vstars Chapter 612 Exterminate My Entire Clan!
Chapter 612 Exterminate My Entire Clan!
Su Lingyue escorted them to the entrance of the hall, and for some reason, she had a bad feeling.
"There were rumors that you were skilled in medicine, but I didn't believe it. Seeing you today, I can see that it's true. It seems that I, as your father, still don't understand my daughter!"
Upon hearing the sound, Su Lingyue immediately turned around, took a few steps to the side, and distanced herself from Su Heng.
She didn't know what her father wanted to say, so she just stood there quietly watching him.
Su Heng turned around and stood face to face with Su Lingyue, his gaze icy.
"What brings you here today?" Su Heng asked with a questioning tone.
Su Lingyue didn't know what her father meant.
Perhaps he knew she was coming today to force Xiao Changshi to relinquish his position as crown prince. Perhaps he knew she was coming today to thwart his years-long scheme, or perhaps he didn't know.
Su Lingyue didn't care about anything.
This was the first time in eighteen years that the father and daughter had faced each other like this. Although Su Lingyue did not speak, she felt that her father could understand her determination to destroy all his plans.
"I underestimated you, and you ruined all my plans!"
Su Heng's words were icy cold, devoid of any warmth, filled only with the deepest hatred. "This is the last time. I will make sure you and Xiao Yu die without a burial place."
After saying that, he didn't give Su Lingyue another glance and turned to walk inside.
People came and went, but no one noticed the conversation between the father and daughter. Their attention was focused on the hall, where the emperor sat in the main seat and a maid knelt there, seemingly interrogating her.
Su Lingyue, unaware of the details, also went over to see what was going on.
The maid was kneeling, and a large pool of blood was flowing on the ground.
As Su Lingyue got closer, she saw the maid's bleeding arm and the severed hand placed in front of her.
A wave of discomfort surged into her chest, and Su Lingyue turned her head away, covering her mouth and nose with a handkerchief to prevent herself from vomiting.
“She dared to assassinate His Majesty; she should be subjected to all kinds of torture to make her confess all the people behind her.”
Upon hearing Su Heng's words, the person who was forced to kneel on the ground trembled, and a moment later spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.
Xiao Changshi had never seen a dead person before, and for a moment he was at a loss, retreating behind the emperor, "What happened to her?"
Liu Fang hurriedly pried open her mouth to check, only to find a poison sac she had bitten into; the person had actually committed suicide by poisoning herself.
“Your Majesty, these are suicide soldiers. Usually, after a mission fails, they will commit suicide to avoid being tortured.” As he spoke, he cast a gloomy and meaningful glance at Su Heng.
The emperor cast a scrutinizing glance at Su Heng.
Seeing that the assassin was dead, Su Heng had no more concerns. He only curled up a cold sneer on the corner of his mouth, "The assassin was too overconfident. Under the emperor's nose, how could we allow her to cause trouble? It's good that she's dead. She can be used as a warning to others."
With no one left to testify, no one said anything in the end.
The emperor stared at the corpse on the ground and ordered Liu Fang, "Drag it out and hang it on the city gate for three days!"
Since the emperor ascended the throne, there had never been such a punishment. Everyone was terrified and dared not utter a sound.
It seems the emperor is truly enraged.
He Qianqian and Shen Bi had already been helped to a side hall by their maids. The emperor had not issued an edict to continue the wedding ceremony, so it seemed that today's wedding would not take place.
The wedding hall returned to calm, but Xiao Changshi belatedly realized that an assassination attempt had occurred in his residence, and his father believed that he was definitely involved.
If the Emperor determines that he was responsible, then his position as Crown Prince will be in grave danger.
At this moment, the imperial guards, maids, eunuchs, officials, and their families were all standing quietly in the wedding hall.
Xiao Changshi disregarded everything else and knelt down before the emperor with a thud. He grabbed the emperor's robe and pleaded with tears in his eyes, "Father, this matter has nothing to do with me. I don't know what happened. You must believe me!"
The emperor sat on the dragon throne, looking down at Xiao Changshi kneeling on the ground with icy eyes, revealing no emotion.
"The assassination attempt happened in your residence, and you didn't know?"
"Yes, Father, I really didn't know. You must believe me."
"If you can't even manage a small princely residence, how can I entrust the entire empire to you?"
In an instant, Xiao Changshi understood the emperor's attitude and saw his own future. His straight back gradually softened.
Faced with such a major event as an assassination attempt, no one in the hall dared to speak up in defense of the victim.
Just as the hall fell silent, Su Heng stepped forward, cupped his hands to the emperor, and said, “Your Majesty, with so many officials and carriages coming and going on the Crown Prince’s wedding, it is not impossible for thieves to take the opportunity to infiltrate and assassinate him. I hope Your Majesty will investigate thoroughly and not let the Crown Prince suffer an unjust accusation, which could sow discord between father and son.”
Hearing his uncle defend him, Xiao Changshi was instantly filled with hope. He looked at the emperor with a pleading expression and chimed in, "Yes, Father, someone must be deliberately framing me. You must do justice for your son!"
After saying that, he banged his head heavily on the ground, as if the louder the bang, the more sincere he would be.
Liu Fang, with a dozen or so imperial guards, half-surrounded the emperor. At this moment, he showed no sign of the panic he had felt during the assassination attempt. He simply rested his chin on his hand, exuding the unique majesty of a monarch, and asked, "Then tell me, who wanted my life?"
"This……"
Xiao Changshi fell silent instantly. He looked up at everyone present, all of whom were key figures in the court, and he could not afford to offend any of them.
Catching sight of the purple figure in the wedding hall out of the corner of his eye, Xiao Changshi immediately pointed at Su Lingyue and said, "It must be the Imperial Uncle. The Imperial Uncle harbors resentment towards Father for bestowing medicine upon him, which is why he sent someone to assassinate Father!"
The emperor's eyes darkened, clearly displeased that Xiao Changshi had mentioned the matter of bestowing medicine.
He glanced at Xiao Changshi, then looked up at Su Lingyue and asked, "Princess Consort Su, do you have anything to say?"
Looking at Xiao Changshi kneeling on the ground, Su Lingyue realized that the spirited, upright, and elegant young man she remembered was completely dead today.
At this moment, Xiao Changshi, kneeling on the ground, is nothing more than a cowardly, selfish, and incompetent mediocre man who cannot distinguish right from wrong.
Su Lingyue stepped forward, a faint smile on her face: "I did it."
Everyone stared at Su Lingyue in disbelief. They never expected that Su Lingyue would admit to such a serious matter as execution.
Grand Tutor He and Jiang Fu were even more alarmed, fearing that something terrible had happened.
Caiyi was about to stop her when she heard Su Lingyue continue laughing, "Your Majesty, I confess. It was my father, Duke Dingguo Su Heng, who sent me to assassinate you. He wants to install your puppet son as emperor. I am guilty. Exterminate my entire family! Including my father. Don't let him go!"
Su Lingyue's words brought to light a secret that everyone already knew.
Su Heng and Xiao Changshi were dumbfounded. They both opened their mouths, but for a moment they didn't know what to say!