Chapter 231 Distorted Justice
The carriage rolled forward, and Jin Shu stared at the Crown Prince's face in utter shock.
This was the cruelest justice she had ever heard.
“Mr. Jin has handled so many cases, he has seen just as much evil in human nature as I have.” He chuckled. “You met Fang Qing in Yizhou, that profit-driven merchant who abducted a woman, killed her husband, and then, when he couldn’t have her by having sex with her at night, he killed her too. Afterwards, to escape punishment, he forced his steward to hang himself and then slaughtered the steward’s entire family.”
The Crown Prince said calmly, "A person like this has a thousand ways to excuse his sins. I ordered him to be burned alive; isn't that enough of a punishment for his crimes?"
It turns out that six months ago, when Li Jin tracked down Fang Qing, a wealthy merchant in Yizhou, the strange fire was actually caused by the Crown Prince.
Jin Shu glanced at him, speechless with surprise.
"Take, for example, the beloved daughter of Lin Yongde, the Vice Minister of Works. She is domineering and bullies her maids. She thinks she is of a superior birth and does whatever she wants, framing, deceiving, and even resorting to robbery." The Crown Prince snorted coldly, "If Heaven doesn't punish such a person, why should I have someone set a trap to take her down? Isn't that just?"
The case of Lin Yongde, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, was the first case Jin Shu received from Yan Zhao after arriving in the capital.
Even long afterward, Jin Shu still couldn't let go of the murderer named Fan Yin.
But now, the Crown Prince claims that he was behind all of these cases...
Jin Shu looked at Yan Zhao in surprise, only to find that he was also staring at her.
Before she could think, the Crown Prince continued, "That incompetent Vice Minister of Justice, Chen Wen, is corrupt himself, and his daughter is also a viper. She actually let her son-in-law cut off her own son's head."
"As for Liu Qi, who killed his colleague at the Imperial Academy, his father bought his official position through bribery, and he, relying on his meager wealth, attempted to buy his life and get away with it." The Crown Prince chuckled lightly, "Serves him right for running into Li Jin."
At this point, the Crown Prince straightened up slightly and took a deep breath: "But not everyone will be lucky enough to meet Prince Jing, who is unmoved by 20,000 taels of silver."
Jin Shu understood.
The Crown Prince said so much, but it all boiled down to one sentence.
"Justice in the world does not have only one form, nor only one procedure."
He smiled slightly: "Sir, think it over carefully these days. If you think what I said makes sense, why not join me in creating this world together?"
After that, the three people in the carriage looked at each other in silence.
Jin Shu was so shocked by the Crown Prince's words that she couldn't utter a single syllable for a long time.
This is not justice; it is clearly an excuse for killing.
It's true that Fang Qing of Yizhou was despicable, but his two children, who were not even ten years old, also died in that fire.
Miss Lin was despicable, but her innocent personal maid also died alongside her.
As for Chen Wen of the Ministry of Justice, why should he die with his own children who committed murder? If Song Zhen hadn't made arrangements in advance, they would have been dead in the ravine long ago.
Such indiscriminate justice, punishing the entire family for one person's crime, is something Jin Shu has never heard of in either her past or present life.
It may seem like violence is used to combat violence, but in reality, it is nothing more than outright slaughter.
In this way, he can even define it as justice.
Jin Shu bit her lip slightly, thinking about everything that happened six years ago.
Perhaps, in Li Jing's dictionary, killing his brothers and the entire indecisive Li Mu family was simply a way for him to practice justice.
Thinking of this, Jin Shu felt a strong sense of nausea.
nausea.
It was so disgusting I couldn't stand it.
The carriage slowly came to a stop at the entrance of the East Palace, but the Crown Prince did not get out of the carriage and went straight into the palace.
Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Jin Shu leaned against the wall, gagging repeatedly.
After a while, when she recovered, she looked at Yan Zhao beside her, but she couldn't bring herself to call him "Master".
Jin Shu hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands in a salute: "Lord Yan."
Yan Zhao looked at her coldly as he listened to those three unfamiliar words.
