this morning, confessing that everything was done by him alone and had nothing to do with anyone else, and then committed suicide.

Fortunately, before Gu Siyuan left yesterday, he had arranged for the Longxiang Guards to keep watch secretly in the dark, and they intercepted him the moment before Kou Yuanwu was about to end his life.

After hearing this, Gu Siyuan first gave a quiet look at the profusely sweating Left Vice Minister of Justice, Qin Huai.

“Reader Gu, thankfully you were here this time…” Qin Huai laughed awkwardly, though in his heart, he had already cursed Kou Yuanwu’s ancestors back eighteen generations.
Yesterday afternoon, he had been confidently guaranteeing to Gu Siyuan that there would absolutely be no problems in the Ministry of Justice’s Heavenly Prison…
As a result, right after the morning court assembly ended today, before he had even walked out of the palace gates, he heard the news that Kou Yuanwu had almost died.

Gu Siyuan had no intention of mocking or holding Vice Minister Qin accountable. A fifty-year-old man, panting like this—he had probably run all the way here.
The same went for the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicature and Revision and the Censor-in-Chief standing nearby.

Thinking of this, his current sub-fifth rank position as an Academician Reader-in-Waiting really wasn’t bad. Being a minor official had its perks; at the very least, he didn’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to attend morning court.

Having thought this through, he turned to the Longxiang Guard: “How did he attempt suicide? Wsn’t he stripped clean when he came in? Without tools, he couldn’t slit his throat or hang himself, but it couldn’t be biting his tongue or smashing his head against the wall, could it? Was it by taking poison?”

The reason it couldn’t be smashing his head or biting his tongue was that, given Kou Yuanwu’s paralyzed state on the ground, how many times would he have to repeatedly smash his head against the wall to kill himself? The jailers would have definitely noticed early on; it wouldn’t have required the Longxiang Guards to intervene.
As for biting his tongue to commit suicide, that was even more impossible.

Supported by scientific knowledge, Gu Siyuan naturally knew that unless it was an accident, it was fundamentally impossible for a person to bite the root of their own tongue, nor could they bite it off completely. Even if a ghost possessed him and he did bite it off, the tongue was full of capillaries, and the blood loss wouldn’t be enough to cause death. Even the probability of excessive blood flowing into the trachea and choking oneself to death was less than one percent.

The Longxiang Guard cupped his hands and reported: “Lord Gu predicts things like a god. It was indeed poison. After this subordinate seized the poison at that moment, I immediately requested an imperial physician in the Heavenly Prison to examine it. It was Hedinghong (Crane’s Red Crest), a highly toxic poison that seals the throat upon drawing blood.”

“Hedinghong?” Gu Siyuan glanced at them: “After I left yesterday, exactly who came into contact with him? Bring every single one of them here. If they can’t be brought, immediately go raid their homes.”

After speaking, he sat down with Vice Minister Qin and the others.

Gu Siyuan looked at Kou Yuanwu, who was sprawled on the ground like a pile of mud, and said coldly: “General Kou is truly a character, even daring to casually swallow Hedinghong.”

Qin Huai was also heartbroken: “As the saying goes, a bad life is better than a good death. Why must General Kou go this far? Wouldn’t it be better to confess early and atone for your crimes through meritorious service?”

Kou Yuanwu, however, didn’t glare and curse at them like yesterday. Instead, his expression was unpredictable, faintly showing lingering fear.
Even after hearing Qin Huai’s words, a trace of hesitation flashed deep in his eyes.

Gu Siyuan narrowed his eyes and immediately struck while the iron was hot: “Since a night has passed and General Kou has not only failed to think things through but has become even more unappreciative of favors, there is no need to hold back anymore. We might as well let him truly experience the taste of Hedinghong!”

Hearing this, Qin Huai and the other two were stunned, hurriedly advising: “Reader Gu, do not be impulsive! Eating Hedinghong will kill a person. Kou Yuanwu is a crucial criminal; how can we let him lose his life just like this…”
After yesterday, they felt they somewhat understood Gu Siyuan. Despite his young age, this person was ruthless, showing no mercy and speaking no empty words.

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained unchanged as he said indifferently: “It will take two quarters of an hour (30 minutes) to die.”

