Chapter 222 He finally triumphed over fate.
Chaoge, Chaoge… Chaoge! “Chaoge…” Mu You couldn’t help but utter the name that had haunted him for more than twenty years. The hall was high and spacious, and his words were muffled. It seemed that no one could hear what he was saying, except for… Cui Jin standing to the side.
"Does the Emperor know my father?" Guan Ye raised her head.
Mu You neither said yes nor no. “When I was young, I was also obsessed with forging. I passed by the Tianhu Workshop and saw your father forging a sword. No, what he forged at that time was not a sword, but a knife.”
The knife. Wan Qixi's tiger's mouth twitched involuntarily.
When Guan Ye saw the Emperor again, she no longer felt the fear she had felt during her first audience. Or perhaps, she knew there would be no next time, so she decided it was better to say everything at once, and if she was going to die, she would die a clean death.
"What the Emperor saw was probably the weapon my father made for me to defend myself; it's a horizontal sword," Guan Ye said calmly.
Mu You nodded, "It does seem to be a horizontal sword." He then examined Guan Ye, his words carrying a deeper meaning, "A sword for self-defense? Your father used this sword to protect you when he fled with his wife and children?"
Guan Ye shook her head and said, "Father left in a hurry and didn't have time to go back to the workshop to get the knife. Father also regretted not going back. If he had informed others, perhaps... more people could have survived."
Seeing the two lost in reminiscence, Cui Jin interrupted, "Feng Jian has passed three trials, saying he wants to seek justice for himself, for Ma Lin, and for Tianhufang. The Emperor himself is going to try him. Why don't you quickly tell the truth about your grievances?"
Feng Shisan was in so much pain that he grimaced as soon as he moved. Guan Ye gestured for Mu Chenbi to support him and stepped forward, saying, "Feng Jian is seriously injured. I will take care of the rest. I will seek justice for everyone."
"You?" Cui Jin coldly rebuked.
"I am also involved in this case and have been wronged. What's wrong with me?"
Mu You waved his dragon robe, signaling Guan Ye to continue.
“I, Guan Ye, want to redress three injustices. The first is the case of counterfeit copper coins at the Ma family mint. The second is the crime of harboring a criminal in Xingguo Ward and then using live people to be sacrificed in the furnace. The third is the case of the blood crossbows of the five major workshops, with Tianhu Ward as the leader.”
After Guan Ye finished speaking, Mu You's expression remained unchanged. Cui Jin chuckled coldly, "You've got quite the nerve to appeal three injustices at once. Why don't you just call out every single injustice in the world?"
Guan Ye showed no fear. "The sun shines brightly over the Great Jin. Does the Grand Preceptor mean that... there are far more than just these three unjust cases in the Great Jin? There are many more, aren't there?"
Cui Jin's single eye flashed with a fierce light, and he snorted before turning his head away. Guan Ye continued, "They sound like three unrelated old cases, but they are all interconnected. Once one case is solved, the next one will be easily resolved. So, although they are called three cases, they are actually one case."
Mu Youcang's eyes flashed, and Cui Jin immediately understood. He cast a glance at Lou Cangyu, who raised his arm above his head. The Eagle Guard rushed out and slammed the door of Zetian Palace shut with a loud bang.
Guan Ye was startled by the sudden loud noise, her eyes twitching and involuntarily glancing at A Jiu. Cui Jin saw this and secretly laughed, thinking that she was just putting on a brave front and was still a timid girl at heart. Cui Jin shook out his dark robe and stood in front of Guan Ye, saying, "At this point, don't rely on others anymore. Guan family girl, you and your father are the same, all strength and no heart. You and your father will never amount to anything."
Yes, that's what Father said too. They can't do anything but hide. The truth is right in front of us. Guan Ye, are you still powerless to do anything? Guan Ye lowered her eyelashes and stared blankly at the open palm. It was a pair of calloused hands that had melted stone, caressed swords, and received blood, but hadn't had time to close Ma Lin's unwilling eyes in death... A surge of power welled up in Guan Ye's chest, and she suddenly raised her head to look directly at Mu You in the hall. At this moment, she was no longer afraid—what if she insisted on fighting?
"If it can be proven that the Ma family's counterfeit copper coin case was a scheme, a frame-up, then the Ma family is not the culprit, and Ma Lin is certainly not the descendant of a wanted criminal. Does that mean Xingguo Ward is not considered to be harboring a wanted criminal?" Guan Ye questioned Mu You.
