On the streets, there were wanted posters of the murderer plastered everywhere, attracting many onlookers who pointed and whispered.
"This woman is so bold! How dare she attempt to murder Princess Five in broad daylight!"
"Indeed! I heard that Princess Five is seriously injured and has been in a coma. She probably won't make it."
Jingzhe blended into the crowd looking at the posters. His eyes were filled with hatred, as if he wanted to rush up and tear the woman on the poster to pieces.
In the prison of the Ministry of Justice, He Yao had been hung up and whipped back and forth by the jailers for three whole days. With her delicate skin, she couldn't bear such torture. She fainted several times but was awakened by being splashed with salt water. At first, she could scream, but in the end, her throat was so hoarse that she couldn't even cry out for mercy.
He Yao was bruised and disheveled. Her prison clothes were in tatters, and there wasn't a single uninjured part of her body. Jingzhe walked up to her without showing any pity. His cold eyes were like sharp knives, as if he wanted to devour He Yao alive.
Jingzhe casually threw something on the ground, which rolled to He Yao's feet. He Yao struggled to open her eyes and took a closer look. The more she looked, the more terrified she became. It was a human head! What horrified her even more was that the head clearly belonged to her dowry maid, Caiyun!
He Yao trembled all over in fear. She struggled desperately and tried to scream, but her throat seemed to be blocked, and she could only make the faintest of sounds.
Jingzhe was extremely angry. He grabbed He Yao's messy hair with the hand that had just grabbed Caiyun's head and gritted his teeth in her ear, "You'd better hope that Miss Wei is safe and sound! Otherwise, the next head I bring to you might be your father He Jingyao's!"
He Yao shed tears in panic and shook her head desperately, mumbling something.
Jingzhe didn't bother to care about her. He waved his hand and threw a silver ingot to reward the jailer, whispering, "You can continue to beat her slowly. Don't let her die so soon!"
The tall jailer took the silver and bowed repeatedly, saying, "My lord, don't worry. I have experience. I won't let her die so easily."
He Yao watched Jingzhe nod and leave. A sense of despair gradually welled up in her heart.
In the palace, all kinds of high - quality medicinal herbs were sent to the Su Mansion without any regard for cost. As long as Ruan Niang asked, for some medicinal herbs that weren't available in the palace or were even unheard of, Murong Xuan immediately ordered his servants to spend a fortune to search for them all over the world. All this was just to cure the unconscious Wei Dongling as soon as possible.
On the 27th day, when the national mourning period ended and it was the day of the enthronement ceremony, "Prince Nine" Murong Yuchen suddenly revealed that he had a serious and incurable illness. For the sake of the country, he decided to pass the throne to Prince Murong Xuan.
All the court officials were shocked and couldn't believe it. It wasn't until "Prince Nine" regretfully said that he had been poisoned with the same poison as the late emperor when he was young, and the symptoms had been getting more and more frequent. For the well - being of the common people in the world, he had no choice but to let a worthy person ascend the throne.
When the Empress Dowager heard this, she shed tears. Now Princess Five was in a coma outside the palace, and even Prince Nine had been poisoned with an incurable poison. Only after losing them did she realize the value of family affection. The Murong clan had become so thin - blooded.
On the day when Murong Xuan ascended the throne, Luo Xunlong finally removed the gauze that had been wrapped around his head for almost a month and retreated to the background.
Wearing plain clothes, he followed Jingzhe into the prison of the Ministry of Justice.
The moldy prison was filled with corrupt officials. Some prisoners had just arrived and were shouting and cursing, which annoyed the jailers. The jailers went in with whips and gave them a good beating, and only then did they quiet down a bit.
At the end of the cell block, there was a very small compartment where a disheveled and stinky man was locked up. The man's hand and foot meridians were severed, and he wriggled on the ground like a huge worm.
Luo Xunlong looked carefully for a long time and asked Jingzhe in confusion, "Are you sure it's this one?"
Jingzhe didn't say a word. It was the jailer who stepped forward and bowed, saying, "My lords, this man is indeed Prince Ten! We were afraid that the other prisoners would bully him, so we locked him up separately!"
The human - worm on the ground raised his eyes and stared fiercely at the people outside the railing when he heard this.
The jailer scolded him angrily, "What are you looking at! If you keep looking, I'll dig out your eyes!"
Luo Xunlong frowned as he looked at the messy cell where there was no place to step. He waved his hand disgustedly to disperse the musty smell.
Murong Yunqian lying on the ground tried to raise his head and glared at Luo Xunlong. He made a dry, hissing sound from his hoarse throat, "It's you! You're the one who impersonated him! I recognize you!"
Luo Xunlong sneered, "So what if you recognize me? Who would believe you?"
Murong Yunqian stretched out his weak arm and pointed at Luo Xunlong, shouting hoarsely at the jailer, "This man impersonated the current emperor, Murong Yuchen! He has committed the crime of deceiving the emperor! I can prove it!"
Luo Xunlong laughed, "My dear Prince Ten, you'd better save your energy! Have you forgotten that Prince Nine, Murong Yuchen, died at your hands! The one who ascended the throne today is Prince Rui's young master, Murong Xuan!"
Murong Yunqian looked incredulous, "It can't be! How could it be Murong Xuan! Murong Wanlin actually didn't let you continue acting? She abdicated in favor of Murong Xuan? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Murong Wanlin was so meticulous. How could she give up that easily - obtainable position to Murong Xuan?
Murong Yunqian just couldn't figure it out.
Luo Xunlong laughed mockingly, "Murong Yunqian, do you think everyone is like you, willing to do anything for that position? Unfortunately, your fifth sister has no interest in that position at all. She would rather support your cousin to the throne than you, her own brother! Don't you think you're a complete failure?"
Murong Yunqian was so angry that his face turned black. The veins on his neck bulged, looking extremely terrifying. He almost screamed hysterically, "Why? Why?"
Luo Xunlong said coldly, "If you don't want others to know, don't do it in the first place! Who poisoned the late emperor? Who poisoned Murong Yuchen? And who poisoned your fifth sister, Murong Wanlin? Murong Yunqian! You're heartless! You didn't even spare your own father and siblings! You're a brute!"
Murong Yunqian laughed loudly, "They deserved to die! If Father hadn't insisted on exiling the Zhao family, would his poison have worsened? Murong Yuchen was just the son of a low - born servant. What right did he have to compete with me for the throne? As for my fifth sister, haha, she deserved it! The elixir that Father refined for the Empress Dowager had already been spiked with a special ingredient by my people! It was her own fault for accidentally eating it. Who can you blame? Do you really think there's family affection in the royal family?" Murong Yunqian seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world and kept laughing.
Luo Xunlong stared at the almost crazy Murong Yunqian for a long time and couldn't say a word. He didn't know if there was family affection in the royal family. All he knew was that since the day Brother Lang and the others saw Wei Dongling, their fates seemed to have been tied to that girl. They had become the closest people to each other.
Luo Xunlong suddenly felt a bit sorry for Murong Yunqian. It seemed that Prince Ten would never experience such sincere emotions in his lifetime.