He was in the Ming Dynasty, and his adoptive father was Governor Cao.

Qian Fu's words were meant to correct a mistake, but to Sun Huai, they were like a thunderclap from the heavens!

The color drained from his face. He abruptly turned his head and stared intently at Qian Fu, who had an expression that said, "I'm right." He then looked at Zhao Jing, whose gaze was deep and unfathomable, and finally met the eyes of Cao Guangxian in the hall, which were now completely frozen, filled only with a chilling killing intent.

A bone-chilling cold instantly surged from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

Three different faces...

The one that died was the one I recognized...

It’s over.

This is a trap tailor-made for him!

Under his master's interrogation and his own fear, he jumped in with his own hands.

With a "thud," Sun Huai's legs went weak, and he could no longer support himself. He collapsed to his knees, his face ashen, unable to utter a single word.

The entire second hall was deathly silent, like a tomb.

Gao Liang's smile froze. What did that mean? Xiao Ting wasn't dead?

"Squeak—"

In the utter silence, the door to the second hall was pushed open.

Dressed in a grey-black flying fish robe, with a white-tasseled sword at his waist, Xiao Ting strode in with a calm expression.

"Father, I'm back. The trip to Zuiyue Tower was quite fruitful."

Xiao Ting bowed to the person at the head of the table, his gaze sweeping over the limp Sun Huai and the astonished crowd, and said with a faint smile, "We also caught the traitor along the way."

Zuiyue Tower?

Zhao Jing and Qian Fu were both taken aback, then they understood the whole plan.

Zhao Jing's expression turned even uglier.

That damn bastard! I suspected him once yesterday, and he tolerated it, but today he put on this show to test me! No wonder he was acting suspiciously in the archives this morning; it turns out it was for this!

Now is not the time to lash out; let's make a note of this first!

In the hall, Cao Guangxian nodded, his gaze shifting from Xiao Ting to Sun Huai, who was kneeling on the ground. In his eyes, there was no anger, no questioning, only a bottomless coldness and disappointment.

Why?

Cao Guangxian already understood the reason why Xiao Ting was colluding with foreign enemies and wanting to get rid of him.

His four disciples: the eldest, Feng Chun, was a former subordinate of Xiao Yuan and personally mentored Xiao Ting, so their relationship was special; the second, Zhao Jing, was cold-faced and hard-hearted, but he had followed him from the bottom of the Inner Palace Bureau and fought his way up step by step, so his loyalty was beyond doubt; the third, Qian Fu, was straightforward and had a fiery temper, but he was not a bad person at heart, and his thoughts were written all over his face.

Only the fourth son, Sun Huai, was sensitive and perceptive, with intense love and hate. His respect and love for Cao Guangxian were genuine, but precisely because of this, his hatred and resentment towards Xiao Ting, who monopolized the status of adopted son and whose past outrageous behavior repeatedly dragged down his master, were equally genuine.

Before Xiao Ting "got it," this jealousy could perhaps be described as "feeling indignant on behalf of his master."

Even now, with Xiao Ting having changed and made numerous contributions, he remains determined to kill...

This is no longer "for the master," but outright selfishness!

If Xiao Ting hadn't died, everyone else would have remained just a disciple for life. Disciples and adopted sons are completely different—an "adopted son" is entitled to inherit everything from his "adoptive father," and the fewer people who share the inheritance, the more he receives!

This was an unwritten rule within the Ming Dynasty's inner court.

Cao Guangxian remained silent for a moment before finally speaking: "You... do you still have any unfulfilled wishes?"

Once this question is asked, it is no longer an interrogation, but a verdict.

Sun Huai shuddered violently, abruptly raising his head. A trace of regret flashed across his pale face. His gaze swept over the cold-faced Xiao Ting, the ashen-faced Zhao Jing, and the bewildered Qian Fu, finally fixing on the astonished and uncertain Gao Liang.

Just when everyone thought he would plead or defend himself, Sun Huai suddenly gave an extremely bleak smile, stared straight at Gao Liang, and said to him, "Supervisor Gao... the plan has failed... I should have listened to your advice last night and waited a little longer."

These words shocked everyone in the room!

All eyes immediately turned to Gao Liang!

Gao Liang's face drained of color instantly, his expression a mixture of shock and rage. He roared, "Sun Huai! What nonsense are you spouting?! When have I ever had a relationship with you..."

"That's enough!"

