Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Zhang Jingwei glanced out the window at the deepening dusk. The lingering glow of the setting sun seemed to tinge the solemnity and fatigue within the hall. He rubbed his brows, his voice a deliberately lazy tone: "It's almost time. It's getting late, and it's time for me to leave. I'll leave for today." He waved his hand and was about to stand up.

"Wait a minute!" An old yet remarkably firm voice rang out, like the snapping of dead wood. Shi Chongshan jerked his head up, his cloudy eyes fixed on Zhang Jingwei. No longer the previous madness or sorrow, they burned with an almost obstinate, immediate need for an answer. "Sir! I... have something to say!" His voice was hoarse, filled with an unquestionable plea.

Zhang Jingwei paused and frowned slightly: "Mr. Shi, there have been so many unexpected events today, and I'm sure you are exhausted. If you have anything to say... let's talk about it tomorrow." He tried to delay.

"Sir!" Shi Chongshan's voice suddenly rose, with a desperate determination, "You also want to close the case quickly! This old man... This old man just wants to figure out one thing! Just one thing! Please... help me!" His skinny fingers tightly grasped the edge of the heel.

On the side table, Huangfu Changshui stopped cracking melon seeds, looked at Zhang Jingwei, and said in a rough voice: "Boy! The parents of the officials are sitting in the court, how can you not listen to what the people have to say?! Do you have any manners?!" His words were filled with unquestionable pressure.

Zhang Jingwei bowed helplessly, "Father-in-law, your teaching is correct. Alright." He sat back down and said to Qian Ming, "Qian Ming, prepare the wine and food." He then looked at Shi Chongshan and said, "Master Shi, please speak."

Shi Chongshan took a deep breath, as if he had exhausted all his strength, and then slowly turned his head and cast his gaze towards the mute girl in the corner. His eyes were complicated: anger, confusion, pain of betrayal, and disbelief.

"Mute girl..." Shi Chongshan's voice was hoarse, "Tell me... did you really... really conspire with Shen Kaiyang... to poison Jincheng?!" Every word was like blood.

Everyone's gaze instantly focused on the mute girl. Her eyelids remained drooped. In the suffocating silence, she slowly raised her head. Her eyes, once cold and filled with hatred, were now unusually calm, a look of relief and ease. She didn't look at Shi Chongshan, but instead stared straight ahead into the void.

The mute girl kowtowed twice to Shi Chongshan and said, "Yes, Master." She said it very straightforwardly and coldly, "Mute girl, I don't want to deceive you anymore."

"boom--!"

Shi Chongshan was struck by lightning! His body shook violently! He clutched the handrail tightly, his knuckles cracking. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot as he stared at the mute girl in disbelief, his voice shrill and distorted:

"You...you! A mute slave! I bought you when you were dying in the snow! I spent all my efforts to heal you! I gave you life and shelter! You...you actually colluded with outsiders...to kill my son?! You have such a cruel...heart!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, tears streaming down his face.

The mute girl remained calm in the face of the overwhelming accusations. In her deep, magnetic voice, she calmly asked:

"Master, haven't you always felt that the young master was not up to the task and wanted him to... ascend quickly?"

These words, like the sharpest dagger, pierced Shi Chongshan's heart! All his anger was frozen! He remembered his own mutterings in disappointment: "Evil obstacles, it's better to ascend to heaven as soon as possible!"

"Fly... ascend? Haha... hahaha..." Shi Chongshan laughed wildly towards the sky, his laughter was shrill and sad, full of irony and regret, "I actually... still believe this nonsense! Ah Cheng! My son... it's dad... it's dad who harmed you! It's dad's wishful thinking... that killed you!" He beat his chest and stamped his feet, his "Tao" completely collapsed, leaving only a father who had lost his beloved son and was filled with regret.

Zhang Jingwei looked at her with a heavy heart. Turning to the mute girl, he said calmly, "Mute girl. Shi Jincheng has been abusing you for a long time, treating you like a plaything and humiliating you in every way. You hate him to the core, but due to your status, you dare not resist. So, you found Shen Kaiyang, who was also dissatisfied with Shi Jincheng. You secretly colluded and tried to kill him many times, but... you never succeeded, right?" He revealed the deep motivation and cooperation.

Shi Chongshan was immersed in grief and self-blame and turned a deaf ear to it.

The mute girl was silent for a moment, then looked at Zhang Jingwei. For the first time, genuine curiosity flashed in her eyes. She asked with a smile, "How did you know what that beast did to me?"

Zhang Jingwei had a strange expression on his face, as if he was holding back a laugh and was annoyed. He said, "Because of love, you like Shen Kaiyang, right?"

"Yes, I like the Immortal Master, but in front of the Immortal Master, for the sake of my little bit of self-respect, I didn't tell him these things. For so many years, he has never treated me as a slave. He even told me that if he ascended to the Immortal Realm, he would become my immortal partner."

Zhang Jingwei sighed and said in a tone that sounded like "I'm laying my cards on the table," "Shi Jincheng told me that himself."

"Wha...what?!" Shi Chongshan suddenly looked up, his tearful eyes filled with disbelief!

Zhang Jingwei looked unhappy that his plan had been disrupted, and he shouted at the yamen runner who was lying on the ground, groaning in pain while covering his severed finger:

"I was planning to act cool tomorrow. Okay! Stop it! Bring him up here!"

