Zhao Xuntian's face immediately turned grim.
Of course, there was no comparison. In terms of official rank, he was two steps below him. In terms of the Emperor's favor, he was a favored official of the current court. In terms of wealth and influence, he was far inferior.
He could face anyone in the imperial court without fear, but Su Qingtian was not among them.
Upon hearing Zhao Xuntian's address for Su Qingtian, the masked man's face showed surprise. "Are you perhaps the Prime Minister Yong Sheng General of the current court?"
He knelt down and performed a grand salute.
"General! I am Xu Fu, the son of the Prefect of Yanzhou. I have trespassed into the Zhao residence today to avenge my father! The one who killed my father back then was Zhao Xuntian!"
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.
Su Yunmo also narrowed her eyes.
This play staged by Ye Jingyu was quite grand.
Zhao Xuntian roared, "Presumptuous! You are slandering me!"
Xu Fu took out a blood-written letter from his怀 and presented it. "This is the blood memorial my father wrote with his blood and submitted to the capital. This memorial serves as proof!"
Xi Tian took the blood-written letter and handed it to Su Qingtian. The memorial was opened, revealing hundreds of words written with painstaking effort, each sentence reflecting the sorrow of the writer at that time.
"Forty years ago, after a severe drought in Yanzhou, locusts followed, leaving the people with no harvest. The roads were lined with white bones. Zhao Xuntian was about to be promoted at that time."
"To prevent his career from being hindered, he concealed the truth and allowed the people to suffer. My father, with compassion for the people, reported it in a blood memorial. Zhao Xuntian learned of this and killed him, hanging his body at the prefectural office!"
"Later, when officials from the capital came to investigate, he bribed them. They colluded with each other, falsely accusing my father of mismanagement, causing the drought and the suffering of the people!"
"My mother, who was six months pregnant, was heartbroken and took me, who was still young, to the capital to file a complaint. However, they were intercepted by his men, resulting in the death of both mother and child!"
"I fell into the river and was saved by a miracle, otherwise, this case would never have seen the light of day!"
Xu Fu spoke word by word, his voice filled with sorrow, his eyes filled with tears of blood. If it weren't for a great injustice, he would never have shown such a hateful gaze.
Everyone was moved.
The natural disaster that year had killed hundreds of thousands of people. Thinking back now, it still sent chills down their spines.
Su Qingtian's face darkened immediately.
As a military general, he led troops into battle. Even a small soldier was a brother who had gone through life and death with him.
The act of killing a colleague for power was something he despised the most!
Zhao Xuntian clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, saying, "This person cannot possibly be a descendant of the Xu family. Someone must have orchestrated this to slander me. General, you must not believe him easily!"
"I recall that Lord Zhao was promoted to a capital official only after that great disaster, wasn't he?" Su Qingtian's voice was cold, his gaze like a knife.
"Whether it is true or false, I will know once I report back to His Majesty. Lord Zhao, please proceed!"
He stepped aside to clear the path and then said in a deep voice, "Guards, surround the Zhao residence. No unauthorized personnel are allowed to enter or exit!"
Zhao Xuntian's body stiffened, and he panicked slightly. "Su Qingtian! You have no right to seal the residence!"
"Whether I have the right is not for you to decide," Su Qingtian said, raising his hand.
The imperial guards behind him stepped forward and apprehended Zhao Xuntian.
The Zhao residence guards looked at each other, wanting to help, but upon seeing the fierce demeanor of the opposing side, they all put down their weapons.
The masked man did not struggle and was taken away with Zhao Xuntian.
Su Qingtian glanced at the little cub in his arms. "You're not sleepy anymore, are you?"
Su Yunmo smacked her lips and jumped out of his arms, acting very understandingly. "Daddy has important matters to attend to. Momo can return to the residence by herself later."
Su Qingtian hesitated, then looked at her deeply. His gaze lingered on the tall tower for a moment before he turned and left.
As soon as he left, the guards outside rushed in to take over the Zhao family.
"Momo." Zhao Xiaoxiao walked up, her voice trembling slightly.
Everything that had happened today was too shocking, and she hadn't fully recovered. However, she finally felt a weight lifted from her heart.
