The eunuch had already taken the token and presented it to him. Emperor Jing looked at it for a long time before throwing the token into the eunuch's hand. He looked at Xie Huainan with a gloomy expression and asked, "What do you have to say?"
Xie Huainan raised his eyes and looked at Emperor Jing, saying, "Wei Chen doesn't know why this matter was put on my head, but it really has nothing to do with me. Wei Chen thinks that he has nothing to do with anyone." , I fell into a trap this time, I only hope that the emperor can give me justice!"
Although his tone of voice was slow, he was extremely serious, and the sincerity in his words made people feel sad.
"Justice? Now that the evidence is conclusive and you ask three questions without knowing anything, how can I repay you justice?" Emperor Jing's tone became serious, and he looked at Xie Shengli again and asked, "Mr. Xie, what's your clever move?"
Xie Shengli looked at Xie Huainan with a bit of hatred, and said sadly, "I have no clever tricks, only a heart of courage and loyalty. The emperor is wise and has his own decision."
Having said this, he looked at Shen Jingxiang again and asked, "I just have something unclear, old minister. Where is the spy now?"
Shen Jingxiang did not dodge and said, "The spy is outside the palace now."
Hearing this, Emperor Jing immediately said, "Invite him to the palace."
Not long after, several soldiers escorted the spy up. He was still wearing a soldier's uniform, but his eyebrows were a bit taller and wider than those of the Central Plains people. It could be seen that the spy was struggling a lot, his body was tied up, his clothes were loose, and there was still unwillingness and hatred in his eyes.
When he saw Emperor Jing, the spy did not kneel down, but sneered, "Oh, is this the emperor of the Central Plains? He doesn't look very good, he is far worse than our king!"
What he said was truly treasonous. The soldier behind him immediately put his foot on his knee and shouted, "Kneel down!"
After being kicked like this, his legs bent involuntarily and he knelt down with a plop. The spy still wanted to struggle, but was suppressed by the soldiers and could not move. He could only express his anger with his eyes.
"You Central Plains people are much more barbaric than us. Is this how you treat people from other countries?"
Before Emperor Jing could speak, a minister already spoke up and refuted, "Since you are from the enemy's camp, and you tried to steal intelligence from our country when the two countries were at war, it would be polite not to behead you on the spot. You actually did it many times." Speaking arrogant words is a crime worthy of death!"
"Bah, that eye of yours saw me stealing information. I just sent a letter!" The spy immediately retorted with wide eyes.
Emperor Jing asked majestically, "Who are you sending the message to?"
The spy hesitated slightly, opened his mouth, and then closed it suddenly, with a look like I won't tell you.
The Minister of Punishment immediately snorted, "Your Majesty, it's better to hand this unruly person over to Wei Chen. Wei Chen promises to take out everything he says!"
Unexpectedly, the man was very sharp-tongued and immediately asked, "Are you talking about torture to extract a confession, and then beating him into submission? I didn't expect you Central Plains people to be so dirty and use such despicable methods!"
"You barbarian!" Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice was so angry at his words that his fingers trembled and he cursed, "No matter how despicable a means is used on you, it will be the best!"
"Okay!" Emperor Jing shouted in a deep voice, then looked at the spy and said, "It's okay if you don't want to say anything. This letter can prove everything."
As he said that, he took out the token again and said, "I heard that you Yue people value loyalty. Come and burn this token."
The messenger carries the general's token, which actually has another meaning. If the token is lost, or if it is necessary to keep the token in a critical moment, the messenger will give up his life.
Sure enough, when he saw the token, the spy struggled for a while, and then laughed miserably, "I knew this would happen when you found the token. Your Majesty, I am loyal to you!"
After he said this, he was about to bite his tongue and commit suicide. But who would have expected that Shen Jingxiang had already set up a trap in his mouth, so that he could only speak but could not bite.
The spy bit him several times, but his appearance was extremely funny. He immediately said angrily, "Shen Jingxiang, you despicable and shameless villain!"
Seeing the token being thrown to the ground casually, the spy was so angry that he almost jumped, but he was imprisoned too firmly and could not struggle.
Emperor Jing waved his hand and said, "Take him down." The reason why he did this was just to test whether the spy was a real Yue country spy.
Now the spy's performance has told him everything, but this man can't die yet, he still has to find something useful.
Hearing Emperor Jing's words, the soldiers in the palace immediately led the spy out of the hall. The spy was still struggling, his mouth had been blocked again, and he could only make a whining sound.
Emperor Jing looked at the courtiers in the hall again and said in a deep voice, "The spies are real, the letters are real, and the tokens are real. I want to protect you, but Mr. Xie, tell me how to protect you?"
Privately, he didn't want to believe that the Xie family had collaborated with the enemy and treason, but the matter was here, and he couldn't find any evidence to prove the Xie family. The civil and military ministers of the dynasty were neither blind nor stupid, so he had to give them an explanation. Give an explanation to the soldiers on the front line!
Xie Shengli closed his eyes dejectedly and sighed, "Your Majesty, please let me kowtow to you for the last time!" As he said that, he walked to the center of the hall with heavy steps, bowed three times and kowtowed to Emperor Jing. He amplified his voice and said, "Old minister, long live my emperor, long live him!"
His back was particularly vicissitudes of life, which also made the ministers of the DPRK feel mixed feelings. The meaning of Xie Shengli's words was too obvious. The ministers on both sides were gloating, sighing, and angry.
