In Love With My Fierce Farming Wife!
Chapter 1389 - 25 - Unseen (25)

Chapter 1389: Chapter 25 - Unseen (25)

Qin Yi and Commander Zhang’s battle of wits and bravery, which had stretched from the beginning to the end of the year, did not come to a head until Qin Yi and Su Pan’er

and their party returned to Shengjing, where Qin Yi finally obtained substantial evidence.

In the Imperial Dungeon, facing the expressionless His Majesty, Commander Zhang, chained in iron, let out a low laugh.

"Your Majesty, this humble official has served loyally and suffered alongside you all these years. Just because you do not wish for your niece to marry into my Zhang Family,

you staged such a string of schemes to test me? The saying goes, ’When the king wants his minister to die, the minister has no choice but to die.’ If Your Majesty truly wishes to take this worthless life of mine, just say the word. Why let me be cursed by the world in vain?"

Commander Zhang’s face was filled with bitterness, his eyes brimming with disappointment.

"Good question! That’s what I’d like to ask you too!"

Qin Yi, donning the dragon robe, standing with grandeur, said, "I want to ask you, what does the death of my birth mother have to do with you? Why did you ruthlessly attempt to kill me right after I was born? Serving by my side all these years, don’t you feel any shame?"

"You..."

Commander Zhang, who was initially intent on a stubborn resistance, suddenly widened his eyes in shock.

Qin Yi’s face darkened, and he slammed the table forcefully: "I am asking you a question, why do you not answer?"

"You... You already know everything? No wonder..."

Commander Zhang muttered under his breath, then suddenly laughed: "So you knew all along. That’s why you designed everything that followed, didn’t you?"

Qin Yi did not respond but stared at him with piercing eyes.

"For many years, I sincerely regarded you as my right-hand man, nurturing you. In my heart, as long as I sit on this throne for one more day, I would surely protect the Zhang Family’s glory and wealth for one more day. But what about you? This is how you repay me! Tell me, when you came to serve by my side, did you already know my identity from the very beginning?"

Now, Qin Yi seemed like a wounded young beast, clearly aware of the answer, yet stubbornly seeking a confession.

"Don’t you already know it all?"

Commander Zhang laughed softly, convinced before today that no matter what Qin Yi said, he had a perfect excuse at the ready.

Unexpectedly, His Majesty had asked a question he had never anticipated.

"I thought, in this lifetime, I would never have to face this issue again. No, that’s not right! Actually, the moment I knew you were the young master, I knew this day would come eventually. But I was deceiving myself, unwilling to admit it, let alone contemplate it."

Without waiting for Qin Yi to speak, he continued on his own.

"Your Majesty, you’ve got it wrong. When you were born prematurely, so frail you could have been crushed at any moment. Do you think, if I truly wanted to hurt you, that I would have left you alive?"

"Why then?"

Qin Yi asked, enunciating every word.

"Because the person I wanted to kill was her!"

Commander Zhang’s face twisted: "You don’t think I was the only one who loved your junior martial sister, do you? Back then, Ning Wenxuan and I fought over her, yet someone else picked the ripe fruit. Your mother gave birth to you prematurely, and that person was also present, causing a dispute. I was burning with rage and threw a punch at that person."

"Unexpectedly, your mother, holding you just born, threw herself forward, taking that punch with her body, falling to the ground vomiting blood. And you, probably because of that blow, ended up with The Power of Yinrou inside you."

Commander Zhang stared into Qin Yi’s face: "They say, ’Revenge is a dish best served cold.’ I used to not believe in fate, but now, it seems I truly do!"

"So you’re saying, my mother died because of you?"

Qin Yi ground his teeth together with an audible crunch.

"I once believed that too. After the incident, I left the Valley of Ghosts and never returned. I always thought our junior sister had died, but who could have imagined..."

Commander Zhang gave a pitiful smile.

From the moment he decided to clarify what happened that year, he knew he no longer had a way out.

"Your Majesty, I do not seek favoritism from Your Majesty. I only implore Your Majesty on account of my years of service—though without contributions, there has been hard work—to spare a lineage for the Zhang Family!"

Was he trying to save Zhang Zhongding?

Qin Yi remained silent, turning away to leave.

"This humble official sees Your Majesty off!"

From behind, Commander Zhang called out respectfully.

Qin Yi felt a mix of complex emotions, with an unpleasant taste in his heart. Soon after exiting the Imperial Dungeon, the judgment regarding the Zhang Family was issued.

According to the laws of Great Zhou, the Zhang Family’s possessions were to be confiscated, and regardless of how well Commander Zhang defended himself, he could not escape death on trial. The only thing that could be spared was the lineage that Qin Yi chose to leave for the Zhang Family!

But before the final announcement was made, news came from the Imperial Dungeon that Commander Zhang had collided with a wall and died; he had been gone for half an hour already.

"Dead? You’re certain there is no mistake?"

Qin Yi stood up excitedly from his chair: "Why would he... at this time, why precisely now? Why..."

He murmured for a bit, then turned back to look at the minister beside him: "How is that kid from the Zhang Family doing now?"

The ’kid’ he referred to was Zhang Zhongding.

"He is perfectly normal, showing no signs of anything unusual. Perhaps, he and his father had some unspeakable secrets? However, since Your Majesty has already promised, you will surely spare Zhang Zhongding’s life," the official flattered.

Yet there was a misstep in this flattery once more.

"Since being captured, Zhang Zhongding has kept silent, not speaking a word, nor showing any temper. If we truly spare his life, it is best to make sure he cannot rise again."

Zhang Zhongding practiced martial arts, and on the day he was captured while on a mission by the river, he was busy working in the fields.

To liberate a tiger back to the forest could spell endless trouble!

Qin Yi understood this principle well.

However, with Commander Zhang now dead by collision against a wall, Zhang Zhongding’s sole bloodline was one that Qin Yi could not possibly touch to eliminate.

After some thought, Qin Yi spoke again: "Regardless of what the future holds, the marriage between Shuang’er and him, after all that has happened, surely cannot continue. I will issue an Imperial Edict to explain the matter."

After much discussion, a conclusion was reached to demote Zhang Zhongding to a commoner, relegating him to Southern Fujian, with an order that for three generations, none could return to the Capital City, nor serve as officials in the morning court sessions. As for the others, those who should be captured were captured, and those who should be killed were killed. The powerful Zhang Family collapsed overnight, never to be mentioned again.

Since Zhang Zhongding was to be exiled to Southern Fujian, he was led out of Shengjing by two government employees while other members of the Zhang Family were beheaded.

Passing by the entrance to the grocery market, he happened to witness the execution of his family and those deeply involved, his eyes turning red in an instant.

He fell to his knees with a thud, crying out loud: "Father! I was wrong, I have let you down! Father!"

His agonized cries made those around point and whisper, stirring up discussions.

He seemed to be unaware, getting back to his feet, staggering out of the Capital City, and from then on, no one saw him again.