Chapter 164: You Are All Too Honest

Time slowly slipped away, and in the blink of an eye, it was noon. As expected, that group of envoys entered the imperial palace once again, their arrogance as overbearing as ever.

"Your Majesty, so many days have passed. Today is the final day; surely you should give us an explanation by now?" The leader gazed arrogantly at Jun Yeli, emboldened all the more by the fact that one of their own had died on Fengling territory.

Faced with this demand, Jun Yeli suddenly let out a cold laugh. "For all these days, there has been a complete lack of evidence. To make matters worse, the cell where Consort Rong was being held suddenly caught fire, and she barely escaped with her life. Everything about this is highly suspicious, so to be on the safe side, I have decided to isolate Consort Rong for the time being and observe how things develop."

Hearing this, the others were far from pleased. One of them could no longer contain himself; stepping forward, he lowered his voice and angrily rebuked, "How much time has already passed? Every day you offer repeated excuses and delays—could it be that you simply have no intention of dealing with that Consort Rong at all?"

Was this not painfully obvious?

Jun Yeli steadied his breath, gently tapping his fingers against the table. His gaze was sharp and stern, as though he were deliberately waiting for something to happen.

Just as the atmosphere grew tense, a hurried report echoed from outside, "Reporting to Your Majesty! Terrible news, another murder has taken place at the official posthouse!"

At these words, everyone present was slightly startled.

The posthouse was currently lodging all those foreign envoys; this was by no means good news.

"How could there be another murder? Could it be that woman has struck again?!"

One of them was quick to shift the blame, leaving Hua Rong an innocent victim of stray arrows.

Yet, facing this accusation, Jun Yeli could not help but sneer. "Ever since the incident, Consort Rong has not stepped a single half-step out of the inner palace. For a crime to be committed in such a distant place and yet blamed on her, isn't that going a bit too far?"

His resonant words laid bare the blatant attempt to frame her, leaving the others without a suitable retort.

One of them gritted his teeth and pressed on with a forced defense, "Who knows if Consort Rong has other accomplices? After all, for a mere woman to pull off such a feat is already extraordinary. I fear she has been plotting this with others for a long time!"

This sounded somewhat reasonable, and the others quickly chimed in with agreement.

Without bothering to argue with them further, Jun Yeli merely looked at the messenger and asked, "Have they caught the killer?"

"People have already been sent in pursuit. The culprit happened to be discovered in the act of committing the murder and was wounded, so they shouldn't be able to run far!"

Hearing this, Jun Yeli nodded with satisfaction. "Since that's the case, let's wait until the suspect is captured before we discuss this further. By the way, summon Consort Rong here as well; some matters still need to be confronted face-to-face!"

Following these words, the crowd soon relocated to a spacious courtyard.

Within the span of half an hour, a group of guards escorted a figure clad in black robes right before Jun Yeli, accompanied by Hua Rong, who still bore the status of an accused criminal.

"Let me go this instant, or I swear I will slaughter every last one of you!"

The man in black continued to struggle fiercely even after his capture, refusing to show the slightest sign of submission.

Yet, despite this impassioned declaration, the onlookers remained entirely indifferent. Jun Yeli let out a cold laugh. "Audacious villain! To commit murder and still act with such arrogance—do you take the sovereign's restraint for weakness, assuming the throne is ruled by a foolish ruler?"

His thunderous roar carried a majestic aura that quieted the group instantly, though their faces remained etched with resentment and unwillingness.

Unable to hold back his emotions any longer, an envoy shouted out, "Consort Rong, are you still not going to confess your crimes? Now that your underling has been captured, you have nowhere left to hide!"

Hearing this, Hua Rong spat disdainfully in his direction. "Bah! What nonsense are you spouting? For all I know, the two of you are in cahoots, deliberately conspiring to frame me!"

"You are facing your doom, yet you still resort to such cunning quibbles. Truly incorrigible!"

The envoy craned his neck, itching for a fight—though starting a brawl here was far beyond his power.

Observing the man in black closely, Hua Rong suddenly caught sight of a lotus emblem embroidered near the collar. Her eyes lit up with realization, and she stepped forward quickly. "Are you a member of the Lotus Sect?"

At the mention of those three names, panic rippled through the crowd. The Lotus Sect was by no means a force to be trifled with.

"Since you know we belong to the Lotus Sect, you'd better release us immediately! Otherwise, you are making an enemy of the entire Lotus Sect!"

The man's arrogance remained unbridled, as if he believed a vast dynasty boasting millions of elite troops would genuinely cower before a small assassin organization.

Jun Yeli slowly rose to his feet, casting a confirming glance at the emblem before nodding slightly. "Just as our previous clues suggested, it truly seems to be the work of the Lotus Sect. Now that this is out in the open, isn't the truth clear?"

Everyone knew that the Lotus Sect operated with extreme secrecy. Aside from monetary gains, they had never pledged allegiance to any mortal power; how could they possibly be subordinates of Consort Rong?

"This must be because Consort Rong paid them a massive fortune to carry out the assassinations, purely to provoke a war!"

These fellows stubbornly fixated on Hua Rong, unwilling to let her go. Who knew how she had offended them? Even the accused herself grew annoyed. "My family has served as upright officials for generations with unblemished integrity. I am not the sort of person to hire thugs for murder, and furthermore, I have no prior grievances with you people. Why would I ever commit such an act?"

"Who can say for sure?"

These men were glib of tongue and stubbornly insisted on Hua Rong's guilt, leaving others utterly exasperated.

Jun Yeli's expression darkened as he saw right through their underlying motives. He suddenly spoke up, "Recently, I've heard that you have grown quite close to the Second Prince, and have also had minor dealings with the women of my inner palace. I wonder—have you taken a fancy to a particular consort? Or could it be... forming a faction for illicit political gains?"

The sovereign's words carried a piercing edge, his gaze sweeping over the assembly as if he had already pronounced their doom.

Any single one of those charges was a capital offense bearing inescapable death. Leave aside foreign envoys; even the Grand Chancellor himself would not escape unscathed!

Hearing this, the men trembled with a guilty conscience, their faces turning pale with terror.

"What is His Majesty talking about? We are merely foreign envoys; how could we possibly have dealings with them?"

"Yet the intelligence I received tells a different story. I hear you spent nearly half an hour in deep conversation with the Second Prince, though the topic remains unknown. Recently, you've even been touring the capital and acquiring numerous blacksmith shops. For what purpose..."

Jun Yeli stroked his chin leisurely. Though concrete evidence was lacking, a monarch's suspicions were more than enough to strike terror into their hearts.

Beneath every single word lay hidden murderous intent.

Stricken by guilt, the men nervously pulled out handkerchiefs to wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads, momentarily paralyzed and unable to recover their wits. One could even hear the sound of nervous swallows in the quiet air.

Satisfied with this reaction, Jun Yeli continued, "I shall ask you once more: based on the evidence presented now, does it prove Consort Rong's innocence or not?!"