Liu Bian at the start, so you're called Dong Zhuo, right?

The air inside the hall seemed to freeze suddenly.

Zhang Rang's expression changed slightly, and he immediately lowered his head, not daring to let anyone see his expression.

Emperor Ling of Han stared at Liu Bian, his gaze complex and difficult to decipher.

After a long silence, he slowly spoke:

"A few days ago, I granted your wish and dismissed Zhao Zhong."

"What trouble can he possibly cause now?"

"Bian'er, don't be so ruthless."

Liu Bian was taken aback, then gritted his teeth and continued:

"Father, I have evidence that Zhao Zhong was behind everything."

"It wasn't just Zhao Zhong, but also Feng Xu and Xu Feng."

Emperor Ling of Han remained silent.

He didn't ask any further questions, nor did he ask Liu to provide any evidence.

He got up, walked to the window, turned his back to Liu Bian, and looked out at the gray sky.

Do you know how many years Zhao Zhong has served me?

Liu Bian was taken aback: "Your subject... does not know."

"Twenty-three years." Emperor Ling's voice was somewhat ethereal.

"He has been with me since I was still the Marquis of Jieting."

"When I entered the capital to ascend the throne, he served me faithfully; when I was being scolded by those ministers, he knelt beside me. Over the years, I know how many things he has done for me and how many open and hidden attacks he has shielded me from."

He turned around and looked at Liu Bian.

"I know he's greedy, and I allow him to be greedy."

"But he bullied you, and I cannot tolerate him, so I dismissed him from his post."

"Tell me now that he has betrayed me?"

Liu Bian met his gaze without flinching.

"Father, I know that Zhao Zhong is one of your old friends and that he has served you for many years."

"Your Majesty, I have no intention of targeting him, but the evidence I have found, piece by piece, points to him."

He raised his hand and gestured slightly backward.

Xun Yu was already waiting by the side of the hall. He whispered "Present it," and Cao Cao stepped forward with a long, slender wooden box, prostrating himself and presenting it with both hands.

The wooden box was opened, and inside were two things neatly arranged: a road sign and a short note.

Liu Bian first took the two travel slips, held them between his fingers, and held them up to the lamp.

"Father, please look—the old-style road sign of the Heavenly Merchant Guild."

Zhang Rang stepped forward and took the travel permit.

The paper was thin yet tough. When the light shone on it, a faint watermark appeared on the paper—the lines of the two characters "Tian Shang" were very faint, yet clear.

Emperor Ling of Han frowned slightly: "This is... an old contract from the Heavenly Merchant Guild?"

Liu Bian said calmly, "Road tags are proof of passage for merchants. The old ones are obsolete and should be collected and destroyed according to regulations."

He paused, his voice turning cold:

"But the assassins who entered the capital last night used this same old style."

"They confessed themselves—without this document, the city gates and checkpoints would not let them pass, nor would the night patrols allow them to cross the ward."

Emperor Ling's gaze darkened: "How did they obtain this divination slip?"

Liu Bian put the travel document back into the wooden box, looked up, and said, word by word:

"When the old road signs were replaced, they were kept by Lord Cao Song."

"But many more old documents do not belong to the Ministry of Personnel, nor to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, but only to one place—"

"Zhao Zhong".

Liu Bian then took out that short letter again:

"This was a plan devised by Mr. Xun Yu."

"We separated the county jail informant and the black-clad assassin into different prisons and gave each of them a 'confession'—we didn't make them confess to the assassination, but made them confess to 'how they got to the capital, where they got the permit, and who gave them the way.'"

Liu Bian handed the short letter to Emperor Ling of Han:

"Father, please look at the same detail in both of these confessions—"

"Whether it's the old damage to the door bolt, the changing times of the jailers, or the secret signals at the palace market stalls."

"Both names were mentioned."

"Feng Xu and Xu Feng"

"This is not a case of them colluding to give a false testimony."

"Because the two were locked in two separate places, separated by swords, fire, and Cao Ren's armored soldiers, not even a spit could be passed between them."

Emperor Ling's gaze finally changed.

That is no longer "doubt".

It is "沉" (chén).

Liu Bian didn't stop, he turned around and waved his hand:

"Bring the witnesses up."

