Dongfang Xun chuckled self-deprecatingly; he had misjudged people's hearts!
"Brother, the cannon's disappearance is the guards' doing. The longer it drags on, the worse it will be for you. You can't just sit here in this dark and damp prison and wait to die," Shen Lixue gently advised.
"I understand." Having figured out all the details, even if Shen Lixue didn't say anything, Dongfang Xun was ready to unravel the mystery. He looked up at the iron bars, the self-mockery and bitterness in his eyes all gone, replaced by a misty haze: "Warden, report to the Minister of Justice that I, the young master, know why the cannons have turned into scrap metal."
“No need to report.” A middle-aged man in official robes walked over slowly. He wore an official hat, had a calm face, and sharp eyes. He was clearly a shrewd person. “Your Highness, Prince An, Princess An, I am here on the orders of the Emperor to preside over the case of the cannon turning into scrap metal. I did not mean to eavesdrop on your conversation just now.”
"It's alright. Your Excellency is only thinking of Qingyan. The cannon's disappearance is a matter of great importance. If it falls into the hands of evildoers, many Qingyan citizens will surely be injured." Dongfang Heng looked calmly at the Minister of Justice: "When does Your Excellency plan to hold court to hear the case?"
"Right now." The Minister of Justice's eyes were sharp and his tone firm. Having found a clue, he wanted to strike while the iron was hot and find the mastermind behind the trouble: "Guards, take all the guards who escorted the cannon to the main hall."
The cannons were turned into scrap metal. Dongfang Xun was arrested for his incompetence, and the guards were naturally imprisoned as well. If they wanted to be tried, they could simply be taken to court, which was very convenient.
Dongfang Xun also left the prison, followed by two guards. Shen Lixue gently took Dongfang Heng's arm and walked slowly behind him, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Dongfang Heng and Dongfang Xun were both unparalleled masters with keen hearing. How could they not know that someone was eavesdropping nearby? Those words were not only true, but also deliberately spoken for the Minister of Justice to hear, so that he would have a specific target when interrogating the case.
The cannon is sturdy in design and complex in principle. Only a few have been built in the world. If one were to possess one and place it at the border, it could fire at long range. If used properly, it could rout the enemy. However, if the enemy were to use it against them, it could leave one's own side in a sorry state.
The Minister of Justice knew the seriousness of the matter and that the sooner the case was investigated and the cannon was found, the less danger the capital would be in. Therefore, he quickly brought the guards into the courtroom.
Forty guards stood in four rows in the center of the hall, heads slightly bowed, without uttering a word.
Minister Ma of the Ministry of Justice slammed his gavel and asked, "Young Master Xun, are the guards standing below the court the ones you took to Yunnan to escort the cannons?"
Dongfang Xun stood at the front of the hall, looking calmly at the guards below: "It is them, forty guards, not one missing." The two cannons were covered with cloth, so from a distance they looked like ordinary merchants transporting goods. The forty guards were dressed plainly and would not attract attention.
"A perfectly good cannon turned into scrap metal, must have been switched out. You forty men took turns on night watch every night, and didn't you notice anything unusual?" Dongfang Xun's gentle gaze swept over the faces of the guards, a hint of sharpness in his eyes. "Or perhaps you slacked off on night watch and slept, and the cannon was quietly replaced?"
The guards exchanged glances, and a man who seemed to be the leader stepped forward, clasped his hands, and said, "Your Highness, we swear on our lives that we were diligent and conscientious in our duties, guarding the cannon the whole time. We absolutely did not slack off or sleep. Could the cannon have turned into scrap metal because it was shattered by someone using internal force?"
That pile of scrap metal was so badly damaged that it couldn't be pieced together at all, and nobody could tell whether it was actually fragments of a cannon.
“Absolutely impossible.” Dongfang Xun rejected it outright: “I live right next to the cannon. If it were destroyed, I would definitely hear it.”
The head guard, Chen Liang, frowned and said loudly, "Your Highness, if I may be so bold as to ask, there must have been some unusual noises when the cannons were switched. How come you didn't notice?"
“The guards are on duty in groups of five. In the long night, those five people in the room not only stare at the cannon, but also chat occasionally and spar with each other. If the five of them collude and use such noise as cover to quietly switch the cannon, I, the young master, will not be able to detect it.”
Dongfang Xun was separated from the cannon by a wall and could not see the real situation. He could only judge what the guards were doing with the cannon by the sounds coming from next door. He had no idea that they had tampered with the cannon and replaced it.
“Your Highness, it’s possible for one person to have ulterior motives, and it’s also possible for two people to have ulterior motives, but it’s unlikely that five people would have ulterior motives together.” Chen Liang frowned. It was too unbelievable that five people could be bribed at once.
