Chapter 34
Ling Huanchen walked forward confidently, bowed, and performed the etiquette between the monarch and his subject in a proper manner.
"What Lord Sun said is true. Someone died in the Ministry of Justice yesterday."
Lord Sun couldn't help but glance sideways, his doubtful gaze meeting Ling Huanchen's frankness, only to become even more bewildered. He'd already assumed Ling Huanchen would do whatever he could to make things right for him, or perhaps find a scapegoat to get out of this, but he'd admitted it straight away.
"Since Lord Ling has admitted this, Your Majesty, please..."
"Wait a minute," Ling Huanchen suddenly interrupted. "I did order this man's execution, but there was a reason. He infiltrated the Ministry of Justice under the guise of filing a complaint with the Emperor, attempting to attack me. Even after being apprehended, he continued to speak wildly, insulting the King. He deserves death."
Yu Xi frowned and ignored the rest of the words, but he heard the words "attack Ling Huanchen" clearly, "Are you hurt, my dear?" When he hugged Ling Huanchen last night, he didn't notice anything unusual.
Ling Huanchen raised his head and smiled faintly, "I'm fine."
The two men stared at each other, and Lord Sun could only grit his teeth. He really underestimated Ling Huanchen's ability to confuse right and wrong. He made up a very convincing reason and deliberately concealed the real cause. Even if he asked people present to testify at this time, who in the Ministry of Justice could not act according to his instructions?
"Even if what Lord Ling said is true, this man's guilt should be reported to His Majesty. The punishment can only be carried out after the memorial is approved. How can Lord Ling handle it alone?" Lord Sun lost the opportunity and seized the handle of his self-willed decision in a hurry, magnifying it infinitely. To be more serious, he did not take the king seriously.
Ling Huanchen sighed and took out a jade pendant from his bosom. "I believe Lord Sun recognizes this item, right?"
Lord Sun's eyes widened immediately. This jade pendant had always been worn by Yu Xi, symbolizing royal power. If the king were to come in person, he could execute the person first and report to the king later.
When Yu Xi heard this, he lowered his head and smiled knowingly. It turned out that Ling Huanchen asked him for the jade pendant last night for today, but he had kept it a secret from him.
"Lord Sun, is there anything else?" After waiting for a long time without a reply, Ling Huanchen turned to Yu Xi and said, "I think this person is suspicious. His sudden appearance and rebellion must be directed by someone. Your Majesty, please conduct a thorough investigation."
Before Yu Xi could reply, Lord Sun suddenly spoke first, "This man offended Lord Ling and insulted the king. Lord Ling has already done him a favor by giving him a quick death. I was biased and almost wronged Lord Ling. I apologize to Lord Ling here."
Yu Xi said leisurely, "This memorial..."
Lord Sun bent down and raised his hands above his head to receive it. "I withdraw. I will go back and reflect on myself."
After everyone left, only Ling Huanchen and Yu Xi were left in the room, looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Your Majesty..." Ling Huanchen said softly.
The outsiders left, but his mission was not over yet.
Yu Xi wanted to pull him into her arms, but he hadn't finished his words yet, so she pretended to be indifferent and asked, "Didn't I tell you to take care of yourself?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. You've already given Yun He to me. How could anything happen to me?"
Ling Huanchen pursed his lips. Since Yu Xi didn't come over, he had to go over.
"I didn't tell the king because I was afraid he would worry." Ling Huanchen came to Yu Xi's side, took the initiative to cover Yu Xi's hand, and gently stroked it. "I won't do that again in the future. If I feel any danger, I will tell the king immediately."
Yu Xi was easily soft-hearted when facing Ling Huanchen, but now that this person had come to her on his own, she was basically defeated.
He pulled the man over and asked, "How's the case going?"
"The outcome will be known soon." Based on his experience in the previous life, he wanted to summarize all the evidence and make a final decision at once, leaving no room for the other party to argue.
Yu Xi deliberately scratched his palm, causing Ling Huanchen to pull his hand back, but he held it back.
"They hid it from me, and Yun He too. If I didn't ask, she wouldn't report it to me."
Ling Huanchen quickly grabbed Yu Xi's mischievous fingertips and said, "Ah He is following the king's orders. The king asked her to listen to my orders. If I don't let her say it, then she won't say it."
"You two are so brave, and you are protecting each other." Yu Xi glanced at Ling Huanchen. The usual majesty of a king was no longer there, and instead there was a hint of anger in his eyes.
Ling Huanchen smiled apologetically, "It will be over soon. I promise that the case will be settled and I will be fine."
King Youcheng is very powerful outside, but when he is at home with his sweetheart, he is completely different. As long as his sweetheart says a few soft words, he will forget everything.
After Ling Huanchen had appeased the woman, he returned to his preparations for overturning the verdict. During this period, he would still summon the servant of the Qi Mansion and have her tell Du Heng every detail, and Du Heng would record it word by word.
The old woman was recording the confession, and the orphan of the Qi family was placed on the Luohan couch. Yunhe specially found a soft cushion to put underneath to avoid hurting the little baby.
"Master, look, she is looking at you."
Ling Huanchen put down the file and looked down. Sure enough, he saw the little girl staring at him with curiosity in her eyes. When she saw that he was looking at her, the little girl became even more excited. Not only did she laugh foolishly, but she also shook her arms and legs.
The baby was less than a year old and couldn't crawl yet. According to the old woman, babies grow slower than other children. Some children can roll over on their own before they're a year old and can even make simple sounds. But this baby hadn't learned anything except how to laugh.
Ling Huanchen was afraid she would stagger and fall, so he simply sat down beside the couch with the files. As he approached, the little girl stretched out her tiny hands and grabbed the hem of his clothes. Her strength wasn't great, but her grip was tight. If he pulled the clothes out of her hands, she would immediately burst into tears.
