newbobooks Chapter 1630 Chu Shuxian and Huichen Confront Each Other
Chapter 1630 Chu Shuxian and Huichen Confront Each Other
His Majesty was truly enraged, and his patience had been exhausted by this scandal.
He must find the adulterer and produce conclusive evidence within ten days.
Otherwise, his head will really have to be moved!
After leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Li Changde began to sort out his thoughts.
Chu would rather die than confess; a confrontation might yield some results.
Feng appeared calm, but the calmer he was, the more suspicious he seemed. Therefore, they decided to increase manpower and keep a close watch on Ruixue Pavilion for twelve hours straight.
We need to send more capable and trustworthy people to Tao Shun's side. If necessary... we can use some extraordinary measures!
Li Changde decided to start with the Chu family and went straight to the secret room.
Chu Shuxian was half-carried, half-dragged by two expressionless eunuchs to a secret room next door.
In the past few days, she has come to understand many things.
The only way to protect Xingchen is to make His Majesty believe that Huichen is her lover!
But this is too difficult...
Directly pointing the finger at Huichen is utterly flawed. Even she herself doesn't believe it, let alone Li Changde and His Majesty?
Huichen would also desperately cry out for justice.
Therefore, acting is the only option!
The interrogator noticed something amiss and became suspicious, but couldn't find any concrete evidence against them.
In this way, they would feel that she was trying her best to protect Huichen, but also inadvertently revealing her true feelings.
Only in this way will Li Changde follow Huichen's lead in the investigation, and Xingchen will be safer.
Even if Huichen is ultimately proven innocent, it will take time. Perhaps... Xingchen already has a new way to deal with it.
Soon, Chu Shuxian was taken to the secret room next door.
Huichen was chained to a wooden stake, looking utterly wretched. His tattered monk's robe revealed festering wounds beneath, and his face was smeared with blood.
Chu Shuxian was led to the center of the room, a few steps away from Huichen.
The eunuch didn't care whether she could stand or not, and simply let go of her, letting her fall to the ground.
Li Changde did not appear.
But Chu Shuxian could sense that there were definitely many eyes in the shadows, watching her every move.
She looked up and saw Huichen on the wooden stake.
Chu Shuxian was initially quite bewildered, but then seemed to try to make sense of it, and her body suddenly trembled!
Then he quickly lowered his eyes, no longer looking at the people on the wooden frame, as if he didn't know them at all.
But the slight rise and fall of her chest and her rapid breathing betrayed her nervousness.
All of this was observed by Li Changde, who was hiding in the shadows.
Huichen had been looking down, but when she heard someone being brought in, she instinctively looked up.
In the dim light, he could only see a disheveled, emaciated woman sitting on the ground.
The other person was wearing clothes of indeterminate color, and their face was dirty. Only their eyes, when they looked up at him for a moment, shone with an astonishing brightness, before quickly lowering their head again.
Who is this?
A concubine in the palace? Or some palace maid?
The people interrogating him kept asking him if he had any special dealings with any woman in the palace.
Huichen suddenly realized, could this woman be the concubine with whom he had an affair?!
As if grasping at a straw, he struggled and lunged towards Chu Shuxian with a strength he didn't know he possessed, the iron chains binding him rattling: "This female benefactor, do you recognize this humble monk? Please speak for this humble monk, I am innocent!"
"This humble monk doesn't know you at all, much less have done those audacious things! I beg you, please speak the truth!"
Upon hearing Hui Chen's shout, Chu Shuxian pursed her lips tightly. This forceful restraint only served to highlight her inner excitement.
Anyone who saw this would think that Chu Shuxian and Huichen were very familiar with each other, but she was trying hard to pretend that she didn't know them.
Huichen became even more anxious.
What does it mean that this woman is not speaking?
Frightened?
"Female benefactor, please speak!"
"I am Huichen, the head of the Vinaya Academy at Fatu Temple! If you have ever been to the temple to burn incense, you may have seen me preach, but I have no connection with you whatsoever!"
"The crime of defiling the palace is too great for this humble monk to bear! Please, have mercy and explain yourself, we don't know each other, right?"
Chu Shuxian lowered her face even further, her disheveled hair covering most of her face, only her thin shoulders trembling slightly.
It sounded like she was sobbing.
It also seemed as if they were enduring something with great effort.
After a long pause, Chu Shuxian took a deep breath and said through tears, "Yes, we don't know each other... I don't know you..."
Upon hearing this, Huichen not only felt uneasy, but became even more flustered and angry!
The woman claimed she didn't know him, yet she appeared restrained and agitated. Didn't that make others think they had an affair?
He doesn't know her at all!
"Who are you?! Why are you trying to harm this humble monk?!"
Huichen struggled to lunge forward, but the iron chains remained taut: "This humble monk has no grudge against you, why do you want to frame me like this?!"
"Buddha is above, aren't you afraid of retribution?!"
Chu Shuxian raised her head and looked at Huichen again, her eyes becoming more complicated, with a flash of pain.
She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but in the end, she could only say through tears, "Huichen, I didn't hurt you, we really don't know each other..."
Immediately, Chu Shuxian seemed to have exhausted all her strength, her head tilted to the side and she fainted.
Two eunuchs immediately stepped forward, checked her breathing, and lifted her up.
Li Changde emerged from the shadows and said coldly, "Take her away and let the imperial physician examine her. Don't let her die."
"Yes!"
The eunuchs took the unconscious Chu Shuxian away.
Huichen cried out in despair, "It wasn't me! It really wasn't me!"
"Eunuch Li, you've arrested the wrong person! I don't know that woman at all!"
Li Changde looked at Huichen, his brows furrowing slightly.
He saw everything clearly from the shadows.
Chu's reaction was indeed suspicious.
Even though she kept saying she didn't know Huichen, her expression was unusual...
But Huichen's fear, grievance, and eagerness to clear her name didn't seem fake.
Was it because Ms. Chu's acting skills were too good, or was there another hidden story?
Li Changde said, "Huichen, you said you don't know her, so why did she react so evasively when she saw you?"
"How would I know!"
Huichen exclaimed excitedly, "Perhaps she has gone mad! Perhaps she has been instructed by someone to harm this humble monk!"
"Eunuch Li, your judgment is impeccable! This humble monk is truly innocent!"
"This humble monk may be greedy for money, but as for the matter of defiling the inner palace, even if I had a hundred lives, I would not dare to do it!"
"That woman...that woman must have been instructed by someone to frame this poor monk!"
Li Changde raised an eyebrow and said, "Who could possibly instruct a woman who would rather endure torture than confess to frame a monk like you?"
Huichen was speechless.
Yes, who could?
That woman also seemed to have suffered greatly, so why would she risk her life to frame him?
A thought flashed through his mind, and he quickly said, "This humble monk understands! She was protecting her lover!"
"Eunuch Li, you mustn't be fooled by that woman's reaction! Otherwise, wouldn't this humble monk become a scapegoat for that adulterous couple?!"