“…” Qin Huai.
Doesn’t that still mean he’ll die? What’s the difference?

Gu Siyuan ignored them and waved a hand directly: “Pry open his mouth.”

The two jailers immediately moved.
Kou Yuanwu also immediately began struggling violently, not at all looking like a person who had left a final message and viewed death as a return home.

Seeing this, Qin Huai and the others immediately frowned. Exchanging glances, they suppressed their urge to rush forward and stop it.
Having floated in officialdom for many years, they naturally weren’t fools either.

“Earlier he wanted to commit suicide himself, but now that Reader Gu is willing to fulfill his wish, why is he suddenly unwilling?”
“His mind changes rather quickly.”
“Hmph, I fear there’s something fishy going on here.”

Gu Siyuan narrowed his eyes: “I once read in unofficial histories and anecdotes that a person who has died once and experienced the terrifying taste of death will fear death more than an ordinary person.”

Qin Huai and the others gave him a half-believing look: “As expected of the first Six Yuans Champion in history. Reader Gu truly is widely read.”

Hearing them talk and laugh merrily, seemingly completely disregarding his life and death, Kou Yuanwu struggled like a madman, shouting: “Gu Siyuan, you cannot kill me! Are you trying to silence me?”
“Gu Siyuan, I know you have ties with the Wang family! You and Wang Xu are close friends! You want to silence me, don’t you?!”

Gu Siyuan lazily raised his eyes to look at him, saying coldly: “How could I be silencing you? Am I not fulfilling your wish like a gentleman? Furthermore, there are three high officials present here. Would I dare silence you so blatantly?”

Kou Yuanwu glared at him and said with absolute certainty: “My suicide is to fulfill loyalty and righteousness, but your killing me is a betrayal of faith and righteousness!”

Gu Siyuan’s eyes lit up: “In that case, you are admitting that you were instructed by the Wang family to commit the case of stealing and selling military equipment?”

“…” Kou Yuanwu’s words stuck in his throat.
Why does this person never play by the rules?! Although he really wanted to answer that it was exactly so, it wasn’t enough yet. The more he held out with iron blood, the more meaningful his confession would be. If he admitted it too early, it would lose its value.

“Unappreciative of favors.” Seeing him return to silence, Gu Siyuan suddenly sneered. He looked at the torturing jailers beside him and made a hand gesture: “Go find a round wooden stick about this thick.”

A moment later, the jailer returned. Their Ministry of Justice Heavenly Prison was very fully stocked with all sorts of items.

Staring at Kou Yuanwu, Gu Siyuan’s voice was terrifyingly faint: “Shove that wooden stick down his mouth. As deep as it can go.”

“…” Qin Huai and the others swallowed hard, feeling like their throats and stomachs were already starting to hurt.

The next moment, Kou Yuanwu’s eyes widened, and he began making sounds from his mouth: “Mmh… ah ah…”
His body twisted frantically like fried dough twists, but no matter what, he couldn’t escape the iron-claw-like restraints of the two jailers.

Qin Huai asked Gu Siyuan curiously: “Didn’t Reader Gu say to make him eat Hedinghong?”

Gu Siyuan replied to Qin Huai: “This lower official said to let him taste the feeling of Hedinghong. This lower official once read a medical text stating that after ingesting Hedinghong, the throat will burn, the stomach will ache with nausea, and then there will be vomiting, continuing until only yellow bile is left. This lower official guessed the effect of eating this wooden stick is roughly the same…”

“…” The three exchanged glances.
You are truly so resourceful!

About a few minutes later, Kou Yuanwu’s eyes were already rolling back.
Gu Siyuan waved his hand, signaling the jailers to stop.

The moment the wooden stick left, Kou Yuanwu immediately gasped heavily for air, then clutched his stomach and began vomiting. He threw up the meals he had eaten over the past few days, continuing until finally, only yellow bile remained.

Qin Huai and the others subconsciously exchanged a glance. It really did seem a bit like what Gu Siyuan described… and then they instantly turned their heads away again.
“…”
Tsk, after spending just two days with Gu Siyuan, how have the three of them also become so perverted?

