Chapter 226: Bloody Mouth
Li Huan’s five fingers dug deep into the armrest, his shoulders beneath the mourning clothes taut like a drawn bow.
“Xue Shi, on what grounds do you claim Princess Ping Le intended to poison Her Ladyship the Empress?!”
Xue Sui’s iron chains swayed lightly, appearing heavy, yet she wore a relaxed smile.
“It was I who treated Her Ladyship the Empress in Qing Hui Hall.”
At this moment, Bi Yu also crawled forward and spoke to confirm.
“Your Highness, Consort Xue speaks the absolute truth! Princess Ping Le deceived my young lady, saying the snakeberry juice would only make Her Ladyship the Empress fall asleep for a moment. She said if my young lady could attend to the Empress at her bedside, she would gain the Crown Prince’s favor… My young lady has the Crown Prince in her heart and was solely focused on pleasing Her Ladyship, thus she acted foolishly and committed a grave error…”
“Enough!” Li Huan suddenly flicked his sleeve, causing the confessions on the desk to scatter.
He did not look at Bi Yu, his gaze locking onto Xue Sui once more.
“Are all these witnesses and evidence truly from the secret investigations of Duke Lu and Grand Tutor Lu…”
Wen Jia bowed her head in greeting: “Precisely so.”
Li Huan still did not look at her.
His gaze, as cold as ice, fell directly upon Xue Sui.
“Under heaven, perhaps only the Big Dipper Seven Sects of the Old Mausoleum Swamp possess the means to twist right and wrong and fabricate evidence…”
A low chuckle rumbled in his throat, and he bit down on his back molars, trying to swallow the metallic sweetness between his teeth.
“Xue Shi, what a venomous heart you have!”
“I do not understand what Your Highness means?” Xue Sui raised her eyes and smiled faintly.
Li Huan also smiled, the corners of his eyes red, his voice chillingly clear, “You schemed to humiliate this Prince, for what purpose?”
Xue Sui lowered her head, gazing at the marks left by the iron chains on her wrist, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Every word I speak is to save my life… If Your Highness is not deliberately feigning ignorance, then perhaps you should ask whose blood debt is enshrined in Princess Ping Le’s Buddhist shrine?”
Li Huan’s expression changed drastically.
In the deathly silence of the hall, Li Zhao leaned back in his chair with half-closed eyes, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the armrest, a cold amusement churning in his eyes.
“With mountains of evidence before you, esteemed officials, how long will you remain deaf and mute?”
The broken candlelight reflected on the bluestone floor of the Supreme Court.
This confrontation felt more like a cornered beast’s struggle.
The officials of the Three Judicial Offices stood as if facing a great enemy, their necks stiff. Some secretly wiped the cold sweat from their brows with their sleeve cuffs, some pretended to organize files, while others stared intently at Xue Sui below the steps, their breathing barely audible.
Li Zhao curved his lips slightly, his smile not reaching his eyes.
“I await for you, esteemed officials, to give an account to the court and the people of the world.”
Li Huan’s robes swept across the desk as he strode forward two steps, looking directly at Li Zhao, his lips drawn into a sharp line.
“Does His Highness the Crown Prince intend to turn the Imperial Court into a muddy mess and disgrace the royal family’s dignity?”
Li Zhao: “Imperial Brother, why deceive yourself? I seek clear principles and manifest laws, yet in your eyes, there is only selfish intent.”
Li Huan suddenly let out a cold laugh and swept away.
Xie Yanzhan straightened his back with effort, exchanged a look with those beside him, and gestured with his eyes to confer briefly. He then cleared his throat and struck the gavel again.
“Silence! The Three Judicial Offices’ resolution—”
“The evidence from all parties is complex and difficult to clarify at once, requiring further deliberation. This Court and the Three Judicial Offices shall investigate impartially and handle the matter with prudence. Xue Shi shall be temporarily detained in the Ministry of Justice Prison, and a decision will be made after the truth is discerned.”
“Guards, escort Xue Shi back to prison!”
The jailer stepped forward expressionlessly, his rough palm gripping Xue Sui’s slender arm, pushing and nudging her along…
The sound of chains echoed in the hall. As Xue Sui turned, she did not look at Li Zhao. She walked forward with her back straight, a gust of wind lifting the hem of her clothes, scattering broken light and shadows.
Li Zhao’s lips curved.
Watching Xue Sui being led away by the jailer, the veins on his forehead pulsed with his breathing. He struggled to conceal the emotions churning in his eyes beneath the gilded characters of “Enlightened Law and Moral Education”—
Li Huan, who had stormed out of the Supreme Court in anger, now calmed down and slowly began to understand Xue Sui’s words during their prison chess match…
“Those who steal the ‘jie’ are mutually karmic. And the brilliance of stealing the ‘jie’ is to make the opponent personally hand over the piece to resolve the ‘jie’.”
It turned out that from the moment he personally slammed half a broken jade pendant onto the Ministry of Justice files, there was no turning back.
Xue Liu’s imprisonment was his own doing.
From that moment on, it was destined that he would have no retreat…
The green flag of the long street wine shop rustled in the wind, startling flocks of crows.
Who is the mantis, and who is the oriole?
This chess game would ultimately lead to an unknown fate, with no draw, and the outcome undecided…
—
The next day, after the morning court, in the warm pavilion of Zichen Hall.
Emperor Chong Zhao sat upright on a dragon-patterned soft couch, the five-clawed golden dragons embroidered on the bright yellow satin surface rising and falling slightly with his breathing.
Agarwood smoke filled the warm pavilion. Xie Yanzhan, Xue Qingzhi, Wu Zhi, and other officials of the Three Judicial Offices, along with Censor Zhou from the Censorate, stood in two columns according to their rank, holding their breath in concentration.
