The Beginning of the Fall
The servants had never seen such a palace before.
The atmosphere in the courtyard was incredibly tense, as oppressive as the calm before a storm. Even the flowers and plants in the mansion seemed to sense this atmosphere, appearing much more withered than before.
Not only that, even the guard teams that were once as close as brothers now act like enemies when they meet. If it weren't for the two young masters' explicit prohibition, these two groups would probably start fighting as soon as they met.
Those outside the city couldn't see anything strange, but those inside the city knew perfectly well. This tense atmosphere was even more oppressive than when the Third Young Master had caused trouble and been kicked out of the family by the head of the household.
The palace steward noticed the servants' unease, but there was nothing he could do about it.
The elders of the Gong Clan have rushed back, but is it already too late?
The steward stroked his gray hair and looked towards the main courtyard in the distance. He secretly wondered when this storm that had struck the palace would begin and how long it would last.
Just as the butler had guessed, the main courtyard was now full of people, and even Sang Ying and her companions had quietly sat down in a corner to join in the fun.
The brothers Gong Chengsi and Gong Chengjue, who were at the head of the table, sat on the left and right sides respectively, perfectly embodying the phrase "standing on equal footing".
Perhaps feeling that the main hall had been silent for too long, an elder couldn't help but speak up, "Chengsi, didn't you say you had evidence to prove that the patriarch was murdered by Chengjue? Where is that evidence? Let us see it."
Once he took the lead, the other clan elders followed suit.
Gong Chengsi glanced at his younger brother before saying with a half-smile, "This evidence isn't in my hands, but in the hands of my second brother's good fiancée!"
He gave Liang Ranyue a look, and she stood up in response.
"Gentlemen, I, Liang Ranyue, have accepted my parents' wishes and entered into a marriage with Gong Chengjue. But I never imagined that this man, who eats the food of the Gong Household and enjoys my father's protection, would actually be a scoundrel who plotted to murder his own father for the position of family head!"
These words struck like a thunderbolt, landing not only on the heads of the Gong Household but also deeply on the heart of Gong Chengjue.
Although he didn't care much about his father and had long been annoyed by his existence, he never thought of murdering his own father, since the position of family head was already a foregone conclusion for him.
"Liang Ranyue, don't talk nonsense. I didn't do anything to hurt my father!" Seeing the increasingly strange looks from the others, Gong Chengjue quickly stood up and retorted.
"No? Are you sure?" Liang Ranyue suddenly laughed. She took out an Image-Retaining Stone in front of everyone, which was a valuable item she had brought from the Liang Household.
Amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd, a beam of light was projected from the Image-Retaining Stone.
"It will also show the Second Young Master that what you've done hasn't gone unnoticed!"
Liang Ranyue's voice was clear and loud, but it couldn't compete with the surprise of what was projected by the Image-Retaining Stone.
In the projection, the head of the Gong Household was still a healthy person, but after drinking a cup of spiritual tea brought by his second son, he fainted in the room and could not be woken up no matter what.
If the crowd had been somewhat skeptical of Gong Chengsi's accusations before, now most of them were convinced that it was Gong Chengjue who had attacked the family head!
Even some of the clan elders who had always supported Gong Chengjue couldn't help but sigh inwardly, feeling that Gong Chengjue was simply too impatient.
They had already made arrangements to secure the position of family head for Gong Chengjue, but the other party couldn't even wait this short period of time and actually turned against his own father at this crucial moment.
In this way, even if the elders wanted to support Gong Chengjue, they couldn't bring it up again.
Gong Chengjue naturally noticed the changes in the elders' expressions. He was unwilling to let Liang Ranyue slander him, so he immediately said, "Elders, don't be fooled by this female cultivator. Although she is my fiancée, she has never liked me and has never been close to me before."
"Why would the Image-Retaining Stone appear in my father's room for no reason? Haven't you all considered this? Besides, the person in the Image-Retaining Stone isn't me at all! Someone impersonated my father and me, staging this whole thing to frame me!"
While others might not be able to see it, Gong Chengjue's Wisdom Eyes clearly saw what was inside the Image-Retaining Stone.
The Image-Retaining Stone cannot be faked, but what it records is itself fake!
The two people in the picture are neither him nor the head of the Gong Household.
Gong Chengjue's rebuttal was reasonable and well-founded, which temporarily salvaged his precarious reputation.
But Liang Ranyue had already guessed he would say that, so she quickly explained, "That Image-Retaining Stone was something the family head wanted to borrow to take a look at. I thought we were about to become family, so I lent it to him without hesitation. I never imagined that the Image-Retaining Stone I lent out would become evidence of your grave mistake!"
"Yes, I didn't really like you before. But then I got into trouble, and you took the blame for me without blaming me. So I thought I'd spend my life with you. Who knew you'd turn out to be this kind of person."
In the end, Liang Ranyue seemed to have suffered a great blow, and she lowered her head to wipe away her tears.
But where no one could see, she secretly gave Sang Ying a wink.
It was this one glance that reminded Sang Ying of the scene a few days ago when this person came to apologize under the cover of night.
However, the reminiscence was only fleeting, and soon Sang Ying turned her attention back to the people in the hall.
Now that the head of the family has encountered an accident, the oldest elder present has taken charge.
After hearing the explanation from the engaged couple, he immediately summoned the servants in the manor and compared their testimonies point by point.
After some investigation, the servants all corroborated that Liang Ranyue was right!
Even the steward who had served the patriarch for many years admitted that the patriarch himself found the Image-Retaining Stone interesting and had asked Liang Ranyue for it.
Chaos erupted again. Under Gong Chengsi's repeated accusations, Gong Chengjue retorted, "I absolutely did not do this! I swear on my own Wisdom Eyes, this has nothing to do with me!"
"Elders," Gong Chengjue, his face grim as he looked at the troubled elders, "Have you all forgotten that I am the only descendant of the entire Gong Household who has inherited these Wisdom Eyes? If something were to happen to me, given the current state of the Gong Household, could Delusion-Breaking City still bear the Gong surname?"
Everyone immediately showed signs of panic. They hadn't forgotten that after the previous Dragon-Slaying Grand Assembly, the Gong Household had been suppressed by all sides. If Gong Chengjue were gone, the Gong Household might really perish!
Seeing the hesitant expressions on the elders' faces, Sang Ying sighed helplessly, "I'm afraid we can't bring this person down today."
Hearing this, Jiang Zhuoxue, who was sitting next to her, quietly leaned closer, despite Jimo Qing's murderous gaze. "So eager to see Gong Chengjue brought down? Want me to help you?"
"You have a way?" Even the illusions created by Hai Tingzhou and the others couldn't bring down Gong Chengjue, so what could Jiang Zhuoxue possibly do?
However, reality told Sang Ying that Jiang Zhuoxue was capable of quite a lot.
After the person in front of her smiled gently at her, Sang Ying heard a commotion coming from inside the hall.
She quickly turned her gaze over and happened to see Gong Chengjue with blood and tears streaming from his eyes.
Those eyes, which didn't belong to this young man, seemed unable to bear the pain of being separated from their owner any longer; under everyone's gaze, the dark pupils turned gray.
Crimson blood spilled from his eyes.
Amidst screams, Gong Chengjue completely lost consciousness.
A note from the author:
That's all for today! Thank you everyone for your support, love you all~
Sparrow flapping its wings (JPG) See you tomorrow~