Looking at the other silent assassin, the torn flesh on his face was still bleeding.
"Still not going to talk?"
The assassin stared at Song Jinzhao with an indifferent expression, but the hatred in his eyes seemed as if he wanted to slice her into a thousand pieces.
Seeing this, Song Jinzhao sneered, "I'd like to see just how stubborn you can be!"
The clerk sitting on the stool, holding a brush, couldn't stop his hand from trembling when he wrote the words "Prince of Qi".
Going against a prince would cost one's life. Even if he really sent someone to assassinate County Princess Linghui, would the Emperor actually kill his own son?
This matter was too big; small fries like them simply couldn't bear the consequences.
Looking at the signed and fingerprinted confession, Fan Guanshan looked at Song Jinzhao with complex eyes.
"What does the County Princess plan to do next?"
Song Jinzhao pinched the confession and threw it onto the table.
"Finish interrogating this remaining person, and then take their confessions into the palace to file an imperial complaint."
She didn't have the right to trespass into a prince's estate, so naturally, she had to find someone who did.
This matter wouldn't end easily; she had to make them pay the price.
Fan Guanshan took a deep, nervous breath.
A storm was brewing, and he couldn't imagine how the Emperor would handle this.
Whether he would punish the Prince of Qi or try to smooth things over, tomorrow's morning court was likely to be turned upside down.
After another two quarters of an hour, the yamen runner pushed open the door and walked in with Qingshuang.
"Woof, woof, woof." The sound of a dog barking approached from a distance.
"County Princess, your maid has arrived."
The yamen runner pushed the door open, and Qingshuang walked in leading a dirty black dog.
"County Princess, as per your request, this servant found one at the butcher's shop."
Everyone in the cell looked in confusion at the dog being led in. What was this for?
Was she going to let this dog eat a person?
Song Jinzhao tilted her head and looked at its robust appendage. "Feed it the medicine. I want to see if he can withstand it."
Qingshuang pried open the dog's mouth and poured in a packet of white powder.
The iron chains binding the assassin's hands were untied, and with a thud, the man fell to his knees on the ground.
Iron chains bound his feet, so he couldn't move. He could only endure the physical pain and the torture of the centipedes while panting heavily.
Song Jinzhao stepped on his back with her right foot, leaned down, and whispered a few words into the assassin's ear.
The man looked up in disbelief, his eyes full of shock, as if he were looking at a demon.
"Everyone step out. Qingshuang, take off his pants."
From taking the medicine to its effects kicking in, less than half a quarter of an hour had passed.
Everyone stared dumbfounded into the cell, as if struck by a thunderbolt, completely unable to accept the scene.
"This... this..."
The following five hundred words are omitted...
Song Jinzhao leaned leisurely against the wooden railing. Having been a doctor for a long time, she had seen too much; this was just a drizzle.
"No! I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll talk!" A sobbing, stammering voice rang out in less than a quarter of an hour, so loud it almost blew the roof off the cell.
The other two assassins tied to the wooden frames felt completely cold, as if they had fallen into an ice hole.
Fortunately, they had confessed quickly just now; otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
When everyone returned to the cell, their entire bodies were weak.
Their worldviews had been shattered and rebuilt, their minds filled with unspeakable images.
After a bowl of water-dissolved antidote was poured down its throat, Qingshuang tied the dog to the table leg. The continuously dripping drool frightened the assassin so much that he soiled himself.
Song Jinzhao slowly sat back in her chair and tapped her finger forcefully on the table.
"Speak."
The man curled up into a ball in terror, his face covered in snot and tears.
"It's the Prince of Ying. We are the Prince of Ying's men."
Boom!
A clap of thunder seemed to strike the heads of Jiang Dongsheng and the others. How did the Prince of Ying get dragged into this too?
Now they were truly doomed.
After the confession was written and fingerprinted, the sky outside had already begun to brighten slightly.
At this time, morning court hadn't started yet.
Song Jinzhao stood up holding the confessions, "This County Princess is now going to the palace to file an imperial complaint. Are Commander Fan and Lord Jiang going to come along?"
Jiang Dongsheng shook his head like a rattle drum.
"This humble official is feeling a bit unwell. Please go ahead, County Princess."
At the very least, he had to wait for the Emperor's summons. He absolutely could not enter the palace with County Princess Linghui right now.
Fan Guanshan said, "It's about time for this commander to enter the palace to guard the imperial city, which happens to be on the same way as the County Princess."
This time, Song Jinzhao rode in the carriage that Song Qiming had driven over from the County Princess's estate, while Fan Guanshan led a horse out from the Jingzhao Prefecture to ride.
Right before getting into the carriage, Song Jinzhao beckoned Song Qiming over and whispered a few instructions.
Song Qiming nodded slightly and agreed, "Don't worry, sister, I will go do it immediately."
