Chapter 194: Chapter 193: Inexpensive"Enough nonsense!" Sёar?h the N?velFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
He Ying’s voice harshly interrupted her manic raving, "Drag her out! Beat her to death with sticks!"
"Wait—"
Sang Yan stopped him, turning to Hong Zhao: "No matter what you’ve been through, it’s no excuse for causing chaos and harming others. Hong Zhao, you are a citizen of He Country, do you realize what your actions mean to He Country? You are a traitor! Even in death, you will be cursed by others!"
"Don’t school me with these cheap morals!"
Hong Zhao scoffed with disdain: "I’m not as great and selfless as you! Whoever treats me badly, I will pay them back tenfold! I, Hong Zhao, can only be let down by the world; I cannot be let down by others!"
Sang Yan: "..."
Her mentality was just like that man surnamed Cao.
She was so angered she couldn’t speak.
Hong Zhao was still laughing: "He Ying, kill me! Cough, cough, cough! Along with the entire He Family! If you don’t kill them, you’re nothing but a spineless Emperor!"
She hated the He Family!
Without a doubt!
She even felt that her actions were in revenge against the He Family.
So, what had the He Family done?
Upon this thought, Sang Yan turned to He Ying: "First, send someone to investigate the He Family."
"Even if the He Family has wronged her, it’s no excuse for her treason," said He Ying coldly, his eyes filled with unyielding killing intent. "Ah Yan, she’s a woman who must die."
Sang Yan did not try to persuade him but simply said, "We still need to know the root cause. Understand the reasons behind it to prevent future issues."
He Ying understood this reasoning and, after a moment of thought, nodded: "I’ll listen to you."
He turned his head to Pei Muyang and started to issue an order: "Summon Gao Wenliang over."
Then he had the Guard Captain Lu Zijin come in: "Take her away. Interrogate her thoroughly. See if she has any other schemes with Qi Wuya!"
Listening to the order and looking at the woman on the verge of death on the ground, Lu Zijin was troubled: This woman’s half-dead already, how can she be interrogated thoroughly? She’s likely to die before even being tortured!
Of course, while he thought so inwardly, he responded outwardly with a "Yes."
He walked over, and seeing her lying on the ground, frail and small, he wasn’t keen on dragging her off – afraid that it might kill her.
"Hey, can you even get up?"
He truly wasn’t being chivalrous.
A woman who conspired to harm the Emperor didn’t deserve such consideration.
He truly was afraid to drag her to her death!
Yet He Ying wished she could be dragged to death: "What are you waiting for? Drag her away!"
"Cough, cough, cough—"
Hong Zhao coughed again, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
Seeing her like this, Lu Zijin simply couldn’t lay hands on her and had to look to Sang Yan for help: "Lady, what should we do?"
Sang Yan glanced at the wheelchair and gestured: "Put her in the wheelchair and take her away."
"Yes!"
Lu Zijin immediately complied.
When he bent down to lift her up, he realized she was as light and delicate as paper, and her body was chillingly cold, which was frightening.
Thinking of the acts she had committed, she truly lived up to the name of a femme fatale.
Lu Zijin frowned, placed her in the wheelchair, and then pushed her out.
After they left, the room fell silent.
But the silence only lasted a brief moment.
Imperial Doctor Liu spoke up hesitantly: "This humble servant heard that the He family is obsessed with medical practices. Outwardly, they practice medicine and save lives, performing good deeds, but inwardly, they have a relentless preference for sons over daughters. Daughters who are not favored by their parents are used for medical experiments... This humble servant thought it was just a rumor, but now it seems... especially considering Hong Zhao’s physical condition..."
He didn’t finish his thought.
Looking at the woman’s frail body, it was clear she was extremely weak, a sure sign of an early demise.
"That’s actually true?"
Sang Yan felt a chill run through her upon hearing the words "medical experiments."
Such darkness and cruelty!
She remembered having asked Hong Zhao why her body was so weak.
Back then, she said she was naturally frail, but it turned out she was harmed by her own parents?
A child not loved by her parents, who else could she be expected to love?
No wonder she was so cynical about the world!
"Don’t sympathize with her!"
He Ying saw the softness in Sang Yan’s heart and coldly said: "Indeed, she is pitiable, but that doesn’t excuse the odiousness of her actions! And besides, it might not even be true!"
He believed that even a tiger wouldn’t eat its offspring.
It’s not certain that the He family parents would do such a thing.
Even if they did, he could not forgive her!
Hearing this, Sang Yan frowned and asked, "If it’s true, how do you plan to deal with her?"
If it had been before, she would feel Hong Zhao deserved to die.
But after hearing Imperial Doctor Liu’s words just now, a trace of reluctance surfaced in her heart: perhaps Hong Zhao was just a child lacking love. Was she deceived by Qi Wuya because she was at an age where she lacked love and warmth, which led her to make mistakes?
