The next morning.
The central square of Matruh is very quiet.
Overnight, the festive ribbons and flowers were removed, replaced by a different atmosphere.
That’s right, today is the day to judge the Lord of Matruh.
If this guy who enriches himself and harms allies is not dealt with seriously, it may cause a crisis of trust.
The trust of the citizens and the trust of Atlantis.
Of course, it’s not just that.
Lin Ke also needs to reveal the truth to the citizens of the city of Matrouh by trying the lord of Matrouh.
The real, truth.
At this moment, below the platform, thousands of Matrouh citizens were lined up in an orderly manner. They no longer looked as celebratory as they did yesterday, but had solemn expressions and looked with complicated eyes at the two people who were held in the iron cage in front of the platform.
He was the lord and governor of the city of Matruh, of course, the former lord and governor.
The two men's former fine clothes had long since been replaced by rough prison uniforms, and their once arrogant posture had become hunched and listless.
Then, four soldiers pushed open the iron cage, dragged out the city lord and the steward, and made them kneel on the mat in front of the trial seat.
The city lord looked up at the platform.
Lin Ke discovered that there was fear in his eyes, but also a vague sense of indescribable relief.
The steward kept his head down, not daring to look anyone in the eye.
Lin Ke raised her hand gently, and the entire square immediately fell into silence.
"People of Matruh."
"We gather here today to seek the truth and uphold justice."
"Over the past few days, our investigators from Holy Egypt have collected sufficient evidence."
"Today, the truth will be revealed to the world."
He turned to the two people kneeling before him and said, "City Lord, Chief Steward, do you admit your guilt?"
The city lord raised his head and his voice was hoarse.
"I know I have committed an unforgivable crime. I... have betrayed the trust of the Holy Pharaoh and failed the expectations of the people of Matruh."
"I deserve to die."
"I plead guilty."
The steward said nothing, but his shoulders trembled slightly.
Lin Ke did not ask any further questions, but turned to a soldier behind him.
"Please read out the results of the investigation."
The priest opened the parchment scroll in his hand and began to read.
"After a thorough investigation, it has now been ascertained!"
"The former Lord of Matruh conspired with his chief steward to fabricate a food shortage crisis and secretly sell the city's grain reserves to merchants for profit!"
"Slandering Holy Egypt by disrupting food supplies and exacerbating chaos in Matruh."
"The grain in the warehouse has been exchanged for timber by the Lord of Matru. This is irrefutable evidence!"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the audience.
Many people stared at the former lord of Matruh in amazement.
"What?!"
"Saint Egypt donated food to us, and this guy actually sold it to merchants and pocketed the money?!"
"He even shamelessly told us before that it was Holy Egypt that was unwilling to provide us with assistance!"
Many people shouted angrily, but a few swallowed their saliva and raised questions.
"But...but he also sent us a lot of fish."
At this moment, the voice of reading on the stage sounded again.
"...To cover up their crimes and frame others, they ordered their subordinates to develop poison and release it near the coast, intending to drive away the sea beast cavalry and attract merchants."
"I even caught fish that had fainted or died from the poison and distributed them to the people of my city of Matruh."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the people of Matruh below were in an uproar.
"What?!"
"You!? You hurt the Atlantean warriors in order to sell food, and sold those poisonous fish to us?!"
“Ugh! Ugh—”
Some people who had taken a lot of fish and were even grateful to the city lord almost immediately knelt on the ground and started retching.
Of course, it wasn't because they were disgusted, but because they were worried that their lives would be threatened.
"Even more outrageous is that, in order to escape punishment, they plotted to frame loyal officials and attempted to put the blame on innocent people."
"They even planned to sell their food and flee from Marsa Matruh, putting Marsa Matruh in danger of falling. The people of Marsa Matruh are facing the danger of being slaughtered!"
"The evidence for the above crimes is irrefutable and cannot be denied!"
There was an uproar in the square.
The people of Matruh were outraged. They could not believe that their former leader had committed such a heinous crime.
Then, Lin Ke turned to the city lord and gave him a chance to speak.
"Why do you do these things? Is it just for wealth?"
The city lord took a deep breath, his eyes dim.
"Your Majesty the Holy Pharaoh... Initially, I only wanted to make up for the city's financial deficit."
"I thought if I sold some of the grain to fill the hole, no one would notice."
"But when merchants heard the news and started offering higher and higher prices, I... I lost myself."
He closed his eyes in pain and his voice began to tremble.
"Then I realized that the gap was no longer accessible, so I took the advice of the steward..."
Then, a young man below shouted angrily: "But why did you give us poisonous fish?!"
"My pregnant wife ate the fish you gave us!"
The city lord flinched, looking a little terrified. "We...we just wanted to poison the fish and make people think it was a natural disaster."
"Never thought...that innocent people would be harmed."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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