Chapter 4: Trial (Text Plot) Isn't that her secret code? ...
The freezing well water poured over his head.
The rough soap nuts wrapped in linen were rubbed against the skin vigorously.
The hands responsible for cleaning were very strong, and every rubbing seemed to peel off a layer of skin.
The dirt and blood stains on Shu Yao's body were stripped off roughly.
The tip of his tongue pressed firmly against his teeth, and his knuckles left deep marks on the edge of the bucket.
After putting on prison clothes, Shu Yao was dragged by two strong soldiers, holding her arms.
After passing through the solemn Liang army camp, they arrived at a temporary military tent that was used as a court.
The big tent was brightly lit, and a middle-aged man in a crimson official robe sat in the main seat.
His expression was solemn and stern, and his brows carried the sinister look of someone who had been in prison for a long time.
Shu Yao quietly looked towards the main seat.
With a quick glance, he saw Zhao Yan sitting below, wearing a purple robe and a golden belt.
In the blink of an eye, Chuntao and Lu Bo, the grandparents, were tied up in the hall.
This posture... is to interrogate her?
"Bold Jiang!" The presiding judge, the Vice Minister of Justice, slammed the gavel.
There was a loud bang, and the tent cloth trembled.
"The State of Jin was destroyed, and the royal power was broken. As a hostage, you should have waited for the imperial court's decision! How dare you open the secret passage and escape in the chaos! And even hand over these important items to the old servant from Jin!" As he spoke, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice reached out and grabbed a piece of paper from the table. With two fingers, he lifted it up and showed the honey seal that Shu Yao had left for Lu Bo.
There were four big words written on the paper: Check in with DingTalk.
Shu Yao's eyelids twitched.
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have played the meme.
So embarrassing...
Without waiting for a response, the Minister of Justice slammed the gavel again: "Speak! Are you secretly colluding with the remnants of the previous dynasty and plotting something evil?!"
The soldier pressed his big hand down on Shu Yao's shoulder.
Shu Yao felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and was forced to bend forward by the fierce force, almost falling to her knees.
She won't kneel!
Shu Yao twisted her shoulders and shrank her body, releasing the force downwards and holding up the bent posture.
The spine is actually straighter than when standing.
She suddenly raised her head, her eyes piercing the hall: "My lord, you said I defected? Yes! I did! But what happened last night? Didn't my lord know? Flames shot up into the sky, arrows flew, and butcher knives were even at the gate of the hostage house! If I don't escape, am I supposed to stay here and wait for death?!"
"As for the tunnel?" Her eyebrows twitched slightly, her eyes frank, and a hint of sarcasm played at the corner of her lips, as if every word she said was the truth. "That tunnel has been there since the first day I stepped into the hostage palace. It was an oversight by the Jin State themselves. If I really wanted to escape, why would I have waited until last night?!"
"Collaborating with the remnants?" Her eyes swept across Lu Bo and Lu Xiaolang in the corner with burning intent. "Sir, tell me, how could this old man and this child be considered remnants of the enemy?! In the midst of chaos and war, seeing them in distress, I took out some valuables, and you accuse me of collaborating with the enemy? Did this secret code attract reinforcements? They're clearly pursuers like wolves and tigers! Is this irrefutable evidence of my defection, or was it just a flaw I accidentally revealed?!"
The Minister of Justice was choked by her barrage of questions, his face livid, and he slammed the table. "Sweet words and deceitful expressions! Even if you didn't build the tunnel, escaping during the chaos is still a serious crime! As a hostage of the State of Jin, this action is tantamount to treason, and you will be severely punished according to the law!"
"A hostage from Jin?" Shu Yao's eyes gleamed coldly, but a faint smile curved the corners of her lips. "So, my Lord knows I'm a hostage from Jin." She straightened her back even more. "I'm a hostage in Jin by the order of my father and king! I eat Jin's grain, wear Jin's clothes, and live in Jin's house. I'm indeed a hostage from Jin!"
