"Oh?" Ling Ruiying's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm on the surface.
Someone reported the imperial edict in front of the emperor, but he received no news at all. The only explanation is that it happened in such a hurry that the spy he arranged had not had time to react.
"I wonder who is slandering Quanzi?" Ling Ruiying looked at Zheng Binghong indifferently, "Prince-in-law, can you give me a face and let me go to the palace to see the emperor and explain to the emperor face to face?"
Ling Ruiying was very powerful in the court, so if it were someone else who led the search team, he wouldn't dare not deny it.
However, Zheng Binghong doesn’t accept this trick.
"Lord Ling, the emperor has issued an imperial edict for me to lead a search, and I have to complete this task. If nothing is found after the search, I will naturally ask Lord Ling to see the emperor."
Zheng Binghong was neither anxious nor slow, neither humble nor arrogant. He shouted loudly: "Come here, search."
With an order, the imperial troops rushed into the inner hall and garden.
Ling Ruiying was so angry that his face was livid, but he was helpless.
When Zheng Binghong saw this, he just snorted and walked towards the side room.
The imperial troops searched Ling Mansion for a whole hour, but found nothing.
Ling Ruiying looked at Zheng Binghong coldly and silently wrote down the account.
"Prince-in-law, no."
"Prince-in-law, I didn't find anything."
The imperial troops reported back one after another, and the proud look on Ling Ruiying's face became more and more obvious.
"Have every room been searched?" Zheng Binghong asked lightly.
The Imperial Guards looked at each other, hesitated for a while, and replied: "Also...the rooms of Lord Ling and Young Master Ling were not searched, and the subordinates and others..."
"Why not search?"
Zheng Binghong's face darkened and he looked towards Ling Ruiying. "Master Ling, do you mind if you let them go in and take a look?"
"Bang!"
Ling Ruiying slammed the teacup in his hand onto the ground, causing fragments to fly everywhere, causing silence in the hall.
"It's unreasonable. The best tea leaves are wasted by you pickled things." Ling Ruiying cursed at the servants beside him, "You entered the Ling Mansion and were well fed and well dressed, so you thought you were the best.
Are you human? You're not just like a dog that feeds on people."
Ling Ruiying's words were obviously referring to Sang and Huai. After hearing this, Zheng Binghong's subordinates wanted to come forward to argue, but Zheng Binghong calmly stopped him.
If he picks up the fight at this time, wouldn't it be insulting to others?
"Since Master Ling didn't answer, it means he acquiesced." Zheng Binghong winked at the imperial army, and the imperial army immediately rushed into Ling Ruiying's room.
Ling Ruiying's hands hidden in his sleeves clenched tightly into fists.
"father."
At this time, Ling Yuwen came back from outside and felt a little guilty when he saw the formation.
"Dad, what happened?"
"It's none of your business, get out." Ling Ruiying's sudden scolding made Ling Yuwen a little at a loss.
"father……"
"Prince-in-law, I found it."
Two imperial guards rushed in, holding a package with bellybands inside.
Ling Yuwen's expression suddenly changed and he looked at his father in panic.
"Prince-in-law, all these things were found from Mr. Ling's room."
"Master Ling, what's your explanation?"
Zheng Binghong had met Qin Liu in private before coming here, and knew that the room where Ling Yuwen lived when he was in Southeast Prefecture had a hidden compartment under the bed.
It is difficult for a person to change his living habits.
"I……"
"What do you want to explain?" Ling Ruiying interrupted Ling Yuwen's words and said first, "Prince-in-law, my son is unworthy and has some small weird habits. Although it is not elegant, it is not illegal."
Ling Ruiying walked up to Zheng Binghong and lowered his voice and said: "Please be patient and don't leak this matter. In fact, we are a family. If something happens to Yuwen, the eldest princess will feel uncomfortable.
Do you think so?"
"This... I'm afraid I can't make the decision anymore."
"Prince-in-law, with your abilities and talents, you can definitely stand on your own and make great achievements. When I find an opportunity to talk to the Queen Mother, I will let you go back to the battlefield to protect the family and the country. When the time comes, you won't have those villains gossiping behind your back.
Said you would only rely on women..."
Zheng Binghong laughed a few times, but suddenly his smile faded. "Come here, arrest Ling Yuwen and take him to see the Holy One."
"Wait a minute."
Ling Ruiying saw that Zheng Binghong didn't eat food or salt, and refused to eat anything soft or hard. His face turned red with anger, and his bright eyes were filled with murderous intent.
"Zheng Binghong, why do you arrest people? What do these bellybands mean?"
"Whether the problem can be explained, the emperor will judge for himself. Don't think that it is over once a person dies. Those girls are family members, and they will not fail to recognize these clothes. Killing to pay for life, Ling Yuwen deserves it. --- Take it away."
"Dad, save me...it's none of my business...Dad, save me quickly..."
The Forbidden Army rushed towards Ling Yuwen, but Ling Yuwen did not want to be captured without mercy, so he actually shook the Forbidden Army away, and a fight broke out in an instant.
Those imperial guards did not dare to make a fatal move, but Zheng Binghong was not afraid. He gathered his true energy in his palm and struck Ling Yuwen with a palm.
Ling Ruiying knew that his son could not avoid Zheng Binghong's palm force, so in desperation, he stood in the middle and exchanged another palm with Zheng Binghong.
"Zheng Binghong, don't bully others too much."
Zheng Binghong sneered and ordered: "Ling Yuwen refused to be arrested and resisted the order, and he will be killed without mercy.--Archer!"
Following Zheng Binghong's shout, the archers guarding outside the mansion immediately strung their bows and stood ready outside the door, on the roof and on the beams.
Ling Ruiying frowned and secretly screamed that something was wrong.
"stop."
Ling Ruiying suppressed the anger in his heart and said in a calm tone: "Prince-in-law, we are all our own people, there is no need to do things so absolutely, right?"
"I am also embarrassed by the Holy Will."
Ling Ruiying knew that it was impossible to get any advantage from Zheng Binghong.
He took a deep breath and slapped Ling Yuwen on the body.
Ling Yuwen was caught off guard and suddenly vomited a large mouthful of blood. "Dad..."
"I know full well that my son is innocent. Since the prince-in-law insists on wronging a good person, then you can just take him away. But I have something to say first. If someone deliberately makes things difficult, don't blame me for being rude."
Zheng Binghong didn't take Ling Ruiying's threat to heart at all.
Ling Ruiying was very smart and wounded his son to show his loyalty to the emperor. Moreover, Ling Yuwen was injured, so he could not be executed for the time being.
As long as Ling Yuwen doesn't talk nonsense, there is nothing he can do for the time being.
"Someone, take it away."
Zheng Binghong looked gloomy and returned to the palace to report back to the emperor.
Due to the seriousness of the case, the emperor immediately summoned important officials from the court, headed by Shangguan Yue, to supervise the joint trial of the three departments.
The victims' family members recognized that the bellybands found in Ling Yu's study room were the girls' underwear.
With all the personal and material evidence available, Ling Yuwen was sentenced to death by Shangguan Yue in court and sent to death row to await execution.