Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

This morning, the Zhenguo Gong faction had intended to try to review the matter of the deposed empress and find a way to bring her back to Fengyi Palace.

Even if he couldn't, he still wanted to meet with the deposed empress to find out what had happened.

But now that Marquis Weilie has brought up the war from thirteen years ago, the important leaders in the faction can hardly focus any attention on the deposed empress.

The reduction in iron content and the replacement of leather straps in those armors back then were both ways to make a fortune.

Although the matter was handled by the Duke of Yue, the benefits were shared by everyone. To prevent Gu Xiao from causing trouble, they had been on high alert for many years.

Seeing that Gu Xiao remained well-behaved, they assumed he was afraid and planned to find a way to kill him within the next two years, thus putting an end to the matter.

Unexpectedly, Gu Xiao, who had been silent for many years, suddenly revealed what happened back then, and he even said he had evidence, so how could everyone not worry?

It's unclear what evidence he has.

The Duke of Yue's palms were already sweaty. "Your Majesty, I am innocent! All the armor and weapons that passed through my hands were inspected and approved..."

"What evidence is there?"

The emperor spoke, interrupting the Duke of Yue.

Marquis Weilie then looked towards the door and called out, "Dashan, bring it in."

Dashan stood up and stepped into the council hall. Only then did everyone notice that he was carrying a bundle on his back.

The bundle was quite large, but his broad frame completely covered it.

Da Shan untied his bundle, knelt beside Marquis Weilie, and performed the kowtow to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, this is the armor that the Ministry of War sent to the border thirteen years ago."

He was strong, and the already light armor in his hands was as light as a piece of paper. "The soldiers of Dasheng wore this armor to resist the Lu army. This armor is so light and so fragile."

As he spoke, he gently tugged, and the armor shattered into pieces. Everyone was astonished, and Da Shan was already in tears.

"So fragile, how can they protect themselves? No wonder the soldiers of Dasheng couldn't defeat the enemy."

No wonder the enemy was able to invade Dasheng territory and kill Dasheng people. My uncle, mother, and countless soldiers died so unjustly.

Your Majesty, the common people all say that you are a wise and virtuous ruler, the sovereign and father of the people.

"Then could you help your child get justice, and also help Dashan get justice? Dashan was almost boiled and eaten by the Lu army."

He pointed at the Duke of Yue, "It's all this man's fault! He produced substandard armor, which crippled the Great Sheng's fighting force and caused the deaths of countless civilians. Last night, he even tried to kill Da Shan, sob sob sob..."

My sister said that the Emperor is her father, and my sister's father is his father. She will protect him just like the masters in the village.

He can just act like a child and cry and fuss.

Then let him cry; he has plenty of tears in his belly anyway.

My sister said she needs to find evidence and needs his help to buy time.

Having just arrived in the capital, he was eager to help his sister, and he couldn't afford to mess it up. Thinking of this, he cried bitterly.

His figure, as large as a mountain, resembled that of a child, as he desperately wiped away his tears with both hands, wailing loudly.

Marquis Weilie watched as Guiyao instructed Dashan on what to say and how to cry, as he originally did not want his son to know all of this.

But Gui Yao was right. If he wanted the truth to come out, his son would find out sooner or later. Rather than that, he might as well do his part and avenge his family together.

Even though he knew his son's crying was fake, he was still heartbroken to hear it. Thinking of his family members who had died tragically, he couldn't help but sob and shed tears as well.

The emperor looked at Li Deshun.

Li Deshun understood and quickly fetched a suit of armor to the emperor. Although the emperor was mentally prepared, seeing it with his own eyes still made him roar angrily, "Duke of Yue, how dare you!"

The Duke of Yue's face stiffened; the armor from back then had clearly been destroyed in time.

Where did Gu Xiao get these from?

Feeling guilty, he quickly knelt down and forced himself to remain calm, saying, "Your Majesty, I am innocent. I don't know where these armors came from, but they were definitely not issued by the Ministry of War."

If the armor was faulty, why didn't Marquis Weilie report it at the time? This is clearly an attempt to frame and slander this old minister..."

Fortunately, the design of the armor has remained largely unchanged over the years in Dasheng.

Even if Marquis Weilie produces this substandard armor, it cannot prove that it is from the same batch as back then, nor can it prove that this armor was made by the Ministry of War.

He had long since hidden away the actual ledgers from when the Ministry of War manufactured this batch of armor.

Knowing this, those soldiers who were still alive were under Zhang Er's control back then. Those who were willing to keep quiet were incorporated into Zhang's army and controlled by Zhang. Those who were unwilling died out thirteen years ago.

Having sorted things out, the Duke of Yue felt much more at ease.

Marquis Weilie clenched his fist and reported, "Your Majesty, when I received the armor, I noticed something was amiss, but I didn't have time to inform Your Majesty. When the Lu army attacked, the soldiers had no choice but to wear this inadequate armor to fight the enemy."

These suits of armor were stripped from fallen soldiers before they left the battlefield; they're still stained with their blood...

"You say it was taken from a soldier, but who can prove it?"

The Duke of Yue interrupted him sharply, "I think you're deliberately framing me."

Marquis Weilie's jaw was clenched, and his fists were so tight they cracked.

That year, after his defeat and return to the capital, he was assassinated along the way. Over the years, he has had to protect his nephew and Caiwei while also secretly gathering evidence.

After many years, he finally found out that the original account book was in the hands of the Duke of Yue. He had planned to get the account book from the Duke of Yue after his nephew and his family had passed away.