Gu Siyuan paid completely no attention to the three old men’s mental gymnastics. He merely looked at Kou Yuanwu kneeling on the ground and sneered: “General Kou disappoints this official quite a bit. You couldn’t even hold on for half a cup of tea’s time. If you had truly swallowed Hedinghong, you’d have to endure it for at least two quarters of an hour.”

Kou Yuanwu forced his head up, glaring at Gu Siyuan with fury in his eyes that almost burned, wishing he could eat his flesh and drink his blood.

Gu Siyuan raised an eyebrow: “What, you still want to continue? This official has always had a heart that enjoys assisting others to fulfill their desires!”

Kou Yuanwu looked at Gu Siyuan as if he were a demon.

A long while later, rubbing his cheeks and clutching his stomach, he said somewhat hysterically: “Lord Gu, what exactly do you want to know from me?!”

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained as it was at the beginning, his voice faint: “The process of your collusion with the person behind the scenes, and the location where the military equipment is hidden.”

Kou Yuanwu shook his head, panting: “…I did not collude with anyone, I… also don’t know where the military equipment is.”

“You don’t know…” Gu Siyuan stood up, a faint smile on his face, and slowly paced over to his side.

In the next instant, he suddenly delivered a vicious kick, his voice as cold as absolute ice: “A thing that refuses face when given face! If you don’t know anything, what use are you!”

Kou Yuanwu was kicked entirely flat onto the ground and immediately began uncontrollably vomiting again.

Qin Huai and the other two jumped in shock at Gu Siyuan’s sudden outburst.
This young man, always startling people out of nowhere.

Right at this time, two Longxiang Guards walked in from outside and announced loudly: “Four Lords, we found them.”

Gu Siyuan’s expression eased slightly, and he nodded: “Bring them up.”
Qin Huai and the others also smiled; it seemed things were about done.

The Longxiang Guards escorted three people in: a man, a woman, and a three or four-year-old child.

Seeing the newcomers, Kou Yuanwu, who was sprawled on the ground, couldn’t help but widen his eyes: “Zhan Niang, Bao’er, and Mr. Huang…”

Gu Siyuan looked down at him and mocked coldly: “What, General Kou recognizes this family of three?”

Kou Yuanwu did not deny it, but instead widened his eyes and retorted: “Family of three?!”

The Longxiang Guard who brought them said: “When I found them, this family of three was boarding a boat at the Tongzhou canal port, preparing to leave for Jiangnan.”

Gu Siyuan raised his foot and stepped on the side of Kou Yuanwu’s face, forcing him to look in the direction of those three people, his voice faint: “Are they not? The child looks exactly like his father.”

Kou Yuanwu stared deadly at Bao’er and Mr. Huang, his eyeballs practically popping out of their sockets as he muttered: “Impossible… impossible…”

Right then, the child seemed frightened by the scene and ran over to hug Mr. Huang’s leg, crying loudly: “Daddy… Daddy, let’s go…”

Mr. Huang’s face turned ugly, knowing that years of planning had likely come to nothing in a single day.
He hadn’t expected they would actually be found by the Longxiang Guards, nor that Kou Yuanwu was actually still alive.

Kou Yuanwu’s eyes turned extremely terrifying.
“Zhan Niang, you betrayed me!”

According to the original plan, Zhan Niang was supposed to take the child and wait for him at an estate in Tongzhou. Seven days after he took the fake death pill, he would wake up. At that time, their family would disguise themselves and leave the capital, only returning after the Fourth Prince ascended the throne in the future.

But now, the fake death pill had turned into Hedinghong, and the child wasn’t even his.

Kou Yuanwu’s eye sockets turned deep red, practically oozing blood: “You dared to deceive me… You dared to deceive me like this! You will pay the price… Ah!!!”

…

Masuo Alley.
Inside an inconspicuous small courtyard, two symmetrical camphor trees were planted.
Although the branches and leaves weren’t particularly lush, in this scorching summer, they managed to provide some shade, making it more comfortable than standing under the harsh sun.

At this time, under the tree on the left, Gu Zhen looked at the person in front of him, his expression complex to the extreme: “I didn’t expect that from so early on, everything was already right under his nose?”

Hearing this, Xie Changyue felt somewhat smug and really wanted to blow a few rainbow farts (heap praises) on his husband, but he realized it wasn’t the right time.

