The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1158 - 1158 563 Perfect (two updates)_3

Chapter 1158: 563 Perfect (two updates)_3 Chapter 1158: 563 Perfect (two updates)_3 Dali Temple hurriedly summoned people to the interrogation room.

Minister Xing was also present.

Minister Xing never expected the visitor to be Assistant Minister Li.

Assistant Minister Li had been set up while investigating the case at Xianle Inn and was saddled with a murder charge. Without sufficient evidence to overturn the case, he was temporarily detained at the Ministry of Punishments.

Minister Xing had a plan in his heart—to release Assistant Minister Li once he took down the Xianle Inn.

“Two lords,” Assistant Minister Li greeted the two men with a bow.

The head of Dali Temple said, “No need for formalities. I have heard that Assistant Minister Li holds a clue to this case.”

“That’s correct,” Assistant Minister Li said. He looked straight ahead at the ground and spoke, “Actually, this official knows who the mastermind behind the scenes is.”

“Oh?”

“Sun Ping is merely a sharp blade. The real murderer is someone else. He is…” Assistant Minister Li suddenly paused mid-sentence.

A foreboding sense of doom rose in Minister Xing’s heart.

Assistant Minister Li steeled his heart and said, “Minister Xing, I’m sorry, I have let you down after all the years of your nurturing. But I really can’t cover for you any longer!”

Minister Xing looked at him in disbelief: “Assistant Minister Li!”

Assistant Minister Li did not look at him but took out several letters from his bosom and handed them to the head of Dali Temple: “These are the evidence of Minister of Punishments’ private correspondence with the Sun brothers. Sun Ping’s cousin, Sun Jian, once was a street thug. He happened to save Minister Xing during a robbery because he had a feud with the gang and beat them up. Without expecting it, this incident caught Minister Xing’s attention, and he took the two brothers into the Ministry of Punishments to work as yamen runners. Sun Ping was rather honest, but Sun Jian hadn’t completely abandoned his old habits. Minister Xing paid off his gambling debts several times, and these are Sun Jian’s IOUs and his letters of repentance.

And not long before, Minister Xing gave Sun Ping a hefty amount of silver, asking him to do something very important. This official overheard it accidentally outside the duty room, Minister Xing warned him that this matter was of great importance, even Sun Jian must be kept in the dark about it. This official even heard Sun Ping say, ‘If I don’t come back, please ask the Doctor to take good care of my cousin. Though he’s fond of gambling, he has been changing for a long time now.’

The head of Dali Temple asked, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Assistant Minister Li replied bitterly, “We are the Ministry of Punishments, often tasked with investigating confidential cases. I thought Sun Ping was sent to investigate a major case that could cause his death. It was not my place to interfere, so I didn’t take it to heart. It was only this morning when I heard the yamen runners outside the prison talking about the emperor being assassinated and the murderer being Sun Ping that I remembered this incident.”

The deepest wounds are never inflicted by an enemy’s weapons, but by the betrayal of a comrade.

“Why did you do this?”

“My lord, is what I have said not the truth?”

It was the truth, but not the whole truth.

Indeed, Minister Xing had once asked Sun Ping to take care of a matter and given him several banknotes, but it was merely to look after the family of a deceased yamen runner.

That yamen runner had been killed by a murderer in retaliation during the investigation of a murder case. Minister Xing had always felt guilty, believing he had not adequately protected his subordinate.

Little did he know that Sun Ping never had the chance to deliver the banknotes before such an incident occurred.

Indeed, when one is misfortunate, even drinking water can choke you.

With a complicated look, the head of Dali Temple looked at Minister Xing and said to Assistant Minister Li, “So, the behind-the-scenes mastermind instructing Sun Ping to assassinate His Majesty is Minister Xing?”

Assistant Minister Li said, “The one who instructed Sun Ping is Minister Xing, but the mastermind behind the emperor’s assassination is not him. Minister Xing is merely carrying out someone else’s orders.”

As soon as these words came out, not only Minister Xing was filled with astonishment but even the head of Dali Temple was taken aback.

The head of Dali Temple pressed, “Is there more to this story? Who exactly is the mastermind behind it all?”

With a pained expression, Assistant Minister Li closed his eyes as if making a tremendous decision and said, “It’s the Dowager Empress!”

Minister Xing punched Assistant Minister Li, knocking him to the ground!

…

Assistant Minister Li handed over some of the letters written by Empress Dowager Zhuang to Minister Xing. They weren’t penned by Empress Dowager Zhuang herself, but that was understandable—for fear of leaving any trace, how could such a shrewd person like her ever leave her own handwriting?

She would not even use the handwriting of those around her.

Yet if each letter was smoked by candlelight, Empress Dowager Zhuang’s Phoenix Seal would emerge vividly on the paper.

The contents of the letters confirmed that over the years, Minister Xing had been walking a tightrope between the emperor and Empress Dowager Zhuang, playing both sides. The last letter was from seven days ago. Empress Dowager Zhuang said she had tolerated the emperor for a long time. The emperor had been opposing her for years and, finding he could not overpower her with force, began to bewitch her with ostensible filial piety.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.