Chapter 118: The Truth

As Jing Tianlie made his move, Di Luoxi, Zhang Qian, and the others immediately shielded Long Chen. The Western Palace guards rushed out, and the Scarlet Flame Army troops brought by Jing Tianlie surged forward as well; both sides stood at a tense standoff, swords drawn.

The Empress rose and shouted, and upon a command from Shadow Phoenix, the Imperial Guards surrounding the square immediately closed in.

"All of you, stop!" the Empress commanded.

Jing Tianlie, who had been momentarily blinded by rage, had now regained his composure.

"This subject lost his composure. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness!"

Jing Tianlie signaled with his eyes, and the soldiers of the Scarlet Flame Army withdrew.

Di Luoxi shouted angrily, "Lost your composure! Look at what you’ve done to Long Chengen’s arm!"

Jing Tianlie glanced back and saw that Long Chen merely had a deep gash on his right arm. He was inwardly stunned: *This damned eunuch has no small amount of cultivation; how did he only sustain an arm injury after taking a full-force punch?*

The Empress was equally surprised. She had not expected Long Chen to withstand the sneak attack. Bai Qiulian and the others were also shocked; given that Jing Tianlie’s cultivation was second only to the Empress, it was incredible that Long Chen had escaped with only a minor injury.

The Empress rebuked, "Luoxi, stand down!"

Long Chen also said, "Fourth Princess, I am fine."

Di Luoxi retorted furiously, "Fine? Your arm is in this state, and you call that fine!"

"Someone, treat Long Chengen’s wounds!"

The accompanying imperial physician immediately brought over a medical kit and began bandaging Long Chen’s wound, while Zhang Qian found a spare garment from somewhere for him to change into.

"Princess, I am fine. Please step back."

Long Chen smiled, but Di Luoxi refused to leave, and neither did Zhang Qian and the others.

The Empress ordered, "All of you, withdraw!"

Only then did the four of them step aside, though they kept their weapons in hand, ready to fight at any moment. Zhang Qian was the most nervous, gripping her dagger tightly, while Xuanyi and Qingyue stood on either side, ready to provide support.

At that moment, a soldier approached from behind and lightly tapped Qingyue.

Qingyue started, her hand instinctively reaching for her dagger, until she realized it was Wu Jian.

"You..."

Wu Jian made a gesture for silence, signaling for Qingyue to follow him.

Qingyue knew that the relationship between Wu Jian and Long Chen was far from ordinary, but with Long Chen in danger, she was reluctant to leave.

Wu Jian whispered, "It is a matter of life and death!"

Only then did Qingyue quietly fade into the crowd. Since everyone’s attention was fixed on Jing Tianlie and Long Chen, no one noticed her departure.

Long Chen sneered, "Grand General, are you trying to kill me to silence me?"

Jing Tianlie’s expression turned grim. He glanced at the trembling Jing Heng, feeling an ominous premonition.

"Long Chengen, how dare you slander me!" Jing Tianlie was certainly not going to admit it.

Long Chen chuckled, "May I ask Minister Jing to answer: in order to take revenge on me, you forged the Grand General’s orders and had Shui Han deliver the Linjiang City defense maps to Shangguan Wei—is this true?"

The obese Jing Heng slumped in his chair, sweating profusely, his knees weak. He cast a desperate look toward Jing Tianlie for help. Seeing this, Jing Tianlie guessed the truth and longed to tear his idiot son apart.

"Minister Jing! Are you not going to answer!" Long Chen demanded coldly.

Jing Tianlie roared, "Are you mute? Someone is slandering you, and you don't know how to refute it?"

Jing Heng instantly understood his father’s intent: this was something he absolutely could not admit to.

"You are spouting nonsense! I did no such thing!" Jing Heng shouted from his chair.

Knowing Jing Heng would deny it, Long Chen turned and bowed to the Empress. "Your Majesty, we found this secret letter in Shui Han’s room. She had burned half of it, but the Grand General’s seal is clearly visible."

The crowd looked toward the secret letter in the Empress's hand. She lifted it for all to see and asked, "Grand General, what is the meaning of this?"

Jing Tianlie, of course, refused to acknowledge it. "Your Majesty, please discern the truth. This is a forgery by Long Chengen to slander me. I request that he be arrested and executed on the spot!"

The Empress pointed at the seal. "Then what about this seal? I recall that no one can forge your seal."

Jing Tianlie was a pure martial officer; his handwriting was unsightly, so he always had others write for him. To prevent forgery, he used a unique seal for his correspondence, a design so distinctive it was considered impossible to replicate. The officials present agreed; while letters could be forged, the Grand General’s seal was widely known to be inimitable.

Jing Tianlie held his ground firmly. "The world is full of talented people, especially Long Chengen. This man is full of schemes and has invented many strange things; forging a seal is no problem for him."

