Emperor Mingde was furious and wished he could fulfill his wish and cut him down.
But there had been no news for several days. Finally, there was a clue from Meng Yuan, and he really didn't dare to give up.
"Your Majesty, let me talk to him." Song Beiting requested.
Emperor Mingde, with a somber face, left the prison.
Song Beiting looked at Meng Yuan. This was one of his subordinates, and he had some acquaintance with him. In his memory, Meng Yuan was an honest person, diligent in his duties, and never offended anyone.
It was just that the object of his loyalty was the Prince of Runan.
"Commander, you don't need to ask. We've known each other for so many years, and you know my character. If I did it, I did it. If I didn't, I didn't. I know I can't live, and if you want to save the Goddess, don't waste time here. I didn't abduct anyone."
Yes, Song Beiting understood him. This was a straightforward man who disdained lying.
If it were someone else who had gone missing today, he would have chosen to believe him.
But it was Ling Yao.
He couldn't afford the slightest uncertainty.
Any hint of selfish motive from Meng Yuan would make him miss the chance to find her.
He dared not gamble.
"Meng Yuan, I know you have a younger sister."
Song Beiting said it casually, as if chatting about the weather.
However, Meng Yuan's face suddenly turned pale, and his pupils showed a look of fear.
"Commander, you... you can't!"
His sister was found with great difficulty two years ago. They were separated in childhood and had gone through hell. A woman wandering in troubled times for so many years, what she had experienced was unimaginable.
He had consulted so many doctors to cure her, and found a reliable farmer for her. She was living well now. His sister was afraid of him, but not of that man. He had always watched her from the shadows.
How did the commander know?
"Commander, do you know what my sister went through? At eight years old, eight years old, she was separated from me. How did a girl survive all these years? When I found her, she was fighting with dogs for food, her body was covered in sores, and she had even... even lost the right to be a mother!"
A seven-foot man choked with emotion, filled with both grief and hatred: "If my father and brother hadn't been conscripted, if there hadn't been a locust plague in my hometown, then I and my sister wouldn't have had to suffer all this! Why? Are the lives of you nobles more valuable than ours?"
"All our suffering is due to this court!"
"You don't need to tell me this. I only ask you, who abducted the princess?" Song Beiting interrupted his roar coldly.
Meng Yuan's surging grief and indignation were like being doused with cold water.
The commander was an upright man, but more importantly, he was a man of deep feelings.
He was loyal to the Emperor, and even more so, he loved the Goddess.
He was wrong. Their suffering had nothing to do with others.
"Commander, the Goddess chose the Divine Martial General and abandoned you. Don't you feel any resentment?"
"Meng Yuan, my patience is limited."
"Whether you believe it or not, I did not abduct the Goddess. As for the rumors, they are spread by word of mouth, and no one else is involved."
"Do you think you alone have such great ability? To spread rumors throughout the capital overnight? Meng Yuan, do you take me for a fool?"
Song Beiting grabbed his collar and looked at Meng Yuan with a chilling gaze: "You say that you and your sister's suffering are all the fault of the court. Then, the Prince of Runan, for his own selfish reasons, caused chaos in the court and allowed corrupt officials to hold power. The Goddess brought order out of chaos, was that right or wrong?"
"You are retaliating against the Goddess for the Prince of Runan, causing chaos in the capital, and wanting to plunge the Jing Kingdom into turmoil again. Have you ever thought about how many common people would become like you and your sister?"
"You say your sister wandered aimlessly, but how do you know the Goddess hasn't experienced that?"
"Meng Yuan, the Goddess suffered, and she wants to prevent everyone in the world from suffering. But you suffered, and you want everyone to suffer with you!"
"It's ridiculous that you even want me to soften my heart. You, and your sister, how can you compare to so many people in the Jing Kingdom!"
Meng Yuan was stunned. He opened his mouth to retort, but his mouth hung open, and he couldn't say a word, because that was exactly what his actions amounted to.
He hadn't thought that far. Clearly, clearly, he only resented the Goddess for ruthlessly killing the Prince of Runan.
He just wanted people to know that the Goddess was not omnipotent, that she could also make mistakes...
He didn't want to cause chaos in the Jing Kingdom...
"No, it's not..." Meng Yuan shook his head, "This is wrong..."
The commander was right. How could rumors spread throughout the capital overnight if it were only him?
"It was him!" Meng Yuan remembered. "It was the shopkeeper of Yunhe Restaurant!"
He had had a little to drink at the time, and the shopkeeper of Yunhe Restaurant came over to persuade him. The conversation somehow led to the Goddess.
They talked about how someone as upright as the Prince of Runan had died tragically in prison.
Thinking about it now, it was clearly a step-by-step process to lure him into saying things he shouldn't have!
Including at the epidemic site outside the capital, it was also a waiter from Yunhe Restaurant who delivered food, saying they were doing what they could for the common people, and they also chatted with the common people.
He had told the common people that the Goddess couldn't save them, but he hadn't said that the Emperor would order them to be burned to death!
It was clear that someone was indeed pushing things forward.
He had been used!
After hearing this, Song Beiting stopped talking to Meng Yuan and stood up to leave.
"Commander, I know I was wrong. Please don't hurt my sister, I beg you!"
Song Beiting ignored Meng Yuan's pleas. After reporting to Emperor Mingde, he immediately took his men to Yunhe Restaurant.
It was dinner time, and Yunhe Restaurant was full, but there were few waiters serving, making it seem particularly chaotic.
With the government investigating, the restaurant was instantly cleared of people. The waiters and kitchen staff were all frightened and confused.
Upon questioning, the shopkeeper and two waiters had taken leave and were not at the restaurant today.
"Where do they live? Lead the way!"
At this moment, Song Beiting had already anticipated something bad. As expected, the place was deserted.
He was so angry that his handsome face contorted, and he smashed a thick eight-immortal table with a punch.
At this time, they didn't know that they had been looking in the wrong direction from the beginning.
The people spreading rumors and the people who abducted Ling Yao were two entirely different groups.
Ling Yao woke up three days later.
She once again felt that feeling of her body being hollowed out.
Weak, faint.
Like the first time she killed Pork Zhang and Xiao Cui a long time ago.
No, it was a little better than that time, at least she could get out of bed.
But, where was this?
"You're awake?"
A voice from beside her startled her. She then realized that there was a man lying beside her.
How could her body be weak and her mind unclear? A living person lying next to her, and she hadn't noticed?
She remembered.
She was bathing in a tub when a man in black leaped from the roof and pressed her sleep acupoint.
"Who are you?"
Ling Yao looked at herself. She was wearing a goose-yellow fine cotton robe.
Did this man put it on her?