Chapter 85 - The Truth (1)

“What do you mean by after it had happened? Did she tell you immediately after she set it into motion? Otherwise, how did you arrive there in such a timely manner to catch them in bed? How could you commit mistake after mistake?” Emperor Le Xuan was not easy to fool.

Ji Yunhao did not dare to deny it. “Your child knows his wrongs… Therefore, I wanted to compensate her…”

Emperor Le Xuan did not speak for a while. Suddenly he asked, “And Li Sanlang? Wasn’t he known to be lustful? Why didn’t he touch her?”

“After that matter, I also secretly investigated. That servant was indeed very lustful, and by this logic Ning Xuemo should not have been able to escape untouched. But according to him that night, he had felt somewhat dizzy. When he felt a girl next to him, his desire flared up; however afterwards, for some reason, he passed out and only woke up when I arrived at the door…”

Emperor Le Xuan’s heart shook. Li Sanlang definitely would not have fainted for no reason. Did someone protect Ning Xuemo in the shadows?

‘But who would protect her?’

‘If they really intended to protect her, then why did they allow her to suffer such a grievance at the square?’

His mind somehow thought of the Marquis, causing his heart to tremble even more. ‘Could it be that his heroic spirit still lingered, protecting his daughter in the dark?’

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was possible. Thinking of the dishevelled Madam Ning approaching him in his dream, seemingly wanting to rip him into pieces, caused him to feel a chill running up his spine!

Anyways, Ning Xuemo already died and would not stain his excellent son’s unblemished reputation. Should he perhaps restore her innocence and reputation?

As he was deep in thought, the eunuch outside once again announced that the crown prince and Grand Marshal Hu were seeking an audience.

Emperor Le Xuan’s eyes flashed faintly. Those that should be here were all present…

Ji Yunhuang entered with Grand Marshal Hu, and by Ji Yunhuang’s side, a young boy followed.

Ji Yunhuang occasionally brought someone with him whenever he came to see the Emperor, which showed how much the Emperor favoured him by allowing this to occur. Hence, no one paid attention to that child.

Grand Marshal Hu sought justice for his daughter’s sudden death. The moment he entered, he broke into wails and sobs, begging the emperor to avenge his daughter…

Emperor Le Xuan secretly glanced at Ji Yunhuang and saw that his expression appeared neutral. Ji Yunhuang did not have the intention of criticizing him…

Emperor Le Xuan secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Truthfully speaking, even he felt fearful of this son of his.

He took out the confession letter, as well as ‘Ning Xuemo’s’ suicide note from his book case and handed them to Grand Marshal Hu.

Grand Marshal Hu swiftly scanned both documents before prostrating himself in front of the emperor, pleading him to severely punish the culprit and seek justice for his daughter.

Emperor Le Xuan waited for him to finish before lightly speaking, “Although Ning Xuemo was in the wrong for killing your daughter, your daughter did plot against her first. Just treat it like trading grievances. Anyways, Ning Xuemo has already committed suicide, so let’s end this matter here.”

Grand Marshal Hu was unwilling to accept this. “Your Majesty, my daughter was gentle and virtuous. When did she ever hurt Ning Xuemo?”

Emperor Le Xuan tossed a few confession letters to him. “Look through this and judge for yourself!”

And he lightly added, “Because this time the Ancestor was involved, I also investigated thoroughly.”

Those confessions were written by the imperial guards who had been secretly dispatched by Hu Diechang to drug Ning Xuemo. They had written down her orders as well as the amount she paid them to doing her bidding. Everything was written here clear as day…

After all, Hu Diechang was an inexperienced young girl, so her plans would naturally be flawed. If no one investigated, then it would have been fine; no one would notice a thing. But if someone wholeheartedly searched and inquired, they would definitely be able to uncover her plot…

Furthermore, the Minister of the Supreme Court was an expert in handling cases. As long as he sent people to investigate, he would definitely discover the truth.

Grand Marshal Hu still wished to exonerate his daughter.