Over these decades, the two have engaged in an unceasing struggle.
But every time he recalls that it was the eunuch who orchestrated the Crown Prince switch, sparing his worthless life for revenge, he feels that his junior brother is not that kind of person.
Furthermore, his younger daughter is now in the care of his junior brother, no matter what, that person is not someone who would set him up.
Lin Yi has been staring at the conflicted expression on Gongsun Mo, wishing he could just bring out the eunuch.
But the events from more than a decade ago are complicated, and since Lin Yi wasn’t involved, he worries that his words might interfere with Gongsun Mo’s judgment.
It is Judge Zhong who remains unperturbed. With Gongsun Mo’s guidance, he skillfully avoids all traps and diligently reviews every piece of information about the late Emperor in Qiankun Palace.
From memorial reports, letters, to military intelligence briefings, Judge Zhong does not miss a single detail.
This method is like looking for a needle in the ocean. Although Lin Yi doesn’t quite agree with it, seeing Judge Zhong immersed in his task, he does not want to disturb.
Just like some people, who possess gifted abilities, can achieve their goals quickly, while others, with average talent, must rely on step-by-step effort to realize their ambitions.
Every kind of effort deserves respect.
In the vast expanse of Qiankun Palace, only Judge Zhong is busy, leaving Lin Yi and Gongsun Mo with nothing to do but stare at each other.
Unable to stand the solitude, Gongsun Mo is the first to confess his thoughts.
He admits that initially wanting to kill Lin Yi was at someone else’s behest, as his younger daughter was still in their hands.
With things having come this far, Lin Yi also feels there’s no need to keep secrets, and he speaks straightforwardly.
"So it’s the eunuch, huh? He wants to kill me; I’ve known it all along. Ha, that old immortal, thinking he can take my life—he’s not qualified."
"Gongsun senior, I’m not sure if I should say this, but I think the person behind your betrayal is that eunuch, yet you still believe he’s your good junior brother. It’s ridiculous."
"He got your whole family executed, leaving only you alive, just so you’d seek revenge."
"First they beat you, then give you candy. After your family is executed, all you have left is hatred, which he can use to confront His Majesty today."
"Hmph, this is how the powerful woo people over. After spending a lot of time around my Empress wife, I can see this is the eunuch’s trap."
Lin Yi speaks with relish, but Gongsun Mo falls into an endless reverie.
For the past years, Gongsun Mo has doubted his junior brother more than once, but every time he saw the junior brother risk so much to switch his name off the list for the family execution.
This grace, he will never forget in his lifetime.
After a long silence, Gongsun Mo lays bare his thoughts.
For him, being alive up to now is already Heaven’s favor.
If he could smoothly assassinate the Emperor and achieve his revenge, it would be a good thing.
If not, revealing the mastermind behind his initial framing, making them pay the same price would suffice.
In short, the truth will be revealed soon, and after his revenge, he will not live much longer.
Rather than being weighed down with unspoken words when leaving this world, it’s better to speak freely.
It is apparent that these two young men before him are quite good, even kindly helping to investigate the old case.
"Every debt has its creditor, all injustices find retribution. Today, I, Gongsun Mo, will spare you two, but I must seek revenge for my Gongsun family. If you obstruct me, you will be my enemy."
"Then don’t blame me for being ruthless."
After hearing Gongsun Mo’s words, Lin Yi holds the man, who highly values loyalty and righteousness, in solemn respect. Afterwards, they continue to talk about the origins of his leg injury. Find the newest release on novel-fire.ɴet
Unintentionally, noon arrives.
Lin Yi steps aside, turns around, and takes out the small screen from his pocket to check the surveillance.
In the Imperial Study Room, everything was normal. Ying Qi was reading documents, and Ying Yi led ten Shadow Guards on high alert, all armed with handguns.
In the secret chamber, the young Emperor was asleep, cuddling Keke in his arms.
Outside the Imperial Study Room, the area was tightly surrounded in three layers, impenetrably sealed. General Cheng Hu was leading over a thousand elite Imperial Guards stationed in front of the Imperial Study Room. Not even an ant could crawl into the Imperial Study Room.
With the Imperial Camp’s troops patrolling back and forth, even if the eunuch harbored any thoughts, he wouldn’t dare to act rashly.
’Hehe, if I had known it would come to this, I would have utilized the forces of the Fourth Prince and the Sixth Prince earlier. That way, Ying Yi and Keke wouldn’t have gotten hurt.’
In a little woodshed opposite Qiankun Palace, the helpless eunuch could only watch helplessly as time slipped away.
"At such a critical moment, why is there no progress at all? What should I do now?"
The eunuch, with no developments at Qiankun Palace, could no longer sit still in his heart.
He strode to the front of Qiankun Palace and shouted loudly: "Someone, open the gates for me! I must see Lord Lin."
The Imperial Guard standing watch at the gate said sternly: "Great General Lin has ordered that no one is to enter."
The eunuch glanced coldly at the speaking guard while he secretly pulled out a sharp dagger from somewhere.
"Oh? Since it’s an order from Great General Lin, then I shall not disturb any further."
The eunuch’s voice was low, and in the instant he turned around, the right palm of the guard who had just spoken to him suddenly clicked and fell off.
"Ah! Ah, my hand, save me, save me!" The guard screamed in agony, and the other guards quickly gathered around, witnessing the bizarre scene before them.
Of course, they had no idea that the eunuch was behind it all.
"Imperial Physician, summon the Imperial Physician!"
Chaos erupted in front of Qiankun Palace, but the eunuch gradually walked away.
Inside Qiankun Palace, Lin Yi heard the commotion outside, and they were calling for the Imperial Physician, which meant someone must have been injured.
Just as he was about to get up and find out what had happened, Gongsun Mo directly reached out to stop him.
"Don’t move. This is a signal from my junior brother, he’s asking me if I have dealt with the two of you yet?"
Lin Yi hadn’t expected Gongsun Mo and the eunuch to be so in sync that they knew each other’s actions from a slight move outside.
"Senior Gongsun, what do we do then? We can’t just not go out, Your Majesty still needs me."
Knowing that the eunuch was nearby, Lin Yi began to feel uneasy, fearing that the eunuch would target the young Emperor next.
But Gongsun Mo simply shook his head.
"Hehe, if my junior brother had a chance to lay hands on His Majesty, he wouldn’t have come here to check on this old man."
"Hurry up and get to the truth. My patience is limited."
Judge Zhong was methodically sorting through the evidence, confidently saying: "We are making headway now, Lord Lin, why don’t you have some food?"
Reminded in such a way, truly, Lin Yi felt quite hungry.
"Senior Gongsun, thank you for sparing me today. Then I shall have a good meal."
Lin Yi always felt that Gongsun Mo had reservations and hadn’t told them all the truth.
Therefore, Lin Yi planned to use the wine to coax the real talk out of Gongsun Mo.
[Ding Ding Ding, the host has successfully purchased a Manchu Han Imperial Feast with 108 dishes and three bottles of Moutai Wine. A total of 800,000 Heavenly Bead Coins have been deducted, and the goods have been dispatched to the back of Qiankun Palace’s gate.]
... End of Chapter ...
ps: The 7th update today! 15,000 words presented!