The soft clanging of chains immediately came from outside the palace gates.

The first one brought in was the constable surnamed Du, his face a mix of blue and purple. His knees buckled and he knelt down, his forehead touching the ground, his voice trembling violently:

"Your Majesty, spare my life! This servant... this servant was forced by the person who appointed me as a court attendant! This servant only opened the door and led the way, daring not to ask questions, daring not to disobey..."

The second person brought in was a clerk from the Heavenly Merchant Guild, holding a stack of old blank slips. He knelt on the ground and said:

"Your Majesty, on the day the old road signs were replaced, Lord Cao collected and destroyed them as usual. However, the batch that Lord Zhao took away under the guise of 'joint management' was not returned."

"I recognized the watermark, fibers, and hidden marks on that batch of paper at a glance."

He looked up, his eyes filled with fear, but he still finished speaking in a firm voice:

"That batch of permits... was collected by Zhao Zhong himself back then."

Emperor Ling's gaze lingered on the stack of old slips for a moment, his eyes burning as if scalded by fire, and he was about to speak—

"Bring one more person."

The footsteps outside the palace gate grew closer.

The third person brought in was a military officer dressed in black robes. He crawled into the hall on his knees, his forehead touching the ground, his voice low but extremely steady:

"Your subject is an officer under the Commandant of the Imperial Guards, responsible for the night patrol register."

He held a thin book in both hands, its corners worn smooth, clearly an old book that he had read every day.

Liu Bian raised his hand and gestured: "Tell me what you have seen and recorded truthfully."

The officer dared not raise his head, but simply recited the contents of the register, line by line:

"Since Zhao Zhong was dismissed, the night curfew in the palace has become even stricter. I have been ordered by the Imperial Guard to patrol the streets and alleys and check the curfews."

"During this period, the two Attendants, Feng Xu and Xu Feng—"

He paused, as if afraid of offending someone by calling him by his name, but still braced himself and continued:

"On several occasions after curfew, he would leave through the side gate, use his inner pass to pass, and go straight to Zhao Zhong's residence."

The officer opened the register, pointed to a few lines of ink writing, and spoke in a clearer voice:

"Seven times in the last ten days."

"The entourage were all dressed in the colors of Zhao's private servants. On one occasion, they even carried in a small wooden box, which was wrapped in cloth and looked like an account book or a contract."

He raised his hand and held the book forward:

"The night curfew register clearly records everything—the gatekeepers at the side gates, the guards checking passes, the number of people accompanying them, and the tracks of their carriages and horses can all be compared."

This is not something that "someone said".

This is the night curfew register of the Imperial Guard, the rules of the palace, the official language—every stroke of the pen is the imperial court's own weapon.

Liu Bian then withdrew his gaze, looked up at Emperor Ling of Han, and spoke in a low voice, each word landing firmly on the table:

"Father."

"The old signature is from Zhao Zhong."

"Night visits are the footsteps of Feng and Xu."

"The road and the hand are both in one place."

"Now that the evidence, testimonies, and official records are all available—please, Your Majesty, summon someone to the palace so that we can ask them about it in person."

Emperor Ling's face went from dark to pale, then from pale to white, and finally turned a deep, iron-red.

He slammed his hand on the table—

"Bang!!"

The memorials on the table were so shocked that they jumped up.

"good!"

"What a brilliant Zhao Zhong!"

"I am mindful of our past relationship and am unwilling to kill him."

"That Zhao Zhong is truly despicable! He actually colluded with foreign traitors to harm our Han Dynasty's Crown Prince and betray our loyal and virtuous officials!"

His voice was filled with barely suppressed anger, as if it were being squeezed out from between his teeth:

"My palace markets, my county prisons, my post roads—they've all become their routes for receiving thieves!"

"Someone come here!"

The imperial guards outside the palace responded in unison.

Emperor Ling of Han raised his hand and pointed, his fingertip trembling, yet sharp enough to cut a person:

"Summon Zhao Zhong!"

"Xu Feng and Xu Feng—"

"Enter the palace immediately!"

"I want to ask them in person—"

"Whose head is this 'Yellow Heaven' going to stand on?"