Ch. 540 - Zang Liang

***Clang, Clang***

Still arriving before anyone could hear, accompanied by a burst of iron chains, Zang Liang, a Hundred Households, was escorted outside the interrogation room.

Although his official position was one level higher than Xu Kun's, Zang Liang was a few years younger than Xu Kun. He had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs, and a rectangular face, giving him a somewhat heroic aura.

Especially after being locked up in this dungeon for over a month, there was no sunlight all day, his face was covered with a fair complexion, making him more and more different from ordinary martial artists.

When Zang Liang entered the door and saw Xu Kun kneeling in front of Sun Shaozong, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Since being confined in the dungeon, the several people who acted together have been separated and imprisoned to this day. Not to mention meeting each other, even news about each other has never been heard.

Now Xu Kun has bumped heads with him in the interrogation room, no wonder Zang Liang thought too much.

"Zang Liang."

Sun Shaozong sat upright on the Grand Tutor's chair and asked in a deep voice, "Do you know your sins?!"

Zang Liang walked up to Xu Kun and knelt on one knee with a clatter, shaking his head and saying, "I was just acting under orders. I got rid of the White Lotus rebels that day. I have been in a low position before, but I am not guilty."

This was more than Xu Kun's verbal feedback.

"What an innocent person!"

Sun Shaozong sneered and turned his gaze to Xu Kun.

Xu Kun immediately leaned down again and said in a bitter voice, "Although I have not seen Hundred Household Zang throw the note in, he has been wandering in the backyard of Liyue Residence around the time close to 11 a.m., and I have seen it with my own eyes."

Zang Liang was momentarily stunned at the words, then changed his color. He bent down and shouldered Xu Kun, knocking him to the ground. Only then did he angrily say, "Xu Kun, how dare you falsely accuse me!"

Xu Kun stood up silently, still with his face lowered, his facial features shrouded in shadows.

This was originally because Sun Shaozong was afraid of being exposed by Zang Liang, so he specifically reminded him to hide his foolishness. However, in Zang Liang's eyes, his mind suddenly became filled with a feeling of deficiency.

So Zang Liang became increasingly angry, jumping up and trembling with his iron chains clattering incessantly. He cursed, "Your father and I have no grudges in the past or present. Why do you accuse and harm my father like this?"

Xu Kun remained indifferent to it.

"Xu Kun."

Sun Shaozong forced him aside and asked, "Now that Zang Liang is accusing you of spreading false accusations, what are you saying?"

"Report to Inspector Sun."

At this moment, Xu Kun hesitated and said, "I have truly... I have witnessed with my own eyes that Hundred Household Zang was wandering in the backyard of Liyue Residence."

"You..."

"Your Excellency."

Zang Liang was waiting to scold when Xu Kun suddenly knocked his head to the ground and trembled, saying, "I am willing to sacrifice my life. I guarantee that this statement is absolutely true. I hope you will not make things difficult for my parents."

*Parents?*

"Go in!"

At this moment, a scolding suddenly came from outside the door. Zang Liang instinctively turned around and saw his wife, Liu, holding her young daughter, stumbling into the interrogation room, followed by his usually pampered parents.

"Lock them all up."

With a command from Yang Licai, who silently stood by, several Dragon Guards flashed from left to right, inexplicably locking Zang's father and mother to the wall.

Two other people were waiting to dispose of Liu-Shi in the same way, and the baby girl in Liu-Shi's arms was already frightened and began to cry loudly.

"It's okay."

Sun Shaozong waved his hand like a fly and said, "This child is really annoying to cry. Let's take them down first."

Zang Liang stared blankly as his wife and daughter were taken out, and as he listened to the crying and howling gradually fade away, a flash of inspiration flashed in his heart, *‘Yes, Xu Kun must have been falsely accusing him for the sake of the lives of his entire family!’*

But since he has parents, a wife, and children, wasn’t he the same too?!

Zang Liang not only didn't feel that Xu Kun's feelings were understandable, but also became increasingly furious. For a moment, he forgot that his hands and feet were locked by iron chains, and he rushed forward to fight him to the death.

The two young guards next to him saw the situation and quickly pinned him down to the ground. The cold blue stone slab was pressed against his face, and Zang Liang finally regained his consciousness. He quickly looked up and shouted, "I've been wronged, My Lord. It's clear that Xu Kun falsely accused me to save his life!"

"Is that so?"

Sun Shaozong stared at him for a while before turning his head and asking, "Xu Kun, what evidence do you have to prove Zang Liang?"

"I... I..."

Xu Kun seemed to have a knot in his tongue and stuttered, "I... Although I didn't see him throw the note in, I saw him wandering outside the west wall of that small courtyard with my own eyes."

Wasn’t this tossed and turned just empty talk?!

Zang Liang was about to refute, but suddenly heard Sun Shaozong shouting, "Wait a minute, say it again, what happened when you saw him with your own eyes?"

"I saw him with my own eyes outside the wall..."

"Xu Kun!"

Sun Shaozong interrupted him sternly, "I am here to allow you to retell the story word for word now!"

Xu Kun finally looked up at Sun Shaozong, then immediately lowered his head and said with a lack of confidence, "Although I didn't see him throw the note in, I saw him wandering outside the west wall of that small courtyard with my own eyes."

"Haha!"

As Xu Kun's words fell, Zang Liang beside him couldn't help but be overjoyed and burst out laughing, "You..."

However, he only uttered two words, as if someone had choked his throat. He opened his mouth wide and froze for a while before turning his tone abruptly, "You're just talking empty talk, just thinking..."