He Ying caught the reluctance in her eyes and pondered for a moment, explaining the consequences: "Ah Yan, a healer should have a compassionate heart. With her medical skills, she should have been hanging a shingle to save the world, bringing benefits to the people. Yet as a healer, she allowed herself to be used by someone as sinister and cunning as Qi Wuya. If I let her go today, with her capabilities, and if she were to join hands with Qi Wuya again, who knows what kind of atrocities she could commit?"
Had he not been on his guard, Hong Zhao could have invisibly ended the future of Da He.
Even if she did not succeed now, what about later?
"She’s alive, and she’s a disaster!"
He Ying’s gaze was fierce, and he emphasized his tone, "Think about Jiang Ke. Didn’t Qi Wuya kill him because he wouldn’t serve him, making him an enemy? And one must never be soft on an enemy."
Sang Yan fell silent and couldn’t speak for a long time.
Every time she thought of Jiang Ke, she hated Qi Wuya even more, and yet, Hong Zhao happened to be in the same boat with him!
She really couldn’t save her.
Hong Zhao’s crazed demeanor just now was no different from Qi Wuya.
It was no wonder the two could collude so disgracefully.
She couldn’t gamble with He Country.
But...
"Xinyuan, can you?"
"I’ll leave her with some dignity."
He Ying knew what she was thinking and embraced her, gently comforting her, "Ah Yan, don’t blame yourself anymore."
Seeing this, Imperial Doctor Liu silently withdrew.
Sang Yan buried her head in He Ying’s embrace, feeling a wave of helplessness inside, "I almost put you in danger."
Initially, she was solely focused on finding an antidote, even with extra caution, she was still somewhat eager for quick success and let something slip through, giving someone an opening.
"If you were too clever, what use would there be for your husband?"
He Ying teased her, trying to cheer her up.
Sang Yan actually laughed, playfully slapping him lightly, "Stop being so slick with your words! In the future, if anything happens, spit spit spit, anyways you can’t keep things from me anymore."
If she hadn’t been extra cautious and found an excuse to leave and then eavesdrop outside, who knows when she would have found out.
That’s just the way he was, always considering her feelings in everything he did.
"Alright, I won’t keep things from you in the future."
He Ying kissed her hair, making a promise.
"Cough cough—"
Gao Wenliang coughed twice at the door, drawing the attention of those inside.
He was called over because the Emperor urgently summoned him!
But upon arrival, he saw the two entwined in affection, unsure whether to enter or leave.
At this moment, He Ying saw him and recalling the pressing matters at hand, waved him in.
"What has the Emperor ordered?"
"Hong Zhao attempted to assassinate me, and the evidence is conclusive. You are to thoroughly investigate the He Family now. I have heard that the He Family conducts medical research in secret, using human bodies for experiments."
"How... how could this be?"
Gao Wenliang, thinking of the He Family’s good reputation, was full of disbelief.
He Ying didn’t say much, only ordered, "Go investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Go now!"
Gao Wenliang dared not say more, hurriedly acknowledging with "Yes."
He had come in a hurry and left in a hurry.
His efficiency in handling matters was, indeed, high.
With the help of Hong Zhao’s confession, within two days, they had uncovered the crimes committed by the He Family.
It turned out the He Family parents had three daughters and one son. Apart from the youngest son, He Fengyang, who grew up healthy, the eldest daughter He Hongni was "born blind" and died from a "fall" at the age of four, the second daughter He Hongzhu was "born mute," and after being "abused," she "drowned herself" at the age of eight.
The youngest daughter was He Hongzhao.
She was "born with a frail constitution," yet was a medical genius. Thus, she lived through hardships until she was sixteen, and then retired to Cangcui Mountain...
Sang Yan looked at the beautified "testimony" and went to the South Courtyard where Hong Zhao was held.
Outside the South Courtyard
stood numerous guards.
Leading them was Lu Zijin.
Upon seeing Sang Yan approach, he quickly came forward, "Greetings to the Empress—"
"I’m going to see her."
Sang Yan glanced at the courtyard.
In the bamboo basket were dried herbs that had not been put away.
The faint scent of the medicine entered her nostrils.
Everything was set up exactly as it had been a few days before.
Yet everything and everyone had changed.
"Your Majesty, are you going in alone?"
Lu Zijin was in a difficult position: "He Hongzhao’s maid is missing, and I am questioning her."
"It’s alright."
Sang Yan reassured him, "There won’t be any trouble."
He Hongzhao’s frail body was not a pretense.
Moreover, she was clear that if He Hongzhao had wanted to harm her, she would not have waited until today.
After some thought, Lu Zijin, knowing Sang Yan’s temperament, made way for her and reminded her, "Then Your Majesty, please be quick with your words. I’ll be right outside the door. You just call, and I will rush in!"
Sang Yan nodded and then pushed the door open and entered.
He Hongzhao was sitting on the couch, as if nothing had happened, peeling seeds and teasing a Snow Monkey.
The flickering candlelight next to her cast a quiet, beautiful reflection on her pale face, giving the false impression of peaceful times.
"You’re here."
Hearing the sound, He Hongzhao looked up and smiled at Sang Yan, "I thought the Empress wouldn’t come to see me."