With a cold, pretty face, he said to Gu Zhen: “It’s a good thing he knew early on, otherwise the moment the Gu family was dragged down to hell by you, everyone would still have been living in a dream.”

Gu Zhen gritted his teeth unwillingly: “Dragged down to hell? Perhaps it would have been soaring straight to the blue heavens?”

Xie Changyue gave a scoffing laugh: “Before today, perhaps you could still say that. To still think so now is simply too foolish.”

Gu Zhen’s face turned pale.
A long while later, he blinked, looked at Xie Changyue, and asked: “You specially came to find me at this time and told me so much. What do you want me to do?”

Xie Changyue’s expression was indifferent as he enunciated word by word: “I want you to go to the Ministry of Justice and report Shen Changhuan and Xiao Jingchuan.”

Gu Zhen froze, then resolutely shook his head: “Impossible. I could never do that to Changhuan.”

Xie Changyue narrowed his eyes at him, the corners of his mouth hooking into a mocking smile: “You can’t do that to Shen Changhuan, but you can do it to the Gu family? To your father and mother, to your grandfather and grandmother? You know very well, this is the grave crime of treason and rebellion; it demands the extermination of the nine familial branches.”

Gu Zhen’s face turned deathly pale.
Initially, he hadn’t participated in the matter of the private army at all. But as time went on, he wasn’t a stupid person, so he naturally knew what Shen Changhuan was doing. However, having been used to protecting Shen Changhuan since childhood, even regarding such a treasonous act, his first thought was concealment—he couldn’t let anyone know, couldn’t let anything happen to Shen Changhuan.

Later, as Gu Siyuan became increasingly outstanding and dazzling, he gradually realized this might be a shortcut to narrowing the gap between himself and Gu Siyuan, and he began to actively pay attention to it.

Gu Zhen looked up at Xie Changyue and laughed loudly: “Yes, the nine familial branches will be exterminated! You and Gu Siyuan are also within my nine familial branches! So, would he really let this matter be exposed? Saying it sounds nice—for the Gu family—but isn’t it just for Gu Siyuan’s own future?”

Xie Changyue’s expression remained unchanged: “My husband has been keeping an eye on you all along. He naturally knows you never truly participated; you merely knew of it and did not report it. Of course, this is also a grave crime. Perhaps my husband would indeed be implicated by you and lose his future, but perhaps not. After all, the family has been divided, and His Majesty has always favored and trusted my husband. However, your father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother have an eighty or ninety percent chance of being implicated and exiled…”

Gu Zhen glared at him furiously: “You are threatening me. Don’t forget, they are also Gu Siyuan’s relatives.”

Xie Changyue smiled: “Relatives? To tell the truth, I absolutely do not care about their life or death. After all, from the first day I married into the Gu family, their attitude toward me was very poor, and they were unfair to my husband. Especially… I especially dislike your mother. She is a very annoying person, loves taking petty advantages, has a loose tongue, and always bullied my Papa.”

Gu Zhen narrowed his eyes at him: “Does slandering my mother at this time have any meaning?”

Xie Changyue blinked playfully: “How is it slander? Isn’t it the truth? Don’t lie to me. Back then, when my husband bluntly exposed that Shen Changhuan didn’t want to marry you because of your mother, you actually felt a faint annoyance toward her in your heart too, right? If, when Shen Changhuan was still a peasant Ger, your mother hadn’t been such a snob and had treated Shen Changhuan better, you might have had a chance to be with Shen Changhuan—you definitely thought that in your heart, right?”

Gu Zhen remained silent, giving no answer.
Because it was the truth.

Xie Changyue ignored his reaction and continued: “But, even so, even if she is terrible in a myriad of ways in the eyes of outsiders, you still have no way to truly hate or dislike her because of it. Because you know, no matter how selfish she is, or how mean she is to the whole world, towards you, toward you, Gu Zhen… she is selfless. Li Xiangtao is selfless toward Gu Zhen.”

Gu Zhen closed his eyes, his entire body trembling violently, as if he would collapse directly at any moment.
He kept stepping backward until he grabbed the thick trunk of the tree to barely steady himself.

