A shrewd man should have chosen the latter. After all, even if He Lingchuan had managed to become a special envoy of Rongshan, he still had no real foundation within Yuan itself. He Chunhua, on the other hand, was already the most important rising figure in the capital.

Hence, which master offered the brighter future was obvious.

People’s loyalties changed easily. He Lingchuan truly did not blame Shan Youjun for looking after his own prospects, but…

He Lingchuan stared at him, and his voice suddenly turned sharp, “But I need to ask you one thing. Did you kill Sun Hongye?”

Shan Youjun jolted in alarm and shook his head like a rattle drum. “No, no! I never did anything like that!”

He Lingchuan studied his expression carefully. “Explain everything from beginning to end. Depending on what you say, I may spare your life.”

There was no need to add otherwise, because Qiu Hu was standing just behind and...