He sat down opposite Shen Jinmo, picked up the hot tea that he hadn't touched for a long time, and drank it fearlessly.

After finishing the whole tea, Xia Cheng brought the tea in front of Shen Jinmo and continued drinking it.

His throat was moistened, and Xia Cheng spoke hoarsely with a voice that had not spoken for a long time: "Sir Shen, I did not poison Xia Yu and Xie Nanxing."

Every word that came out of Xia Cheng's mouth was like the sound of the crumbling wooden door rubbing against the rotten threshold.

Noisy, yet powerless.

"Yes, I believe it."

Shen Jinmo spoke for the first time and said only three words.

And these three words were not a sign of mercy for Xia Cheng, but a death sentence for Xia Cheng.

Shen Jinmo has never been a good person. How could he possibly forgive someone who had hurt Xie Nanxing?

At this moment, Xia Cheng began to hate himself for not being smart enough and also for not being stupid enough.

If he were smarter, he wouldn't be used as a tool repeatedly.

If he had been a little more stupid, he wouldn't have been enveloped in despair after Shen Jinmo said this.

Whether Shen Jinmo believed it or not, whether Xia Cheng did it or not, it was not important.

From the moment he let Li Yuan enter the Eighth Prince's Mansion, from the moment he and Li Yuan talked about this plan, his fate was already determined.

Xia Ling didn't want him to live, and Xia Hong didn't intend to let him live either.

Outside this imperial city, there is still a chance to make up for a wrong step.

But in this imperial city, Xia Cheng, whose mother was of a humble background and who had no support from his uncle's family, would die if he made a wrong step.

"Sir Shen, my father treated me like this, aren't you worried that one day you will also be abandoned by your own son?"

Shen Jinmo looked towards Xia Cheng with such calmness as if he was looking at a dead person.

Indeed, the person sitting in front of him and talking to him now is no different from a dead person.

"In the emperor's mind, the only difference between me and the Eighth Prince is that I am still useful, while the Eighth Prince is no longer useful."

Shen Jinmo was telling Xia Cheng that it didn’t matter whether it was Xia Hong’s child or not.

When Xia Cheng heard this, he opened his lips slightly, intending to say something in rebuttal.

He tried hard to find those memories where Xia Hong truly treated him as a son.

Unfortunately, no.

"Hmph." With a wry smile, Xia Cheng had to admit that there was no difference between him and the civil and military officials in the court.

The title of Crown Prince of the Great Xia Dynasty was merely an official position, a position given to prove that Xia Hong could be both a good ruler and a good father.

They were never Xia Hong's sons. They were just royal heirs, men who had the opportunity to seize the throne of the emperor since birth.

Xia Hong would not develop any admiration for his son because of this so-called father-son relationship.

"Master Shen, are you here today to kill me?"

Shen Jinmo shook his head: "I want to kill you myself, but Xie Nanxing doesn't want my palms to be stained with blood, so I can't do it."

It’s not that he can’t kill him, but Xie Nanxing doesn’t like it, so Shen Jinmo will try hard not to do it.

"Shen Jinmo, I think you are very lucky." He leaned towards the sun and said, "Xie Nanxing has always been sincere to you from the beginning to the end."

Xia Cheng suddenly felt that the person was quite funny.

For a dying man like him, what he thought about in his last moments was not money, power, and other things he had sought in his life.

He was thinking, after he left, no one in this power-hungry city would feel sad for him.

After thinking about it, Xia Cheng felt that there shouldn't be any.

"Qiupin once came to ask me for help."

Shen Jinmo thought for a moment, and added, "He said the weather is getting cold, and he wanted you to put on more clothes."

This additional sentence was what Xie Nanxing said to Shen Jinmo before he went out today.

Shen Jinmo was also very obedient and put on another piece of clothing under his official robe.

Thinking of the woman who had risen from being Zhong Luoyue's personal maid to becoming Xia Hong's concubine, Xia Cheng's eyes were filled with a smile.

If you really want to look into it, Xia Cheng thinks that Qiupin's original intention of getting pregnant with her was that she didn't want to be a slave for the rest of her life.

But in this life, the only person who treated Xia Cheng sincerely and wished the best for Xia Cheng was Concubine Qiu.

In order to keep him alive, Concubine Qiu even went to Shen Jinmo for help.

There was obsession in his eyes, and beneath the obsession there was a desire: "Let my mother go, she knows nothing."

"You know in your heart that whether to let go or not is not something I can decide."

Judging from power alone, Shen Jinmo is indeed not at the point where he can decide the life or death of a concubine.

But in the Great Xia Palace, it is not too difficult for Shen Jinmo to let a concubine live longer.

"what can I do?"

Shen Jinmo lied.

Concubine Qiu never came to him for help.

What Concubine Qiu does every day now is to show her loyalty to Xia Hong.

However, if we don't plant new hope in such a desperate person, how can he fight a desperate battle for the self-righteous person who has always been heartless?

A life that was lost in Shen Jinmo's plan must naturally play a value that transcends death itself.

His whole body was still gloomy and cold, and Shen Jinmo did not show any joy of winning the negotiation.

Even if Xia Cheng had not chosen to be used by him, the final outcome would not have changed at all.

Even if Xia Cheng chooses to work for him now, Shen Jinmo will not completely trust Xia Cheng.

Fear, coercion, hope...

Any unexpected change could cause the people around you to change their minds temporarily after they arrive at the Throne Hall.

Taking out the prepared note from his sleeve, Shen Jinmo did not say anything to Xia Cheng, and asked the imperial guards to escort Xia Cheng out of the prince's residence.

Looking up at the sun in the sky, the last sun he would see in his life, tears in Xia Cheng's eyes flowed down his cheeks.

After the people escorting Xia Cheng left, Shen Jinmo walked around Xia Cheng's study, and finally put the envelope and banknotes that he had prepared earlier into the secret compartment of the study.

Xia Cheng must die.

People will lie, but evidence that hits the nail on the head is the only solid evidence.

Shen Jinmo personally carried Xia Cheng into the main hall and bowed: "Your Highness, I, Shen Jinmo, have returned with the Eighth Prince. Please judge him in person."

Xia Hong lowered his head and looked at Shen Jinmo. When he saw Shen Jinmo nod slightly, he dared to let the eunuch remove the white cloth that was blocking Xia Cheng's mouth.

Ignorance is fearless. If Xia Hong did not first break down Xia Cheng's psychological defenses, he would be worried that Xia Cheng would cause trouble.

A chess piece connecting Xia Ling and Zhong Luoyue only needs to do the job of a chess piece well.

Xia Cheng took a deep breath, knelt on the ground, looked up at the infinitely majestic Xia Hong, and then cast a pleading gaze on Xia Ling.

Accepting that you will die is one thing, but when the butcher's knife is on your neck, the desire to live will inexplicably creep into your mind.

Xia Ling looked at Xia Cheng, who was fixated on him with his eyes, not willing to let him go.

He walked to Xia Cheng's side with a low bow and kowtowed to Xia Hong who was sitting on the throne.

"I am guilty, please punish me, father."

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