Lu Qingchen said calmly, "The more you talk, the more they'll believe the rumors they've heard. What's the point of explaining it this way? It will only backfire."

"What should we do? Just let them slander us?"

At this moment, Qin Miaoxi was so angry that her forehead was pounding with pain. She said directly, "Okay, I'll go find the real culprit right away. I believe they can continue to talk nonsense."

Lu Qingchen smiled and shook his head. "You're still too naive, little girl. Even if you catch the real culprit, what good will it do? Don't you know it takes only one mouth to spread rumors, but it takes a lot of effort to dispel them?"

Qin Miaoxi instantly stiffened her fists and glared at him fiercely, "You have a lot of people, quickly go find out who leaked the information."

This matter made her quite confused. She had clearly ordered everyone in the Ministry of Justice not to leak the results of the investigation, but why did this matter become such a hot topic in the market?

"Those gossipy people in the Ministry of Justice."

"Not them."

Lu Qingchen said with certainty, "If this matter were to get out, it would be of no benefit to the court or the Ministry of Justice. Furthermore, it would alert the enemy and cause the Ghost-Faced Judge to go into hiding. No one can bear the consequences of such a situation."

This remark startled everyone involved. Qin Miaoxi looked at him in surprise, "Are you saying that the person who spread this news might be the murderer?"

"Yes, apart from those of us at the scene who knew that Crown Prince Shan Ji's body was found in Latagou, only the murderer knew about it."

"Then let's..."

Before he could finish his words, Wen Zhu leaped down from the outer wall and said anxiously, "Master, this is terrible! An urgent document has been delivered to the palace from the border, eight hundred miles away. The Jie army is now stationed at the border, with camps stretching endlessly. They have threatened that if our dynasty does not hand over the murderer of their crown prince within five days, they will lead their troops to destroy the three border prefectures."

The two had just digested what he said about the army approaching the border when another report came from outside the door. Eunuch Wu conveyed the emperor's order, ordering Marquis Xuanping to come to the palace to see him immediately.

Lu Qingchen and the other man exchanged a glance. "I'll go into the palace first to investigate. You continue your in-depth investigation here. News is spreading incredibly quickly these days. I'm afraid someone is deliberately manipulating it. I'll send Wen Zhu to investigate the source of the news. You just focus on your work."

Qin Miaoxi nodded in understanding, and watched him leave with a cold gaze.

Shan Yu already knew that it couldn't be the work of the Ghost-faced Judge, and he must have told the envoy his guess, but there was still someone who tried to pin the matter on him. The purpose of this person was obvious, which was to frame the Ghost-faced Judge.

The person who spread the news had a grudge against the Ghost-faced Judge and was most likely the person to whom he issued the judge's order.

Inside the palace, as soon as Lu Qingchen stepped into the hall, he felt several sharp gazes on his back. They were actually envoys from the Jie tribe.

At that time, they were arguing with each other until their faces were red and their words were exchanged. The air in the hall seemed to be ignited and extremely hot.

Sitting on the throne, the emperor's face was as gloomy as water, and his solemn expression seemed to be real. When people looked at him, they would feel a chill in their hearts and fear would arise spontaneously.

"Your Majesty, long live the Emperor."

"I love your life."

Glancing at Lu Qingchen, a gleam flashed in the emperor's eyes. He addressed the envoys, "Regarding the discovery of the remains of the Jie envoy and the crown prince within the territory of Longyuan, I have handed the case over to Marquis Xuanping for full authority. If you have any concerns, please feel free to consult him. I am confident that Marquis Xuanping will be able to provide you with a comprehensive and satisfactory response."

An envoy with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes suddenly turned his head to Lu Qingchen, a sarcastic smile on his lips, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, has Longyuan Kingdom become so talent-poor? Sending such a weak scholar to investigate an important case will only tarnish Longyuan Kingdom's reputation in the eyes of the world and bring ridicule."

