“That’s right!” Qin Junhao said in a deep voice, his tone slightly arrogant.
Lord Ma turned to look at the man slumped on the ground: "Mu Zhengnan, what do you have to say?"
"Your Excellency, please understand. I am a commoner from Qingyan, a weak scholar with no strength to even kill a chicken. If I hadn't been instructed by someone, why would I risk death to drug the guards and replace the cannons that the Emperor values?"
Mu Zhengnan lowered his head slightly and spoke earnestly: "The benefits that the Crown Prince of Qin offered to this humble subject were very tempting, which is why this humble subject was momentarily confused and committed such a wrong act."
When he implicated Qin Junhao, he knew that Qin Junhao would deny it outright, but he did not expect Qin Junhao to be so ruthless and shift all the blame onto him to clear himself.
Qin Junhao is ruthless, so don't blame Mu Zhengnan for being unjust! Stealing the cannon is a serious matter, and the Qingyan Emperor is furious. Only by shifting all the blame onto Qin Junhao and placing himself in a forced and subordinate position can he possibly save his life!
"Nonsense!" Qin Junhao coldly stared at Mu Zhengnan. "Southern Xinjiang and Qingyan have always been on good terms. As the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, stealing Qingyan's cannons would be tantamount to declaring war on Qingyan and damaging the friendly relations between the two countries. If I were truly warlike, why would I rush back to Southern Xinjiang after stealing the cannons? Why would I return to Qingyan's capital? To wait to be accused by you and arrested by the Qingyan Emperor?"
Mu Zhengnan gritted his teeth and said, "This humble subject personally heard Prince Qin conspiring with others to steal the Azure Flame Cannon, and there is absolutely no mistake about it."
Qin Junhao raised an eyebrow at Mu Zhengnan, his tone both mocking and sarcastic: "Young Master Mu, you certainly have a silver tongue. You make your lies sound so convincing. You accuse me of plotting something sinister. May I ask who the other conspirator is?"
Mu Zhengnan's indignant aura instantly deflated, and he said in a low voice, "Through the wall... I didn't see what that person looked like!"
"And the voice? Is it a man, a woman, an old man, or a young man? Should I call all my friends over and say a few words so you can identify them one by one?" Qin Junhao continued to press.
“I…I can’t recognize his voice either.” Mu Zhengnan gritted his teeth in hatred: “That person’s voice sounded slightly old, it was deliberately lowered and the true tone was changed.”
To avoid being discovered by Qin Junhao, he kept his distance and vaguely heard a few key words, but could not discern the true voice of the other conspirator.
"You can't see my face or hear my voice. With just this testimony, you want to slander me? Isn't that a bit too foolish?" Qin Junhao remained calm. Mu Zhengnan's idea of convicting him with his silver tongue was wishful thinking.
"The Crown Prince of Qin is truly shrewd and far-sighted. He must have known my nature well before he schemed against me like that. It's a pity I don't have the Crown Prince's profound strategies, otherwise I would have secretly stepped forward to see what that person looked like, and I wouldn't be making baseless accusations today!"
Mu Zhengnan understood that he had been used and schemed against by Qin Junhao. He coldly laughed and said, "When I first heard your conversation, I was going to report the matter to the authorities. It was the benefits promised by the Crown Prince Qin that were too tempting, so I was momentarily blinded and helped the Crown Prince Qin steal the cannon."
The enemy prince secretly stole the Azure Flame Cannon, and he caught him and informed on him, capturing him in one fell swoop. He had made a great contribution and would at least be appointed as a seventh or eighth-rank official. With some effort, he could have climbed up the ranks and reached a higher position. How could he be like this now, labeled as a traitor who stole the country's cannon and is now facing imminent death?
He shouldn't have believed Qin Junhao's shameless words in the first place; otherwise, he wouldn't be in this predicament today.
Qin Junhao schemed against him, so he shifted all the blame onto Qin Junhao. If he could find the cannon, he could atone for his sins and have his crimes reduced.
Thinking of this, Mu Zhengnan stopped confronting Qin Junhao and looked up at Lord Ma:
"My lord, I used to work as a horse feeder at the post station. I was of lowly status and always longed for a promotion. Prince Qin saw this and deliberately talked about stealing the cannon when I passed by the study, promising me a third-rank official position. I was bewitched and went to the Taiyuan Inn. I saw that among the guards on night watch was my fellow villager Wang Jing. I took advantage of our kinship and offered them drugged wine. After they were all knocked unconscious, I helped Prince Qin's men steal the cannon and filled it with scrap iron instead."
Mu Zhengnan was good at disguising himself, and this matter was absolutely true. His words were sincere and showed no sign of falsehood.
Lord Ma nodded knowingly, then looked coldly at Qin Junhao: "What does Crown Prince Qin have to say?"
Qin Junhao raised an eyebrow at Mu Zhengnan: "How can you be sure that the thief who stole the cannon was sent by me?"
