Chapter 65: Acting Coquettishly

Wei Chi Li clenched her fists and stiffened her body.

Liu Luo Yi tilted her head calmly and said: “Replying to emperor, my father was framed by Yang Zheng and this was misunderstood by everyone. Emperor, please take a look.”

She took a package out and handed it Eunuch Li who was beside Chen Hao. Eunuch Li took the package, opened it, and checked it. After he found that nothing was strange about it, only then he hand it over to Chen Hao.

Chen Hao moved his gaze away from Liu Luo Yi’s face and furrowed his brows as he looked at the contents of the package. Inside was a stack of letters, calligraphies, and paintings. It was obvious that the handwritings belong to different people and a few were made by famous people.

“What is the purpose of these?” Eunuch Li asked with a sharp voice.

“Emperor, please look carefully. Although these handwritings are different, there are private seals at the corners belonging to Yang Zheng and these are all done by Yang Zheng himself. He loves calligraphy and loves to imitate the handwritings of various famous people; it was skilful and vivid. Therefore, the handwriting belonging to my father found on him was actually written by Yang Zheng himself, with the intention of framing.” Liu Luo Yi said.

Upon hearing this, there was another commotion in the main palace hall. Chen Hall flipped over the pages and his expression remains unchanged, making it unable to see what he was thinking about.

“Then how do you explain the letters found in Liu Mansion?” Chen Hao asked.

Liu Luo Yi could feel that when Chen Hao stands in front of her, there was a kind of coercion that belongs to a superior of high status. She endured the urge of wanting to turn to take a look at Wei Chi Li and continued: “That letter was only mentioned by Lu Yun Kui, Lord Lu, no one saw that the letter was found in Liu Mansion.”

Chen Hao suddenly sneered and stuffed those letters in Eunuch Li’s hand: “In this way, you are only speculating. That day, I and several ministers saw Liu prime minister secretly interacting with the enemy spy, Yang Zheng. And you want to base on this speculation to seek redress for Prime Minister Liu?”

Wei Chi Li looked at Chen Hao’s expression when he was talking, and her eyes gradually sharpened. At this time, a guard wanted to step forward, Wei Chi Li reached out her hand abruptly and said in an extremely low voice: “Who dares to move.”

That guard retracted his foot.

The atmosphere in the main palace hall became extremely tense and everyone dared not breathe out loudly.

On the contrary, Liu Luo Yi was not as afraid. When she discussed with Wei Chi Li, she said that she would present the most important piece of evidence and leave Yang Zheng’s letter of confession to the last. This was to be able to see if anyone would give themselves away and at the same time, to understand the emperor’s attitude towards this matter.

“Emperor, this slave still has more.” Liu Luo Yi said and was about to take out Yang Zheng’s letter of confession from her sleeves when suddenly there was a commotion outside.

“What is the reason for disturbing the state banquet!” Eunuch Li twisted his waist as he walks out. After a while, he ran back in in a panic, followed by a man covered in filth. Wei Chi Li’s sharp eyes saw that he was the guard at the prison which held Yang Zheng.

Eunuch Li stood there awkwardly and said to Chen Hao:” Emperor, this person said that there is something important to report. Should we look for a place for him or…”

Chen Hao was irritated by this series of events. He waved his hand impatiently: “If you have something to say, say it. What happened?”

That person trembling with fear, threw himself down and on his knees, stammering: “Yes. It is this little one who was not vigilant when guarding. The prison in the north was on fire and some prisoners escaped. This little one has ordered people to hunt all over the city and will definitely be able to arrest them!”

 “What?” Chen Hao finally has some expression. He strode towards the person and said angrily: “What was the reason for the fire to start in the prison?”

“Replying to emperor. It was, it was that prisoner, Yang Zheng. He broke free of the chains, escaped from the cell, and set fire. He released many people, he pretended to be mad.”

As soon as these were said, it was even quieter in the main palace hall. Everyone shrank their bodies a little. Such a major event happened during a state banquet, so, the emperor would definitely be furious, and no one wanted to be the target of his anger.

“How bold, how bold!” Chen Hao flung his sleeves vigorously and walked a few steps on the spot. Seems like he was really furious: “Arrest him, I will interrogate him personally.”

“He is dead.”

That man said that as his body weaken, he kowtows and then took out a piece of paper from his sleeves: “When this little one found him, he had already died in his cell. There is a bloody cavity on his forehead and there are bloodstains on the wall. Found this beside his body.”

Eunuch Li quickly bent down and took the paper in his hand. Wei Chi Li was standing near them and squinted her eyes to see the words on the paper. Her heart suddenly sank, like a boulder was thrown in, making her feel uncomfortable.

Wei Chi Li gave Liu Luo Yi a meaningful look who just happened to turn around and used her finger to point at the piece of paper. Liu Luo Yi nodded slightly and then suddenly said loudly: “Emperor, that Yang Zheng was the culprit who framed my father. This slave boldly asked, was what written on the paper related to my father?”

Chen Hao grasped that letter in his hand. Exerting force on his fingers, he almost tore the thin piece of paper.

A hundred pairs of eyes were staring at Chen Hao. When Chen Hao turned around, they all lowered their eyes. No one dared to look at the emperor, eye to eye. Only Liu Luo Yi looked at Chen Hao as she waits for his answer.

