Chapter 358: Strangulation

"When did you start contacting Shangguan Xiao?"

"A few years ago."

"Specific time."

"In the thirty-ninth year of Hongguang, in May. I don't remember the exact day."

"How did you make contact?"

"I hadn't graduated from the Martial University yet at that time. I remember going to a club-organized cocktail party that day. I had a bit to drink and was slightly tipsy. Then someone suddenly approached me on their own initiative. I thought it was some young master from a prominent family wanting to get to know me."

"And then?"

"Then I started chatting with him. He said he understood me, knew I was a person with great ambition and ability, but that my status destined me to never be valued in the Zhang family, and at best, I would only ever be a level-9 subordinate official in this lifetime. Heh, damn it, he was spot on!"

"Continue."

"He asked me to go out for a private talk. We found a teahouse, and he said he was from Xingcheng and could help me. Of course, I didn't trust him that easily, but he left me a bottle of elixir right then and there. It was a very high-quality elixir; I couldn't even get a few pills like that in a month at the Zhang family."

Later, I had someone test this bottle of elixir, and it was indeed genuine, with no issues at all. After I finished using that bottle, that person came looking for me again and gave me another bottle. I asked him who exactly he was and what he wanted. He said I would only be qualified to know once I had grown enough."

"For over two full years after that, he not only provided me with the resources needed for martial arts cultivation on a regular basis but also helped me complete tasks accepted from the Martial University, allowing me to earn credits more easily. In the end, I graduated from the Martial University at least three years earlier than expected! This earned me the attention of the family, and they arranged for me to be sent directly to the General Headquarters of the Stop-Gong."

"Then that person finally confessed his identity to me. He said he was my aunt's partner, which is to say, Shangguan Xiao's partner. That was when I realized I actually had an aunt, and she was a powerhouse at the Dao Foundation realm."

"That person gave me a rough account of the grievances from back then. He said the younger generation of the Zhang family was failing to bridge the gap, with not a single Dao Foundation powerhouse, and that Shangguan Xiao was the person most likely to take over the Zhang family. They thought highly of Shangguan Xiao, so they chose to cooperate with her. As for me, I was the partner they had selected from within the Zhang family."

"So, with the help of my aunt and her partner, I climbed up step by step, successfully becoming a level-4 executive officer at the General Headquarters of the Stop-Gong, and I was in charge of elixir distribution."

"Have you met with Shangguan Xiao during this period?"

"I haven't met her in person, but I have spoken with her over the phone and we have exchanged letters. Before the family head decided to use family resources to help my aunt become the head of the Xingcheng Stop-Gong Institute, my aunt wrote to me and told me about this in advance. She said we had been preparing for so many years, and now the opportunity had arrived!"

"When did you start plotting to murder the family head, Zhang Zongyang?"

"I actually had no idea my aunt was going to kill the family head!"

"You didn't know?"

"My aunt only told me to find an opportunity to swap out a painting hanging in the family head's study. I didn't know she was planning to murder the family head!"

"And then?"

"Later, when the news of the family head's sudden death came back, I realized that the painting was just a trigger; it must have been some kind of method used to deal with the family head. By then, it was too late, the person was already dead—could I still distance myself from it? I called my aunt to question her, and she only said this was her good opportunity to return to the Zhang family, and that from then on, I must pretend not to know her at all and not show any flaws, otherwise, it would invite a fatal disaster!"

"Have you investigated the allies who cooperated with Shangguan Xiao? Do you know who those people are?"

"I'm not an idiot. Having cooperated for so many years, how could I not have checked at all? I know that behind those people, it is very likely they are Western spies."

"They murdered your Zhang family's head and caused your Zhang family to almost be wiped out; aren't you afraid it's a conspiracy?"

"At first, I was afraid and also suspicious. But later, my aunt came back, and she helped our Zhang family overcome the difficulties bit by bit. Isn't the Zhang family doing well again now? Moreover, in the future, the Zhang family will be completely under my aunt's control, and I will become the head of the Zhang family!"

"Is this a promise Shangguan Xiao made to you?"

"Yes. Her status is not suitable for being the Zhang family head in the public eye, so the public head in the future will be me. This was something we decided from the very beginning when we chose to cooperate."

"Besides letters and phone calls, do you have any other ways to confirm that the person cooperating with you is Shangguan Xiao?"

