Liar!

That liar—she had mistaken Jun Beiyao for the man in black, and now Jun Beiyao had turned the tables, trying to use her to bring down Jun Beiyue!

In her shock, Ziqing immediately understood what was happening!

Jun Beiyao’s gaze had clearly shifted away, evasive!

He and Xuanyuan Lige had been investigating all along, trying to determine exactly who this man in black that Han Ziqing sought really was. But he never could have imagined that this man in black would appear now, of all times!

What was he here to do!

“It’s you!”

Ziqing spun around abruptly and shouted furiously. What was this fellow doing here right now?

At this moment, whoever admitted to being the true murderer would inevitably fall right into Emperor Tianhui’s trap. If the man who had humiliated her didn’t die, the one who would suffer most would only be Jun Beiyue!

Only by shouldering all the blame herself could she minimize the damage to the least possible extent!

Ziqing didn’t even know why she insisted so stubbornly on keeping Jun Beiyue out of this. Perhaps it was because she didn’t want to owe him anything. Or perhaps it was because, in her moment of greatest helplessness just now, surrounded and humiliated by everyone, certain memories had kept surfacing in her mind, unbidden, holding her up.

That moment, at the gate of the Prime Minister’s residence, when their eyes had suddenly met in passing, a fleeting glimpse—his wolf-like, sharp and cold eyes had studied her without the slightest hesitation, and he had said, “Lift your head, let this prince take a look.”

That moment, amid the murmured discussions of the assembled ministers, amid all their strange looks, his icy fingertip had domineeringly pressed against the tip of her nose, and he had said, “Han Ziqing, this prince chooses you.”

That moment, amid everyone’s fierce opposition, everyone’s desperate attempts to dissuade him, his cold eyes had forced everyone back, and he had said, “From tonight onward, Han Ziqing shares honor and disgrace with me, Jun Beiyue.”

So many times in the capital, amid endless repeated humiliations and injuries, it had been him who stepped forward to shield her from every mocking word, every veiled insult.

Even if it had all been mere calculation, even if he’d had ulterior motives all along, this one and only support had already warmed her frozen heart, without her even realizing it.

At this very moment, she suddenly found herself longing for everything about him.

“It’s me,” the man in black admitted openly.

“Die!” Ziqing said coldly, immediately snapping her fingers, sending several sharp blades of wind slicing coldly toward the man’s abdomen. The man in black dodged with ease, then in a single motion seized Ziqing from behind, pinning her arms!

One hand wrapped around her waist, the other clamped over her mouth, holding her completely immobile!

Ziqing knew full well she couldn’t break free, and yet she struggled with all her might like a madwoman anyway!

“Woman, let’s settle our own accounts slowly later. For now, let’s settle things with them first,” he said coldly, his voice altered by some device to disguise its true sound.

But just then, Situ Haonan suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood, roaring furiously, “Let her go, or I won’t hold back!”

But the moment he spoke, the man in black abruptly pulled Ziqing tight against his chest, and with one hand, casually swung a sword through the air!

Everyone watching found the strike puzzling—forget swordsmanship, even the force behind it seemed rather unimpressive.

But then Situ Haonan’s eyes went wide, and he froze, not daring to move an inch. A moment later, right beside him, almost grazing his body, a whistling arc of sword-light burst forth out of nowhere and swept past—missing Situ Haonan entirely, but instead wounding an entire row of people standing behind him!

At once, the entire hall was struck with shock, and no one else dared move. Even Ziqing froze—it was him, the man in black who had pursued and tried to kill Xuanyuan Lige that night!

In the silence, with a heavy “thud,” Situ Haonan collapsed back into his seat. He understood now—he understood exactly what was happening. He’d best just sit obediently and watch the show unfold.

For a moment, the entire hall fell completely silent, no one daring to speak.

The man in black then turned his cold gaze toward Lord Huang. “Aren’t you continuing the trial?”

Lord Huang was so terrified he nearly wet himself, stammering, “You… you… you…”

After failing to get any words out for a long while, the man in black said coldly, “Those two long arrows—where are they?”

Lord Huang didn’t dare delay, hastily presenting them with both hands. The man in black suddenly raised his long leg and kicked them to the ground, demanding sharply, “Do you recognize these?”