Mu You's brows furrowed as he toyed with the hilt of the Meteor Sword beside him. "This case is too old; I don't remember many things. I vaguely recall that the Ma family's copper coins were short of brass, and they couldn't explain where the brass went. Brass is an important iron material controlled by the imperial court, so its theft is no small matter. The head of the Ma family, what was his name again? He surrendered himself to the three judicial authorities and confessed everything. There should be his fingerprint on his confession, right? Is this what you call a miscarriage of justice?" Mu You glanced at the slender young man in a blue robe beside him. "You must be the young head of the Mei family."
"Mei Shiyu, a commoner, is the current head of Gongcheng Money Shop."
Mu You stroked his beard. "Speaking of this case, it was your father who reported Old Master Ma. You're here today, are you here to seek justice for them with Guan Ye, or to provide corroboration for the court's judgment?"
Mei Shiyu swallowed the blood that surged in his chest, his hand tightly gripping the jade buckle on the bone fan at his waist. "My father never believed that the Ma family would do such a thing. Until his death, he kept telling me to wait until the Ma family's descendants returned to Rongdu. The report back then was also my father's helpless move. The Ma family and the Mei family have been on good terms for generations. If we don't sever ties, we'll probably be implicated. The road ahead is long. If the Mei family also suffers, the Ma family will truly have no hope left."
"Did your father tell you this himself?" Cui Jin pressed. "Was reporting the Ma family a last resort for him?"
Cui Jin's single eye was terrifying at first glance. Several years ago, he was stationed at the money shop for half a month. This period was a lingering shadow in Mei Shiyu's youth. But today, when they met eyes, Mei Shiyu would no longer hide. "Many things do not need my father to explain. I am connected with him as father and son. I know what he is carrying. If he is to live, it is not my turn to stand up in the Zetian Hall today. It should be him."
"The youthful passion is touching," Mu You sighed, "but also regrettable." He then turned his gaze to Guan Ye, "Guan Ye, how did the Ma family get framed and betrayed? What did you find out? Or do you have some evidence? Brass, did you find the missing brass?"
Guan Ye raised her lips, seemingly with a mocking expression. Mu You's face darkened, and his hand, which was toying with the sword hilt, paused slightly. Guan Ye said, "It's quite a coincidence. Xingguo Workshop extracted an extra 500 jin of brass from the swords of the Tomb Guards. That's exactly the size of the swords that the Ma family's mint mysteriously disappeared from back then. Anyone who knows about iron ore and casting techniques knows that brass is brittle and cannot be used to forge weapons. The swords of the Tomb Guards have too much brass. If they were to actually fight an enemy, I'm afraid they would be utterly vulnerable." Guan Ye confronted Mu You's immovable posture. "His Majesty said that he was obsessed with casting techniques when he was young. He must know this as well."
An awkward silence fell over the hall. Wushuang said, "It's not just Guan Ye and the Emperor who understand forging techniques; I'm one of them too. Guan Ye is right. When incorporating brass into weapons, the amount must be carefully controlled. If too much is used, the consequences will be unimaginable. The swords of the Tomb Guards are also weapons, and weapons are meant to protect the country and kill enemies. Who would tamper with the weapons of the Tomb Guards? Just to... frame the Ma family?"
Guan Ye was waiting for someone to respond. Whether Wu Shuang did it unintentionally or intentionally, she had hit the nail on the head about what Guan Ye was about to say. Guan Ye gave Wu Shuang a grateful look and continued, "This is what I mentioned earlier about the three cases being interconnected. The guards of the imperial tombs of the Great Jin Dynasty have been hiding their weapons, yet they haven't used them for decades. If it were just to frame the Ma family, a mere furnace of fake copper coins wouldn't cause much of a stir. It's really not worth going to such lengths. Grand Preceptor Cui said I was magnanimous, but the person behind the scheme is truly magnanimous. He used the country as a chessboard, and everyone as pieces, playing against heaven and earth, and finally won half a move against heaven, laughing all the way to today."
Mu Lexiu was completely bewildered by Guan Ye's words. After pondering for a while, he said, "Guan Ye, stop playing coy here. Just tell me what you know. After we settle things, Father still wants Xiang Wushuang's sword."