Yun He looked at the magical scene and couldn't help but say, "Master, she seems to like you very much."
It was not until Ling Huanchen hooked her hand with his fingers that he was able to free the corner of his clothes.
"Sir." Du Heng held several booklets in his hands. "The confessions have been recorded. There are four confessions in total, and they are completely consistent."
Ling Huanchen took it and glanced through it. "Very good. We'll see the result at tomorrow morning court."
As he spoke, he took the little baby's hand and shook it, "You won't be homeless any longer soon."
The little girl didn't know whether she understood or not, she just blinked at Ling Huanchen, probably thinking that he wanted to play the staring game with her.
The next morning, in the huge Yougan Palace, all the civil and military officials were silent. Only Ling Huanchen was in front of the palace, reporting to the king the details and results of the investigation over the past few days.
The two confessions, the old woman's and Sun Sheng's servant's, were completely consistent and irrefutable.
It was almost late autumn, but Lord Sun from the Ministry of Personnel was sweating as he listened. Like the other officials, he remained silent. The evidence was irrefutable, and if he continued to defend the person, he would definitely be courting trouble.
But he did not speak up, and Yu Xi did not let him go. After listening to Ling Huanchen's speech, she specifically called out his name.
Lord Sun was startled and hurried forward, "I am here."
"Sun Sheng is Sun Aiqing's nephew. I remember Sun Aiqing solemnly guaranteeing during Ling Aiqing's retrial of the case that Sun Sheng would never do such a heartless act. I wonder what Sun Aiqing would like to say now?"
Lord Sun fell to his knees before the palace, shouting, "I am guilty. I shouldn't have listened to one side and let that scoundrel deceive me. I didn't expect him to be such a heartless person. Your Majesty, I beg you to punish me severely. I beg for a year's punishment. Please grant me that!"
Every word he spoke was earnest and heart-wrenching, and he drew a clear line between himself and Sun Sheng with just a few words.
Ling Huanchen knew that he would avoid the important issues, but this was also part of his plan.
"Your Majesty, I have two more confessions here. Please review them."
Upon hearing this, Lord Sun's back immediately stiffened. He slowly raised his head and watched as the two confessions were handed to Yu Xi.
Ling Huanchen explained slowly and carefully, "Your Majesty, one of the records was written by a guard who once served in the Ministry of Justice. The reason the Sun Sheng case was suppressed was entirely because of the collusion between the Minister of Personnel, Lord Sun, and the Minister of Justice, Lord Ren, which led to the death of the innocent soul."
"You are slandering me!" At this point, Lord Sun didn't care about Ling Huanchen's identity, his eyes were already red, "Ling Huanchen, you are throwing dirty water on me just because I reported you! You are jealous of me!" As he said that, he pretended to stand up and argue with Ling Huanchen.
Yu Xi said in a deep voice, "Take it down."
The guards on both sides rushed forward and pinned Minister Sun to the ground in an instant.
Ling Huanchen remained unfazed and continued, "The other confession was from one of the assassins I encountered on my way back to the palace. He confessed that it was Lord Sun, the Minister of Personnel, who had secretly orchestrated this plot to prevent me from interfering in the case."
"Your Majesty! I am innocent. I have never done these things!" Lord Sun struggled to break free from his restraints and wanted to crawl towards Yu Xi, but he was no match for the guards, and the king on the throne never even looked at him from beginning to end.
When Yu Xi heard the word "assassin", he suddenly smiled. "Very good. Take the former Minister of Personnel, Sun Zhong, to the prison and wait for his punishment."
Sun Zhong was almost dragged away by the guards, leaving two bloody handprints in the middle of the hall, which was shocking to see.
"Has the former Minister of Justice, Ren Xu, already reached the wilderness?"
Fu Changshi nodded and said, "Your Majesty, we have arrived."
"Order to execute on the spot."
"yes!"
Yu Xi stood up, but all the ministers suddenly knelt down. He glanced at His Highness and the officials, "Anyone involved in this case will be severely punished. If anyone colludes with these two in the future, it will not be as simple as death."
The entire court, civil and military officials, prostrated themselves and kowtowed, "Your Majesty, we will obey your command!"
Having accomplished his original goal, Ling Huanchen retired and handed over the Ministry of Justice to Du Heng. At the same time, the imperial examinations in Youcheng were advanced to select new talents to enter the court and fill vacancies in the Ministry of Personnel.
Finally, they no longer had to wait for Ling Huanchen to come home late every day. Xiao Qi was the first to be happy. "Master, I heard that the uncle and nephew of the Sun family, as well as those accomplices, were beheaded in public at 3:30 noon today."
"Hmm." Ling Huanchen replied softly, then said helplessly, "Why are you so excited? What's so good about chopping off a head?"
Xiao Qi said cheerfully, "It's certainly satisfying to see bad guys suffer misfortune."
"Master, the people have arrived."
Following Yun He in were an old man and a child, a servant and an orphan from the Qi Mansion. The old woman, entering the palace for the first time, could barely move her legs; her calves cramped with every step.
Seeing Ling Huanchen, she simply knelt down and said, "Thank you, sir. No, thank you, Your Highness, for clearing the Qi family's name!"
"Old man, please get up quickly. I will have someone arrange for you and Miss Qifu to have a place to stay in the future. I will never treat you unfairly."
The old woman only thanked him but did not stand up. "I am willing to serve you like a slave for the rest of my life in return for your kindness. Please take us in."
The author has something to say:
Thank you "Jiuzixuli" for the grenade encouragement!
Thank you for the nutrient solution encouragement from "Da Wu Jian Huang Hun"!
Xiaoguai is busy typing (_)
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