"Of course. She opened a Qingyuan Boxing Stronghold in Xingcheng, and several people there have met with me; these people are her confidants. After I became an executive officer, I even provided the Qingyuan Boxing Stronghold with quite a few resources. I have detailed records of all of this."

"You were guarding against her crossing the river and burning the bridge, so you kept an ace up your sleeve?"

"Heh, of course."

"Is the Green-Faced Ghost one of the people from the Western spies' side?"

"I don't know about that. This person suddenly appeared, and I have never been able to trace his background."

"."

Qu Xun, the Chief Inspector of the General Inspectorate, walked out of the interrogation room, looking somewhat exhausted.

The matter was of great importance; he, the Chief Inspector, had even come to personally observe the interrogation of Zhang Shiwei.

To avoid suspicion, the interrogation of Zhang Shiwei by the General Inspectorate was 'open and transparent' throughout, with the General Supervisory Office, the General Headquarters of the Stop-Gong, the General Judiciary Office, and the Government Building all sending people to observe.

After the interrogation ended, a group of high-ranking officials from Datong Prefecture gathered for a short meeting.

"What do you all think?"

Qu Xun asked.

Chu Bo, the helmsman of the General Headquarters of the Stop-Gong, was the first to speak: "Once the content Zhang Shiwei mentioned and the evidence we have obtained are fully verified, if there are no issues, it proves that Shangguan Xiao, in order to control the Zhang family, colluded with Western spies and joined forces with Zhang Shiwei to murder Zhang Zongyang. The human evidence and physical evidence are complete, and the motive, process, and result are all very clear."

Shangguan Xiao indeed had the motive to control the Zhang family, and since returning to Datong Prefecture City, she had indeed gained the right to speak in the Zhang family bit by bit, possessing the opportunity to annex the entire Zhang family.

Judging from the results, what Zhang Shiwei said also had no flaws.

Now, it was just a matter of verifying the human and physical evidence.

"I personally tend to believe that what Zhang Shiwei said is true. After so many years of cooperation, it couldn't have been fabricated; if it were fake, it would be easily exposed."

Du Changhe, the Chief Supervisor of the General Supervisory Office, said, "Most importantly, this matter finally has a result."

His final sentence was profound, and the big shots present all understood it.

In order to have a result for this matter and let the investigation team leave Datong Prefecture as soon as possible, a massive martial arts sect was wiped out just like that.

Therefore, having a result was very important for Datong Prefecture!

And this result was highly likely to be the truth.

So why bother with anything else?

"Go and verify all the evidence."

Deputy Garrison Commander Guan Zhao said, "The interrogation of Shangguan Xiao should also be carried out simultaneously."

Once he said this, the tone of the matter was basically set.

May 19th, the ninth day of Li Fei's seclusion.

Shangguan Xiao still had not come out of the General Headquarters of the Stop-Gong.

Although she had not yet been imprisoned, she had been detained, lost her freedom of movement, and had been cut off from contact with the outside world.

Over these two days, she had been interrogated time and again, asked about the details of her cooperation with Zhang Shiwei and how she had colluded with the Western spies.

This made Shangguan Xiao realize that this trap was not set up on the spur of the moment, but that the person behind the scenes had spent many years slowly preparing it, specifically weaving a giant net for her!

That evening, she saw Fu Lang in the interrogation room again.

"Uncle Fu."

Shangguan Xiao looked at this uncle who had held her when she was a child and taught her martial arts, "If I really colluded with Zhang Shiwei, why would I deliberately set a trap to lure out the people behind him?"

She had repeatedly emphasized this logic in previous interrogations, but unfortunately, those who interrogated her did not care about it.

"."

Fu Lang was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The content Zhang Shiwei mentioned has now been largely verified. Two people from the Qingyuan Boxing Stronghold have been caught; these two people have followed you for over a decade, and they have now confessed. This is the list and their testimonies."

As he spoke, he handed a document to Shangguan Xiao.

Shangguan Xiao took the document and glanced at the names on it.

Although they were not the veterans who had 'started the business' with her from the beginning, these two people on the list had indeed followed her for over a decade and held high positions in the Qingyuan Boxing Stronghold, managing quite a few operations.

And both of these people admitted in their testimonies that Shangguan Xiao had instructed them to secretly cooperate with Zhang Shiwei many years ago.