"Alright."

This time, Zang Liang's words were really intercepted by someone. Sun Shaozong stood up and stared at him coldly, saying, "If you voluntarily confess now, I can still protect your wife and daughter in front of the Pacifier."

Zang Liang's face flashed with a hint of panic, but he still tried his best to defend himself, saying, "I am wrongly accused, My Lord. I..."

"Xu Kun."

Sun Shaozong interrupted him again and saw Xu Kun stand up from the ground in response, looking at Zang Liang with a hint of pity in his resentment. He shook his head and said, "I advise you not to argue anymore. The words I said just now were taught by him."

The blood on Zang Liang's face gradually faded, and finally, he knelt back to the ground in a dejected state.

At this point, how could he still not understand that Sun Shaozong had deceived him?

The scene of framing just now was to provoke him first. The more true an insider he was, the more unbearable it was for him to be wrongly accused without any flaws.

But when he lost his sanity, Xu Kun deliberately revealed a loophole to lure him to take the bait; the note Zang Liang had thrown into the east wall. Since Sun Shaozong had already learned about it, he could not have been unaware of this, but deliberately arranged for Xu Kun to say it was the west wall.

Although Zang Liang realized halfway through and did not completely fall for the bait, his momentary loss was enough to put him in an irreversible situation.

After a while of feeling dejected, Zang Liang slowly lifted his head and said in a bitter voice, "Inspector, my parents..."

"Don't take any advantage of it!"

Sun Shaozong shook his sleeve and frowned, saying, "I can guarantee that your wife and daughter will not be appointed to the Imperial Brothel. It is already the end of benevolence and righteousness."

Although he was rejected outright, Zang Liang believed in Sun Shaozong's sincerity and his involvement with the White Lotus Sect, which was far more serious than ordinary accomplices. Coupled with the nature of the Northern Detective Department, it would be surprising if it did not involve his family at all.

***Sigh~***

Zang Liang let out a heavy sigh and said with a bitter smile, "When I was young, I was obsessed with beauty, but unexpectedly, one mistake became a lifelong regret."

"When I was tasked with plagiarizing the family members of a criminal, I was so infatuated with the family's daughter-in-law that I secretly used some despicable means to get the little woman to bed."

"At first, the little woman would rather die than comply, but because she saw my handsomeness and genuinely liked me, she accepted halfway."

"But who would have thought that not long after, her father-in-law would start over again and continue to soar all the way..."

"Wait a minute!"

Upon hearing the words *'soaring upwards,'* Sun Shaozong immediately stopped Zang Liang and ordered people to bring Zang Liang's parents and Xu Kun away.

When there were only Sun Shaozong, Yang Licai, and Zang Liang left in the interrogation room, he instructed Zang Liang to continue speaking.

"It's no wonder that at a young age, you can rise to high positions with such caution in your actions."

Zang Liang gave a somewhat envious thumbs up, then lowered his head and said in a mournful tone, "But who could have imagined at that time that the old man who was on the brink of death in the Imperial Edict Prison, in just eight or nine years, would have been appointed as a Prime Minister?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Yang Licai couldn't help but shiver.

If he remembered correctly, among the several elders of the court who had issued a decree to imprison him, it seemed that only the second assistant went to He Tiren, and there was only one legitimate eldest son in his family.

He didn’t know if this guy was unlucky or if he was lucky enough to sleep with the daughter-in-law of the Prime Minister in a daze!

Speaking of which, Sun Shaozong indeed had foresight and drove out idle people in advance. Otherwise, if the news were to leak out, it might be another big disturbance!

No…

He should have kicked himself out just now too!

Just as Yang Licai was filled with sorrow, Zang Liang said again, "After Cabinet He was released from prison, I have been in constant fear, fearing that the matter of my actions will be exposed. Whenever I imagine it, the more afraid I am, the more they come. In a few days, someone came to me and used this ugly matter to blackmail me."

"What kind of person is it?"

After hearing him finally talk about the mastermind behind the scenes, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but to ask, "How could he know that you secretly did this ugly thing?"

"That person refused to say."

Zang Liang shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "He came at night, always covered in a veil, never willing to reveal his identity. I humbly helped him inquire about the news several times, and my heart became uneasy. So I took the initiative to apply for exile to Jiangnan."

"And after leaving, I had no contact with him for six or seven years."

"It wasn't until recently that he came back again and didn't mention anything about the White Lotus Sect. He just asked me to find a way to cause some trouble for the Northern Town Governor; otherwise, he would expose the ugly things of the past to the Old Cabinet He."

"If the attic elder really finds out about my deeds, I'm afraid I will have no place to bury myself!"

"Coincidentally, the White Lotus Sect went to the Capital to cause trouble. I thought that no one would suspect my connection with the White Lotus Sect, so I took advantage of the situation..."

*Damn it!*

In the end, it turned out to be a mystery again, and even the other party's motives were not clear.

Wasn’t this another wasted effort?!

Sun Shaozong's face darkened, and he sternly asked if Zang Liang had concealed anything. In fact, he knew that Zang Liang was unlikely to have deceived anyone. After all, the matter of the daughter-in-law alone was enough to put him in a desperate situation, let alone the charge of indulging in the White Lotus Sect.

After hesitating for a while, Zang Liang hesitated and said, "I didn't hide anything, but from that person's speech and behavior, I vaguely noticed that he seemed to be in big trouble, and it is highly likely that it is related to the recent Heavenly Hound Swallowing of the Sun."

It was the matter of the Heavenly Hound Swallowing the Sun again?!

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