"Their clothes and attire are very similar to those of the Crown Prince of Qin; they are definitely from the Southern Frontier." Customs vary from country to country, and clothing also differs. Mu Zhengnan could see clearly that the people who carried away the cannons were dressed in Southern Frontier attire.
Qin Junhao scoffed disdainfully, "Young Master Mu, clothes are inanimate, but people are alive. People from all countries can wear them. Just because you wear clothes from the Southern Frontier doesn't mean you're from the Southern Frontier." The implication was that a thief wearing Southern Frontier clothes couldn't be used as evidence against him.
"This..." Mu Zhengnan was speechless again, but he gritted his teeth in hatred. Qin Junhao had planned everything in advance and left him with no evidence. He deliberately pushed him out to be a scapegoat. How despicable!
"Young Master Mu seems unconvinced." Qin Junhao raised an eyebrow at Mu Zhengnan: "Then tell me what those people look like. I'll call over everyone I know, and you can identify them one by one, how about that?"
"Prince Qin is meticulous in his work. The people who stole the cannon were all dressed in black and wore black masks. It was nighttime, and the light was extremely dim, so it was impossible to see their faces clearly." As expected of the prince of the Southern Frontier, every step he planned was flawless. His eagerness for quick success made him look like a fool, and he was manipulated by Qin Junhao, unable to find any evidence in his favor.
"Without even seeing his face clearly, you judged this thief to be one of my people based solely on his Southern Frontier attire. Is Young Master Mu telling the truth, or are you stirring up trouble and trying to sow discord between Southern Frontier and Qingyan?" Qin Junhao's expression was arrogant, a cold smile playing on his lips. "If Qingyan and Southern Frontier were to fight, many countries would benefit. Which country's envoy bribed you?"
"Fine, fine, fine!" Mu Zhengnan was furious, uttering three "fine"s in a row. He laughed in anger, "Only now do I realize how deep Prince Qin's schemes are. With just a few words, he not only deflected the matter of the cannons but also turned the tables on me, falsely accusing me of conspiring with someone to harm you. Heh, what a skillful tactic! I, Mu Zhengnan, am ashamed of my own inferiority..."
"Young Master Mu, I am merely stating the facts. After all, I am the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, representing the entire Southern Xinjiang. How can I allow someone to be wronged and remain silent? If you say that I stole the cannon, please provide evidence..." Qin Junhao spoke slowly and calmly.
"You've destroyed or covered up all the evidence, how am I supposed to get it..." Mu Zhengnan roared like thunder, making everyone's eardrums buzz.
Lord Ma rubbed his forehead in frustration. Qin Junhao and Mu Zhengnan each held their own version of events, arguing endlessly. With no new witnesses or evidence emerging, the matter remained shrouded in mystery, and he didn't know who to believe.
The situation has reached an unprecedented stalemate.
Looking up at the sky, the sun was already setting in the west, and it would soon be dark, making it no longer suitable to continue the trial.
Lord Ma slammed his gavel, preparing to announce that the case was shelved and would be heard again tomorrow, when a guard rushed in: "My lord, my lord..."
Lord Ma frowned: "What is it?"
Perhaps due to the hurried run, the guard's forehead was covered in sweat, but his eyes were filled with joy: "Reporting, sir... the cannon... has returned safely..."
"What? The cannon is back?" Everyone was shocked. What was going on? How could the lost cannon have returned on its own?
"Is this really true?" Lord Ma asked incredulously.
“Absolutely true.” The guard nodded heavily, his gaze grave. “It was right at the palace gate… The Ministry of War personally inspected it; it is indeed the missing cannon…”
Lord Ma's gaze deepened: "Who sent it back?"
"This... I don't know." The guard shook his head blankly: "It is said that the guards at the palace gate saw a dark shadow pass by and were about to call for someone to chase it when they turned around and saw a cannon appear at the corner."
The guard's casual words struck Mu Zhengnan like a thunderbolt, leaving him paralyzed for a moment. He staggered back a few steps, his eyes filled with shock.
How could this be? Qin Junhao, as the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, stole the Azure Flame Cannon to strengthen the nation's power. How could he possibly return it?
"Lord Ma, the cannon has returned. Now it can prove my innocence, right?" Qin Junhao was also taken aback for a moment, then returned to normal, his eyelids slightly lowered, and asked slowly and deliberately.
“My lord, Qin Junhao was brought to the main hall because he had something to hide. He was afraid that if they found cannons on him, the Emperor would punish him severely, so he had no choice but to hand over the cannons…” Mu Zhengnan spoke up before Lord Ma could.
If Qin Junhao were innocent, his previous vehement statements would have been a frame-up, an attempt to sow discord between Qingyan and Nanjiang. Qin Junhao would not have let him off the hook, nor would Lord Ma have spared him. But what he said was the truth, the absolute truth.
Qin Junhao scoffed disdainfully: "Young Master Mu, I have been in the main hall the whole time. How could I possibly order someone to hand over the cannon?"