Xie Changyue looked at him and asked calmly: “So, Gu Zhen, are you going to watch helplessly as she dies because of you? Just die like that?”

An unknown amount of time passed.
Gu Zhen sat on a stool looking at Xie Changyue, his face ashen: “Everything was calculated by him.”

Xie Changyue said faintly: “My husband had already investigated everything clearly early on. Even if you don’t go report it, Shen Changhuan’s ending is destined. But the ending of your parents and grandparents can be changed because of you.”

Gu Zhen admitted he had been persuaded.
He looked at Xie Changyue and said one last sentence: “Gu Siyuan was very lucky to have swapped marriages with me back then and married you.”

Xie Changyue stood up to walk out. Hearing this, his bright eyes blinked slightly: “Emotions are precious because they are cherished. Do not belittle the emotions of others, and do not belittle your own emotions. Your attitude toward emotions… Tsk!”

“…” Gu Zhen.
Truly harsh.
But… perhaps he was very right.

Gu Zhen sighed deeply and reached out to touch the rough bark of the camphor tree.

Great Zhou Imperial Palace, Hall of Diligent Government.

During the morning court assembly today, the leading officials of the Three Judicial Offices had reported the situation of yesterday’s interrogations to Emperor Yongjia, mentioning that one of the masterminds was Kou Yuanwu.

Consequently, Minister Wang had directly removed his official hat right in the court hall today and returned home to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors.

As soon as the court assembly ended, Emperor Yongjia immediately summoned several of the princes.

He first looked coldly at the Fifth Prince below: “Kou Yuanwu is your cousin-in-law, isn’t he? He is the son-in-law your uncle insisted on choosing and highly valued, isn’t he…”

Facing this disaster descending from the heavens, the Fifth Prince kept his back straight, but his usually warm and mild voice still revealed some unease: “Imperial Father, this son does not dare dispute my relationship with Kou Yuanwu. But regarding the case of stolen and sold military equipment, this son guarantees with the head on his neck that I absolutely had no involvement.”

Right at this moment, the news from the Ministry of Justice’s Heavenly Prison filtered in.

“Kou Yuanwu has committed suicide.”

Emperor Yongjia’s face instantly became extremely ugly. Picking up the teacup on the dragon desk, he directly smashed it down: “You still have the nerve to say you guarantee it with the head on your neck? Hehe, now he has preemptively guaranteed it for you! Do you know who the person he wanted to protect with his suicide is?!”

“Imperial Father, this son has a hundred mouths but cannot explain, but this son is truly wronged!” A rare trace of a crack appeared on the Fifth Prince’s warm face.

Kou Yuanwu had actually committed suicide…
The world knew the Wang family had shown deep grace and heavy righteousness toward Kou Yuanwu, and Kou Yuanwu was also someone who knew to repay kindness. If it was said he committed suicide to protect the Wang family, to protect him, it would truly be all too reasonable.

The Fourth Prince lowered his head, a microscopic smile hooking the corners of his mouth.
Sometimes, when a person dies and says nothing, the effect is even better than speaking directly.

The First Prince also couldn’t help but reveal a hint of schadenfreude. Old Fifth has made a disastrous move!

Emperor Yongjia pointed at the Fifth Prince: “Of course you have a hundred mouths but cannot explain! Things you did yourself, and you still have the nerve to argue? If you honestly confess everything clearly right now, We might consider sparing your life, and sparing your mother-consort’s life!”

Hearing such severe words, the Fifth Prince’s expression drastically changed: “Imperial Father…”

Right at this time, an announcement sounded from outside the hall.

“Your Majesty, Vice Minister Qin, Reader Gu, General Song, and others have entered the palace.”

“Summon.” Emperor Yongjia narrowed his eyes. Yesterday Gu Siyuan managed to dig out Kou Yuanwu; today, perhaps the final results, evidence, and even the whereabouts of that batch of military equipment had been investigated.

Led by Vice Minister Qin with Gu Siyuan at the very end, the five men walked in without looking sideways and bowed in unison: “Your Majesty.”

Emperor Yongjia looked directly at Gu Siyuan: “Siyuan, is there progress in the case?”

Gu Siyuan nodded: “Yes. I must request an order from Your Majesty to arrest someone.”

