Hou Ye's palm heart is a black lotus

Chapter 779 Exposure (First Update)
"what?"

Chen Songshi heard Ye Chutang's every word clearly, but he didn't understand what it meant.

Naturally, no one understood.

Ye Chutang didn't explain much. She glanced down and saw the palace maid's body trembling slightly.

Is it fear, regret, or something else?

But that doesn't matter anymore.

Ye Chutang then looked at Basha.

"I heard you also own a pharmacy?"

Shen Yanchuan nodded. "His shop has been open in Beijing for eleven years."

"So long..." Ye Chutang nodded, then suddenly asked, "Then you must have seen Uncle Di?"

Bashar was taken aback. "Who?"

Xiao Chenglin was deeply shocked!
He suddenly looked up at Ye Chutang!

Almost immediately, he realized his loss of composure and tried to control his expression, but Ye Chutang's words were too impactful, and the shock in his eyes was still clearly visible!

And Ye Chutang was also looking at him.

The moment his eyes met those gazes, Xiao Chenglin's heart sank to the bottom.

Ye Chutang's eyes curved into a smile, but her words were directed at Ba Xia.

"It seems you haven't seen it before, what a pity."

After all these years, he was never given a prominent position, and was relegated to odd jobs, even at the cost of his life.

"Master Lin."

Ye Chutang suddenly changed the subject,
"I brought you a gift before I came today."

Lin Xueping was stunned when she was suddenly called out.

"W-what?"

Ye Chutang took out an envelope from her bosom. Inside the envelope was a piece of paper with a personal name on it.

"It is truly regrettable that the spring examination has been postponed. I heard that Lord Lin has put in a lot of effort to appease the students."

Lin Xueping's expression changed drastically!
Ye Chutang gently waved the paper and said with a smile, "It is rumored among the students that these people have already gained the appreciation of Lord Lin and been promised a bright future. They are truly promising."

Tang Zhongli stood to the side and quickly spotted several familiar names.

He narrowed his eyes. "These look somewhat familiar... There seem to be several of them. Are they the students who gathered at the Meridian Gate yesterday?"

He chuckled and looked at Lin Xueping.

"Lord Lin, don't you want to explain?"

Lin Xueping finally panicked, "I...I didn't have it! What kind of list is this? I don't recognize any of these names!"

"Why be modest, Lord Lin? Your reputation has already spread among many students in the capital."

Ye Chutang glanced at the list in her hand and clicked her tongue inwardly.

Ah Yan's busy work these past few days hasn't been in vain; with just a little investigation, he's got pretty much everything figured out.

good boy.

"With scholars gathering before, and now Lord Lin pleading for Prince Jing, it's all too coincidental," Tang Zhongli scoffed. "As the Minister of Personnel, Lord Lin naturally commands a large following!"

"You bullshit!"

Lin Xueping instinctively retorted, but her face was full of panic.

Xiao Chengqi looked at it and suddenly smiled.

"Fourth brother," he said with a smile and a sigh, "it's truly unexpected that so many people are still working so hard for you even now!"

Xiao Chenglin looked straight at him.

"I don't quite understand what you're saying, Your Majesty. Can you really convict me based on these dubious witnesses alone?"

To this point, no evidence directly related to him has been presented. Not even one of these people has implicated him.

As Xiao Chenglin spoke, his brows and eyes gradually relaxed.

"If that's the case, then I have nothing to say. Kill me or torture me, it's up to you, Your Majesty."

Ye Chutang looked at him quietly and instantly understood.

Xiao Chenglin firmly believed that Uncle Di would not betray him.

Even Bashar, Linköping, and that palace maid...

Even at this point, when everyone thought he had no way to defend himself, he still refused to back down.

He was too confident.

Shen Yanchuan suddenly said, "What a coincidence, I also have a letter here."

He took an envelope from his pocket.
"Please take a look, Your Majesty."

The newly appointed eunuch Wu immediately took small, quick steps and presented the letter to Xiao Chengqi.

Xiao Chengqi opened it.

The next moment, his expression changed drastically!
"Where did you get this from!?"

Everyone was surprised by his reaction—what was inside that could elicit such a reaction from His Majesty?
Shen Yanchuan paused.

"The iron mine outside Shilu City."

Xiao Chenglin's face immediately turned pale.

He tried his best to stop himself from looking at Shen Yanchuan, but his mind was already in turmoil.

Chen Songshi asked in confusion, "This is..."

"These are the blueprints for the latest crossbow weapons cast by the Ministry of War," Shen Yanchuan said, enunciating each word clearly.

Everyone was shocked!

"What!?"

This is top secret! Even within the Ministry of War, very few people have seen such a diagram. How could something so important appear in a small city like Shiluan?!

Xiao Chenglin seemed to sway slightly.

Shen Yanchuan seemed oblivious and continued, "The iron mine suddenly collapsed, which seemed amiss, so I secretly sent people to investigate. After staking out the site for a while, we finally found this blueprint inside."

"I have examined it with Lord Miao Sheng. This drawing is not the one kept in the Ministry of War, but a copy made by someone. Its standard is exactly the same as the original. It is clear that the person who copied this drawing must have seen the one in the Ministry of War."

Shen Yanchuan paused slightly.

Miao Sheng stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, the Ministry of War’s blueprints have been seen not only by the craftsmen but also by His Highness Prince Jing.”

In an instant, everyone's attention was focused on Xiao Chenglin.

"Prince Jing actually saw this? But he's crippled and spends most of his time indoors. How could he have come into contact with this?"

Miao Sheng explained, "After the first batch of crossbows was completed, His Highness Prince Jing went to the Ministry of War to compare them with the old versions and praised the improved weapons as being sharper and more outstanding. He even specifically looked at the sample drawings for this purpose."

Xiao Chenglin sneered, "I'm not the only one who's seen that sample drawing, so how can you be so sure it was me who leaked it?"

Xiao Chengqi said with a stern face, "This paper and ink are both from the royal family, and the handwriting on them is exactly the same as yours. More importantly, in addition, there is Xie Anjun's seal on them!"

Xiao Chenglin's smile froze instantly!
He naturally couldn't have imagined that after he ordered Xie Anjun to send the sample drawing to Shiluan City, it wasn't destroyed as he had instructed, but was secretly kept by Xie Anjun.

— Xie Anjun had other ideas.

He was doing something that would wipe out nine generations of Xiao Chenglin's family, so naturally he had to be careful and try every means to leave himself a way out.

So, after successfully selling the weapons produced from the iron ore to Vajin, he secretly hid the blueprints.

He would reveal this trump card as soon as Xiao Chenglin turned against him.

Unfortunately, when he realized something was wrong and tried to send someone to retrieve it, he discovered that the item had already disappeared.

He died in resentment.

Unexpectedly, this sample drawing ended up in Shen Yanchuan's hands!