Only the second son of the Xie family looked at his father's back with a sad look on his face.
Then, the two members of the Xie family also stepped forward and kowtowed, "Long live my emperor!" Since they are members of the Xie family, they will share the joys and sorrows with the Xie family!
Seeing his former mentor like this, Emperor Jing felt a little uncomfortable. But he is an emperor and can only act according to the law.
The Xie family was kneeling in the main hall without getting up. Emperor Jing was silent for a while, and then he said loudly, "Come here, collect the Xie family -"
"Your Majesty, I have something to report to you!"
Suddenly, an impatient male voice was heard outside the hall, and then a young man was seen limping in, his face dripping with sweat.
Emperor Jing was interrupted before he finished speaking. But after he saw the person coming, he asked in surprise, "Hey, Li Qing, aren't you going to see a doctor today? Why are you here again?"
Li Jie first kowtowed to Emperor Jing, and after receiving permission, he stood up and said, "Back to the Emperor, I have urgent matters to report to you!"
Sweat was dripping from his face as he walked quickly, and his feet were in pain due to ailments.
Hearing the anxiety in Li Jie's mouth, Emperor Jing also nodded solemnly and said, "Go ahead."
Li Jie took a breath and calmed down a little, then he said, "Today when I went to the medical clinic to treat my foot problem, I met a craftsman on the road. He claimed to know the art of Qimen Dunjia, and he was also proficient in a kind of paper. Production.”
At this point, he said sincerely, "I wonder if I, Wei Chen, could take a look at the letters found on the spy's body?"
Yesterday, the Xie family's incident had already caused a stir in the city. It was not surprising that Li Jie knew this.
Emperor Jing was very fond of this upright new top scholar. After hearing this, he ordered the eunuch, "Give this letter to Li Qing."
The chamberlain responded, lowered his head and trotted over to deliver the letter.
Li Jie opened the letter, took out the paper inside, then touched the corners, rubbed it in the center, and frowned tightly.
Those who were waiting for Emperor Jing to sentence the Xie family were impatient and said, "Sir, if you want to study this, you can study it in the next court. Don't you see that Mr. Xie and the others are still kneeling?" Do you want them to kneel down and wait for you?"
Li Jie didn't even look at him, but looked at Emperor Jing sincerely and said, "Your Majesty, I wonder if I could have a bowl of wine, aged plum wine, and a candle."
Before Emperor Jing could speak, Zhang Shangshu couldn't help but sneer, "Master Li, how many sips do you want to drink here? Do you want to give you some more dishes to go with the wine?"
Li Jie turned around and retorted, "Mr. Zhang, it's true that you are dirty yourself, but don't think others think the same as you?"
Li Jie seemed to be eloquent, but at this moment, Zhang Shangshu's face turned red with just one sentence. He had been talking for a long time, but he couldn't utter a single word of defense.
Emperor Jing waved his hand and said, "Okay, don't argue anymore. Come on, do as Li Qing said."
Not long after, the chamberlain came up with wine and candles.
Li Jie dropped a few drops of candle tears into the wine, and then soaked the letter in it!
Zhang Shangshu immediately cursed, "Li Jie, you are destroying evidence of your crime!"
The surrounding ministers also took a breath and accused Li Jie one after another. Looking at the latter, he was still neither arrogant nor impatient, and even rinsed the letter in the wine.
After a while, the wine changed color slightly and a little ink appeared.
Emperor Jing watched with interest. For some reason, he just felt that this Li Jie might bring him some surprises.
But those ministers didn't think so, especially Shen Yuming, who immediately jumped up and said, "Li Jie, are you trying to cover up the Xie family? But you destroyed the evidence, and the Xie family's charges are still conclusive. I advise you to still Don’t waste your efforts!”
Li Jie only focused on the piece of paper, and his hands were trembling slightly.
Those people scolded but there was no response. Looking at Emperor Jing's face, he still had a calm expression. For a moment, the hall became extremely silent.
Within a moment, Li Jie took out the piece of letter paper again and shook off the water marks on it. The minister who was close to him saw that the writing on it was not lost at all! However, if the writing was not lost, what happened to the ink in the bowl earlier
Before the surrounding ministers could think clearly, Li Jie's brows were already frowning more and more. He held up the piece of paper with both hands and said, "Your Majesty, please read it again!"
The chamberlain trotted all the way to take the letter and gave it to Emperor Jing. Emperor Jing's eyes gradually turned from interested to gloomy at first.
The paper was still the same, and the handwriting was the same as before, but Emperor Jing could clearly see that the content written on it was completely different from the original!
It can even be said that they are completely different things!
"Shen Yuming!"
Emperor Jing looked at it for a long time and suddenly spoke, but he shouted loudly.
Shen Yuming was still a monk. When he suddenly heard Emperor Jing calling him like this, he was frightened all over. He knelt down with a plop and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, I am here."
Emperor Jing's expression at the moment was not good, it could even be said that a storm was about to come. He squeezed the paper tightly, sneered a few times, and looked at Shen Yuming and Shen Jingxiang with eyes that almost made him want to eat each other.
But the more silent Emperor Jing was, the more scared Shen Yuming became.
After a while, Emperor Jing withdrew his eyes and asked Li Jie, "How did you know this method?" As soon as he spoke, he remembered Li Jie's previous words and asked again, "Where is the craftsman now? "