Emperor Yongjia furrowed his brows: “We bestowed the gold medallion upon you, granting you the authority to act as you see fit. Who is it that you still need to explain to Us to arrest?”

Gu Siyuan raised his head and said flatly: “Because it involves the inner palace and Your Majesty’s safety, I must obtain Your Majesty’s approval. This subject requests to arrest Yulin Guard General, Xiao Jingchuan.”

Emperor Yongjia widened his eyes.

The Yulin Guard (Feather Forest Guard) was one of his Four Imperial Direct Guards, responsible for the security of the inner palace. They were the people closest to him.

And he was also very familiar with Xiao Jingchuan. He was the eldest son of the Zhennan General, the disciple of the Yulin Guard Grand Commander Ji Hao, and had always been responsible for the security around his Hall of Diligent Government. He had also trusted him deeply.

It wasn’t until recently, after recovering from his illness, that he remembered Xiao Jingchuan had once been the Fourth Prince’s study companion. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable and unwilling to have the princes’ people too close to him, he had transferred him away.

He never expected this intuition of his to actually be correct.

If even the Yulin Guard was implicated in the case of stolen military equipment, then his safety was practically floating in mid-air.

Emperor Yongjia instantly flew into a massive rage: “Arrest him! Go arrest him for Us immediately! Once arrested, bring him directly before Us!”

“Yes,” Gu Siyuan nodded, turning to Song Qi beside him: “I will have to trouble the Longxiang Guard to make a trip.”

Song Qi acknowledged and turned to leave without hesitation.

The Fourth Prince’s expression changed slightly. Since Kou Yuanwu is dead, how did the Ministry of Justice trace it to Jingchuan? What accident occurred…

Emperor Yongjia’s shocked and suspicious gaze also turned to his fourth son. Compared to the First Prince, who naturally had the advantage of birth order, and the Fifth Prince, whose maternal family was at the peak of prosperity, the Fourth Prince had always been very low-key, so he rarely spent much effort on him.

But playing with eagles all day, he had his eyes pecked by an eagle.

He frowned and asked directly: “Old Four, Jingchuan was your study companion, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, but… Jingchuan is a Yulin Guard, how could he be involved in the Shenwu Guard’s stolen military equipment case…” The Fourth Prince immediately kowtowed repeatedly, looking at Gu Siyuan as he spoke, asking with an air of pure innocence: “Reader Gu, are you truly not mistaken?”

Gu Siyuan cast a sideways glance at the Fourth Prince and said nonchalantly: “Since the Fourth Prince harbors doubts toward this subject, then this subject shall remain silent. Vice Minister Qin and the others are also here; I invite you Lords to explain things to the Prince.”

At this time, Emperor Yongjia couldn’t be bothered to care about these trivial matters either, looking directly at Qin Huai: “Beloved Subject Qin, you speak. How was the Yulin Guard implicated?”

Qin Huai immediately stepped forward: “This was reported by Kou Yuanwu.”

Hearing this, Emperor Yongjia furrowed his sword-like eyebrows, his gaze cold to the extreme, thinking these people were using a dead man as a pretext.
“Kou Yuanwu… didn’t he commit suicide?”

Qin Huai reported further: “He did attempt suicide. However, thanks to Your Majesty’s Longxiang Guards secretly keeping watch, he was intercepted in time.”

Emperor Yongjia stood up abruptly: “That means he is not dead yet!”

“Yes,” Qin Huai nodded.

The Fifth Prince breathed a sigh of relief.
The fingers inside the Fourth Prince’s wide sleeves clenched tight.

Emperor Yongjia narrowed his eyes: “If he was willing to commit suicide to protect the person behind him, how could he immediately confess after being saved?”

Speaking of this, Qin Huai himself still found it bizarre.
However, he still had to answer.
He sighed and said: “There was quite a bit of turbulence in this matter. Kou Yuanwu actually wasn’t committing suicide; he intended to fake his death.”

Hearing these words, the Fourth Prince slowly lowered his head, knowing it was truly exposed.

“Fake his death?” Emperor Yongjia felt like he was listening to a myth or a fairy tale.

