Chapter 138 - 105: Dad’s Bewilderment

Chapter 138: Chapter 105: Dad’s Bewilderment

Before Emperor Jianhong made up his mind to eliminate Prince Qi, he had met with someone.

That person was Bai Ziqing, one of the ten Directors of the Imperial City Department. Bai Ziqing possessed an impeccable family background and a Martial Arts Realm that made him a standout among the younger generation. Because of this, he enjoyed the Emperor’s deep trust.

Immediately following his meeting with Bai Ziqing, the Emperor had struck with the force of a thunderbolt, swiftly eliminating Prince Qi. Naturally, this made it difficult not to suspect a hidden connection between Bai Ziqing and Zeng Shilin.

Despite these suspicions, Zeng Shilin’s expression remained perfectly neutral. Standing among the crowd of officials, he kept his eyes lowered and his demeanor composed, acting as though none of this had anything to do with him.

"Oh?" A glint of understanding flashed in Emperor Jianhong’s eyes. He shot a glance at Ren Weizhi before slowly nodding. "Summon Bai Ziqing."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The great hall fell silent as the young eunuch departed to carry out the order. Ren Weizhi, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, retreated to his place in the ranks. His sole objective today was to probe—to uncover the exact nature of the relationship between Bai Ziqing and Zeng Shilin.

It wasn’t long before a striking figure slowly strode into the imperial court. Clad in a crisp white robe and sporting a head of wavy blonde hair, the young man possessed a remarkably youthful appearance and an air of complete indifference.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Bai Ziqing said, bowing.

"Rise," Emperor Jianhong said with a faint nod. "How fares the investigation into the poisoning of Vice Minister Lou’s only son?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I have not failed my mission regarding the case at the Assistant Minister’s Mansion," Bai Ziqing replied smoothly. "Last night, I apprehended the poisoner and rescued Vice Minister Lou’s son, Lou Tong, from the brink of death."

At his declaration, the gaze of every official in the court drifted toward him. Some looked indifferent, while others wore expressions of blatant mockery or quiet sarcasm.

They scoffed inwardly at the convenient timing of solving the case. It just so happened that he cracked it precisely as the seven-day deadline expired? Though the majority of the officials kept their faces carefully blank, they harbored their own suspicions. They figured he had simply found a few scapegoats—a time-honored tactic employed by desperate officials since the dawn of history.

Emperor Jianhong’s expression remained perfectly unreadable. Clearly, he shared the skepticism of his ministers.

"If this proves to be a false accusation fabricated to close the case, your crime will be unforgivable," Emperor Jianhong stated, his voice devoid of emotion.

Bai Ziqing bowed deeply. "Every word this subject speaks is the absolute truth. If Your Majesty doubts my claims, you may summon Vice Minister Lou to inquire personally."

Lou Yingqi had not attended the morning assembly today. Given the recent tragedy that had befallen his family, Emperor Jianhong had granted him an extended leave of absence.

"That will not be necessary. It is best to let him rest for a few days," Emperor Jianhong replied.

A flicker of genuine interest suddenly crossed his features as he arched an eyebrow and looked down at Bai Ziqing. "Who was the poisoner? And how, exactly, was the Green-bellied Snake poison neutralized?"

The entire court leaned in, casting curious glances at Bai Ziqing. Although several days had passed since the son of Lou Yingqi, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was poisoned, the severity of the case had sent significant ripples through the imperial court.

A Third Grade official was not the absolute highest rank, but it was certainly not a position to be trifled with. If Lou Yingqi’s son had actually died from the poison, the Emperor would have undoubtedly erupted in fury—whether to secure Lou Yingqi’s loyalty or to quell the panic brewing among the court officials. Inevitably, a wave of unlucky scapegoats would have lost their lives to appease that wrath.

Fortunately, judging by Bai Ziqing’s confident demeanor, the crisis had been averted. Now, they were all burning with curiosity to know exactly how the young Director had cracked the case.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the poisoner... was not human." Bai Ziqing slowly raised his head, his voice laced with icy detachment.

A sharp glint flashed in the eyes of Ren Weizhi, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He masked his reaction perfectly, standing rigidly in place without uttering a word.

Zeng Shilin simply raised an eyebrow, observing Bai Ziqing with mild curiosity.

"Not human?" Emperor Jianhong narrowed his eyes, staring piercingly at Bai Ziqing. "Explain."

Bai Ziqing took a deep breath and cupped his hands in respect. "In the immediate aftermath of the incident, my initial theory was that Lou Tong had recently offended someone, or perhaps Vice Minister Lou had engaged in a bitter dispute with a rival.

"Thus, I initially classified the incident as an act of retaliation and focused all my efforts on tracking down a human culprit. However, after days of fruitless searching, I turned up nothing. It wasn’t until yesterday, driven by desperation, that I noticed several anomalies at the crime scene.

"The arrangement of the furnishings in the room... the state of the bedding... and the open window..."

He spoke at a deliberate pace, methodically recounting the entire process of how "he" had solved the case.

"Ultimately, through meticulous deduction and by peeling back the layers of the mystery, I finally uncovered the true source of the crime!" Bai Ziqing concluded, his chin tilted high and his face radiating absolute arrogance. "It was none other than a Green-bellied Snake!"

Hearing these claims, Zeng Shilin’s brow slowly furrowed. The scene playing out before him felt awfully familiar, as if he had witnessed this exact situation somewhere before.

By the time Bai Ziqing finished recounting his tale, Emperor Jianhong’s expression had turned entirely stony. The entire imperial court was dead silent.

"A member of the Demon Race... inside an Assistant Minister’s Mansion of our Great Saint Dynasty?!" someone muttered, drawing a sharp breath.

That single revelation carried terrifying implications. How had a member of the Demon Race infiltrated the Great Saint Dynasty without making a sound? Although the Confucian Dao of the Great Saint Dynasty had yet to reach its absolute zenith, it was still considered the most prosperous era in recent history. To think that a Snake Demon had been lying dormant right in the heart of the Capital City—a place teeming with powerful Confucian Cultivators!

Who was pulling the strings behind this Snake Demon? Was it a treacherous official? A rogue disciple from the Profound Array Department? And where did they acquire the Abnormal Skill necessary to conceal its demonic aura?

With the emergence of this Snake Demon, the investigation ceased to be a mundane poisoning case. It had escalated into a colossal conspiracy, one that threatened to unleash a storm of blood and slaughter upon the imperial court!

Already, the more quick-witted ministers could feel a chilling sense of crisis creeping into their hearts.