A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 416 Ending (85)

Song Shuyu was never one to follow the rules. With his keen senses, he noticed the Empress Dowager's emotional shift. He quickly changed his mind and said, "Song Li, go back to the Jingzhao Prefecture and retrieve the evidence."

"Which piece of evidence?" Song Li asked.

Song Shuyu glared at him. "Of course, it's the murder weapon used to kill Li Yunyao and Li Mu. Remember, run fast, don't keep the Empress Dowager waiting."

Song Li was a low-key person, but upon hearing this, he had no choice but to use his ultimate skill. With a leap, his clothes flashed and he disappeared without a trace.

The emperor was amazed. "Another quiet and capable expert who only knows how to work diligently!"
The Empress Dowager stared in the direction where Song Li had disappeared, lost in thought and speechless.

"Since my mother passed away, my father has spared no effort in training experts to protect me. I'm sure the Empress Dowager has guessed my father's intentions. My father once said that if a person does evil, he will surely suffer the consequences. It's just a matter of sooner or later."

Song Shuyu's seemingly casual words brought the Empress Dowager back to her senses, but at the same time, they filled her with despair. She lowered her eyes and murmured, "He knows, doesn't he? He probably knows. It's over, all over. He'll be angry, he'll ignore me..."

"Snapped!"

Song Shuyu slammed down the gavel and said sternly, "What do you know? Do you know that you poisoned your two close friends in order to obtain ancient medical texts?"

The Empress Dowager was startled, her face paling slightly. Realizing her slip of the tongue, she immediately denied it, saying, "It is true that I wanted to obtain the medical classics, but I did not kill anyone. It was all Liu Changqing's doing, and it has nothing to do with me!"

"Ha, is that so?" Song Shuyu sneered, "Does the Empress Dowager think that Liu Changqing is willing to risk the lives of three generations of the Liu family to serve you, since he has already used her and then discarded her like a worn-out donkey?"

Before the Empress Dowager could speak, Liu Changqing hurriedly said, "What three generations? Lord Song, one person does the deed and one person takes the blame. It has nothing to do with..."

"Don't you understand the difference in sentencing between principal offenders and accomplices? Since you insist on taking the blame for others, do you think your worthless life is enough to compensate for it? According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, I must impose a severe sentence, convicting your Liu family for three generations to be reduced to the status of lowly, with the men as slaves and the women as maids, never to be free again until death!"

"..."

"Including Liu Xiao!"

"I admit it!"

Liu Changqing ultimately couldn't withstand the pressure of bloodline. Coupled with Mu Yan, who held evidence and was watching him like a hawk, he knew that it was pointless to resist. He couldn't change the Empress Dowager's fate, so why implicate three generations of the Liu family?
"I don't know what kind of relationship exists between the Empress Dowager and Bai Li and Yang Caiyu. I only heard from the Empress Dowager that Bai Li possesses an ancient medical book that has never been passed down to posterity. The book contains many miraculous beauty-enhancing prescriptions that could help her, when she first ascended to the throne as Empress, win over the late Emperor's heart and secure her position in the harem. Therefore, I was ordered by the Empress Dowager to send Liu Pei to secretly infiltrate the Mu family to steal the ancient medical book. However, Bai Li seemed to have taken precautions and hid the book. Liu Pei searched the entire Mu residence but found nothing."

"Not long after, something seemed to have happened in the palace. The Empress Dowager sent an urgent message, ordering me to contact Bai Li, hoping that she would either hand over the ancient medical books or help me concoct medicine. However, Bai Li remained unmoved by my huge offer. When the Empress Dowager learned of the result, she was furious and wanted to kill her, but because of Mu Yan's status, she had to do it cleanly and leave no evidence. Therefore, I planned several ways to kill her, hoping to create an accident so that Bai Li would die without anyone knowing. However, in the process of carrying it out, I was surprised to find that Bai Li not only possessed martial arts skills but also had a very strong sense of vigilance. It was almost impossible to complete the plan."