Her eyes flickered, as if filled with deep doubt. "May I ask, sir, where is Jin now? Liang destroyed Jin and conquered the world. I admire you. But—" Her voice suddenly rose. "Did Liang send an envoy to inform Li that its vassal lord is dead? Did they send a letter confirming my affiliation? Did they announce to the world that they would inherit Jin's responsibilities over me?"
The Minister of Justice was stunned by her question and argued, "Everyone in the world knows that Liang has replaced Jin, and the capital is under the control of Your Majesty. Naturally..."
"Of course what?" Shu Yao took a small step forward. "Your Excellency is well-versed in the laws and should know that I am neither a Jin official nor a Liang citizen! The laws of Liang can govern the people of Liang and the ministers who surrendered to them, but they have no power to judge a single one..."
She suddenly turned to Zhao Yan, who had been listening silently, and said word by word: "Ownerless!"
Zhao Yan sat upright like a bell, his face calm, but his hands on his knees unconsciously curled up.
"How dare you!" The Minister of Justice slammed the table and stood up, his face flushed. "You are spreading rumors and misleading people. You are making up stories! You..."
Before he finished speaking, the curtain was lifted.
Outside the tent, the wind and snow wrapped in ice chips poured into the tent with a loud bang.
"Your Majesty..." The swordsman beside the tent cried out in horror, his steel sword fell to the ground with a clang, and he fell to the ground with his whole body hitting the frozen ground.
The immense force silently crushed the entire tent.
All the soldiers and clerks in the tent, including the Minister of Justice and Zhao Yan, were all shortened to their half-height.
There was a dull sound as bones and flesh collided with frozen mud.
In the dead silence, the only sounds were Lu Xiaolang's suppressed breathing and the occasional crackling sound from the charcoal brazier.
The heated debate spirit in Shu Yao's chest was stuck in her throat, and she subconsciously wanted to turn back.
The remaining sanity roared madly, and finally lowered his eyes and stared at the ground.
In the corner of his eye, several eunuchs in blue clothes rushed in silently and erected a red sandalwood screen between the tent door and the desk.
The screen is vaguely painted with clouds, mountains and sea of fog, blocking the view from inside and outside.
Then, a tall and straight figure, wrapped in the cold wind and snow, hurriedly walked around the screen and sat down in the main seat.
"Everyone, get up." The voice behind the screen was young and calm, yet it carried an undeniable pressure. It penetrated the thin silk and fell on the Minister of Justice. "Mr. Zhang, continue. This theory of ownerless property is... quite new to me."
The last three words fell very lightly and slowly.
"Your Majesty! This woman quibbled and falsely claimed..." The Vice Minister of Justice fell to the ground, his official hat askew, his voice trembling and incoherent.
The person behind the screen interrupted: "Jiang."
Shu Yao suddenly felt two tangible gazes piercing through the barrier of the rosewood screen and landing precisely on her.
It's not just a simple look, it's more like a deep search into the bone marrow.
His gaze slowly moved downwards, lingering over the unhealed wound on her neck, sliding down her waistline that refused to give way, and finally resting on her whitened knuckles.
Don't panic!
Shu Yao clenched her palms even harder, her nails digging into her palms.
By exploiting the loophole in the "ownerless hostage" process and forcing Liang to go through international procedures, any delay would be a plus...
"You just said that the State of Jin has perished and the new master has not yet been decided. As a hostage without an owner, the Liang law has no right to try you?" Xiao Chengjing spoke slowly and with a playful attitude as if examining his prey.
The words "Liang Lu has no right to judge you" were like an ice pick, suddenly piercing Shu Yao's bones.
The tone wasn't one of discussing the law; it was clearly the boss pressuring the company's troublemaker: "Xiao Jiang, your little act of defiance is quite unique. Explain it."
Shu Yao clenched her teeth, slowly bent her knees, and fell to the ground inch by inch.