The Emperor perused the files in his hands, his long eyes glinting coldly in the candlelight.
If only Xue Shi had testified, he would not have had to trouble himself so much with this case.
But now, elders like Lu Jing and Lu Kefu were involved, with both factions taking sides. Memorials of impeachment piled up like snowflakes on the imperial desk, causing him great headaches…
As an Emperor who maintained balance, he clearly understood the motives behind these influential ministers’ mutual accusations.
Lu Kefu was trying to preserve his old ties with the Eastern Palace, clear his granddaughter’s name, and restore the Lu Mansion’s reputation.
And Lu Jing, who had long since retired, was not only fighting for his son and Princess Ping Le over their two children, but also due to his stubborn nature, his single-mindedness, and his refusal to let go once he had a grip.
These individuals were now entangled by an invisible thread, becoming chess pieces on the board, unable to control their own movements.
The Emperor’s hand, which had been flipping through the pages, suddenly paused.
His gaze fell on the words “Old Mausoleum Swamp” in the joint investigation files of the Three Judicial Offices. He slowly raised his head, scanned Li Huan and Li Zhao standing below, and looked back and forth.
“The Old Mausoleum Swamp is merely an uncivilized land that harbors filth, yet it could stir up such a commotion?”
Seeing that the Emperor shared his view, Li Huan, who believed the detailed evidence capable of overturning perceptions came from the Old Mausoleum Swamp, couldn’t help but raise his head slightly, his tone becoming more resolute.
“Reporting to Imperial Father.” He took a half-step forward, cupped his hands in greeting. “Young Consort Xue disappeared at the age of eight, was adopted into the Old Mausoleum Swamp, and returned to the capital ten years later, only to begin stirring up trouble and disturbing the peace of the court and the country…”
“Your Highness Prince Duan!” Li Zhao suddenly interrupted him. “It is common knowledge that the Xizi delegation was ambushed by the Old Mausoleum Swamp. If Consort Xue harbored ill intentions towards the Old Mausoleum Swamp, why would she have a Xizi Wolf Guard’s jade pendant in her coin purse? Or are you suggesting that Consort Xue is a double agent for both the Old Mausoleum Swamp and the Xizi Royal Court?”
He did not address Li Huan as Imperial Brother, his tone as cold as contempt.
“The Consort Your Highness Prince Duan personally chose, showered with affection at first, and then personally sent to prison?” Li Zhao sneered, his gaze indifferent. “Such a contradiction makes one suspect that Your Highness Prince Duan deliberately slandered the Old Mausoleum Swamp and Consort Xue, in order to protect someone else and conceal certain unspeakable evidence…”
Li Huan’s pupils contracted sharply, his fists clenching slightly.
“Crown Prince, do not spew baseless accusations!”
“Reporting to Imperial Father!” Li Zhao slightly lifted his sleeve and bowed.
“Your son has investigated, and on the day the Yongfeng Granary caught fire, the Xizi Death Warrior Commander Mu Er Ji’s Wolf Guard jade pendant went missing. And the commander responsible for dispatching troops at the fire scene was none other than Prince Duan’s confidant…”
He paused, then looked deeply at Li Huan.
“Therefore, it is highly probable that the jade pendant is in Prince Duan’s possession—”
Li Huan sensed the unusual danger but could not stop the course of events.
Li Zhao looked directly at him, speaking each word with resounding force.
“Your son boldly speculates that the jade pendant in Consort Xue’s coin purse was a gift from Prince Duan. In this way, it also corroborates that Consort Xue’s words are not false.”
Emperor Chong Zhao’s expression turned stern, and he looked at them coldly.
The ministers in the hall lowered their heads.
Li Huan suddenly bowed, his robes creating a sharp gust of wind.
“Imperial Father! The Crown Prince makes hasty judgments without investigation, condemning based on conjecture. He is clearly attempting to eliminate his rivals by using Consort Xue’s case… If such framing is allowed to proliferate, everyone in the court will live in fear. How can the national foundation be secure?”
“All of you, be silent!” Emperor Chong Zhao rubbed his aching forehead, unwilling to allow his brothers to turn against each other and fight amongst themselves in front of the assembled officials.
“This case involves many parties. I order the Three Judicial Offices to re-investigate thoroughly and without bias.”
“Imperial Father—” Li Zhao attempted to argue further.
Emperor Chong Zhao stood up and forcefully flicked his sleeve.
“Each of you attend to your duties and do not disrupt the imperial court system due to disputes of pride!”
With that, the Emperor left with a stern face.
Wang Chengxi, bowing, scurried to follow, his trembling hand lifting the heavy door curtain as the Emperor proceeded to Hanzhang Hall.
Inside Hanzhang Hall, the curtains hung low, and a Persian carpet covered the floor, truly magnificent.
Princess Tuya, curled up on a cushion, was idly weaving a tassel. Upon hearing the Emperor’s arrival, her fingertips trembled slightly, and she quickly rose to adjust her appearance, then prostrated herself on the ground.
“This subject greets His Majesty the Emperor of Daliang…”
The beaded curtain chimed softly. Emperor Chong Zhao, hands behind his back, circled the screen and his gaze fell upon her, observing her intently.
Her lotus-pink silk skirt swept across the bluestone, silver gauze partially concealing her face, outlining her faintly visible eyebrows and eyes. The gem pendant on her forehead swayed gently, exuding a mysterious and alluring aura…
Princess Tuya was truly beautiful.
Li Zhao: In these two episodes, I’ve done it again.
Li Huan: What is the Crown Prince implying? I… I’m so angry! I really want to prove it on the spot.