At this point, one of the guards who had just been kicked in earlier finally spoke up urgently. “I recognize them! I recognize them! I stole these myself from the Seventh Prince’s palace!”

Jun Beiyao gave a start and was about to argue, when suddenly a rhythmic sound of marching footsteps came from outside. Everyone turned to look, and a row of archers marched in, heads bowed, forming a neat line that completely blocked the main entrance to the hall!

These archers were exactly the private force Jun Beiyao secretly kept hidden within the deep palace!

Jun Beiyao slumped completely into his chair, mouth agape, utterly unable to argue!

“Do you recognize these men?” the man in black asked again.

“I recognize them, I recognize them! They’re the Seventh Prince’s private archers, kept at Longyin Palace! These are exactly the kind of arrows they use!” the guard answered hastily.

At once, the entire hall erupted in an uproar. Emperor Tianhui whipped his head around, glaring furiously at Jun Beiyao, gritting his teeth. “Old Seventh, how dare you secretly maintain your own private army within the palace—do you intend to rebel?”

Ziqing was stunned. She hadn’t stopped struggling since the very start, and had no idea what this man in black was truly trying to accomplish. She absolutely would not allow this fellow to use the opportunity to harm Jun Beiyue in any way!

But his grip remained so tight, so tight that no matter how hard she struggled, no one around them could even tell!

Amid the uproar, the man in black gave a cold laugh. “Lord Huang, these arrows exist both in the palace and at the Han Prime Minister’s residence. So tell me, whose were the ones from the House of National Beauty and the Chen residence?”

Before Lord Huang could even answer, the guard hastily pleaded, “These arrows bear the mark of the Seventh Prince’s archery corps—just check theirs and you’ll know at once!”

Ziqing was alarmed—what was the man in black trying to do, point the finger at Jun Beiyao?

At this moment, Situ Haonan hurried forward, pulled an arrow from the archers’ quivers, and compared it—sure enough, the mark on the arrow’s tail was identical!

“Ha, so it truly is the Seventh Prince’s!”

Immediately, Jun Beiyao stood up at once. “Yes! It’s mine!”

Whoever this man in black was, whatever his purpose, he had seized the initiative to confess first—he would be the true culprit!

But before he could finish speaking, the guard immediately dropped to his knees before him. “Seventh Prince, this lowly servant confesses his crime—this lowly servant has failed you! This lowly servant privately sold the sharp arrows to the head steward of the House of National Beauty. This lowly servant had no idea they intended to frame you! This lowly servant confesses his crime!”

At the same time, another servant who had been kicked in alongside the guard finally lifted his head—none other than the head steward of the House of National Beauty. He too kowtowed repeatedly. “Your Majesty, Lord Huang, this lowly servant is guilty. This lowly servant should never have fabricated evidence to frame the Seventh Prince. This lowly servant confesses his crime!”

This… this… what was happening, how could this be!

The two long arrows that had changed the entire course of the case turned out to belong neither to Ziqing nor to the Seventh Prince, but were evidence fabricated and planted by servants!

Just as everyone stood in bewildered confusion, the Deputy Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Lord Lu, suddenly stumbled forward and dropped to his knees with a thud. “Your Majesty, Lord Huang, Seventh Prince, this lowly official… this lowly official acted on the Prime Minister’s instructions, fabricating evidence to frame the Seventh Prince. This lowly official deserves ten thousand deaths for his crime!”

With that, he kowtowed several times in rapid succession, loud enough that the sound echoed through the silent hall.

With such testimony and evidence all laid out, how could the case have spiraled this far out of control?

Prime Minister Han slowly rose to his feet, staring at the man in black in shock, and nearly everyone in the hall turned to look at him as well.

Who was he!

How did he possess such ability, to gather all this testimony and evidence together, such ability to make even the Deputy Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review voluntarily confess his own guilt! Such ability to turn Emperor Tianhui’s meticulously planned scheme entirely against itself!

Everyone knew that once Prime Minister Han fell, Emperor Tianhui’s power would be completely hollowed out!

Ziqing had long since given up struggling, her clear eyes wide, wide open. Who—who exactly was this man behind her!