Qin Huai nodded, biting the bullet to continue: “Yes. According to Kou Yuanwu, before Your Majesty investigated the Shenwu Guard, he had already conspired with the mastermind behind the scenes. After entering the Ministry of Justice’s Heavenly Prison, he would stubbornly resist for a day to show loyalty, and then on the morning of the second day, leave a blood letter admitting to everything, and commit suicide to fake his death. This way, everything would be framed onto Minister Wang and the Fifth Prince.”

“After ingesting that fake death pill, although the body’s symptoms are like those of a dead person, it preserves life for seven days. When everyone’s attention was focused on the Fifth Prince, the mastermind would take the opportunity to secretly swap the body, helping him shed his cicada shell and escape.”

“But due to Reader Gu’s prior arrangements, Kou Yuanwu was intercepted by the Longxiang Guards precisely when taking the fake death pill. Later, upon examination by the Heavenly Prison’s imperial physician, Kou Yuanwu finally realized it wasn’t a fake death pill, but Hedinghong. Understanding that the mastermind had gone back on their word and wanted to silence him by killing him, he actively confessed.”

Emperor Yongjia rubbed his temples, furrowing his brows: “Confessed what?”

Qin Huai continued: “Kou Yuanwu stated that everything was done under the Fourth Prince’s instruction, and his contact person was General Xiao Jingchuan.”

The Fourth Prince immediately knelt and kowtowed: “Imperial Father, clear judgment! How could this son possibly do such a thing? Kou Yuanwu is Fifth Brother’s cousin-in-law, how could he accept this son’s orders to frame Fifth Brother?”

Emperor Yongjia also frowned. The story sounded plausible, but what was the motive?
He looked at Qin Huai: “Subject Qin, the world knows Kou Yuanwu’s close ties with the Wang family. What you say is truly baffling.”

Gu Siyuan thought to himself: How can human psychology be explained simply relying on a flimsy relationship, especially an in-law relationship like this?

Qin Huai also began to explain patiently.

Kou Yuanwu originally hailed from an aristocratic family. His father had considerable military talent and followed the Provincial Commander of Liangjiang to defend against Japanese pirates (Wokou) along the southeast coast.

About ten years ago, when Minister Wang was still serving as a Provincial Councilor in Zhejiang, the two had a fairly good relationship. Since both families had children of marriageable age, they arranged an engagement between their children.

However, later on, the Japanese pirates invaded the shore. The Provincial Commander of Liangjiang commanded poorly. Not only did he suffer a massive defeat, but he also acted as cowardly as a mouse, retreating early before reinforcements arrived, resulting in several villages being slaughtered and innocent civilians massacred.

All the military officials of Zhejiang were escorted back to the capital for trial. Some were beheaded, some exiled, some stripped of their ranks. Kou Yuanwu’s father was exiled to Lingnan, and the Kou family declined from then on.

However, the Wang family had always maintained a clean reputation. Even though the Kou family had fallen, the previously arranged marriage between the children proceeded as normal. Furthermore, after the marriage, they arranged for Kou Yuanwu to take a post in the Shenwu Guard.

The world unanimously praised the Wang family’s righteous spirit and honorable conduct for this action.

Initially, Kou Yuanwu was also extremely grateful to the Wang family. But as time went on, hearing too many rumors and gossip, his mindset changed. All the good the Wang family did turned sour in his eyes, morphing into charity and insults.

He also became extremely dissatisfied with his wife, Lady Wang.

But he also knew that everything he had came from the Wang family, and he couldn’t afford to offend them. Therefore, outwardly, he became even more submissive to the Wang family and showed great care and doting affection for his wife.
Even when Lady Wang remained childless for several years after marriage, he never took in any concubines or bedmaids.

The Wang family was extremely satisfied with Kou Yuanwu’s actions, even developing a bit of guilt. Thus, they began to compensate him in other areas. Coupled with Kou Yuanwu’s own stifled determination to climb up, in just a few short years, he rose from an ordinary seventh-rank staff officer to a primary fourth-rank Zhonglang General, becoming one of the second-in-commands of the Shenwu Guard.

By this point, he also had forces that belonged to him.

And so, Kou Yuanwu not only secretly took an outside mistress and had a son, but also allied with the Fourth Prince to gradually unfold his revenge plan against the Wang family.

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