Chapter 717: Chapter 718: Die Together

Fan Chengzhuo was suddenly speechless.

He seemed to be only now belatedly recalling that before he lost consciousness, Emperor Muwu had already stated that Zheng Baosu himself had confessed!

At this moment, all his rebuttals seemed utterly ridiculous.

Fan Chengzhuo opened his mouth, an unprecedented panic surging through him.

’H-How could I have forgotten something so important!?’

’Even if I had to say something, I should have used a different excuse! How could I... how could I...’

Ye Chutang studied his expression and spoke thoughtfully, "Mr. Fan, you still look rather unwell?"

Zhao Xuanping didn’t know what had happened earlier, but seeing this made him suspicious. He murmured softly, "This situation... Could it be that Mr. Fan injured his head? Or perhaps he hasn’t fully recovered and isn’t yet lucid?"

Emperor Muwu’s brow furrowed.

’If that’s the case, there’s no need to continue the questioning.’

"In that case..."

He was about to have Eunuch Li send the man back and deal with the matter another day. After all, even if Fan Chengzhuo had done something wrong, he was in no state to be dealt with today.

However, before he could finish speaking, Zheng Baosu, who was standing to the side, was the first to break down.

He cried out anxiously, shouting at Fan Chengzhuo, "Uncle! Uncle, you have to save me! I... I was just spouting nonsense earlier! I didn’t do those things!"

Ye Chutang watched, utterly amazed. Her gaze toward Fan Chengzhuo even held a trace of pity.

’It’s not strong enemies you have to fear, but useless allies.’

Fan Chengzhuo was already stunned, never imagining that Zheng Baosu would suddenly retract his confession.

’But this wasn’t what I wanted to hear right now!’

Xie Anbai seemed intrigued, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? Lord Zheng, does this mean that everything you said to His Majesty just now was false?"

"Of course I—"

Zheng Baosu suddenly choked on his words, his face instantly draining of all color.

’Lying to Emperor Muwu’s face... isn’t that the crime of deceiving the sovereign!?’

It was all his fault for being too anxious. The moment he heard that Fan Chengzhuo might not be lucid and was about to be sent away, he had lost his composure.

After all, besides Fan Chengzhuo, he couldn’t find a single other person to help him!

Fan Chengzhuo had clearly realized this as well. His body went rigid, and his mind was a tangled mess.

He looked up in despair, as if he still wanted to argue his case.

However, Emperor Muwu had already lost his patience.

"Since you refuse to speak the truth even in my presence, there is no need to continue this interrogation."

Emperor Muwu’s tone was cold, carrying the murderous aura of a sovereign.

"Drag him out. Immediate execution."

The crime of deceiving the sovereign alone was more than enough to condemn Zheng Baosu to a thorough death, to say nothing of his numerous prior offenses!

’Even if they couldn’t extract a full confession, what did it matter?’

Emperor Muwu couldn’t care less.

He had plenty of people and methods to investigate this matter to the bottom; it was merely a question of sooner or later.

And now—Zheng Baosu was no longer worth wasting any more of his time and energy on.

"Yes."

Eunuch Li assented and flicked his horsetail whisk.

"Guards, take him away!"

Guards immediately responded and stepped forward.

Zheng Baosu was utterly panicked.

He had already considered himself a dead man, which was why he had thrown caution to the wind. But then, who would have thought Fan Chengzhuo would arrive!

To be given hope only to have it snatched away was more agonizing than being killed outright!

He looked pleadingly at Fan Chengzhuo.

"Uncle! Uncle, save me! You can’t just stand by and watch me die! Uncle!"

But Fan Chengzhuo had no idea what to do either.

’Plead?’

’Would pleading do any good?’

Having been an official for many years, he knew Emperor Muwu’s temperament better than anyone. This incident had truly crossed the Emperor’s bottom line. When he wanted Zheng Baosu dead, no one’s plea would be of any use!

Hearing the sounds of Zheng Baosu being dragged away, his heart hammered in his chest, and a piercing pain shot through his head.

He wanted to turn for one last look but found he couldn’t move, as if all the strength had been drained from his body.

However, to Zheng Baosu’s eyes, this looked like a deliberate refusal to save him.

Zheng Baosu frantically looked over at Xie Anjun, only to meet the other man’s gloating gaze.

No one understood the meaning behind that gaze better than Zheng Baosu.

’If you die, everyone else gets to live.’

How could Zheng Baosu possibly accept that?

A monstrous rage surged in his heart. With his hopes shattered, all his former aspirations and desires twisted into an indelible hatred!

This surging hatred swiftly devoured the last of his sanity.

Zheng Baosu suddenly burst out laughing. The sound was utterly jarring in the silent, solemn hall.

"Your Majesty, since you intend to kill me, why not kill them all as well!?"

He was hysterical, his eyes bloodshot and blazing with an intense, ultimate hatred!

"I wasn’t finished speaking earlier!"

Xie Anjun whirled around in horror. ’Has this man gone mad!? How much more trouble is he going to cause!? How many people is he going to drag down with him!?’

A sudden, wrenching pain seized Fan Chengzhuo’s abdomen, causing cold sweat to pour down his forehead. He didn’t even have the strength to turn his head.

Only the slight tremor of the hand he used to prop himself up revealed his tension and worry.

He opened his mouth, but blood trickled from the corner once more.

Standing diagonally behind him, Ye Chutang took in his current state with just a slight lift of her eyes.

Her brow arched ever so slightly.

’It seems this Zheng Baosu is even more important to Fan Chengzhuo than I first thought... Otherwise, he wouldn’t have coughed up blood a second time in such a short span.’

’The only explanation is that the acute anxiety has wreaked havoc on his system.’

’He’s not even concerned with his own life or death.’

’A pity... The pill from earlier was one I made recently, and its effects are at their peak. Fan Chengzhuo is unable to move, and even speaking requires immense effort.’

’Especially in a state of such shock and fear, it’s even easier to trigger another flare-up of the poison in his body.’

’Truly... such a moving and profound bond they share.’

Zheng Baosu, of course, was completely oblivious to all of this.

All he saw was that even after he’d said such things, Fan Chengzhuo still had no reaction!

’He doesn’t care one bit whether I live or die!’

Consumed by hatred, Zheng Baosu shrieked again just as he was being dragged to the threshold.

"If you hadn’t insisted I join the army, would I be in this position today!? You were the one who promised me a future! You said you’d guarantee my wealth and glory! All these years, I’ve done everything you’ve asked! And in the end, you’re just going to stand by and watch me die!?"

Emperor Muwu narrowed his eyes. "Stop."

The guards stopped in unison.

Emperor Muwu stared intently at Zheng Baosu. "What did you just say?"

Zheng Baosu had already lost his mind.

He burst into wild laughter, his expression savage and twisted.

"I said! You! And all of you! You’re utterly foolish! Your own officials have long been colluding with foreign enemies, scheming for their own profit, and you’re all still completely oblivious! Ha!"

He gritted his teeth, pointing a finger at them one by one.

"Xie Anjun! Fan Chengzhuo! And all those men under them! Every single one of them! Is there any one of them who hasn’t gotten rich off my life-and-death struggles on the Northern Border!?"

A look of ultimate, cathartic glee spread across his face.

"You want me dead? Fine! But I’ll be taking them down with me!"

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