Chapter 241 The trump cards in hand are not enough
Inside the Taiji Hall, an uproar erupted.
Not only was the Crown Prince's eyes wide with shock, but even Li Yi was stunned, staring intently at Li Jin in the center.
Li Yi raised his hand, pointing in the direction of Li Jin's head, and after a long while, he uttered a few words: "How dare you! Li Jin! You have quite the nerve!"
Before he finished speaking, Li Jin lifted his clothes, knelt on the floor of the hall, and took a deep breath.
The veins on his forehead bulged with tension, his hands were clenched into fists, and he remained silent.
The crown prince, feeling betrayed, looked at the clamoring officials behind him and pursed his lips into a straight line.
He was caught in a dilemma, unable to argue or not, his nostrils trembling slightly, his teeth itching with hatred.
On the throne, Li Yi rose and paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.
He never dreamed that his son would tear the royal family's fig leaf to shreds in front of all officials of the seventh rank and above at the grand court assembly.
He knew that Li Jin had his own priorities, so like the Crown Prince, he never expected that Li Jin would directly reveal these matters.
Caught off guard, Li Yi paced back and forth, glancing at Li Jin kneeling below.
He was both annoyed and delighted.
What's infuriating is that Yan Zhao was right. His son is truly prepared to risk his life for Jin Shu this time, and all the cards he's played are top-tier.
What pleased him was that this woman's willingness to risk her life reminded him of himself decades ago in the Imperial Study, when he almost got beheaded for arguing with the late emperor over Consort Xiao.
He grinned, pointing at Li Jin, swallowing back all the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
Finally, in front of all the officials, Li Yi gritted his teeth and roared, suppressing his anger, "Speak! Stand up and continue! I want to hear what earth-shattering words you can come up with today!"
He was heartbroken. Although the crown prince was ruthless, he was still his son after all. The royal scandal that he had been covering up for several years was now going to be known by everyone.
Seeing the stalemate, Eunuch Chen, who was standing to the side, hurriedly asked the imperial physician waiting nearby to get a prescription for liver-soothing and qi-regulating medicine and to start decocting it.
Li Jin closed his eyes slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, feeling the tension from before ease a bit.
He overcame the most difficult hurdle, the one that would most likely cause him to die here.
He stood up, straightened his clothes, took a deep breath, and under the watchful eyes of the officials, his voice softened considerably.
"Gentlemen, you're all fixated on the fact that Jin Shu is disguised as a man, insisting that she should be executed according to the law." Li Jin sneered, "Why don't you ask me, the one who brought her back from Dingzhou, whether I knew she was a woman?"
Li Jin glanced at the silent crowd: "You gentlemen say she deceived the emperor, but that's baseless."
He turned his head and glanced at Li Yi on the dragon throne: "Have you gentlemen verified whether Jin Shu has truly deceived the emperor?"
As he spoke, he took out the envelope that Song Zhen had given him from his chest, the one sealed with "Register of Adopted Daughter of Liu Cheng'an, Prefect of Dingzhou," and placed it on Eunuch Chen's tray.
Li Yi glanced at the unusually familiar envelope, then looked up and was startled when he suddenly saw the golden envelope in Li Jin's hand.
He wanted to refute it, but because of the envelope, he could only cross his arms and remain silent.
That's really ruthless.
The items on the tray were prepared at Song Zhen's personal instruction.
The golden envelope in Li Jin's hand was indeed a secret order he had personally written down when he instructed Song Zhen to do so.
These two items indirectly prove that the emperor of Great Wei already knew Jin Shu's true identity as a woman.
I was both angry and impressed.
It was choked directly, preventing Li Yi from speaking.
The civil and military officials of the court had been craning their necks to look at the face of the Emperor of Great Wei on the throne since the beginning.
He tried to find some clues from the subtle changes in his expression, so as not to be in the wrong position.
After looking and looking again, the ministers were now completely unsure.
Even the Crown Prince dared not act rashly, because he did not know whether Li Yi knew the truth or not, or whose weakness Li Jin held in his hands.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Li Jin turned around, looked at the officials behind him, and cupped his hands, saying, "I wonder if you have heard of the case of the second son of Chen Wen, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice?"
