She mumbled, “I was threatened before, so I lied to you. Later, when I accused Grand Minister Cen and Prince Ning, it was for the same reason.”
“Who threatened you?!” I finally lost control and rushed in front of her, asking sternly.
“I, I don’t know,” she hesitated, timidly glancing at me. “It was a prison guard.”
“A prison guard threatened you?” I was furious.
“Enough, take her away,” Emperor Hong waved his hand. “A Yao, let me explain.”
An ordinary prison guard had taken the personal item of the High Priest’s loved one, threatening her with his life to lie to me, and then forcing her to testify against Grand Minister Cen and Prince Ning. Emperor Hong had the man transferred from the prison and arranged a meeting, which finally made her tell the truth.
“If you still don’t believe, I can have that subordinate of Grand Minister Cen brought over for a confrontation.”
I felt a chill, like a cold wind blowing over me after sweating, causing waves of trembling.
The familiar method suddenly reminded me of the impersonation case in Qi Kingdom years ago, when the Ministry of Personnel official changed his testimony after talking to An Jin once. Although I didn’t want to admit it, I could no longer deceive myself.
Emperor Hong looked at me with compassion. “Whose man this prison guard is, I need not say more. A Yao, think about it yourself.”
At that time, I thought, since you’ve already discovered something, rather than letting you worry, I might as well tell you the truth.” He held me in his arms, patting me intermittently. “Anyway, you would find out someday.”
“Then why didn’t you just make up some excuse to fool me?”
“I don’t want to lie to you, not even a little bit.” He suddenly fell silent.
I emerged from his embrace, sat up straight, and stared into his eyes. “Brother Jin, you will never lie to me, right?”
He was stunned and did not answer for a long time.
I persistently looked into his eyes, determined to get an answer.
Finally, he lowered his head and murmured, “I’m sorry, A Yao. I did indeed lie to you.”
