After 10 minutes, Holland handled the wound well.
Fortunately, the snake was not poisonous, otherwise, it would not have been so peaceful.
However, someone still glared at Lion angrily and asked, "Lion, why didn't you speak earlier?"
Lion was very helpless and replied, "You didn't let me speak!"
Holland couldn't reply and made excuses, "Why didn't you say it earlier? You hesitated and didn't speak. Did you intentionally want to harm me?"
Lion became even more helpless and replied, "How could I dare to speak? Wasn't it afraid of disturbing the Holy Cross? This evil snake is so malicious, it's not good to threaten Our Majesty! That's why I didn't dare to say anything and didn't want you to dig it up!"
Holland still couldn't reply.
The Empress smiled and said, "Okay, let's just leave it at that! Lion also has deep sympathy, that's why he didn't speak up! Holland is also in charge and worried, that's why he was poisoned by this snake! Both of them are not at fault!"
"I am innocent, Your Majesty is right!" Lion immediately agreed.
Holland felt extremely helpless.
Am I being set up and framed?
Clearly, it was this arrogant person who played a trick on me and made me fall into this trap!
This person is not worthy of being called human!
I'm already so old, yet he still tricks me!
How can I be so gullible?
"There's nothing to investigate. Lion is innocent, you can leave now!" The Empress waved her hand.
"Your Majesty, wait! I still have something to say!" Holland shouted.
"What else do you have to say, Holland?"
He glared at Lion fiercely and respectfully said, "Although we didn't find any evidence, we can't prove that Lion is innocent! I have taken the people who followed him to the community yesterday, and they can prove whether or not he is telling the truth!"
A group of people walked over, trembling.
These people are the ones who went with Lion to inspect someone's house yesterday.
"Greetings to Your Majesty, may you live for ten thousand years!"
"No need for formalities! Speak up about what you have to say!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
They spent a year discussing the events of yesterday.
The Empress looked at Lion, seemingly smiling but not really: "Lion, do you have anything to say?"
Lion remained calm: "Your Majesty, they are simply framing and slandering me, and slandering the central government!"
"Why would they say such things?" The Empress laughed with a hint of depth.
Lion's tone was firm: "I also do not know why they conspired to frame and slander me, but I am not afraid of shadows, and if I had done something wrong, I would admit it!"
The Empress widened her eyes at this statement!
He spoke like a liar but sounded truthful!
If it were not for me knowing how to be a human being, I would have already pulled you out and chopped you down!
"Furthermore, Your Majesty, I suspect that they were bought off!" Lion spoke loudly, "If you don't believe me, you can send someone to investigate their house! Investigating their house will reveal the truth behind everything!"
These witnesses were immediately flustered: "No, don't do that!"
The Empress narrowed her eyes and gestured to her guards.
"Now, let's go investigate their house!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After an hour, the Empress looked at the various sparkling gems with a solemn expression.
All of these items were brought out by witnesses from the house, and their total value had reached 300,000 taels.
The witnesses were so frightened that their faces turned pale. They begged for mercy and pleaded for their lives.
"Your Majesty, I was wrong, please spare my life!"
"Your Majesty, have mercy on us!"
...
Lion was arrogant and dismissive, saying, "Your Majesty, look at them, they are all petty officials, and yet they are all richer than me! They have all the wealth and power, and even the emperor favours them! They are all greedy and untrustworthy, and they would do anything to advance their own interests, even if it means harming the nation! They are all just selfish opportunists!"
The Empress was not pleased and waved her hand, saying, "Take them away and execute them!"
"Your Majesty, spare my life!"
"Your Majesty!"
...
No matter how much they begged for mercy, they all ended up losing their heads.
Lion approached old Holland and looked at his pale face. He laughed and said, "Holland, is this your idea of a witness? This is nothing!"
"You!" Holland's face turned even paler with anger.
"It seems that the truth has been revealed, and Lion is indeed innocent!" The Empress smiled gently. "Moreover, in such difficult circumstances, Lion has achieved high academic achievements. I am very pleased!"
"Your Majesty, I am honoured, but I do not deserve such praise!" Lion quickly replied.
"You are now a newly appointed scholar, and your position in the court is important. You are too humble, and this will damage the reputation of the court!" The Empress paused for a moment. "By the way, wasn't Master Ta's mansion recently investigated? He has been arrested, and his mansion is now awarded to you as a reward. You should move in as soon as possible!"
Lion was surprised. He had seen the mansion before, and it was located in the centre of the city, grand and magnificent, with a pleasant environment and hundreds of people living there. Such a large mansion was worth at least 200,000 taels of silver!
The Empress was so kind to give him such a good house. It was really too good for him!
"Lion was deeply moved and vowed to try his best to be less greedy in the future," he declared loudly.
Looking up, he saw that everyone around him was expressing admiration and envy.
"I hope Lion will maintain his integrity, continue to make progress, and not disappoint the expectations of the Empress," a woman with a deep voice said.
Lion firmly stated his determination: "I pledge to serve the Empress wholeheartedly, and I will only stop when I die."
The Empress clapped her hands and laughed: "Well said! Remember your words! Let's go to the palace now!"
At this moment, Lion suggested, "Your Majesty, since we are all here, why don't we go to Holland's house and see if we can discover something unexpected?"
Old Holland was angry and asked, "What do you mean, Lion?"
Lion smiled mischievously and replied, "You know exactly what I mean, Mr Holland. You pulled together a bunch of corrupt officials to bribe me. Do you dare deny your involvement?"
"You!!!" Silly Holland was outraged.
The Empress raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Holland said, "Lion, don't you dare accuse me falsely! I have always been honest and upright, and I have never engaged in such despicable behaviour. If you really want to see for yourself, then I'll take you to my house to prove my innocence!"
Holland clapped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, please allow us to go to my house to clear my name!"
The Empress smiled and said, "Alright, let's go and take a look!"