Chapter 314 Trial Begins
Li Sanqi looked at the Crown Prince with an innocent and naive expression, which only fueled the Crown Prince's anger.
But he controlled his emotions well and said with a smile, "Arrange it as the Seventh Princess said."
The chairs were quickly placed on either side of the judge's table as Li Sanqi had instructed.
After the Crown Prince took his seat, Li Sanqi and the Third Prince also took their seats.
The others then took their seats.
With everyone present, they waited for the presiding judge to take his seat, for the gavel to fall, and for the trial to officially begin.
Meanwhile, many people are paying close attention to today's joint trial by the three judicial authorities.
The Yongchang Marquis's Residence.
Lady Wen of the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion said meaningfully to her son, "Min Qiao has changed a lot in the past two years, and opinions about her are mixed. However, the more she stirs things up, the more people gather around her."
Marquis Yongchang nodded in deep agreement: "Today's outcome will likely influence the future trajectory of Dayan."
Lady Wen said with a very solemn expression, "If Lady Min Qiao can get through this safely today, then don't place your hopes on the Crown Prince in the future."
“I understand.” Marquis Yongchang sighed. “I saw it long ago: the Crown Prince is neither a wise ruler nor a turning point for the Wen family. It is the Seventh Princess who…”
Lady Wen raised her hand to interrupt Marquis Yongchang, "Everything depends on the outcome today before we discuss anything else."
"Yes," Marquis Yongchang replied respectfully.
Lu Ming was currently in his own residence, gazing in the direction of Dali Temple, his thoughts racing.
After a long silence, he murmured softly, "Auntie, can we succeed?"
Meanwhile, far away in the palace, the sixth princess, Li Jingyue, asked the same question, "Mother, will today's plan succeed?"
Consort Zhao looked at Li Jingyue, smiled, and replied firmly, "We have been planning for so long, and we will definitely succeed! Today is the day of Min Qiao's death, and also the end of the Xuanping Marquis's mansion!"
Similarly, Emperor Xiaozhao was also keeping a close eye on the actions of the Dali Temple.
"Everyone's here, shouldn't the trial begin?"
The chief eunuch Liu Xin hurriedly replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, it has already begun."
"Report the latest developments of the case at all times."
"yes."
Dali Temple.
Seated on the presiding judge's platform were Zhou Ting, Minister of Justice; Wu, the old master of the Court of Judicial Review; and Zhang Cheng, Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.
Upon seeing the three presiding judges today, Min Qiao's group frowned and felt heavy-hearted.
On the other hand, the people on Lady Annam's side all had expressions of smug satisfaction, as if victory was assured.
There's no way around it, the choice of this presiding judge is really...
First, Zhou Ting, the Minister of Justice, was related by marriage to Sun Shiming, the former Minister of Works. Sun Shiming's second daughter married Zhou Ting's youngest son, making their families truly related by marriage.
Sun Shiming was also sitting in the hall at this time.
Will Zhou Ting show any bias during the trial?
Secondly, the person sent by the Dali Temple was Old Master Wu.
As is widely known, because of Old Madam Wu and the Crown Princess, Madam Min Qiao can be said to have a personal feud with the Wu family.
As one of the presiding judges, will Old Master Wu use his position to settle personal scores and target Min Qiao Shi?
Well, that's debatable.
The last presiding judge was Zhang Cheng, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.
This person is unrelated to either side. However, he is strict, rigid, and very particular about rules.
In the past two years, he has been the one who has impeached the Xuanping Marquis's family the most.
Good heavens, all three presiding judges have either directly or indirectly a grudge against Min Qiao Shi!
What's the point of even reviewing this?
Everyone on Min Qiao's side was worried about her.
Min Qiaoshi, who had been so calm, began to waver slightly upon seeing the three presiding judges.
However, she had prepared for the worst before she came. Otherwise, she wouldn't have arranged for Zhou Shi and some of the servants in the mansion to leave in advance.
Regardless of what everyone was thinking, Zhang Cheng, the chief judge sitting in the center, said a few polite words about being ordered by Emperor Xiaozhao, then slammed his gavel and loudly announced the start of the trial.
Lady Annan stepped forward first, “My lords, today I am filing a complaint against Lady Min Qiao, the Dowager Lady of Xuanping. First, she cruelly murdered my fifth son-in-law, Min Hui. Second, she hired thugs to brutally harm my six children, severing their left hands and ruining their futures.”
"His actions are cruel and his methods are vicious. I implore the three gentlemen to do justice for me and severely punish Min Qiaoshi!"
After Lady Annam finished speaking, Wang Mian, who had arrived at some unknown time, stepped forward first and respectfully pleaded, "I implore the three gentlemen to do justice for my nephew who died unjustly!"
The three young masters and three young ladies of the Feng family also came out with their arms in slings, stood in a row, and pleaded with tears in their eyes, "We beg you, sirs, to do us justice!"
Upon seeing these members of the Feng family, everyone couldn't help but twitch their lips.
What grudge could they have held against someone to cut off their hand? One or two would be one thing, but how could they cut off six at once?
Many people's gazes toward Madam Min changed.
Even the Duke of Jin and his wife couldn't help but glance at Lady Min Qiao a few more times.
This old lady had a very good relationship with her mother, and was usually a very kind person. Could she really do something like cutting off someone's hand?
In any case, neither of them really believed it. However, considering their grandmother's glorious deeds in her younger years, it didn't seem impossible that Madam Qiao, who was on good terms with their grandmother, might do something outrageous.
While everyone was lost in their own thoughts, Madam Min Qiao glanced at Wang Mian kneeling in the hall and her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
She had written to Wang Mian a few days ago, intending to use Wang's past and the fact that Min Hui had conspired with the Annam Earl's Mansion to murder her as leverage to get Wang Mian to appease Wang Zhangshi's emotions and try to get her to testify in court that the real culprit who killed Min Hui was Hua Conglin from the Annam Earl's Mansion.
Hua Conglin was never caught, so she could only try to prove her innocence from other angles.
Wen Xiu returned and said that Wang Mian did not express any opinion at the time. He only said that he would consider it carefully.
So, this is the result of Wang Mian's consideration?
Seeing that Madam Min Qiao was staring at Wang Mian, the Duchess of Annan curled the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a mocking smile.
The other person's nephew is dead, and you still want to use their deceased sister and nephew as blackmail? That's incredibly foolish!
Lady Annam smiled dismissively and personally handed over a stack of documents.
"My lord, this is the evidence. It contains testimonies from the servants of the Min family who were present, confirming that they all witnessed Min Qiaoshi killing Min Hui."
“Mrs. Zhao is also a witness. Her daughter, who went to visit me that day, witnessed Min Qiaoshi murdering Min Hui.”
"Furthermore, Lord Wang Mian is Min Hui's maternal uncle, and he can also confirm that there was an irreconcilable conflict between Min Qiaoshi and Min Hui. This is what led to Min Qiaoshi killing Min Hui."
Lady Annam gestured to Wang Mian.
Wang Mian gritted his teeth, made a firm decision, and slowly said, "Reporting to you gentlemen, this matter has to start from the division of the Xuanping Marquis's family two years ago."
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