"If there really were peerless martial arts, how could he have been my defeated opponent?"
The man's disdainful words reached the ears of the mysterious man, who immediately wanted to stand up and retort. But he forgot that his hands and feet were bound, and it was difficult for him to even move.
As a result, before the mysterious man could stand up, he fell to the ground with a loud thud. This made some of the other officials can't help showing mockery in their eyes, and some even spoke out directly.
"I never thought this guy was so self - important. Just like those from the Western Regions. It seems that all people from there are like this."
"Yeah, I thought there weren't many good people from the Western Regions before, and now it seems I was right."
Hearing the insulting words from those around him, the mysterious man was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"It's all my fault. You don't have to involve others, let alone the entire Western Regions."
Ji Heng wondered how the king of the Western Regions could recruit such people. They were not only loyal but also extremely stupid and easy to manipulate.
"If you really think the people you care about are safe, why haven't you received any news from them until now?"
He said this as a gamble. When the king of the Western Regions used these people, he would surely not leave any hidden dangers for himself. So he guessed that those people were probably already dead, and the king was just stalling for time.
As it turned out, his gamble paid off.
The mysterious man fell silent upon hearing this.
He really hadn't received any news from home for a long time. He originally thought it was just the king cutting off the communication between the two sides and never suspected that the king had other plans.
He began to think about the credibility of what the young emperor said in his heart, but on the surface, he still resisted this result.
"The king would never deceive me. It's impossible for you to sow discord."
The young emperor didn't miss the fleeting struggle in his eyes, which further confirmed his speculation.
"If they were really still alive, why haven't you received any news? In other words, if he still valued you, he wouldn't let there be no communication between you."
The mysterious man's eyes were empty. Ji Heng's words were so incisive that it was hard for him not to believe.
"Yeah, it's true. I haven't received any news from them for a long time. Every time I asked, the king would say they were doing well, but he was never willing to tell me more specific information."
Some people who had wanted to mock him just now shut their mouths after hearing this.
Suddenly, they felt that the mysterious man was quite pitiful. It seemed that even his closest people had died in this scheme.
The young emperor didn't stop. He seized the opportunity to continue his psychological offensive.
"Don't you want to avenge your loved ones? Or are you just going to watch them die?"
A mocking smile suddenly appeared on the mysterious man's face: "Even if I'm not reconciled, so what? Will they come back just because I'm not reconciled?"
The change in the situation was so sudden. The mysterious man, who had been quite hostile to them just a moment ago, actually changed his attitude at this moment. It seemed that he was even going to open up to the young emperor. They looked at each other, not knowing why such a sudden change had occurred.
"As long as you're not reconciled, I can help you. I can make you avenge your grievances. All those who have harmed the people you care about will get their due punishment."
"How is that possible? On the surface, the Western Regions and the Great Liang are still allies. If Your Majesty helps me now, isn't it just destroying the diplomatic relations between the two countries?"
"Humph, as long as I say I can, I can."
Gradually, the mysterious man began to trust this person who was even younger than himself and told the young emperor all his plans.
Only then did everyone know that the plague had begun to spread.
"Is there no way to stop this plague? Or is there an antidote?"
"After the modification by these officials, it's no longer the same medicine I gave them before. So there is currently no cure for this plague."
As soon as this news came out, everyone's faces changed immediately.
Some officials began to direct their anger at the mysterious man.
"If it weren't for them, the common people wouldn't have suffered from the plague. So Your Majesty might as well execute these culprits first."
"Yeah, Your Majesty. They are the root cause of all this. Only when they are dead can we be worthy of the common people."
The young emperor was a bit impatient listening to the commotion below.
"Will their deaths solve the problem? Now that things have already happened, instead of thinking about how to save the people in Changjing City, you are just trying to gain a moment of verbal pleasure here. Shame on you as court officials."
After being scolded by the young emperor like this, some officials felt a bit embarrassed.
"Your Majesty, we are also thinking about the court. These people deserve to die."
"Humph, you people only care about your own interests. In your eyes, all those who violate your interests deserve to die."
This was the first time that the young emperor directly tore through the thin veil between him and the court officials. In the past, no matter how much the court officials made a fuss, he wouldn't say anything. But today, something seemed to be different.
And when the young emperor got angry, no one dared to touch his bad mood.
"Your Majesty is right. It's all because we spoke without thinking. Please forgive us, Your Majesty. The most urgent thing now is how to deal with these people and what to do about the people in Changjing City?"
Minister Li came out to smooth things over, and the young emperor's anger subsided a lot.
"What do you think should be done about this matter?"
"Presumably, no one else but these people knows the manufacturing process of that medicine. So why not let them write down the ingredients of the medicine first and hand it over to the imperial physicians for research."
It wasn't a bad idea, but Wang Fugui was very resistant after hearing it.
"I will never tell you the ingredients of that medicine. No one else in the world but me knows the ingredients. Just watch the people in Changjing City die."
The young emperor saw that he was just trying to act recklessly. He curled his lips and reminded him: "You'd better tell everything. If you atone for your sins, I can spare your life."
Wang Fugui turned his head away and still refused.
"Even if you spare my life, I can't keep my official position. In that case, I might as well just die."
After hearing what he said, the other two became excited.
"Wang Fugui, if you want to die, don't drag us down with you. We still want to live well. It doesn't matter even if we don't have this official position."
"Yeah, it was you who asked us to do this in the first place."