Chapter 40: Redress
Inside the Tianji Palace, all the ministers looked at Zhao Mingyue.
Looking at her young and energetic face, he was stunned at first, and then he remembered that she was the daughter of the late queen and the emperor's elder sister. Compared with Zhao Chun, who had been the focus of attention since birth, she was a person with no sense of existence.
But since when, Zhao Chun gradually disappeared from the former dynasty, while Zhao Mingyue's figure appeared more and more in front of everyone.
At this moment, when she stood up to "confess", she actually had an aura of a superior that was inconsistent with her age.
"It was me, under my mother's name, who ordered the Golden Crow Guards to attack the prison at night. It was also me who broke into the prison's main cell and abducted sixty-four death row prisoners. And I did all this because of you, Lord Zhen, because of you, the so-called righteous men who claim to be upright but are determined to put these poor women to death!"
Every time Zhao Mingyue spoke, she took a step forward, and when she finished speaking, she just walked in front of Zhen Ruicai.
Zhen Ruicai was completely stunned. This little girl led people to rob the prison? Could she have such ability and courage? She must be kidding, right?
"Your Highness, this is not a joke. You don't understand anything and you are just talking like a child. Haha." He smiled awkwardly and stretched out his hand, pretending to touch Zhao Mingyue's head.
Zhao Mingyue raised her hand to push his hand away, and seeing his contemptuous look, she felt very unhappy.
Could it be that in the eyes of these people, she could be offended at will? If it was Zhao Chun who was here, would he dare to do this?
Zhao Mingyue took a deep breath, raised her eyebrows, and said angrily, "What are you laughing at? I am the princess, and you are the subject. You should kneel when you see me. Master Zhen is not a child anymore. Do you still need me to teach you how to salute?"
After saying this, Zhao Mingyue herself was stunned for a moment. When did she dare to be so strong?
There was a time when she was so scared that she had to hide when she saw these high-ranking officials!
But now...
Zhao Mingyue turned her head and looked at Chi Lu who was sitting on the throne. Her heart warmed slightly. It was her mother who gave her the confidence.
Looking at Zhen Ruicai again, his face flushed red, and he looked extremely reluctant, but he still knelt down, "I am sorry for my impoliteness, please forgive me, Princess."
Zhao Mingyue refused to let him get up and continued, "Since you say this case is no joke and you're eager to have it tried, then since I've filed the first complaint, Lord Zhen should conduct a serious investigation. Lord Zhen, this shouldn't be your first day as an official. Do you really need me to teach you how to handle a case?"
This was really impolite, and he almost reached out to hit Zhen Ruicai in the face, but it made Zhen Ruicai feel even worse without hitting him.
He was so angry that he almost exploded!
The first defendant was standing, while the judge was kneeling on the ground, which was completely the opposite of what happened.
You also said that you want him to come to judge. Do you think you are admitting your guilt?
Besides, the interrogation of Li Jiying and the interrogation of Princess Zhao Mingyue are of the same nature, right?
As the saying goes, royal dignity, even if these princesses and princes make mistakes, it is not something you, an official, can interrogate without orders from above. You may have to find a way to cover up for them.
If he uncovers a shocking case during this trial, will he still be able to live? Although fighting for power with Queen Mother Chi is important, his life is more important.
In short, he was not stupid enough to take on this hot potato.
Facing Zhao Mingyue's questioning, Zhen Ruicai could only do his best to suppress his anger and said through gritted teeth, "Since this case concerns Her Royal Highness the Princess, I think it would be best to hand it over to the Ministry of Justice for trial."
The Minister of Justice had not yet recovered from the dethronement of Li Mian. Upon hearing this, he immediately jumped up and waved his hands, "This matter is of great importance. I am incompetent and I am afraid I cannot conduct the trial. Let the Dali Temple handle it."
The chief official of the Dali Temple covered his head and pretended to have a headache. "The Dali Temple has been overwhelmed with cases recently. I really don't have the time to handle this case. Lord Zhen is extremely intelligent. Please ask Lord Zhen to come."
Nonsense, this case is so difficult, why should he get involved in this mess and be used as a knife by Zhen Ruicai?
The ball kicked around and finally returned to Zhen Ruicai's head. Zhen Ruicai's face became even uglier and turned ashen.
I’m afraid I’m cursing in my heart, what a bunch of cowards, they all said I won’t judge!
Seeing this, Zhao Mingyue couldn't help but marvel in amazement. Xue Siji was indeed a man of foresight. No one dared to interrogate her!
She took advantage of the situation, turned around, strode to the side of the Golden Crow Guard at the side of the hall, drew the sword from her waist, and walked back.
When Zhen Ruicai saw this, he was so frightened that his face turned green and he jumped up from the ground, "What does the princess want to do?"
With a clang, Zhao Mingyue threw the sword at Zhen Ruicai's feet and raised his head, saying, "I told you, I was the one who robbed the prison warden. Since Master Zhen believes that the criminal should be executed, then you can kill me now!"
Zhen Ruicai took a half step back and hesitated for a long time, but Zhao Mingyue forced him to be unable to say a word.
At this time, Chi Li spoke up, "Mingyue, stop messing around."
Hearing her smiling and doting tone, Zhen Rui knew that her attitude was on Princess Mingyue's side, and thinking more deeply about it, it became even more dangerous.
