The World's Number One Medical Hall

Chapter Sixty-Three: The Rise of the Ming King's Father-in-Law

Although no one thought that Lin Huayao, a veteran who had served two dynasties, would admit defeat so easily.

But his actions when he saw the situation was turning against him and rose up in desperation still drew everyone's attention.

On the fifth day after the attack on the Ming King, Lin Huayao, in front of all the civil and military officials, once again submitted a memorial to His Majesty, stating that after investigation, Zhang Bangli, a key suspect in the case, had been identified as the mastermind behind it.

Firstly, investigations have shown that His Highness Prince Ming, in full view of the public, personally testified that the murderer was Zhang Bangli and Zhang Danshi who conspired together.

Secondly, after several days of investigation, it was confirmed that what Ming Wang said was true. He did indeed have a falling out with Zhang Bangli when he was in the capital, and there were indeed suspicious things about Zhang Bangli's escort on the day of the incident. His behavior during the assassination was inappropriate.

Thirdly, and most importantly, one of the people implicated in this case during these five days—who is actually a member of Lin Huayao's faction—has confessed to participating in the assassination of the Ming King. However, his confession was made at the behest of Zhang Bangli…

Therefore, the facts of this case are clear: it was Zhang Bangli who committed the crime. As for his motives, whether there were any other reasons besides resentment and revenge, further investigation is needed.

Therefore, in front of the entire court, Lin Huayao implored Emperor Dingwu to issue an edict designating Zhang Bangli and Zhang Danshi as the masterminds of the case, allowing the investigation team to confiscate their property, arrest the entire Zhang family, and hand them over to the investigation team for a full investigation...

I still remember that when Lin Huayao finished speaking, the court fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone knows that Zhang Bangli is a confidant of Emperor Dingwu and has always been a key supporter of Emperor Dingwu in the court. Since this case came to light, Emperor Dingwu has been even more protective of him. Even though he was imprisoned, whenever there was an investigation, Emperor Dingwu's men would accompany him to ensure that the investigation process would not go wrong.

However, Lin Huayao is now actually confronting Emperor Dingwu head-on, and they are about to really fight.

They'd rather their own people confess, resulting in a lose-lose situation, than let Emperor Dingwu have an easy time.

Without a doubt, this is a formal confrontation.

To be honest, no one expected Lin Huayao to be so fierce. This time, he didn't hold back and directly used the most explosive method, wanting to fight Emperor Dingwu head-on.

This undoubtedly means that they have truly and completely broken ties with Emperor Dingwu. You should know that although things were strange in the court before, no one dared to really go this far. After all, the emperor is the emperor and the subject is the subject. No matter how much they resisted in secret, they would never dare to openly go against the emperor's wishes.

Imperial power is not a joke; it cannot tolerate the slightest disobedience on the surface.

However, while everyone was shocked by Lin Huayao's courage, they also became increasingly nervous. It was clear that Lin Huayao, as a veteran of two dynasties, was not an impulsive person. The fact that he had gone to such lengths could only mean that Lin Huayao had indeed sensed a crisis.

Perhaps Emperor Dingwu's actions this time were not merely aimed at weakening Lin Huayao. Could it be that he intended to completely eliminate Lin Huayao, thus forcing him to this point?

Everyone waited for Emperor Dingwu's reaction, and as expected, Emperor Dingwu did not keep everyone waiting any longer. Not only did he not show any intention of relenting or compromising, he immediately summoned Zhang Bangli to court. In front of all the civil and military officials, he confronted Lin Huayao bit by bit in the court. Without a doubt, here, every wrong word would lead to utter ruin.

Ultimately, perhaps because Emperor Dingwu was too powerful, Lin Huayao became afraid and ultimately failed to stand firm under Emperor Dingwu's watchful eye. He started strong but ended weakly, taking a step back and failing to completely point the finger at Zhang Bangli as the murderer.

Therefore, he admitted that he was old and senile, earnestly requested to resign from his investigative duties, and at the same time asked Emperor Dingwu to punish him...

At that moment, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Lin Huayao had deliberately pulled this stunt to advance in order to retreat in the process.

However, Emperor Dingwu rejected Lin Huayao's request and insisted that he continue to preside over the investigation...

No one voiced their opposition at the time; they only thought that Lin Huayao had gone too far and had thoroughly angered Emperor Dingwu, so they had to deal with him.

