Chapter 489: The Dark Net Woven Long Ago
Xiao Chengxuan, of course, refused to confess.
"Why should I confess to something I never did!? Have you all gone mad? Even if the entire world were to collude with the enemy, I never would!"
This accusation was far more serious than all the previous charges. Xiao Chengxuan knew that if he didn’t deny it to his last breath and clear his name, he would have no chance of ever making a comeback.
"You actually believe the dirty tricks of a few petty scoundrels!" Xiao Chengxuan jeered. "It seems the Ministry of Justice is staffed entirely by incompetents!"
Su Wei’s expression remained calm. "Goading me is useless. You’d be better off speaking plainly. This case isn’t my decision alone. The Three Judicial Departments held a joint trial and all found you culpable. Don’t you have an explanation?"
He tapped the case file in his hand.
"The statement from the Ministry of Justice has also arrived. The man who killed Xu Jie confessed that he acted on your orders."
"Slander!"
Xiao Chengxuan grew instantly agitated, but with his hands and feet bound in shackles, his frantic struggles only produced the heavy, clanking sound of chains.
"It’s all slander! I was at Chengxin Lake every day, never once stepping out the gates. The number of people I saw can be counted on one hand! He claims he was acting on my orders? Pray tell, what sort of godlike power do I possess that I could order him to kill Xu Jie past all those guards?! I’ve never even met the man you’re talking about!"
Su Wei watched him coolly, as if observing a rather uninspired play.
That unnervingly calm gaze made Xiao Chengxuan uneasy.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he had a gut feeling that something was very wrong.
Finally, his voice trailed off, and the cell plunged back into a tense, dead silence.
The dead silence sent a chill down Xiao Chengxuan’s spine. It felt as if something beyond his control was about to happen.
Su Wei tapped the case file with a bent finger.
"Are you aware that there’s another person’s testimony in here?"
Xiao Chengxuan was dumbfounded. "Who?!"
Su Wei: "Huang Kun."
For a moment, Xiao Chengxuan couldn’t process it. "Who did you say?"
Su Wei’s gaze was as cold as a blade, and his words pierced straight into Xiao Chengxuan’s ears.
"Your attendant at Chengxin Lake."
Xiao Chengxuan froze as if struck by lightning.
Every word Su Wei spoke next was like a giant iron hammer crashing down on him.
"After you were placed under house arrest at Chengxin Lake, you went to great lengths to bribe your way into having him assigned as your attendant. He’s your trusted confidant, responsible for relaying messages between you and the outside world. Is that correct?"
Xiao Chengxuan finally realized what was happening. His mind went blank, and his body began to tremble violently.
"N-no..."
His voice grew incredibly hoarse, each syllable a pained rasp forced from his throat.
Su Wei continued, "After your imprisonment, Chengxin Lake was placed on lockdown, with no one permitted to enter or leave at will. Yet this Huang Kun was caught red-handed trying to flee through a side gate with his valuables."
With every word he uttered, another shade of color drained from Xiao Chengxuan’s face.
An unprecedented terror washed over him, threatening to swallow him whole.
"After his capture, he personally confessed that you ordered him to find someone to kill Xu Jie silently in his cell. After all, dead men tell no tales."
"He’s spouting nonsense!"
Xiao Chengxuan abruptly cut him off, his face flushing red with rage.
"I didn’t do it! Everything he said is a lie! How can his testimony alone be used as evidence!"
Su Wei: "So you deny his accusations?"
"They’re all lies! Why should I confess?"
Xiao Chengxuan’s mind was in turmoil.
’Why would Huang Kun betray me? Why would he drag my name through the mud like this?!’
"No! He would never say something like that! You’re lying to me! You’re trying to coerce a confession! Aren’t you?!"
Su Wei narrowed his eyes. "How do you know he wouldn’t say these things? You trust him that much?"
"I—"
Xiao Chengxuan was suddenly at a loss for words.
He finally realized he had been pushed into the most perilous position imaginable. ’At this moment, I can’t say a thing.’
’Huang Kun was sent by my mother, the Imperial Consort. He was indeed responsible for passing messages for me. If I admit that, it’s the same as admitting he’s my confidant. Then it would be nearly impossible to refute his accusations.’
’But if I say nothing, I’m just letting them nail this crime to my name!’
’It’s a dilemma. No matter what I do, it’s the wrong move!’
Xiao Chengxuan’s fists clenched. "I want to see my Imperial Father! I will plead my case to him in person!"
He knew all too well that right now, the only one who could clear his name and save his life was the Emperor himself.
But—
"Your Majesty will not see you." Su Wei’s words were ice-cold, shattering his delusion. "Once the case is closed, everything will be presented on Your Majesty’s imperial desk. At that point, Your Majesty himself will pass judgment on your guilt or innocence."
’It’ll be too late by then!’
All the strength seemed to drain from Xiao Chengxuan’s body. He slumped back, utterly dejected, his gaze unfocused. He couldn’t snap out of it for a long time.
’Where... where did it all go wrong!?’
Ever since his house arrest at Chengxin Lake, a huge, dark web had already been laid.
First, there was Huang Kun being placed by his side. Then Xu Jie was murdered. And now, one testimony after another...
Every step of the way, a trap had been laid in wait for him.
And all of this was simply to corroborate the evidence of the Southern Hu Blade Man’s Jade Pendant. ’If I hadn’t truly committed treason, why would so many people be testifying against me?’
It was all just to make the charge stick!
At this thought, an icy chill crept over Xiao Chengxuan’s entire body.
He finally realized something—someone had betrayed him.
...
「Prince Lie’s Mansion.」
Xiao Chengqi still showed no signs of waking up.
Just after noon, Zhao Xuanping arrived.
To be precise, he hadn’t left Prince Lie’s Mansion since Xiao Chengqi fell unconscious.
After Ye Chutang arrived in the morning, he had given a few brief instructions and gone to the adjoining room to get some sleep.
He wasn’t asleep for long before waking and coming to check on Xiao Chengqi immediately.
"His Highness’s condition is unchanged," said Ye Chutang. "I just administered his medicine, but he spat most of it back up."
Zhao Xuanping’s brow furrowed. "Still, it’s better than when we couldn’t get him to take any at all. It proves the Chu Hospital Director’s prescription is the right one."
He was being extremely cautious now, terrified of a repeat of the last time, when an apparent improvement was actually a turn for the worse.
Ye Chutang nodded. "Doctor Zhao, you mustn’t worry so much. You’ve only slept for two hours in the past day. You can’t keep going on like this."
Zhao Xuanping sighed deeply.
"I am to blame for my incompetence. If I had only noticed something was wrong with His Highness sooner, this never would have happened."
He had been put in sole charge of Xiao Chengqi’s condition. After all this time and effort, this was the result.
If not for Your Majesty’s grace, he would have lost his head long ago.
Ye Chutang’s gaze swept over his face, not missing a single flicker of emotion. She spoke in a gentle voice.
"Perhaps the problem was with the prescription. You don’t have to take all the blame upon yourself."
She paused.
"Or perhaps... it was my misjudgment. I shouldn’t have used that catalyst."