In the dark torture chamber, Xue Ru was tied to a torture instrument and was dying.
Those imperial troops were all subordinates of Yu Chong, and they hated her as an assassin. Although they did not use torture, the dragging along the way was enough for her to drink.
Her injuries were not healed, and she was tortured all the way again. The only reason she could hold on until now was because of her hatred for Xu Yin.
At this point, how could Xue Ru not guess that she was being plotted against?
From the moment she stepped into the restaurant, she fell into a trap and became a scapegoat!
The worst thing is that the master was also implicated. Thinking of King Duan's appearance at that time, Xue Ru felt despair. She wanted to find Xu San's excuse so that she could return to the master, but she didn't expect...the master must hate her to death, right?
The sound of chains being pulled was heard outside the door, and Xue Ru reluctantly raised her head.
When she saw King Duan's figure, her eyes suddenly widened in surprise.
"Master..." She was so excited that she wanted to shout out, but unfortunately her voice was mute and she could only make a low voice.
When King Duan walked in, a jailer immediately brought a chair over and asked him to sit down.
The Minister of Dali Temple followed him with a respectful attitude.
This made Xue Ru very happy and asked expectantly: "Master, are you okay?"
Seeing her unkempt appearance, King Duan felt disgusted and asked coldly: "Tell me! How did you survive? Who saved you?"
Seeing his suspicious eyes, Xue Ru knew that he had misunderstood and hurriedly said: "Master, no one else saved me. I took medicine in advance and knocked the dagger crooked, so I saved my life."
But King Duan scolded: "Nonsense! You are locked up, how can you have a chance to take medicine?"
"Really!" Xue Ru explained hurriedly, "My master ordered me to get close to Yu Chong. He was very skilled in martial arts and very suspicious. His subordinates were afraid that they would be killed by him if they failed in their mission, so they hid the medicine in their ears, so they were not searched when they were grounded."
Let’s go. That day, I saw that the guard guarding me didn’t look right, so I thought something might happen, so I took the medicine first..."
What she said was so detailed that King Duan couldn't help but believe it. Is there really no mastermind behind this woman? But she was really a pawn to frame him!
"Master!"
The person behind this, please come back to you. Master, you must believe in Ru'er..."
She cried repeatedly, saying that she was sincere and willing to do everything for him. King Duan's head was pounding after hearing this, and he signaled to the minister of Dali Temple to come over.
"What else can anyone say?" he asked.
The other party replied in a low voice: "It's almost the same as what she said. I judge that it should be the truth."
Prince Duan nodded, barely suppressing the anger in his heart: "Okay, okay, I believe in you."
"Really?" Xue Ru looked surprised.
Prince Duan endured his nausea and acted calmly as usual: "Well. Please explain clearly why you were taken advantage of again this time."
Xue Ru couldn't help but smile, and then thought of her master's situation, her hatred for Xu Yin surged up, and she quickly complained: "Master, it was Xu San who did it! I saw her sneak out of Daguangming Temple and enter the restaurant, so I followed her
When I went in, I didn’t expect that…”
She also said the same thing before she "died" last time. At that time, King Duan didn't believe it because there was no evidence at all. It was all Xue Ru's unilateral imagination. But this time she said she had seen it, and King Duan asked: "Are you sure?
Did you see her? Is it absolutely true? What did she do then? Did you see her enter the room? When did she leave?"
Xue Ru was very sure: "I saw it! Although she was wearing a curtain hat, I recognized her at a glance! I watched her go up to the third floor, and then..."
After hearing what she said, King Duan couldn't help but frown: "You didn't see the face, you didn't see her enter that room, and you didn't see her leave from there. How are you sure it was her who did it?"
Xue Ru was anxious: "Master, what Xu San is best at is archery! She can pierce the Yangtze at a hundred steps. Who else can kill with a powerful crossbow besides her?"
King Duan said coldly: "There are many sharp archers in the army, so the assassination requires a rich lady like her to do it herself? Otherwise, why would Your Majesty doubt Duke Zhao? The second son of the Yan family never left during the whole process."
He felt that Xue Ruzhen had a bad head and actually regarded Miss Xu San as someone like her. Even if the Xu family was not powerful enough, she was still the master and had her own subordinates to work for her. There was no need to take risks herself, which would arouse suspicion.
?
However, the information Xue Ru provided this time was indeed suspicious, and he had to investigate it carefully.
After asking the question, King Duan stood up.
Xue Ru quickly shouted: "Master! Can I..."
Seeing her expectant look, King Duan was not moved at all. Instead, he wanted to laugh: "Do you want to return to me?"
Xue Ru felt a little guilty when he smiled: "...Yes."
King Duan had lost all his patience and said coldly: "You have trapped me to death over and over again, and then brought you back. Do I think you have a long life?"
Xue Ru was stunned: "Master..."
Prince Duan was too lazy to say anything more, so he winked at the minister of Dali Temple and went out.
The minister of Dali Temple looked at Xue Ru as if he were looking at a dead person, and said to the jailer: "The female prisoner was seriously injured. She could not survive the torture and died."
Xue Ru was horrified and shouted: "You want to kill people and silence them? No! I... um..."
Before she could finish her words, she was gagged by the vicious jailer.
The jailer took off the torture instruments on the wall and pulled them towards her with a grin.
The spiked whip hit her hard, causing excruciating pain. The old wounds on her body were torn open, and the blood flowed uncontrollably.
Xue Ru struggled desperately at first, hoping that King Duan would come back to save her.
But in the end, it didn't happen. The blood flowed more and more, and her consciousness became more and more hazy. In the end, only the cold shadow of the iron door was reflected in her pupils.
Master...why...
Vague thoughts flashed through her mind, and then she stopped moving.
The jailer beat him for a while, breathed, and nodded to the Minister of Dali Temple.
The minister of Dali Temple exhaled and went out to report to King Duan.
"Gone."
King Duan was relieved. Xue Ru knew too many secrets about him, so it would be better for him to die.
"Your Majesty, there is another person who you would like to ask personally?" the Minister of Dali Temple asked for instructions.
King Duan waved his hand: "Go ahead and ask!"
"yes."
The minister of Dali Temple called his subordinates, took Prince Duan back to his cell, and went to the execution room next door.
In just one cup of tea, he returned to his cell.
"Qin Jiu said that they did see a girl entering the restaurant, but they didn't see her face. He judged it based on her figure. Xue Ru insisted that it was Miss Xu San, so he didn't doubt it. He never saw that girl again after that.
She’s a girl, I don’t know which room on the third floor she is in, or when she left.”
King Duan frowned deeply. This little evidence was not enough to confirm that it was Miss Xu San. He was already in prison. He must accurately catch the person behind the scenes to have any chance of clearing his name.
"Do you think it's possible?" he asked.
The minister of Dali Temple considered it carefully and said: "I think that the Xu family may not have the energy. With this method of concealing others' information, the other party already has a strong foundation in the capital."
King Duan nodded: "Xu Huan is a small governor of Nanyuan. He had no influence in the capital before. Only the Duke of Zhao, which has been in business for a long time, can achieve such a situation."
The Minister of Dali Temple said yes, and added: "However, there seemed to be ambiguity between the two families before, and the Xu family may have helped."
King Duan thought for a moment and then ordered: "Send a message and ask him to check the Duke Zhao's mansion, and then send someone to find out whether Miss Xu San was in the Daguangming Temple that day."