I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 301

A girl of about sixteen or seventeen was brought into the hall. At an age when she should be radiant and beautiful, her face was unusually pale and haggard, her eyes were red and swollen, and her sky-blue dress hung on her body like a sack. She was so thin that she looked as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

"This humble woman pays her respects to Your Majesty, long live the Emperor!"

Her posture when bowing was extremely standard, as if she had been specially instructed.

Wang Qi looked at her in surprise: "Why are you here?"

Just as the girl was about to speak, she heard a voice calling, "Wan'er!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor who had spoken.

He stared at them, utterly astonished.

Among the officials, one who had just recognized the girl couldn't help but whisper to his colleague, "This looks like the second young lady of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion."

A colleague exclaimed in surprise: "Is this the one who killed the Crown Prince Li?"

The man nodded. "That's him! The arrest warrant issued by the Dali Temple is still posted at the city gate."

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review's eyes lit up. If they weren't still in the Fengtian Hall, he would have almost ordered someone to detain Li Yuwan and take her to the Court of Judicial Review for interrogation.

Although the Dali Temple issued an arrest warrant, based on his intuition from years of handling cases, he felt that the death of the Prince Li's heir was inextricably linked to the Marquis of Zhongyong, and he might be able to get some clues from this second young lady.

Dong Yi reached out and grabbed him, "Calm down!"

Amidst the whispers of the officials, Li Yuwan did not respond to the Marquis of Zhongyong, nor did she even glance at him.

Seeing this, the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor strode over, cursing as he went: "You wretched wretch, you still know how to come back!"

He reached out to grab Li Yuwan, who was kneeling, but Xie Hui stopped him and pushed him back forcefully.

Caught off guard, if the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery hadn't been trained, he would have been pushed to the ground.

He staggered to his feet, his eyes blazing as he stared at Xie Hui.

What business is it of yours to meddle in other people's affairs?
Xie Hui didn't give him a friendly look either. He crossed his arms and said coldly, "His Majesty hasn't spoken yet, so it's far too presumptuous of you, Marquis. Even if you want to discipline your daughter, you should wait until His Majesty asks first. What do you think, Marquis?"

What else could the Marquis of Zhongyong think? The one on the dragon throne was not someone to be trifled with.

He clenched his fists and stepped aside, staring intently at Li Yuwan.

Li Yuwan, however, never once looked at her imposing father.

So this is the runaway second young lady.

Beside the dragon throne, Chu Liuzheng secretly sized up Li Yuwan, thinking about the gossip he had found.

[She was willing to elope to avenge her best friend, not only killing that scumbag from Shisong County but also scattering his ashes at her friend's grave. What a great best friend!]

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingfan raised an eyebrow, looked at Li Yuwan, and asked, "Are you aware that the Dali Temple has issued an arrest warrant and is trying to capture you?"

“Your Majesty, I understand,” Li Yuwan said. “I did not kill the Prince of Li’s heir. Once this matter is settled, I am willing to fully cooperate with the officials of the Dali Temple to find out the truth.”

Her candor surprised everyone.

Many people thought that the second young lady was beating the Dengwen Drum to clear her name, but judging from her words, it seems that she was not there for the case of the murder of the Prince of Li.

Xiao Jingfan also asked, "Why did you beat the Dengwen Drum?"

Li Yuwan respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, I have come to testify on behalf of Wang Qi. I was present on the day Dongjing Village was massacred, and I can testify that what Wang Qi said is true. That day—"

"Shut up!" Marquis Zhongyong interrupted sharply. "What nonsense are you spouting, you rebellious daughter? Even if you're unhappy with the marriage your mother arranged for you, you shouldn't be colluding with outsiders to harm your own family." "Marquis Zhongyong," Xiao Jingfan called out calmly, glancing at him coldly, "Why don't you ask for me?"

Marquis Zhongyong wanted to, but dared not.

The emperor was clearly furious.

Seeing that he had shut up, Xiao Jingfan said to Li Yuwan, "Continue speaking. If anyone dares to interrupt you again, I will punish them with a hundred strokes of the cane."

Even the strongest body couldn't withstand a hundred strokes of the cane.

These words were clearly meant for the Marquis of Zhongyong.

Marquis Zhongyong's face turned ashen as he glared at Li Yuwan through gritted teeth.

The lady is right. This rebellious girl was born to bring misfortune to the couple. He shouldn't have spared her life out of momentary pity!

Li Yuwan still didn't look at him, speaking at a moderate pace as she recounted what she had seen that day.

"On the day Dongjing Village was massacred, I was with my friend at a memorial service on the nearby Shilong Mountain when we were about to descend when we suddenly saw a fire ahead. I thought it was a wildfire caused by the dry weather after a long drought, so I rushed to check with my friend. But to my surprise, the fire was not in the forest, but in Dongjing Village."

The horrific scene flashed before her eyes, and her already pale face turned even paler, almost devoid of color.

"When the woman and her friend arrived, the bandits who burned and killed the manor were setting fires everywhere, and the flames almost turned half the sky red."

“There are many thieves. Although my friend knows some martial arts, he can’t fight them all. I told my friend to go back to the city and report to the authorities, while I hid in the shadows to see who those thieves were.”

"Perhaps thinking there were no more survivors in the manor, the group of thieves took off their masks." She chuckled self-deprecatingly as she said this. "Coincidentally, the woman who led them knew him well. He was none other than Uncle Dai, the head steward of the old manor. Most of the people behind him were servants and guards from the old manor."

Xiao Jingfan said, "You grew up in the capital, where it's hard to see in the dark. Even with a fire, you might still mistake them. Why are you so sure they are all from the old residence of the Marquis of Zhongyong?"

“Your Majesty may not know, but I did not grow up in the capital.” Li Yuwan stared at the spot in front of her. “I was sent back to the old house when I was only two years old, and I was not brought back to the capital to be raised until I was twelve. I have been with these people for nearly ten years, and I would never mistake them.”

Girls from prominent families usually start looking for husbands and getting engaged as early as eleven or twelve years old. The fact that the Marquis of Zhongyong brought Li Yuwan back to the capital must also be for the sake of her lifelong happiness.

Unless absolutely necessary, Xiao Jingfan did not like to pry into the family affairs of his subjects, so he was unaware of this matter.

He nodded, signaling Li Yuwan to continue.

Li Yuwan said, "Those people left after the fire in the manor had completely started. My friend has not yet returned. Although I am anxious, I dare not show myself. I waited until they were far away before running out to see if there were any survivors left in the manor."

Just then, his friend returned, but not only did he not bring back any government officials, he was also nearly killed. He helped the woman search for people, and in the end they only found one survivor.

At this point, she glanced at Wang Qi beside her and said slowly, "Wang Qi was seriously injured and barely breathing. His friend had just given him a simple bandage and was about to take him to the clinic when the officials arrived. But they weren't there to arrest the thieves; they wanted to kill us to silence us."

"On the way back to Beijing, we were constantly being chased and nearly lost our lives several times."

The person behind the relentless pursuit must be connected to the massacre, and might even be a government official.

The officials looked at each other, their expressions solemn.

Actually, they could guess even without Li Yuwan saying it.

The fact that an entire village was slaughtered without the imperial court receiving a single word of it can only mean that the government and the thieves who massacred the village were in cahoots.

Many people stole glances at the Marquis of Zhongyong standing to the side, thinking that the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion was probably going to be in trouble this time.

The Marquis of Zhongyong's face had turned ashen, and he tried several times to speak up and stop him, but he swallowed his words because of the emperor's warning.

He stared at Li Yuwan's profile, his fingertips twitched slightly, and a thin needle shot out silently.