"Let me tell you a story," Guan Ye said with a smile, her voice becoming more relaxed.
"I love listening to stories." Ajiu's dark eyes burned brightly, flames of love for Guan Ye surging within them. "Go on."
Guan Ye took a deep breath. The moment she sorted everything out, she finally felt relieved. The road ahead was uncertain and vast. Even if she could never leave the main hall again, she had accomplished this great thing for her father and for all the dead.
"The eldest daughter of the Lu family of Tianhufang is named Chaoge. She is a blacksmith and a swordsman. Moreover, she is skilled in things that are usually unknown to others. Iron ore in her hands is not only a material for forging weapons, but can also be ground into mineral pigments and used to create brilliant paintings that can be passed down through generations on paper, silk, and stone walls."
Mineral pigments used to paint? Mu Lexiu glanced at Wushuang; that radiant, colorful female silhouette... was painted by Wushuang using mineral pigments.
On the stone wall? Feng Shisan vaguely remembered something, but it seemed like he couldn't recall anything at all.
"Although Lu Chaoge is a woman, she has skills that surpass those of men. Whenever my father mentions her to me, he is always full of admiration. After the blood crossbow incident, he thought that Lu Chaoge had also died at the execution ground. He lamented that Lu Chaoge's death would cause the casting technology of the Great Jin Dynasty to stagnate for a hundred years."
"You thought?" Mu Lexiu couldn't help but ask doubtfully, "Judging from your tone, Lu Chaoge... isn't dead?"
Mu Chenbi was annoyed that her younger brother had interrupted Guan Ye. She only glanced at him, but Mu Lexiu suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and shut his mouth, not daring to say anything more. After a moment, he carefully looked at Mu Chenbi, who was covered in dust, and vaguely felt that something was amiss.
"If she had truly died on the day the entire Lu family was executed, none of you would be gathered here today," Guan Ye said with a smile, looking at the crowd. "I don't know how Lu Chaoge escaped Rongdu and fled along the way; it was probably similar to what happened to my parents. She was a woman, with a child..."
Upon hearing the word "child," Wan Qixi's eyelashes fluttered, and she stared intently at Guan Ye with narrowed eyes, as if she knew what Guan Ye was about to say.
"—The child is still unborn." Upon hearing Guan Ye's words, Wan Qixi breathed a sigh of relief without showing any emotion. Everyone in the hall looked at Mu Chenbi. "Of course, perhaps Lu Chaoge didn't escape alone, but that's a story for another time. Let's continue with our story. My father, Guan Xiaotian, was identified as the fugitive in the Blood Crossbow Case for two reasons. First, he was the most capable blacksmith at Tianhu Workshop, and all three thousand crossbows passed through his hands, making it naturally the easiest place for him to tamper with them. Second, the case happened suddenly, in just one night. How could he have received the news and escaped Rongdu with his wife before the city was sealed off? He must have planned it all along, knowing that the reinforcements from Eagle Ridge Road would be defeated, and had already prepared to flee."
"—It's alright to tell you. My father was able to leave the city because he was destined to survive. Otherwise, how could I, Guan Ye, be standing here telling you everything? The rebel army in Xiguan was advancing like a whirlwind. When he received news that the city might be besieged, it was only natural that he was anxious to take his wife and children out of the city to avoid it. He took my mother out of the city, and the next day he learned that Tianhufang had been raided. He wanted to go back to Rongdu to be with everyone... But the Blood Crossbow Case was closed in just two or three days, and everyone was beheaded... He had no evidence, and he couldn't get justice with just his mouth. Going back would only be a pointless death. My father wasn't afraid of death, but he was afraid of dying with a stigma. If he died with my mother and me... then everyone would have died in vain."
When she got to the sad parts, Guan Ye's voice choked up. Mu Chenbi was moved and couldn't help but pat her shoulder. Guan Ye raised her eyebrows and looked into his eyes. Her eyes were slightly red but still firm.
Feng Shisan was grateful that Guan Ye hadn't revealed his father's name. Of course he knew that it was his own father who had leaked the information to Guan Xiaotian. The whole box of silver ingots and jewelry hidden in the wall, as well as the money that had been confiscated... were all benefits his father had demanded for letting people out of the city when he was guarding the Vermilion Bird Gate... His father deserved what he got, and the Feng family had no grievances, but Feng Jian... had a sense of shame.
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