Zhen Ruicai suddenly felt a little annoyed. If he had known this would happen, he should not have jumped out so impulsively.
Princess Mingyue is protected by Queen Mother Chi, and the two of them are in cahoots with each other, so they are not easy to deal with.
While he was thinking, Zhao Mingyue had already turned to look at Queen Mother Chi, "Mother, I'm not messing around."
Queen Mother Chi changed her serious expression, supported her cheek with her palm, and softened her voice. "Then tell me, why did you want to break into the prison?"
"Because I want to relieve my mother's worries! Didn't my mother want to pardon those female prisoners? Since these officials won't allow it, I will rescue them myself!"
Queen Mother Chi sighed helplessly, "You really have the temper of a child. Do you know how dangerous this is? If anything happens to you, what will you let Mother do? Never again."
Zhen Ruicai had thought that Queen Mother Chi would at least reprimand Princess Mingyue, but instead he heard these words that were clearly biased.
Is this even human speech? The prison is on fire, and you're actually worried about the arsonist being in danger?
What a tyrant!
Sooner or later, the Darong Dynasty will be destroyed by this woman!
Zhen Ruicai only felt that the road ahead was dark.
However, darker things are yet to come.
Zhao Mingyue knelt down and changed her address. "Your Majesty, since Lord Zhen is so adamant that they are guilty, I will redress their innocence today! Let the officials decide for themselves whether we are guilty or not!"
There was a sudden burst of noisy whispers in the hall, and the faces of the ministers showed different emotions such as anger, resentment, excitement and anticipation due to their different positions.
Chi Qi raised her hand and everyone fell silent.
"Okay, since this is Mingyue's request, let's hear what their difficulties are."
————
"Let's listen to their difficulties first." Xue Qi said, walking up to the women in the hall.
At this time, there was still one hour before Li Jiying beat the drum to file a complaint to the emperor.
"Sisters, please don't cry just yet. I have a way to redress your grievances. However, you must explain to me clearly the crimes you each committed, the causes and consequences."
Her voice was gentle, and inexplicably convincing. Everyone wiped away their tears and said, "You saved our lives. We all listen to you."
A tall, pale woman stood up first. "Let me speak first. My name is Li Mengnu. Three years ago, my family sent me to the palace for selection. The late emperor took a liking to me and wanted me to serve him. But the late emperor was already in his fifties at the time, and I was only sixteen. He could have been my grandfather, so I didn't want to serve him, so I disobeyed his order."
"I originally thought I was going to die, but the late emperor held a grudge against me and gave me to an eighty-year-old eunuch, forcing me to serve him like a shill! I thought he would die in a few months, but two years later, he's still here, and he even came to my bed in the middle of the night and tried to molest me."
"I couldn't stand it any longer, so I kicked him off the bed. Unexpectedly, the kick landed right in his stomach, killing him instantly. That's how I was arrested and put in jail."
After hearing this, the words that the girls were about to use to comfort her instantly got stuck in their throats.
Xue Qi took note of it and nodded, "Your action was unintentional and should be forgiven."
Li Mengnu sat down, and another person stood up. This time it was a woman with an extremely thin figure. The skin on her face was tightly attached to her bones, and her cheekbones were high and protruding, making her look extremely bony.
What's even more pitiful is that one of her eyes is blind, and the other is also gray and can only see a tiny bit of light.
"My name is Wang Ya. When I was fifteen, my father sold me to a passing merchant for ten taels of silver. This merchant had a bad temper and would beat and scold me at will. He was the one who blinded me."
"Because I was blind and couldn't see very well, I worked slower and couldn't wash the dishes properly, so he beat me even harder. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I secretly took a knife, hid it under my pillow, and waited for him to fall asleep before I hacked him to death."
As if recalling something bad, Wang Ya covered her face and started crying, "I don't want to do this either. I also want to live a good life... Sister Xue, please save me... I don't want to die..."
Xue Qi wrote on the paper, "He is indeed a pitiful man, and he was forced to do this."
After writing it down, he asked someone to help her down and then called out, "Next."
"My name is Li Jiying." A slightly hoarse voice sounded.
Xue Qi immediately raised his head.
Li Jiying's face was haggard, but her eyes were bright. She said slowly, "I am the granddaughter of the current Prime Minister Li Mian, and my husband is Xiao Shen, the son of Duke Cao."
When the girls heard this, they cried out in surprise, causing quite a commotion, with expressions of envy and confusion on their faces.
How could Li Jiying, who was of such a noble status, fall into the same situation as them?
Before they could wonder for too long, Li Jiying gave the answer:
"I married into the Xiao family two years ago. As soon as I entered the mansion, I was told to abide by their family rules. In addition to serving my parents-in-law, I had to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, make clothes and shoes for my parents-in-law, uncles, aunts, and nephews for all four seasons, and do all the needlework myself. I could only sleep two or three hours a day, even when I was pregnant."
"But after I got pregnant, I couldn't stand the hard work anymore, so I went back to my parents' house from time to time to avoid being lazy. Who knew that Xiao would suspect that I was having an affair with someone else and wanted to beat me. I was so scared that I fell from the attic and lost the child..."
There was silence in the hall, and the expressions on the women's faces became increasingly solemn.
Suddenly, someone shouted, "What else do we need this husband for? Just beat him to death!"
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