The emperor's face suddenly turned as dark as ink, his lips were tightly pursed, and his clenched teeth seemed to be trying hard to suppress the anger surging in his heart.

Only then did Lu Qingchen slightly raise his eyes and look directly at the envoy. His eyes were as sharp as cold stars, and he carefully examined the envoy from head to toe.

Then he smacked his lips, uttered two contemptuous tuts, and said, "He looks so handsome, but he's actually a silver-plated wax spear."

"What do you mean?"

"It looks good but it's not useful."

Eunuch Wu couldn't hold back his laughter and burst out laughing.

This sudden laughter seemed to be contagious, and the corners of the emperor's mouth couldn't help but smile.

The envoy's hair stood on end with rage, his whole body was shaking, and the rage burning in his eyes seemed to want to devour Lu Qingchen.

He suddenly took a step forward and raised his hand to attack Lu Qingchen, but the more prestigious person next to him was quick-witted and grabbed him.

The man's eyes were cold, filled with warning: "Now guarding the emperor of Longyuan Kingdom, they must be extremely cautious in every move and must not act recklessly. But as long as he sets foot outside this place, even if he wants to do something to Lu Qingchen, no one will stop him."

The envoy understood and cast a provocative look at Lu Qingchen.

Lu Qingchen also observed the exchange between the two. He bowed to the emperor and apologized directly, "Your Majesty, if there is anything wrong with this, please forgive me."

Before the emperor could react, he saw a black shadow rushing past.

Immediately afterwards, there was a deafening "bang" and the envoy who had been shouting wantonly just now was like a kite with a broken string, and he was embedded straight into the dragon pillar and fainted in an instant.

There was dead silence all around, with only the lingering sound of sound revealing the thrilling incident that had just happened.

After a moment, the stunned envoy finally came to his senses. With his eyes wide open, he pointed at Lu Qingchen and cursed, "How dare you attack me in front of the emperor!"

Lu Qingchen, however, looked innocent and explained calmly, "Please calm down, my lord. I have just apologized to His Majesty."

Although the emperor was still shocked at this moment, he waved his hand, giving Lu Qingchen enough face, and said loudly: "Yes, my dear Lu has indeed apologized to me just now."

The envoy retorted unwillingly, "Your Majesty, what should be done about him assaulting the envoy?"

"When did I assault an envoy?"

He pointed at the envoy on the dragon pillar and asked sharply, "Isn't this evidence?"

Lu Qingchen hurriedly waved his hands, distancing himself from the matter, saying, "Don't talk nonsense! I just waved my hand casually, and he fainted out of shock. It has nothing to do with me."

"impossible."

"If you don't believe me, ask the imperial physician to come and see me."

The emperor immediately summoned the imperial physician, and after the efforts of seven or eight guards, they finally managed to remove the envoy from the dragon pillar. The physician then examined him and replied, "Your Majesty, this envoy has been severely frightened and has fainted."

"You're talking nonsense. Everyone saw that he beat you."

The imperial physician shook his head and said, "I can't be wrong. If you don't believe me, see for yourself."

After saying this, he took out a porcelain bottle, opened it, and shook it under the envoy's nose. The unconscious envoy actually opened his eyes, looked at everyone blankly, and asked, "What's wrong with me?"

The envoys were speechless, but most of them were terrified of Lu Qingchen's fighting power. He could beat a person so hard that he stuck him into a pillar, but the person was completely unharmed and just fainted from fright. How much internal strength does it take to be able to do that?

At this moment, they no longer dared to regard him as a weak scholar, and their attitude became humble.

"Your Majesty, we are willing to discuss the case of Crown Prince Shan Ji with Marquis Xuanping, and we only ask for your participation in the investigation."

"Of course, Marquis Xuanping, you must entertain the envoys well."

"The minister obeys the order."

There was a cold light in the emperor's eyes. He didn't expect that Lu Qingchen had such ability.

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