met free Chapter 1066 None of them are good people
Chapter 1066 None of them are good people
Xie Shang did not attack Ye Ying but immediately sheathed his sword, knowing that Ye Ying had faked his death and left.
He thought: Ye Ying wanted the truth about his parents' deaths. The late emperor's ascension to the throne was controversial, and his father had never defended himself. For so many years, he had also wanted the truth, but now that the truth was right in front of him, he could only choose to face Jingdi's actions with equanimity.
Yan Dinghai was also startled. When he saw that the person under the mask was Ye Ying, he relaxed his guard and thought that Ye Ying had come to save him.
Yan Dinghai hurriedly said, "They killed your parents. Now is not the time to pursue this. Quickly take me away. I still have people, and I will definitely avenge Brother Zhou in the future."
Yan Jue also stood protectively beside Yan Dinghai, saying, "Aying, I didn't expect you to come to save us. Why didn't the others come with you?"
Nightshade said coldly, "They're all dead."
Yan Jue asked in confusion, "You killed them, why did you kill them? You..."
Ye Ying asked Ge Ming, "I must avenge my parents myself. There are some things I need to figure out myself. The reason the royal family came to my father was to destroy this piece of brocade, because it contains evidence that Emperor Jing murdered the Holy Ancestor Emperor and ordered the execution of the secret guards."
Ge Ming did not deny it: "The late emperor did not actually order them to be killed. He gave each of them a resettlement allowance and let them go. It was Yan Dinghai who led them to steal from the national treasury. I am telling the truth."
Yan Dinghai said, "Don't listen to his nonsense, it's completely untrue. They want to kill us to silence us, so they'll pin any excuse on us..."
Ge Ming, sword in hand, was about to rush forward when he angrily shouted, "Yan Dinghai and the others wouldn't have died without your instigation and scheming. You stole money from the national treasury and ran away, but they were foolishly tricked by you and ended up losing their lives. You poisoned them and embezzled all the money before running away."
Nightshade hadn't expected the guards' deaths to have these reasons. His sword was precisely pressed against Yan Dinghai's neck. He snatched the token from Yan Dinghai's hand and asked, "Why is your token in my house? How exactly did you take Ajue away? You haven't explained any of these things clearly."
Yan Dinghai denied it, "Don't listen to his nonsense. The royal family will stop at nothing to cover up their shameful deeds. They killed your parents, and they want to silence you..."
Nightshade's sword drew a fraction closer. "The token in Mr. Ge's hand was found by them in the fire at the Zhou family's residence. It already bears the marks of being burned, while the one in my hand is perfectly intact. Don't you know what special marks are on the token you've worn for so many years?"
Ge Ming took the token directly. "There is a mark on this. It saved your life during a mission back then, so it left a mark. Many people knew about this at the time. You even said that this token was your talisman. Why did it appear at the scene of the Zhou family's fire?"
Yan Dinghai recognized the mark on the token; he did indeed remember it. He stared at the token hesitantly, realizing it had been left at Zhou Bingyi's house.
Yan Jue asked, "Father, what exactly happened? Did you really kill them?"
Yan Dinghai said, "Jue'er, don't listen to his nonsense, he's lying."
Ge Ming continued, "After you stole from the national treasury, Zhou Bingyi did not stay to share the spoils with you. Instead, he secretly left, which is how he escaped this calamity. He is the only person in the world who knows about this. It is precisely because he knows the whole truth that you must eliminate him."
"But you only found him a few years later and saw that he was still living by hunting. The Zhou family was not wealthy, so you pretended to befriend him and even let him escape with you. At this time, Zhou Bingyi had already married and had children and was unwilling to leave with you. You did not force him and even gave the Zhou family the gold you stole from the national treasury. That gold was engraved with an official seal and was easy to identify."
You never intended for him to live. Instead, you poisoned Zhou Bingyi and his wife with the same poison that killed the other guards, then burned down the Zhou family's house. Leaving the gold from the national treasury was also your way of making him take the blame for you. You knew the Hidden Guard would be coming soon.
Ge Ming had already inquired in the village where Zhou Bingyi was staying. If Zhou Bingyi had really used the money stolen from the national treasury, he wouldn't be living such a poor life.
Yan Dinghai's expression already showed that everything was as Ge Ming had said. He rolled his eyes and said, "What I gave him was originally Zhou Bingyi's share... Zhou Bingyi also wanted to embezzle money from the national treasury. None of us are good people, and neither is your father."
"You're talking nonsense," Nightshade said angrily.
Although Yan Dinghai's right hand was weak, he could still exert force with his left hand. Taking advantage of Ye Ying's momentary daze, he struck Ye Ying with a palm, and Ye Ying felt a dull pain in his chest.
Immediately afterward, Nightshade pierced Yan Dinghai's shoulder blade with a single sword strike. "So you did go to the Zhou family a long time ago. You're the one who killed my parents. You admit it."
Yan Dinghai's stomach started hurting again. He said urgently, "You can't kill me. If I die, your Great Zhou princess will die too. She has put a life-and-death curse on me."
Upon hearing this, Xie Shang walked up to Yan Dinghai, kicked him over, and said coldly, "What did you say?"
Yan Dinghai knew he wouldn't die. He hadn't expected that Xie Ling'er's poisoning of him would inadvertently save his life. He sneered, "If I die, Xie Ling'er will die too. If you don't believe me, go ask her."
Yan Jue said, "My godfather and I have both been poisoned by the same Gu poison."
Xie Shang already knew from Xie Yun that Xie Ling'er had indeed poisoned Yan Dinghai, but he hadn't specified what kind of poison it was. How could Ling'er be so stupid as to poison herself as well?
Xie Shang said, "Men, tie up Yan Dinghai."
Yan Dinghai suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, "You can't kill me, you'll never kill me, hahaha..."
Night Shadow gripped his sword tightly, veins bulging on his hands, wishing he could tear Yan Dinghai to pieces to avenge his parents.
Seeing Yan Dinghai's arrogant demeanor, Xie Shang was also furious. He said in a deep voice, "Yeying, I order you to cripple Yan Dinghai's martial arts. Remember to leave him with a breath left, let him live. I want him to suffer a fate worse than death. Your parents in heaven will surely be gratified that you have avenged them."
The anger in Ye Ying's eyes gradually dissipated. A moment later, Yan Dinghai was covered in blood, his limbs crippled. He felt excruciating pain and pointed at Yan Jue, murmuring, "Jue'er, save your godfather, you are my own son!"
Yan Jue wanted to rush forward to save him, but he was in dire straits himself. "Godfather, did you kill them?"
Yan Dinghai shook his head, still trying to argue, "It wasn't me. I could never have killed him. He was my best brother. It was the royal family that was hunting us down to silence us."
“Jue’er, I raised you, I am your father. You were so small back then... I raised you to this age and taught you martial arts.”
Yan Jue suddenly drew his sword and pointed it at Ye Ying, "If you want to kill him, kill me first."
"You..." Nightshade hated him for recognizing a thief as his father, but he couldn't bring himself to do it because he was his own brother.
Ye Ying knelt directly in front of Xie Shang, "A Jue was also kept in the dark. He, like me, did not know the truth of what happened back then. I beg Your Majesty to spare his life. This humble servant wants to take him to my parents' graves to pay respects. Ye Ying will return to atone for the crimes my father committed."
He finally understood why Mr. Ge hadn't told him about his background; it turned out that his father and Yan Dinghai had indeed stolen from the national treasury back then.