After traveling through time, I rely on force to survive

Chapter 236 Thank you for bringing this person to justice

During Lord Zhang's stay at the guest residence, Yun Wu kept a close watch on him from a distance and promptly reported his actions to Li Feng and Li Qingqing.

Unfortunately, we could only watch from afar and didn't know exactly what he did.

Early in the morning, Zhang Haoyi sent someone to invite the two to the council hall, saying that the case would be heard today.

Inside the hall, Zhang Haoyi sat in the main seat, with Imperial Censor Ruan sitting beside him, and Imperial Censor Song and a group of deputy generals sitting on either side below.

As soon as Li Qingqing and Li Feng stood on the left side of the hall, they saw Protector Wei, with a ruddy complexion and high spirits, stride in.

As soon as he walked in, he was stunned to see Li Qingqing, who looked completely unharmed, but quickly regained his composure.

He gave a soft hum and then walked to the right side of the hall and stood there.

Seeing that everyone who was supposed to come had arrived, Zhang Haoyi smiled and spoke first.

"I am thoroughly investigating the case of Lord Wei's treason, and I have summoned you all today to get to the bottom of this."

The hall fell silent.

Zhang Haoyi looked at Protector-General Wei, his gaze carrying a hint of something unreadable.

"Lord Wei, General Li and Li Qing accuse you of treason and collusion with the enemy. What is your defense?"

"They're talking nonsense! It's pure slander!"

Protector Wei's voice was loud and clear as he glared angrily at Li Feng.

"I am utterly loyal to the court, how could I possibly collude with the enemy and betray the country! What evidence do you have?"

Li Feng remained calm as he looked at Zhang Haoyi, "Lord Zhang, the account books presented yesterday afternoon are the evidence!"

Zhang Haoyi coughed lightly, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Well, General Li, last night the cold dew struck, and Deputy General Chi specially sent over a wood-burning stove for me to keep warm."

This official and Censor Ruan reviewed the account books all night, but due to the fatigue of days of travel, I became drowsy and the account books accidentally slipped into the wood-burning stove and were burned.

Upon hearing this, the other deputy generals all looked at Deputy General Chi in surprise.

Vice Admiral Chi: "..."

He was wronged!

It was clearly Lord Zhang who sent people to fetch the charcoal stove, saying that they were new to the area and had difficulty adapting to the temperature difference at the border.

There were no charcoal stoves at the border, so he kindly offered to send two newly made fur blankets, but Lord Zhang refused to accept them.

They said that if there's no charcoal stove, a wood-burning stove will do.

How could he know they were looking at the ledgers?

The evidence was handed over yesterday, and the account books are gone today. This is too much of a coincidence.

Li Qingqing and Li Feng exchanged a glance, and immediately became alert.

This border patrol officer is highly suspicious!

Li Feng asked coldly, "The account books were submitted yesterday afternoon. Even if they were unfortunately burned, I'm sure you already remember every single detail inside?"

With Li Feng present, Li Qingqing didn't need to deal with him. She coldly observed the border patrol envoy and listened to his sophistry.

But then Zhang Haoyi tapped his fingers lightly on the table, pondered for a moment, and then spoke again.

“That’s right. Although the ledgers were burned, I vaguely remember that they did contain records of the Protectorate General’s private sale of classified military blueprints to other countries! Such behavior is a major threat to the nation and must be eliminated!”

Upon hearing this, Deputy General Chi and his men immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

It doesn't matter if the evidence is destroyed, as long as Lord Zhang acknowledges the facts of the evidence.

Upon hearing this, Protector Wei immediately turned to Li Feng and angrily rebuked him.

"I have never kept any account books. You must have fabricated evidence to frame me!!"

Li Feng glanced at him, unfazed. He looked at Zhang Haoyi and said, "Sir, although the account books were damaged by accident, there are witnesses who can testify. Please continue the interrogation."