The time, location, and content of the cooperation were all recorded in detail, and they all matched Zhang Shiwei's testimony.

"Many of the illicit resources that the Qingyuan Boxing Stronghold has obtained over the years were also provided by Zhang Shiwei. He has records of everything. We checked the bills, transportation records, and interrogated dozens of people involved in the intermediate links—some from the Zhang family, some from the General Headquarters of the Stop-Gong, and some from the Qingyuan Boxing Stronghold. Everything matches..."

As he spoke, Fu Lang handed another document to Shangguan Xiao.

On it were written the resources that the Qingyuan Boxing Stronghold had obtained from Zhang Shiwei over the years: elixirs, firearms, protective clothing...

Shangguan Xiao discovered that many of these resources were indeed related to the Zhang family, and she also knew these resources were related to the Zhang family. From the beginning, she had guessed that this was Zhang Zongyang secretly helping her (see Chapter 31, Volume 2).

Perhaps Zhang Zongyang did indeed have this intention, but when he found out that someone in the family was already secretly helping Shangguan Xiao, he assumed it was Shangguan Xiao who had taken the initiative to contact family members, and thus acquiesced to it.

Therefore, this trap was not only woven over the course of more than a decade, but the person who laid it also understood the knot and tacit understanding between Zhang Zongyang and Shangguan Xiao, this father and daughter.

"The human and physical evidence is basically complete. It will be very difficult for you to prove your innocence."

Fu Lang said to Shangguan Xiao.

"Ha?"

Shangguan Xiao laughed in spite of herself, "Is it that it's hard for me to prove my innocence, or is it that those big shots above simply don't want me to prove it anymore?"

She had thought a lot over these two days. The most vicious point of this trap was not that the other party spent such a long time slowly weaving lies. Because as long as it is a lie, it can always be exposed and loopholes can be found.

The most critical point was the timing the other party chose.

When the investigation team from the provincial capital brought huge pressure to the officialdom of Datong Prefecture, the truth actually didn't matter that much anymore; the most important thing was how to produce a result that could be accounted for.

To say directly that Gu Vanguard Commander wanted to murder Zhang Zongyang, when there was no obvious interest relationship between the two sides, seemed a bit far-fetched and might not be able to directly convince the investigation team. People would think that Datong Prefecture was just fooling them.

But if you add a Shangguan Xiao, involving the internal interest struggle of the family, this suddenly seems very reasonable!

As for whether there is even a tiny possibility that Shangguan Xiao was wronged?

To put it bluntly, a dignified martial arts sect was wiped out just like that, and even a Martial Arts Master died; what is a mere Dao Foundation imperial official worth?!

"Xiao'er."

Fu Lang looked at Shangguan Xiao with sorrowful eyes, "If this is truly a trap aimed at you, then what the person behind the scenes is after is likely not just your life alone."

He was actually willing to believe Shangguan Xiao, but his belief alone was of no use.

Hearing Fu Lang's words, Shangguan Xiao clenched her fists tightly.

Yes, weaving such a complex trap, first killing a helmsman, then destroying a martial arts sect, and causing the death of a Martial Arts Master—was it just to frame her, Shangguan Xiao?

Even if Shangguan Xiao thought highly of herself, she did not believe she was worth such great effort from others.

Then what did she have that was worth others going to such great lengths to plot?

A name surfaced in Shangguan Xiao's mind.

Her eyes changed instantly.

"It seems you have figured it out."

Fu Lang watched the changes in Shangguan Xiao's eyes and said with some difficulty:

"I only want to say that if you are already unable to break free from this trap, then it is best to find a way not to drag more people into it, and do not let the mastermind's conspiracy succeed!"

Shangguan Xiao narrowed her eyes.

The person she cared about most before was Hao Yi, and now there is one more, Li Fei.

Li Fei is bound together with her under the identity of the Green-Faced Ghost; if handled poorly, he is highly likely to be implicated by her this time!

Yes, no matter what, at the very least, one must find a way not to implicate others.

"I understand, thank you, Uncle Fu."

Shangguan Xiao gave a miserable smile.

"Is there anything else you need my help with?"

Fu Lang was silent for a moment before asking.

"Yes!"

Shangguan Xiao nodded vigorously.

Requesting monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)