"Lei Hong!" Shen Minghui roared, lunging at Lei Hong. This secret must not be revealed, absolutely not.
Lei Hong didn't even glance at him. He suddenly extended his longsword, and the sharp tip pierced Shen Minghui's shoulder. The blade went in from the front and came out from the back, and blood instantly soaked his clothes.
Shen Lixue remained unfazed, coldly observing Shen Minghui's near-death struggle.
Lei Hong raised an eyebrow, abruptly drawing his longsword back. Instantly, blood splattered: "No wonder they're father and daughter, both cold-hearted and ruthless. Back then, when Shen Minghui took the poison, killed Prince Liang, and framed Duke Wu, he was just as expressionless..."
Shen Lixue's cold gaze, sharp as a blade, suddenly shot towards Shen Minghui: "You're the one who killed Prince Liang?"
"No...it wasn't me..." Shen Minghui clutched his wound, staggering backward, his face deathly pale, his eyes burning with fury as he looked at Lei Hong: "He gave me the poison!"
Lei Hong scoffed disdainfully: "I only provided the poison; you're the one who might actually poison people!"
Shen Minghui glared at Lei Hong, gritting his teeth: "You clearly said that the poison wouldn't be fatal, that it would only hurt for an hour, and that taking the antidote would make everything alright..."
Lei Hong snorted and said disdainfully, "It was your own doing to want a promotion and make a fortune. You overestimated yourself and tried to use a clever scheme to become the benefactor of the King of Liang. You deserve to be fooled. You made a fool of yourself and pushed your father-in-law to take the blame for you!"
Shen Minghui clenched his fists tightly, gritting his teeth: "Lei Hong, everything was planned by you long ago. You conspired to get rid of the Duke of Wu. You've been plotting for a long time. Even without me, you would have found other ways to kill him!"
"Shen Minghui, if you hadn't poisoned Prince Liang, he wouldn't have died, and we wouldn't have had to kill Duke Wu to take the blame for you. In the end, it was you who killed Duke Wu!" Lei Hong continued his taunts without changing his expression.
"Tsk tsk, that was your own father-in-law! His smart and beautiful daughter even bore you a child, and you didn't hesitate to kill this meritorious official to save your own life..."
"How did you kill my grandfather?" Shen Lixue stared coldly at Lei Hong and Shen Minghui, who were glaring at her. The Duke of Wu was highly skilled in martial arts. If someone wanted to harm him, he would definitely fight back, and there would definitely be sounds of fighting. But according to the War King, the ministers at the Duke of Wen's mansion that day only heard the sound of a fierce argument.
Lei Hong smiled strangely, glancing at Shen Minghui, whose face was ashen, his eyes filled with smugness: "The Duke of Wu is highly skilled in martial arts, possesses profound inner strength, and has excellent insight. We tried many methods, but none could eliminate him perfectly, until your father mentioned unintentionally that the Duke of Wu was seriously injured on the battlefield when he was young and has a hidden ailment, always carrying medicine with him..."
Shen Lixue was startled, her beautiful eyes flashing with a sharp light: "You tampered with his medicine?"
“No!” Lei Hong shook his head: “The Duke of Wu is so powerful, how could we possibly tamper with his medicine? We put all sorts of fine feathers and animal hair in that guest room. The Duke of Wu was injured in his lungs and internal organs. As long as he inhales the fine feathers, he will have difficulty breathing.”
"After the Prince of Liang was poisoned, the Duke of Wu wanted to enter the palace to meet the Emperor and ask him to thoroughly investigate the matter. How could we let him have his way? So we scattered a lot of fine hairs in the room. When he was struggling to breathe and his hands were trembling as he took out the medicine, we deliberately knocked the medicine to the ground. He couldn't breathe and his face turned red."
Seeing Shen Lixue's increasingly gloomy expression, Lei Hong spoke with even more excitement: "You didn't see it, but this hero, the Azure Flame War God, lay on the ground, his face flushed, crawling slowly step by step like a dog on the verge of death to get the antidote."
"We surrounded him, and every time he was about to get the antidote, we would happily kick it away. We watched him crawl around in front of us like a dog, desperate to survive, but he could never reach the medicine. Slowly, he went from sadness to grief to pain to disappointment to despair, and finally, unwillingly, he closed his eyes... Hahaha... That feeling was truly wonderful..."
"Lei Hong!" Shen Lixue shouted angrily, and with a flick of her wrist, a long cyan whip lashed out at Lei Hong. She had imagined all sorts of causes for the death of the Duke of Wu, but she never expected that he would die in such a humiliating way in front of these beasts. This was what they called suicide out of fear of punishment. Heh, the Duke of Wu died so unjustly.
Lei Hong snorted coldly, raised his hand to block Shen Lixue's long whip, leaped into the air, and thrust his sharp longsword at Shen Lixue.
Shen Lixue showed no weakness, lightly touching the ground with her feet, her slender figure soaring up like a startled rainbow, her long whip sweeping fiercely towards Lei Hong!
The cyan whip and the silver sword clashed in mid-air, each move sharp and fierce, neither giving an inch. The guards on the ground also fought with the men in black brought by Lei Hong, and the sound of intense weapons clashing filled the courtyard.
"Shen Lixue, you can't kill me!" Lei Hong waved his hand to deflect Shen Lixue's long whip, his eyes full of disdain.
