A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Is Jingzhao Prefecture, Chapter 200, some kind of dangerous and treacherous place?

Seeing that Bai Zhizhi was about to lose her temper, Mu Qingcheng hurriedly changed her words and said, "I misspoke. It's not because the master gave too much, but because my will was not strong enough and I couldn't resist the master's sugar-coated bullets!"

"Forget it, I'm too lazy to compete with corrupt officials. I have important things to do tomorrow!"

Bai Zhizhi waved her hand, staggered to the bedside, and lay down on it in a starfish position.

Mu Qingcheng looked suspicious. "Something big? What's so big?"

“I’ve had someone prepare generous gifts. Tomorrow at noon, we’ll go to the Marquis of Huai’an’s residence to pay our respects to Young Master Lu.” Bai Zhizhi was feeling the effects of the alcohol and closed her eyes, her voice becoming low. “We’ve thanked everyone else, and only Young Master Lu is left. We can’t be sloppy with the formalities, especially since he works at the Dali Temple. Building a good relationship with him might be helpful for Sister Mu in the future!”

Upon hearing this, Mu Qingcheng's expression froze on her face.

By the time she came to her senses, the little girl had already fallen asleep.

Mu Qingcheng sighed inwardly, took off Bai Zhizhi's shoes and socks, washed her face, washed her hands, and wiped her feet, carefully tidying her up so that she could sleep more comfortably.

……

The next day.

During the morning court session in the Golden Hall, Song Shuyu presented a memorial reporting on the public trials of the three cases.

After reading it, Emperor Shen Zhu remained expressionless, revealing neither his anger nor his emotions.

He closed the memorial, held it in his hand, and tapped it against his palm repeatedly. In the quiet hall, the rhythmic and crisp sound was still quite clear.

"Lu Xun, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review; Liang Ruoming, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice; and Ji Yue, Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate!"

"Chen is here!"

The three people whose names were called stepped forward and bowed in unison.

The emperor narrowed his eyes, and his expression finally changed slightly.

The civil and military officials on both sides waited for more than ten breaths, but they still couldn't hear the emperor speak. They all curiously glanced at the emperor, but saw that the emperor's handsome face was tense, as if he was trying his best to suppress something.

The officials were startled and, following the emperor's gaze, naturally looked at the jurors and supervisors representing the three judicial departments in the hall!

Upon seeing this, a gasp immediately rose in their throats!

No wonder these people were nowhere to be seen while waiting to attend court. It turned out that they were all injured and in poor condition. They only managed to sneak in behind the rest of the group after being summoned to the palace!

Guo Xuan, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was the first to challenge, "What's going on? Lord Song, is your Jingzhao Prefecture some kind of dangerous place? Why are all the officials injured when they went to court?"

"Not entirely. It seems that Vice Minister Liang has escaped unscathed!" The Minister of Justice glanced at his subordinates, trying to distance himself from the situation and not wanting to get involved in this mess.

Unexpectedly, Liang Ruoming, fearing that he would be targeted for standing out if he did not follow the crowd, quickly clarified the facts, "No, no, no, Your Excellency, you are unaware that I was also injured!"

"Where are you injured?" The Minister of Justice frowned.

Liang Ruoming awkwardly tugged at the corners of his mouth, hesitating to speak.

The Minister of Justice was a straightforward man. He immediately frowned and rebuked, "What kind of behavior is this, stammering like this? Don't try to hide anything in front of the Emperor!" From the Emperor to the officials, countless eyes were on Liang Ruoming. He closed his eyes in embarrassment, feeling as if he had been stripped naked and subjected to slow slicing. "The wound is on my buttocks."

Liang Ruoming's voice was weak and feeble, but whether it was psychological or not, he felt that everyone had heard him, and their eyes had all been drawn to his buttocks, completely stripping away his fig leaf!

The Minister of Justice was stunned for a moment before he finally found his tongue. "How... how could it have injured the buttocks?"