"Is what you just saw the justice that Lord Yan yearns for?" she asked, still unable to resist looking at his face.
Before him, Yan Zhao remained silent, then turned and walked towards the East Palace.
Seeing that he avoided the topic, Jin Shu had no choice but to take a deep breath and reluctantly follow.
"That's not justice." After a long silence, Yan Zhao turned his head and coldly uttered these words, "Don't let him succeed."
For a moment, Jin Shu stared at his retreating figure, stunned.
She truly felt that Yan Zhao was still the same Yan Zhao, but why...
Noticing the eyes and ears of those watching her from all sides, Jin Shu swallowed the questions she wanted to ask as she walked.
Now is not the time.
Earlier, shortly after Jin Shu was taken away by the Crown Prince, Li Jin rushed to Jin Shu's courtyard on horseback.
He wanted to erase all traces of Jin Rong's existence and find the gift that Consort Xiao had given to Jin Shu: the copper coin that granted him immunity from death.
If we find that coin, even in the worst-case scenario, at least we can save Jin Shu's life.
As long as she's alive, anything is negotiable.
But... Li Jin and An Ying searched the main hall and the inner room many times, looking for every possible hiding place, but they couldn't find that coin.
Where could she possibly hide?
But the crown prince did not give him more time to search. In the blink of an eye, the courtyard was heavily guarded and surrounded.
He secretly observed the Crown Prince's formation and realized that not even a fly could get in.
what to do?
He returned to the Six Doors and sat in the courtyard of the gatekeeper, as if he had turned into a stone statue.
Only now did Li Jin realize that he had fallen into the Crown Prince's trap.
He took advantage of the Grand Tutor's defection to spread the word to Li Jin, causing Li Jin to focus all his attention on Pei Yide in the past few days.
Little did they know, the Crown Prince and Yan Zhao had already gathered enough evidence, waiting to catch Li Jin off guard after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
His thoughts were in turmoil, his brows were furrowed, and he was rubbing his forehead with his hand.
"Your Highness."
Upon hearing this, Li Jin slowly raised his head after a long while.
Before him stood the remaining six members of Shadow, their faces filled with worry.
Zhang Xin spoke first: "Right now, it's not that bad. Mr. Jin's life is not in danger for the time being."
Li Jin raised his eyebrows.
"The Crown Prince's arrest is simply an attempt to use Mr. Jin's irregular identity to overturn the evidence that Mr. Jin has already obtained for the Prince," Zhang Xin said.
“That’s absolutely right.” Su Shangxuan, who was rarely seen on ordinary days, crossed his arms and continued Zhang Xin’s words, “Ms. Jin is truly talented and learned. Even if she were disguised as a man, she would still make great contributions to the court. His Majesty is very likely to spare her life.”
“But…” Su Shangxuan hesitated for a moment, “If Mr. Jin cannot return to the Six Doors, the Crown Prince will have a reason to turn all of Mr. Jin’s protective books into a piece of waste paper. Therefore, Your Highness’s efforts to save Mr. Jin’s life alone are not enough.”
Shen Wen clicked his tongue, "Then what are you all standing there for! Everyone, quickly think of a way to get Mr. Jin back to his original position!"
"If only it were as simple as you make it out to be." Yunfei sighed. "To get His Majesty to set a precedent for women entering officialdom is as difficult as ascending to heaven."
Women entering officialdom.
Li Jin was taken aback.
He looked up at the crowd in front of him, and his eyes gradually filled with light.
Everyone was startled.
After a long pause, Zhang Xin looked at Li Jin's face with some surprise: "Your Highness, is it true?"
Su Shangxuan seemed to have expected this, and smiled, "Truly worthy of being Prince Jing."
Only Bai Yu raised his eyebrows in surprise and waved his hands repeatedly: "The risk is too great, Your Highness, please think it over!"
Li Jin raised an eyebrow, glanced at his face, and smiled brightly.
Under the "pressure" of his dazzling smile, Bai Yu broke out in a cold sweat, grimacing as he nodded and said, "I...I'll risk my life to accompany you!"
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