Chapter 600: Coercion and Temptation

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Imperial Palace.

The Emperor entered the central palace, only to find it unusually quiet. He felt a moment of panic – where was the Empress?

A palace maid approached and bowed, “Your Majesty, the Empress is in the side hall.”

The Emperor, puzzled, asked, “What is the Empress doing in the side hall?”

“Your Majesty will see if you go there.”

The Emperor immediately turned around and walked towards the side hall. Then, he heard the sounds of fighting. He immediately thought of the assassin, but the surroundings were quiet. He somewhat relaxed, but his pace still quickened.

Two guards stood at the entrance of the side hall and saluted, “Your Majesty!”

The sounds of fighting in the room immediately stopped. Footsteps approached the door. The door was opened, revealing the Empress’s beautiful figure. “Your Majesty!”

The Emperor looked at the empress, who was dressed in a simple riding outfit and her hair was tied up high. She looked valiant and heroic, and his heart stirred. “Empress, you…”

The Empress pulled the Emperor into the room.

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Fan Yuru ran over, bowed, and said ingratiatingly, “Now that my Emperor brother-in-law is here, I can leave.”

The Emperor realized they had been hiding here practicing swordplay, “What made you think of practicing swordsmanship?”

The Empress, wiping sweat with her handkerchief, smiled, “Qingzhi said that if 1 want to have another child, 1 need to exercise more.”

Hearing this, the Emperor thought of the Empress taking bitter medicine, and tenderly took her hand, feeling a bit pained, “Empress, it’s been hard on you.”

The Empress smiled, “If you want to help me, why don’t you join me in practice?”

Without a second thought, the Emperor agreed, “Alright, Yuru, bring me a wooden sword.”

Fan Yuru presented a wooden sword, jokingly saying, “Emperor brother-in-law, my sister’s martial arts skills are not to be underestimated, you should be careful.”

The Emperor smiled, took the sword, and flourished it skillfully, “I should also exercise more, I’ve gotten rusty.”

“From now on, I will practice swordsmanship every day. If Your Majesty wants to exercise, you can join me.”

“As long as I’m not busy, I will accompany you in sword practice.”

As the two of them spoke, they walked to the middle of the room. Then, they looked at each other and smiled. They waved their swords and sparred.

Fan Yuru slowly retreated to the corner and looked at the two people in the middle of the room. Although they were practicing their swordsmanship, they were still affectionate. She could not help but think of herself.

Where was her own husband?

In the prison of the Ministry of Justice.

In a cell, a young man in a black robe sat cross-legged, back straight, posture impeccable, his face expressionless, his eyes still in disbelief.

He was the doctor who had killed the third prince, Tuoba Qi. After being brought to the cell, he heard from his interrogators that Chu Qingzhi had unraveled his nearly flawless murder method. He didn’t believe it at first, but after being told the details, he accepted it and had since been in a daze.

How could someone have deciphered his almost flawless murder technique?

At that moment, footsteps approached.

The arrivals were Tang Jinghong and Ren Buqing, accompanied by several others.

Ren Buqing stood in front of the prison cell, his gaze coldly fixed on Tuoba Qi. He gestured with a wave of his hand, “Strip off his clothes.”

Panic flickered in the young man’s eyes, and he quickly stood up, protesting angrily, “Although 1 am a prisoner, I still deserve respect. What right do you have to strip me of my clothes?!”

His protests were ignored. Two jailers swiftly stripped Tuoba Qi of his clothes, revealing a conspicuous rice grain tattoo on his neck, just above the shoulder blade.

Upon seeing the tattoo, Tang Jinghong immediately understood Ren Buqing’s intentions, “A member of the Yun Organization?”

Ren Buqing nodded gravely, “Yes. During the interrogation, the jailers accidentally tore his clothes and saw the tattoo on his back. Given the gravity of the matter, 1 immediately informed you”

Tang Jinghong, with pursed lips, realized the gravity of the situation. If this man was a member of the Yun Organization, the nature of the murder was no longer just an internal conflict within the Mobei Kingdom.

He whispered to Ren Buqing, “Keep this matter confidential.”

Ren Buqing assured him, “Don’t worry, General Tang, I know what to do.”

Tang Jinghong ordered the jailers to leave, intending to conduct a private interrogation of the young man. This matter must not be leaked.

Tuoba Qi, from the foremost medical family in the Mobei Kingdom, was the best doctor in his family and had come to the Daling Dynasty on a journey.

The Mobei Kingdom bordered the eastern border. The first place he came to was the Qingcheng City within the eastern border.

Tang Jinghong entered the cell, looking down at Tuoba Qi. Unlike typical doctors who preferred light-colored clothing, he was dressed in black, hardly resembling a man of superior medical skills.

“Are you a member of the Yun Organization?”

Tuoba Qi was clearly very surprised. He immediately raised his head. “How did you know?” He didn’t expect that the rice grain tattoo was no longer a secret.

“I know more than you think, so I hope you’ll cooperate well.”

Tuoba Qi wasn’t scared. He retracted his gaze and snorted. “Since you know so much, why ask me?”

Tang Jinghong ignored his words and asked, “Why did you join the Yun Organization?”

Tuoba Qi said in a panic, “I don’t know what Yun Organization you’re talking about. I don’t know.”

Tang Jinghong shifted his gaze to Tuoba Qi’s delicate hands and suddenly changed the topic. “I heard that doctors cherish their hands very much?”

Tuoba Qi quickly withdrew his hands, trying to appear calm, “What, does the Daling Dynasty only know how to coerce the prisoners?”

“If you confess honestly, you’ll suffer less. At least you can keep your hands, otherwise…”

Tuoba Qi’s heart tightened. He valued his hands above all; losing them would be worse than death.

After a long silence, he finally couldn’t withstand the psychological pressure, “1 joined the Yun Organization unintentionally…”

When he was young, he came out to travel and passed by a mountain village. This mountain village grew hibiscus for a living. At that time, a young man in a field suddenly fell ill and fell to the ground.

He went forward to save the young man.

It was the young man’s idea for him to join the Yun Organization.

“Who is this young man?” Tang Jinghong’s intuition told him that this young man covered a lot of information. If he knew the young man’s identity, many unsolved mysteries would be unraveled.

“His name is Zhuo Bainian. He’s a villager of the Zhuo Village. His family lived in the Zhuo Village for generations.” Tuoba Qi didn’t ask about the young man’s identity. Since the young man lived in the village, he naturally thought that he was a villager.

Could this Zhuo Bainian be the leader of the Yun Organization?

“Are you sure he’s just a villager?” Tang Jinghong felt that there were more and more mysteries.

“Yes.” Tuoba Qi answered affirmatively.

Tang Jinghong temporarily set aside the mystery in his mind, “Was it Zhuo Bainian who ordered you to kill the two princes?”

“Yes, but 1 also wanted to kill them,” Tuoba Qi said angrily, grinding his teeth. “These two did unspeakable things in secret. To gain support from the kingdom’s ministers, they forced many daughters of noble families into their household as concubines.. My sister couldn’t bear the humiliation and took her own life…”