Su Yunmo stepped forward and picked up the masked man's mask from the ground. Her eyes flickered, and then she took out a white porcelain bottle from her glazed lock.
"You did very well. I will visit your mother again another day. Give this medicine to her first."
Zhao Xiaoxiao nodded and took the medicine.
Su Yunmo left the Zhao residence and headed straight for the Imperial Prince's Mansion.
Less than half an hour after she left, an imperial decree was issued from the palace.
Upon investigation, the matters stated by Xu Fu were found to be true.
The reason Zhao Xuntian was appreciated by the Emperor and promoted to the capital was his active response to the disaster and his excellent performance.
However, it was now confirmed that this performance was fabricated. The Emperor was furious and ordered Zhao Xuntian to be executed after imprisonment, the Zhao residence to be sealed, and his family servants to be confiscated and his children to be enslaved for eternity.
Su Qingtian pleaded for mercy. Due to Zhao Xiaoxiao's young age, the Emperor graciously ordered that Zhao Xiaoxiao and her mother be moved out of the capital and not allowed to enter for ten years.
Su Qingtian personally led the troops to seal the Zhao residence and went to the tall tower.
Inside the tall tower, it was another scene altogether.
There was an interrogation room, where twelve people were found hanging. All of them were dead, their bodies covered in scars, indicating they had been tortured.
Upon investigation, these individuals were found to be the wives and daughters of some court officials who had disappeared recently.
And these court officials were all people who had been reported by Zhao Xuntian as participants in a rebellion organization.
The exposure of the bodies caused an uproar among the public.
This meant that the 'rebels' reported by Zhao Xuntian were all innocent people, and the so-called 'evidence' was obtained through torture and forced confessions.
In other words, even if the incident with Xu Fu had not happened today, as long as Su Qingtian discovered the bodies in the tall tower, Zhao Xuntian would not have escaped the crime of having his family destroyed and his clan exterminated.
Su Qingtian promptly reported it, and the Emperor was enraged.
The execution after imprisonment was changed to immediate execution, to be carried out in three days.
All the families of the victims were to be buried by the state, and the deceased were to be exonerated.
Xu Yinglong was also cleared of the charge of being a criminal.
It was only a pity that Xu Fu's assassination of a court official was a capital offense.
Although the Emperor sympathized with his background, he could not disregard the law of the land. While the death penalty could be avoided, he was to be imprisoned for life.
Xu Fu thanked him and was locked in prison. He asked the jailer for a cup of poisoned wine, saying, "My father has been exonerated. I have no regrets."
When the Emperor learned of this, he was moved by his loyalty and filial piety and ordered his body to be buried with his ancestors.
As night fell, the constables in the yamen handed over the bodies.
A dark figure took advantage of the night to leave the yamen and entered the Imperial Prince's Mansion.
In the study.
Ye Jingyu was sitting in the study, his gaze fixed on the door, with a hint of helplessness.
The dark figure knocked and entered, kneeling on one knee. "My Lord, the matter is done. Xu Fu's body has been interred in the coffin and will leave the capital early tomorrow morning."
The 'Xu Fu's' human skin mask fell off, revealing a handsome and heroic male face beneath the ordinary one.
This person's eyes were bright, his demeanor heroic and extraordinary, and every move exuded the bearing of a warrior.
"I remember someone saying that the assassination at the Zhao residence today had nothing to do with him? Then who is this?"
A clear and playful voice suddenly came from behind the door.
Ying Xiao turned back in astonishment, and when he saw the little person at the door, he was suddenly shocked.
Su Yunmo, with her arms crossed, walked out from a corner by the door.
She was already small, and with a slight crouch, she became even less conspicuous. It was clear that she had deliberately hidden there, waiting for Ying Xiao to walk into her trap.
Ying Xiao's expression changed drastically, and he knelt on both knees. "My Lord, please forgive me. Your subordinate is useless!"
He had heard that the young lady of the General's mansion was no easy character, but he truly did not expect her to be so clever as to come to his Lord's place in advance to lie in wait.
Su Yunmo jumped onto the table, smiling at the young man behind the desk. "Your Highness the Imperial Prince, you are hiding quite deeply."