This question is actually redundant; he's a specialist in this field, how could he not know the causes of hip injuries? It's just that, aside from this one sentence, it seems like there's no other way to continue the conversation.

Guo Xuan suddenly raised his voice, "Who did this?"

Liang Ruoming was so shocked that he trembled all over, but he kept his mouth tightly shut and refused to speak.

Before the public trial ended, he would seize any opportunity to kill Song Shuyu to avenge the beating he had suffered. However, after a private conversation following the trial, Liang Ruoming realized that he was merely a pawn used by Song Shuyu and the Empress Dowager to test each other. If he opposed Song Shuyu, even if the Empress Dowager wanted to help him, the Emperor and the Duke of Song would not let him go. Moreover, the Empress Dowager could not afford to offend the Duke of Song, and the inevitable result would be that she would abandon him.

Seeing this, Song Shuyu stepped aside to meet Guo Xuan's angry face and said calmly, "I did it! All those involved in the trial, including myself, are treated equally, and we share the same fate!"

Guo Xuan repeatedly said "good" three times, then knelt down and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Song Shuyu, the Prefect of Jingzhao, not only disregarded the law and harmed officials, but also detained the jurors and supervisors in the Jingzhao Prefecture for two days and one night during the public trial. His actions were brutal and a serious violation of discipline! The Court of Judicial Review has the right to investigate this matter and hold the relevant officials accountable for abusing their power! Your Majesty, I humbly request your permission!"

The emperor raised an eyebrow slightly, his imposing presence radiating authority. "The parties involved are all in the hall. A face-to-face confrontation will reveal the truth. There's no need to waste time bringing them back to the Dali Temple."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Song Shuyu exclaimed loudly, "Your subject obeys the decree; everything is to be decided by Your Majesty!"

Guo Xuan hesitated and remained silent.

The Minister of Justice, assessing the situation, chimed in, "Your Majesty is wise! I believe that this matter involves the three judicial departments and should be personally tried by Your Majesty to ensure fairness and impartiality!"

The Left and Right Censors-in-Chief of the Censorate exchanged a glance, then stepped forward in unison and said, "We request Your Majesty to conduct the trial personally!"

With both sides having expressed their stance, only the Court of Judicial Review remained. Guo Xuan, unable to act alone, could only lower his head and say, "Please, Your Majesty, conduct the trial personally!"

The emperor smiled slightly, his eyes revealing a deeper meaning. "It is indeed Guo Qing's duty to govern the Court of Judicial Review. Then let Guo Qing inquire. I will simply listen in."

Guo Xuan said, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

Naturally, the first person Guo Xuan questioned was Liang Ruoming, as he also placed his hopes for bringing down Song Shuyu on Liang Ruoming. "Minister Liang, has Lord Song placed you under house arrest?"

"Yes." Liang Ruoming nodded.

A look of delight appeared in Guo Xuan's eyes. "Did Lord Song hit you?"

"Yes." Liang Ruoming thought to himself, since he had already lost all face, it was better to be frank than to leave others to speculate. "Lord Song ordered the constables to give me ten lashes."

Guo Xuan was very satisfied with Liang Ruoming's answer, so he asked Ji Yue the same question.

Unexpectedly, Ji Yue shook his head and said, "It's not house arrest, but a correct measure taken by Lord Song to prevent the case from being leaked! The injury on my head was not caused by Lord Song's punishment, but by the accidental injury of Counselor Mu from the Jingzhao Prefecture. Lord Song has already visited with Counselor Mu to apologize and compensate for medical and recuperation expenses. I have also forgiven Counselor Mu. We have reached an effective settlement and will not pursue any further responsibility."

Guo Xuan miscalculated and looked very grim. As for Lu Xun, who was his subordinate but was recommended by Song Shuyu, there was even less hope for him.

Thank you for your support, my darlings! Mwah!
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(End of this chapter)