"Father, don't get too agitated. Let's first hear what the assassin has to say," Mu Shengze said as he looked at Mu Linyi and then stole a glance at Mu Yefeng.
At this moment, the black - clad man's eyes were still fixed on Mu Yefeng.
"The person who gave me the order at the inn had a very strong smell of medicinal herbs on him," the assassin said.
Mu Yanming and Mo Qinghuan turned to look at Mu Yefeng. Among the people present, only Mu Yefeng, who had been taking medicinal baths daily in recent days, had the smell of medicinal herbs.
Mo Qinghuan stepped forward and asked, "When did that person give you the order at the inn?"
The assassin rolled his eyes and replied, "Two days ago."
Mo Qinghuan and Mu Yanming exchanged a look. "What time two days ago?"
Mu Shengze sensed something was amiss. He stepped forward, looking at Mo Qinghuan with an unfriendly tone. "Sister - in - law, what do you mean by this?"
Mo Qinghuan smiled. "What could I mean? I just want to know what time it was. But Your Highness, the Prince of Rui, why are you so nervous?"
Mu Shengze averted his gaze. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the emperor was looking at him. He immediately smiled and said, "What am I nervous about? I just think we should ask some important questions."
Mu Yanming shot him a sideways glance. "What? Does the Prince of Rui think the meeting time is not important?"
"Enough! Stop arguing!" Mu Linyi scolded with a gloomy face. Mu Shengze lowered his head and stepped back.
"Speak. Let me hear your voice," the black - clad man pointed at Mu Yefeng, his tone extremely provocative.
Mu Yefeng laughed upon hearing this. Just as he was about to speak, Mo Qinghuan raised her hand to stop him. "First tell me when you met him at the inn."
During the previous argument, the assassin had already thought of a story. "Near the end of Chenshi."
Mo Qinghuan pressed on. "Are you sure?"
The assassin glared at her. "Of course I'm sure. At that time, I was dressed as a merchant and entered the inn. I met that person in the room on the far east side of the second floor of the inn."
"Near the end of Chenshi," Mo Qinghuan's smile deepened. She turned to look at Mu Yefeng and nodded at him.
He stepped forward, bent down, and pressed his face close to the assassin. "Look at me carefully. Take a good look."
The emperor was worried that the assassin might play some tricks. He raised his hand and shouted, "Feng'er, come here."
Mu Shengze was so angry when he saw the emperor was so worried about Mu Yefeng that his teeth gritted.
Mu Yefeng turned to look at Mu Linyi. There was still a gentle smile on his face, and he was holding the string of Buddhist beads in his hand.
"Father, later I have to let him see clearly."
The assassin felt nervous under Mu Yefeng's gaze. He averted his eyes and then looked at Mu Shengze.
Seeing the assassin looking at him, Mu Shengze said coldly, "Do you also want me to say something for you to hear?" He raised his eyebrows and stared at the assassin with a sharp look in his eyes.
After hearing Mu Shengze's voice, the assassin shook his head and murmured, "It's not you."
Then he suddenly raised his hand and pointed in Mu Yefeng's direction. "It's him. The person who met me at the inn that day was..." Before he could finish his sentence, an arrow suddenly shot from a high slope and pierced straight through the assassin's chest.
He looked down at the arrowhead and stared at Mu Yefeng fiercely. "You! You!"
Before his hand could be raised, it dropped again. But before he fell, everyone present saw that he stared at Mu Yefeng fiercely before he died and the hand that had just been raised towards Mu Yefeng.
"Father," Mu Shengze stepped forward, blocking in front of Emperor Mu Linyi, and pushed Mu Yefeng to the opposite side.
Mu Yefeng sneered. "Brother, what do you mean by this?"
Mu Shengze pointed at him. "We all saw it. The assassin identified you. Do you still want to argue?"
Mu Yefeng took a step back to keep some distance between them. There was a look of grievance on his face.
Seeing this, Mu Linyi pushed Mu Shengze aside and walked towards Mu Yefeng.
"Feng'er, how could Father believe an unknown assassin?"
Mu Yefeng shook his head. His eyes were full of pain. "Father, since the assassin finally pointed at me, I am willing to go to prison on my own initiative. But I beg Father to hand this matter over to Brother for a full investigation. I don't trust anyone else."
As he said this, he looked at Mu Shengze. The meaning was obvious.
"Father believes you. There's no need for you to go to prison. That prison is cold and damp, and your health is not good." Mu Yefeng waved away Mu Linyi's hand.
"Father, I want to prove my innocence, not rely on Father's favor. Because if I do, it will only make some people obedient on the surface but dissatisfied in their hearts."
Mu Linyi sighed and looked at Mu Yanming. "Since that's the case, I'll hand this matter over to you for investigation."
Mu Yanming glanced at Mu Shengze and then said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I currently have a crucial piece of evidence in my hand, which can prove that the Prince of Cheng has been framed."
He pronounced the words "framed" one by one, and each word was like a heavy weight, hitting Mu Shengze's heart.
When the emperor heard the evidence that was beneficial to Mu Yefeng, he immediately waved his hand. "Speak quickly."
Mu Yanming looked at Mo Qinghuan. She gave a sweet smile and stepped forward. "Your Majesty should know that since the imperial physician diagnosed that there were toxins remaining in the body of the Prince of Cheng that day, I have been treating His Highness. Therefore, he comes to my mansion every morning after half of Chenshi, takes a medicinal bath in the mansion, and stays there for half a day."
Mu Yanming continued, "That's right. On the day the assassin mentioned, at that time, the Prince of Cheng was in my mansion. May I ask how he could have met the assassin?"
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Mu Shengze shouted harshly, "Brother, you can't be just partial to the Prince of Cheng, right? After all, it was in your mansion."
"Shut up! I don't know if the Regent is partial to the Prince of Cheng, but it seems to me that you are so eager to convict the Prince of Cheng?"
Mu Shengze finally closed his mouth.
"Father, the spring hunting has lost its fun. Please start the journey back to the capital immediately. I'll go to the prison by myself."
After saying that, he snorted at Mu Shengze and then left the tent with a flick of his sleeve.
Just as the others were about to go out, Mu Linyi suddenly called out to Mu Yanming and Mo Qinghuan.
"You two stay. The others can go out."
The two exchanged a look and stopped in their tracks.
After everyone had left, Mu Linyi sat down in front of the low table, rubbed his waist, and his face looked a bit ugly.
"Yanming, I believe this matter has nothing to do with Feng'er. But just as Feng'er said, he wants to silence the gossiping tongues, so he is willing to go to prison on his own. This really shocked me."
He sighed. Mu Yanming also took a deep breath to suppress his impatience.
"Your Majesty, just say what you want to say directly."
Mu Linyi stood up, walked up to Mu Yanming, and patted his arm. "After you find out the truth, announce this matter directly in the court."
After saying that, he walked out of the tent.
Mo Qinghuan looked at Mu Yanming in confusion. "What does the emperor mean?"
Mu Yanming sneered. "He can't make up his mind to punish his son, so he wants me to be the bad guy!"