Chapter 678: 322 The Truth Revealed (Double Update)_2 Chapter 678: 322 The Truth Revealed (Double Update)_2 Empress Dowager Zhuang frowned, “Who else have I killed now?”
“Ha!” The Emperor stood in front of his desk, looking at the dignified and majestic Empress Dowager Zhuang with ridicule, “What act are you performing now, Empress Dowager? Have you done it but don’t dare to admit it? Haven’t we ripped off each other’s masks long ago? There’s no need for hypocrisy anymore!”
A chill passed through Empress Dowager Zhuang’s eyes, but her expression remained nonchalant, “I have done so many things, I’m not sure which one you’re referring to.”
The Emperor laughed angrily, “At last, you admit it. You are nothing more than a mad, poisonous woman! Throw whatever you have at me! Why did you kill Zhang Zhangshi! What did she do to provoke you!”
“Zhang Zhangshi?” Empress Dowager Zhuang curiously raised her eyebrows.
The Emperor pointed an accusing finger at Empress Dowager Zhuang, “Stop pretending to be innocent! Zhang Zhangshi was summoned to the Renshou Palace by you last night, and then she hanged herself when she returned! Can you dare to say you didn’t kill her?”
Empress Dowager Zhuang let out a cold laugh, and slowly raised her eyes, her lips curling with a taunting smile, “So what if I killed her?”
She slowly rose, walked out from behind the desk, and approached the Emperor with steady steps, “Could you depose me or kill me? Even if I kill everyone around you, what could you do to me?”
“You poisonous woman!” The Emperor raised his hand!
Xiao Liulang quickly walked in, discarded his crutches, held the Emperor’s hand, and shielded Empress Dowager Zhuang behind himself.
Upon seeing the young man suddenly standing in front of her, Empress Dowager Zhuang paused.
Despite his frail body and limp, the young man showed no hesitation in stopping the Emperor.
The Emperor was beyond furious, “Xiao Liulang, step aside!”
“It’s not the Empress Dowager.” Xiao Liulang said earnestly, without loosening his grip, “It’s not the Empress Dowager. It was me who called Zhang Zhangshi over last night. It has nothing to do with the Empress Dowager.”
The Emperor was so angry he was about to explode, “Even you are speaking for her! You all… one after another… are all siding with her! Xiao Liulang! You are the top scholar handpicked by me!”
Xiao Liulang said earnestly, “I am Your Majesty’s subject, Your Majesty’s top scholar. Precisely because of this, I do not wish to witness Your Majesty make a mistake. What Your Majesty does today will be noted by the historians in the future. Your Majesty is a wise ruler, destined to leave a commendable legacy. Do not destroy it with a moment of impulsivity.”
The Emperor asked despairingly and bitterly, “Did I make a mistake? Did I do wrong?”
Xiao Liulang said, “Your Majesty did not make a mistake, neither did the Empress Dowager. The one who made a mistake was me. I shouldn’t have looked for Zhang Zhangshi. If Your Majesty wants to blame someone, blame me. I am the one who caused her death.”
“You… you…” The Emperor was so angry that his eyes turned red, and his body was shaking.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, at least listen to what has happened.” Eunuch Wei entered the room to mediate.
The Emperor reluctantly nodded, holding back his explosive temper, “Fine, tell me, why did you look for Zhang Zhangshi, how did you cause her death!”
Xiao Liulang couldn’t reveal that he was investigating a case from fourteen years ago, the timing was not right, the evidence was not sufficient.
Xiao Liulang pondered for a moment, “I was returning something to her on behalf of someone else. I noticed her mood wasn’t right when I returned the item.”
This was the truth. Zhang Zhangshi’s mood was indeed off when she received the broken ink slab. At that moment, Xiao Liulang didn’t think much further about it.
On more careful consideration, Zhang Zhangshi’s connection with the old ritualist, Huo Jijiu might have been deeper than he had imagined.
“Who were you running an errand for?” The Emperor asked.
“I cannot say.” Xiao Liulang answered.
Wouldn’t the Emperor guess if he didn’t say?
How many people in the world could make him personally deliver a message to the palace? Considering Zhang Zhangshi was involved, that person must be of similar age to her.
A name was on the verge of being mentioned.
“Let go! Are you going to make me summon Huo Jijiu to the Empress Dowager’s Sleeping Palace? Come with me to the Imperial Study Room!”
“Yes.” Xiao Liulang then released his grip.
Huo Jijiu was summoned into the Imperial Palace.
The Emperor didn’t give him the chance to coordinate stories with Xiao Liulang. He had Xiao Liulang taken down and then he began to probe the relationship between Zhang Zhangshi and Huo Jijiu.
The Emperor also didn’t tell Huo Jijiu that Zhang Zhangshi was already dead.
But how sharp was Huo Jijiu?
He could guess that something had gone wrong.
Normally anyone being questioned about their relationship with a palace maid would strongly deny it since having illicit relations with a palace maid was a serious crime, but Huo Jijiu felt that this matter was not simple.
Without much thought, he admitted he and Zhang Zhangshi had a past unknown to others. They even had a keepsake. He entrusted someone to return it to her last night as a closure to their relationship.