Na Yan and Xue He were about to leave.

Liu He immediately took a few steps forward: “Your Highness, Bingzheng hasn’t been brought here yet. Perhaps we should wait a moment.”

Na Yan’s footsteps halted, and he said: “Even if we bring him here for questioning, it won’t make any difference.”

“But…”

“No need to wait!” After throwing out these words, he left.

Liu He remained where he was, clenching his fists tightly.

Clearly, all of those were evidence, yet Na Yan had twisted everything to turn black into white.

He was completely using the Prince’s authority to force him not to investigate further.

How could he submit to such tyrannical power?

Turning around, he looked at Fang Tong and Jiang Wen kneeling on the ground, frowning as he asked: “This official will ask you one more time—were you truly incited by Xue He or not?”

Fang Tong gritted his teeth: “No.”

“Fine! Since you refuse to admit it, this official has already said this much. Once the truth is revealed, your crimes will be compounded. Guards, take them away.”

The Ministry of Justice officers came in and pulled them up.

They were dragged back to the Department of Criminal Affairs.

Liu He then sat down in the main hall.

He was deeply troubled!

…

After leaving the Ministry of Justice, Xue He still felt somewhat uneasy in his heart.

He asked: “Your Highness, what if that Lord Liu truly finds evidence? What should we do?”

Look at your pathetic appearance!

Na Yan snorted: “If he still had other evidence, do you think you would have been able to walk out of the Ministry of Justice doors?”

“Yes, Your Highness is right.”

Na Yan also warned him: “You’d better behave yourself, and you must bite your tongue and say nothing. Otherwise, no one can save you.”

Xue He: “Understood.” He worried again, “But… what if Fang Tong and Jiang Wen speak out? What should we do then?”

“What should we do then?” Na Yan stopped by the carriage outside the Ministry of Justice and turned to look at him. “Then you just wait to sit in prison.”

“Your Highness…”

Na Yan stepped onto the carriage and said without looking back: “Return to your own residence. Don’t come to this Prince’s manor unless there’s something important.”

This hot potato—he didn’t want to keep handling it over and over, burning blisters into his palms.

Thus, Xue He stood where he was, watching Na Yan ride away in the carriage.

He himself left on foot.

…

In the prison cell.

Following Liu He’s orders, the Ministry of Justice officers went to the prison to bring Bingzheng for questioning. Two officers arrived at the cell door and raised their lanterns forward.

Inside the cell, Bingzheng was curled up in the corner.

His head hung low, and his hands lay limply on the ground.

The officers sensed something was wrong.

“Quick, quick, quick! Open the door!”

The jailer hastily fumbled for his keys and opened the door.

The two officers rushed in while shouting: “Bingzheng!”

There was no response.

Moreover, Bingzheng didn’t move at all.

One officer brought his lantern closer and closer, until the dim light shone upon Bingzheng’s body.

Then—

“Bang!”

The lantern in his hand crashed to the ground at that instant.

It nearly went out!

“Uh… he…” the officer pointed with his finger, “Is he dead?”

Dead?

The other officer quickly picked up the lantern and boldly lifted it over.

They saw before them a most horrifying scene… Bingzheng’s clothes were covered in blood. Fresh blood had flowed down from his neck, soaking through his plain-colored garments. Under the dim light, the blood appeared even more terrifyingly sinister.

In Bingzheng’s hand, he clutched half of a broken oil lamp dish.

He had used this small shard to slit his own throat.

He had died from excessive blood loss!

Soon, the news of Bingzheng’s suicide spread from the prison to the main hall of the Ministry of Justice.

Liu He was sitting inside, deeply troubled.

“My lord, this is terrible! Bingzheng has committed suicide.”

He nearly fell off his chair.

Suicide!

Such an important witness had actually committed suicide?

If Liu He had been anxious about this case before, he was now in a state of extreme distress.

He also suddenly realized this matter had become even more difficult to handle!

What should he do?

What could he do?

He surely couldn’t just turn a blind eye and let it go, could he?

He couldn’t do that.

At this moment, the only person he could think of in his mind was Li Cheng.

“Someone, go deliver this news to Lord Li.”

He needed to call for reinforcements!

The events that had just occurred at the Ministry of Justice and Bingzheng’s suicide reached Li Cheng’s ears after the time it took to burn an incense stick.

He was utterly shocked.

He quickly summoned Ji Yunshu and Jingrong to discuss the matter.

For a long while, Ji Yunshu couldn’t recover from the shock of Bingzheng’s suicide.

She found it hard to imagine that the person she had seen just a few hours ago was now separated by the boundary between life and death.

Dead!

Just like that, he was dead.

“I never thought he would take this path. Earlier, I had promised him that after this matter was concluded, I would plead on his behalf so he could rush back to see off his grandmother. But… in the end, he still couldn’t wait.”

She let out a long sigh.

There was regret, there was sorrow, and even more, there was grief.

Jingrong then said: “That he chose this path means he had already prepared himself! Compared to spending day and night tormented by guilt, perhaps death, for him, was also a form of release!”

“Yes! Perhaps he has truly found release.”

Another sigh!

Li Cheng, however, was pacing back and forth.

He said: “I just never expected that even though Bingzheng gave us so much compelling evidence before his death, we still cannot convict Xue He. What should we do about this?”

He too was anxious now.

Ji Yunshu, entrusted by Bingzheng to deliver the items to the Ministry of Justice, had never expected that halfway through, a Second Prince would emerge and push Xue He back from the edge of the cliff.

With Na Yan interfering, this matter had become much more difficult.

Trying to arrest Xue He was nearly impossible.

She said: “Earlier, Song Zhi said that Xue He had someone backing him. Now I finally know who this person behind him is! So it’s a powerful figure—no wonder Xue He has been unscathed. But with the Second Prince getting involved to protect him, trying to arrest him is simply impossible.”

“Not necessarily.” Jingrong spoke up. The corner of his lips curved slightly upward as he said: “We cannot do it, but there is one person who can.”

“Who?”

“Whoever is currently the Second Prince’s nemesis—that person!”

Who else could it be?

Li Cheng suddenly understood: “You mean the Third Prince.”

Exactly!

…

The news traveled like a thread and quickly reached the Third Prince’s manor.

Upon hearing of this matter, Na Tuo naturally couldn’t sit still.

What he thought about every day and dreamed about every night was hoping for Na Yan’s downfall. Now that such a good opportunity had presented itself, how could he let it slip away?

As long as Xue He was convicted, Na Yan would naturally be implicated to some degree.

Therefore, he was fully determined to interfere in this matter.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick, he sent people to Xue He’s residence.

Whether he was refusing visitors or not made no difference.

The Third Prince’s guards directly broke in with swords drawn.

They seized Xue He, who had just returned.

Then they trussed him up like a dumpling and tied him directly onto a carriage!

Inside the carriage, Na Tuo was sitting.

Xue He was shocked: “Third… Third Prince?”

“You recognize this Prince!”

“Naturally… naturally I recognize you.”

“Good that you recognize me.” The Third Prince smiled, his smile eerily profound. He said: “This Prince is now taking you to a place. Sit obediently!”

Xue He trembled: “Where are we going?”

“The Royal Palace!”