Shen Lixue snorted: "With such a commotion at the Prime Minister's residence, someone will surely hear it. The patrolling guards will arrive soon. Do you think you can escape!"
Lei Hong raised an eyebrow and deliberately lowered his voice: "I forgot to tell you, all the guards patrolling nearby have been transferred, and I've also arranged guards at the entrance of the Prime Minister's residence. If anyone comes to ask, just say that the Prime Minister is bored and watching the guards fight... Even if the Prime Minister's residence is turned upside down, and you and your daughter die a violent death there, no one will care..."
"Lei Hong, you are truly shameless!" Shen Lixue's eyes were icy as she lashed out at Lei Hong with her whip.
Lei Hong smiled coldly, met the long whip, and swung his sword at Shen Lixue: "The most shameless one is your father. When the Duke of Wu was implicated by the Gu poison and Lin Qingfeng was demoted, he was afraid that the matter would affect him, so he sought refuge with my father. When my sister was diagnosed with pregnancy, he thought it was his and promised my sister that he would divorce Lin Qingzhu and marry her!"
"My mother fell into the water, and the old house in Qingzhou caught fire. It was all Shen Minghui's doing!" Shen Lixue's cold gaze was terrifyingly gloomy. There were witnesses and physical evidence, and even the accomplices had confessed to their crimes. Heh, Shen Minghui is really capable.
"Unfortunately, your father is utterly incompetent. My sister's second child was actually someone else's!" Lei Hong glanced at Shen Minghui provocatively, his eyes full of provocation and disdain. His gaze swept over the guards who were evenly matched with the men in black, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. Those guards were indeed formidable, worthy of being the guards of the War King's Mansion.
"I am truly grateful to the spies you planted in the Prime Minister's residence, who promptly reported Shen Minghui's every move to you, enabling you to arrive at the residence in the shortest possible time and intercept Shen Minghui," Shen Lixue said softly, her dark eyes unfathomable.
Lei Hong's face was hidden under a black mask, but his eyes, which were exposed, flashed coldly: "Miss Shen, you're too kind. Perhaps it was my sister's spirit in heaven who was protecting me. She wanted me to personally kill you and Shen Minghui, these two great enemies, so I was able to get this news in time!"
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her lips: "So, I have to thank Lei Yarong. It's thanks to her divine protection that the truth came to light so quickly!"
Lei Hong's gaze sharpened, a very ominous premonition rising in his heart: "What does this mean!"
Shen Lixue smiled mysteriously: "What I mean is..."
Under Lei Hong's puzzled gaze, she lashed out with her whip and, taking advantage of his moment to dodge, quickly retreated. Led by Zi Mo, a dozen guards floated into the air, surrounding Lei Hong and thrusting their sharp swords at him.
Shen Lixue gently drifted to the ground, staring coldly at Lei Hong, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Lei Hong, did you think I came to the Prime Minister's residence only to exchange jewelry, and had no other preparations?"
To Lei Hong's astonishment, a large number of guards rushed into the Prime Minister's residence and began to slaughter the men in black. The sounds of weapons clashing became even more intense, and the thick stench of blood permeated the air.
"Shen Lixue, you set a trap for me!" Lei Hong's furious shout, filled with gritted teeth, rang out from above.
Shen Lixue smiled coldly: "Likewise, Minister Lei's plan just now was also flawless!"
"Li Xue, you truly are my daughter. Just like your father, you must be ruthless towards the enemy in critical moments!" Shen Minghui looked at Lei Hong, who was surrounded by guards and struggling to cope, and nodded repeatedly in admiration. Although his wounds were still bleeding, he no longer felt the pain.
The events of that year were brought to light again, and the truth came to light: the Prince of Liang was murdered, the Duke of Wu was wrongfully executed, and the mastermind was Grand Commandant Lei. They had already lost power, and as long as the guards captured them, they would surely be executed. Shen Minghui did not want to suffer the same fate as them, so he naturally had to align himself with Shen Lixue.
Shen Lixue glanced coldly at Shen Minghui, her eyes full of mockery: "I am only ruthless to enemies. What about you? You fawn over your enemies, and your cruelty hurts your own family!"
Shen Minghui's tall frame staggered a few steps, managing to grab the table beside him to avoid falling to the ground: "I...I didn't mean to...I was outside the door when they were teasing Duke Wu..."
"You fell into a trap and caused a huge disaster in your pursuit of promotion and wealth, tacitly condoning others' schemes, causing your grandfather's death and making you take the blame. And you still have the nerve to say you were outside the door, and that you have no connection to his death?" Shen Lixue had seen many shameless people, but she had never seen anyone as shameless as Shen Minghui.
"I'm sorry!" Shen Minghui slumped to the ground, his eyes dim, and murmured softly.
Shen Lixue didn't even glance at him: "Save those words for your grandfather!"
"Bang!" Lei Hong was knocked down by the guards and crashed heavily in front of Shen Minghui. The black mask covering his face fell to the side, revealing his rugged face. His bones felt like they were broken, and he was in excruciating pain. He glared at Shen Lixue with hatred: "I never thought that I, Lei Hong, who was so wise all my life, would be ruined by you!"
“Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. Fifteen years ago, you killed my grandfather, and fifteen years later, you are ruined by me. This is karma!” Shen Lixue stared coldly at Lei Hong, speaking each word with deliberation.
Lei Hong glared at Shen Lixue: "You think you can punish me? It won't be that easy!"