Thus, the next day at morning court, the entire faction of the Prime Minister—who had been informed in advance—stood out to openly accuse Su Taiwei of plotting to harm court officials.
Several officials even presented evidence on the spot.
The so-called evidence was a broken blade engraved with the character "Su," along with several exclusive tokens of the Su Family guards.
With this, the evidence was irrefutable, and Su Jian was rendered speechless.
In his rage, he fiercely flicked his sleeves and openly cursed the Prime Minister’s faction in court.
"Can’t you see such an obvious frame-up? Are you all fools?"
"If I truly wanted to assassinate you, would I have my guards carry tokens of the Su Family during the act? If you were to assassinate someone, would you carry your own tokens?"
"In my opinion, this so-called assassination is entirely self-directed and performed by you, with the sole purpose of framing me."
Upon hearing this, his faction immediately stepped forward to echo his sentiment.
"Indeed, this is clearly a small trick conjured by you to frame Lord Grand Commandant. His Lordship holds high rank and virtue, and is a pillar of our court. How could he commit such a crime against colleagues?"
"Exactly, claiming Lord Grand Commandant plotted against you—where is the witness? Without a single witness, you dare implicate Lord Grand Commandant with a few trivial items. Do you know the crime of framing a colleague?"
"..."
Hearing these words, the Prime Minister’s faction was nearly driven to faint with anger.
The two factions were already at odds, and after these events, their conflict reached a boiling point.
Officials of the Prime Minister’s faction stepped forward unanimously to issue condemnations and soul-searching questions.
"Hmph, framing? Do you even believe what you’re saying? In the entire Da Wu Country, who but Su Taiwei has the capability to simultaneously target so many officials? Who has the gall to attack the Prime Minister?"
"Why don’t the assassins frame others, but only frame Su Taiwei? It’s obvious he’s inherently suspicious."
"Claiming we staged it ourselves, then please summon General Lin. If not for General Lin patrolling the capital yesterday, we might have ended up as victims under the blade."
"Yes, summon General Lin. Yesterday, it was General Lin who saved us. He engaged the assassins and can surely identify their origins. With General Lin to testify, you can’t say there’s no witness, can you?"
"..."
In the court, the two factions argued fiercely.
The neutral faction, led by the brothers Yun Zheng and Yun Zhan, watched the drama unfold, especially Yun Zheng, who occasionally had a mysterious smile at the corner of his mouth.
And at the high throne in the hall, the young emperor casually perused the memorials on the table, occasionally glancing through the fringe at the officials beneath, maintaining his emotions with utter calm.
"Emperor, we implore you to make a decision for us."
Suddenly, the officials of the Prime Minister’s faction knelt down in unison, speaking with utmost agitation.
Being addressed, Mo Yuanlin could no longer remain a bystander. He laid down the memorials, lowered his gaze to Yun Zheng in the front.
"Duke Ning, what is your opinion on this matter?"
Yun Zheng stepped out, and without any hesitation, said loudly, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I believe the assassination attempt on the officials was real and not self-staged."
This statement immediately resonated with the Prime Minister’s faction, the kneeling officials nodded vigorously in agreement, their goodwill towards Yun Zheng rapidly increasing.
But Su Taiwei’s faction was furious, and an official stepped out, angrily accusing him.
"Duke Ning, you weren’t involved, and you don’t know the details. How can you make such a conclusion? Isn’t that biased?"
"Exactly..."
Immediately, Su Taiwei’s faction began another uproar, with all focus now turned toward Yun Zheng, making the court seem like a marketplace.
Mo Yuanlin’s eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke coolly, "Silence, all of you, let Duke Ning speak."
Wow!!!
All the officials immediately fell silent, and the court was suddenly as quiet as a needle dropping.
Yun Zheng glanced at Su Jian lightly and smiled, "But Lord Grand Commandant firmly denies the allegations. Now, the two sides each stick to their story, each claiming reason."
"Therefore, I propose we let Lord Grand Commandant personally investigate this matter."
"If Lord Grand Commandant can find evidence to prove his own innocence, then it would show that he has nothing to do with this matter. But if he fails to find evidence and cannot prove his innocence, then it would indicate that he is indeed the perpetrator."
Hearing this, Su Jian nearly lost his breath, almost fainting from rage. He gritted his teeth, glaring at Yun Zheng with furious eyes, nearly crushing his teeth.
Damn it, he thought, this matter has nothing to do with me; I am being framed. Why do I need to find evidence to prove my innocence?