After speaking, he raised his hand and took the case notes and autopsy record from Su Siyuan, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, who was standing to the side.
"The second son of Lord Chen was beheaded and his body dumped outside the capital. This case was first presented by Feng Chao, the Prefect of the Capital." He glanced at Xu Weiyou, the Minister of Justice, as he said this. "The Ministry of Justice has kept the body in custody for seven days, but it remains unsolved."
As Li Jin spoke, he unfolded the protective book in his hand: "When the physical evidence was returned to the Six Doors, the victim had been dead for eight days. Under such conditions of physical evidence, Jin Shu worked tirelessly for a day and a night to determine what kind of murder weapon the murderer used, how he committed the crime, when he died, and the possible range of the murderer."
The Taiji Hall was completely silent.
He took another case summary and unfolded a new notebook: "If you gentlemen think that an ordinary coroner can find out the truth in eight days, then who can accurately determine the cause of death, deduce the murder weapon, or even accurately determine that the zither-playing female entertainer was a member of the Ba tribe? The body was hidden in the inn in the capital for two months and was found when it was already highly decomposed and covered in black soot."
"You gentlemen only see that Jin Shu is a woman, why can't you see her irreplaceable talent?" Li Jin glanced at Xu Weiyou, "Minister of Justice Xu, are you capable?"
Seeing the situation reversed, Xu Weiyou cupped his hands and said slowly and deliberately, "I may not be able to do it, but my Ministry of Justice also has a top-notch coroner who is comparable to the chief coroner. Your Highness, Prince Jing, please do not underestimate the Ministry of Justice."
Li Jin chuckled, remained silent for a while, then turned to look at Zhu Dongli, who was standing upright in the corner.
"Lord Zhu, your Lord Xu says you're capable!"
Zhu Dongli remained silent for a long time before taking two steps forward and kneeling before Li Yi: "Your humble servant cannot."
Seeing this, Xu Weiyou became anxious: "Lord Zhu, you must not underestimate yourself!"
Zhu Dongli didn't even raise his head: "What I have said has never been exaggerated or distorted, Your Majesty is wise."
As soon as he finished speaking, whispers could be heard all around.
"Even the Ministry of Justice's top coroner publicly acknowledged it in the Taiji Hall. Could it be that Jin Shu truly possesses unparalleled talent?"
“Father.” The Crown Prince’s voice rang out. He glanced coldly at Li Jin. “Jin Shu studied under Yan Zhao, the chief coroner of the Six Doors. It is not surprising that he has such attainments.”
He paused for a moment: "Moreover, everything Prince Jing said just now was an attempt to exonerate Jin Shu. Could it be that Prince Jing intends to break the law and set a precedent for women to enter officialdom?"
Upon hearing the words "a woman entering officialdom," those who had just been praising her extraordinary talent exclaimed in alarm, "Absolutely not! Absolutely not!"
“Throughout a thousand years of history, no woman has ever held an official position. Your Majesty must not set such a precedent!” Xu Weiyou stepped forward. “Previous dynasties have not done this, nor have any emperors throughout history. There must be something extraordinary about it!”
"Heh!" Li Jin chuckled. "What's so heaven-defying about it?"
His words were like knives, covered with a layer of frost, and his loud voice resounded throughout the entire Taiji Hall: "Today, I, the King, will fight against the heavens for the sake of my deceased imperial grandmother, for the sake of my mother, and for the sake of Jin Shu!"
Beside him, the crown prince stared at his face in astonishment.
Behind him, Li Yi sat on the throne with one hand supporting his forehead, a hint of admiration on his lips.
That's good, he knows to bring out his imperial grandmother.
His gaze swept sharply across the faces of the officials, waiting to see the second half of this good show.
Outside the Taiji Hall, Jin Shu, kneeling at the foot of the stone steps, stared blankly in the direction of the hall.
She heard it, heard Li Jin's voice, saying that he would fight against fate even if he was all alone, for her sake.
In the cold wind of the winter solstice, Jin Shu's eyes reddened. She weakly raised her hand to touch her nose and uttered two words: "Idiot."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