At that time, the account books and armor will match, and the Duke of Yue will be unable to distinguish between them.

But before he could make a move, Gui Yao came knocking on his door, so now he has no other evidence besides these few suits of armor.

Seeing that he had no rebuttal, the Duke of Yue became even more clamorous, "Your Majesty, the Gu family father and son are clearly framing me. I don't know what their intentions are."

Da Shan couldn't stand him bullying people; it didn't fit their chivalrous style in their bandit village.

He grabbed the man by the back of the collar, forcing him to face him, and asked with teary eyes, "You didn't harm my family, you didn't harm me, so why would I frame you?"

"You should be asking yourself why you framed me."

The Duke of Yue turned and glared at him. "Let go of me. This is the Hall of State Affairs. You mustn't be so insolent in front of His Majesty."

Da Shan looked at the emperor and said loudly, "Your Majesty, he's saying you're stupid."

emperor,"……"

Zhu Zhu'er reminded him yesterday not to scare the child, but the child doesn't seem afraid of him at all.

They've all tried to get close to each other.

The Duke of Yue was furious and hurriedly denied it, saying, "You're talking nonsense, I didn't do it."

This person is utterly lawless and unreasonable.

"Where did I lie?"

Da Shan, carrying the Duke of Yue, said, "Yesterday you insisted on taking my lychee tree, saying that your old lady was killed by a favored concubine when she was young, and that you even had to go to the concubine to beg for lychees to eat."

Now that she's an old lady, she has a son who's blindly filial and lets her eat whatever she wants, so he's set his sights on my lychee tree.

But I carried that lychee tree all the way from Lingnan with great difficulty. It was meant to be given to my sister's godfather. I heard that her godfather takes good care of her, and I have to repay his kindness on my sister's behalf.

But you still ordered your sister to kill and steal the tree. Fortunately, your sister had some conscience and replaced the poison with a sleeping potion, which saved my life.

The lychee tree is right here in your house. You're denying it even though the evidence is irrefutable. Aren't you treating the Emperor like a fool?

Or do you think your uncle, the Emperor, is incompetent and can't find out about your family's dirty secrets?

Although the lines don't quite match reality, as my sister said, sometimes you have to be flexible.

He was avenging his mother and the others; it was a white lie that wouldn't diminish his merit.

"Slander, utter slander! I never ordered my sister to kill anyone..."

The Duke of Yue cried out that he was innocent. He never expected that Da Shan would know about his mother’s past, let alone that he would dare to fabricate such a story in front of the Emperor.

The emperor believed him, and said in a deep voice, "If what you say is true, then I am indeed not in Shen Aiqing's heart."

"Guards, go immediately to the Duke of Yue's residence to check if this is true. If it is..."

He paused, then asked Dashan, "Who is your sister's godfather? I have ordered them to send the lychee tree directly to him."

"have no idea."

Da Shan shook his head blankly, "But I know who my sister is. She is Gui Yao of Xuanji Tower."

He memorized all the lines his sister taught him, not a single word was wrong, hehe.

Li Deshun's eyes darted around, and he pretended to scold, "How dare you! Gui Yao is Princess Xuanji, personally appointed by His Majesty, and is also His Majesty's adopted daughter."

"what!"

Da Shan was taken aback. "Then, Your Majesty, you're my sister's godfather?"

The Emperor nodded. "If the Gui Yao you speak of is Princess Xuanji, then I am indeed her godfather."

"Oh my god!"

Startled, Da Shan slammed the Duke of Yue's head heavily onto the ground.

"Your Majesty, he not only insulted you, but also tried to take things from you. You are the highest-ranking official in Dasheng, and everyone should respect and fear you, but he is not afraid of you at all."

I already told him my sister is Gui Yao, and the tree is meant for her godfather. Knowing you are my sister's godfather, how dare he try to steal your things?

"I don't know, I didn't..."

The Duke of Yue was unjustly killed, and he hurriedly spoke up to refute it.

"You've got some nerve!"

Da Shan slapped the back of his head, then slammed down hard on the Duke of Yue's slightly raised head; if you listened closely, you could hear the sound of his teeth breaking.

The Duke of Yue was in so much pain that tears welled up in his eyes. He wanted to say something more, but his face was pressed to the ground, and he couldn't utter a word.

Da Shan continued, "He used to embezzle the money meant for making armor, and this time he's trying to steal your lychee tree."

"Your Majesty, this man is a repeat offender. He might be eyeing other things from you behind your back. You must investigate him thoroughly."

To covet the emperor's possessions is a grave offense, punishable by death or exile.

The Duke of Yue was greatly alarmed, "Waaah..."

He tried to argue, but he couldn't come up with a reason.

The Duke of Zhenguo's eyes darkened, and he immediately made a gesture. Soon, a minister said that Da Shan was speaking nonsense in the court without any evidence, which was disrupting the court.

Some people say that Da Shan attacked the Duke of Yue in front of everyone, and such a lawless person's words may not be true.

The emperor slowly said, "Shouldn't I investigate? Or do you share the same thoughts as the Duke of Yue? Whether Gu Sanlang is talking nonsense or not, we'll know once we bring the Shen family here for questioning."

The emperor ordered Li Deshun to personally bring Shen Feiwan and the lychee tree.

Just as the Duke of Zhenguo was thinking about how to resolve the matter, the Emperor slowly spoke again.

"Last time, Xuanji sought justice for the dead. This time, regarding the armor, why not let her find the souls of those who died in battle and ask them for clarification? Someone, go and invite Princess Xuanji."