Cao Guangxian interrupted him, his gaze as if he were looking at a dead man.

Last night, Gao Liang did indeed visit Qian Fu and Sun Huai, sowing discord in his words. Cao Guangxian already knew this, but he couldn't use it to convict them. Now, Sun Huai's dying words have given him a legitimate opportunity to get rid of Gao Liang!

What he wanted was for Gao Liang to lose his mind in shock, anger, and fear, and to take some "rebellious" actions.

"Gao Jiancheng."

Cao Guangxian slowly stood up, his imposing aura, befitting a powerful eunuch in charge of Lingnan, descending like a mountain: "Sun Huai testifies that you colluded with the Angry Dragon Gang to murder a high-ranking official... What do you have to say for yourself?"

He didn't need Gao Liang to answer at all.

This statement itself is a signal that Gao Liang is being driven to desperation!

The air suddenly tensed up!

Gao Liang's face turned from red to white, then from white to a deep liver color. His whole body trembled with extreme anger and fear. The scheming, forbearance, hatred for his brother's tragic death, the frustration of being relentlessly pressured by Xiao Ting, and the immense shock of seeing his success suddenly turn into utter defeat...

All emotions erupted at this moment!

The peak season had just begun, and he hadn't even used his moves yet, but he was already driven to a dead end!

"Cao Guangxian!!!"

Gao Liang roared hoarsely, his voice shrill and distorted, completely devoid of his usual refined demeanor: "You...you have such a vicious heart! Such deep scheming! You conspired to put on this show just to kill me?!"

He pointed at Cao Guangxian, then suddenly at Xiao Ting, his finger trembling: "First you killed my brother, then you framed me! You and your son are in cahoots, lawless and lawless! This is the Pearl Digging Bureau, a government office of the imperial court! It's not a place where you, Cao Guangxian, can rule with your own hand!"

"Eunuch Chen from the Directorate of Ceremonial sent me here precisely to prevent you from acting arbitrarily and lining your own pockets! Now you want to kill someone to cover your tracks and destroy the evidence, do you think you can get away with it?!"

Gao Liang's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a madman. He knew he had no way out; Cao Guangxian would never give him a chance to appeal or defend himself: "If I am even slightly harmed, Eunuch Chen will never let you off! The heavens of Lingnan are not yet in your hands, Cao! You will die a horrible death! You and your father will all die a horrible death!!!"

Xiao Ting remained expressionless.

He was always lenient towards the dead.

Gao Liang knew that sitting and waiting for death would only lead to his demise!

His eyes suddenly sharpened, and the true energy of the early stage of the Tongyou Realm within his body erupted. A faint purple halo emanated from his skin, and his aura suddenly became extremely fierce.

He pointed his right hand like a sword, and a point of condensed purple light suddenly shone brightly, flickering and emitting a piercing sharpness!

This was the killing move that Chen Hong, the Director of Ceremonial, had given him specifically to deal with Cao Guangxian's protective aura—the Pure Yang Palace's fourth-grade ultimate skill, "Radiant Light Sword Finger"!

Using fingers as a sword, the sword energy is like a rosy cloud, fierce and sharp, specifically designed to break through all kinds of protective true energy!

"Give me your life!"

Gao Liang let out a sharp cry, his figure transforming into a blurry, pale purple shadow, swift as a ghost, rushing straight towards Xiao Ting! The purple light at his fingertips tore through the air, emitting a sharp, piercing shriek, aiming straight for Xiao Ting's throat!

He had thought it through clearly: taking Xiao Ting hostage might offer a glimmer of hope!

However, he was fast, but Cao Guangxian was even faster!

Almost at the same instant that Gao Liang unleashed his true energy, Cao Guangxian's figure had vanished from the spot.

Like a wisp of smoke, it arrived first despite being behind, instantly blocking Xiao Ting's path.

With a seemingly casual flick of his wide robe sleeve, an invisible force, supple as a cloud yet overwhelming and unstoppable, suddenly rippled out – his signature move, "Cloud Transformation Hand"!

"Bang!"

Gao Liang poured all his strength into his sword strike, but it was as if he had crashed into a cloud of clouds. His forward momentum suddenly stopped, and the sharp sword energy was completely neutralized. He groaned and was thrown back several steps by the shock.

"Your martial arts skills are decent, but unfortunately, you lack refinement!"

Cao Guangxian casually commented, then lunged forward, and the battle erupted instantly.