"If it were impossible, the cannons wouldn't have been lost." Dongfang Xun looked calmly at the guards: "The last time I saw the cannons was on our last night outside the capital, in Taiyuan, five hundred miles away. Who was on night duty that night?"
"If it were impossible, the cannons wouldn't have been lost." Dongfang Xun looked calmly at the guards: "The last time I saw the cannons was on our last night outside the capital, in Taiyuan, five hundred miles away. Who was on night duty that night?"
---Aside---
~（>_<）~ My head is throbbing with anxiety. I'll stop here for today and resume 10,000-word updates tomorrow. The story is nearing its end. Once I've dealt with all the scum from Qingyan, it will be finished. I don't know the exact number of chapters yet...
For those of you who want the story to end, please don't rush me. I will give the story a perfect ending and don't want it to end badly. It will naturally end after I've dealt with all the bad guys.
Chapter 192: Catching the Scumbag
The fact that all the guards denied it did not mean he was helpless or unable to think of a solution.
Dongfang Xun's gaze, though gentle, held an indescribable chill, revealing the arrogance and nobility of the Holy King's heir.
Unable to withstand his gaze, ten guards slowly stepped forward and stood at the front of the group: "It is your humble servant!"
The weather was cold and the night was long. To ensure that the guards of the cannons had enough energy, Dongfang Xun ordered his guards to work in two shifts each night, with five guards on duty for the first and second half of the night.
"Did anything unusual happen while you were guarding the cannon?" The last two teams of guards came into contact with the cannon, and one of them must be the problem.
Chen Liang, the head of the guards, stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Highness, we kept a close eye on the cannons while we were on guard, and there were no problems."
Dongfang Xun gave a nonchalant reply, then looked up at another group of guards. The five men quickly lowered their heads and said in unison, "We were also keeping a close eye on the cannons, and nothing unusual happened." The cannons had turned into scrap metal; it was truly unbelievable!
Deep within Dongfang Xun's gentle eyes, a cold glint flickered: colluding with outsiders to steal the imperial cannons was a capital offense, punishable by death. Even he wouldn't admit it.
"Lord Ma, these ten guards can be taken out and beheaded."
Dongfang Xun's casual words struck like a thunderbolt, leaving the guards stunned for a long time. Beheading? How could he be sentenced to beheading?
“Your Highness, the cannon is missing. You must give the Emperor an explanation. You can lead people to investigate the matter carefully and recover the cannon. We were derelict in our duty and failed to protect the cannon, but our crime does not warrant death. Killing us to make an explanation is a disregard for human life.”
A guard named Wang Jing looked at Dongfang Xun with a deep anger in his eyes. Since he was going to die anyway, he had nothing to fear. If he fought, there was still a glimmer of hope. If he remained silent, he would really be beheaded.
"I killed you all for your own good," Dongfang Xun said calmly, his voice indifferent.
"For our own good?" Wang Jing's eyes were full of mockery: "As the heir of the Holy King's Mansion, you want to cover up your mistakes by indiscriminately killing us innocent guards? You want to make our families lose loved ones and be condemned and cursed by others? Is that for our own good?"
The guards' gazes towards Dongfang Xun also carried a hidden anger. The cannon was lost, and instead of trying to find it, Dongfang Xun wanted to kill them to explain to the emperor. He was truly cunning and unreasonable.
Dongfang Xun raised an eyebrow. This guard was clever; he had easily provoked the other guards to hostility towards him. Ten guards united were indeed more powerful than a single one confronting him.
Wang Jing's dark gaze swept over the furious guards. They were of one mind with him and did not want to be killed innocently. With nine guards secretly supporting him, his confidence suddenly increased. His gaze returned to Dongfang Xun: "Your Highness, you were responsible for escorting the cannon. If the cannon goes missing, you will receive the heaviest punishment."
Dongfang Xun looked at Wang Jing calmly: "Are you trying to say that I killed you all to shirk my responsibility?"
Wang Jing remained silent, but the sharpness and anger surging in his eyes seemed to say, "Isn't that right?"
"The cannon was switched out, and I and you all bear an inescapable responsibility. If it falls into the wrong hands and is used to attack the capital, countless civilians and guards will die, and our crime will no longer be a simple dereliction of duty."
“In a fit of anger, the Emperor will surely have us beheaded and displayed to the public. At that time, we will be criminals, and our whole families will suffer as well. It would be better to take the initiative to admit our mistakes and commit suicide before things get out of hand. This way, we can protect our families and also gain a good reputation for being loyal to the country and courageous in admitting our mistakes.”
Dongfang Xun's slightly cold gaze swept over the ten guards. His tone was indifferent, yet every word was profound, startling the guards. They had always thought this was merely a simple dereliction of duty, at most resulting in the dismissal of their guard positions and demotion to commoners.