He doesn't believe the witnesses were also destroyed?

If that's the case, then this Lord Zhang must be deliberately protecting Protector Wei!

"Bring a witness."

At Lord Zhang's command, Vice Envoy Yao entered the hall shortly afterward.

"Just now, I sent people to interrogate the witnesses, only to find that several of them had committed suicide out of fear of punishment! Only one person is still alive."

These words immediately caused an uproar among the people in the hall.

Just now they were saying the account books were accidentally burned, and now there are no witnesses left!

Without a doubt, the border patrol officer deliberately destroyed the evidence to protect Protector-General Wei!

Real hammer!

All the deputy generals looked at Zhang Haoyi with surprise and doubt, wondering what he would do next.

"This is utterly outrageous!" Zhang Haoyi's expression changed drastically as he angrily rebuked.

"What are the guards doing? How can they be so negligent! Who's still alive? Bring him up first!"

Wei Zhida was brought in by a soldier in black armor.

He knelt down with a thud, trembling, and said, "This humble servant, Wei Zhida, greets all the esteemed officials."

Zhang Haoyi sat upright in his high seat and shouted sternly, "Wei Zhida, I have found out that you took advantage of Lord Wei's inattention to steal confidential military blueprints and sell them to enemy countries. Do you know your crime?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhida's face turned pale, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

He glanced furtively at the person asking the question; it was the same official he had met the night before.

But was the way this gentleman asked the question wrong?

Last night he clearly stated that he was working for Lord Wei, and that he was just a lowly clerk in the Protectorate.

How did he become the mastermind overnight?

Wei Zhida stammered, his voice trembling as he tried to explain, "I...I...to tell you the truth, it wasn't me who stole it, it was—"

"You unfilial nephew, think carefully before you answer in front of the border patrol envoy!"

Just as Wei Zhida was about to continue his explanation, he heard a furious shout from above. He looked up abruptly and saw that it was actually Protector Wei.

He felt as if he had grasped a lifeline, and overjoyed, he quickly scrambled to his feet and rushed to Protector Wei.

"Uncle, please save me! I've been kidnapped and brought here for no reason!"

He gripped Wei Duhu's sleeve tightly and looked around the hall in a panic.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he pointed at Li Feng, shouting urgently, "It's him! It's him! He's the one who captured me! Please avenge me!"

"Don't worry!" Protector Wei patted Wei Zhida on the shoulder and gave him a subtle wink.

"You just need to make sure you know what you need to say to the border patrol envoy!"

Wei Zhida was taken aback. His uncle was implying that he should confess first, and then try to save him.

But if he confesses... it would be tantamount to taking all the blame, and what would happen if his uncle didn't save him in the future?

Or he could just say that his uncle ordered him to do it... No, no, that won't do.

If his uncle were arrested, he would have even less hope of survival.

Wei Zhida thought about it for a long time.

Fine, let's take a gamble!

So he closed his eyes, steeled his resolve,

"That's right! It was my doing. Not only the arms blueprints, but also weapons, supplies, and classified information—anything that someone can pay a lot of money for, I'll provide!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Protector Wei drew the sword from a nearby Xuanjia soldier and stabbed it at Wei Zhida.

The speed was so fast that those around them didn't even notice.

Before Wei Zhida could even open his eyes or see what was happening, he died.

"Collaborators, die!"

While everyone was still in shock, they heard Protector Wei speak clearly.

"I never imagined that this traitorous nephew would betray his country and collude with the enemy! He is guilty of heinous crimes! I have no choice but to uphold justice and punish my own kin to give an explanation to all the soldiers at the border!"

Protector Wei remained calm and composed, looking at Li Feng.

"General Li, you have done a great job! Thank you for capturing this traitorous nephew. I never expected that he would use my name to support the enemy and frame me!"

"..."

The incident happened so suddenly that everyone in the hall was only just beginning to react.

The witnesses are gone just like that?