Chen Hao suddenly curled the corner of his lips, but there was no smile in his eyes. He nodded, walked around Liu Luo Yi, and slowly returned to his seat.

In the letter, Yang Zheng unscrupulously mocked him for being an incompetent Emperor of Yan Country, was deceived by him and even misjudged his loyal subject.

Chen Hao folded the paper little by little, then suddenly stood up and swept all the objects on the table to the ground. Only crashing sounds echo, everyone lowered their head and held their breath.

A few pieces of porcelain shattered in front of Liu Luo Yi. Liu Luo Yi tilted her head slightly and gritted her teeth. On the contrary, it was Wei Chi Li who almost rushed forward in shock. Fortunately, Wei Chi Die stopped her.

“If this old thing dared to touch my Little Liu’er, I will chop off his hand.” Wei Chi Li squeezed out a voice between her teeth that only Wei Chi Die could hear it.

“Success or failure depends on this. With so many pairs of eyes watching, he cannot deny it.” Wei Chi Die whispered.  

“Drag Yang Zheng’s body to the city gate and flog it. In the public.” Chen Hao suddenly said, maybe because he was too furious that his voice sounded light, yet chilly. “In addition, you.”

Chen Hao looked at Liu Luo Yi. With that kind of gaze, it even made Wei Chi Li have goosebumps.

 “You are indeed her daughter. Send my order. From now on, Liu Ru will be exonerated from all crime, restored to his official position and reward him with one year worth of salary.”

After saying that, Chen Hao stood up and when he walked to Liu Luo Yi’s side, he turned his head to glanced at her and only then did he stride out and left. Upon seeing this, Eunuch Li quickly followed and shouted: “The state banquet has ended, heaven bless Yan Country!”

After Chen Hao and the guard’s shadows have disappeared, the main palace hall was lively again. The chaos and noise were like market and everyone was discussing the letter contents.

Some officials who were implicated because Liu Ru was exonerated of all crime, was even angrier as they argued with each other when walking out.

Many people crowded in front of Liu Luo Yi wanting to say something. But because Liu Luo Yi had knelt for a long time and could not stand steadily, it was even more difficult for her to cope. Her legs softened and just nice, a pair of arms reached out from the side and gently hug her waist.

Only then did Liu Luo Yi felt relieved. She felt that hand, which was embracing her, pushing away the messy crowd around her. Liu Luo Yi leaned into that person’s arms with assurance and was under protection as they walked out. Until there was no one around, only then did the pair of hand let go of her.

“How are you, were you afraid?” Wei Chi Li saw her sweaty, shaky appearance and someplace in her heart was aching terribly.

 Liu Luo Yi shook her head. She raised her eyes and there was excitement flashing in her eyes: “I’m fine. I did it, we did it.”

Her eyes gradually blurred. Day and night, she kept thinking about rescuing her father. What she had originally thought would not be fruitful has now come true.

She bounced on the spot with excitement, her smile reveals a row of beautiful teeth. Wei Chi Li lowered her head to look at her and showed a slight smile.

Liu Luo Yi’s smile was so beautiful, that she really wants to look it every day.

Wei Chi Li suddenly wants to lower her head and kiss her but, in the end, she held back. She sighs and suddenly bent to hug Liu Luo Yi. The soft body in her arms was still trembling slightly because of excitement or something else.

Liu Luo Yi was taken aback by her hug. She felt that something was wrong with Wei Chi Li and wanted to reach out and push her away to have a look. But her hand was caught by her and could not move.

Liu Luo Yi struggled a few times but did not break free. She gave up, stood still as she pants and asked softly: “Princess, you, what’s the matter?”

Wei Chi Li almost never showed weakness in front of her, always seemed to be strong, and able to solve everything. She was gentle and strong. But at this time, Liu Luo Yi can feel that she was not like that.

“Don’t move, don’t reject.” Wei Chi Li said, “Let me hug.”

Liu Luo Yi’s heart trembled slightly. This kind of Wei Chi Li seemed to reveal a rare vulnerability.

The 2 of them stood there quietly, not moving at all.

“Yang Zheng died because of me. When I left that day, he asked me for a brush and paper, just for today. He calculated that we would raise this matter up during the state banquet.”

“Although we originally have a letter of confession, if the emperor insisted on refusing, things may not go smoothly. But with Yang Zheng’s death and had even wrote such a letter, it forces the emperor to release Prime Minister Liu, even though he does not want to.”

“Little Liu’er…” Wei Chi Li said, and her voice was trembling. She hugged Liu Luo Yi a little bit tighter, “I’m still, I’m still worried. The look in the emperor’s eyes when he looks at you. Promise me that you will stay away from him in the future, okay?”

Liu Luo Yi sniffed and said softly: “Princess, it is not because of you. He would not have done it if it were not to help to save my father.”

“No. he had indeed framed Prime Minister Liu, you are not wrong.” Wei Chi Li choked.

After all, their standpoint was different.

“Promise me that when you return to the Liu Mansion, you must never enter the palace to see this old man again.” Wei Chi Li’s voice sounded a little gloomy, sounded a little soft as if she were acting coquettishly.

Liu Luo Yi felt that this kind of feeling was very novel. Wei Chi Li acting coquettishly.