The moment her knees touched the ground, she forced herself to speak: "I spoke without thinking, and I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."
A faint chuckle escaped from behind the screen, as light as a feather scratching the tip of the heart, making it impossible to tell whether it was happy or angry.
Then, there was a crisp sound, as if something fell on the table.
The hand resting on the edge of the table was now carelessly twisting a small object.
The object turned between Xiao Chengjing's fingers, occasionally emitting a faint metallic light.
The cold light shone through the hazy gauze, making Shu Yao's heart skip a beat.
Isn’t that her secret seal?
How did it end up in his hands?
"You're speaking without thinking?" Xiao Chengjing drawled out his words, stretching like a cat. "Your secret seal is exquisite. I'd like to ask on behalf of Mr. Zhang, what are the meanings of the engravings?"
Why is he asking this?
Is she trying to prove that the minister is guilty of colluding with the remnants of the evil?
Shu Yao lowered her eyelashes, locking the helplessness surging in her eyes into the darkness. Her voice relaxed, resigned to her fate, and she said self-deprecatingly, "Your Majesty, I simply wish to leave behind a memory. I'd like to be a wealthy and idle person, traveling the mountains and rivers, and wherever I go, I'll nail a sign saying I've been there. Your Majesty, please understand. If this item were useful, it would have been my way to escape last night, not a clue for the general. Whether your Majesty believes it or not, it... only holds this much weight."
"Traveling and enjoying the scenery... is quite an elegant pursuit." Xiao Chengjing slammed the copper seal onto the table. "Jiang, I want to ask you, do you wish to return to Li State?"
Return gift country?
All the blood in his body rushed to the top of his head.
But Zhao Yan walked silently to the side of Chuntao and Lu Bo, the grandparents and grandchildren.
Shu Yao pressed the tip of her tongue against the word "want" that was almost blurted out.
Emperor Liang...will he let her go?
If they were willing to let him go, why did they let Zhao Yan be captured alive?
If he was willing to let go, why did he suddenly show up when she found a loophole in the program?
Shu Yao suddenly understood.
Emperor Liang doesn't care about procedural justice at all; he is procedural justice itself.
His will is above all rules.
From the very beginning, this trial was more about form than substance.
She closed her eyes, completely blocking out the light before her eyes, and knelt on the ground with her forehead. "Your Majesty, please understand. My homeland has become like a distant cloud..." She paused, her throat rolling with difficulty. "Last night, I fled simply to survive... The fate of an ant is at the mercy of Your Majesty's holy will."
As the last word fell, a tear broke free from its restraints, fell into the mud, and spread out into a small dark ball, which disappeared in an instant.
Shu Yao warned herself.
Remember today's humiliation!
Remember who this humiliation comes from!
What about the powerful in troubled times?
The storm will eventually recede, and even the iron wall will have cracks.
If you hold on, there will always be a moment when you can escape!
In front of the screen, Shu Yao's seemingly crawling figure was like a glass of strong liquor.
Xiao Chengjing drank it happily, and a hot satisfaction rose in his chest and abdomen, almost wanting to sigh.
"Since you wish to take up residence in Liang..." He paused, citing a historical allusion, "In the past, Duke Huan of Qi, while not punishing his archery skills, entrusted him with the affairs of state, enabling him to achieve his hegemony. This demonstrates the ability to employ people outside the law." Then, turning to an unquestionable decree, "I will also employ people outside the law. You are intelligent and astute, and you are familiar with the affairs of the Jin Palace. I will admit you to the Secretariat as a guest official, to review and edit the ancient archives of the Jin State. This will be your home... I hope you will not let me down."
"Zhao Yan."
"I'm here!" Zhao Yan replied in a deep voice.
"You will supervise this matter."
"I...obey the order!"
Zhao Yan's heart trembled. He really didn't understand why His Majesty treated the hostage girl so inappropriately.
There was a strict order not to harm him in the slightest, and a special secretariat was set up to designate him as a guest official...
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