At this moment, the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince stood by the bank of the river of time, with a lot of time-condensed water vapor permeating the air. With their cultivation, it was somewhat difficult for them to stand here.
The two walked upstream together. The river of time was vast and mighty, and each drop of water represented a segment of time in a certain area. Finding a specific drop of water in the river of time was like a fool's dream. Fortunately, they were in Qingcheng, where the geographical advantage reduced the difficulty of finding the drops of water. They eventually located a drop of water from ten days ago, seeing the Chief of the Jiang clan and the City Lord Zeng conspiring to send people to sabotage the space-time nodes under the cover of night.
They continued to walk upstream and found the drop of water where Jiang Yixing sacrificed the children. However, due to their limited power, they could only see events from three years ago and could not see further back.
During these three years, Jiang Yixing had been sacrificing children every year, advancing from the late Yuanying stage to the peak of Yuanying, and the accumulated corpses near the altar had already made the situation clear.
It was evident that Jiang Yixing practiced dark arts, and after the incident, the Chief of the Jiang clan and City Lord Zeng had joined forces to cover up the evidence.
From the moment they entered the river of time, the external time was frozen for them. Therefore, to the onlookers, the two princes' figures disappeared the moment they entered and reappeared instantly without any interval.
"I have already investigated this matter. Jiang Yixing did not practice dark arts, and City Lord Zeng did not tamper with the evidence. Are you two satisfied with this conclusion?" The Third Prince stood in the air, looking down at Jiang Li and Yuan Wuxing, while the Fourth Prince stood silently on the side.
As a supervisor, remaining silent implied agreement with the Third Prince's words.
After the Third Prince spoke, the Chief of the Jiang clan and others knew that the matter was settled. They began to consider how to retaliate against Jiang Li and Yuan Wuxing. These two had almost led them into a deadly situation. They had to torment them severely and then kill them to release the deep resentment in their hearts.
Jiang Li pointed with a somewhat relaxed tone at the black-robed person whose body was trembling slightly. "Whether we are satisfied is not important, but I'm afraid this brother doesn't quite agree with the conclusion you have given."
Seeing the black-robed person showing signs of anger, Yuan Wuxing hurriedly hid behind Jiang Li.
Clutching at others' thighs is not shameful.
"You two embarrassing fools, get down from here immediately!"
The majestic and overbearing aura emanated from the black-robed person, sweeping in all directions. There were many Nascent Soul cultivators present, but none could discern the depth of the person's aura.
A familiar voice resounded in the ears of the two princes like a sudden thunder on a clear day, startling them. They almost lost control of their spiritual energy inside and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, both of them reacted quickly and quickly knelt in front of the black-robed person.
"We pay our respects to Father Emperor."
Zhou Huang Ji stopped coldly and lifted the hood on her head. "So, you still see me as your Father Emperor."
Upon seeing this, everyone also knelt down and cheered, and after hesitating for a moment, Yuan Wuxing also knelt.
The Jiang clan and others who were kneeling on the ground trembled with fear, feeling chills down their spines. Why was the Emperor here? Why was he standing by Jiang Li's side? And why was his tone so unpleasant?
Various signs indicated that things were developing unfavorably for them.
Apart from Zhou Huang Ji, only Jiang Li was still standing. Everyone was filled with doubt, but no one dared to speak. The Third Prince felt guilty in his heart and wanted to preemptively shift the attention of Zhou Huang.
"Bold, to see the Father Emperor and not kneel!"
"Shut up! Isn't it embarrassing enough?" Zhou Huang Ji roared in anger, making the Third Prince immediately silent. Then she turned to the crowd and said, "Rise."
"I ask you, what did you see in the river of time?" Zhou Huang Ji asked.
The Third Prince hesitated and did not speak. The Fourth Prince was slightly less fearful, so he replied, "Father Emperor, there are too many people here. Can your child report back after returning?"
"There's nothing that can't be said in front of everyone. Speak here, openly, and bluntly. Indulging in cryptic conversations every day. I don't remember teaching you this!"
After hesitating for a moment, the Fourth Prince said, "My brother and I saw Jiang Yixing practicing dark arts and the Chief Jiang and City Lord Zeng colluding to conceal the evidence."
"Why lie? Do you know that once Jiang Yixing is released, these two will be subjected to endless retaliation? By then, not even their bones may be left?" Zhou Huang Ji pointed to Yuan Wuxing, who was kneeling on the ground, and to Jiang Li, who was watching the scene, as though he was really only in the Yuanying stage.
"I'm concerned that this matter will involve the Emperor Jiang, which is not good for the country, nor is it good for Emperor Jiang. Therefore, for the overall situation, I chose to conceal it."
"What a consideration for the greater good. I'm afraid the perspective of this son has surpassed mine." Zhou Huang Ji sneered, "Tell me, what kind of perspective made you commit acts that harmed the country's fortune?"
The Fourth Prince said everything he knew and speculated.
"The Emperor practiced dark arts, and from that, you speculatively derive such a conclusion? Your imagination about the Emperor's conduct is far from reality."
The Fourth Prince, having reached a breaking point, said something he never dared to say ordinarily, "Why are you so sure that the Emperor did not practice dark arts?"
Falsifying the retracing of time, the Third Prince knew that from today onwards, he had no chance of ascending to the throne. He also spoke up, "Jiang Yixing is the Emperor's cousin. Without the Emperor's permission, would he dare to practice dark arts?"
"Why would I be certain? It's because the Emperor personally captured Jiang Yixing and handed him over to us for judgment! " Zhou Huang Ji was exasperated by her two foolish sons' remarks.
It was evident that consulting her would make the truth clear, but these two foolish sons insisted on making decisions in areas she was not familiar with.
"The Emperor believed that Great Zhou is a country ruled by law, where any criminal activity can receive fair judgment. But, what have you done? You deceived and conspired, formed cliques, and did everything possible to conceal Jiang Yixing's actions. Do you know that the Emperor watched our monkey show for a full ten days!"
Zhou Huang Ji almost shouted the last words. The fortune of the country condensed into the Immortal Beast Xiezhi, vaguely roaring, and the Third Prince and Fourth Prince had never seen their Father Emperor so enraged.
Wait, the Emperor captured Jiang Yixing? Suddenly, everyone realized that there seemed to be a lot of information hidden in Zhou Huang's words.
"Brother Ji, calm down. The events of these days are worth reflecting on. I did not take it lightly. If the one who requested the time backtracking was not me, but an ordinary person, would they receive such treatment? Brother Ji, there is still a long way to go in governing the country with the law." Jiang Li sighed.
When he revealed his true face, exclamations arose all around.
People feared Zhou Huang Ji, but they respected Emperor Jiang Li.
The people of Qingcheng were very familiar with this face; as soon as they entered the city, they could see the bronze statues of this face.
The Third Prince stood still, full of rebuttals against his father's words that disappeared like water.
With Yuan Wuxing's ability, it was impossible to discover Jiang Yixing. Jiang Li captured Jiang Yixing and sent him to the authorities, which in itself shows that Jiang Li had no knowledge of this matter before and had never practiced dark magic.
It turns out that keeping Jiang Renhuang's secret is just wishful thinking on his part.