Do Not Offend the Reborn Wicked Wife-Chapter 376: Framing, What More Do You Have to Say?

Chapter 376: Chapter 376: Framing, What More Do You Have to Say?

The next day, the sky was still very dark, with not even a hint of dawn at the horizon, and many people were already waiting under the palace gate.

They were all ministers coming to court, some holding lanterns to illuminate their faces and those of their colleagues, making them as bright as daylight.

Li Qingmu stood at the side, looking at those lanterns, feeling uneasy,

not understanding why they were holding white lanterns, was it to make things brighter?

Couldn’t they use yellow ones?

Li Qingmu was fixated on the lanterns, not noticing the unfriendly glances from the people around him.

In fact, he wasn’t absent-minded intentionally, but deliberately so, because he didn’t want to confront those people. A few sharp words exchanged could lead to problems later.

Soon, the palace gate opened, and everyone filed in.

Qi Yun still sat high on the Emperor’s throne, looking indifferently at the ministers below, but when his gaze swept over someone leaning against a pillar, his eyes briefly focused.

But it was only for a moment; to avoid suspicion, he cast the same look at a few other ministers.

"Why, you all look so downcast, have you encountered some difficulty?"

Qi Yun seemed to favor military generals but wasn’t fond of civil servants, so his tone was cold, and his gaze suspicious, as if guarding against thieves.

Only then did the ministers step forward to report, discussing some governmental affairs.

These matters were much of a muchness, lacking novelty. Currently, everything in Dazhou was on track, with no natural or man-made disasters, very peaceful.

Li Qingmu listened quietly, knowing his turn was approaching soon.

Indeed, one of the ministers stepped forward to accuse him.

This person was the Chief Clerk from the Capital Governor’s office, usually responsible for examining cases. He typically wasn’t qualified to attend court, but he came today with a memorial.

As soon as he stepped forward, he spoke solemnly and respectfully, "Your Majesty, I report, the perpetrator of the Qingshui Village massacre has been identified!"

"Boom!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall exploded, countless people looking at him with shock, waiting for him to continue. Qi Yun’s eyes turned colder, and he said sternly, "Speak!"

"Your Majesty, the culprit is right here in this hall!"

The ministers were in an uproar, looking at him with horrified eyes, glancing around to find the real culprit. A few ministers tried to stand out by moving forward to protect the emperor, only to be stopped by a few strong eunuchs.

Kidding, the assassin hasn’t appeared yet, and you’re coming forward, do you want to assassinate?

Those ministers looked sheepish and embarrassed.

"Speak, who is it?"

Qi Yun’s voice was deep and threatening, anger gathering, ready to erupt!

"It’s..." The minister who stepped forward hesitated for a moment, then suddenly pointed towards Li Qingmu standing by the pillar, "It’s him, it’s him, he killed the hundreds of lives in Qingshui Village!"

Li Qingmu immediately looked at him, "Utter nonsense, how could I possibly kill the people of Qingshui Village? I’m originally from Qingshui Village, they are my fellow villagers, am I crazy?"

"Hmph, crazy? Imperial Censor Li, you are indeed a madman! Burning the Great Mountain Forest, slaughtering tens of thousands of enemy troops, isn’t that madness?"

The Chief Clerk from Jingzhao Mansion coldly snorted, righteous and indignant,

Li Qingmu sneered, "Talking about righteousness on the battlefield? Then I ask you, if the enemy troops broke through our land, invaded to kill, burn, rape, and loot, did they ever consider righteousness?"

Saying this, he looked coldly at that Chief Clerk, "This matter happened so long ago, yet you bring it up now, may I ask, are you sympathizing with the enemy troops of Xiliang? I wonder, whose minister are you exactly?"

"Thump, thump, thump!"

A single sentence frightened the Chief Clerk so much that his face turned pale, and he staggered backward.

Qi Yun’s cold gaze swept over, the Chief Clerk felt sweat all over his body, but had to muster up courage to say, "This just shows your bloodthirsty nature, nothing else! Also, didn’t you wipe out all the people at Luanshi Ridge? Why didn’t you leave any survivors?"

At this point, he regained confidence, "This proves one thing, you are a slaughtering demon, with a heart filled with murder! In your eyes, human life is worthless!"

"Hahaha..." Li Qingmu laughed heartily, "Utter nonsense! Those mountain bandits harmed the villagers on the mountain, even if they took their own lives, it wouldn’t be wrong for me to kill them, would it? Chief Clerk Wang, you are making things up, deliberately slandering!"

Chief Clerk Wang sneered, turned to salute Qi Yun, and then looked at Li Qingmu.

"Whether it’s slander isn’t your call, it’s up to the evidence! Your Majesty, I have confirmed that when this man went to Luanshi Ridge to suppress the bandits, he accidentally saw the returning Seventeenth Prince, and thus harbored ill intentions!

Perhaps many are unaware, but the Seventeenth Prince and he once studied in the same school, considered classmates, but there was a personal vendetta between them!

It’s said his wife seduced the Seventeenth Prince and he found out, mistakenly believing the prince intended to dishonor his wife. Hahaha, the prince is a gentleman, how could he possibly dishonor her?"

"Indeed, indeed, the Seventeenth Prince is handsome, dignified, and courteous, how could he do such a thing?"

"This is slander!"

"..."

A group of ministers nodded in agreement, echoing those sentiments.

Li Qingmu watched coldly.

No wonder the Emperor didn’t favor these civil servants much, they were a mob, fair-weather supporters, swaying with the wind, lacking any integrity!

"And then?"

"And then? Because of personal grudges, after you discovered he was the long-lost Seventeenth Prince of His Majesty, you panicked. To prevent him from retaliating, you schemed to discredit his identity!

Only if he couldn’t become the Seventeenth Prince, or even became an impostor, could you live your carefree life in peace! So, you orchestrated the Qingshui Village massacre and framed it on the Seventeenth Prince!

Qingshui Village was where the prince grew up, the people there know a lot about him; whether he was adopted or a true-born of the Qian Family, the villagers of Qingshui Village knew best! Imagine if the villagers were killed, and through the embellishment and reminders of some people with ulterior motives, wouldn’t we have such a misconception?

——That the Seventeenth Prince feared his identity would be revealed, so he killed to silence?"

"Hiss——"

Some ministers gasped, having not thought so before, but after Chief Clerk Wang’s analysis, it seemed entirely possible!

The Seventeenth Prince had been missing for twenty years, found suddenly, and some would naturally question his identity, for it concerned the heir, and no one would dare be careless.

And at this time, if a Qingshui Village massacre occurred, it would mislead people’s minds, thinking the Seventeenth Prince was guilty, afraid of his identity being found false, leading to the massacre of the entire village of Qingshui!

Such a bizarre story, but after he said it, it seemed plausible?

Seeing everyone with a look of sudden realization, Chief Clerk Wang was very satisfied, feeling triumphant with his hands behind his back, when suddenly he realized who had just asked him "And then?"

Scanning the room, he discovered the voice came from Li Qingmu’s direction, instantly turning red with anger.

Why did he feel like he was being played with like a monkey?

Infuriated, Chief Clerk Wang shouted sternly, "Li Qingmu, what do you have to say about these facts?"