Upon hearing this, the yamen runner's painful expression instantly disappeared. He grinned, stood up swiftly, dusted himself off, and ran briskly towards the classroom.

Zhang Jingwei finally explained, looking at the stunned crowd, especially Shi Chongshan and the mute girl. "This guy was born with a missing little finger. Yesterday, when the mute girl secretly bribed him to let her go to death row, he immediately told me everything about the money and the whole thing." He glanced at the mute girl. "You thought you were being secretive, but you didn't realize that since you entered the county government office, your every move has been under my watch."

Soon, groans and the rubbing of a stretcher could be heard. Two yamen runners came in carrying a stretcher. Lying on the stretcher was Shi Jincheng, who everyone thought had died suddenly!

His face was pale and haggard, his eyes were dull, his lips were chapped, and his forehead was wrapped in thick, bleeding gauze. He was extremely weak, but his chest was heaving, and he was a living person!

The mute girl sneered, "I didn't expect that an adult who hates evil so much would save such a beast."

Zhang Jingwei said righteously: "He cannot die in prison before he is convicted." He suddenly felt that his sense of justice was overflowing.

When Shi Jincheng saw his father, tears welled up in his eyes and his voice was hoarse and weak:

"Dad... Dad... I'm so scared..."

Shi Chongshan was struck by lightning! He rushed over! His movements were so fast that it was unbelievable for an old man! He rushed to the stretcher, and with trembling hands, he stroked his son's cold cheek, tears streaming down his face, and he choked with sobs:

"A Cheng! A Cheng! Dad is here! Dad is here! It's okay... It's okay! Soon... Come home! Dad will take you home!" The ecstasy of regaining what he had lost hit him.

Shi Jincheng sobbed weakly:

"Dad... I want to go back... back to Huainan... back to Ancheng... I don't want to stay here anymore..."

"Okay! Okay! Daddy promises you! Daddy promises you everything!" Shi Chongshan tightly grasped his son's hand. "Alright, go back to our hometown in Ancheng right now! Never come back to this damn place again!"

This touching scene of the deep love between father and son and surviving the disaster was like a slap in Yuan Liang's face!

"This... this... all of this... is this actually an act?!!!" Yuan Liang suddenly jumped up from the ground! Covering his swollen cheek, his eyes wide open, he pointed at Shi Jincheng, Zhang Jingwei, the "finger-severed" yamen runner, and finally glanced at Huangfu Changshui and his guards. His expression was distorted to the extreme! Shock, anger, disbelief, and the overwhelming humiliation of being fooled erupted! He was like a clown, being fooled around!

Zhang Jingwei looked at Yuan Liang's exasperated expression, and a cold, victorious smile appeared on his lips:

"Yuanliang, you are from Jinzhou, so you must know Zhaoxuan (Gao Jiong's courtesy name), right?"

Yuan Liang's roar stopped abruptly, and he was in a state of shock and confusion:

"Gao...Gao Jiong? I heard...that he is the manager of your military company?" A strong sense of uneasiness surged up.

"Yeah." Zhang Jingwei nodded, his voice as calm as a casual chat. "He mentioned you. He said you, Yuan Tangjing, have some quirky talents, will do anything to win, and are quite meticulous. But..." He paused, his eyes piercing Yuan Liang like a sword, "You're too conceited! Do you think all officials are like the ones you used to fight in local prefectures and counties, that you can control with just a little coaxing, deception, intimidation, and bribery? You use all kinds of shady means to 'solve' problems. You have some abilities, but unfortunately... your intentions are not right, and your vision is too narrow. It's hard for you to achieve great things, and... it's hard for you to escape the law!"

The color drained from Yuan Liang's face, leaving him as pale as paper. His past and methods, which he had thought were hidden, had been discovered by his opponent! Gao Jiong...had stabbed him fatally!

Yuan Liang smiled sadly, his voice dejected and self-deprecating:

"To be honest... Lord Zhang, this kind of case... this kind of opponent... is the first time I've encountered one. If I had known... it was so difficult, I would never have taken it..." He felt like he was hitting a wall.

"Too late!" Zhang Jingwei's voice suddenly sharpened, like the slamming of a gavel, announcing the verdict! "Yuan Liang! I suspect you are an accomplice, colluding with Shen Kaiyang, disrupting the court, and attempting to frame someone. I am now arresting you, and you will be under strict guard by the third squad!" With a wave of his hand, Mu Tou and other yamen runners immediately stepped forward and twisted Yuan Liang's arm.

Yuan Liang did not struggle, but stared at Zhang Jingwei with resentful eyes.

Zhang Jingwei walked up to him, looking down at him with a cold gaze:

"You'll have one night. Think about how you're going to court tomorrow... how you're going to get away with this? Or... confess something to save yourself!" Then, without looking at him again, he shouted, "Take him away!"

Yuan Liang was dragged away, his resentful eyes seemed to want to cut the flesh of Zhang Jingwei.

In the courtroom, only Shi Chongshan was left, tears streaming down his face as he held his son. The mute girl silently accepted her fate, and Shen Kaiyang collapsed into a heap. At the side table, Huangfu Changshui picked up some melon seeds again and began to devour them with relish, as if he had just watched a spectacular play. He mumbled a compliment, "Boy, that 'faked death' and 'sowed a sour taste' trick is pretty good!"