Ch. 25 - The Second Trump Card

Originally, he thought that the play in front of the Wen Ying Hall was to test his unparalleled strange power, so Sun Shaozong expressed his thoughts tactfully and subtly to hide the poor performance of the three eunuchs.

But who could have thought that the routine was so deep?!

Sun Shaozong took a silent look at Earl Yong Yi and then peeked at the Emperor's expression.

He had most likely guessed the true identity of Earl Yong Yi, but he didn't know whether the words of ”dismissal investigation” earlier on had been approved by the Emperor or whether Earl Yong Yi was just trying to enforce the idea on the Emperor.

If the latter were the case, there might be a turn for the better.

If it was the former, it was useless to say anything. It was better to plead guilty, subdue the law, and then go home to live a leisurely and happy life with his wife and children. Anyway, it wouldn’t be too bad with his big brother's protection.

"Haha."

At this time, Emperor Guangde smiled twice and still asked lightly, "Sun Shaozong, what do you want to distinguish from what Earl Yong Yi had just said?"

Tch!

The tone and expression of Emperor Guangde showed no clue as to what he was thinking.

Try it first!

Sun Shaozong took a deep breath, bowed down, and said, "Your Majesty, I just want to ask Earl Yong Yi. Is your surname ”Niu?””

Except for the legitimate grandson of the Duke of Zhenguo, who was the first-class Earl Niu Jizong, he was afraid no one would care so much about Ambassador Niu's death.

Earl Yong Yi’s face darkened again when he heard the words, and without waiting for the Emperor's order, he viciously said, "What does it matter if my surname is ”Niu” or not? Your poor protection caused the assassination of the ambassador and the shame of the court. Shouldn't you be punished?"

But Sun Shaozong ignored him. He just squeezed out a look of sadness, knelt and said, "Since it's Lord Niu, I have nothing to say."

He had spent several years in the officialdom, although it was only a Regional Bureau, knowing that if he directly shifted the blame at this time, he would only leave a worse impression on his boss. Therefore, he didn't say anything clearly but only beat around the bush, showing that he was full of grievances.

Niu Jizong was not stupid either. Upon hearing this, he knew that Sun Shaozong was hinting that he was trying to expose him with short and powerful words to break his ”dirty thoughts,” but Emperor Guangde was already curious and said, "Why are you speechless when Lord Niu is here?"

With that curious question, Sun Shaozong felt refreshed!

Because the Emperor didn't mean to sing the double reed with Niu Jizong, there was no need to continue asking questions.

"Your Majesty."

Sun Shaozong fell to the ground and said without raising his head, "It is already a tragic thing for Lord Niu to lose his close family member. How can I tell him clearly about the fault of Ambassador Niu in front of him? Therefore, I have nothing to say."

Although he said that he had nothing to say, Niu Yongxin has already been held responsible for this. He was afraid it would be more incisive than saying anything.

Niu Jizong became angrier when he heard the speech. He jumped to his feet and scolded, "What a shameless villain! My brother died for his loyalty to the country, and you dare to discredit him in front of me! Your motive is execrable!"

"Your Majesty, our Niu family is full of martyrs. The spirit of serving the country with sincerity can be seen by the sun and the moon. I will not tolerate the reputation that my ancestors bought with their lives being destroyed by villains! Please kill Sun Shaozong swiftly to correct the situation!" he cried as he fell to his knees.

Damn!

This was clearly to kill one to keep its mouth shut!

Moreover, the old Duke of Zhenguo was dragged out as a weight.

Sun Shaozong didn't think that he could beat the heads of the four princes and eight ministers, so he quickly began defending himself, "Since Lord Niu keeps saying that I am a villain, then I can only..."

"Shut up!"

Niu Jizong had also guessed that his unreliable brother must have done something extraordinary in the Kingdom of Qian Xiang, and Sun Shaozong had evidence of it.

So how would he be willing to let Sun Shaozong speak freely?

Sun Shaozong's words were interrupted by a loud shout,

Then he said in a fierce voice, "The sophistry of these villains will only pollute Your Majesty's ears if you listen to them! Please order to kill this villain quickly, return the innocence of the Zhengguo Mansion, and give justice to my younger brother!"

Holy crap!

He couldn’t even explain himself. What's more, the words seemed to contain the intention of forcing Emperor Guangde!

What made Sun Shaozong feel the most chilling was that Emperor Guangde really showed a sense of him wavering under his aggressive momentum!

"Your Majesty!"

If this matter were to be delayed any further, he might be pushed out and beheaded.

Sun Shaozong hurriedly took out a pamphlet from his arms and hurriedly said, "If only based on my testimony, it might not be much! But I have the confessions of 73 people from the embassy, including five of Lord Niu's personal servants and a servant girl, which was enough to prove that Ambassador Niu was greedy for money and groceries from the embassy during his tenure of office and…”

Niu Jizong yelled again, "How dare you, Sun Shaozong, forge those confessions!"

His life was at stake. Sun Shaozong didn’t have time to pay attention to him.

Holding the pamphlet above his head with both hands, he said loudly, "...I have gathered information from all the places in the embassy, such as worker attendants and factotum workers. The confession has been stated clearly and in detail. The traitor who poisoned me was also a recruit by Lord Niu. There are account books in it as evidence as well. Please review it!"

This was another trump card prepared by Sun Shaozong in addition to his action of ”relying on foreign forces to elevate its status!”

He spent a lot of effort on these testimonies and account books. If it hadn't been for the investigation, Sun Shaozong would have established supreme authority within the embassy, and it was not possible to be so thorough.

When Niu Jizong heard this, his heart was half cold.

He faltered and tried to stop Sun Shaozong from presenting the pamphlet. However, Dai Quan, the head eunuch in charge of the palace, trotted forward to take it and gave it to Emperor Guangde quickly.

Niu Jizong moved to his feet, but he didn't dare stop him after all. He bowed his head dejectedly but was not reconciled, so he stared at Sun Shaozong furiously.

Emperor Guangde took the pamphlet and flipped through it. It was no less than what had been written for years by old officials, despite the slightly sloppy writing on it. Everything was, however, well organized. In his heart, he thought highly of Sun Shaozong and made a decision on the assassination case.

Snap!

He slammed the pamphlet and scoffed, "What a loyal family! What a spirit of serving the country with sincerity that can be seen by the sun and the moon! What a loyal man who died for his country!"

Three times in a row of ”what a,” but it was as cold as it sounds!

Niu Jizong was so pale that he did not dare speak aloud. He kowtowed his head three times and said in a trembling voice, "I'm afraid, it’s me who did not teach my younger brother well. I'm sorry..."

"That’s enough!"

Emperor Guangde impatiently threw the pamphlet in front of him and said, "For the sake of the old Duke of Zhenguo, you can hand over the money he withheld to the state treasury. I can assume that this shit has never happened. Step back!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Niu Jizong hurriedly picked up the pamphlet and bowed out in panic.

After he disappeared outside the door, he looked at Emperor Guangde again and saw that he had put on a little smile on his face. He stretched out his hand to help him up falsely and kindly said, "Get up. Since you have done nothing wrong, I will naturally reward you greatly! Come tell me, what do you want?"

In fact, this was just a polite remark.

Generally speaking, after listening to the inscription, the ministers all expressed that they would follow Emperor Guangde's instructions and that, as the ministers, there was no objection to the Emperor's decision. In this way, the Emperor could take out the rewards that he had already prepared, and both parties could be happy with the results and enjoy themselves.

But Sun Shaozong didn't follow the routine this time. Hearing this, he immediately threw himself to the ground again and said, "Your majesty, I... I want to be transferred to a civilian position!"

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