Chapter 50 Judgment The weather's better now, so let's take her home.

The Chengying Guard was the most elite force under Emperor Qianyuan, existing only in the shadows. Since the emperor ascended to the position of crown prince, he had begun to establish and train this secret guard camp.

It is now the eleventh year of the Qian Yuan era. The Cheng Ying Guard has been established for more than ten years. Its secret network is spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital, the residences of officials and noble families. It has even extended outward from the capital as its center several years ago, forming a giant net that covers all the dark corners of the entire Great Chu.

This network has grown larger and denser over time, and now it has yielded abundant results, finally providing enough "evidence" to be presented to Wen Miao and Emperor Qian Yuan regarding the crimes of Princess Rui, Zhao.

A thin sheet of paper, covered in dark gray ink, records several lives that vanished silently.

Wen Miao gently exhaled a breath of stale air. She leaned against Emperor Qian Yuan, feeling the warmth from the man's palm on her back, which seemed to gradually dispel the chill and dread that had surged through her body.

She suddenly felt a little scared, but because of her amnesia, she didn't know exactly what she was afraid of.

Is it fear of the lives of people here being treated with contempt? Or is it fear that one day one will become a superior who treats the lives of others with contempt?

In the end, the paper filled with evidence of crimes was put away again. Emperor Qian Yuan held Wen Miao close, and the two sat on a soft couch in the side room. The window was half open, revealing the layered Huiling Mountain in the distance.

After a long silence, Wen Miao spoke: "I... want to do something."

"The Empress may do whatever she wishes."

This was Emperor Qian Yuan's answer to her, and it never changed from beginning to end.

In the afternoon, the abbot of Lingyun Temple came over to take Wen Miao's pulse and said that this was something His Majesty had personally instructed him to do. He said that Wen Miao's health was fine now and that he just needed to continue to take good care of himself, avoid getting cold, and avoid worrying. As for the amnesia, it couldn't be rushed and should be left to nature.

After taking her pulse, Emperor Qianyuan had official business to attend to, while Wen Miao asked Chen Wanqiu about some details of Princess Rui's behavior in the mansion. She then took the letter written by Chen Wanqiu and handed it to Zhang Ji, the commander of the Imperial Guards, so that he could arrange for her to be sent to Qu County in Qingzhou.

"Thank you for your trouble, Commander Zhang," Wen Miao said with a smile.

Zhang Ji paused for a moment, then accepted the gift with both hands, avoiding the Empress's gaze. "It is my duty."

After Wen Miao finished doing all this, she walked into Lingyun Temple, but suddenly stopped not far away. Several young monks were talking in hushed tones, saying that they had found a master who had fallen and injured himself in the mountains before sunrise.

...before sunrise?

Wen Miao suddenly remembered the noise she heard when she first woke up.

Before she could ask a question, Wanbi, who had already inquired about everything, slapped her head and said in distress, "Oh dear, what a mess I am! I was thinking of telling the Empress about it, but I completely forgot after leaving Miss Chen's place."

Wen Miao: "Is it about what they were talking about?"

“Yes,” Wanbi nodded. “This morning when I went to get the vegetarian meal, I heard from the young monks there that they found Huineng, who had fallen unconscious in the mountains, while they were fetching spring water… He is Prince Yu.”

"Prince Yu?"

Wanbi continued, "It's the one who went to talk to the Empress yesterday. Master Mingjue of the temple is a skilled physician. He took a look and said that she had already fallen badly and had been freezing in the forest all night. He didn't know where she was injured, but she couldn't walk or speak. She'll probably be like this for the rest of her life."

Wen Miao opened her lips, but couldn't say anything for a moment.

He was perfectly fine the day before, how did he end up like this after falling?

A strange feeling, hard to explain, welled up in Wen Miao's heart. She suddenly asked, "Is the wooden box that Prince Yu gave me yesterday still there?"

Shi Cui: "Yes, Your Highness. I put it away earlier."

"Help me find it, I want to take another look."

"yes."

Before long, Shi Cui handed the wooden box back to Wen Miao. She took it and opened it. Inside the box lay the exquisite jade Buddha, its jade translucent, its face kind and benevolent, as if it were looking down upon all living beings.

Wanbi asked, "What would Your Highness like to see?"

Wen Miao shook her head.

She found nothing suspicious in the box and the jade statue, but the strange feeling that lingered in her heart did not dissipate in the slightest.

Forget it, there's no point in thinking about it too much. Maybe it really was just an accident.

...

