The hall was deathly silent, only the voices of Chen Mo and Chu Heng echoing in the air:
[Why did you kill them?]
[So people know too much and must die...]
This conversation exploded in everyone’s hearts like a thunderclap!
Zhu Qiming, the judge of Jingzhao Mansion, Zhu Chen, the doctor of the Ritual Departnt, Gao Jun, the Chief of the Directly Affiliated Departnt...
These nas were very familiar; they had all appeared in the evidence previously submitted by Chen Zhuo, accused of having close private dealings with Chu Heng and suspected of abusing power and forming cliques.
Before the matter could escalate, all of them claid illness and returned ho, their whereabouts still unknown.
Was it really Chu Heng who silenced them?!
The interrogation continued, and the ensuing content left them speechless!
[Were you behind the Barbarian Slave Case?]
[I hooked up with the Household Officer from Nantu State, obtained a batch of barbarian slaves through the black market, and then transported them by water to Tiandu City...]
[What about the tunnel out of the city?]
[I got the city defense map from Zhu Qiming and found a few clerks from the Ministry of Construction, secretly excavating under the pretense of street repairs...]
[What was the purpose of digging the tunnel?]
[For... for...]
The conversation abruptly stopped here.
Everyone looked at each other, expressions filled with shock.
Although Chu Heng still did not explain why the tunnel was excavated, they already had an idea.
The shocking Zhou Family Case that once shook the court, the Zhou Family guard had used that tunnel to leave the city, colluding with the Demon Clan to mine Red Sand. If this confession was true, then Chu Heng indeed had the suspicion of treason!
Once the charge was confird, even being part of the Imperial Family couldn’t save him from execution!
In comparison, the punishnts he had suffered seed insignificant...
The image interrupted, and Eunuch Jin put away the Image Stone. From behind the bamboo curtain ca the Empress’s indifferent voice: "What do you all think of this?"
After a brief silence, the court erupted in an uproar!
"Chu Heng was behind all these major cases?!"
"I said long ago, Zhou Chuanbing didn’t have the guts or motive to do such things; he was just made a scapegoat!"
"It seems Chen Mo really didn’t wrong Chu Heng, and the Three Departnts’ decision to arrest him was justified!"
"Though the case processing was sowhat careless, the flaws do not obscure the rits. This matter is too significant; the culprit must be apprehended imdiately, or who knows what disaster might unfold!"
"Ridiculous, so people even doubted Chen Mo. If not for him, you might not even be standing here in court!"
"A bunch of pedantic scholars with waterlogged brains, defending a traitorous criminal and instead trying to impeach a ritorious minister of the Earth God, such hearts deserve damnation!"
"I suggest a thorough investigation of Fu Baiyi and others; I suspect they are in collusion with Chu Heng!"
Before Chen Zhuo could speak, the officials of the Six Divisions and the Imperial Examination Hall had already locked onto their target and started attacking.
The cabinet ministers who had just stepped forward now turned pale.
They held no grudge against Chen Mo, rely acting under Zhuang Jingming’s instructions to strike while leveraging their power.
They thought it was a sure-win situation and didn’t take it seriously, but never expected the situation to reverse so drastically in monts, now backfiring on them!
Zhuang Jingming was equally bewildered at this mont.
He had thoroughly understood the case, and the current evidence was insufficient to convict Chu Heng, but no one foresaw Chu Heng confessing himself!
Did this guy have a death wish?
"Silence!"
Eunuch Jin’s voice echoed in the hall.
The heated atmosphere gradually quieted down.
The Empress’s tone remained indifferent as she asked, "Scholar Fu, you had the biggest objection earlier; do you have anything to say now?"
Fu Baiyi’s back was already drenched in cold sweat. He hastily bowed and said, "I, your servant, did not understand the truth and made a hasty judgnt. I beg Your Majesty for forgiveness..."
Before he could finish, he noticed a sharp gaze falling on him, like a thorn sticking in his back.
He swallowed, hesitated for a mont, then changed his tone, saying, "However, these are just confessions and still lack concrete evidence. Based on Chu Heng’s state, it can’t be ruled out that he confessed under duress..."
The Empress’s tone slightly deepened, "Are you suggesting Chen Mo gave false testimony to fra Chu Heng?"
"I did not an that." Fu Baiyi shook his head, ambiguously saying, "After all, this matter is of great consequence, and it must be approached with utmost caution. We should not wrong the innocent, nor let the guilty escape."
"Heh, now you speak of caution. What were you thinking earlier?"
Yu Huai, the Assistant from the Ministry of Personnel, sneered, "When you were adamantly accusing Chen Mo of treason and rebellion, did you not consider whether you might be wronging an innocent?"
"Cabinet, indeed, everyone knows."
"A bunch of idle talkers, indulging in empty words without action, reducing to re bureaucratic parasites."
"Still nad Scholars, yet one wonders if they study backstabbing and framing?"
The other officials joined in with sarcastic remarks, sharply cutting and harsh.
As officials, it is their duty to debate and oversee politics. They could speak bluntly even if the Emperor made a mistake, let alone a re Cabinet Scholar?
Fu Baiyi’s face alternated between red and white, but under Zhuang Jingming’s pressure, he had to brace himself and say, "I am only raising a reasonable doubt. After all, in the Capital City, under the Emperor’s feet, if Chu Heng really killed so many people, how could there be no wind of it till now?"
"Cough, cough, it seems Mr. Fu is oblivious to the influence of Prince Yu Mansion."
At this mont, a slightly aged voice spoke up.
Fu Baiyi turned his head to see the speaker with graying temples but eyes bright as morning stars; it was the Tongzheng Envoy, Shangguan Jin.
"It’s quite coincidental that recently, while the Ministry of Communication was sorting out the Armory, they accidentally found so docunts with mismatched numbers."
User Comments
0 comments from readers