Only after being reborn did I realize that I was the white moonlight of a powerful minister.

Inside the main hall, Sun Hao presented all the evidence. "Your Majesty, I have been investigating for a day and a night. Although Xie Bohuai vehemently denies it, all the evidence points to him. Don't you think it's time for a conclusion?"

"Conclusion? Hmph."

The man in the hall had gray hair, but his eyes were still sharp. "Sun Hao, how do you want me to draw a conclusion? What crime should Xie Bohuai be charged with?"

“According to the laws of our dynasty, Xie Bohuai plotted to murder the imperial grandson and should be executed immediately!” Sun Hao said.

"I think you should be the one executed, you piece of trash!" The Emperor threw down the memorial in his hand, frightening everyone into kneeling on the ground. "If Xie Bohuai really wanted to kill Zhaoyun, he could have just done it. Why go through all this trouble and leave behind his token? Do you think Xie Bohuai's brain is useless? I may be old, but I'm not too senile. I'll give you another chance. If you can't find out who wanted Xie Bohuai dead and who killed Zhaoyun, then you can go and keep Zhaoyun company."

After listening to what he said, Sun Hao's back was soaked with sweat.

The Emperor actually trusts Xie Bohuai so much?

No wonder the master wanted Xie Bohuai dead; otherwise, with Xie Bohuai around, many things couldn't have been accomplished.

When Sun Hao left the palace, his forehead was still sweating.

"Isn't this Lord Sun?"

Sun Hao was lost in his own thoughts the whole way and didn't notice who was coming from ahead. When he looked up and saw that it was the Crown Prince and his entourage, he quickly bowed.

"You came from the Emperor's grandfather's place?" The Crown Prince and his brothers had just come out of the Imperial Academy.

"Yes, Your Highness." After standing up, Sun Hao glanced around discreetly. Apart from the Crown Prince, all the other princes were present.

Li Tao, the son of Prince Hui, was the first to step forward. "How's your investigation into my sister's matter going?"

"Your Highness, we did have some leads, but His Majesty still has doubts and we need to investigate further," Sun Hao said after much deliberation.

"What doubts does Grandfather have? Didn't you say that Xie Bohuai's letters have been found?" Li Tao was agitated. Just thinking about his sister being dismembered made him want to go to the prison to interrogate Xie Bohuai himself.

"Your Highness, I cannot say more before the matter is fully investigated." He would stop short of saying anything more; Sun Hao currently hoped that someone would make the first move.

Seeing that Li Tao was about to press for answers, the Crown Prince spoke up, "Grandfather has his own decision. Let Lord Sun go back first, so as not to delay his business."

"She's not your sister, so of course you don't care." Li Tao left these words behind and walked away angrily.

Seeing that Li Tao was so disrespectful to the Crown Prince, the others secretly observed the Crown Prince's expression, only to find that the Crown Prince did not take it to heart at all and generously told everyone to go back quickly.

After everyone dispersed, Sun Hao returned to the government office.

When his subordinates came to ask what to do, Sun Hao took a deep breath. What to do was not something he could decide.

Only after nightfall did Sun Hao dare to go to the agreed-upon place to wait for the others.

For the next two days, the capital was filled with fear. Those villains dared to kill even a princess, let alone ordinary people.

It wasn't until Sun Hao exposed the Huo family, a family that Xie Bohuai had investigated before and which had even been humiliated by Princess Zhaoyun, that things became clear. However, the Huo family was only distantly related to the Crown Prince's maternal family, so when the news reached the Ye residence, Ye Wanning was the first to breathe a sigh of relief.

She didn't understand the affairs of the imperial court, but she was glad that Xie Bohuai was alright.

She called her second brother over and said, "Lord Xie has been very kind to our family before. We also implicated him in the selection of the concubine. Second brother, take these ointments to visit him, but please don't say it was my idea."