Seeing the carriage and Fan Guanshan heading toward the palace city, the two groups of people ordered to keep watch opposite the Jingzhao Prefecture changed their expressions drastically, instantly turning into rockets and rushing off in different directions.
"Your Highness, this is bad! County Princess Linghui and Commander Fan are on their way to the palace."
"Your Highness, this is bad! County Princess Linghui and Commander Fan have entered the palace together."
Xiao Rongche, who had been awake all night, sat silently in his chair.
Cen Yue said in a panic, "It's been a whole night; the captured death warriors must have spilled everything."
Xiao Rongche glared at him with icy eyes, and in the next second, his right hand forcefully strangled his neck.
"They are all useless trash who cling to life and fear death! I told you to train death warriors, and this is how you train them for this prince?"
Unable to breathe, Cen Yue rolled his eyes in agony, on the verge of suffocation.
On the other side, Xiao Rongyan looked in dissatisfaction at his panicked subordinate.
"What are you afraid of? As long as this prince doesn't admit it, even if Song Jinzhao has a confession, it won't be of any use."
The subordinate said fearfully, "But Mo Liu has seen this humble servant. When he came to the estate, many people saw him."
Xiao Rongyan swept a cold glance over him.
Zhao Yande walked nervously into the Funing Palace. Xiao Chengjing, who had just gotten up not long ago, was having his morning meal.
"Your Majesty, County Princess Linghui is currently kneeling outside the Baohe Hall requesting an audience with Your Majesty, saying she wants to file an imperial complaint."
Though the voice was quiet, it shocked everyone in the hall.
Xiao Chengjing furrowed his brows deeply, "File what imperial complaint?"
After hesitating for a long time, Zhao Yande lowered his head even further.
"Last night, County Princess Linghui was assassinated on her way back to her estate. After a night of interrogation at the Jingzhao Prefecture, the assassins said the ones who ordered them were His Highness the Prince of Qi and His Highness the Prince of Ying."
The exquisite porcelain bowl fell to the ground with a clatter, and Xiao Chengjing's face sank like water.
"Bring her to the Imperial Study, and summon the Governor of the Jingzhao Prefecture, the Prince of Qi, and the Prince of Ying into the palace."
Outside the Baohe Hall, the officials who had arrived early looked at Song Jinzhao kneeling on the steps and discussed animatedly among themselves.
Ye Liangyu, who arrived a step late, looked gloomily at Song Jinzhao's back. Today's battle was destined to be very difficult to fight.
Fei Yanzhang, a Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, saw his friend approach and immediately pulled him aside, asking sternly, "Just now, County Princess Linghui said that the Prince of Qi and the Prince of Ying sent assassins to kill her last night. Did you know about this?"
Ye Liangyu said, "I also just found out. Right before I left the house, Qiming rushed over to tell me. The assassins are currently locked up in the Jingzhao Prefecture prison."
Fei Yanzhang's eyes widened, "They've already finished the interrogation and gotten the confessions?"
Ye Liangyu nodded, "Both groups have confessed, otherwise the County Princess wouldn't have entered the palace."
Fei Yanzhang grabbed his friend's arm, feeling a bit unsteady on his feet.
After a long while, he spat out a sentence, "I'm afraid this crime won't stick."
Ye Liangyu's expression slightly withdrew, his gaze sinking.
"Even if it's hard to sue, we still have to sue. Even if the crime doesn't stick, we have to make them shed a layer of skin."
Upon hearing the urgent summons from the palace, Jiang Dongsheng, who had been sitting on a cold bench for over half an hour, let out a trembling sigh.
"I couldn't escape it after all. Why am I so unlucky!"
The civil and military officials watched helplessly as Song Jinzhao was led away by Eunuch Zhao.
Shortly after, Fan Guanshan, Commander of the Imperial Guards, walked toward the Imperial Study with a heavy expression.
A little while later, Jiang Dongsheng, the Governor of Jingzhao Prefecture, along with the Prince of Qi and the Prince of Ying, also arrived.
The crowd looked up at the morning glow rising in the east. It was time for the morning court assembly.
However, the bells and drums had not sounded, and the palace doors remained closed. It was clear that the assembly would not be held today.
The ministers aligned with the Prince of Qi and the Prince of Ying saw Ye Liangyu pull seven imperial censors aside to whisper to them, and their expressions instantly turned grim.
Inside the Imperial Study, Xiao Rongche and Xiao Rongyan were met with their father's furious glare the moment they stepped through the door.
Despite their inner nervousness, the two knelt down, feigning ignorance. "Your sons pay their respects to Imperial Father."
Xiao Chengjing suppressed his anger and interrogated them.
"Last night, County Princess Linghui and Commander Fan were attacked outside the palace. The assassins claimed they were acting under your orders. What do you have to say for yourselves?"