The deep tolling of the bells at Lingyun Temple on Mount Huiling began and ended, then stopped and began again. Wisps of incense smoke curled upwards. After another autumn rain, the Buddhist ceremonies of the Great Chu royal family came to a complete end. The imperial carriage, with its flags raised, slowly turned around and headed towards the capital.

Chen Wanqiu rode in the same carriage with Shi Cui and Wan Bi. On the second day after arriving in the capital, Princess Zhao, who had been under the guard of the Imperial Guards, was sent to the Dali Temple for trial by the Dali Temple Minister.

That day, a misty autumn rain fell again in the capital, soaking the streets.

Prince Rui, his heir, Chen Wanqiu, and the rest of the Prince's family were all at the Dali Temple. Shi Cui, as the Empress's attendant, accompanied Chen Wanqiu and solemnly told the Dali Temple Minister that the Empress had asked him to judge the case truthfully.

Outside, raindrops pattered on the eaves, forming glistening threads. Inside, Princess Consort Zhao, the wife of Prince Rui, knelt in the hall, her former noblewoman demeanor gone, looking disheveled and pale.

When Zhao was initially confronted with Chen Wanqiu's accusations, she felt slightly relieved when she saw that neither the Emperor nor the Empress were present in the courtroom.

Thinking of her noble birth and her title as a princess, and how those of lower status had once seen her groveling before, she stubbornly retorted, trying to downplay the matter. She even tidied her disheveled hair and clearly articulated her "grievances."

Prince Rui was a cowardly lecher and not good at speaking. He was so angry that his cheeks turned red, but he stammered and didn't know how to refute.

Chen Wanqiu remained silent, only staring at the seemingly composed Princess Consort Zhao, who was spouting lies.

It wasn't until Shi Cui pulled a rolled-up piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it over that Zhao's composure gradually faded as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review spoke.

The deaths in the second, fifth, seventh, and eleventh years of the Qianyuan era were recorded, leaving Zhao suddenly unable to refute the claims.

The laws of the Great Chu may not be perfect now, but they have long stipulated that: those with a dead contract belong to the master family in marriage, resale, and life and death; those with a living contract can redeem their freedom themselves, and no matter how big or small the crime, the master family is strictly prohibited from punishing them privately, and they must be sent to the government office for adjudication.

Today, the lives of the people of Great Chu are relatively stable and prosperous. In particular, in the capital city, servants are mostly bought and sold under contracts. The few servants that Princess Rui had previously executed in her residence were all under contracts, so this purge can be considered an additional punishment.

Before Emperor Qianyuan ascended the throne, the powerful families stood in a tripartite balance of power, and it wouldn't have been difficult for them to take advantage of the situation to rescue an "innocent" noblewoman and punish a group of "insubordinate" servants.

However, the imperial examination system, which lasted for more than a decade, was enough to change the situation in the capital. Now that the aristocratic families have declined, this verdict has become a real crime on Zhao Shi – no one can save her now.

She slumped down in the hall, her fingers trembling, while the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review ordered his men to go to Prince Rui's residence and dig out the corpses hidden underground, according to the locations recorded on the paper.

The rain in the capital seemed to intensify, pelting down relentlessly. The backyard of Prince Rui's mansion was trampled into a mess, becoming extremely muddy. Corpses buried several years ago were unearthed, collected, and sent to the Dali Temple.

With the evidence irrefutable, Zhao had no room for rebuttal. She remained utterly dejected until the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review delivered his verdict, at which point Zhao suddenly snapped back to reality—

"No, this can't be! I'm a princess! I'm the Princess Consort of Prince Rui!"

You can't treat me like this!

"I am the Princess Consort of Prince Rui! I was personally chosen by the late Emperor and Empress to be the Princess Consort of Prince Rui!"

"Do you know? I am a woman of the Zhao family! My Zhao family served the late emperor and produced a concubine! My father is Zhao Chengxian and my brother is Zhao Shu! Go to the Zhao residence and call for help!"

Heart-wrenching screams echoed throughout the Dali Temple. Apart from the Prince Rui's heir, who rushed forward in a panic, repeatedly calling out "Mother," the others showed no grief.

Prince Rui made no attempt to hide the schadenfreude on his face, clapping his hands and saying, "Serves him right." The people in the Prince's mansion lowered their heads, but it was clear that they were relaxed and dazed.

Chen Wanqiu pursed her lips, inwardly marveling at her good fortune in having encountered the Empress. If it weren't for that encounter at Lingyun Temple, she would probably have become an old corpse buried in the backyard of Prince Rui's mansion...