“I know you handle things properly. You can think of things that your sister-in-law can’t.” In Ye Mingyue’s view, Ye Wanning always acts from the perspective of the Ye family, not for her own sake. “Many people wanted to see the drama surrounding Lord Xie. Now that he has been exonerated, many people are disappointed.”

Ye Mingyue went to the Xie residence with the gifts prepared by Ye Wanning.

However, he was stopped at the main gate of the Xie residence.

"What Ye family? Never even heard of them, yet they want to curry favor with our Third Master?" The gatekeeper said impatiently. "Our Third Master is the Commander of the Town Government. In just this one hour, no fewer than ten people have tried to visit him."

Ye Mingyue frowned. He thought that Xie Bohuai had been wronged, so it would have been better to enter through the main gate. Now that he had been driven away, he felt that the Xie family was looking down on people. He went around to the small door that Xie Bohuai had opened himself before he finally saw Xie Bohuai.

He had assumed Xie Bohuai would be lying down to recuperate, but when he entered the room, Xie Bohuai was already sitting and reading a book.

"Lord Xie?" Ye Mingyue thought he had misread the words.

Xie Bohuai had tea served, saying, "It's just some minor injury, nothing serious. Thank you for coming."

Skin and flesh wounds? Ye Mingyue thought to himself that someone who could become the commander of the town government was indeed different. He had never been to the Heavenly Prison, but he knew how terrible the punishments there were.

After sitting down and taking a sip of tea, Ye Mingyue had just taken out the plasters and other items when Xie Bohuai had someone bring out the congratulatory gifts.

"I've been busy these past few days and missed Brother Ye's wedding banquet. I wanted to have someone deliver it to the Ye family, but I'm in the spotlight right now, and I'm afraid of causing trouble for the Ye family." Xie Bohuai smiled. He knew perfectly well who was genuinely visiting and who was just trying to curry favor.

As he spoke, Xie Bohuai looked at the letter in his hand.

Ye Mingyue smiled and said, "Our Ye family is open and honest, and we have nothing to fear. I came to visit you because I get along well with Lord Xie. As for other matters, I don't know anything about them. As Lord Xie knows, I don't like to pay attention to official matters."

The fact that Xie Bohuai was able to find a shop shows that he was aware of his situation.

Xie Bohuai put down the letter in his hand. The movement of reaching out aggravated the wound on his body, but he didn't even flinch. "Indeed, Brother Ye, you don't need to call me 'Master' anymore. You are a year older than me, so just call me by my nickname, Ziqian."

Most people wouldn't have dared to call Xie Bohuai by his nickname, but Ye Mingyue was different. He didn't see many vested interests in Xie Bohuai; he simply thought Xie Bohuai was a good person and responded with a smile.

Knowing that Xie Bohuai was very busy, Ye Mingyue left after sitting for a while.

Xie Bohuai summoned a servant to inquire at the main gate. They learned that Ye Mingyue had indeed been to the main gate but had been driven out. "Go find the steward of the Xie family. I don't care which branch of the family this gatekeeper belongs to. He is not allowed to appear at the Xie residence again, or I will deal with him as well."

After giving his instructions, Xie Bohuai went to see Qingshan and Shuyan.

They lay on the bed, Qingshan being particularly ill. "Sir, I'm fine, I'll be alright in a few days."

Xie Bohuai looked at Qingshan's ten fingers, which were covered in bruises from the use of a clamp and were trembling. "Take good care of them and don't worry about anything else."

"My lord, I..." Shu Yan was weak and pale, barely breathing. "I'm in so much pain. If you get the chance, don't let that bastard surnamed Sun get away with it. Knowing we won't say anything, beat us to death."

In holding grudges, Shu Yan is like Xie Bohuai.

"Okay, I understand." Xie Bohuai left the room and asked someone to give Qingshan and the other two the best medicine. It was also time for his own dressing to be changed.

When the gauze was removed, both layers underneath were covered in blood, but Xie Bohuai didn't even flinch.

Just then, someone came to deliver a message that Lord Sun had arrived.