Unable to resign, Lin Huayao remained silent for several days. During this time, his forces were subjected to fierce attacks, and a storm was brewing. This veteran minister, who had dominated two dynasties, was truly on the verge of complete decline.

In fact, the court had already become wary at this time, sensing Emperor Dingwu's determination. It seemed that it was no longer a struggle, but a real attempt to completely crush Lin Huayao, and even to take his life.

This caused dissatisfaction among the people. After all, power has always been a struggle between the emperor and his subjects. No matter what, no one could allow the imperial power to be truly unchecked, otherwise, wouldn't everyone be in danger in the future?

The winds began to change, but what no one could have imagined was that just as everyone was preparing to help Lin Huayao, whether he couldn't bear it or was truly enraged and went mad, Lin Huayao actually went to court again five days later, on the tenth day after the attack on the Ming King. In a fierce manner, he once again presented himself to Emperor Dingwu and identified the murderer.

This time, however, the choice of the murderer once again made everyone's hearts race.

"Go up Qingshan!"

That's right, Lin Huayao actually pointed the finger at Shangqing Mountain as the culprit.

"His Highness Prince Ming incurred the wrath of Shangqing Mountain on his wedding day. Shangqing Mountain sent men to attack Prince Ming in public. His Majesty, being magnanimous, forgave the two ignorant Taoist priests from Shangqing Mountain and, remembering Shangqing Mountain's many years of contributions to the nation, showed leniency and did not severely punish them. Unexpectedly, Shangqing Mountain, instead of being grateful for His Majesty's boundless grace, harbored resentment and became extremely arrogant. They even attempted to assassinate Prince Ming on his way to bestow the title of Mingzhu. After several investigations, I have discovered that the Taoist priest Liu Faqing, whom Prince Ming had killed that day, had close ties with Taoist priest Chongxuan of Shangqing Mountain..."

Without a doubt, everyone stared at Lin Huayao in disbelief, their minds reeling.

Has Lin Huayao really gone mad?

He actually produced a variety of evidence to prove that the murderer was Shang Qingshan, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Everyone was stunned, not to mention the current state of the nation, whether Shangqing Mountain could be touched at will.

Lin Huayao's daughter is learning martial arts at Shangqing Mountain, so what he's doing is simply absurd.

Is it going to be the same as last time, to force Ding Wu to back down?

This is far too audacious. You must understand that this time he has not only offended Emperor Dingwu, but he has also seriously offended Shangqingshan.

No one knows if the old man was truly driven mad by Emperor Dingwu, to make such a foolish move.

Needless to say, Emperor Dingwu personally summoned Chongxuan and, once again in front of all the civil and military officials, ordered him to confront Lin Huayao face to face.

However, everyone thought that this time, the outcome would be the same as the one with Zhang Bangli, but unexpectedly, things took a completely different turn.

Lin Huayao refused to back down an inch, forcing Shang Qingshan Chongxuan to retreat repeatedly in front of everyone, until he was unable to refute her.

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely tense. Emperor Dingwu sat high above, and his expression changed slightly. But as an emperor, he remained silent and watched the situation unfold.

In fact, everyone understood that Ming Wang's display of his Grandmaster cultivation this time gave him some confidence, allowing him to no longer tolerate Shangqing Mountain for the sake of the overall situation as before.

Judging from the situation, Dingwu wanted to take this opportunity to teach Shangqingshan a lesson. In fact, even at this point, no one believed that Lin Huayao could truly pin Shangqingshan on the position of the murderer.

However, for three consecutive days, Lin Huayao and Shang Qingshan confronted each other head-on, and Chongxuan retreated step by step, but stubbornly refused to admit it, seemingly really pushing Lin Huayao to the edge.

He actually came up with another powerful move.

"His Highness has been missing for ten days now. This old minister is filled with fear. Perhaps Shangqing Mountain is afraid of the prestige of the young Ming King, fearing that he might one day ascend to the realm of True Person and jeopardize the glory of Shangqing Mountain as the leader of the Daoist sect. Therefore, after the first assassination attempt failed, they have already made another move in secret... Your Majesty, Shangqing Mountain first made an enemy of His Highness, then attempted to assassinate him, and now they have a clear motive. This old minister implores Your Majesty, for the sake of Ming King's safety, to apprehend all members of Shangqing Mountain and conduct an urgent investigation..."

This is insane! This is insane!