Amidst the clamor, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, seated on the throne, delivered his final verdict: "Princess Consort Zhao forcibly changed a living contract to a dead contract, and privately executed servants within her household, attempting to force an innocent person into a lowly status... The evidence is conclusive. According to the law, she is to be demoted to a commoner and sentenced to hanging, without delay!"

Bang!

Zhao collapsed to the ground, utterly dejected. "It's all over...it's all over..."

But she didn't think she had done anything wrong. They were just a few lowly slaves whose entire lives' worth of food and clothing couldn't compare to the cheapest hairpin in her hair. Why couldn't she beat or kill them? Wasn't it the same when she was a child in the Zhao family? Why should she care about the lowly lives of the lower classes?

Zhao thought, she was not wrong!

She was just careless and gave others a handle to use against her. She should have killed Chen Wanqiu from the beginning. If she had been more careful, she would never have ended up in this situation today...

No one knows what Zhao was thinking in the final stages of her life. After everything was over, Chen Wanqiu was temporarily arranged to rest at an inn in the capital. She then returned to the palace and recounted everything that had happened that day to Wen Miao.

At that time, the latter was covered with a warm, soft quilt, leaning back on the couch listening with great interest. She had a hot water bottle under her waist, abdomen, and feet to relieve the unbearable soreness brought on by her menstrual period.

Shi Cui: "Your Majesty, rest assured, everything went smoothly this time. Zhao has been convicted and will be executed soon; I have temporarily settled Miss Chen in an inn in the capital to rest. She seems to be in very good condition. She is that Prince Rui's son..."

Wen Miao frowned slightly. "What's wrong with him?"

Shi Cui's face showed a hint of disgust. "That man tried to make things difficult for Miss Chen halfway through, saying that Miss Chen had framed his mother. He was about to take action, but I stopped him."

Wen Miao immediately grasped Shi Cui's hand, her expression somewhat grave: "Were you two girls injured? We should have had a few more people accompany you."

Shi Cui paused, then said earnestly, "Your Majesty, I'm fine. You've forgotten, I used to practice martial arts. Protecting Miss Chen is more than enough for me. I would never let her get hurt."

"You..."

Wen Miao gently tapped Shi Cui's forehead with her fingertip, her expression a mix of helplessness and indulgence. "What I mean is that you should also take care of yourself. I'll worry about anyone who gets hurt."

This wasn't the first time Wen Miao had said these words to Shi Cui and Wan Bi; she always hoped that these two girls would care about her a little more.

Standing on the other side, Wanbi also laughed and said, "Yes, Sister Shicui, Her Majesty cares about us the most! You can't get hurt easily!"

"Your Majesty, I know."

Shi Cui gave a faint smile before continuing her story—

After this ordeal, Chen Wanqiu had long since extinguished her former romantic feelings. She only wanted to return to Qu County in Qingzhou after everything was over, and honestly be the daughter of the county magistrate, helping her father and master handle the affairs of the county.

Zhao was demoted to a commoner and hanged, but her son was indeed innocent. The Prince Rui's heir was unaware of Zhang Ying's forced death contract and death by drinking abortion medicine. Therefore, he was still the heir, but he had lost his mother to rely on. In addition, the Prince Rui did not treat him well, so it was hard to say what would happen to him in the future.

Wen Miao nodded and said softly, "Once the rain stops and the weather gets better, send someone to take Chen Wanqiu home."

"Yes, this servant will arrange everything."

After a pause, Wen Miao added, "Well, I'll secretly slip Chen Wanqiu some travel money later, but I don't want her to find out. A young girl like her is shy, and I'm afraid she'll feel embarrassed."

Wanbi smiled and said, "Your Majesty is so kind! You are so gentle to everyone! You are like a celestial being descended to earth!"

Wen Miao chuckled: "Is that all?"

It was just a small thing she could do, like spilling a few drops of water.

Shi Cui nodded: "Your Majesty, it is excellent."

It's so wonderful that even occasionally, when I think of picking up jade or holding a piece of green, I feel like I'm dreaming.

How fortunate they were to have met such a gentle and kind empress.

A moment of surprise flashed in Wen Miao's eyes. She looked up at Shi Cui and Wan Bi, and after a brief moment of thought, she gradually came to a plan.

...Perhaps there are many other "trivial things" like this that she can do?

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Author's Note: Chapter 50 already! Hooray! Jumping! Spinning around~