Long Chen smiled. "Grand General, you flatter me. I do not have such ability."

When Bai Qiulian saw the seal on the letter, she knew in her heart that it was genuine. She was now filled with regret, wishing she had never stirred up this trouble.

"Your Majesty, this secret letter is absolutely a forgery. Everyone knows that Long Chengen and the Grand General’s Manor are enemies."

"If he had obtained this letter, why not expose it earlier? Why kill Shui Han and then claim she was a martyr?"

"It makes no sense. Long Chengen is lying!"

Bai Qiulian truly could not understand why, if Long Chen had known all along that Jing Heng had instructed Shui Han to commit treason, he hadn't spoken up sooner.

Long Chen spoke loudly, "Because the major battle had just concluded and Shui Han had just been appointed as the commander of Linjiang City. If I had told everyone she was a traitor, it would have surely shaken the morale of the army!"

"Furthermore, the Grand General holds a position of immense prestige in the Great Zhou. If I had announced that Jing Heng was a traitor and that the Grand General’s Manor was forming cliques and colluding with the enemy, it would have triggered widespread unrest!"

"The Fourth Princess and I kept the truth hidden for the sake of the Great Zhou. I only speak of it today because you have accused us of murder!"

Long Chen used his internal energy, and his voice reached every corner of the square. Everyone heard him clearly. The high and mighty image of the Grand General’s Manor began to crumble; people could hardly believe that such a prestigious house would collude with the enemy.

Shui Han being Jing Tianlie’s subordinate was no surprise—it was common for powerful ministers to have cronies. What was unacceptable was that Jing Heng had ordered her to commit treason just to frame Long Chen.

On the Half-Moon Pavilion, Ji Ba kept his hand inside his concubine's robes, feeling the warmth and softness. "I had heard there were suspicious circumstances regarding the battle of Linjiang City, and it seems it is true."

Ji Ba was well-informed, though he had lacked concrete proof until now.

Hong Qi remarked, "This Long Chengen has some magnanimity. He actually didn't use such perfect leverage."

Ji Ba gave a cold, sinister smile. "You will suffer at his hands sooner or later. He didn't tolerate Jing Tianlie out of kindness—he did it for himself."

Indeed, Long Chen had not exposed Jing Heng at the time solely to stabilize the situation in Linjiang and Cai Shi cities. Having experienced the destruction of his own family, Long Chen was a man of steel and blood, not a saint.

Hong Qi fell silent in embarrassment and turned his gaze to the square below.

Long Chen’s words had shocked everyone. The lofty image of the Grand General’s Manor had collapsed, while Long Chen’s stature had suddenly grown.

"This eunuch is not only handsome but also has good character and a heart for the country."

"No wonder he has earned the favor of the Empress and the Princess."

"It’s not just his character; I hear he is quite 'gifted.' Even though he was castrated, he is still a capable man."

"I heard the same—they say he had two, and after one was cut, there was still one left..."

The gossip of the commoners could not remain serious for more than three seconds before turning back to the scandalous rumors surrounding Long Chen, the Empress, and the Princess.

Once Long Chen finished, the Empress looked toward Di Luoxi.

Di Luoxi stood up and said, "It is true. At the time, I wanted to execute Shui Han as a traitor, but Long Chengen feared it would shake the army’s morale, so we declared that she had died in battle for the country."

"The Grand General is a pillar of the Great Zhou, which is why I did not report it to the Empress Mother."

Jing Heng shivered, his guilty conscience keeping him silent.

Jing Tianlie’s face turned a dark shade of purple. He shouted, "These are all one-sided claims! It is slander and holds no weight!"

Long Chen said coldly, "The secret letter is here, and the seal is here. If you want to deny it, there is nothing I can do."

"But before Her Majesty, the esteemed officials, and the people of the capital, if you think you can dismiss this with a single word of 'slander,' how are the forty thousand souls who died in Linjiang City supposed to rest in peace?"

Jing Tianlie could not afford to back down. He spat, "These are all forgeries you created! I request that Your Majesty execute this traitor!"

This was a point he could never concede; if the Grand General’s Manor were proven to be traitors, Jing Tianlie would lose all legitimacy in the Great Zhou.

Long Chen laughed heartily. "Right, all of it is forged by me, even your unique seal. Fine, then this evidence is invalid!"

Bai Qiulian, unwilling to give up, jumped in to argue, "Material evidence is not enough! Bring forward a witness!"

Di Luoxi was furious. She stood up and scolded, "The people are all dead! Where are we supposed to find witnesses!"

Hu Chengfu, the Minister of Justice, chimed in, "Fourth Princess, for a crime of this magnitude, one needs both human and material evidence to reach a verdict. A single burned secret letter is not enough to convict."