It had only been thirty seconds, but Shuangfei finally completely broke down. Sobbing uncontrollably, she cried out, “Wang Tao! Wang Tao was the mastermind! He’s my lover, and he was taking me back to the Empire. He was taking me back to the Empire!”
Seeing Shuangfei finally start to confess, Yang Hao let out a big sigh of relief.
But Hun Yuanzi didn’t seem relieved at all. “I think this woman has been hypnotized, so she believes framing you is the truth. Fortunately, we used this method to force out her subconscious.”
Yang Hao pressed on, continuing to ask, “How did Emperor Danzhen die?”
“He died from poison! Poison!” Shuangfei wept bitterly, her appearance more terrifying than someone undergoing drug withdrawal, her body curling up. Despite crying in agony, she still insisted Danzhen had been poisoned.
“Is it not working anymore?” Yang Hao suspected the effect of his special medicine had worn off, letting the woman regain her senses.
“That’s impossible,” Hun Yuanzi was very confident in his pills. “Keep asking her—who poisoned Emperor Danzhen.”
Following Hun Yuanzi’s advice, Yang Hao asked, but Shuangfei’s answer was even more despairing.
“It was Yang Hao’s medicine,” Shuangfei clearly looked more and more pained, yet she never gave Yang Hao the answer he wanted. “It was the Longhu Dahuandan—the Dragon and Tiger Great Rebirth Pill.”
Yang Hao’s hands trembled slightly. He knew, of course, that only his shop in the world made the Longhu Dahuandan. If this woman continued to frame him even under these circumstances, then Yang Hao really would have no way out.
“What the hell!” Yang Hao sat heavily on the ground, angrily cursing, “Damn it, am I really stuck carrying this blame forever?”
“You don’t have to carry this blame, apprentice, you don’t,” Hun Yuanzi said after a pause, his tone odd. “They really are framing you, and it was a premeditated setup.”
“Of course it’s a frame-up, but how can I prove it? The key witness is sticking to this accusation—am I doomed?” Yang Hao was on the verge of despair.
“Because she’s telling the truth,” Hun Yuanzi said. “Don’t you understand? What this woman is saying now is the truth. Under the pressure of your golden finger technique, she has no way to resist and can only tell the truth.”
“You call this the truth?” Yang Hao really didn’t want to argue with Hun Yuanzi anymore. “Don’t you also believe that it was your medicine that poisoned Emperor Danzhen?”
“Of course, it was your medicine,” Hun Yuanzi seemed to be slowly revealing a mysterious truth. “But don’t forget, even if our medicine killed someone, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s our fault.”
Hun Yuanzi’s words made Yang Hao feel uneasy. The palace was so vast that the wind could swirl inside, creating a howling sound that made the back of his neck feel cold. The flickering golden light made Yang Hao even more uncomfortable.
“What are you talking about?” Yang Hao’s breathing became uneven.
“Don’t forget, Emperor Danzhen was recently undergoing the Nine Heavens of Fire and Ice treatment. In this treatment, we repeatedly warned that absolutely no other medicines should be taken together, or it could be life-threatening. But why would Emperor Danzhen take the Longhu Dahuandan?” Hun Yuanzi hit the nail on the head.
Yang Hao’s head felt like it had been hit by a hammer, suddenly clearing his mind. “Right! Every time I prepared the medicine, I would remind him not to take any other medicines. I never gave Emperor Danzhen any Longhu Dahuandan!”
In the past month, Emperor Danzhen had been taking only the Nine Heavens of Fire and Ice to treat his allergic reaction to love potion and to regulate his health. He had only accepted medicine from Yang Hao. It could be said that even if someone delivered medicine to his door, he wouldn’t touch it. He even used ingredients from within the palace, let alone outside medicine.
Yang Hao quickly placed his fingers back on Shuangfei. This golden-fingered technique was truly effective every time. Poor Shuangfei had barely calmed down a little when his fingers returned, her body immediately curling up again, trembling like a cold little chicken.
“Who gave Emperor Danzhen the Longhu Dahuandan?” Yang Hao asked.
“It was me… it was me…” After her psychological defenses were broken, the truth poured out like water. “Wang Tao gave me the Longhu Dahuandan and told me to dissolve it in fragrant tea, using the aroma to cover the medicine’s stench. After the Emperor drank it, he passed away.”
“Damn it!!!” Upon hearing this, Yang Hao was furious. He couldn’t help himself and slapped Shuangfei several times.
Yang Hao was extremely angry. It was clear that that bastard Wang Tao had planned this. Knowing that Emperor Danzhen couldn’t take any other pills, he had deliberately bought the Longhu Dahuandan from Yang Hao’s shop and then had Shuangfei poison the Emperor. When the doctors investigated, no matter how they looked into it, it would all be blamed on Yang Hao.
“What do we do now?” Although the truth was known, Hun Yuanzi had no idea how to clear Yang Hao’s name. The old ghost was good at cultivation, but when it came to dealing with people, he was still a bit lacking.
Yang Hao sat on the ground, furious for a while, but his mind never stopped working. He quickly analyzed the situation. Now that Emperor Danzhen was dead, there were only two military forces in the palace capable of controlling the situation. One was Wang Tao’s Royal Swordsmen Corps, who had already taken control of everything and were basically victorious. The other was the Imperial Guard. Yang Hao still remembered that the leader of the Imperial Guard was General Long, a man who could be imagined to be loyal to Empress Ming. However, now that Wang Tao had framed everything on Yang Hao, the Imperial Guard couldn’t do much.
“In other words, if I can convince the Imperial Guard that it was Wang Tao who killed Emperor Danzhen, there’s still a chance to turn things around,” Yang Hao smacked his thigh and shouted.
“That’s easier said than done,” Hun Yuanzi wasn’t so optimistic. “Now the whole world knows you killed the Emperor. Who would believe your words?”
Yang Hao didn’t answer. He coldly turned his gaze to the side, where Shuangfei, the only woman who knew the truth, was still quietly sobbing on the floor.
“This is the place,” General Long, clad in dazzling golden armor, was a tall, burly black man. At first glance, people might be deceived by his rough exterior, but those who knew him well would realize he was actually meticulous beneath his roughness.
Because of this, General Long had become Emperor Danzhen’s most capable general since the age of sixteen.
After Emperor Danzhen’s death, General Long led the Imperial Guard, seemingly holding back and not taking action. He even allowed Wang Tao to move their main force outside the palace. In reality, General Long was just silently watching Wang Tao’s actions. Although his troops had been relocated, he had secretly recalled the most elite two hundred swordsmen back into the palace, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Yang Hao’s arrival with Shuangfei was clearly the best opportunity. General Long deeply understood Emperor Danzhen. He knew that Yang Hao, who was trusted by the Emperor, probably wouldn’t have killed him. Therefore, his suspicions had always been on Wang Tao, and Shuangfei’s testimony further proved the truth. In this situation, General Long finally decided to launch a major counterattack together with Yang Hao.
They advanced like a mighty tide, capturing half the palace in just half a day. Originally, with only two hundred swordsmen, such rapid progress wouldn’t have been possible, but it was thanks to the assistance of a fresh force brought by Yang Hao.
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